Evil spirits

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). In the 1975 film, The Usual Suspects, about a criminal mastermind that many believed to be a myth, the mastermind himself gives the most memorable quote, "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."²⁶⁸ Satan—the Devil (a.k.a. Lucifer)—most certainly exists and has a cadre of other fallen angels working with him "to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (John 10:10). "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:18). "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:7-9).

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 14:12-14)

In the Old Testament, persons with familiar spirits were called by the Hebrews an 'ob, which properly means a leather bottle; for those with familiar spirits—people who channel spirits willingly—were regarded as vessels containing the inspiring devil—unclean spirit. The word familiar is from the Latin familiaris, meaning a "household servant"; it refers to a relational aspect of association—servitude. This servitude can be from unclean spirits to a person or from a person to unclean spirits. A familiar spirit—unclean spirit, then, is a devil that identifies itself with a person. We are warned against those who willingly consort with familiar spirits (see Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, 20:27; 1 Samuel 28:7-9; 2 Kings 21:6, 23:24; 1 Chronicles 10:13-14; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Isaiah 8:19, 19:3, 29:4):

When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)

In the New Testament, however, we see victims who are possessed by unclean spirits—unwillingly oppressed (see Matthew 4:24, 9:32, 12:22, 15:22, 17:15-18; Mark 1:32, 5:1-20, 9:17-26; Luke 8:26-33; Acts 16:16-18, 19:15-16). While all devils are evil and unclean spirits, once a devil gains access to a person and controls their mind, the term unclean spirit is used. "For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed" (Acts 8:7). These unclean spirits are well acquainted with their "house"—the person they possessed—controlling their mind and, hence, their body.

And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. (Mark 5:1-5)

Evil spirits "market and sell" certain feelings. How often has a feeling of sickness "come over" a person or a feeling of anger or a feeling of fear or a feeling sadness? When a Christian "buys into" that temptation, they open the front door and invite in that evil spirit, and give the spirit full access to their "house." Our best defense (and offense) against the wiles of the devil is the Word of God written in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), coupled with faith, obedience, prayer (Matthew 26:41) and righteousness; in short, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). After all, it is to the glory of God to deliver us from evil: "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen" (Matthew 6:13). "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils" (Mark 16:17).

Curses

Curses were introduced in the Bible in the Garden of Eden; they are retribution from God for sins. "As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come" (Proverbs 26:2). When the various curses in the Old Testament are examined, three loose categories emerge: curses due to idolatry (Deuteronomy 11:28; Deuteronomy 27:15; Jeremiah 17:5), curses due to rebellion (Deuteronomy 27:26; Psalm 119:21; Proverbs 17:11), and curses due to wickedness (Proverbs 3:33; Zechariah 5:3).

For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. (Jeremiah 30:12-15)

All curses are tied to the law. Even as a New Covenant Christian we can incur the curses of the law when we sin (disobey God) or when we put aside the New Covenant and embrace the law (see "Tithes & Offerings" and "Justified by the law?"). "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Galatians 3:10). A curse is a "dynamic" principality: the curse gives specific authority to a devil. Curses bring and are perpetuated by unclean spirits—devils that control minds. God assigns these devils to the cursed person to fulfill the dictates of the curse: "He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them" (Psalm 78:49).

Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand ... As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. (Psalm 109:6, 17-19)

Finally, curses can traverse generations: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me" (Exodus 20:3-5).

FALSE SPIRITS

In an effort to appear spiritual, popular theology has "conjured up" some false evil spirits. A short list of these includes: spirits of rejection, marriage-breaking spirits, spirits of poverty, and vagabond spirits.

The spirit of Rejection: There are no evil spirits named Rejection; it is a principality ruled by the spirit of injustice and the spirit of distrust (see the sections on "The Principality of Rejection" and "Strong Holds (Idols of the Heart)").

Marriage-Breaking spirits: While there are spirits that focus on breaking marriages, there are no spirits named marriage-breaking spirits. The spirits that come against marriages include: spirits of adultery, spirits of pride, spirits of lust, spirits of pornography, spirits of sodomy, etc. The Word of God defines adultery as breaking covenant; hence, spirits of adultery are at work to break friendships, marriages, and most importantly our relationship with God. "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 4:4).

The spirit of Poverty: There are no evil spirits named Poverty. It is a false concept introduced by the Prosperity Movement to try to explain why certain people do not have financial prosperity or why certain people can never seem to get ahead of their finances. As you will see in our discussion on Vagabond spirits, sins and curses, not poverty spirits, are behind this "malady." "Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you" (Jeremiah 5:24-25).

But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: ... And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits ... And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. (Leviticus 26:14-15, 20, 26)

Vagabond spirits: Related to the "spirit of poverty" is the so-called "vagabond spirit." A person with a "vagabond spirit" or "vagabond anointing" is incorrectly described as follows:

The vagabond spirit is the spirit that makes a person live an irregular life or a wandering life. The person goes from one place to the other with no fixed purpose, an aimless life. A lot of people are operating under the influence of the vagabond spirit. God created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day and God expects us to be able to rest in Him. But those under the vagabond anointing are restless in their spirit. People under vagabond anointing wander from city to city, from job to job, from house to house, from marriage to marriage, etc. They are never able to really settle down.

People under the vagabond anointing are always tormented by the spirit of poverty. When a person is under the vagabond anointing, the spirit of poverty finds it very easy to move in. This will give rise to so many other things which includes restlessness, confusion, financial bondage, depression, loneliness, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, sorrow and grief.

The vagabond spirit makes people to waste their investments. Nothing they lay their hands on works out. The person may have B.Sc. in Economics, Masters in Philosophy and Ph. D in Accounting, yet nothing prospers. It is this vagabond anointing that is responsible for lack of focus. A lot of people are not focused, that is why the devil is able to do so much havoc. A person that was meant to settle down to sell vegetables is busy looking for an office job. No focus. When the devil knows that you are in a wrong place, he would attack whatever you are doing. One of the greatest mountains that one faces is the mountain of ignorance.

The vagabond anointing is responsible for a person to fish and catch nothing in the sea of life. If this anointing is on somebody, it does not matter how far the person roams, he could travel around the world, he won't be able to make headway. It is a pity that so many are suffering. When a medical doctor has been reduced to serving food in a bar abroad in order to survive, it is vagabond anointing. When a man with a Ph.D is busy sweeping the floor at the railway station, it is vagabond anointing.²⁶⁹

Again this is a false concept which attempts to explain what is already spelled out in scripture. In the case of Cain, his sin of murder causes a curse from God to come upon him. "And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth" (Genesis 4:9-12).

Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19:13-16)

And in the case of the vagabond Jews mentioned in the book of Acts, their sin of utilizing familiar spirits for exorcism (it is clear that they were not operating by the power of God) sets them at odds with God and they, like Cain, were cursed: cut off—vagabond—from among the people. "And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people" (Leviticus 20:6). "My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations" (Hosea 9:17).

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