There is a command in First John 4:1 to “Try the spirits.” Why? Because “many false prophets are gone out into the world.” Several things are involved in this business of trying the spirits. Certainly, we must know the scriptures to be able to successfully try the spirits. Then again, without a love for the truth, we will most likely be deceived. When there is the love for the truth, spiritual discernment is enhanced.
We need to keep in mind that we do not need to know everything in order to try the spirits. We do not even need to know all about the subject at hand to try the spirits. If we know enough to uproot some of the foundation of a given position we can know that the whole thing is wrong. For example, I remember twenty years ago, that I heard the testimony and read the book of Mary Baxter, “The Revelation of Hell.” She wrote and spoke about how she went to hell and there were ferocious demons there who were kind of the “correction officers” of hell. Well, I was impressed with her revelation until I realized that the scriptures report that Jesus has the keys to hell and death. Therefore, Satan and his demons are not in hell. Only those fallen angels from Noah’ Day and the Flood have been jailed there. According to the scriptures, demons are not in control of hell. Jesus is. Therefore, I don’t need to hear anymore about Baxter’s revelation because it contradicts scripture. Those that are familiar with the scriptures are less likely to be deceived,as long as they have rightly divided the word.
Moreover, the bible should not be used as if it was some sort of mystery book for the purpose of divination.
When seekers begin their journey into the occult arts, they look for a divination system that will allow them to predict future events. Tarot cards, crystal balls, bones, ash, tea leaves, coffee grounds–literally ANYTHING–to help the diviner focus and concentrate. For example, the I Ching is an ancient Chinese book that is used to guide the decision-making process. You open it up randomly, and there you will find a proverb or a saying by Confucius which is used as a means to interpret the diviner’s immediate personal situation in order to make a decision.
In like manner, Christians unknowingly use the scriptures as if it were an I Ching. They have a particular problem, and then they open the bible randomly, look down and fix their eyes on a particular verse. Whatever the verse says is then interpreted in light of the presenting situation. This is divination. Sometimes the Lord will use a similar method, not in an effort to reveal the future but to teach. For example, moments after I was born again on March 29, 1977 on a Monday at 4pm, I opened the bible that I had recently purchased. I looked down at John 3. “You must be born again. That which is flesh is flesh. That which is spirit is spirit. The wind blows, etc. Instantly I understood what had just happened to me. So the Lord used this method to teach me. He has never used it to reveal the future but the enemy does use the scriptures in that way. So, be careful.
So I caution you that even though the bible is a mystery book, it is not mysterious in a occultic sense. It is not a magical jigsaw puzzle where all you have to do is open it, and find your missing piece to guide you to make this or that decision. The mystery is that in order to really understand it, you need to have an unction from the Holy Ghost to do so, otherwise, it is a dead book to the unsaved. The gospel is foolishness to those who are in darkness, without the revelation of the Holy Ghost to guide their understanding.
That said, it is also noteworthy to mention that many who call themselves “bible believing” very often do not apply commonsense to their rather rigid scriptural interpretations of present day circumstances and conditions that were not a part of the conscious awareness of biblical writers 2 or more thousand years ago. I personally believe that “God can do what He wants to do whether it is covered in the bible or not.” Certainly, He will not contradict His written word, but that doesn’t mean that the Lord will not do something that is not specifically covered by it.
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The book “the New Idolatry” compares new age occultism to the Charismatic Movement. Here is a brief excerpt from the New Idolatry, a book that needs to be a part of your library:
“Consider a Christian woman who takes the scriptures that say ‘submit to your husband’ which leads her to passively accept persistent battery from her husband’s fists because the bible says that God hates divorce. So she remains in a godless marriage because of her faulty interpretation of the bible. Because she is a “bible-believing” Christian, she believes that she has no other choice but to submit to her husband’s every wish and demand, regardless of how demoralizing or revolting.”
Spiritual Warfare Library of PSM 