Introduction to Systematic Theology: Why Knowing God & Solid Biblical Content is Especially Important in a Pagan Culture

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Theology is applying the whole of the bible to the whole of life. For example, when we study God’s omnipotence, we will ask what does the entire bible say about it, and try to apply it.

My name is Mark Hunnemann and in 1973 I became a Christian, and it was quite a change. I immediately was introduced to JI Packer, John Stott, C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, RC Sproul and other wonderful writers who had profound influence upon me…their theology and love for the Lord. Kept me from slipping back into old lifestyle.

I went to seminary and was a pastor for many years and had the honor of preaching the whole counsel of God. I am sitting because this is not church, and I am teaching—not preaching.. I invite you to fact check everything I say. I’ve written a book entitled Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes and working on a second one. I have been deeply involved in helping folks who are struggling with demonic oppression—passion of mine.

 We live a pagan culture in which mind-less experience is the key to spiritualty, but it leads to delusion and oppression. We and our children need as much biblical content as possible, and the most loving thing you can do as a parent and grandparent is to grow in your knowledge and love of God.
In a sense, every Christian is a theologian—for better or for worse—and the ‘for worse’  aspect is no small matter. The epistles and Jesus warn us that heresies are destructive attacks by wolves against God’s sheep; and wolves are not very kind to sheep. Therein lies my passion for this series. Gallop recently did a poll and it left me speechless—the amount of biblical theological ignorance amongst professing Christians is astonishingly high. Breaks my heart. And my passion is to take profound truth and make it understandable and catch on fire! So, I invite you on a journey of discovery together—to delve deeply into the meat of God’s Word. I believe there are many Christians hungering for solid meat and I want to do my humble part to help in that regard.

The bible says that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. The ideas that don’t just flit around our brains momentarily, but the ones that penetrate the heart, are the ideas that shape our lives. And ideas have legs. We are what we think. Sound theology is required for a godly life because we have to first know the truth before we can do the truth. So, no Christian can avoid theology. Some may strenuously deny it, but every Christian has a theology.  The issue is do we have a sound theology? Do we embrace true or false doctrine? You may be surprised to hear this but every wrong belief I embrace is sin due to not loving God with all of my mind.

Before giving a more concrete basis for studying theology let me address several common misconceptions or concerns—with brief replies.

1. First, does not Jesus teaching about embracing the Kingdom with child-like faith (Mark 10:15) imply a simple faith? Yes, but there is world of difference between child-like faith and child-ish faith. The latter is obstinate and refuses to bow before authority and settles for a diet of spiritual milk. The implicit trust of a child is something we never grow out of but we are to grow to into maturity—solid meat. 11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

2. Many Christians have developed an aversion to theology because of their distrust of theologians. I understand…and have experience first hand of the devastating effects of higher-critical methods of ‘scholarship’ which is just a mask for unbelief and often shoddy scholarship. Most seriously, they have vandalized God’s holy Word, and caused serious damage to people. Academia is filled with wolves who are unregenerate pagans who are intellectually arrogant. But please remember that we must not throw out the baby with the bath water; to reject theology is to commit spiritual suicide.

3. The false pietism of our day denigrates the mind. But the pattern in scripture is deep doctrine and then application. EG But we are told in Romans 12:1-2 to be transformed through the renewing of our minds. some emphasize a direct experience with the Holy Spirit, which bypasses the mind,

4. Theology breeds arguments and controversy. Yes, it does because truth implies error, and error must be confronted or we accommodate it by our silence. What kind of world do you want our grandkids to live in? Jesus’s life was a storm cloud of controversy, as was Paul's because truth matters. It is godless controversy we are to avoid, not godly controversy, which is needed. To avoid controversy is to avoid Christ. We are not to argue about non-important issues, and the THE mark of a Christian is love.

5. We have unconsciously been influenced by the relativization and subjectivism of the truth. The concept of truth has changed and this has belittled the importance of the content of truth and the intellect. One of the glories of our faith is that it is a system of coherent, rational truth. It is much more than a system of truth, but not less. We should rejoice in this in light of the content-less spirituality of pagan, New Age. One hand clapping may sound profound but it means nothing rational.  I recently did a video on the  “Cosmic Christ” and I chose this title carefully because I wanted to catch the attention of New Agers and I wanted to accent the cosmic dimension of the atonement-Christus victor. But it was mainly to show the CONTENT of the true Christ vs the myth of the pagan conception of Christ. I next want to do one entitled the Cosmic Christ and His alien, extra-terrestrial righteousness! Hehe  Actually, I am not kidding because the term ‘alien righteousness’ is a theological term for the righteousness of Christ which is extra-terrestrial—outside the earth, and reserved in heaven. See if I can work ET in the title too! His righteousness is imputed to us in justification.

Suppose someone says: why theology? All I need is to love to Jesus. First, which Jesus? (New Age, Jehovas Witness, etc.) Who is He and what did He do? What happened on the cross?  Second, ‘love’ can be defined and expressed in a thousand different ways. And Jesus Himself said: “teaching them ALL that I commanded you.”

Positive role of theology: just as we get to know a person better as we know more about them, so our knowledge of and love for God should grow as we study about His Person and work---in creation and redemption. For our soul to be inflamed with a passion for God then it first has to pass through our minds.  (CS Lewis quote)

I am at a point in life at age 62 where I wish to record the truths of God’s Word. Knowledge without devotion is cold, dead orthodoxy. But devotion without knowledge is irrational instability; one is left vulnerable to being undiscerning to the wiles of the devil…and I see people falling left and right. How can people believe in earthbound spirits? Recently a friend went back to being a witch. 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherdsc and teachers,d 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,e to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Avoid syncretism which is blending of non-Christian thought with bible. Solid theology helps avoid that..become discerning. Like eg of bank teller and counterfeit.

Growing in the knowledge of God is a great joy and honor. It is a delight to the soul. Takes effort and discipline, but this is a matter of life and death—even eternal life and death. And this series is designed, by God’s grace, to enable us to love Him more and be more effective in your witness to a lost and broken world. Dig in!

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Haunted Objects: Residual Energy - Part 5

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

The series so far:

Residual Energy And Haunts by Mark Hunnemann - Part 1

Residual Energy And Haunts by Mark Hunnemann - Part 2

Residual Energy And Haunts by Mark Hunnemann - Part 3

Distinguishing Between Intelligent Haunts & Residual Haunts - Part 4


In this chapter we are going to expand our analysis of residual energy/haunts to alleged residually haunted objects—objects which are haunted with residual energy.  There is no doubt that some objects, like some homes, are ‘odd’—they are purchased and bad things start to happen—too many to explain away as coincidence. Can objects retain negative energy much like the environment in which there is an alleged residual haunt? The only difference it would seem is that the alleged residual energy is localized in the object itself. Perhaps you have heard of John Zaffis and his show “The Haunted Collector”? I watched several episodes and often he would refer to objects ‘absolutely’ would retain the negative energy of the people and events associated with them. A few of the more well known haunted objects are: the Dibbuk box, Annabelle the doll, and the mirror at Myrtles Plantation.

Speaking of John Zaffis, Lisa Hix says: “What parapsychologists refer to as a ‘haunting’ is like what you and I would think of as a recording. Residual energy is trapped in whatever object it is, and it replays itself. There’s nothing intelligent about it. It just plays the same thing over and over.” Lisa Hix

Several things I want to say.

1. There seems to be a general consensus by paranormal investigators that objects can be haunted either by ghosts or residual energy but we are going to focus on residual energy being retained in an object. Humans MUST go before the Sovereign Judge of heaven and earth immediately after death, so they cannot haunt an object or a house, but that is topic for another day. ‘Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes’ is my analysis of the ghost issue. The question is this: can a traumatic event associated with an object cause that object to retain the negative energy of that event? For example, if a sword was used to murder someone could it retain that energy?  Could this object become a place memory—a recording tape of this event by storing its energy?

2. The short answer is an emphatic NO! Everything I said re residual energy/haunts applies directly to this issue because the exact same phenomenon is said to happen, except it is localized in a single object and not entire surroundings of home/office.

If..if there was a transfer of energy during this murder, what kind of energy is it? Electrical, thermal, chemical? Second, whatever energy was emitted from the event when the blade struck its victim, this energy would immediately dissipate into the atmosphere. Imagine putting a drop of food coloring in the ocean. Is it destroyed? No, but it might as well be because  it is so watered down that it is virtually gone-- thousands of miles of ocean. Same with emitted energy-it must dissipate into the earth's atmosphere 100 miles high surrounding the earth. I have a space heater in front of my chair in which I am writing. It will warm up this small area but it will not heat the entire room--why not? The thermal energy dissipates. Neither will the heat coming out of it make a bee-line for an object in my room and store there and keep in hot indefinitely. An object like this sword or an antique cannot retain energy any more than your room will stay warm once you turn the heat off. Energy is energy and cannot remain clustered in an object any more than a drop of food coloring will stay clustered together if you drop it in the ocean/glass.

As long as ice melts in liquid warmer than it, then the second and third laws of thermodynamics are absolutely valid.  One man tried to argue that it had questions raised recently but I’ve studied the literature and in the real world it is still absolute.

My point is that an object cannot be haunted by residual energy because energy cannot remain stored in the object. To state otherwise is to contradict one of the most basic, absolute laws of science-God’s laws in nature. Remember, I am not disputing an object can be ‘haunted’—I’m just saying, as I did with residual haunting in general, it cannot be caused by natural forces. If you have not read my earlier chapters on residual energy, please do because I don’t want to repeat myself, and I need to address another question. How do you distinguish between  an object haunted by ghost and residual energy? That encounters the same insuperable problems associated with intelligent and residual haunts.

3. If it is not residual energy causing the object to be haunted what is? Well, first it is not ‘haunted’?  Nor is it possessed—only conscious beings can be possessed. A doll cannot be possessed. However, demons are very territorial and for various reasons they do attach to objects just as they attach to homes and people. Some people and many animals are sensitive to the presence of the demonic attached to an object. They will stare or bark at it for hours.

Lisa Hix states the following: On his FAQ at the Museum of the Paranormal, Zaffis agrees that such phenomena are all about energy, but he has a different theory about how the energy got there. “With most of the items in the museum, they have been used in rituals, usually when spells are being cast,” he writes. “Although the items are not ‘possessed,’ … items can hold energy within or around them, and it is usually the result of the energy being sent to the object by an individual.”

He is half-way right there. What I thought instructive is that this expert in occult objects recognizes that there is a common theme or back-story to these objects—ritualistic activity, spell casting or curses being sent by an individual are attached to an object. The curse or ritual summons a demon who then is all too happy to attach to this object; giving it a legal right to attach and attack its owners. Demons, not negative energy, haunt objects. It is pure evil and we need to stop calling it negative energy.

Contrary to what the well known psychic Sylvia Browne said: “There’s no such thing as a curse. That’s just a goofy fortune-teller’s way of getting money.” No ma'am..you are wrong. Dead wrong.

Just as demons attach to dead idols that people worship (1 Cor. 10, etc.), so they can attach to objects that have been presented in an occultic ritualistic fashion. An example might be the sword of a Freemason.  My dear friend Laura Maxwell told me today of a lovely piece of jewelry that was given to her, but she got weird vibes off it. She later discovered that it was a Hindu object, and she got rid of it. This is instructive because it illustrates how common this problem is, and how anybody may be affected by it. Much artwork or furniture or jewelry was crafted by pagans with pagan intentions or occultic symbolism. And as Zaffis reminds us, most of the infested/cursed objects are due to some form of rituals in which spells are being cast; that kind of activity is precisely what opens doors to demonic. That is a very significant point and fits hand in glove with our premise of demonic intervention. If you curse something, then it is an open invitation for demonic attachment; ‘legal rights’ have been granted to it/them.

Or take the sword we talked about earlier used in a murder: that MAY cause a demon to become attached to it because it took the life of God’s image bearer—thus an attack on God Himself. On one case, my client’s husband had been in special forces and was dispatched to Iraq. He was a sniper and he had this tiny troll doll he put on his gun barrel, which was used to kill many people, and he brought it home and was obsessed with it. He placed it here, and then he placed it there, and then it started moving on its own. In addition, he also brought home objects from Saddam Hussein’s palace (one of them)—pictures—one of the dogs playing cards….others more occult looking. Due to all the murder, torture, sexual uncleaness, and madness that took place in his palaces, it’s no wonder that they are infested, and the objects in them. No doubt these were part of the reason this woman’s home was being terrorized.

She had been having sex with her boyfriend and he started experiencing problems due to his close connection to the infestation. I instructed them to stop but they didn’t listen, and he became partially possessed—eyes turned black, loss of memory, and aberrant behavior; and a minor exorcism had to be performed. So, ‘haunted objects’ can cause one’s life to turn into a living nightmare; even something as small as a one-inch troll doll. When we went through all of his ‘stuff’ and either tossed it or blessed it, a shadow demon was seen fleeing from the storage building.

So, the source of an objects ‘haunting’ is the demonic and not residual energy.

4. How is obtained? It seems that antique stores are especially vulnerable because you have old objects and you have no idea what kind of people previously owned it. Also, if they had demonic activity in their home, it also may attach to particular objects in the home. Care must be taken when buying antiques or even used items or clothes.

Don’t be paranoid because junking is supposed to be fun! You just need to be familiar with occult symbols. Be especially aware of items that might have some connection with a fraternal organization, like Freemasonry. If it feels weird, better safe than sorry.

And if activity begins in your home after buying an object then the best thing to do is get rid of it.

5. How do I get rid of it? Get rid of it!  Don’t do EMF readings or especially do not do EVPs—that will make it worse. Don’t do like Zaffis and now Zak Bagans and start your your own haunted museum! I used to collect items I took from people’s homes but I learned that it was better to just throw it out…which is what I did. If it is a very expensive item, you may try expelling the demon or getting help to do so. But if you are confident the object is cursed then the best thing to do is dump it in the trash, burn it, or bury it. The bible has examples of godly people doing all three with occult objects. Pray the blood of Jesus to bind the demons…and to forbid them from following you home. For example, it is needed to ‘close’ a Ouija Board before you burn it or it will just leave the object and possibly attach to you.

Once again, if someone has mis-identified the nature of the problem with the object then it could cause serious problems. If you are told that it is merely residual energy and not harmful, and you decide to hang onto the item, then your life may turn into a wide-awake nightmare. Whatever demon/s associated with the object, will eventually begin to turn upon its owner. They do not care as much about things as they do wrecking and breaking people down, and pulverizing them. So, whether the ‘spiritual cancer’ is in the home or attached to an object, it will wreck havoc in a multitude of ways. Get rid of it!

If you have been exposed to a demon attached object then it has had an affect on you. Realize that just because you were baptized does not mean you are saved. Nor does a simple belief in the existence of God and Jesus save you. First step is to ask Christ to save you if you haven’t already: confess that you have fallen short of His holy laws and need to be forgiven…ask Christ to forgive you and turn from your self centered life to having Jesus as the leader of your life. Open up your empty hands of faith and accept God’s free gift of salvation which Christ earned for you—and bow before the finished work of Christ on the cross. As Jesus to forgive your sins and He will—past, present and future. And eternal life is a personal relationship with God through Jesus.

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Residual Energy And Haunts by Mark Hunnemann - Part 2

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Continued from:
Residual Energy And Haunts by Mark Hunnemann - Part 1

In 1974 I graduated from High School and many changes have taken place in our culture since then. And I can assure you that “residual energy” was an unknown subject. How did we get to the place where residual energy has become so common a notion?

How did we get to the place where the notion of residual energy is so commonplace? Why has energy taken on such a distinctive role, not just in hauntings but in healing, and our understanding of reality? I think of Reiki as just one example amongst many. While what follows does not explicitly address the notion of residual energy/haunts, it does attempt to explain the transition from energy to Energy, as the Ultimate reality. We have moved from a God-centered worldview to an Energy-centric/occult worldview, and this has given rise to such notions as residual energy.

Dr Peter Jones, author of The Other Worldview, has shown how the New Age/Pagan Worldview has displaced the biblical worldview as the dominant worldview. In the mid- 60s it came into USA, and it’s no coincidence that the ascendancy of the Energy centric worldview coincides with the popularity of residual energy.

"Sending prayers and positive energy"...gosh, how many times have I heard, or read on Facebook, a comment similar to that? How many times have you? The sending of positive energy has equaled, and in many cases, eclipsed the pledge of praying to the Living God from a friend to someone experiencing a trauma. Clearly, energy has undergone a radical evolution recently; it has taken on such a profound and practical significance for countless numbers of people. Nothing reveals more about a person's real, basic spiritual convictions than how they pray. For many, energy has become THE central organizing principle in their worldviews. I remember in seminary, a professor said that how a person prayed spoke volumes about what their true theological beliefs were. Hence, when the prayer of professing Christians includes pledges of sending positive energy, then we know this energy belief has deeply infiltrated the Christian community. Just 15 years ago...did you hear or say that positive energy was being sent on behalf of a beloved? I seriously doubt it. Therefore, it is incumbent for Christians that we understand this issue and sift it through a biblical worldview grid...pulling down strongholds and arguments... that are raised against the knowledge of God (2 Cor.10:5). Otherwise, like the ancient Israelites, we shall fall into an unthinking syncretism; the blending of the truth with falsehood—and incur God’s discipline.

Ultimate Reality, according to God’s Word, is the tri-personal, Living God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in loving, joyous communication for backwards eternity to eternity future. Nothing/ No-one is “further back” or more basic. He existed eternally before He created energy and the universe. However, today, many people seem to assume that Energy/Universe is Ultimate reality, but that is an occultic, demonic deception. But it does explain why the notion of residual energy has taken hold so quickly in our culture which has largely jettisoned the biblical God from its thinking. We have rejected the Living God and exchanged it for the lie, worshipping nature—and energy in particular. (Romans 1:25) An idol doesn’t have to be a figurine (it can be mental instead of metal) because, by definition, and idol is whatever is uppermost in our affections or considered to be the ground of our being.

Those who research and investigate the supernatural realm-from quantum jumping to spirit hunting-are increasingly seeing ultimate reality in terms of energy.

Energy vibrations of the cosmos or cosmic consciousness. Energy has become not only personified but deified as well. This impersonal stuff that we call energy has now become our new god...our new reference point for defining the cosmos, mankind, and our relationship to the cosmos.

In the beginning God created (bara-act of personal creating) has been replaced by...  In the beginning, Energy has always been there and is evolving....It has become commonplace to believe that we are currently experiencing a quantum leap into a higher form of consciousness or energy, and it is often stated that we are spirit energy in a body, and NOT vice versa. Raise your vibration levels and you’ll experience wholeness with the Universe. Instead of personal holiness before a holy God, we now seek personal wholeness by enhancing our energy vibrations. This pagan worldview has altered our view of God, reality, sanctification and countless other vital aspects of our worldview.

As I alluded to, this is no mere dry as dust academic theory, because it has become a paradigm or worldview shift in how one understands who they are, and how to become better at living and being human. Watch the plethora of energy healers attempting to adjust folk's vibrational levels to harmonize with the vibrations of primal Energy and the Universe. And what must be noted with tears, is that often these energy therapies seem to work in terms of affecting vibrational change and healing. May I suggest, though, that we are playing god in this respect, and are opening ourselves to deep demonic intervention. They (demons) are clever, and all it takes is openness to this Energy to potentially begin the oppression process. Usually, at some opportune time, the demonic will find some imaginative way to gain permission for entry. We should have known better than to reject God and begin to call energy ultimate reality/god--Energy. Romans 1:18f speaks of the endarkenment, instead of the desired enlightenment, which comes when we deify, make ultimate, or worship, any aspect of the Creator's creation-including one of His greatest creations, which is energy. We have rejected the Living God and exchanged it for the lie. (Romans 1:25) The essence of paganism is the denial of the Creator/creature distinction, and that incenses God. He hates it and we should hate what He hates—the idea, not the people who embrace it.

It is not being intellectually consistent or honest to spell energy as Energy, because the bottom line is that this notion (energy is ultimate reality) implies that there was an impersonal beginning, and by adding upper-case you have magically imported personality-creating it out of thin air. The only reason why we sense or detect personality with the energy entities is because they ARE personal beings-demons. Like humans, demons and Satan have a will, intelligence, and emotions. We have not dealt with ghosts per se, in this book, but the concept of ultimate reality as energy often accompanies the belief in ghosts. It is this occult worldview change which gave rise to its enormous popularity.

There is a flow to human history and we have seen how our culture has arrived at this juncture where energy plays such a vital role in defining reality. Be wary of any talk of tapping into primal Energy or cosmic consciousness. In our weakness, let us cling to the God who was manifested through the burning bush-the infinite-personal God of the bible who has inexhaustible, omnipotent energy and power. Yahweh.     

Next week—Residualo Energy & Haunts - Part 3

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Alleged Reasons Why Some Are Likely to Become Ghosts: Fear of Hell.

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

I recently read an article in which eight reasons were given as to why some are likely to become ghosts upon death: violent death, dying with addictions, money owed to them, died suddenly, have young children, unresolved emotions, betrayal, and seeking revenge. However, even the author stated that most of these fell under the general principle of unfinished business.

While the paranormal community has no consensus as to who or what makes the final decision as to who stays behind, there is a somewhat of a consensus as to WHY people stay behind. There are four criteria: traumatic death, emotional death, untimely death, and unfinished business.

I shall look at those next time, but there is another reason stated as to why some folks refuse to move on: the fear of hell.

Before we examine this notion, we have to deal with first things first. That is, from where do we derive our ideas about the fate of the dead? There are ultimately only two alternatives, though they may be semantically streamed in different ways. We either lean on revelation or speculation. Those are the only two possible alternatives.That is, we either look to what God has revealed to us in His Word, or we autonomously seek to use our God-given faculties to determine this issue by reason, feelings, observation, etc…placing them above God’s Word.

Since the soul, the after-life (including hell) are manifestly theological issues, then whether people can refuse to pass on due to a fear of hell is clearly a theological issue as well. Hence, we NEED God’s Word to answer this question.  Natural reason cannot answer that question.

Some assert that the bible is not clear regarding the Intermediate State (when we die, and before Jesus’ Second Coming). Hence, this is the time when folks may avoid going to the Light. First, there are only a very few theologians who think the bible is unclear about the Intermediate State. I have shown elsewhere that the bible is exceedingly clear as to what befalls all people immediately after death…our judgment. Second, the “Light” is not a celestial bright spot. Rather, the Light before whom we all must come for judgment (either to be pronounced “not guilty’ or condemned) is the High King of Heaven, the Lord Jesus…the refulgence of His awesome holiness is the Light we see. The Light is a Person, and not a destination or a thing, which can be avoided or resisted.
Again, it is stated that some spirits/souls stay behind out of fear of what awaits them IF they walk into the Light. Either because of fear of what they believed, or how they lived their lives, the possibility of going to Hell dissuades them from crossing over.

According to this theory, humans retain free will after they die, which includes the free will to (at least temporarily…some say eternally) to insist on staying on earth, in order to avoid hell.

This belief places man in the position of final determiner of his eternal fate (at least temporarily). This casts a long shadow over both God’s holiness and His absolute sovereignty. It is a denial of the reigning Kingship of God as Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25)If a person can run away from God’s judgment as long as he wishes (eternally according to many), then man is placed in the seat of ultimate authority. God could only judge us IF we let Him! The most cruel and wicked men who ever lived could laugh at the King of Glory and tell Him to basically “get lost.” The very thought should be odious to all God’s saints.

As many have pointed out, Jesus spoke much more about hell—its reality and horror—than He spoke of the glories of heaven. He did this because He loves us, and wants us to think long and hard about something we would rather ignore, or explain away.

Jesus warned many people to flee from the wrath to come…He warned them of the eternal consequences upon death if they put anything before Him. Nowhere do we get a hint of possible snubbing of the Holy One of Israel. To state that man may choose to flee from hell is to strip the gospel of its utter urgency. Why? Because we can just say to ourselves: “I’ll just resist going into the Light.”When you read the gospels and epistles, the gospel is a message of fleeing from a clear and present danger…a message which is of eternally urgent importance.The gospel is good news, but it is urgently good news…for sinners who are hell-bound.

Jesus pled with people to not waste their lives on trivialities, only to be thrown into the pit where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is clear in its implications regarding the inalterability of God’s Judicial summons and holy decree after death. It cannot be averted.

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Please read v. 28 carefully. Is there any hint of human free will to avoid hell? If you look closely, in the succeeding verses, Jesus is asserting His utter control over seemingly insignificant events. How much more the lives and deaths of His image bearers—whether to heaven or hell. Again, there is no hint of avoiding God’s judgment in v. 28, 32-33.

If a person misses an important court date, then a summons is given for their arrest. Do we really think that the Holy Lawgiver and Judge will let us avoid being prosecuted for cosmic treason?

What disturbs me about the notion of ghosts avoiding hell is the trivializing effect it has on the holiness and utter sovereignty of God, as well as the reality of Hell. The bible is clear that our free will ceases upon our deaths. Upon death, it is too late to believe in Christ, and we cannot flee from the personal judgment.  This is an appointment that no man can cancel or flee from. Death ushers us into God’s holy throne-room, and we are either sent to heaven or hell, depending on whether we have clung to finished work of Christ on the Cross.

We need to remember, that by virtue of creation, God owns us—body and soul. He determines when we shall die (Psalm 139: 16 ) Hence, there is no such thing  as a untimely death. (more of that next time)

Hebrews 9:27 states it very clearly. In a context of the once-for-all nature of the atonement…it says: “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” Notice, that our deaths are appointed by God. He is utterly in control, and any human effort or free will, melts away. What does it say comes after (meta, Greek) our appointed deaths—which implies there are no untimely deaths? Our appointed judgment comes immediately after our appointed deaths.The notion of a person choosing to avoid their appointment with the Ancient of Days is repugnant to both reason and Scripture. God’s sovereignty, and the beauty of the atonement is everywhere in this context, and resisting the Irresistible summons is impossible.

To state that we can avoid facing God’s judgment also minimizes the beauty and efficacy of Christ’s atonement, in which He became a curse for us….so that we would be blessed and not eternally cursed. Jesus shed His infinitely precious blood to ransom us…to pay the price to release us from sin, Satan and death. To assert that we can avoid hell is to deny the urgency and centrality of the atonement.

If our deaths are appointed by God, then how much more so are our judgments appointed by God.  And after we die, we face judgment. The notion of retaining a free will which averts this judgment flies in the face of this clear text, and countless others.

There are two judgments: our personal judgment the moment we die, and then the general/universal judgment (or Great White Throne…Revelation 20:11-15) The two are often conflated, because the general judgment is simply the public announcement of God’s holy judicial decree at the moment of our deaths.

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Upon reading this text, does the notion of avoiding God’s judgment seem possible to you? The same God who will stand as Judge at the end times, is the Judge whom we all face immediately upon death. Again, I ask: does this God/Judge seem like One whom we can avoid simply because we fear hell?

Stephen saw the Lord Jesus stand up in anticipation of his arrival, but unbelievers have nothing but the fearful prospect/certainty of the Lord Jesus pronouncing an eternal guilty verdict upon them and sentencing them to an eternity in Hell. In Hell, Satan won’t rule, but God Almighty will be present, and causing the excruciating eternal agony of all those there. This is where we must bow our heads and weep for those who are lost. It is ugly, very ugly, for a person to speak glibly of hell. On the other hand, it is monstrous to think that we can cancel/postpone our judgment before our Holy Creator. To think that a reason for some people remaining as ghosts due to fear of hell, is to deny every attribute revealed about God in the Bible.

When we die, we are drawn by an omnipotent, irresistible summons before the holy Judge of heaven and earth. Let us expunge any notion that minimizes the incomparable glory of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Let the Word of God control all of our thoughts and beliefs.

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Ghosts...A Line in the Sand

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

There comes a time where, with tears, a Christian must draw a line in the sand, and say "No further." I write with a heavy heart because it seems that a growing number of Christians are falling prey to the spirit of the age  when in comes to ghosts.They toss out aberrant (they might call it creative thought) interpretations of scripture re the possibility of humans returning to earth...or their own experience, and don't realize the "little ones" they are causing to stumble or just general confusion/chaos in the minds of many who respect them.. Theological ignorance and hubris is awful and rampant. Using Purgatory as a means of explaining why some people get stuck here is so terribly off base theologically/biblically it makes me shake my head in disbelief.

Another way of putting it is that the notion of ghosts is a "watershed issue". A watershed is a dividing ridge (such as a mountain range) separating one drainage area from others.On one side the water runs west, and a few inches over the water flows east. That is a watershed. The debate over ghosts is a watershed issue today. There is no doubt in my mind that the notion of ghosts is Satan's most successful and effective deception in our current intellectual/spiritual landscape. Billions (yes "b") around the globe now embrace some form of necromancy and the numbers keep exploding in growth.The mere belief in ghosts is the first step..... And no aberrant belief has more destructive power to open the gates of darkness and demonic evil. There is a watershed....it has to do with the Lordship of Christ over the totality of life.Will we see Christ as Lord over life and death, or not? Does He own our souls, or not? Do we enter rest in heaven upon death, or not....all based on the finished work of Christ on the cross?

Many of my brothers and sisters in Christ (RC and Protestant) don't seem to grasp how significant this watershed issue has become. From Genesis to Revelation, this issue is not only clear but exceedingly serious in God's eyes.

In every generation Christians are commanded by God to be cognizant of where Satan is attacking, but we remain (mostly) oblivious.

Abortion is a watershed issue and so is the diabolical idea of ghosts. If you disagree, then--I say this gently but firmly--you are accommodating this end of days Satanic onslaught. That is what a watershed issue does...it draws a line in the sand and says, "No further." Can any Christian today say that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was wrong...or even if he was right, he should have not pressed the issue so persistently? Certainly not! Then please don't complain about making this issue such a passionate priority.

I do not care who your mentor was (e.g. Malachi Martin--whom I respect), no human is infallible in their interpretation of their supernatural experiences.Only the infallible bible is infallible re interpreting any/all of reality.

The Greatest Generation was/is great but they did very poorly re race (with few exceptions including my parents), and since then I have been almost paranoid about where WE may be blind. The notion of ghosts is the single most destructive belief which we are (with some exception) ignoring. To make matter worse, there are so many back or side doors through which Christians are allowing this belief of mass destruction to pass through. May God help our generation to wake up to our responsibility...or our kids will suffer terribly.The line is drawn in the sand.....a watershed....which side are you on?

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Culture Watch: Television & Demonaphobia

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

This blog was originally posted on December 7, 2012.

The deception began with a bang. The DT crew (Destination Truth) went to the Mayan ruins, which was the site of untold number of human sacrifices to idols—which as the bible tells us is participating in demons. In light of this, one would have thought they would have put demons at least on their possible suspect list for the accelerated paranormal activity there; they didn’t. Instead, team DT posited, before even went there, that the recent accelerated activity was either due to the sacrificial victims or the Mayan warriors. Even though scared to death at points, demons were not even an option.

I try to stay in touch with popular culture, so I watch as many of the haunted TV shows as I can. What I am sharing is based on what I witnessed over the last month of watching the following shows: Destination Truth, Ghost Adventures, Haunted Collector, A Haunting, The Dead Files, Paranormal Witness, Haunted Highway, and one more about hauntings at colleges but I can’t for the life of me remember the name.  Sheesh. That is eight shows on three nights of the week (Tues., Wed., Friday). People’s beliefs and worldviews are unconsciously shaped by exposure to this much haunted TV, but this is but a tip of the paranormal iceberg on TV. One list had about fifty shows, which in some form or fashion, focus on the assumed reality of ghosts. FIFTY!  Of course they are not all on the same season schedule, and a few on the list are now cancelled—but as with The Ghost Whisperer or Charmed, re-runs are current with a number of these. That is an incredible number of shows, which reveals how we are witnessing a paradigm shift in our understanding of spirituality (topic for another day). This phenomenon is both a shaper of culture as well as a reflection of it.

My purpose in watching all these shows was in part to answer this question: is TV phobic regarding demons? The undeniable answer is “yes”; the vast majority of these shows avoid fingering demons as the cause of supernatural activity in homes or businesses. Whether it is the individuals or the networks (or both) that are demonaphobic, the reality is that the phobia is ubiquitous. As with the opening scene with DT, it is astounding how hesitant folks are on these shows to assign the blame on demons for even the most despicable activity. For varying reasons, the almost monolithic consensus of investigators is that demonic encounters are rare. So, in that regard the TV shows are mirroring current beliefs in this field. One quick example. The much respected John Zaffis is called in to assuage the fears of a young mom. There has been verbal threats and physical violence, to the point she is terrified. During an EVP session (red flag!) John asks the spirit if it is angry with the family, and child’s voice answered, "no". Based almost entirely on this captured EVP, John interprets all of this scratching, pushing, and threats as an expression of trust that this child ghost feels with the young mom. A touching scene follows, and I am feeling nauseous. That is baloney sir. Do you always trust children’s voices? What would you think of a living child who scratched and pushed people and threatened them? I would have had my rear-end whipped good as a child if I did half of what that demon did to those people. That is calling wrong…. right-something the bible condemns. On another episode his tech, Brian, got a long triple scratch down his back, and demons were not mentioned at all—not amongst themselves (that we know of) or with the client. Does anybody else find that problematic? Two per show… that makes eight hair raising episodes in a month, in which a world famous, professing Christian demonologist does not even mention demons.

While watching Paranormal Witness tonight I thought that, finally, they will call a spade a spade. Two or three deputies are witness to some hair raising activity in an old theatre. After what he called demon like activity, one of them quit. It seemed that, given all the focus on the sheer evil of this entity, that a demon was going to be the culprit. Wrong. By the end, it was reported that a young man had died in a fire there and all the activity was then viewed through that prism. So, in all those shows I watched, I do not recall a demon being seen as the cause of the supernatural activity. Moreover, most of the time, demons were not even mentioned. We are talking several dozen episodes. THAT frequency and repetition is clearly influencing people’s views regarding both ghosts and the demonic.  It makes me weep.

I find this very troubling because it is only reinforcing in the audience’s minds that ghosts are the only plausible explanation for supernatural activity. It is shaping their view of supernatural reality…millions of people. “Yes demons are real, but rare”. Sound familiar?  It should, because demonic rarity is the majority view of investigators. Sure it happens but even the most “negative” (grown to really dislike that word) entities are almost always viewed as irregular humans or possibly some whacked out dimensional being (eg energy vampires—demons can mimic that). If it smells like sulfur, levitation is occurring, tables are flying across the room, apportation, extreme aversion to blessed objects, client speaking backwards in Latin, and people are being hurt, THEN folks will discuss the possibility of demonic presence. Sheeesh….(OK, a bit exaggerated) Once you introduce the concept of ghosts (including poltergeist and residual), then identifying demons is hopelessly subjective.

Stop! Everyone believes that demons are deceptive, so why the almost fervent hesitancy to label something demonic unless all the aforementioned is present? Even veteran, biblical demonologists fall prey to this faulty logic when they assume they will always feel heaviness in the air if there is a demonic infestation. If you have a strong gift of discernment (there are gradations of sensitivity), then that is a horse of a different color. But generally, demons can leave a palpable sense of peace and love. That is certainly an implicate of the angel of light principle, and there is a plethora of anecdotal evidence to support this. They can control the vibe of a house. How convincing is an angel-cloaked demon going to be if everyone has the heeby-jeebies around them or feel nauseous and so on? Back to the fervent hesitancy.

Satan is not omnipotent, but he is showing considerable power in how he has promoted this demonaphobia. The issue is not what you personally believe—the issue is, what is the message coming across the TV? This was an experiment to observe. The bottom line is that if the angel of light principle is real—and it is—then there is no way to make a list of criteria for demonic presence; they can and do break all the rules and all the stereotypes. And to rule out from the get-go the possibility of demonic activity is not science, it is ideological assumptions. (REPEAT) It is the opposite of true science…destination untruth. 

Demonaphobia….that is what is plastered all over TV these days. This is a call to all bible believing Christians to be salt and light for the glory of God.

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Obedience to the Lordship of Christ, and the great Evangelical Disaster. Pt.3

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Continued from part 2 http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-great-evangelical-disaster-part-2.html

Let me recap...We have been looking at the larger picture of how and why the belief in ghosts has spread so rapidly..For the first time, I have deviated from focusing 100 percent on the paranormal....but there is a method to my madness. 80 years ago our nation had a Christian consensus; biblical knowledge and values were widespread, as was a biblical notion of objective truth (as opposed to the rampant relativism of today). Autonomous freedom--reckless attempt to be freed from the restraints of God and His moral law-- has been the culprit that has undercut this Christian consensus and made the way for belief in ghosts and other evil and error.

There is another culprit pointed out by Francis Schaeffer from whom I borrowed the title of his last book. Before I proceed I want to point out that, before he died in 1985 (book published in 1984), many people thought Schaeffer had retreated from his earlier works and got sidetracked on pro-life activism and other crucial issues. He addresses this misperception in the book, and says that it is not true. Rather, his books should be seen as a whole, and his confrontation of vital issues plaguing our society were simply the logical outworking of his previously stated beliefs.I take the time to mention this because, if you are fifty years or older, chances are you were affected by the brilliant and compassionate work of this man.

Evangelicals (bible believing Christians) are divided into two groups, he stated: those who are obedient to God's inerrant word over the full spectrum of life and those who aren't. And the division over this watershed issue is only going to keep growing. Which brings us to the second reason our society is suicidal: evangelical leaders (seminaries, publications, para-church leaders, and pastors).abruptly stopped lovingly confronting the moral rot in society. Content to preach expository sermons, the pastors forgot the responsibility to confront elements of autonomous freedom in application of their sermons. Hence, these evangelical leaders began to accommodate or adapt to the sinful world spirit, and our country took a nose-dive.This last point did/does not sit well with the majority of evangelical leaders, because they were/are guilty of passively adapting to all manner of evil, and they turned their back on the very man who had touched so many of their lives.

Hunnemann is about as German as you can get, and I know what happened in Nazi Germany when Hitler declared a whole race of people as non-human...the Jews. Do you think the German pastors should have addressed from the pulpit this particularly vicious form of autonomous freedom which swept the German people off their feet?.Of course they should have! But most German evangelical preachers didn't. If they had, the people would not have supported Hitler like they did. I saw Ray Comfort's 180. tonight and it floored me.In speaking along these lines, he implied what Schaeffer made explicit: why, then, does the US evangelical band play on while a whole segment of society has been declared non-human and slaughtered? Fifty-three million babies have been massacred and few evangelical preachers can bring themselves to confront it from the pulpit, not to mention in public. What good is an expository sermon if it does not address head-on the crucial issues of the day? Remember the quote from Luther about confessing Christ? There is a hierarchy of importance: should a Christian vote for Hitler? Then why vote for a pro-choice candidate?

Now we are in a position to ask why the notion of ghosts has skyrocketed in recent years.There are aspects of believing in ghosts that are appealing (eg,.speaking to deceased loved ones, alleged proof of the afterlife and it makes no difference what you believe, it fills a spiritual void, etc.) which have contributed to its popularity. But the primary reason the belief in ghosts has risen so sharply is because the vast majority of evangelical leaders have not lovingly confronted this crucial issue. If 65% of American young adults (18-25) believe in ghosts, then it is a crucial issue. Is it as important as abortion? No, of course not. But it is a juggernaut that is changing the landscape of spirituality in America. It is drawing tens of millions of American's into a close encounter with the demonic.It is contrary to every aspect of a Christian worldview. It is drawing millions away from Christ, and destabilizing the faith of many others. Most significantly, the notion of earthbound spirits undercuts the singular honor and dignity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, it is a serious issue. So, why have you never heard a sermon on ghosts, or even a sub-point of a sermon? I have not... I say this with tears, but firmly, evangelicals leaders (whether Reformed, charismatic, and so on) have become sissified when it comes to being guardians of culture.

Go to virtually any evangelical church of one-hundred or more members, and some of those members will believe in ghosts or are not sure. (There are some exceptions to this rule). So, the problem is inside as well as outside the church, but the band plays on. I have tried to generate interest, but pastors resolutely remain the most dismissive group regarding the significance of the issue of ghosts that I know of. With few exceptions, it is not addressed from the pulpit, let alone in public One glance at a TV Guide should be enough to persuade even the most hardened skeptic, but there are none so blind as those who refuse to see..That, my friends, is why the belief in ghosts is steamrolling our country.It is tremendously sad, but it places the debate in a larger perspective or context.

Today.I had the joy of communicating with a fellow minister.who has 22 years experience of lovingly confronting this issue as a demonologist/exorcist. And he is making a real difference in people's lives. Praise God!

But as Schaeffer reminds us, we must not pretend that there is not division in the evangelical ranks when there is.There are those who are obedient to the  inerrant bible in practice by confronting error and evil, and there are those who are worldly and disobedient due to their.passivity in confronting evil and error--and in their passivity they are accommodating to it. The growth of belief in ghosts is just one issue out of a cluster of issues that is growing worse due to the great evangelical disaster.
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That brings our three part series to a close. As always, if you have any comments or questions, please contact me....or if you just want to talk...

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Ghosts and the Great Evangelical Disaster, Part 1

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Less than 80 years ago, our country had a Christian consensus.Virtually anyone could have expressed what the basic Christian beliefs were , even if they did not believe it themselves. Let me stop here for a moment, and state that I want to set this debate about the existence of ghosts in a larger context--namely as part of the very rapid cultural decline that has taken place.In order to accomplish this, we must set this debate regarding ghosts within the context of the spirit of our age.What is the prevailing spirit that is driving American culture into a deadly decline? (In my book I set this debate within the context of the clash of differing worldviews and antithetical epistemologies...that is, objective truth versus relatavisitic truth, and how the bible is REALLY true when it speaks about any subject matter--including science and history).

In the last 80 years or so years there has been a mad rush in our society to achieve autonomous freedom-- that is the spirit of the age that is napalming every segment of society. It is the drive to throw of the restraints of the God of the bible.It is search for freedom, but the autonomous aspect means getting rid of the restraints of the God of truth as well as the truth of God. A deliberate rejection of God and His law or morality. Hence, treasured aspects of our culture are destroyed almost overnight. In Romans 1:18f the Lord tells us that, since our country once did know the truth, but willingly rejected it, we are being punished for it. Let me quote my hero Francis Schaeffer, "But if we are looking across the history of the world to see those times when men knew the truth and turned away, let us say emphatically that there is not an exhibition of this anywhere in history so clearly--and in such a short time--as in our own generation." (The Great Evangelical Disaster)

I graduated from high school in 1974, and the changes in our country since then have been enormous...what were once vices are now embraced as virtues.It is a terrible thing for a 60 year old man like me to see how far we have declined in such a short time.It makes me weep.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.(Eph. 6:12) Does the church in the twenty-first century of America really believe we are engaged in this cosmic battle? Again Schaeffer, If we do not believe these things(and we must say that much of the evangelical world acts as if it does not believe these things), we certainly cannot expect to have much success in fighting the battle. Why doesn't the church have more impact on our culture? Because we have not taken the primary battle seriously.And because we don't take this supernatural warfare seriously, we don't use the weapons our Lord has provided (Ephesians. 6:10-18) Without these weapons we have no hope of winning

As a consequence of rejecting the truth, Paul says in Romans 1:18-25 that their (our) thinking or reasoning processes becomes foolish and distorted.The reason I went into such detail in my book about adopting a Christian worldview is that foolish or distorted thinking is flourishing, not only in non-Christians, but in Christians as well. The result has been disasterous. We deserve, and are, under the wrath of God as a country...I say that with tears....

Because we have rejected the one, true God in a manic, depraved quest for autonomous freedom, our nation is now characterized  by foolish thinking (and the long list of degradations Paul mentions)--we are drowning in relativistic reasoning--AND God's anger is being poured out upon America.The last few generations have trampled upon the truth of God as well as the God of truth.We are seeing, right now, the outworking of this depraved thinking and acting. Do you think we can slaughter this many unborn children and not anger the Holy One of Israel?

An indicator of how few Christians think like Christians is the recent election. How many Christians viewed abortion as the primary issue? Very few. As important as the economy is, what can come even close to the significance of protecting human life? LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?!

We are still made in God's image and have a visceral desire for spiritual reality...even if we have rejected the God whose image we are made in. All of this frenzied quest for unfettered freedom from God and His moral absolutes, has left us in a spiritual void or wasteland. That is where ghosts come into the picture. I will develop this them further next time, but suffice it to say that Satan has developed this scheme masterfully.

Having rejected the true God, we have replaced Him and the bible with the satisfaction of immediate contact with the supernatural. Our Christ-less culture has become irrational. Instead of truth we seek experience with the paranormal  And where is the church?

Martin Luther (or somebody) said, If I profess with loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.

Preachers preach on everything but that little point where the Devil is attacking.

Where are the sermons on the bible and ghosts? Again, I insist, where are the messages on the bible and spiritism? Because the church has flinched, it is not confessing Christ. It remains dogged in her dismissiveness of this topic (some rare exceptions). It has not engaged the spirit of this age.....again. Yes, of course there are many other important issues and topics. Our culture will become increasingly demonized if we don't bring the truth and light on this subject.I love the church and I love pastors. The Bride is committing adultery with the world. Lord, please have mercy on us. And pastors..... PREACH!

Read The Great Evangelical Disaster, Part 2 Loving Confrontation

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Why Do Demons Inhabit Isolated Places?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Why do demons inhabit unpopulated places? Is that not inconsistent with their unholy passion to destroy human beings? Indeed, this very question was raised recently as an argument against the biblical teaching that all alleged ghosts are demonic deceptions--they saw this widespread phenomenon as proof that these "desolation dwellers" must be trapped human spirits!  However, it is also a question that many of us who embrace a biblical view of ghosts, have puzzled about as well. I will do my best to answer this legitimate question, though I do think that there is an element of mystery here....more so than usual. And I desire feedback and questions, because we all can learn from each other.

A clarification point up front is in order: I have never said--and infinitely more importantly, the bible never says--that attacking humans directly is the ONLY activity Satan/demons are interested in. Warfare is more complicated than that.....more in a moment on that thought.

Graveyards, deserts (think of mid-eastern Djinn), abandoned dwellings of all shapes and sizes, mines (as in the TV show Haunted  Mines), battlefields, and so on are examples of what I am referring to. Deserted places are legion. In the bible, the desert/wilderness is the location most associated with the unclean spirits/demons. Why?

Let us begin with what we can be certain of....occupation of abandoned buildings or land by unclean spirits must have some strategic military value. Evidently, no demon is just hanging out where it wants to, but is placed there for a specific reason by a diabolical superior. Some things just simply have to be, if we are to make any sense of the reality of spiritual warfare. So, to answer this question/objection, I think it would be helpful to place it in the context of kingdom expansion--just as their is a kingdom of God/heaven (used as synonyms throughout the New Testament), there is the kingdom of darkness. That is, how does the inhabiting of desolate places advance Satan's kingdom expansion agenda?

BTW, if this seems to be circular reasoning to you---assuming ghosts are demons and finding a way to explain this desolation phenomena within that assumption--then I  make no apologies. I am not going to suspend my biblical convictions every time I deal with an alleged objection or question...nor do I think most of you would want me to. As a general rule, that (momentary suspension of belief) is being unfaithful to the authoritative Word. After writing a book and 137 blogs, all of which show the unbiblical and harmful nature of the notion of ghosts, I have seen that some folks simply WANT to believe in ghosts...nothing will persuade them otherwise.But others have been persuaded by the winsome and persistent witness of folks who are valiant for truth.

Let me say this--personally speaking, positing human soul/s as occupying these desolated places is more problematic than the biblical alternative. Why? Gregariousness is a salient aspect of humaness, which must continue after death. Adam needed Eve even though he was perfect. We have heard of how solitary confinement in prison has caused many to go insane. We need human interaction. Demons are intelligent, emotive, and volitional beings...but they seem to be too evil to care about companionship. Thus, they would make suitable desolation dwellers.

Do you think demons enjoy being around us? If they hate us, then of course not! The only "pleasure" would come from hurting those they hate. Otherwise, I can see demons  being quite content dwelling AWAY from us. Only once in my life have I seriously struggled with hate towards a particular man... (he was partially responsible for destroying my marriage/family). Suffice it to say (even after much prayer), I could NOT be around this guy....not if I wanted to stay out of prison (obviously, I am leaving out personal details).

Perhaps some demons have shown that they are better suited for "alone patrol" simply because of how they have dealt with their hatred in the past? (remember some demons were so evil they were sent early to hell..Jude, 2 Peter) In The Demonologist,  Ed Warren states that "ghosts are self-absorbed loners..."  I respect this man,and I think that he has unwittingly given us--based on enormous amount of experience--a definition of demons that fits within the biblical parameters.

In a similar way, unless given specific attack orders on us, my guess is that demons would gravitate away from us...we remind them of everything they have lost. So, demons dwelling in desolate places makes a bit more sense to me with that notion in mind....although I admit this is conjecture.

In 1972, my older brother Mickey graduated from High School and joined the Navy, with the intent of becoming a Navy SEAL. However, after a briefing which included the fact that there was a 90% mortality rate at that time, he decided against it. I need to interject that another older brother had died a few months before in a tragic fraternity accident. Mickey did not want our mom and dad to be crushed again....good for Mick..

SEAL...sea, air, and land...expert warriors in all three environments (well, HALO-HAHO jumps!) Navy/Coast Guard, Air Force, and Army/Marine ground operations--three foci of human warfare.It would seem to me that, just as a general principle, Satan would be interested in this triad as well in spiritual warfare. I mention this just as a principle for further thought.

To  say that attacking God's image bearers is priority number one.on the Satanic agenda, does not imply that other warfare goals are not important. Take the  arch-demon who was Air Force, and the role it played in overseeing the operations in Persia...and another as Prince of Greece. Evidently, there was no direct contact with humans but its power and influence were such that Michael was dispatched to fight against it. (see Daniel 10) Evidently, this arch-demon was responsible for the territory of Persia. This introduces the element of territorialsim. More importantly, it is a rare glimpse "behind the veil" of demonic war strategy, and of personal fighting between high leadership on both sides.

Every where in scripture the earth is entirely the Lord's and under His absolute sovereign control. (Gen.1:1;  Ps. 24:1; Isaiah 40-49 and so on). However, Satan, like an intelligent general, knows the value of geographic land occupation. Plus, they are ALL (Satan/demons) prideful and fancy themselves as GODS....Whatever land they can lay claim to simply plays into this moronic egomaniac tendencies they have. Any land or buildings they do lay claim to may be do to some "legal rights",but in the final analysis, it is really God's creation. He has temporarily given Satan some derivative authority over what he lays claim to--"the world" (which we discussed in recent issue)

Demonic  attachment to some desolate building or land is not problematic, given the larger warfare agenda of Satan. Having occupation forces in countries has its own advantages, as we have seen in countless human arenas of war. Why not in spiritual warfare as well? Just because it is spiritual warfare does not negate the fact that the enemy enters from their dimension and takes "ownership" of what he can in our dimension.

This seems to be a sound biblical principle, buttressed by countless experiences--namely, that wherever humans were horribly mistreated or killed, then that opened a foothold for demonic infestation.

All of these abandoned hospitals, prisons, hotels etc. we see on TV, almost always had some tragedies connected with them. For example, the Haunted Mine on TV...I kept waiting for someone to discover a human horror. Sure enough, this mine which apparently has a demonic presence (if you give  any credence to the story...and not total cynic, which I think is wrong) is some how connected with the brutal slaying of dozens of Chinese miners 100 years or more ago. That demons would sit "on their thrones" deep within this abandoned mine for many years without human contact/attack is not problematic.. As spirits, they need no food, water, or communication.

Places that are haunted, like the Crescent Mine, also become wonderful PR advertisements for the notion of ghosts. Satan knows that humans are suspicion prone, and he can kill several birds with the same stone...take control over larger areas of God's earth, let his army "reign" there, and over time it will gain reputation for being haunted--advancing Satan's most effective deception (spiritism). Is that not what has occurred in this mine, as the investigators ASSUME it is deceased Chinese and not demons? (and other places highlighted on TV/books)?

We do not know how many demons there are, but there a whole lot!  So, Satan can afford to place demonic soldiers wherever it will serve his agenda. As in any war, there will be many fronts and battles. Wherever we give them legal rights to attach and dwell, they usually will. Regardless of human contact, they "OWN" this mine, and their pride is swollen to bursting. Same as an abandoned farm house a friend was telling me about recently. Apparently no human traffic for a long time, but when he stepped in the old house, this demon let him know he was not wanted there. Similar scenarios have played out millions of times all over. Unless specifically directed to attack us, many demons BECAUSE OF THEIR HATRED OF US, don't want anything to do with us. You can relate to that, can't you?! I can...

Lastly, only God knows how much land has been spiritually polluted in our country due to hatred or curses, or both. And if you build a new home on cursed land, chances are your house will soon become infested. The Old Testament speaks often of the land being spiritually defiled or polluted, and vomiting its' occupants out. On the other hand, we could say much more regarding land based curses, but it boils down to their being real and giving Satan a territorial foothold which can extend for many, many miles.

I bring us back to this organizing principle--whatever will advance the infernal agenda of the spread of the kingdom of darkness, is where we will see demonic presence and activity. Much of that is hidden from our view on purpose,and so we should EXPECT an element of mystery from our hated enemy.

Conclusion...Satan is prideful of all his assets, and as the ultimate miserly miser, not willing to give an inch without a fight.

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Demonic Collusion, Pt 3: Chaos vs. Order, and ‘Happy Haunts’

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann


Recently it was noted that Ed Warren saw the progression of the demonic in this fashion:

Encroachment

Infestation

Oppression

Possession

Death

I like his outline.

In my last two blogs we have analyzed the idea of demonic collusion, in which there is superior planning and cooperation amongst demons to achieve their diabolical purposes. We looked at the series ‘The Ghosts of Shepherdstown’ and ‘The Dead Files’ as two examples on TV which it is evident that demons use collusion to maximize their deception.

It is impossible to understand Satan’s schemes apart from this notion of collusion, whether you use the word or not is not important—that demons intentionally work together to accomplish a deception is what is important. Demonic collusion has so much explanatory power when it comes to understanding how Satan and his minions accomplish their goals.

Is the demonic realm chaotic or orderly? That demons delight in causing chaos amongst humans is indisputable. That chaos is often experienced by humans, especially when a nation is falling apart, is indisputable. However, one must ask: how could demons accomplish ANY task, including causing chaos, if their ranks were chaotic? It is manifestly obvious that they couldn’t.

The terms used in the New Testament for the demonic realm (rulers, authorities, principalities, powers) suggest a military order and rank…submitting to authority. Those who read this who were in the military know the mindset: obey your superiors! One of my best friends in high school, was later a Navy S.E.A.L.  We were so close, after his death, his mom gave me one of his S.E.A.L  insignias, which I have next to me….which I cherish.

Special ops are a good example of superior human organization in achieving a virtuous end in battle.

However, the notion of demonic collusion itself demands that there be order and not chaos in the demonic realm. The obvious question or objection is: how can beings that are pure evil cooperate with each other? I think that is a fair question.

Think of Stalin or Hitler and their ruling generals. They were evil (possibly possessed) and there was personal dislike of each other. However, through fear, these men kept order in their entire armies. It is said of Stalin that he had police following his soldiers and would shoot any soldiers who ran from war. Similarly, I assume that Satan rules through fear and has his own infernal way of motivating his underlings, and running a very tight ship. Order, not chaos, is what characterizes Satan’s army and allows them to plan and execute the most sophisticated collusions. Which includes variety…

“HAPPY HAUNTS”.  If you look at the chart above it is a very accurate representation of how the demonic often progress in attack. It is a logical progression, getting worse and more overtly hostile with each stage. Oppression is the systematic attempt to break people/family down physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally.

However a recent discussion with a dear friend has opened my eyes further to something I already had suspected—widespread ‘happy haunts’ which do NOT follow the progression above. I know that millions of Americans (and many more worldwide) have overt demonic activity in their homes but do not report them or attempt to get help. While many folks do not report their activity out of fear of rejection, etc., that is not what I’m talking about here. Let me relay a scenario based on years of observation.

Elaine (not real name) told me that she and her large family lived in an old house and experienced a wide range of paranormal activity every day…chief of which was that every night the entire family watched as a little girl apparition walked down the stairs (this really happened) and out the door. Objects were moved, door-handles jiggled, footsteps, a touch on the shoulder from Uncle Joe in the middle of the night, ETC. This went on for decades.

However, the parents never sought assistance. Why? Because it seemed apparent to them that the paranormal activity was harmless. Both parents and all the children became accustomed to this ‘happy haunt’. Nobody was attacked. It became normal to them. While some of the frightful aspects seemed to have been played down over time—the touching on the child’s shoulder did elicit fear, and they called out to God—but there is a tendency for selective memory.

The point I’m trying to make is that demonic collusion would seem to support the notion of ‘happy haunts’. Of course demons delight in squashing people in every way imaginable, BUT the main objective is eternal damnation. Demons know that hostile haunts often lead to their ejection, so why not engage in happy haunts? They may not break people down in traditional ways, but if they show a united front of mimicking happy deceased spirits, then they can hit people where it hurts eternally.

Suppose the demons present a happy haunt for the kid’s entire stay at home. They then get attached to them and follow them wherever they move to. Yes, the activity resumes but it is not ‘hostile’ in their perception. Over a period of decades, they lay back and act like spiritual radioactivity…influencing them in a long walk in the wrong direction. All the while, they are making Jesus look smaller and smaller and pagan ideas loom larger and larger.

It grieves me deeply that many folks are being drawn to hell by a happy oppression…one in which the demons work together to make the paranormal seem fun, but it is in fact doing what radioactivity does…deep spiritual cellular/organ damage. Whether these happy haunts lead to physical harm is immaterial because the concerted demonic effort is to present over decades a happy road to hell.

Not all demonic infestations turn into hostile oppression. Make no mistake, it IS oppression but the recipients are fooled by the lifelong seeming innocuous nature of their normal paranormal life. It must take careful planning and execution to present a life-long experience of the demonic as something that looks and feels peaceful, kind, and even God-like. Apart from God’s grace, imagine how hard it is to convince these dear folks that Uncle Joe is a demon, after decades of kind encounters. The “angel of light’ principle is what we’re talking about. It reminds me of my friend Laura Maxwell whose dead sister allegedly visited her every night for years, and even combed her hair. It was lovely until Laura began to ask the spirits in Jesus’ name to reveal their true identity. Then it got very, very ugly.

This is deeply personal to me. My closest friend has experienced Happy Haunts for over 50 years. She is a Christian, but I’m struggling to know how much to say and when, because she is deeply deceived. God help us to be discerning of folks who do NOT fit the traditional oppression mold.

Read about demonic collusion and how it's affecting The Ghosts of Shepherdstown paranormal TV show here: http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2016/07/ghosts-of-shepherdstown-new-paranormal.html

Part 2: What is Demonic Collusion? 'The Dead Files'

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.