Who are Fallen Angels? Why Does This Matter?

A Biblical Case for Demons and Fallen Angels being the Same Thing…and Why it Matters

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

I bow before our Lord and offer this blog in a spirit of tenderness and humility…and gratitude to the Lord Jesus who triumphed over all evil.

Let us begin this study with a clear affirmation of the victory of the Lord Jesus over all evil!! Amen!
Colossians 2:15 “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

Many godly, sincere, and knowledgeable people are stating that there is a distinction in the bible between demons, unclean spirits, and fallen angels. Indeed, not a few respected folks state that fallen angels are particularly in doubt regarding their identity. However, I humbly offer this analysis in an attempt to show that all three are the same….focusing on the identity of Fallen Angels.

A year ago I posted an extensive blog which shows that unclean spirits and demons are the same thing in the bible.

Here is the link:
http://archive.aweber.com/paraworld/BFyYL          

Please see comments on Revelation below as well). Not a few people were saying demons and unclean spirits were different beings, and I felt the need to address the issue. Please keep in mind that my main goal in this blog is to analyze fallen angels…but, specifically, I want to show that they are the same as unclean spirits and demons. My intent is NOT to focus on the question of when fallen angels fell, but their identity. I personally think that the classical view is correct—Satan and 1/3 of the angels “fell’ sometime before the creation of man, and Genesis 6 is a further rebellion of some of the already fallen angels/demons.

In my theological tradition/denomination (Reformed/Presbyterian) the identity of fallen angels is not in dispute. The classical view is pretty much universally held amongst Reformed theologians. For example, I was reading Jonathan Edwards recently and my views line up with his. But the ultimate guide must be the bible, and not a theological tradition, the book of Enoch, or any other non-canonical book. In addition, we must avoid the temptation to believe the views of someone regarding fallen angels simply because we deeply admire their piety, ministry, etc. Sola scriptura!

Colossians 2:15 “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him”. Let us keep this truth center stage!

There are numerous words used in NT just to describe Satan: devil, evil one, Lucifer, Angel of Light, Accuser, etc. In His all-wise sovereignty, God chose to use different words to identify Satan. Surely one reason was to reveal to us the multi-faceted nature of his being and work, so that we might be all the more informed and prepared—and the more we understand the evilness and power of our enemy, then the cosmic victory Jesus won on the cross will shine with all the more luster!

And of course, think of the dozens of names and titles of our Lord Jesus in both the OT and NT, which accent different aspects of the multi-splendored nature of His Person and Work!

So, we have a precedent/s in which the same person (Satan) or Person (Jesus) is called many different names, in God’s all-wise revelation to us. Hence, should we not expect that the devil’s subordinates would have multiple names as well, yet be the same entity? I believe that what holds true of Satan, is also true of his subordinates--evil spirits, demons, unclean spirits, elemental spirits (Col. 2:9, 20), rulers, authorities, cosmic powers (Eph 6), the devil’s angels (Matthew 25, Revelation 12) are different names for the same entity. That is my premise. Each of these is designed to accent a certain aspect of their nature and activity. But once again, the darkness of evil is the backdrop against which the brilliance and refulgence of God’s glory in Christ shines more brightly!

It simplifies the biblical data without endlessly multiplying the entities populating the spirit realm…and we’ve seen the precedents for this practice of multiple names for the same Person or person.
What’s the big deal? Why waste time on this issue? And aren’t you fixating on evil instead of Jesus?

If the spirit realm is populated by more than one kind of evil spirit, then are we to deal with these different spirits in different ways?  Is one stronger than another? I have heard numerous times that fallen angels are the strongest, then demons, and unclean spirits the weakest…or some variation of this. There is no doubt that some demons are stronger than others—as Jesus said that “this kind can only come out by prayer”, as well as the NT words that indicate hierarchy in demonic realm. However, this hierarchy does not imply that these are different “kinds” of entities….just variation in rank and strength. Think of the military—a general and private have different authority, but they are both soldiers.

Once you add even one more spirit, then the slippery slope comes into view. What is to keep us from multiplying these evil spirits phenomenologically--by how they appear and act…which can be endless? But most importantly, we MUST exegete the bible accurately, in honor of God. God’s precious, holy Word is worthy of careful exegesis and analysis of all topics if we are to accurately expound the whole counsel of God, which would include the identity of spirits in the spirit realm. 24/7 we are in warfare with these beings, so it is an immensely practical issue.

Some may say that I am giving the devil too much emphasis, but surely there is a difference between having a clear understanding of our adversaries, and fixating on them. In fact, it is LACK of clarity that can lead to confusion, and thus, fixation. Don’t we naturally obsessively ponder things that are confusing to us? Once it is cleared up (hopefully accurately), then we can enjoy cognitive rest. As always, we must then make a bee-line for the cross.

One last word of introduction: I’m not writing this to score debate points, but with a spirit of brokenness and humility, to God’s glory and to edify the saints.

So, who are fallen angels, and are they demons, as the classical view states? Given that some ‘big names’ have stated publicly that the identity of fallen angels is unclear, we must reaffirm that we are bound by the bible, and not by people that we may deeply respect.

1. My first argument (as defined in formal logic) is admittedly not explicitly biblical. Ockham’s razor states that: the simplest answer that explains the phenomena is to be preferred. Affirming that that unclean spirits, demons, and fallen angels (as well as elementals, etc) are the same entity is clearly the simplest explanation, and can easily and adequately explain all the biblical and experiential phenomena. No, it is not a biblical argument (logical argument, not red-faced screaming), but my reasoning is cumulative. God is the Lord of language, and He knows that using different names can accent different aspects of the same entity. If demons and unclean spirits can be (are) the same thing, then why not fallen angels?

2. 1 Timothy 5:21 speaks of “elect angels”, which is an obvious reference to good angels. In the bible there are elect and non-elect humans (Romans 9), so we may properly infer that if there are elect angels, then there must be non-elect or (bad or fallen) angels. It is the same Greek word for ‘elect’. Regardless of your view of election/predestination, there is symmetry of elect and non-elect. If you don’t like inference argumentation, then hang on.
3. Matthew 25…
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink,I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'
40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.    (to diabolo kai tois angelos autou)
42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
44 Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?'
45 Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'
46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (emphasis added)
Matthew 25….The context is the Second Coming of Christ and the Final Judgment. Note in v. 31 good angels are mentioned, and in v. 41 ‘the devil and his angels” (elect and non-elect) Nobody claims that “fallen angels” is a phrase actually used in the bible, but the key is whether there are bad angels, who had to fall at some time because God didn’t make them bad. Regardless, this text shows ‘fallen angels’ at the public Last Judgment…which means they must have had a very significant role in the overall rebellion against God from the dawn of time. Neither demons nor unclean spirits are mentioned in this text, yet we read elsewhere in Matthew (and throughout bible) of their constant activity of rebelling against God and attacking humans. Clearly, these devil’s angels or ‘fallen angels’ had been the chief agents of spiritual destruction on earth under Satan’s leadership, or they wouldn’t have been singled out so severely by Jesus. Hence, we see a developing pattern of synonymous usage of demons, unclean spirits, and ‘fallen/bad’ angels.

When you read the gospel of Matthew, both demons and unclean spirits are mentioned numerous times, as the agents of diabolical destruction. But in this awful scene of the Last Judgment, Matthew refers to these same entities as the devils angels. I say this gently and humbly, but this one text should be conclusive.

The devil and his angels—that comes as close to what is meant by fallen angels as one can get. Theologians often use terms not mentioned in the bible (like The Trinity) to summarize biblical teaching. Surely, the devil’s angels (as opposed to God’s holy angels) are innumerable, utterly evil, and Satan’s only army since the dawn of history.

At the Last Judgment, the goats (damned humans), Satan, and his angels are consigned to eternity in hell. Demons are not mentioned. Unclean spirits are not mentioned. But ‘Satan’s angels’ are mentioned. Obviously these ‘fallen angels” have been the army of Satan fighting against God/man since the beginning….what we are warned against in Ephesians 6.

Matthew 25 is a summary of all of human and cosmic history, where the Son of Man damns both unbelieving humans, and their spiritual counterparts who have been His adversaries (and ours) since the dawn of time.  In light of this one text, how can we say that the identity of fallen angels is in doubt? If you prefer the term ‘devil’s angels,’ that is fine, but that is what theologians mean when they speak of fallen angels.

And most importantly for our purpose, “the devil’s angels” are clearly synonymous with demons and unclean spirits. If they aren’t the same, then why does Matthew show demons and unclean spirits as constantly attacking and possessing humans, but turns around and has God pronounce eternal judgment on the devils angels at the Last Judgment?  It makes no sense UNLESS, they are one and the same. There is linguistic and theological symmetry of angels, good and bad, in Matthews’s presentation of The Last Judgment. Other than in Revelation, the phrase ‘the devil/Satan and his angels’ is not used, but these are sufficient. The pronouncement of damnation against the fallen angels has to signify that they have been the same culprits mentioned throughout the NT, but called by different names.

To say that these are the angels mentioned in Genesis 6 is eisogesis because the context precludes that interpretation. Besides, the angels in Genesis 6 are said to be already in hell.

4. Jude….2 Peter
6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day--
7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.
9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you."
10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.
11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.
14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones,
15 to execute judgment

My point about this text is that it is consistently and symmetrically angelic….both good and bad angels. Leaving aside the nature of their sin in v. 6, evil angels (whether they were evil before this event is not clear), clearly the angels are fallen angels now, and some are probably in hell (depending on how one interprets the sin in v.6)—but most are active on earth and being blasphemed by the false teachers. In v. 10 Jude is especially (like Peter in parallel text) concerned with the false teacher’s lack of respect for angelic beings, especially bad angels. Curiously enough, in v. 10 the remaining fallen angels are referred to as “glorious ones”…(Greek, doxas), probably to offset the false teachers flippant attitude toward demonic spirits/fallen angels. This is supported by the next verse in which the arch-angel Michael refused to speak flippantly against his arch-foe Satan (once a mighty, holy angel himself) regarding the body of Moses. And then in v.14 the Lord will come with countless ‘holy ones’—an obvious reference to holy angels. My point is that, if you don’t get bogged down in interpretive details of the sin in v. 6, then the consistency and symmetry of references to both good and fallen angels is clear—even Michael is an angel, though an archangel. The angels who fell into sin (v.6)…Satan a fallen mighty angel…Michael an (arch)angel….and the countless holy angels coming with the Lord. So, the context is ANGELS, and would suggest that the ‘glorious ones’ are fallen angels….and that fallen angels are the same as demons. It makes much more sense than bouncing back and forth between different kinds of evil spirits. This is a tight argument by Jude, in which angels (both good and bad) play a key role in the everyday affairs of mankind, especially amongst the false teachers.

 Arguments from Revelation—

There are many different interpretations of this book (only one is right), so I’m not going to go in as much detail as some may like. But there is a general consensus that the movement of the book is from the things that were then present to the future…climaxing with the destruction of God’s enemies and the coming of the new heaven and earth. But within this general temporal movement forward, the visions sometimes ‘double back’ to the present, complementary perspectives on the same event or phase of the conflict between Christ and Satan.

In this flow, back and forth, the Greek word for demon is used:9:20; 16:13-14 (where demons and unclean spirits are used interchangeably);18:2.

In 12:7,9 bad or fallen angels are mentioned…Satan and his angels.
My point is simple: in the midst of the wild imagery of apocalyptic prophecy, there is a natural flow and interchangeability between demons, unclean spirits, and the devil’s angels/fallen angels.

Satan Thrown Down to Earth
12:7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels (hoi angelo autou)fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels (hoi angelo autou)fought back,
8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
This chapter, as with most, is hotly debated as far as when these events occur. May be multi-layered.Some see this as referring to the cross, some to original ousting from heaven, and still others to increased demonic activity prior to the very end. Perhaps there is overlap. Regardless, the cross is center stage at whatever point in redemptive history. In our study of fallen angels, let us not lose sight of that vital fact!

Note in v. 7 that Michael and his angels are fighting against the dragon (Satan) and his angels. There is a linguistic symmetry (hoi angelo autou) as well as symmetry of oppositional parties. Satan’s counterpart is not God, but Michael—the archangel and prince guardian of the church--, and they lead their respective angels against each other in the cosmic battle of the ages—long term and at the end. Good angels vs bad/fallen angels have been in a battle royal for eons. .
Not once, but twice, Satan/serpent/devil/dragon and his angels (hoi angelo autou) are explicitly mentioned as being the infernal army thrown to earth to fight against the Messiah and His people. The timing of this ‘casting down’ is disputed, but certainly the context reveals that Satan and the fallen angels are simply following the same MO that they employed from the Garden—where lies and false teaching continue, as well as persecution and temptation. What are elsewhere in Revelation called demons, are here called “Satan’s angels”—just as in Matthew 25. And the fallen angels are THE spiritual agents of destruction (under Satan) throughout history, aimed at God’s Kingdom…again, as in Matthew 25. My purpose is not to exegete the text in Revelation and the details, but to show that the devil’s angels/evil/fallen angels are center stage in Revelation 12…in what is a classic, significant text in Revelation, no matter how one interprets it.
What is clear to me is that the context reveals that this event is not an isolated one, but signifies the battle in general and that we have the victory in Jesus. Satan has been defanged as far as his ability to accuse us. However, the devil has been thrown down in great wrath, because he knows his time is short. (V. 12) In addition, in v. 4 many interpreters see this as the original fall of Satan and 1/3 of the angels with him.

9:20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons (daimonia) and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk,
21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Again, I’ll not get bogged down in disputed details, but what is clear is that though unbelievers will be tortured by the very demons they worshipped, they don’t take heed from these final warnings. Large numbers of people are subjected to God’s wrath and demonic attack. Whereas in Ch. 12 the oppositional army consists of “Satan and his angels”, in ch.9 the same opposition are called “demons.”.Surely this is instructive.

16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits  (pneumata tria akatharta) like frogs.
14 For they are demonic spirits,(pneumata daimoniown) performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.

In ch.16 the end has come…the final, decisive battle. Divine restraints are removed and Satan and his unclean spirits/demons assemble the world for the battle; climaxing millennia of opposition to God and His people. God will utterly squash this rebellion, based on the finished work of Christ on the cross. Please note that the army which was earlier called “Satan and his angels” is now called “the dragon/Satan and his unclean spirits/demons.” In the span of two verses, John naturally switches from unclean spirits to demons.
Is it not clear by now that demons, unclean spirits, and fallen angels are the same evil beings?

18:1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory.
2 And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast

Notice again, how in v.2 demons and unclean spirits are used interchangeably. Destruction has come on God’s enemies. Not focusing on interpretive details, we see that the oppositional army consists of demons or unclean spirits, which were earlier called “Satan and his angels.”

Does not the verbiage in Matthew 25 now make more sense? Putting aside all the apocalyptic imagery in the book of Revelation, we have a clear portrait of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25, which dispels any fog surrounding the sadistic spiritual culprits.

I trust by now that the cumulative effect of these “arguments” has had its desired effect. demons, unclean spirits, and fallen angels are different names for the same entity. I am not interested in winning an argument, but I want to honor God by trying to rightly divide the Word of Truth.

The more clearly we understand our enemy, the more lovely Jesus’’ triumph over this evil becomes. Yes, it is important to know our enemy, but it’s infinitely more important that we relish in the cosmic victory our blessed Savior accomplished.

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.

It's Never Safe Conducting A Exorcism Or Deliverance

I think the title obviously explains why you should not attempt to do such a thing. I have to put this out there and hopefully some may hear this. I know It's very upsetting for me to know of the pain and hurt people are going through. This world has turned darker. Everything is leaning to it. Movies, TV, Internet etc...I'm not speaking of shows like Supernatural I'm speaking of very disturbing and dark antics through the world and it just makes me wonder? Everybody wants to summon demons! Then things start to blow up everything in your life. I learned how badly these want to hurt people or cause strife within families. I just wish it wasn't glorified so much. 

Now topic at hand. We have people with absolutely NO knowledge of Deliverance or Exorcism out there doing them! Half these so called celebs are fakes. They make it worse. The ignorant are opening way to many doors. Most don't realize. We need God and His Mercy. Watch the news. There is a urgent need for psychological and medical guidance when one receives an exorcism, which is a requirement by the Roman Catholic Church. It's just very dangerous to attempt this without the proper back up too. Everyone taking part of it is in danger. I thought that was noteworthy. It's a very serious issue. I couldn't be more serious about this.

So many people ask if demons can terrorize us through our dreams at all? Adam asked me: 'Are they merely a sub-conscious thought already there, or can there exist in our dreams a real spiritual battle? I am not aware of the fact that Satan can control my thoughts, as much as I am aware that my sinful nature desires to m impure thoughts. I am fully aware that God knows my thoughts. Does God allow our dreams to give us insight to the spiritual world that is unseen?' That is one of the many questions we may not ever know until we do get to the other side.

The devil does not want people reading the Bible or attempting to gain any knowledge of Father God’s love or the Biblical Laws definition of good and evil. Consequently, the devil tries to reduce or eliminate the importance of the Bible, and sadly, his efforts are paying off very well. Recent surveys reflect that succeeding generations of Christians tend to study the Bible less than the previous generation.

A Demonic Stronghold Possibly?

Demons or anything powerful enough to hold you in its claws to keep you from receiving God’s love and truth.  Once a stronghold is established, you provide an open door for the enemy and become exposed to demonic control and oppression in that area of your life. The existence of a stronghold can be recognized because it will be that area of your life in which you consistently have problems and cannot cope in life. Our thoughts influence our emotions and our physical reactions. A thought may seem harmless, but it can become physically, emotionally or spiritually dangerous.  Satan will bring evil thoughts into our minds. We cannot entertain these. This will only give way to the enemy. We need to rebuke the evil thoughts from our minds as soon as they start. This is so important. 

Stain has limitations though as I've said before:

Omnipresent

• Satan is an individual personality, so he can be in only one place at a time (as seen in Job 1:7). So when we say that the devil is person all tempting us, more than likely it is his power working through his network of demons.

Satan is not omnipotent

Because of this,  many references to Satan or the devil include his whole kingdom. The person of Satan does not personally tempt each of us for he simply cannot do that. Satan must rely on the following agents to carry out his temptation: His Army of demons, the world system which lies under his carnal or ignorant Christians he is able to use as he did Peter (Matthew 16:22-23), unbelievers under his influence or domination therefore, he can surely be resisted and made to flee in the name of Jesus Christ. but only by the strength of God all mighty made available to believers in Christ (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Satan is not omniscient

Satan is an angel and angels don’t know everything (1 Peter 1:11-12). There is no indication in Scripture that Satan can really read our thoughts despite it is a common belief. Because he’s an expert on human nature, he’s pretty good at predicting our behavior and can easily tempt and corrupt weak humans.  

Satan is not self-existent.

He was created by God . It can even been said that God created and uses Satan to his own ends (2 Corinthians 12:7).

Another one of Satan’s limitations is that he is not allowed to reveal himself, being forced to work solely by deceit. He is our enemy to all human souls, but non-appearance is a significant containment of his power. 2 Thess­alonians tells us that Satan must content himself with an appointee, the man of sin, who will appear on his behalf at the end of time, only to be immediately destroyed by the brightness of the coming of Christ. We have already won this battle. 

Written By Jennifer L. Auld

Was Jesus Christ a Ghost?!

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

It has surprised me the number of seminary trained Christians whom I respect point to the text in Mark 6 as proof positive that Jesus believed in ghosts. They say it is the clearest text of Jesus affirming the existence of human spirits/ghosts populating the earth, and that Jesus Himself believed in ghosts because He did not correct his disciples when they thought/said Jesus was a ghost as He walked on the water. Though I dealt with this in my book, I want to address this again in more detail. What I want to do is take the cumulative evidence to show that Jesus was NOT affirming the existence of ghosts. As we shall see, the Holy Spirit's intent for this text is antithetical to the notion of ghosts. "Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened."

1. It is important to put this text in context. Mark, spokesman for Peter, wrote this "docudrama" in order to persuade people to be followers of Jesus--words and actions of Jesus are presented by Mark to draw true disciples to our Divine Messiah. This episode is "hooked" into the preceding narrative of Jesus miraculously feeding over 10,000 people by using the word "immediately". (5,000 was just the men) Jesus is trying to show his obtuse disciples that He was the "greater then Moses" by giving us eternal Bread, and not ephemeral manna.The parallel text in Matthew 14, which includes Peter walking on the water, is also followed by the word "immediately". This is important because the authors want us to connect what had just happened (empirical evidence of Jesus' deity as seen in miracle of feeding of large multitude)The disciples were eyewitnesses of this profound miracle. In order to interpret this text correctly, we must remember that didactic/teaching texts interpret historical narratives.Both in the OT and NT followers of God did and said many wrong things, which are not always corrected by the editor. The classic case is Jepthah (Judges 11:30--who vowed to kill the first thing that came out of his tent, if God gave him victory. His daughter came out of his tent to congratulate him and was condemned to death. Jepthah had made an unbiblical vow--which the bible had made provisions for him to repent of. However, it seems that he did not repent and felt obliged to follow through with his horrible vow--he killed his daughter. However, the editor does not explicitly condemn this act. The inspired editor assumed prior knowledge of his readers. Anyone conversant with Leviticus/Deuteronomy would know  that wrongful vows should not be acted upon, and that Jepthah SHOULD have known human sacrifice was repugnant to God. The editor assumes this prior knowledge, but does not give commentary. That is that danger of drawing doctrine from the silence of historical narrative. The same is true of the NT. Many evil words and actions are recorded in the historical books of the bible but are not always condemned. It is HISTORY. In the NT there are numerous examples of the disciples saying/doing whacko things prior to Pentecost,but Jesus did not always correct them (e.g. Transfiguration experience where Peter stuck his foot in his mouth, again)....a precedent of the disciple NOT being rebuked by Jesus for saying stupid things.

2. What was the Holy Spirit's intent in above text? Was it to prove the notion of ghosts? NO!! This text, and its parallel text in Matthew 14. was included to prove that Jesus was Yahweh! How sad and ironic that it is used to "prove" that Jesus believed in ghosts. Jesus intentionally "walked by them" in order for them to see Him, and thus give empirical evidence that He was the Creator of Heaven and Earth. By walking on the water Jesus wanted them to see Him walking in the midst of a ferocious storm to show He was the Lord of creation. "it is I....."ego eimi"...I AM" echoing Exodus 3:14 )By walking on the water in a furious storm He was demonstrating that He was Lord over creation, and that there was no need to be afraid. Not only Jesus' actions but His words were designed to show the disciples that He was/is God Almighty. The Septuagint uses the same word for "passed by" when Moses experienced God "passing by" him )Exodus 33:19,22....giving Moses/disciples a glimpse of God's glory. In Mark 6:48 "walking on the sea" echoes the Septuagint Job 9:8 where "God trampled upon the sea"....same Greek words. The Holy Spirit's intent in this text is to accent the deity of the Lord Jesus--King over creation (see Mark 4).

3. First century Judaism was rife with superstition and theological confusion. For example, Jewish leaders believed in salvation by good works, and the popular superstition of a plentitude of ghosts was rampant, as it has been since the dawn of time. Peter and the rest of the disciples were deeply effected by common superstition, and were very slow to change until after Pentecost.

4. Why would they call Jesus a "ghost" when they had just seem him a few hours earlier...very much alive? Was He a ghost of a living Person? Perhaps they were terrified because they thought this was a demon trying to deceive them? That is an option not often mentioned. Either way, with an abundance evidence for Jesus' deity, why would they call Him a ghost? How could God be a ghost?! This is (and the parallel text) is the only place that "phantasm" is used, which can mean superstitious imagination.

5. Recall that the Holy Spirits intent was to exalt the deity of Jesus, and the disciples de-exalted Him by calling Him a "ghost".

6. So, why did not Jesus correct them?  First, we do not know if Jesus corrected them or not because in many cases the entirety of what Jesus said is not recorded. But my guess is that He did not correct them....not then, anyway. Why? They were deathly afraid! He was keen on comforting them, and not correcting them.It is an argument from silence to say that Jesus must have agreed with them since He did not correct them.The most common negative command that Jesus uttered was, "Do no be afraid!" If your child was drowning, and you jumped in to save them, what would be your first words to them?

7. In a context in which the deity of Jesus is being accented, it must have broken Jesus' heart that His disciples responded so faithlessly. He "walked by" in a manner to empirically display His Lordship over the storm, but the lesson was lost on them. Instead they became wild-eyed with fear, and superstition enveloped them like a cocoon.

8. To say that Jesus must have believed in roaming human spirits because He did not (that we know of) correct His disciples, is an argument from silence--a logical fallacy. Jesus/apostles did warn us of Satan and demons, but they never warn us of roaming human spirits. This is NOT an argument from silence because knowing who populates the spirit realm is utterly necessary for discernment and victory in spiritual warfare. As an exorcist, how can I properly proceed if I do not know exactly who/what may infesting the house/person? Jesus never cast out a human spirit from a human...only demons.

9. Not all historical narratives are bereft of teaching or editorial comment.v.52 is an inspired editorial commentary on this whole episode--they were afraid and their hearts were hardened. Faith Vs fear, and teachability vs hardened hearts. Unlike many historical narratives, this one is concluded with an editorial comment. This is extremely important in interpreting this text accurately. Everything...EVERYTHING...the disciples did and said has a shadow cast over it. Everything they said and did was compelled by fear and hard-heartedness. Their comment re: Jesus being a ghost was an expression of both fear and hardness of heart. They did not learn from the feeding of the 5,000 (or the 4,000) that Jesus was God almighty. How utterly tragic that they would call Him a ghost, when what He was doing and saying displayed that He was the culmination of the I AM". It is difficult to over-state the significance of this concluding comment...it renders the ghost comment utterly suspect.

10. The epistles were written largely to interpret the actions and words of Jesus. After Pentecost, ghosts are never mentioned again--except the deceased spirits in heaven or hell (e.g. Moses and Elijah). To those who are unduly affected by the fact that the bible does not mention Jesus correcting their comment that He was a ghost, was He a ghost in that text? NO! As parents, do we correct our kids EVERY TIME they make a mistake? The bible says that would break their spirits if we do. If your child was in danger of drowning and was frightened, would you feel the need to immediately correct them of anything dumb they may have uttered in their terror? I hope not....rather we would embrace them.

With an issue as significant as ghosts, we cannot camp on a text in which we are told explicitly that they were full of terror and hardness of heart, which casts a long shadow over everything they said. It is much more plausible that their cry of "ghost" was fueled by superstition.

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.

Mark 6 (Walk on the Water)….Does It Teach that Jesus Believed in Ghosts?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

If you are a Christian and believe in ghosts, are you open to changing your mind if the bible teaches otherwise? I certainly hope so…He demands absolute submission in all areas of life, including what we believe.

It has surprised me the number of seminary trained Christians whom I respect who point to the text in Mark 6 as proof positive that Jesus believed in ghosts. They say it is the clearest text of Jesus affirming the existence of human spirits/ghosts populating the earth, and that Jesus Himself believed in ghosts because He did not correct his disciples when they thought/said Jesus was a ghost as He walked on the water. Though I dealt with this in my book, I want to address this again in more detail. What I want to do is take the cumulative evidence to show that Jesus was NOT affirming the existence of ghosts. As we shall see, the Holy Spirit's intent for this text is antithetical to the notion of ghosts.

To interpret a passage correctly you have to understand the context, and what the Holy Spirit’s intent was/is in writing this story of Jesus walking on the water.

"Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened."

1.It is important to put this text in context. Mark, spokesman for Peter, wrote this "docudrama" in order to persuade people to be followers of Jesus--words and actions of Jesus are presented by Mark to draw true disciples to our Divine Messiah.
This episode is "hooked" into the preceding narrative of Jesus miraculously feeding over 10,000 people by using the word "immediately".(5,000 was just the men) Jesus is trying to show his obtuse disciples that He was the "greater then Moses" by giving us eternal Bread, and not ephemeral manna.The parallel text in Matthew 14, which includes Peter walking on the water, is also followed by the word "immediately". This is important because the authors want us to connect what had just happened (empirical evidence of Jesus' deity as seen in miracle of feeding of large multitude)The disciples were eyewitnesses of this profound miracle.
In order to interpret this text correctly, we must remember that didactic/teaching texts interpret historical narratives.Both in the OT and NT followers of God did and said many wrong things, which are not always corrected by the editor. The classic case is Jepthah (Judges 11:30--who vowed to kill the first thing that came out of his tent, if God gave him victory. His daughter came out of his tent to congratulate him and was condemned to death. Jepthah had made an unbiblical vow--which the bible had made provisions for him to repent of. However, it seems that he did not repent and felt obliged to follow through with his horrible vow--he killed his daughter. However, the editor does not explicitly condemn this act. The inspired editor assumed prior knowledge of his readers. Anyone conversant with Leviticus/Deuteronomy would know  that wrongful vows should not be acted upon, and that Jepthah SHOULD have known human sacrifice was repugnant to God. The editor assumes this prior knowledge, but does not give commentary. That is that danger of drawing doctrine from the silence of historical narrative. The same is true of the NT.Many evil words and actions are recorded in the historical books of the bible but are not always condemned. It is HISTORY….a record of events In the NT there are numerous examples of the disciples saying/doing wacko things prior to Pentecost,but Jesus did not always correct them (e.g. Transfiguration experience where Peter stuck his foot in his mouth, again)....a precedent of the disciple NOT being rebuked by Jesus for saying stupid things.

2. What was the Holy Spirit's intent in above text? Was it to prove the notion of ghosts? NO!! This text, and its parallel text in Matthew 14. was included to prove that Jesus was Yahweh! How sad and ironic that it is used to "prove" that Jesus believed in ghosts.
Jesus intentionally "walked by them" in order for them to see Him, and thus give empirical evidence that He was the Creator of Heaven and Earth. By walking on the water Jesus wanted them to see Him walking in the midst of a ferocious storm to show He was the Lord of creation. "it is I....."ego eimi"...I AM" echoing Exodus 3:14 )By walking on the water in a furious storm He was demonstrating that He was Lord over creation, and that there was no need to be afraid.
Not only Jesus' actions but His words were designed to show the disciples that He was/is God Almighty. The Septuagint uses the same word for "passed by" when Moses experienced God "passing by" him) Exodus 33:19,22....giving Moses/disciples a glimpse of God's glory. In Mark 6:48 "walking on the sea" echoes the Septuagint Job 9:8 where "God trampled upon the sea"....same Greek words. The Holy Spirit's intent in this text is to accent the deity of the Lord Jesus--King over creation (see Mark 4).

3. First century Judaism was rife with superstition and theological confusion. For example, Jewish leaders believed in salvation by good works, and the popular superstition of a plentitude of ghosts was rampant, as it has been since the dawn of time. Peter and the rest of the disciples were deeply effected by common superstition, and were very slow to change until after Pentecost.

4. Why would they call Jesus a "ghost" when they had just seem him a few hours earlier...very much alive? Was He a ghost of a living Person? Perhaps they were terrified because they thought this was a demon trying to deceive them? That is an option not often mentioned. Either way, with an abundance evidence for Jesus' deity, why would they call Him a ghost? How could God be a ghost?!This is (and the parallel text) is the only place that "phantasm" is used, which can mean superstitious imagination.

5. Recall that the Holy Spirits intent was to exalt the deity of Jesus, and the disciples de-exalted Him by calling Him a "ghost".

6. So, why did not Jesus correct them?  First, we do not know if Jesus corrected them or not because in many cases the entirety of what Jesus said is not recorded. But my guess is that He did not correct them....not then, anyway. Why? They were deathly afraid! He was keen on comforting them, and not correcting them.It is an argument from silence to say that Jesus must have agreed with them since He did not correct them.The most common negative command that Jesus uttered was, "Do no be afraid!"
If your child was drowning, and you jumped in to save them, what would be your first words to them?

7. In a context in which the deity of Jesus is being accented, it must have broken Jesus' heart that His disciples responded so faithlessly. He "walked by" in a manner to empirically display His Lordship over the storm, but the lesson was lost on them. Instead they became wild-eyed with fear, and superstition enveloped them like a cocoon.

8. To say that Jesus must have believed in roaming human spirits because He did not (that we know of)correct His disciples, is an argument from silence--a logical fallacy. Jesus/apostles did warn us of Satan and demons, but they never warn us of roaming human spirits. This is NOT an argument from silence because knowing who populates the spirit realm is utterly necessary for discernment and victory in spiritual warfare. In the gospels we have many instances of Jesus casting out demons. However, there is not a single instance of human spirits seeking their Creator to send them to the light, nor did Jesus have a ministry in which He sought to help earthbound spirits. And neither do the epistles address the issue as something we should be involved in. It seems paranormal investigators have more knowledge or more compassion than Jesus did.

9. Not all historical narratives are bereft of teaching or editorial comment.v.52 is an inspired editorial commentary on this whole episode--they were afraid and their hearts were hardened. Faith Vs fear, and teachability vs hardened hearts. Unlike many historical narratives, this one is concluded with an editorial comment. This is extremely important in interpreting this text accurately. Everything...EVERYTHING...the disciples did and said has a shadow cast over it. Everything they said and did was compelled by fear and hard-heartedness. Their comment re: Jesus being a ghost was an expression of both fear and hardness of heart. They did not learn from the feeding of the 5,000 (or the 4,000) that Jesus was God almighty. How utterly tragic that they would call Him a ghost, when what He was doing and saying displayed that He was the culmination of the I AM". It is difficult to over-state the significance of this concluding comment...it renders the ghost comment utterly suspect.

10. The epistles were written largely to interpret the actions and words of Jesus.

To those who are unduly affected by the fact that the bible does not mention Jesus correcting their comment that He was a ghost, was He a ghost in that text? NO! As parents, do we correct our kids EVERY TIME they make a mistake? The bible says that would break their spirits if we do. If your child was in danger of drowning and was frightened, would you feel the need to immediately correct them of anything dumb they may have uttered in their terror? I hope not....rather we would embrace them.

With an issue as significant as ghosts, we cannot camp on a text in which we are told explicitly that they were full of terror and hardness of heart, which casts a long shadow over everything they said. It is much more plausible that their cry of "ghost" was fueled by superstition.

It saddens me how folks who do believe in ghosts assert that those of us who don’t believe in ghosts are allegedly “close-minded”. As disciples of Christ, our minds are to be ’held captive by the word of God’. That is, we are to rightly divide the word of truth….interpret the bible correctly and believe what the bible says/teaches. To make this text into something it is not, is an example of close-mindedness.

If you believe in ghosts, are you ‘open’ to having your mind changed if the bible teaches otherwise? My observation is that many Christians who are fascinated with the paranormal are not teachable re this issue. The result is that they have one foot in the Word and the other foot in the occult. When that happens one cannot avoid getting hurt. It is out of compassion that I plead with you to let the paranormal loosen its hold on you. The only disembodied spirits are in heaven or hell. Call it simplistic or close-minded, but it is what Genesis to Revelation teaches.

This text, rightly interpreted, does NOT infer the existence of ghosts. Rather, the Holy Spirit wants us to see that Jesus is the Divine Messiah…Yahweh!

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.

Ghost Hunting and Using the St. Michael Prayer

Click to enlarge

This blog is inspired from many paranormal teams stating openly to people who are on “Ghost Hunts” to just say the prayer of St. Michael for protection.  However, what those paranormal “Ghost Hunter” type people do not understand is that you’re openly mocking God.  God commands you to NOT contact the dead as you do not understand who it is one is getting communication from.  Then one goes out to violate “his” laws and which those who are openly violating these laws pronounce words to an Angel and expect the Angel or God to protect them.

So do you know how the St. Michael prayer truly came about?  Many of you do not understand how and why this came about, but some state this openly in dealing with the paranormal aspects.  Therefore I am going to assist you in learning about this very specific prayer.  At the end of this blog you will understand much more and why reverence is required and not done in a mocking manner as when one is promoting falseness.

Here is how this prayer came about.  Exactly 33 years to the day prior to the great Miracle of the Sun in Fatima, which was on October 13, 1884, Pope Leo XIII had a remarkable vision. When the Pope had finished celebrating a mass in his private Vatican Chapel, which was attended by a few Cardinals and members of the Vatican staff, he suddenly stopped at the foot of the altar.

The Pope stood at the altar for about 10 minutes, as if in a trance, his face ashen white. Then, going immediately from the Chapel to his office, he composed the prayer to St. Michael.  This prayer had instructions which it was to be said after all Catholic low masses everywhere.  When those associates asked what had happened, he explained that, as he was about to leave the foot of the altar, he suddenly heard voices - two voices, one kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to come from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation:

The guttural voice heard, the voice (implied) of Satan in his pride, boasted to Our Lord: "I can destroy your Church."  The gentle voice (implied) of Our Lord: "You can? Then go ahead and do so Satan." To which Satan responded “To do so, I need more time and more power."  Our Lord responded:  "How much time? How much power Satan?  Satan responded: "75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service."  Our Lord stated: "You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will."

So examine this event which occurred in 1884.  Satan stated it needed 75 to 100 years to destroy the church.  So if we add 75 years onto 1884 we arrive at the year 1959 and on January 25, 1959, that Pope John XXIII publicly summoned the Second Vatican Council to address relations between Church and the people.

After this vision, Pope Leo XIII immediately wrote the prayer to St. Michael to help humans overcome the devil in the quest to rule.  God the Son has already defeated Satan.  Now, the next question truly to ask is where in the word of God are we commanded to say this prayer?   Where did the Lord God Almighty state this must be done?  Our Lord God gave us the Lord’s Prayer which is far more powerful.  However, realize this –the point I am making is that the subversion possibly started back from this vision.

It is the Pope (man) who instructed that it be said after every low mass in the Catholic Church.  Look at this further, God said to Satan “Do with them what you will”.  This was a ploy from Satan to start to pervert the Church which God had granted permission to do so.  Do you see this?  Why would this man state and then write a prayer to an angel when we are commanded by our Lord God to not pray to the angels.  Even the angels stated do not do this Rev. 22:8-9.

Now examine this further.  The Leonine prayers were eliminated in 1964, the 80th year of what Satan stating it needed 75 - 100 years needed to destroy the Catholic Church.  It would seem that this would be the time to especially say that prayer, not to delete it.  But remember we are not to pray to angels.  Now the 100th year is 1984 and Pope John Paul II had let Satan develop a church that is called Catholic, but is not.

Satan has twisted and distorted the Catholic church teachings so much that there truly is a brand new church, which is a new order (Novus Ordo) and the true church has been reduced in population to a mere shell of what it once was.  The definition of Novus Ordo is short for Novus Ordo Missae, which literally means the "new order of the Mass" or the "new ordinary of the Mass." It is used to refer to the Mass promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 to distinguish it from the Traditional Latin Mass.   Note this point the church will and shall survive:  "That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." Matt. 16:18 & 28:20.

Now to digest why would those in the paranormal world state or use this prayer when they enter a building or locale for investigation to use the prayer of protection to an Angel is mind boggling.  As we know prayers to Angels are forbidden by God’s word.  Make things worse these individuals are going into this “act” under falseness thinking these are “Ghosts” or “lost souls” of passed on loved ones lingering around.

This is falseness!  Stating this as your prayer because a person is mocking God because they are lifting prayers to an Angel.  This prayer was not meant as a rite for exorcising a particular person but "for general use - to combat the power of the evil spirits over a community or locality” based upon studies of this prayer.  Evil spirits are fallen angels and are not “Ghosts”.

The prayer to Saint Michael that was included in the general exorcism rite is used for combating evil spirits in a locale.  So how can one be engaged in removing forces via stating this prayer in a locale when they are searching for “answers” and asking something to come forward to answer questions?  This is a twisted agenda and mockery.

You cannot serve both light and darkness at the same time.  Any paranormal person doing this prayer act for “protection” is misguided and is guilty of flat out mocking the Holy Trinity.   Why?  You are purposely seeking “answers” under a hidden agenda of wanting to help people instead of casting out the forces from the locale you are in.  Nothing to investigate when it comes to why Demons are in a locale!

God’s Blessings.

Rev. Bradley Luoma

Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 5

Continued from: 
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 1
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 2
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 3
Symptoms of Spiritual Pollution, Part 4


In my continuation on the blog series Spiritual Warfare from the last time I discussed the critical aspect of Dependency.  I first started off the blog series with Reverence for God.  The second part was that to truly understand God you need to submit to his ways and thus not your or other human’s ways.  The third aspect is to be completely dependent upon God for everything in your life. The last section of the blog series I focused on the fourth aspect which is TRUST in God.

The next aspect of Spiritual Warfare is Intimacy with God, Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  The intimate act of communion with the Creator is what we are after in this life, not the supremacy over demons.  However, some people think that having supremacy over the demons is how you defeat them due to the words spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ giving us authority over the demons found in Matthew 16:19 discussing the keys to the Kingdom.

It is utterly worthless for a person to think that demons flee at the sound of your voice if this person do not know God. This becomes a meaningless act of speaking words in thousands of exorcisms or deliverances if you do not know sweet intimacy with the One who is literally sustaining your soul.  For when you pass away, all of your so-called accomplishments upon this earth shall be stripped away, thus the only thing you will have is your relationship with God. 

So when you get to Heaven for judgment of your soul, will you be meeting a total stranger or a King whom you are deeply bonded to? Why one would chase after temporary gifts when you could be pursuing the giver of gifts is mind boggling.  For the warning from above is that whoever loves this world is an enemy of God, James 4:4.  Which Intimacy you choose to have will have serious implications for your soul in eternity.  

So what is Intimacy then?  Intimacy is defined as having a close familiarity or friendship, something which is personal and private (Webster’s dictionary).  So intimacy with God carries with it the aspects of a relationship with someone where the individual is vulnerable, loving, trusting, etc.  To have an intimate relationship with God means that the deepest part of you is having a relationship with God.

What an incredible world in which God who is glorious and you are the speck who is just excited to be in His holy presence.  Intimacy with God fills our souls with a deep sense of completion as well as satisfaction.  In this intimate act one can find joy, peace, and satisfaction working up within us and pulling us away from a love of any created thing.  No greater joy can be experienced than serving a God who says his children are pleasing in His sight.  Compared to truly knowing God in an intimate manner being able to discern the presence of demons seems worthless.   

So let me ask you the reader of this blog this question.  What do you gain from having a heightened awareness of the powers of darkness?   Especially when it comes to using “discernment” so to speak in Spiritual Warfare.  Our God has already told you that demons abound in this world and that they are intent on destroying us humans, John 10:10.  Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ beheld Satan fall like lightening, Luke 10:18.  So being able to sense or see demons crawling all over other people only heightens your distress. 

Yes, they are here and there, but what can you do about it?  Nothing!  You are just a powerless speck and demons aren’t afraid of you in the slightest.  However, what they are extremely afraid of is God, Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, see James 2:19.  The demons view you the reader of this blog for what you are: A fragile creature who is so easy to traumatize, manipulate and cause havoc within your life.  

The demons know the Bible better than you or any person—thus they can quote any verse in any language known and unknown ancient languages to us humans.  Many people in Spiritual Warfare feel that they must do certain aspects to defeat demons.  These people feel that they must “study” and know why this person is “demonized” by a particular demon.  Yes, part of that aspect is important to know which ones are present within the person, but it is not the end all requirements to defeat the demons.

However, what do you personally gain by focusing on mere created things when you should be directing your attention to the Creator of all?  Many times people turn to so called “demonologists” who perform acts to cast off these forces because these demonized people feel they have the knowledge to defeat these created beings.  When you have intimacy with God the Father you will be protected, but sadly a demonized person is in this position for the lack of intimacy with God from within their life.  Sadly, many of these demonized people are “Christians” who are continually sinning.  The apostle Peter warned of sinning Christians being in the grips of Satan in 2nd Peter 2:21. 

Now what do you gain by fantasizing that you can go to battle against creatures who are far stronger, can manipulate the laws of psychic, come and go within milliseconds and that you have some knowledge of discernment along with knowledge of which demonic force might be present? 

Unfortunately, many people feel that this is all they need and throw the name of the Lord Jesus Christ around to cause the demons to tremble and flee.  While they are trembling because of the power in the name of God, however, the demons are not trembling because of this person not having an intimate relationship with God.

Therefore does focusing on the enemies of God draw you closer to God Himself?  No, it does not draw one closer to God.  Searching within yourself for some “powers” that don’t exist is a complete waste of time.  This life is not about triumphing over some group of non-human creatures known as demons.  Life is about pursuing an intimate relationship with the Creator of all.  Thus this means accepting as well as cooperating with His methods as God drills those four essential attitudes down deep within your being.  

Those core values for God are: reverence, submission, dependency and trust.  As long as you keep these 4 values at arm’s length, one is not going to grow in the sight of God.  What you will create is a state of being spiritually stagnated.  These are the humans that the demons seek out to enact their plans upon because of the stagnation within their lives.  In order to break free from the grips of the demons one must have that special intimacy with God.

In our next blog we will cover DISCERNMENT and what this affords a person as this is thrown around in Spiritual Warfare.


Rev. Bradley Luoma, Exorcist

Diabolical/Paranormal Encounters in Job

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Chapter 1 of Job (background for entire book)
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”

 Job 4

Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

2  “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? Yet who can keep from speaking?

3  Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands.

4  Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees.

5  But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed.

6  Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?

7  “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?

8  As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.

9  By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.

10  The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions are broken.

11  The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

12  “Now a word was brought to me stealthily; my ear received the whisper of it.

13  Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

14  dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.

15  A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.

16  It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice:

17  ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?

18  Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error;

19  how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth.

20  Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces; they perish forever without anyone regarding it.

21  Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

Psalm 8... A Psalm of David.

1  O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

2  Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

3  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4  what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

5  Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

6  You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,

7  all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

8  the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9  O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

In the first chapter of Job, God declares what is the truth regarding Job; he is a blameless and righteous man. He says this to Satan's face, but the devil argues with God.

Oblivious to Satan's schemes behind the scenes (Job, that is), there is an all-out assault by the roaring lion to attack, and then further destroy this man of God through demonic/Satanic influence on the counsel given to Job from his friends.This poor man who has lost everything, including his children, is attacked relentlessly by his friends who have fallen prey to Satan's suggestion that one's circumstances reveal one's character. Jesus deals with this persistent lie in John 9. The notion that there is a one-to-one correspondence between one's circumstances and their sin, is a lie from hell. Many righteous people have suffered chronic and acute pain.

In the dialogue of chapters 3-31, and then Elihu later, the friends are seeking to judge the nature of the very thing to which the reader has been made privy: God's evaluation of Job as a righteous man.Neither Job nor his friends are aware of this heavenly encounter between God and Satan, in which the Lord sets the record straight regarding the integrity of Job. This background needs to be kept in mind while reading the entire dialogue, and especially the text quoted above.We find that his three friends are playing right into the hands of the evil one and contradicting God's assessment of Job, as mentioned in the first two chapters.In 1:8 the Lord says there is no man on Earth like Job, that is how highly esteemed he is in God's eyes!

Eliphaz is the first to speak to Job after he and his friends sat in compassionate silence for 7 days. They should have kept their mouths shut, but they didn't. I have not read any commentators that agree with what I'm about to say, so I am a bit hesitant. Although Eliphaz begins with a fairly gentle tone (4:3-4) sympathy for Job quickly fades. The character of Job is consistently, and with increasing viciousness, probed under the assumption that his moral failures account for his present plight.How cruel...and how common.

Eliphaz (v. 5-11) begins his attack, and he then appeals to a "paranormal" experience he had to buttress the authority of what he is saying (v.12-16). Notice how he describes his encounter.

He infers that an authoritative word from God came to him quietly and stealthily in the middle of the night via a spirit being. He saw an apparition which caused the hair on his neck to stand on end, dread and trembling...ever heard/felt that?! This spirit glided past his face, and then stood still. While he could see a form, he could not make out its appearance. Perhaps he was seeing what we call a "shadow figure."

I must confess that this description has a very familiar ring to it, doesn't it? Here is my interpretation. Eliphaz was so over-awed by this singular experience that any discernment went by the wayside.

Given the context of this book, it makes sense that Satan had an angel of Light experience with Eliphaz. He told God he had been wandering the Earth, and perhaps he paid this guy a visit...a very convincing paranormal encounter. Satan had a vested interest in making sure that Job's friends were his unwitting accomplices in accusing/destroying Job...in making him unravel, and thus making God look like the fool.

After trying to impress Job with the immensity of his supernatural encounter, Eliphaz then relays what this being said. I ask: does it accurately communicate what we already know is God's assessment of Job, or does he accuse, which is Satanic by definition?

It is my opinion that this book is the longest and clearest expression of diabolical influence on believer/s in the bible. Peter expressed Satanic influence, and was rebuked for it, when he told Jesus that the atonement wasn't cool.

The being waxes mystical in a way that brings accusation in through the back door. Trying to sound "holy" one can easily see this short paranormal sermon (v 17-21) so accents the transcendence of God, that He is transcended right out of the picture. Please read these verses and see if they reflect what we know is the truth regarding God's assessment of Job in chapter 1-2?

Why should He care for puny man (this is not the celebratory theme as found in Psalm 8--it is a diabolical mangling of our finitude) I have included Psalm 8 above so you can see the contrast between the Word of God and what I believe is a diabolical mirror image of Psalm 8. Psalm 8 is a hymn of praise, celebrating our privileged place in the created order, which speaks of the glorious Creator.There is utter astonishment that the God who is great enough to create the universe, has such tenderness towards us, and has made humans the pinnacle of His grand creation.In contrast, read verses 17-21 in Job, which comes from the mouth of this mysterious apparition.God's greatness is extolled, but man is left crushed and "little"  in God's  eyes. See the contrast? Would Satan extol God? Sure, if the end result is crushing Job in the process! In addition God's covenantal name (Yahweh) is mentioned twice in Psalm 8 (verses 1, 9) which accents our Lord as our Redeemer, and covenental love (hesed). Again,in contrast,  the apparition never uses covenantal language for God. He wants to keep God so "way out there", that He has no time for us puny creatures.I could spend a long time contrasting these two texts, but would simply ask the reader to compare/contrast them for yourself and come to your own conclusion.

The question asked in v.17 has already been answered by God in chapters 1-2. JOB IS RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. And given what we know, why would a messenger from God speak of crushing humans (like Job) every day..perishing with no one regarding it? This is hardly the kind of thng God would have had said--especially at this stage in the dialogue, but it is the slippery, religious sounding words that are designed to crush...to give supernatural authority to Eliphaz's torrent of accusations against Job. I mean, who can argue with what a spirit says?!

To state that this section is a quote from Satan does not detract from the authority/inerrancy of Scripture because the bible quotes many things from evil men or diabolical  beings, without affirming that they are true--it is is simply a historical narrative of the ongoing reality of spiritual warfare and the drama of redemption. Eliphaz's assault on Job continues in chapter five, and the others chime in with same diabolical accusation.

Do you allow your spiritual experiences to eclipse the authority of the Word of God? Do you criticize others...especially behind their back, or when they are struggling? Hurting people hurt people, and we need to be tender.. I know you/we do, because James says that nobody has tamed their tongue..NOBODY. To avoid causing the same damage as Job's friends, please think before you speak.And I would be remiss if I didn't remind us that we are in spiritual warfare  just as real as Job's was.It is very easy to wonder if God is displeased with us if we are hit with wave after wave of troubles.A thousand times NO! We live in a Fallen world in which everything is bent.There is nothing we can do, as God's children, to make Him love us any more, nor is there anything we can do to make Him love us any less. Discipline is real but beyond the scope of this blog.

“Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good.

8  The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more; while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.

9  As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;

10  he returns no more to his house, nor does his place know him anymore..

I had to add these verses because they explicitly state that once a man dies he will NOT come back to Earth...not come back to his home. Is that not the main contention of the paranormal community? However, the bible explicitly denies it!

In Chapters 35-37 Elihu, the youngest, does what young men often do--blow off arrogantly.

"Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes" (also in a Kindle edition)...please consider purchasing my book which uses science, logic, and the bible to analyze the true source of power behind paranormal activity.

Was Jesus a Ghost?!

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

It has surprised me the number of seminary trained Christians whom I respect point to the text in Mark 6 as proof positive that Jesus believed in ghosts. They say it is the clearest text of Jesus affirming the existence of human spirits/ghosts populating the earth, and that Jesus Himself believed in ghosts because He did not correct his disciples when they thought/said Jesus was a ghost as He walked on the water. Though I dealt with this in my book, I want to address this again in more detail. What I want to do is take the cumulative evidence to show that Jesus was NOT affirming the existence of ghosts. As we shall see, the Holy Spirit's intent for this text is antithetical to the notion of ghosts. "Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night7 he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened."

1. It is important to put this text in context. Mark, spokesman for Peter, wrote this "docudrama" in order to persuade people to be followers of Jesus--words and actions of Jesus are presented by Mark to draw true disciples to our Divine Messiah. This episode is "hooked" into the preceding narrative of Jesus miraculously feeding over 10,000 people by using the word "immediately". (5,000 was just the men) Jesus is trying to show his obtuse disciples that He was the "greater then Moses" by giving us eternal Bread, and not ephemeral manna.The parallel text in Matthew 14, which includes Peter walking on the water, is also followed by the word "immediately". This is important because the authors want us to connect what had just happened (empirical evidence of Jesus' deity as seen in miracle of feeding of large multitude)The disciples were eyewitnesses of this profound miracle. In order to interpret this text correctly, we must remember that didactic/teaching texts interpret historical narratives.Both in the OT and NT followers of God did and said many wrong things, which are not always corrected by the editor. The classic case is Jepthah (Judges 11:30--who vowed to kill the first thing that came out of his tent, if God gave him victory. His daughter came out of his tent to congratulate him and was condemned to death. Jepthah had made an unbiblical vow--which the bible had made provisions for him to repent of. However, it seems that he did not repent and felt obliged to follow through with his horrible vow--he killed his daughter. However, the editor does not explicitly condemn this act. The inspired editor assumed prior knowledge of his readers. Anyone conversant with Leviticus/Deuteronomy would know  that wrongful vows should not be acted upon, and that Jepthah SHOULD have known human sacrifice was repugnant to God. The editor assumes this prior knowledge, but does not give commentary. That is that danger of drawing doctrine from the silence of historical narrative. The same is true of the NT. Many evil words and actions are recorded in the historical books of the bible but are not always condemned. It is HISTORY. In the NT there are numerous examples of the disciples saying/doing whacko things prior to Pentecost,but Jesus did not always correct them (e.g. Transfiguration experience where Peter stuck his foot in his mouth, again)....a precedent of the disciple NOT being rebuked by Jesus for saying stupid things.

2. What was the Holy Spirit's intent in above text? Was it to prove the notion of ghosts? NO!! This text, and its parallel text in Matthew 14. was included to prove that Jesus was Yahweh! How sad and ironic that it is used to "prove" that Jesus believed in ghosts. Jesus intentionally "walked by them" in order for them to see Him, and thus give empirical evidence that He was the Creator of Heaven and Earth. By walking on the water Jesus wanted them to see Him walking in the midst of a ferocious storm to show He was the Lord of creation. "it is I....."ego eimi"...I AM" echoing Exodus 3:14 )By walking on the water in a furious storm He was demonstrating that He was Lord over creation, and that there was no need to be afraid. Not only Jesus' actions but His words were designed to show the disciples that He was/is God Almighty. The Septuagint uses the same word for "passed by" when Moses experienced God "passing by" him )Exodus 33:19,22....giving Moses/disciples a glimpse of God's glory. In Mark 6:48 "walking on the sea" echoes the Septuagint Job 9:8 where "God trampled upon the sea"....same Greek words. The Holy Spirit's intent in this text is to accent the deity of the Lord Jesus--King over creation (see Mark 4).

3. First century Judaism was rife with superstition and theological confusion. For example, Jewish leaders believed in salvation by good works, and the popular superstition of a plentitude of ghosts was rampant, as it has been since the dawn of time. Peter and the rest of the disciples were deeply effected by common superstition, and were very slow to change until after Pentecost.

4. Why would they call Jesus a "ghost" when they had just seem him a few hours earlier...very much alive? Was He a ghost of a living Person? Perhaps they were terrified because they thought this was a demon trying to deceive them? That is an option not often mentioned. Either way, with an abundance evidence for Jesus' deity, why would they call Him a ghost? How could God be a ghost?! This is (and the parallel text) is the only place that "phantasm" is used, which can mean superstitious imagination.

5. Recall that the Holy Spirits intent was to exalt the deity of Jesus, and the disciples de-exalted Him by calling Him a "ghost".

6. So, why did not Jesus correct them?  First, we do not know if Jesus corrected them or not because in many cases the entirety of what Jesus said is not recorded. But my guess is that He did not correct them....not then, anyway. Why? They were deathly afraid! He was keen on comforting them, and not correcting them.It is an argument from silence to say that Jesus must have agreed with them since He did not correct them.The most common negative command that Jesus uttered was, "Do no be afraid!" If your child was drowning, and you jumped in to save them, what would be your first words to them?

7. In a context in which the deity of Jesus is being accented, it must have broken Jesus' heart that His disciples responded so faithlessly. He "walked by" in a manner to empirically display His Lordship over the storm, but the lesson was lost on them. Instead they became wild-eyed with fear, and superstition enveloped them like a cocoon.

8. To say that Jesus must have believed in roaming human spirits because He did not (that we know of)correct His disciples, is an argument from silence--a logical fallacy. Jesus/apostles did warn us of Satan and demons, but they never warn us of roaming human spirits. This is NOT an argument from silence because knowing who populates the spirit realm is utterly necessary for discernment and victory in spiritual warfare. As an exorcist, how can I properly proceed if I do not know exactly who/what may infesting the house/person? Jesus never cast out a human spirit from a human...only demons.

9. Not all historical narratives are bereft of teaching or editorial comment.v.52 is an inspired editorial commentary on this whole episode--they were afraid and their hearts were hardened. Faith Vs fear, and teachability vs hardened hearts. Unlike many historical narratives, this one is concluded with an editorial comment. This is extremely important in interpreting this text accurately. Everything...EVERYTHING...the disciples did and said has a shadow cast over it. Everything they said and did was compelled by fear and hard-heartedness. Their comment re: Jesus being a ghost was an expression of both fear and hardness of heart. They did not learn from the feeding of the 5,000 (or the 4,000) that Jesus was God almighty. How utterly tragic that they would call Him a ghost, when what He was doing and saying displayed that He was the culmination of the I AM". It is difficult to over-state the significance of this concluding comment...it renders the ghost comment utterly suspect.

10. The epistles were written largely to interpret the actions and words of Jesus. After Pentecost, ghosts are never mentioned again--except the deceased spirits in heaven or hell (e.g. Moses and Elijah). To those who are unduly affected by the fact that the bible does not mention Jesus correcting their comment that He was a ghost, was He a ghost in that text? NO! As parents, do we correct our kids EVERY TIME they make a mistake? The bible says that would break their spirits if we do. If your child was in danger of drowning and was frightened, would you feel the need to immediately correct them of anything dumb they may have uttered in their terror? I hope not....rather we would embrace them.

With an issue as significant as ghosts, we cannot camp on a text in which we are told explicitly that they were full of terror and hardness of heart, which casts a long shadow over everything they said. It is much more plausible that their cry of "ghost" was fueled by superstition.

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.