Mystical Views of Spiritual Warfare
It is all too common today for a spiritual warfare teacher to get up and bombard his listeners with story after story, experience after experience, from which he draws conclusions that form his views on spiritual warfare. More often that not, this kind of "skyscraper preaching" (sermons with one story stacked upon another) results in an approach to spiritual warfare that is built upon practices and techniques which do not measure up to God's Word.
For example: often one begins to
teach that Christians can be demon-possessed or something similar; Christians can inherit curses from parents; Christians need deliverance from certain kinds of sins in addition to the forgiveness received at salvation; Christians need to speak or do things to protect themselves and their loved ones from the demonic; Christians can boss Satan around by rebuking, binding, taking authority over him, or running him out of town, usually by sundown, all in the name of Jesus; demons occupy territories because of specific sins of those people which supposedly have given a basis for the demonic stronghold, instead of by permission of the sovereign will of God. These kinds of beliefs are mere superstition, the product of false mystical experiences which do not match up with the teaching of Holy Writ.
Deceitful Spirits
We are seeing an amazing development in our day. The more pervasive that the current versions of mystical "spiritual warfare" become within the church, there seems to be a corresponding rise of the abandonment of examining teaching and practice in the light of Scripture. The average evangelical seems to be persuaded by a pragmatic polemic (i.e., sincerity of the teacher and "it seems to help people") rather than Biblical doctrine.
The New Testament predicts that the "latter times" of the church age would be a time of great deception within the church (1 Tim. 4:1-4):
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, ... In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, {constantly} nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following (1 Tim. 4:1,6).
What does the phrase "
later times" mean? It very likely refers to the "
later times" of the current church age. Notice Paul did not say, "
in these last days" as the writer of Hebrews did to refer to the whole church age (1:2). Paul used a different expression to convey the clear idea that the Holy Spirit is talking about the "
later times" of the current church age. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is giving a dual warning for the church in our day—first, "
not to fall away {
lit. apostatize}
from the faith,"and second, don't pay "
attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons." In addition to the problem of apostasy we experience in the church today, the second warning is especially interesting in light of the fact that those within the church who depart from the faith are said to be especially open to demonic teachings.
It is significant that both Biblical terms for the demonic are used in this verse: "
spirits" and "
demons."A clear contrast is set between what the Holy Spirit is explicitly saying as opposed to what "
deceitful spirits" and "
demons" are saying. The Holy Spirit's teaching that the "
later times" will be characterized by apostasy in the church is strengthened by the addition of the term "
explicitly," so that there is no mistaking what He is trying to say. However, many of us today in these "latter times" who repeat the Spirit-inspired warning about the increase in apostasy are
accused of being negative, divisive, and obstructing the work of the Holy Spirit. Yet, at the same time, these critics are teaching things which can be proved from the Bible to be error. This passage would lead us to believe that they are "
paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons." "
Deceitful spirits" are the agents Satan uses to generate these teachings, which are then said to be described as "
doctrines of demons"—that is, doctrines that come from demons.
cont....
not sure what you mean by this.
