ISRAEL IN BIBLE PROPHECY | home
Demons in the Church | Publisher's Note | Dedication | Contents | Proverbs 24:11-12 | Introduction | The Battleground | First Encounter | Old Testament Typology | Battle Doctrine | Who Says It's Legalistic? | Hazardous Theology | Spirits In My House | Lying Spirits | Magic Show | Witchcraft | Mediums & Psychics | Deceiving Spirits | Satanic Visions | Facing Reality | Epilogue
Demons in the Church
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
About Truth
This book is not a debate about your doctrine, or my doctrine.
It is about truth. Truth is reality. Reality does not require
our support to be true; it remains true regardless of personal
opinions. This book is about God's truth. It is about direct
commands in the Bible. It was not written to please you, or
me. It was written to please the Lord our God, and Jesus
Christ, His blessed Son. Jesus, is the truth, and walking in His
truth is inseparable from serving Him. All lies are of the devil;
and to whatever degree we depart from truth, we serve the
devil:1
JOHN 8:44 " ...He was a murderer from the beginning, and does
not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him..." (NASB)
Either God saw down through time and inspired the apostles
and prophets to write truth for the saints of the Christian Era,
or He didn't. Either God meant what He said in the Bible, or
He didn't. Either every word of the Bible is true, or God
Himself is not true, and not worthy of worship.
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1 JOH 14:6, EPH 4:21, REV 3:7
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14 Demons in the Church
It is the simplest thing in the world to go to the Bible and
prove or disprove any doctrinal position we wish. We stroll
through life in the belief that anything we do is alright, as long
as we can manipulate Scripture to support it. But is that kind
of biased doctrinal system the truth, and is it pleasing to the
Lord? Of course not. That's just sweeping the sin of rebellion
under the rug of "theological position." The goal of any true
Bible study should be to find God's intent for the believer, and
walk in it. His truth may not agree with our chosen lifestyle,
and if it doesn't, what then? We should still obey the intent of
God's Word, regardless of the outcome. That is what being a
servant of the Lord is all about. Those who hold other
attitudes delude themselves about being Christians, MAT 7:22.
In the confusion of this present age, we sometimes forget the
nature of Him with whom we have to do, HEB 4:13. God is
eternally holy and cannot lie, NUM 23:19. Even as you read
these words, around His throne are creatures with six wings.
With two they cover their faces, with two they cover their feet,
and with two they fly. These covering angels cease not to cry,
"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts. The whole Earth is full
of His glory," ISA 6:3.
But the day-to-day concerns of our short little materialistic
lives have distracted us, and the reality of these things has
been crowded into a little "Sunday Only" corner of our minds.
Our spiritual vision has become clouded, and we interact with
this Holy Being through a new temple veil of theoretical
theology.
But we're comfortable with this arms-length fellowship. We
wouldn't want to get too close to the Lord, in any case. We
might find that we are doing something wrong. So we accept
as virtuous, a host of platitudes which water down the words
of this Holy God. All of us have heard them. Some of us have
even used them to defend some doctrine we hold dear which
cannot be supported from Scripture:
1. "That verse is open to interpretation."
2. "We're not under law, but under grace."
3. "The Spirit hasn't made that verse real to me yet."
4. "That's cultural."
5. "That's legalistic."
6. "My pastor doesn't teach that."
7. "My denomination doesn't believe that."
8. "I don't know what that verse means, but it doesn't
mean what it says."
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Introduction 15
If we brutally examine each of those excuses, every one can
be translated: 1..."The traditions of men are ABOVE the Word
of God." 2..."1 DO NOT believe God's Word." 3..."1 WILL NOT
obey that verse." Finding excuses to disregard God's Word is
not a new thing for man. Rebellion began in the Garden of
Eden, and by the time of Jesus' stay on Earth, disobedience to
the Word had become a fine art. The Pharisees were past
masters at finding excuses for ignoring Scripture. Neverthe-
less, rebellion against God was the sin which brought Satan
down...and caused the fall of man. In Satan's own words:
ISA 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make
myself like the Most High. (NASB)
Through 1,900 years of persecution, and the witness of
millions of martyrs, you'd think the church would have learned
something about the consequences of rebellion; but it doesn't
seem so. We're at it again...
There are some ungodly accounts recorded in this book, and
some earthy language is used to describe them. Somehow we
have to come to our senses. Somehow we need to come face-to-
face with how far we have departed from biblical Christianity.