Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah - may the Master be with us this afternoon as we assemble, "by the mercies of Elohim (God), to present []our bodies as a living sacrifice, qadosh (holy, set-apart) and acceptable to Elohim (God), which is []our spiritual worship. [Let us] not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of []our mind, that [we] may prove what is the will of Elohim (God), what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom.12:1-2, RSV). I hope that what I have to share with you will be a real blessing to every one of you.

I was listening the other day to a talk given by a highly respected British deliverance minister for whom I have great personal regard even though he was a charismatic and spoke in what his denomination styles as biblical 'tongues'. While he was alive he had a great worldwide ministry not to mention a grasp of Scripture in advance of most of those in his denomination. His name was Derek Prince (1915-2003), not to be confused with another contemporary minister with the same surname from Singapore and America, Joseph Prince.

Authentic deliverance ministers are few and far between so they are like gold in the Body of Messiah. Over the years I have had a lot to do with many of them; and most of them, it seemed to me, were sorely lacking in discernment and were themselves taken captive to one degree or another. It is for this reason I have always had problems recommending sound deliverance ministers to those who most need their help, people I am not able to minister myself because of geography and (in the main) health reasons - indeed, it is not uncommon to find burned-out ministers who have this gifting precisely because the demonic realm has been running circles around them and leading them up various spiritual cul de sac's or dead-ends because. There are, alas, so few bona fide experienced ministers who are in the business of training new ministers. Indeed, this lack has always been one of my greatest concerns because we desperately need an army of deliverance ministers. I have long said that every congregation should have at least one.

In many ways Derek Prince had a similar background to myself (though he was of my father's generation), a reason, perhaps, I find it easy to relate to him. Well educated at one of Britain's best boarding schools (Eton) and a graduate of King's College, Cambridge in England [1] where he got a degree in Philosophy, by his own account Prince knew the classical Greek and Latin languages well, placing him in a good position to interpret the New Testament, though sometimes this led him to be over-confident, in my view. (Knowing a biblical receptor tongue does not guarantee doctrinal accuracy). Both of us had been atheists at college but were subsequently converted to Christ. And though I too learned Latin, I missed out on a golden opportunity to learn classical Greek, refusing it when it was offered to me at school, something I have subsequently regretted. I did, however, seize the chance to learn some classical (biblical) Hebrew while I was at Oxford, and though it taxed me to my limit (as I am not at all a linguist), I shall never regret that decision.

Derek Prince and his second wife Ruth acquired a deserved reputation as deliverance ministers and healers, most of which I believe to have been authentic. I have learned a lot from them and from other mentors over the years. It is not an easy calling. He took a very careful biblical line indeed. Though I don't know who his tutors were, if indeed there were any, I would imagine - because that's the common experience of deliverance ministers - that you have to learn as you go along, which often means making lots of mistakes and getting burned fingers. I have certainly been led on wild goose chases by the demonic on several occasions, their purpose being to waste your time, wear you out and (the ultimate goal) burn you out if they can't trap you in some way. It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that there are all sorts of ways of 'doing' deliverance. Why? Because you have to operate by revelation. If the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) is not your Instructor, giving you or your co-worker(s) on-the-spot "words of knowledge" (1 Cor.14:6) to identify what's going on in the person you are ministering to, you will be outwitted and stumped by demonic over and over again. I know of a number of deliverance ministers who, because they are deceived by all kinds of spirits masquerading as the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), do more harm than good. Unfortunately they exist in large numbers now and not untypically espouse false doctrines and are leading many astray simply because they operate in the supernatural...the dark side, that is, masquerading as the light. Incredible damage has been done by these people.

So much of sickness and bad health generally, though not exclusively, is often the result of demonic activity. Not every illness, to be sure, but a good number of them. Derek Prince used to identify seven main obstacles to healing, several of which had links to the dark realm, which we're going to quickly run through this morning, focussing on the first one. He would go through these one by one with anyone coming to him for deliverance - whether privately or in larger gatherings - as these issues are so common. They are as follows:

• Ignorance of the Davar Elohim (Word of God) and of His will:

  • "Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding" (Isa.5:13, NIV).
    
  • "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge" (Hos.4:6, NIV)

Some superstitious Christians believe that only the King James Version has such authoritative power because of untruths they have been told about other versions though I personally have never found other versions a hindrance. I do insist on the use of accurate literal versions like the KJV, NKJV, NASB, RSV and ESV rather than paraphrases, though. I have osberved that it doesn't make a blind bit of difference to demons whether you use the correct Sacred Names or the traditional Western Protestant ones - the important thing is that you know Who it is you are trusting in - the Elohim (God) of Israel and His Son Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). Your emunah (faith) is the main thing. I personally use both, depending on who I am ministering to. More than once, when dealing with religious spirits, I have had to define who I mean by Yahweh and Yah'shua (Jesus) and I always used the Apostløs' Creed for that, or san abridgement. There are, after all, a lot of counterfeit 'gods' and 'christs' around now.

Demons will, I guarantee, exploit your ignorance of Scripture as well as your use of poor, inaccurate and compromised translations, so the more Bible you know, the better. One thing Derek Prince did a lot of, along with other deliverance ministers, was to interrogate demons to find our information about them and their grounds for oppressing their victims. Personally I never do this because I don't think there's a need to. They are in any case very clever, habitual liars and are very subtle in their deception. They are very intelligent supernatural beings, they have been around the earth a lot longer than we have and know all the weaknesses of human beings, and so are easily able to outwit a human who is not properly rooted and grounded in the Saviour and His Davar (Word).

I was listening to Derek Prince relate an account of how he prayed for 5 hours for a woman who had dozens of demons. That's not uncommon. He went through a list of several of them in the talk and related what they told him. He was 100 per cent sure that they spoke accurately. Many deliverance ministers will command demons to tell them the truth in Yah'shua's (Jesus') Name believing this to guarantee that these spirits are compelled to be accurate. I'll not say that this does not in principle 'work', because it does, but ministers often underestimate these beings' cleverness. I'll give you an illustration of that in a moment.

The demons Prince interrogated had no problem giving him accurate, detailed information about lots of different things and I could tell that he was impressed just from the tone of his voice. You know how people get bowled over if you tell them lots of secrets about their life which nobody - or hardly anyone else - knows about. We are apt to forget that the Fall of mankind began not with the consumption of the forbidden fruit but with Eve first listening to and then believing the Serpent. If she had refused to listen, she would not have been tempted to believe; and if she hadn't believed, she would never have violated the sole mitzvah (commandment) in the Garden of Eden not to touch the fruit of that tree.

Demons know how to enthrall, intrigue, mesmerise, hypnotise, hold your attention, and finally trap you. That is why I refuse to ever get information from them. If you or a co-worker cannot discern or hear the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) - if you cannot rely on the Ruach (Spirit) for all the supernaturally-derived information you need for deliverance - you really have no business doing deliverance ministry, and you will likely fail. Demons know how to put on a show. Oh yes! They are consummately skilled performers and know how to convince you that deliverance has taken place when it may not have. They'll even vaccate one set of demons and replace them with another to give the minister the impression that he has succeeded or the victim that he has been healed. They know how to play on the vanity of any minister seeking self glory in the slightest degree. This is not a Kingdom service that you ever play around with or handle casually. It's dangerous stuff. I have known of presumptuous ministers get beaten up by the powers they sought to confront in their ignorance or impurity.

So the demons gave Prince a great show and indeed allowed him to throw some of their number out - like I said, they know how to do switches. If you know anything about spies and spying, you will know that intelligence services are willing to feed the enemy true information of interest and benefit to them in order to net a bigger kill. Where Prince came unstuck, in this story, was with the trickiest of all spirits - religious demons. And they are the hardest to deal with and I'm going to give you an example now. The demon (or demons) in question played on his ignorance of a certain category of Scripture pertaining to the Torah. And here, I have to say, a lot of evangelical ministers are vulnerable. (Messianics are vulnerable in other areas).

What happened was this. During the deliverance a demon manifested and when asked who he was, instead of giving his name or job simply repeated again and again, "No ham, no bacon! No ham, no bacon!" Prince, being the good Protestant that he was, naturally assumed this was a religious demon assigned to 'trap' evangelicals into thinking they were not allowed to eat pork. Prince, who was well schooled in the antinomianism (lawlessness) of his denomination (the belief that the Torah or Law has been done away with, along with the mitzvot (commandments) to eat kosher food), totally got the wrong end of the stick. He told his audience how various scriptures, like "all food is clean" (Rom.14:12, NIV) and

"The Ruach (Spirit) clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which Elohim (God) created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the emet (truth). For everything Elohim (God) created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the Davar Elohim (Word of God) and prayer" (1 Tim.4:1-5, NIV)

Now common sense alone should tell you that Paul was not saying you can eat absolutely anything you want because many plants and animals are deadly poisonous. For instance, I would be tempting Yahweh in the extreme if I decided to eat something known to be lethal like Deadly Nightshade or any number of toxic tropical fish while expecting Him to neutralise the toxins by prayer. A similar rationale is used by the snake-handlers of Texas and Arkansas. It's stupid eating something known to be poisonous and presumptuous to suppose that Yahweh would perform a supernatural miracle, detoxifying the poison, if someone is too lazy to eat something known to be safe, healthy and available. Indeed - and this is indeed ironic - one of the demons that manifested in this woman was actually related to this snake-handling cultic phenomenon which has claimed to many lives over the years! Prince went on to point out to his audience that the apostles did not require the gentiles to observe any part of the Torah (Law) beyond not eating meat offered to isols, not eating blood (itself a kashrut rule), not eaing strangled meat (because the blood would not have been drained properly from it), and to avoid fornication (Ac.15:20,29; 21:25). Therefore, he triumphantly asserted, eating ham and pork is now permitted, and this poor woman, he said, had bought into the supposed lie that she couldn't eat pork and had got a religious demon for her trouble. He was convinced that 1 Timothy 4:1-5 totally vindicated his position. (Also see Are All Things Lawful?).

The problem is this - two problems, actually. The Bible tells us what "food" is and what "food" is not. And pork, amongst many other things, is not "food". That is Yahweh's definition, not mine. Now society defines 'food' in the broadest of terms - it is simply "substance(s) (to be) taken into the body to maintain life and growth" [2]. Is pork 'food' in that sense - by that definition? Absolutely. If you eat pork - or lobster, crab, shellfish, shrimp or any number of other creatures Yahweh has commanded us not to eat - you can absolutely maintain life and growth. Billions of people do. Using the dictionary definition, Prince and his fellow Protestants are perfectly right. However, if we claim to be Yahweh's servants walking in His will, then we must accept His definitions, and not the definitions of man. And Yahweh is most particular in stating that not only is pork not "food" as He defines it but says many times that to eat it is a serious violation of His mitzvot (commandments). The choice then becomes whether you want to follow the learned men who write our dictionaries or the Creator of the Universe. (See The Pig: Symbol of Uncleanness and Debasement ).

So what did Paul mean when he told the young evangelist Timothy that it was demonic to forbid believers from eating certain foods? Notice that the apostle links this to forbidding marriage - should we then say, using Protestant logic, that it is wrong to forbid 'homosexual marriage' or 'marriage to animals' or 'marriage to children' or 'marriage to close relatives' (or goodness knows what else)? Of course not! Why not? Because Yahweh has already defined what marriage [3] is in the Tanakh (Old Testament) - in the Torah (Law) of mitzvot (commandments) however man and his dictionaries may now redefine the word. That's a 'no-brainer', surely? Then why treat food any differently? Therefore all foods are to be considered edible if they are considered by Yahweh to be food in the first place. And Yahweh says to everyone - Hebrews and Gentiles alike - that only real food - should be viewed as fit for human consumption and should be received. So if anyone forbids you from eating lamb or mutton - for whatever reason - and you submit to their ruling, then, according to Paul, you have opened yourself up to demonicn trouble, because you're telling Yahweh's He's got it wrong, just as those who forbid marriage are doing the same. So, to be clear, only that which has been declared kosher by the Davar Elohim (Word of God) accompanied by tefillah (prayer) is qadosh (holy, set-apart). If you want to know what Yahweh says you can eat or not eat, please see our Kashrut website.

You see, Prince was already self-deceived, the demons knew it, and they hooked him. They convinced him that they were present in this woman because she believed the 'lie' that gentiles couldn't eat pork like their Israelite brethren. Prince, incidentally, was a Zionist and even lived a great deal in Jerusalem - Zionism is widespread in charismatic and pentecostal circles. It's where he died in 2003.

So what did that demon achieve through Prince's lack of sound biblical knowledge in this area? (Notice his knowledge of Greek did not save him here). It got him to misidentify the demon that was speaking to him. So who or what was the demon he was in conversation with, which he believed because of a theological error he espoused? Who knows. Did he succeed in 'throwing it out'? I doubt it, don't you? The demon may have made a 'show', perhaps 'screaming' as it 'left', but I guarantee in that case nothing was dislodged and he persuaded that woman to sin by eating ham and bacon! Do I judge him? No, because I believe he was sincerely ignorant, as so many Protestants are. Was that woman delivered in respect of her other demons? I don't doubt it, though I will point out that in additon to this 'pork demon', another that Prince 'threw out' was a 'sabbath demon', for as you know Protestants do not believe that we are to observe the Sabbath any longer either, because it was not mentioned in the list compiled by the Council of Jerusalem regarding gentiles and the Torah.

Which brings me to a question and a final point in this sorry business. Were the gentiles, in fact, only required to obey four Torah statutes? Could they actually now ignore all the 300 or so other ones? If you can get a copy of the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament) that underlines, highlights, emboldens or colours all references to the Torah (like the Hebraic Roots Version, for instance), you will find hundreds of Torah quotations reaffirming the mitzvot (commandments). And Paul especially quotes the Torah - he everywhere endorses it and affirms its validity.

For instance Paul, writing to the Ephesians, quotes Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16, which which reads:

"Honour your father and your mother, that is may be well for you and your life may be long upon the earth" (Eph.6:2-3, HRV).

We don't have time to go into this issue today but basically the mistake that is made by Western Christianity is that it confuses the Old Covenant with the Torah (Law) itself. They are not the same thing. Yes, the former Covenant of Moses is well and truly over, as Protestants correctly point out (and here so many Messianics come unstuck because they won't let go of it) but (and its here Protestants, Catholics and Eastern Orthodox come unstuck) the mitzvot or commandments that have not been fulfilled or superceeded (like the Aaronic Priesthood and sacrificial system) remain firmly in place, such as the marriage and food laws which were established by the Creator forever. And as you have seen, demons know how to exploit this confusion. The reason why the Body of Christ is getting more and more confused and perverse is precisely because of disobedience to the mitzvot (commandments) which has given demons an open door. Marriage and kosher food aren't the only things that demons have persuaded Christians to invent man-made rules about. So when well-known preachers like Andy Stanley start saying we should drop the Old Testament because it drives potential converts away, you know something is wrong. All our morals and ethics arise from the Tanakh (Old Testament).

Am I making sense? And I hope you realise that I am not knocking Derek Prince who I think was a wonderful man of Elohim (God) who did an incredible work for the Kingdom before Yahweh took him home. But he was mistaken on a number of issues, as undoubtedly we all are, and so we must be careful only to imitate what he taught and did that was right.

Knowing your Scriptures, then, is very important, the more so as we enter times of extreme lawlessness, anarchy and demon infestation. From Rick Warren's blasphemous 'Chrislam', which maintains that the gods of all the religions is the same (so that it doesn't matter which religion you adhere to in order to be saved) to so-called 'Christian Witchcraft', all truth boundaries are being systematically eroded so that it doesn't matter what you believe anymore. Yet it does, very much so, and Yahweh-Elohim, the Creator of the Universe, will not share His glory with Allah, Vishnu, Satan or any other presumptuous deity which in reality are no deities at all. Without sound theological knowledge, you cannot do proper deliverance because deliverance is far more than just putting on a spectacle of 'throwing out demons'. That's the 'easy' part! True deliverance is always an emet (truth) encounter with Yahweh. If you throw demons out without that, they'll come right back again, and in greater numbers, because their original grounds for being in the victim will not have been understood and therefore no choices will have been made by the victim. Simply 'wanting to be delivered', though important, is not enough - ever! The goal is to be reconciled, and enter into a personal relationship, with Yahweh-Elohim through Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)) through the power of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit).

So what are the other things that are barriers to healing and deliverance?

• Unbelief. Three scriptures, which you're undoubtedly familiar with, come immediately to mind:

  • "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living Elohim (God). But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Heb.3:12-13, NIV).

  • "He (Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of Elohim (God), but was strengthened in his emunah (faith) and gave glory to Elohim (God), being fully persuaded that Elohim (God) had power to do what He had promised" (Rom.4:20-21, NIV).

  • "'Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.' Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by emunah (faith). Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if Elohim (God) did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either" (Rom.11:19-21, NIV).

These verses speak for themselves. Unbelief is a sin and needs work. The plea of the helpless father of the epileptic boy rendered dumb by possessing demons is typical of us all when he responded to Yah'shua's (Jesus') invitation to trust Him:

"I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24, NIV)

• Unconfessed Sin. Trust me, this is not a popular mitzvah (commandment) precisely because it knocks pride off its pedistal. What is 'confession'? Confession can be either acknowledgement of guilt or gladly acknowledging allegiance to Yah'shua (Jesus). What confession does is it takes the lid off - opens the window, opens the door - revealing what is within - and what's within is essentially either sin or emunah (faith). When we acknowledge the ugliness of sin, it is embarrassing and sometimes painful to take that lid off. And it might surprise you to learn that many find it equally embarrassing to reveal their deep-seated emunah (faith). I think the embarrassment is in letting others see deep into our lives. It may be reticence (reservation) to reveal something personal, whether good or bad, because it makes us vulnerable. But confession is a necessary part of knowing Elohim (God) and being freed from sin, and it's also a necessary part of knowing others and having others know us. I could quote many Scriptures but I think these say it best:

  • "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy" (Prov.28:13, NIV).

  • "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matt.6:12, KJV).

Derek Prince used to humorously call this the 'law of enlightened self-interest' because the way Yahweh forgives our sins is conditionally linked to our forgiving those who sin against us. Confession also involves forgiveness. Since our sins against Yahweh are always so much greater than the sins others may commit against us, and our debt to Him accordingly so much greater, the condition is a real bargain indeed! It's a bit like me having a debt of $10 to you and a debt of $100,000 to Yahweh. Yahweh offers a simple exchange of debts - you forgive the $10 and He'll forgive the $100,000. That's a bargain! And agreeing to it is therefore 'enlightened self-interest'! It's the deal of a lifetime.

Who do we confess to? Yahweh first (Ezra 10:11; 1 Chr.21:8) because He alone can forgive sin. Secondly - and you can't leave this out because of the promises associated with it:

• "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed" (Jas.5:16, NLT).

Confession is a part of healing! It is particularly important that you confess sin to those you have wronged in the same way that you bless those who do good to you. By this means Yahweh's great design - to multiply ahavah (love) and chesed (mercy) in the universe - is realised. Know also that confession comes before forgiveness:

• "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn.1:9, NIV)

It is up to us. Confession shows our desire to have our sins forgiven, and if we have no desire to have them forgiven, then guaranteed, Elohim (God) will not forgive them and they will condemn us at the last day.

Here the Enemy will do his utmost to lie to you. He will tell us that our sins are too great to be forgiven, or something like that, but David knew better and testified:

• "Finally, I confessed all my sins to You and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, 'I will confess my rebellion to Yahweh'. And You forgave me! All my guilt is gone" (Ps.32:5, NLT).

Confession, then, is the door that allows Yahweh to work in us. It wipes the slate clean so that we can be reconciled with Yahweh and have another chance to live for Him. It changes your relationship with Heaven. I know there are those like the Sandfords who advocated confessing sins before a whole congregation, and whilst that certainly is a major blow to pride, publically airing our dirty laundry in detail before everyone can often backfire and not have a good result. That is why Yah'shua (Jesus) taught that if someone sins against us, we should go to them privately and point out the fault (Mt.18:15-17). Public confessions are good up to a point, something Derek Prince certainly did on occasion, but not all confession is for everyone to hear. Prince never went into details in his public confessions.

One thing that confession definitely does is unlocks the door to praise. If you're finding it hard to worship Yahweh, the cause may be unconfessed sin or it may be unbelief. Confession is liberating if done sincerely. It clears the smoggy air, the muddy waters, and the rocky places. It's a kind of detergent because of the other things it unleashes! If you confess your sins, Elohim (God) will forgive you (1 Jn.1:9), any demonic interference in your life will be diminished and your health will take a turn for the better.

• Resentment and Unforgiveness Toward Others. We've really already covered this in the section on Confession but I want to underline it again because of its centrality to the gospel life by quoting one more scripture from the lips of the Saviour Himself to chisle the point in stone, as it were:

  • "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Mark 11:24-25, NIV).

• Occult Involvement. The fifth barrier to deliverance and health is potentially a huge one but we only have time to touch on it in passing today. There's a big section on the Occult webpage which you can study in your own time if you wish. To remind you of Yahweh's warning and His huge promises, let's read from Exodus 23:24ff.:

  • "Do not bow down before [pagan] gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. Worship Yahweh your Elohim (God), and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span" (Ex 23:24-26, NIV).

Derek Prince would always challenge people to examine their lives to see whether there was either now, or in the past, occult involvement, because occultism is idolatry and idolatry is one of the worst sins and guaranteed to open demonic doorways. Our 21st century society is heavy occultised, often in the name of 'Christ' - I mentioned the more obvious 'Christian Witchcraft' but there are more subtle forms of the occult masquerading as gospel such as rock music which comes right out of the pit of hell. You'll find lots of articles on this on our Music website. I have got a lot of blind Christians upset in saying this, as did Derek Prince, but I will not yield an inch concerning it, because I know it to be the emet (truth). It doesn't matter how many Christian lyrics you add to rock music it remains what it is. There is no such thing as 'Christian Rock' any more than there is such a thing as 'Christian Witchcraft'. Derek Prince experienced so many healings when he persuaded people to renounce rock that like me he had no doubt as to the dark source it tapped into.

Drugs are another gateway to the demonic and I don't think you need me to tell you any more about that. They are common in pagan worship. They will destroy you. I have met so many people over the years of my ministry who were ruined by drugs, many of whom took their lives. So many died young. I was on morphine for a month because of my heart surgery and I can tell you I not only hallucinated but had major panic attacks. And on one or two occasions, I remember approaching a very scarey inner landscape that even made me feel my life was over. I was glad to be off it! Opioid drugs are responsible for killing so many people today. They are addictive and they open demonic portals. Do whatever you need to do to get off drugs, however uncomfortable or painful the process. And remember, it's not just the chemical effect that's the problem - these drugs lower your spiritual barriers and are an open invitation to invasion by dark entities.

As I said, occultism comes in many forms and is idolatrous. People are seduced by it because Satan makes promises he never keeps, or at least only for a very short time, before going ahead and destroying those he has duped. Freemasonry is a clever form of occultism often dressed up to look like Christianity but by the time the duped mason has reached the Royal Arch Degree he is told who masonry's real god is: JAHBULON, a blasphemous synthesis of Yahweh (Jehovah), Bul (Ba'al) and On (the Egyptian Osiris). The higher degrees of Masonry lead directly to hard core Satanism though those on the lower levels know nothing about that (indeed they are lied to), for whom the 'Craft' is but a charitable organisation and a means to further business contacts. But it is a hotbed of corruption in society, as all secret societies ultimately are, as these people protect one another from prosecution for crimes they have comitted.

• Entering into Covenants With Those Involved with False Gods.

"I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against Me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you" (Ex.23:31-33, NIV).

Today it is politically incorrect not to view all religions as equal. Why do you think these people want national boundaries to be removed and hate border walls? Former President Barak Obama, a closet Moslem/communist/illuminist/satanist (not, as he falsely claimed, a Christian), declared that the United States was no longer a Christian nation because all religions had equal status. He did not lie in that because his and previous administrations have gone a long way to removing Yahweh as the Elohim (God) of the nation. It's the same in politically correct, formerly Christian, Europe. Yahweh is most emphatic - we are not to enter into agreements with false gods! There are to be concrete boundaries in our lives. Today the West worships something like the 'Jahbulon' of the Freemasons, an amalgam of various false deities, as in Rick Warren's 'Chrislam'. Such are under such a terrible curse! All new believers need to go through deliverance after conversion to that the curses of such abominations are broken in their lives. You cannot be a part of the Remnant and remain attached to the occult and foreign gods in any form.

Now the West is not alone at being at fault in this matter. So much 'Christianity' in Africa, South America and Asia is likewise an amalgam that includes the occult. Shamanism in Africa is particularly destructive to the gospel because converts are still attached to their old nature gods (demons). The charismatic movement, which always had open doors to the demonic through malpractice like 'tongues' and other manifestations, 'health-and-wealth' theology, phoney 'deliverance' and the like, has effortlessly married with shamanism to form a toxic amalgam. It sounds like Christianity, uses the language of Christianity, but its spirit and rhythms are pagan. Most of the more modern denominations are heavily corrupted, and even some of the older traditional ones. To its credit, African Seventh-Day Adventism has resisted the influence of shamanism, especially in its worship. But typically, these amalgams are antinomian (lawless). Tens of thousands of churches are polluted and every day we hear stories of crazy pastors demanding their members do insane things like eat grass, drink poisonous substances, bathe with crocodiles, strip partially or wholly naked and the like in meetings. It will only get worse because the demonic is having a field day.

• The effects of a curse. Finally, there is the problem of curses. Though modern psychiatry - which is anything but a scientific discipline - tries to explain these away, in reality it is powerless to help, its only 'solution' being to drug people down with substances that make them worse (because the drugs open up doors to the demonic) and lock up its patients.

Curses are like dark shadows from the past leaving those under them feeling frustrated and hopeless. Seven common examples and indicators of curses, some of which may be generational, include:

• 1. Mental and emotional breakdown;
• 2. Repeated and chronic sickness (these are often hereditary);
• 3. Repeated miscarriages or female problems (like ovarian tumors, etc.);
• 4. Breakdown of marriage and family alienation;
• 5. Continuing financial insufficiency;
• 6. Accident-proneness; and
• 7. A history of suicides or unnatural deaths (hereditary).

So many people suffer from unnecessary illnesses and premature death because of curses - both those hereditary ones passed down through families over the generations (because of the sins of ancestors) as well as those cast on the living by witchdoctors, Wiccans and satanists. Derek Prince's second wife, Ruth, had curvature of the spine before he married her but after he did deliverance on her and broke the curses that were on her life, she was completely delivered and her back straightened up - instantly! And we can curse ourselves, inviting demons in, without often realising it, by saying foolish things like, 'I wish I were dead!' because we might be having a hard time. Undo such self-curses immediately in the Name of Yah'shua (Jesus)! Words are powerful, see that you use them circumspectly. Rather, declare withy David:

• "I will not die but live, and will proclaim what Yahweh has done" (Ps.118:17, NIV).

A lot of Christians believe demons are just superstitious nonsense. At the other extreme there are those believers who think demons are the explanation for every problem in the world - they see demons under every rock! We have to have a realistic perspective. If they were figment of our imagination, as some denominations like the Christadeliphians believe, then do you think Yah'shua (Jesus) would have prophesied of true believers:

• "These signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons..." (Mark 16:17, NIV).

Sometimes healing is instant, sometimes it is progressive. We can't know how Yahweh is going to work but we can, in the case of the latter, keep thanking Him until the healing is complete. It is so easy to get discouraged because of sickness so thankfulness and worship are important to maintaining a right heart- and mind-attitude:

• "Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good! His faithful chesed (love, mercy) endures forever" (1 Chr.16:34, NLT).

Well, we have covered a lot today. I wanted to particularly sensitise the young to these things and to remind the older of us who may have forgotten of the invisible battles being fought and which need to be engaged in the more earnestly. Our principle warfare is not with people or with bad governments - it never has been, and this is something Paul is keen to remind the Ephesian qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) to be alert to:

• "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts ('cosmic powers' - NRSV) of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph.6:12, NKJV).

We have seen how important accurate biblical teaching is and how even the most skilled and experienced ministers can be deceived, even those fluent in biblical languages. We have a number of handicaps to deal with that require great skill and inspiration to rightly sort out - we don't, for example, have the original letters from some of the congregations to Paul which he answered in those epistles which we have in our New Testaments. Here scholarship can be a great help and we are truly blessed to have so many who are genuine believers.

What the likes of Derek Prince did, and are doing, we need more of, not simply to counter the counterfeits, but because the Remnant needs deliverance - it needs releasing for its work! This man of Elohim (God) taught many sound truths that need to be shared, as I have attempted to do today. I hope this has been helpful and will stimulate you to dig deeper into this kind of ministry. Be sure to take a look at our Deliverance website. May Yahweh bless you to answer whatever calling is upon you and to become a well-informed and spiritually prepared servant, is my prayer in Yah'shua's (Jesus') name. Amen.

Endnotes

[1] My education was at Craneligh School, Surrey, and University College, Oxford, where I read Biochemistry.
[2] Ed. J.B.Sykes, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English (OUP, Oxford: 1976), p.408
[3] It should be pointed out (because this is another error of Western Christianity) that "forbidding to marry" would, because of the way Torah defines it, also include forbidding a man from having more than one wife - it isn't just a reference to compulsory celibacy, whether to the entire membership of a community (like the Shakers, for example) or the clergy of a particular denomination (the Roman Catholics and to a lesser extent, the Eastern Orthodox for whom celibacy is demanded of bishops and above). The point is to forbid either is a doctrine of demons, as with forbidding kosher food, because of the way Yahweh defines them in His Davar (Word).