Lesson 4. The “Discerning of Spirits” School will help you successfully recognize demonic powers. Author: John Edwards.
In the spiritual realm, there is the activity of the Kingdom of God and the rebellious activity of Satan’s kingdom. Usually, when people think about “discerning of spirits,” they think of exposing the activity of demons. However, this gift can open our eyes not only to the schemes of Satan’s kingdom, but also to the ministry of God’s angels and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Discerning the Holy Spirit
Sometimes the Holy Spirit may work in ways that seem strange to us, along paths we have not known or expected before. When this happens, it is very important not to judge solely according to our logic and experience, but to remain open to the revelation of the Lord, being sensitive to the prompts and leading of the Holy Spirit. The Pharisees attributed Christ’s works to Beelzebul—to Satan himself. Sadly, at times modern religious leaders have shown no more understanding than the Pharisees, often resisting revival among God’s people because of a lack of spiritual discernment or due to their prejudices.
Attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to demonic activity is a serious offense against the Lord. Nevertheless, we should not blindly accept every supernatural manifestation as being from God. The more God’s power is at work, the more we need to be discerning in our judgments. God does not want us to be ignorant of spiritual matters, so He has given us all the necessary help for this.
The Holy Spirit always works in accordance with the Word of God and in harmony with God’s character, and this is how we should judge what is happening. The gift of discerning of spirits was given so that we would have no doubts about what is from God and what is not. When supernatural manifestations appear in the Church and in our lives, we move beyond uncertainty. The Spirit of God Himself desires to lead us into knowledge of the truth, so we need to seek His discernment and remain open to revelation.
John the Baptist’s vision of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in the form of a dove as He came up from the waters of the Jordan was a personal revelation—the thousands gathered on the riverbank saw nothing. This is an example of discerning the presence and work of the Holy Spirit.
At church gatherings, there are times when we can “feel” the presence of the Holy Spirit. Some people describe this feeling as an awareness of the “anointing” at the gathering. This awareness may come to us in different ways: through an inner sense of reverence, through an emotional accumulation of feelings, and sometimes through something like a tangible presence.
Several years ago, our church leaders spent two days at Ashburnham Place, where we sought the Lord together, shared our experiences of God's visitation, and prayed for one another. This time ended with an amazing sense of God's manifest power in that room. We all sat in our chairs as though under the weight of the Lord's presence, silent and overwhelmed by the power of God. We returned home as different people.
As the Church experiences a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we must become more sensitive to the presence of God and the anointing, and develop the gift of discerning of spirits by waiting on the Lord.
Discerning God's Angels
God's angels are constantly at work on His behalf, carrying out His judgments and fulfilling His purposes. They are active every day for the benefit of Christians. Scripture tells us that they are “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Heb. 1:14), and that “the angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him” (Ps. 34:7). This angelic activity largely remains unnoticed, and we are aware of the presence of angels only because the Word of God affirms that they exist.
The Bible mentions various ranks of angels. In a series of visions that the apostle John received on the island of Patmos, the activity of a number of these angels was revealed. Each of the seven churches mentioned in the first three chapters of Revelation has an angel responsible for it and in direct relationship with the risen Christ, the Lord of the Church. John also saw angels pouring out God's judgment on the earth: one angel was responsible for a plague, while another had power to restrain the Dragon. Jesus spoke of angels responsible for watching over people, particularly children (Matt. 18:10). We read about angels who ministered to Jesus in His time of need in the wilderness after His temptation, and also in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The Bible contains many accounts of angels who were seen coming as messengers from the Lord. However, seeing an angel does not necessarily mean the same thing as the gift of discerning of spirits. Angels are able to reveal themselves to us in visual form, and many angelic visitations occur in this way. At the birth of Christ, the shepherds saw angels on the hillside who appeared to them with news of Jesus' birth. This was not discerning of spirits on the part of the shepherds; the angels revealed themselves to them. However, seeing angels when they are invisible to others, as in the case of Elisha's servant when his spiritual eyes were opened, indicates the gift of discerning of spirits in operation.
In times of conflict and discouragement, the Holy Spirit can give us encouragement and hope through the revelation of those who are fighting for us.
Discerning Satan's Fallen Angels
Satan is the arch-rebel, called in Scripture “the god of this age.” He is also known as the deceiver who disguises himself as an angel of light, so we certainly need the help of the Holy Spirit to stand against his schemes.
He has an army of powers under his control that attempts to govern human affairs from the second heaven. These are the angels who fell with Satan when he was cast down from his position of authority in heaven (Isa. 14:12).
We are given an understanding of the structure of Satan’s usurped authority in the Book of Daniel. Here, the ruling power over the Persian Empire is called the “prince of the kingdom of Persia.” This prince held his position in the second heaven and was able to resist the angel sent by God to Daniel for twenty-one days, until additional angelic help arrived in the person of Michael, one of God’s chief princes (Dan. 10:12–14).
The same passage in the Book of Daniel contains a prophecy about the emergence of a world power—the Greeks, who defeated the Persians under the leadership of Alexander the Great. The angel told Daniel that the “prince of Greece” would assume the position of the prince of Persia in the second heaven (Dan. 10:20). What subsequently happened on earth was the result of what had already happened in heaven.
These powers in the heavens, which shake kingdoms, nations, cities, and villages, must be bound and stopped by God’s people. They are the “strong men” Jesus said must first be “bound” before their houses can be plundered. When we know little about the strong man, as is often the case, the Holy Spirit can reveal his nature to us, as well as the nature of his activity.
Discerning Demons
Demons (evil spirits), under the control of their master, Satan, seek to torment, inhabit, and oppress the bodies of men, women, and children. They bring fear, compulsion, sickness, disorder, and chaos to those whom God created and loves. Demons hate humanity simply because God loves us. Demonized people display strange and clearly demonically motivated behavior. However, evil spirits usually try to operate secretly, and the gift of discerning of spirits is needed to detect their activity where their presence is not entirely obvious.
