Yehovah does not accept all forms of worship or witness. He does not accept all teachers who come in His name. He does not endorse all preachers who preach what on the surface seems to be the gospel.
There’s a reason that Yeshua said we are to try the spirits (1 John 4:1). There’s a reason we are warned of false prophets.
There are people right now, teachers, preachers, and prophets, who are claiming to walk in truth but are really practicing divination. They look holy. They act holy. But the truth is, the spirit they are serving is not Yehovah.
They may say everything right when you try the spirits you will begin to see the cracks in the veneer.
We see a demonstration of this in Acts 16:16-18.
She was claiming that Paul was teaching truth. She was acting like his biggest cheerleader. But Paul discerned the spirit behind it and it troubled him. He cast out the demon from her.
Why?
If what she was saying was truth, why would it bother him? Wouldn’t that just mean that demons were serving Yehovah and helping him?
Not at all.
You always have to look at the spirit behind these things. Always try the spirits even if what they are saying is true, even if they are studying scripture every day, even if they are praying every day, even if they are teaching Bible studies regularly it doesn’t mean that it’s the Holy Spirit that is leading them.
Try the spirits.
You could be harboring a spirit that is not of Yehovah and not even realize it. You could be living with a witch and not realize it. You could be listening to a Python spirit and not know it because that is the only voice that you’ve ever heard.
If the spirit is speaking truth, what’s the problem?
Some people are confused, wondering why Paul was troubled with the woman and why he cast the demon out of her. After all, it seems that she was supporting him.
She was saying, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.”
And after he cast out the spirit, the owners of the girl grabbed Paul and Silas and had them put in prison because when he cast out the demon the girl could no longer practice divination so they lost their source of income.
So why would he cast out the devil? Why stop her from saying those things that sound so supportive? Why cast out the demon when it brought him a lot of trouble?
Paul knew the trouble that the girl was. He knew what that demon was and what it was capable of. In the Greek text, it refers to the demon as a Python spirit. It is a religious spirit that is very rebellious, and divisive. It is based in witchcraft, fortune-telling, sorcery, and other occult activities.
Paul did not want paganism to be associated with Yehovah and their work for Him. Just as He taught against paganism in the church, he did not want him following him around regardless of what it was yelling.
Scripture tells us to avoid the appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). That includes our associations with false prophets and teachers of false doctrine. We should have no association with paganism which includes keeping the pagan traditions.
Another problem with this spirit is that it reduces the strength of scripture that teaches against witchcraft. It reasons that if they are doing good then they can’t be all bad. This in turn reinforces the idea that even a broken clock is right twice a day
This in turn refutes scripture that tells us to avoid false teachers and reinforces the modern church culture of gleaning whatever “truth” you can get from anyone. The disciples were not listening to the teaching of the Pharisees and “gleaning whatever truth they could” from that even though the Pharisees did get some things right.
No, they were listening to the teaching of Yeshua and studying Torah. They kept their ear tuned to ONE voice so that they would not be confused or led astray. And this is how it was with other student/teacher relationships throughout scripture.
Entertaining the Python spirit encourages rebellion. It encourages division.
But possibly the worst thing that it does is it undermines the intimacy that is biblically demonstrated time and again between teacher and pupil – they are listening to many voices instead of the one that Yehovah appointed over them. And that will destroy them.
So, how do you recognize “another spirit” when it appears to walk in truth?
This “other spirit” is a lot more prevalent than most people realize. The problem is, they often look like believers – very devout believers.
One of the biggest telltale signs is following other teachers and turning away from the spiritual authority that Yehovah has placed over them. When they are choosing other teachers, and are more loyal to other teachers than they are to their own pastor whom Yehovah placed over them, that is a huge red flag.
That is the undermining the intimacy between teacher and pupil. It damages the relationship because they are looking elsewhere for leadership.
When Yehovah places you under someone’s authority, He does so because there are things that He wants you to learn from the relationship. When you are running after other teachers instead of consulting with the teacher, the authority that Yehovah placed over you, you lose out on those things that He wants you to learn. These are often things that will benefit you if you pursue the path that He has laid out for you.
When you turn away from the authority Yehovah appointed over you, you remove yourself out of His will and essentially make yourself your own god.
If someone close to you is telling you to turn away from your Yehovah-appointed authority or is encouraging you to otherwise rebel against that authority or against Yehovah’s leading, they are not your friend. They have that Python spirit. They are a witch.
This spirit is very divisive. It will tell you, either directly or through someone else, that you don’t need that authority, and that you can do it on your own. It will encourage you to step out from under that covering, to seek teaching from elsewhere, and to choose other leaders instead of the one Yehovah gave you.
That demon will try to separate you from healthy leadership and eventually encourage you to separate from the body. It wants control, but worse, it wants to destroy you.
If you are out from under the covering of the authority that Yehovah appointed over you, then you are vulnerable, you are outside of the will of Yehovah, and you are NOT doing what He planned for you.
Yehovah will NEVER take you out from under the authority that He appoints over you unless that authority becomes corrupt – and even then He may keep you there just as He kept so many men and women of God under corrupt authority for a season.
If you walk out from under that covering, you better be absolutely certain that you are hearing from Yehovah and not listening to a demon that is trying to deceive you and destroy you.
That demon, the Python, often masquerades as a very devout believer. They read their bible, study scripture, pray – everything a believer is supposed to do. They may seem to have certain abilities that mimic spiritual gifts like discernment or word of knowledge but the truth is, it’s demonic. It’s divination. Python is a spirit of divination.
They often know scripture and will use it to twist your mind by misusing it. They will say things like, “You don’t need that pastor/teacher. You can do just fine on your own.” They may try to convince you that your authority is jealous of you or that you have gifts they don’t have, and they are envious of that.
They are all lies. That is nothing but a demon talking. You need to shut it down, rebuke it, cast it out right then and there just like Paul did.
The python typically works with the Jezebel spirit (controlling, seeks to dominate, and manipulative, especially to male authority) or the Absalom spirit which is manipulative, rebellious, and is very ambitious. It seeks to undermine the Yehovah-appointed authority and gain control and power. It is angry, bitter, resentful, and critical although it will use flattery when that serves it.
That is why you have to be sober and vigilant. This demon will say all the right things. Look right. Act right. But they are not right. And if you are studied, solid in the Word, and listening to the voice of Yehovah, you will see the inconsistencies, the little slips, the subtle ways they manipulate you to get you out from under that covering.
It will entice you into serving your flesh, your ego, instead of pursuing the selflessness of serving Yehovah.
Because when they get you out from under the covering of your Yehovah-appointed authority, they have you.
Everyone needs Yehovah appointed authority over them on this earth
Yes, you may be obedient to Yehovah – and you should be, He is the God of the universe. But He will appoint authority over you here on this earth. These people who claim “Jesus is the only authority I need” are deceived and are not submitted to Yehovah’s order.
We serve a God of order and He will appoint authority over His people. They ALL answer to someone. If they do not, they are out of order.
One of the greatest demonstrations of this was when Yeshua walked among us. The disciples had Him as their authority, but they could touch Him, talk directly to Him, and watch Him as He served His Father and taught. He gave them something in real-time, in the flesh, to emulate.
Once He ascended, they had each other – and they kept each other accountable.
EVERY believer needs that accountability!
Paul became the authority over the churches he wrote to in the epistles. He was the authority over those pastors and he even taught against them listening to other teachers.
I don’t care if you are teaching one person a Bible study or pastoring a congregation of 1,000. You need someone in the flesh that you can physically touch, talk to, emulate, and be accountable to.
Yes, you should be submitted to Yehovah, but you also need to honor that authority He placed over you and obey it (Hebrews 13:17).
So when that Python spirit comes to you and tries to woo you into disobedience, rebuke it! No matter what it looks like, or what it claims to be, if it is leading you away from serving Yehovah, it is poison.
Subscribe to the Torah Observant Apostolic Newsletter! It’s free!
Torah Observant Apostolics 