Familiar Spirits & the Python

I believe in miracles but I am somewhere between those who deny miracles are for today and those with a spirit of divination who promote supernatural miraculous signs that are not from God.

Even to say such a thing I know I risk being called a heresy hunter. I'm not, but I do have an aversion to all the craziness that has been accepted in prophetic circles over the past several decades.

Last week while doing Israelprayer I had a strong urge to find out what the original Hebrew definition was of the translated term "familiar spirits". In it's biblical usage and definition it is a spirit of divination. I would say that means calling something a prophecy that is obtained through sources other than from the Spirit of God, whether it is from evil spirits or from our own intuition or knowledge.

It seems to me that many traffic in this today - and let me tell you right off the bat that I repented yesterday myself for this very thing.

Being a prophet is a thing many of us desire, but without the acute appreciation for fear of the Lord, it is an extremely dangerous thing to make people think you are operating in the prophetic when it is coming out of your own gifts, or even worse, when you have made such a habit of doing that, that even a true prophetic gift has been tainted with false prophecy.

I believe like any other sin, when you do something knowing it is wrong but you choose to do it anyway, doing it repeatedly becomes easier and easier. In the end you no longer have a conscience toward God in your sin, and you become ensnared by it.

Many years ago Asher Intrater conveyed a prophetic dream he had about Drinking the Cup of the Harlot. It is about the very thing I am talking about here, and how it is a warning to get ourselves out of that sin with fear and trembling before the Lord.

Last week he again wrote about the prophetic in Israel, and how:

"If apostolic-prophetic ministry in Israel will have a humble and servant heart, it could be a source of blessing, revival, and unity. If it has integrity and authenticity, it could be an instrument of kingdom strategy as we prepare for the coming of Yeshua."

I am focused on the part about integrity and authenticity. It is my belief that this is the missing ingredient in a majority of the American prophets who have lacked the necessary "fear of the Lord" to keep them honest and genuine in their prophetic gift.

Sincerely, I do not want to be a heresy hunter, but if anything is selling your soul, it is prophesying by a spirit of divination - whether from familiar spirits or your own intuition or knowledge, yet claiming it is from the Spirit of God.

Now to really upset some apple carts, let me say that this spirit of divination is also spoken of in the New Covenant in Acts 16:16, where the Greek word puthon is used. This is the single Biblical reference to "python" upon which a widespread - yet false - prophetic teaching has popped up over the last decade.

If you do even a light study, you will find this word was used precisely because of the spirit of divination that was on the Oracle of Delphi. She was getting 'prophetic utterances' from the fumes of the rotting flesh of a python which she sat on a tripod over.

The point of that word python used in Acts 16:16 was not about the teaching that Christian prophets have put out about a spirit that causes its victims to have the spiritual life squeezed out of them. In fact, in reality a python is not even a threat to human beings, but only to the small prey like rabbits, or cats and dogs. But the desire to come up with brand new teaching to tickle the ears of Christians is so great in prophetic circles.

No, the use of python in Acts 16:16 is about a woman enslaved by familiar spirits, the spirits of divination - prophesying even right things by a spirit other than the Spirit of God.

Someone I read recently who also values going back to the original language, pointed out that this woman in Acts 16:16 was saying the right thing but Paul was grieved to be associated with her because it was obvious that she was speaking it out of a spirit of divination, not by the Spirit of God.

The writer related that scripture notes the woman was crying out (krazo G2896 which means croaking or shrieking). She was outwardly showing that her prophecy was not coming from the Spirit of God, but coming from an evil spirit. Other outward manifestations are going into what appears to be a trance-like state with jerking, quaking, moaning and other convulsive-like motions. Sound familiar? 

Now is the time to repent of both doing this and following those that do it. I am convinced that we are coming into extremely serious times and all the gold dust, 'heavenly' gems and hovering orbs you can gather are not worth the cost you will pay for not extricating yourself from these familiar spirits.