To test the supernatural

comments about the discernment of spirits

from a letter from Margaret E. Barber
(the former missionary who helped the young Watchman Nee in his walk with the Lord)

[…] Here are appearing in new ways in China the demonic powers; and even in the churches there have been cases in which the evil spirits claimed to be Jesus Christ.

One case in particular may interest you. One night last fall, near Amoy, in the house of a preacher he was heard a voice coming from the ceiling and a light appeared. The voice claimed to be that of a preacher who had lived in that house, and that he died there 25 Years ago. Soon all over the region word spread that this preacher dead spoke from his former home; everyone went to listen, and people crowded at that house every day.

The speeches of this spirit were extraordinarily full of quotations from the Holy Scripture; exhortations to live a holy life were frequent; and the people of wicked character did not dare to go, because as soon as you sat in that place, the voice called them by name, and she asked him to repent of their sins. In many cases, were revealed sins known only by the person and by that spirit.

Eg, There is a well-known man in Amoy, a Chinese doctor who studied in America, and that Cristiano. His fee was very high; and to his astonishment, when he went in that house, that spirit called him to repent of his sin of avarice, and he commanded him to reduce his fees. The effect was so great about him that now treats poor patients free of charge and changed in many aspects of his character.

A brother who preaches the gospel in the Amoy district came to me and asked me if I believed that that spirit was indeed the voice of God. He said to me,: “No one dares to doubt it in Amoy; although perhaps some missionary is a bit’ skeptical”. I told him about the test the spirits, and I advised him to do as it is written in 1 Giovanni 4:1-3:

“Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God:; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses Jesus Christ come in the flesh, It is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus, It is not of God, and that is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and it is now already in the world.”

The spirit that is in the house is never visible, but often you can see a bright light flying over the house. So, one of our staff put it to the test according to the teaching of Scripture.

There was silence for about an hour; Then the voice said,: “Read 1 Corinthians 13:13″.

The simple fact of “do not confess” it is sufficient proof of the origin of evil event. Many Chinese Christians have been fooled by this entity: they know well that go behind the paranormal is paganism, but they would never have expected that a demon could manifest itself in a Christian Church, use terms Scriptural, urge them to do good rather than to do evil, and encourage them to read the Bible.

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