Chapter 12: The Battle
Rebecca Talks:
The next chapter in our lives was a relentless battle which lasted for eight weeks. As I look back, I realize that the Lord was putting us through a period of intensive training, taking us stage by stage into an ever deeper knowledge of satan's kingdom and how to combat it. I had very little awareness of the spirit world prior to that time and the Lord was also training me in this area. Many times during that eight weeks I asked the Lord how much longer the battle must continue and always His answer was, "Until you have learned enough." Because Elaine had been so very deeply involved in the occult there was much we had to learn before she could be completely cleared of the demons.
During the entire eight week's period neither one of us had more than one to two hours of broken sleep per night. I continued to work full time at the hospital, of course, but fortunately I was on a rotation that did not require night call and was mostly research. Each morning as I prepared for work after yet another sleepless and exhausting night I paused a moment and quoted Isaiah 40:31, laying claim to the promises there:
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Each day as I laid claim to that promise, somehow, the Lord gave me the strength to keep going during the rest of the day. I dared tell no one what was going on. There was no one who would understand and everyone was hostile to me anyway. My dear parents were not, of course, but I did not want to worry them. So, Elaine and I battled completely alone except for the Lord. Toward the end of that period of time the Lord instructed me to read the book of Nehemiah. There I discovered the passage where Nehemiah's enemies threatened to attack the Jews to stop the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 4:21-23 Says
"So we labored in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. Likewise all the same time said I unto the people, Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labor on the day. So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that everyone put them off for washing."
Nehemiah 6:15 told me that it took 52 days to complete the wall. I figured that if the Lord could keep Nehemiah and all the people going day and night without sleep for 52 days that He could give me the strength to keep going too.
That Scripture was a great comfort to me, especially as some people were telling me that I looked tired and that it was "My responsibility to the Lord to be sure that I got adequate rest every night. The Lord would not require otherwise."
The battle took place simultaneously on three fronts: against demons, against the human spirits of cult members and against physical people from The Brotherhood who were sent to try to kill us.
The battle began a week after Elaine's first deliverance. I had just talked to Pastor Pat that afternoon as described in the preceding chapter. He had counseled me not to try to deal with any demons by myself as he was afraid that they might be too strong for me. Elaine had started having chest pain again that day but had not told me.
That evening after the pastor left she had another severe episode of chest pain. I will never forget how down and discouraged we were as we sat on the couch in my living room afterwards. I turned to Elaine and said, "Elaine that pain must have been from a demon. They must be back again. Why didn't you say something earlier when Pastor Pat was here?"
Of course, what I did not know then, was that the demons had blocked Elaine from saying anything when the pastor was there. We both sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Elaine's voice said, "Well, I'm not going to be defeated a second time!"
"But Elaine, when were you defeated the first time?"
No answer. So I reached over to touch her arm to get her attention. She jumped and turned to me, her face contorted into a snarl, hands reaching for my throat. Instantly I realized that I had not been talking to Elaine but to a demon in her. I jumped back out of reach, passing my hand in front of me exclaiming:
"I put a shield of faith in Jesus between you and me, you may not touch me, demon!"
A harsh guttural voice said, "My name is Legion. I am going to kill you! There is only one of you now and not more than four hours ago your own pastor told you not to try to take us on yourself, you're not strong enough. Now that you're alone, I'm going to kill you! You have interfered with satan's bride long enough."
I don't think I have ever been so frightened in my entire life. I felt overwhelmed with the presence of evil in that room. I knew only too well that the demon had been listening to every word of my conversation with Pastor Pat earlier that day. He knew of my depression and discouragement as well. Instinctively I also knew that I dared not let him see how afraid I was. I had no doubt that if I let him get the upperhand that he would indeed kill me. Elaine's body was much stronger than mine to start with and I had no doubt that under complete demonic control it would be many times stronger. I swallowed hard and answered in what I hoped was a commanding voice.
"Oh no, demon, Elaine is no longer satan's bride. You are the trespasser. I may be alone, but Jesus IS with me and it is His power that will overcome you, not mine. I don't have to be stronger than you because Jesus already • w is.
"You don't know what you're talking about. I'm going to enjoy watching you squirm as I strangle you to death. Just watch!"
As he spoke he reached out for me again. Again I passed my hand in front of me and laid claim to the shield of faith in Jesus. Much to my joy the demon had to stop short. There was an invisible barrier between him and me and he could not reach through it, hard as he tried. He became very angry as I praised the Lord for His faithfulness in protecting me.
The battle went on for 45 minutes. I prayed, sang hymns, read and quoted Scripture. Over and over again I commanded the demon to come out. Many times he tried to use Elaine's body to harm me physically but always he was stopped as I steadily claimed that protecting shield.
The Holy Spirit brought Scripture after Scripture to my mind. I quoted Luke 10:19, Job 30:2-8 and Colossians 2:15 to him repeatedly which tormented him. I read from Revelation chapter 18 about the fall of Babylon, telling
him that he, too, was falling in that very hour.
He shouted at me, cursed me, threatened and finally began to cajole me to leave him alone; but I pushed my advantage. At last, with a scream of rage he came out of Elaine in an episode of violent coughing.
I was so relieved and unnerved that I burst into tears. Poor Elaine, she had been unconscious all that time. She could not understand why I was crying so uncontrollably. I was shaking from head to toe, I had been so frightened. But as I sat there telling Elaine what had happened, the realization filled my soul that Jesus had been faithful and had indeed given me His own power and authority over those foul things.
Scared as I had been, Jesus had stood firm and had delivered me out of the hand of my enemy.
Elaine felt much better after Legion was out and we went to bed for our last night of sleep for the following eight weeks.
The following days and nights blurred together as demon after demon came into Elaine to try to kill her, or me, or both of us. The battle was continuous and unrelenting. Fortunately the hospital was only a two minute's drive from my home. Many times during the day the Lord would speak to me urgently instructing me to hurry home, that Elaine was in trouble. Always I would arrive home to find her on the floor unconscious, often with a belt around her throat, blue from lack of oxygen. Her own hands were under the control of a demon pulling the belt so tight that she could not breathe.
Sometimes she would be bleeding from a cut, knife still in hand. Sometimes in a coma so deep that she was hardly breathing. Sometimes being strangled with her own hands as the demons sought to crush her larynx (voice box).
I know that it was a direct provision of the Lord that I was on a rotation which was mostly study so I was free to run back and forth from the hospital.
The next day after my first meeting with Legion, the Lord spoke to me and gave me the Scripture in II Timothy 1:14 which says:
"That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us."
The Lord showed me that Elaine was the good deposit given to me - that I must guard her diligently with my very life.
As the battle grew rapidly I became most concerned as to why the demons that were cast out could come back into Elaine again in a very short time. As I prayerfully considered the situation the Lord brought to my mind a passage from a book I had read some months before. It is called The Conquest Of Canaan, by Jessie Penn-Lewis. She wrote:
"Galatians 5:24 is also a passage which meets the case just here: 'They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.' This is judicially the position of all the children of God, but it must be experimental also. For in this spiritual battle, unless the knife is applied to what the Scriptures term the 'flesh,' it will always be ground for the enemy to attack, so as to weaken us in the conflict. The 'flesh' must be kept under the knife of the cross, for if there is any self-indulgence, or anything that is doubtful in your life, and you venture to take the aggressive against the foe, the enemy will come back on you, and - fastening on that uncrucified 'ground' in you - will press you with appalling power. You must have the knife of the cross steadily, persistently, and unbrokenly applied to the flesh; to the appetites of the flesh, to self-indulgence in any from, and to the pride of the flesh." page 9.
As I sat pondering and praying about this passage as to how it might apply to our current situation with the demons in Elaine, the Lord suddenly flashed a clear picture into my mind which the Holy Spirit confirmed to me was a spiritual vision. In the vision, Elaine was standing in the center of a ring of circling animals that looked like huge and vicious cats.
They were very ugly. They were circling around and around her, sniffing, sniffing. Suddenly one of them stopped, sniffed and then jumped right into her. Then I understood.
The cat-like animals represented demons. They were circling around Elaine continuously trying to find an opening or doorway to get in. When they did, they jumped into her and almost immediately manifested to me.
I told Elaine about the vision, and showed her the passage in the book. I felt led by the Lord that she needed to ask Him to search her and reveal to her any open doorways in her life that needed to be closed by confession, forgiveness and the blood of Jesus. I greatly admire her courage and persistence.
She went through two days and nights of intense searching. I'm sure it was a terribly painful experience for her. The vision was in my conscious awareness continuously during that time. Everytime one of the animals jumped into Elaine immediately a demon would surface and the battle would be on until it was cast out. Then followed a time of waiting prayerfully on the Lord to reveal to Elaine or myself the doorway it had used. Steadily, door after door was closed as Elaine confessed particular involvements or sins, received forgiveness and then asked the Lord to close that door forever with His blood. Finally, about A.M. on a Monday morning, I suddenly realized that the "animals" were circling in the opposite direction. I exclaimed in surprise:
"Elaine, why are they going in the opposite direction now?"
"Why is what going in the opposite direction?"
I petitioned Father to let Elaine see the vision too, which He did immediately. She was thoughtful for awhile. Then, "I suppose because they can no longer find any doors the way they were going."
Even as she spoke, both of us saw one of the demons stand up on its hind legs and paw against what seemed to be an invisible barrier.
"Elaine!" I cried out, "We must close the top!"
But I was too late. The demon had jumped up and over the invisible barrier into the obviously open top and Elaine was in a deep coma. She was under the control of a pair of demons called Coma and Endless Sleep. These two gave me untold trouble! They were very powerful and they would put Elaine into a coma so deep that her heart rate would slow down to 30 per minute or so and she would sometimes stop breathing. They were also very hard to deal with because they would not speak to me and they could seemingly not hear me because Elaine's body was in such a deep coma.
This time was no different. I feared for her life. Nothing worked. I prayed, sang hymns, shouted at them, slapped Elaine's cheek.
Nothing but a deeper coma. Finally in desperation, not knowing what else to do, I picked up my Bible and began to read aloud from the book of Revelation. Demons hate that book. I read and read, my heart sinking within me, but standing in faith that the Lord would save Elaine's life. When I had read about half way through the book the demon suddenly reached out with Elaine's hand and tried to tear the Bible away from me. "Shut-up!" he snarled.
"We can't stand to hear any more of that."
"Too bad, demon, that book tells of your final down-fall and total destruction. If you hang around, I'll read the rest of it to you. I'll read it over and over again, and what's more, I'll ask Father to prevent you from stopping your ears so you can't hear me. You'll have to listen to it, I know He'll make you."
"You can't do that."
"Oh yes I can!" And then I prayed aloud and asked Father to make those demons hear every word I read. I started reading again. The response was prompt.
"Shut-up!!" The demon was so frustrated that he was screaming at me. Of course I refused and finally he had to come out. I had discovered a key in handling these difficult demons. I could ask Father to do things to them, such as make them hear, and He would.
The top doorway was difficult to close as it involved an area that was dear to Elaine's heart. But her courage and commitment to the Lord prevailed and at last it was closed. Almost immediately in the vision I saw one of the "animals" digging at the ground at Elaine's feet.
"Oh NO! The bottom!" Again I was too late. The demon was in. I had another hour's battle before that one was cast out. Elaine and I began asking the Lord to reveal the bottom doorway. The Lord revealed it to both of us at the same time. Pride. Again, I was to run into Elaine's stubbornness as I had in the first incident with Mann-Chan. Up to that point, Elaine had steadfastly refused to get down on her knees to pray. The Lord had dealt with me on this subject some years before. It is humbling to get down on your knees, but I had learned also what a comfort it is. There were other areas under pride as well, but they seemed to focus in that one issue at the moment. I told Elaine that I thought that the Lord was asking her to simply get down on her knees and ask Him to forgive and deal with her pride. She flatly refused. I was so frustrated as with each refusal another demon got in and I had an hour or so battle with each before it finally came out. Finally, I got out the book The Conquest Of Canaan and made Elaine read aloud the passage I mentioned earlier. Then I told her:
"Now, go into the living room and settle the issue with the Lord. Don't come back until you do!"
I do not know, and never asked, what transpired between Elaine and the Lord in the dark living room at about 5 A.M. that morning, but as Elaine returned to me somewhat sheepishly, she had a peace about her that I had not seen before.
Instantly we both "saw" the completed work.
An incredibly beautiful shining cylinder of light. It hung in the room, filling it with its brilliant warm, lovely light. I saw the demonanimals fleeing into the shadows. We both sat down and basked in the warmth and light from the cylinder as if it were the noon sun. We did not realize it at the time, but we were seeing and feeling the glory of Jesus as that part of His work in Elaine's life was finished.
We did not actually see the cylinder and its light with our physical eyes, but were seeing it in our minds through our spirits as the vision was given to us by the Holy Spirit. However we also experienced the warmth and love radiating from it in our physical bodies. (See chapter 14.)
We both fell asleep for the first time in four days. One hour later, as I got up to go to work, I was delighted to "see" that the light-cylinder was still there. Its warmth and shining love was a tremendous comfort to both of us. I thought that the battle was finished then. How wrong I was, I didn't realize this represented only one part of the work to be done of clearing Elaine's life.
I was dismayed when I came home that afternoon to find Elaine on the couch, blue, not breathing, belt around her neck, her own hands under demonic control pulling it tight so that she could not breathe. I was broken hearted as I dealt with the demon that was trying to kill her. How could this be? I still saw the completed shining cylinder in my spirit. How then could yet another demon have gotten in?
Again and again that evening demons got in, always catching me unawares.
I couldn't accept that they were getting in. I was so exhausted and I had been relying on the cylinder as a sign that they could not get in anymore. Finally, with many tears, I prayed and asked the Lord to remove the vision as I realized that I was depending on it instead of the Lord, and therefore satan was able to use it to manipulate me. Even as I asked, instantly the lovely light-cylinder vanished. That evening we entered a new area of battle.
I was in the kitchen fixing dinner when Elaine came under the control of what I thought was a demon. I realized she was in the kitchen when I was stabbed in the back with the large knife I had been using to cut up the meat. I grabbed her hand saying:
"No, demon, I bind you in the name of Jesus.
You will give me the knife."
I was surprised to hear a very feminine voice answer me.
"You can't order me around like some demon! I don't have to obey you and your stupid commands because ΓΜ NOT a demon! Now I'm going to teach you both a lesson."
An all-out wrestling match ensued during which I received a number of rather severe cuts. Blood was all over the kitchen. As I struggled for both the knife and our lives I keep saying, "I don't care who or what you are, I will defeat you in the name and power of Jesus." At last I managed to wrest the knife out of her hand.
Panting and at the end of my strength, I forced her to sit in a chair.
"Now, I command you in the name of Jesus, to tell me who, and what you are!"
"I am Sally."
I was surprised. I knew that Sally had been a friend of Elaine's and the witch whom Elaine had been tutoring. She became Elaine's successor as high priestess. She was more arrogant that any demon I had run into and just as deadly. I could feel her hatred.
"Well, Sally, human or demon, you will bow your knee to Jesus. You have no choice, you know, because God's word says so. In Philippians 2:6-11 God says:
'Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."' As I quoted those beautiful verses I felt the Lord strengthening my body.
"So you see, Sally, you have no choice. The fact that you are human and not demon makes no difference. Your knee, too, must bow to Jesus."
She laughed mockingly at me. "You think your so called Jesus is so great. That is all a bunch of lies. I will never bow to Him!"
I was absolutely filled with rage! Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, literally lifted her out of the chair, and pushed her down on the floor on her knees.
Then I put my hand on the back or her head and pushed her nose to the floor. "Now what do you think of your fine statements that you'll never bow to Jesus?! That's exactly what you're doing now, because He is standing right here!"
I'm not sure who was more surprised, Sally or me. Elaine is not exactly light and I was already exhausted from our frantic struggle over the knife a few moments before. I let Sally bring poor Elaine's nose up off the floor, but continued to hold her on her knees.
"Sally, you must see. satan is lying to you, just as he lied to Elaine. Jesus is the victor, not satan. satan wants only to destroy you. If he were the stronger as he claims, then why are you on the floor instead of me? Sally, your only hope is to commit your life to Jesus!"
"I'm not listening to you any longer, but I'll be back and you both will be sorry!" Instantly she was gone and Elaine's unconscious body sagged against me. Then she roused and looked up at me.
"Hey, what's going on, why am I on the floor is this another lesson in humility?"
I laughed a bit shakenly, dusting off the end of Elaine's nose.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I forgot for a moment that it was your body, I was so mad at Sally."
"At Who?!!"
"At Sally. She was insulting about Jesus and declared that she would never bow her knee to Him, and, well, I made her."
"So I see. But what was she trying to do?"
"Kill both of us with the butcher knife."
"Oh boy! Well she didn't succeed I see, though I've certainly seen you looking better."
As Elaine helped me to clean up both myself and the kitchen I asked her:
"Elaine, did you used to do things like that, enter into another person's body and move and talk through them, I mean?"
"Sure, that was simple."
"Were you consciously aware of what you were doing and what was said and done?" "Yes."
"But how did you do it? I think maybe this is another doorway. How else could she have gotten in?"
"I really don't know how I did it, I just did it. It was one of the first things I learned to do. As I grew in power, I could leave my body and go anywhere and do anything I wanted, ail the while still being consciously aware of what was happening and what I was doing with my physical body too."
Suddenly something clicked. The Holy Spirit brought back to my memory a book I had read over a year before. Excitedly I ran to my bookshelf to get it. I told Elaine I thought it might contain the answer to our dilemma. It talked about "soul-power" which is really the power in the human spirit body when under the control of the soul. There are two books that deal with this subject. The Latent Power Of The Soul, by Watchman Nee, and Soul And Spirit, by Jessie Penn-Lewis. Over the next two days Elaine and I read aloud together through the entire book The Latent Power Of The Soul.
We both began to understand just what the strange power was that Elaine had used in addition to demons for so many years. satan never teaches his people what they are using, just how to use the power within them. (The topic of the control of the human spirit by the soul will be explained more fully in chapter 14.)
Elaine had been consciously controlling her spirit body.
As we learned about human spirits, I began to get to know many of the witches and warlocks of the area as various ones of them came into Elaine with their spirit body to try to kill both of us. One of the most troublesome of them was code-named David, the high priest of the large and powerful coven in the city in which we lived. He was a physician at the hospital where I was training and he told me that he had sworn to kill me at any cost.
The human spirits were much more difficult to fight than the demons as they had no respect at all for God. I was reminded of James 2:19, "Even the devils believe and tremble." and of Jude 8-13:
"Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.' But these speak evil of those thing which they know not; but what they know naturally as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them!... carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever."
No matter how desperate the battle, the Lord always gave me the physical strength I needed.
As we read and learned, the Lord began steadily impressing upon me that Elaine must give up entirely all of her ability to control her spirit body with her soul. He revealed to me that she had been using it to fight with all along. At last I began to understand what had been going on during her time as a patient at the hospital. She and the nurses had been having witchcraft duels under my nose and I hadn't known it. The pieces of the puzzle began to fit together. No wonder the nurses had all been so hostile. Elaine had been winning every time!
It was then that Elaine faced one of the severest tests of her commitment to Christ. The conscious control of her own spirit body not only permitted her to use it, but she was also able to see and communicate with the spirit world whenever she wanted. This, of course, permitted her to see by her spirit whenever an attack was coming. At the Lord's guidance I told her that I thought that the only way that the doorway for human spirits could be closed was for her to ask the Lord to take away all of her power and abilities of witchcraft and the control of her spirit body. To take it all away so completely that even if she were to rebel and decide to use it again that she would be unable to do so.
Elaine agonized over this decision for the better part of the day. She knew only too well that to give up all of her power left her completely defenseless against the many who were trying to torture and kill her. She would then be totally dependent upon the Lord. But her love for, and commitment to the Lord won through and that evening another big step was taken as Elaine and I knelt together and she prayed asking the Lord to take away all of her powers and to sever between her soul and spirit as in Hebrews 4:12.
That night another important lesson was learned. I had just drifted off to sleep when suddenly the Lord awakened me and I ran into the bedroom to find Elaine sitting up in bed under the control of a demon. The demon was pointing with hand and arm outstretched. As the Lord enabled me to hear his guttural, muttered words I was horrified to realize that he was using Elaine's spirit body and directing it at Sally in an effort to kill her. Immediately I reached over and passed my hand up and down in front of the demon's pointing finger saying:
"NO demon, I block you with the power of the name of Jesus! You no longer have any right to use Elaine's spirit because she has asked the Lord to seal it."
How thankful I was that she had taken that important step. Otherwise the demon would have had legal right to use it.
Furious, he turned on me screaming in rage.
"How dare you stop me! Her spirit belongs to me, I will use it as I please."
"No demon, you can't. It is now under the blood of Jesus and sealed off from anyone's use forever. Now go! I command you in the name of Jesus."
He drew back, eyes glaring pure hatred. "I, Yahshun, the prince will return again, I will kill you for what you have done tonight!" With those words he left.
As he left Elaine's body sagged against me, then she returned to consciousness. I told her of the incident and how Yahshun had been trying to use her spirit.
"Tell me, Elaine, did the demons use your spirit like that before you turned to Jesus?"
"Oh, yes, often. I could not stop them. I was disciplined many times for trying to do so.
Yahshun is a very high demon. He and other demons like him use the spirits of cult members as they please. Often this results in much weakness and sickness for the person. satan never asks, he just takes!"
Later that night I awakened abruptly as Elaine's hands, under the control of Yahshun, closed about my throat. (I was so exhausted I had just dropped off to sleep and had not heard Elaine come into the room.) I struggled fr antically to loosen the steel-like fingers that were strangling me. The Lord gave me strength as I silently cried out to Him. Somehow, I managed to break his grip just before passing out from lack of oxygen. We rolled all over the bed and down onto the floor, locked in desperate battle. Waves of fear swept over me.
Gasping for breath, I kept saying: "I will defeat you in the name of Jesus. You will leave now!"
He fought desperately, cursing, and threatening. But I kept commanding him to go in the name and authority of Jesus and finally with one last enraged shriek he left. Instantly there was a great quietness and a peace in the room such as we had not experienced since the first appearance of the light-cylinder. As always, the Lord had given me the strength that I needed. But the wounds I had received took several weeks to heal. My larynx was damaged so that I had difficulty speaking for some weeks.
Again we both breathed a sigh of relief thinking that our troubles with the doorway for human spirits were over. How wrong we were. Over the next couple of days repeatedly the spirits of the various witches and warlocks came to torment us. After much prayer and searching we realized that there were three levels of the soul which controlled the spirit the conscious, sub-conscious and a deep third unconscious level (these are, or course, the three levels in the mind). It is this third unconscious level that the demons make so much use of. Elaine had to ask the Lord to deal with all three levels of control of her spirit by her soul. As she did this she was sealed by the Lord. Neither she nor any demon or other person has been able to use her spirit body or enter her through that doorway from that day on.
During the course of our battling I became more and more aware not only of the spirit world but of God's angels as well. One night shortly after the struggle with Yahshun I was particularly ill and exhausted and much weaker than usual. The demons saw this and became much more aggressive in their physical attack.
As one of the demons came to the surface, reaching for my throat, bragging that he was stronger than the rest, the Holy Spirit commanded me:
"Do not resist, I will take care of this one."
Immediately I obeyed, hoping fervently that I had heard the Lord correctly as the demon's hands, controlling Elaine's body, began to close about my neck. Suddenly, one-by-one, his fingers were pulled off my throat. Then his hands pulled away from me, pulled down, and his hands and arms crossed in front of him and held firm; rendering him helpless. I could not see the force holding the demon's hands, but he was obviously struggling with something, cursing loudly. As his arms were held firm despite all of his protests, he looked at me and snarled:
"Get those angels off of me, they are hurting me!"
With great joy I praised the Lord for His provision, and gleefully told the demon, "Oh, no, demon, they are not mine to command.
Only the Lord gives them orders. If you want them to set you free, you must ask Jesus, not me."
That demon left almost at once. During the next several days I received help from the angels over and over again. Sometimes the demons would address the angels by name.
Sometimes they would snarl an answer to a question that I could not hear with my physical ears, but had obviously come from one of the angels. More than once, a demon's hand would be stopped in mid-air as he tried to hit me. I received great comfort and encouragement from the realization that the angels were there.
One night about half-way through the eightweeks of battling, a new direction was given to us by God. It was about 3 A.M. I had been battling with the demons in Elaine continuously since arriving home from work that afternoon. Exhausted, Elaine had just dropped off to sleep and I was sitting on the couch, knees drawn up, chin resting on my knees, arms about them, pondering the events of the battle of that night. The demons were becoming much stronger and harder to deal with and I was growing much weaker physically. I had been very concerned about this and had, for the past week been asking Father to reveal to me what else I could do to gain strength against the demons.
Suddenly, I felt a "presence" on the couch next to me although no sound had been made. I jumped and looked up. There on the couch next to me sat the tallest and most powerfully built young man I had ever seen. I knew immediately that this man was not a human.
He had shining golden hair, deep blue eyes and the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. He was clean shaven and deep creases slashed his cheeks as he smiled at me. He was dressed in shining white with a golden belt and a huge sword at his side. His tunic-like top was trimmed with gold braid which I had no doubt was made of pure gold. He also wore loose fitting white pants and golden sandals. His skin was bronzed as with a beautiful deep suntan. Light radiated from him with a power that I had never experienced. Immediately he spoke, saying: "Women, I have a message for you from the Father."
Before he could say any more I interrupted him, not too politely, I'm afraid.
"STOP! Who are you?"
"I am your guardian angel."
I was impressed, not only by his size and shining white raiment, but also by a look of such purify in his eyes. However, the verse in II Corinthians 11:14 flashed into my mind:
"And no marvel for satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."
I also thought about the Scripture verses in I John 4:1-3:
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God..."
With these Scriptures going through my mind I answered curtly:
"Yes, well, I've had demons try to tell me they were my guardians. WHO is your master?
Whom do your serve?"
"I serve the Lord of Hosts."
"That's not good enough, satan calls himself that!"
He smiled again and said, "I serve the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Jesus Christ who was born of a virgin, came to earth in the flesh, died on the cross and rose from the grave three days later. This same Jesus who is God and now sits in Heaven on the right hand of the Father, this Jesus is my Lord and master."
I was relieved, for I knew that he had passed the test given to us by the Lord in I John 4. I knew no demon would dare make such a declaration, satan would tear him to shreds on the spot if he did.
"Oh, O.K., I'm sorry, but I had to be sure who you were. I was afraid you were a demon manifesting in such a form to try to deceive me."
He nodded, "Father sent me to tell you to be of good courage, do not be afraid or discouraged for we are with you protecting you every step of the way. The battle is going to become even more intense from this point on and Father says you must be sure to always put on the armor of God."
"Do you mean the armor of God spoken of in Ephesians chapter 6?"
"Yes, that is what I am referring to."
Ephesians 6:10-18 says:
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."
"But tell me," I asked, "how do I put this armor on?"
"Pray like this: 'Father, would you please put your complete armor on me now, I ask and thank you for it in the name of Jesus."' "How often should I ask for the armor?"
He sat looking upward for a few seconds, then nodded his head and turned back to me.
"Father says that once every 24 hours will be sufficient. Even as the Lord Jesus told you when He was here on earth that you must take up your cross daily, so must you put on the armor and prepare for battle daily. You must understand that this is very important.
Don't forget to ask for it each day. If you don't have the armor on you will get hurt."
"But I don't understand, I can't see this armor, and the Scripture sounds as if it is rather symbolic. Where does it go?"
"The armor of God goes on your spirit body.
God's word plainly states that you are engaged in a spiritual battle, so the armor is also spiritual. You need to search your Scriptures further on this."
(The following day, I found a much overlooked verse tucked away in I Corinthians 15:44 which says "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.")
Then the angel's sober expression lightened.
He said, "You always have so many questions, Father says you are permitted to ask me any questions you have, I will answer them." Many questions were buzzing about in my head. But there was one thing that I longed to know most: "Tell me, what is Jesus really like?
Please, can you tell me more about Him? I so long to know Him better."
The angel sat back, crossing his legs into a more relaxed position. "Well, Jesus is so beautiful! One flash of His smile lights up the whole universe with warmth and love. Jesus works so intensely and tirelessly for His church. No detail of the care of each one of His people is too small for His undivided attention.
He is constantly at work both caring for His people and bringing others into His church. His glory extends out and out, through the whole universe and beyond. It never ends."
I sat pondering his words, trying to picture it all in my mind. "I have often wondered if Jesus' glory was something like a beautiful sunrise. I mean, everything is dark, then the beautiful light and colors begin to creep up over the horizon. The light and colors grow and grow in brightness and beauty as the sun gets closer and closer to popping up over the horizon.
Then as it does so, it is so brilliant and beautiful. Would the glory of Jesus be something like that as He would move toward you?"
"Yes, that's it exactly!"
We sat and talked for close to two hours. I will never forget that wonderful experience. The love of God radiated from this creature so strongly I gained a fresh understanding of just how much God loves us. The angel told me that the Lord cares so much for His children that every time one of them cries He sends an angel to hold that person in his arms and bring comfort to him. The people never realize this, of course, but it happens just the same.
The angel also told me that God has created all of his angels with so much love, that every person has a special guardian angel who guards him or her because he has so much love for that individual that he petitioned Father for the job of guarding him from his birth. I was reminded of Hebrews 1:13-14 which says:
"But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"
That night I learned in a new depth the meaning of the verse which says:
"But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." I Corinthians 2:9 The angel had pointed out many Scriptures to me which, as I prayerfully studied them, revealed much more of the incredible plans God has for His people in the future.
The battle did get much more intense after that meeting with the angel, but I found that each day as I asked Father for the armor, I had more strength and did not suffer in my body so much as a result of the constant conflict with the demons.
During this time of battle I realized that I had reached the point where I no longer cared about possessions or for any of the social activities I used to enjoy. I was growing to be very different from the people around me. I could not share my experiences with anyone, except, occasionally Pastor Pat. I did not know of anyone else who would understand. I worried that I was not staying balanced. I took the problem to Father in prayer, pouring out my doubts and fears. I knew that I would never be smart enough to detect or figure out satan's deceptions, I had to trust the Lord to show me if I was falling into a trap of satan's. At that point the Lord instructed me to read the first epistle of Peter. I must admit that I was rather disappointed as I didn't see how that could help, but, in obedience, I did what Father asked. As I read, the Lord opened a new understanding to me of those precious verses:
"... to the strangers scattered throughout..." I Peter 1:1 "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims.... " I Peter 1:11 Then the Lord brought two other Scriptures to my attention:
"Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me." Psalm 144:1-2 "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." II Corinthians 4:17-18 There is a price to be paid when we fix our eyes (or attention) on what is "unseen." We become aliens and strangers in this world. We do not really have a home here on earth. We will arrive home at last only when Jesus returns to take us home to live with Himself.
As the weeks went by I became increasingly concerned that the intense battle with the demons was destroying Elaine's body. I had many times asked Father how long this must go on and always His answer was, "Until you have learned enough." At last the day came when Father told me to contact Pastor Pat to arrange a time for Elaine's final deliverance. I did so, but did not tell Elaine. I knew that if I did, then the demons in her would hear and do all they could to hinder us.
As the day of Elaine's final deliverance approached both the demons and the spirits of the local witches and warlocks were becoming a greater and greater problem. We could not see them, so had no forewarning of their attacks.
Elaine and I were constantly being picked up and thrown across the room, furniture and other objects were frequently being thrown at us - all by unseen beings. We were both bruised from head to toe because of their attacks.
At last the night before Elaine's final deliverance came. We were both completely exhausted and I was very worried as Elaine was also quite ill. We tried to lie down but continuously one or the other of us was pulled off our bed by an unseen spirit and thrown onto the floor or against the wall. There was a growing presence of evil in the house which weighed heavily on my spirit. Even the air seemed so thick with evil that it was difficult to breathe.
Late that night I was sitting on the edge of Elaine's bed cradling her in my arms, desperately trying to hold her and shield her with my own body from the continuous attacks.
She was so weak by then that she had no strength left to even try to resist the attacks.
Tears streamed down my face as I cried out to the Lord for help.
"FLEE! " One word was suddenly flashed into my spirit and mind with great force. "FLEE! "
Then the Lord flooded into my mind the Scripture in Matthew chapter 2 where Joseph was instructed by an angel of the Lord in the middle of the night to take Mar}7 and the infant Jesus and flee into Egypt. I knew then that I must take Elaine and run, or we would both be killed.
I asked the Lord to surround us so that the demons and human spirits could not see us leaving. Immediately my spiritual eyes were opened and I saw a ring of powerful warrior angels close about us. Elaine was barely conscious and completely unable to walk. I was not much stronger than she, but knew that we must be obedient to that urgent command. So, I stumbled off the bed with Elaine in my arms.
As I began to fall under her weight I heard one of the angels snap a command and immediately two angels lifted us. They essentially carried us out to the car. They put Elaine in the passenger's seat and securely seat-belted her in, then carefully closed and locked the door.
She was completely unconscious by then.
I was not sure where to go, so just started out.
It was a beautiful clear night, the stars and moon were shining brightly. As I drove down the highway, the Lord permitted me to see through my spirit what was going on back at my house. The demons and human spirits were frantically going all through the house and yard searching for us. I praised the Lord for His goodness and mercy to us. satan and his servants had no idea where we were. We were completely hidden! Then the Lord instructed me to go to my brother's house. We arrived about 3 A.M. and spent the rest of the night there.
The next morning, I again put Elaine in the car and headed for the church. About a half-mile from the church Elaine turned to me and said:
"Rebecca, you have not told me where we are going. Now please be honest and tell me what in the world is going on?" "Well, we are headed for the church. Today is the day the Lord has chosen for your final deliverance."
"Great!" That was the only word Elaine managed to get out. Immediately the demons surfaced. They were raging, screaming mad. I was thankful that I had obeyed the Lord and had carefully seat-belted Elaine in and locked the door. Otherwise the demons would have thrown her out of the car. As we rounded the corner into the church drive their struggle to escape became frantic. But the Lord had everything well planned. As I pulled to a stop and turned to try to hang on to Elaine, my friend Judy, who was there to help us, walked quickly to my car, an open Bible in hand. She pulled open Elaine's door and said: "Just listen to the Scripture the Lord has given us for today:
'I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will sing praise unto thee.
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
'In the day when I cried thou answered me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the gloiy of the Lord.
'Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. Though 1 walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
'The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever:
Forsake not the works of thine own hands."' Psalm 138 As Judy read those beautiful words the demons in Elaine quieted down and came under control. Then Judy and I helped Elaine out of the car. As we came to the church door they began to struggle frantically again. But again, the Lord had everything in hand. Pastor Pat and the assistant pastor met us at the church door. The men each grabbed one of Elaine's arms.
"I see vve have some very unhappy demons here," Pastor Pat exclaimed. "Now you demons shut-up and be still. We bind you in the name of Jesus!" If the Lord had not had the men at the door to help us, I doubt that Judy and I would have been strong enough to get Elaine down the hall to the Pastor's study.
Immediately, when the five of us entered the study and the door was closed, the battle was on. It raged for the next ten hours. The demons were like caged wild animals and they fought desperately for they knew their final hour had come. But they didn't stand a chance for the power and the presence of the Lord was in that room in a remarkable way. That day will always remain in my mind as one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had. The Lord was in complete control and there was absolutely smooth coordination as He used first one of us, then another. We had not been able to completely deliver Elaine before because we did not know all the doorways to close. That day the Lord gave us revelation after revelation.
With a person deeply possessed as Elaine was, the demons must be cleaned out from the inside out. I have listed below the doorways in the order in which they must be closed. The Lord showed us that day, and in many many instances since then that it is much easier and more efficient to clean out a person by areas rather than going after specific demons. Also, in this way the deliverance workers control the demons instead of waiting to see what will manifest. The leader or head over each area is cast out along with all his subordinate demons at the same time. There are just too many demons to try to cast out each one individually - it would take far too much time, causing everyone involved to become too exhausted and discouraged. (For instance the demon Legion may have up to 4,000 subordinate demons with him. Our Lord Jesus set us the example of casting them all out at once in Luke chapter 8.)
1. In most persons involved deeply in the occult there is a doorway for satan himself.
This innermost doorway is held open by a very high demon who refers to himself as a "Son of satan." (Note: this title will change with different geographical areas, and the specific names of these demons also change, and are too numerous to try to list.
Specifying the demon by his function will be sufficient to establish authority over him.)
This doorway permits satan himself to enter a person and speak and act through their body at will.
2. The next is the area of the human spirit.
There is one high demon over the entire spirit. This demon is frequently called a "guiding spirit" but may take different titles in various areas. MannChan was Elaine's guiding spirit. Then there are three areas within the spirit itself, each area has a head demon with many lesser demons under his command. The three areas in the spirit are: conscience - the ability to discern right and wrong intuition - the ability to discern the Lord and sense His presence worship the area through which we worship the Lord "in spirit" as in John 4:23: "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth..."
3The soul has several areas. The head demon over the entire area of the soul usually refers to himself as a "power" demon.
These power demons will be discussed at some length in chapter 14 where we deal with the topic of the soul-controlled spirit.
There are 6 areas within the soul. The first 3 have to do with controlling the spirit: conscious sub-conscious unconscious Then there are 3 other areas: will mind emotions Again, each has a head demon with underlings.
4. Last is the physical body. The head demon over the body is usually a "death demon" such as Yaagog. They are powerful and quite capable of bringing about the physical death of the person they inhabit through illness within a very short time if not restrained by the Lord. The areas within the body are: brain - meaning the physical organ the rest of the physical body itself sexual - the head demon in that area holds open the door which gives satan the legal right to have sexual relations with the person, also other demons as well.
There are many Scriptures that refer to and confirm the above areas. Time and space does not permit the listing of them all. The one that was the most important to us was:
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
I Thessalonians 5:23 If you have further questions about these areas I would strongly recommend that you read the book The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee
which gives excellent scriptural references and an explanation of these areas.
The assistant pastor had never experienced a deliverance session before and had not known about this one until an hour or so before it started. I was most amused when, about half way through, as we stopped for a short break, he made the comment:
"You know7, all this makes mowing the grass seem awfully mundane somehow!" Then he went on to tell us about a remarkable experience he had had the evening before. It was fairly late and he was sitting in his study at the church reading when:
"Suddenly the Holy Spirit pulled the book out of my hands and threw my hands up in the air and commanded me to stand up. As I did so, He told me to get a bottle of oil and go to the Pastor's study. I was the only person in the church at the time. The Holy Spirit then instructed me to close and lock the doors and anoint the door posts and lintels, then the doors themselves, then all the window's, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to ask the Lord to seal this room. I did so but had no idea why. This room remained closed and sealed until we entered it this morning."
We all praised the Lord for His provision. The sealing of that room was to provide protection from any outside interference during Elaine's deliverance.
In all, the battle lasted over ten hours. What a time of praise and rejoicing we had at the end!
Once again, the Lord had remained faithful to His word, and had SET THE CAPTIVE FREE. From that day on Elaine has remained clear and free from demons. We cannot praise and thank the Lord enough for her wonderful deliverance!
The ultimate victory of Christ over the powers of darkness.