Spirituality: Holy or Unholy?

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie. – 2 Thessalonians 2: 8-11

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.- 1 John 4: 1 -6

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. – 2 Corinthians 11:14

We live in a spiritual universe behind the veil of the natural and material world. Many of us apprehend spiritual phenomena, from answered prayer, unworldly evil, surprising synchronicity, and more. An examination of multiple spiritual paths reveals revelation of spiritual power through practice, granting supernatural abilities and manifestations of individual will.

Those of us who have touched and experienced spiritual powers and transformations are convinced of its existence and that we are indeed living within a spiritual world. As a matter of compelling interest, I have studied spiritual systems for most of my lifetime, noting the poetry and delight in texts and meaning. Because I come from a conservative, academic, theological, Christian background, it is the lens through which I view my learning.

I have gained much from my studies. Comparative evaluation of other systems has illuminated knowledge from my own faith background. There are many similarities and overlaps. But the spirits behind those traditions are not the Holy Spirit as revealed in the Bible, either the Old Testament or the New.

As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:14, even Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. This deception is not limited to spiritual paths and practices outside of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but extends widely inside of Christianity, which I will address in later writings.

I have read about and witnessed spiritual powers that are not holy. Many spiritual texts outside of the Bible teach philosophies and methods to gain spiritual powers leading to demonstrations of signs and wonders. Most of those traditions openly admit to the practice of worshipping multiple spirits and even demons. Almost to a one, each of these pathways asserts that we are God, we can be like God, or we can have the same power as God in the same degree as God. And some deny the existence of God altogether.

The recent global awakening reveals not everyone has been awakened into the same spiritual realm. There is one Holy Spirit and many evil, demonic spirits which come from Satan, leading to spiritual death. An unholy spirit will lead to fulfillment of desires of the flesh, lack of godly, sacrificial love, focus on mysticism, infantile self-love, pride in one’s own power, spiritual narcissism, self-absorption, and cold-hearted materialism. This type of love is unholy.

This is how you will be able to recognize whether your awakening and practice indicates a movement of the Holy Spirit rather than unholy spirits. The invisible work of the Holy Spirit results in hatred of sin, desire for salvation, and belief in the gospel. It brings with it a belief in Christ and that he is Lord and the Son of God. It brings a delight for scripture and illumination of scripture. A movement of the Holy Spirit within a person will result in increasing Christlikeness and a desire to seek forgiveness. The Holy Spirit brings a desire for obedience and the ability to persevere through trial with a heart of thanksgiving. The Spirit of Truth brings with it an accurate view of Christ.

The role of the person who has been awakened into the Kingdom of God is not to condemn, but to speak the truth. Everything cannot be the truth and it is self-deceptive to believe that it is. There is truth even within systems which do not teach the ultimate truth as written in Biblical scripture. That is part of the veil of deception. Because I have been schooled so thoroughly in Biblical studies, I can see all of these things revealed within the pages of one book.

Believe according to the grace bestowed upon you and the measure of your faith. Examine yourself and the lives of your teachers. Jesus told the Jewish Pharisees they did not do as God instructed because they did not believe in him. The truth of the value of leading a holy life isn’t attractive to the natural man, but to the one born again of the Spirit of the Living God it is a compelling vision to live a life of redemption. Such a man chooses the pearl of great price over everything else.