The Early Church saw that people could be possessed with demons working in the capacity of familiarity.   They mostly called familiar spirits “pythonic spirits.”

The evocation of the dead through familiar spirits was a feature of that Gnosticism which assailed the Christian church in the Apostolic era, and against which Paul, by the Holy Spirit, speaks of particularly in his epistle to the Colossians.

Some of the church, however, in later times saw no problem with seeing visions of the human dead, the dead saints,  and communicating with them.  Problem!   Paul in 2 Cor. 5:8 said to be absent from the body is to be present with the  Lord.  What is  more clear and explicit then this?  For a saint to be absent from the body is to be present  with the Lord (that is, the soul of the saint being absent from the body is present with the  Lord).

Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Please notice 2 Samuel 12:23: But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

The Practice

The practice of inquiring by familiar spirits can be traced back to the Egyptians.  This art was discovered by the Israelites from their capacity by the Egyptians.  All abominations were introduced to the Israelites by the Egyptians.

The practice of familiar spirits was commonly found during the times of rebellion or apostasy.  It had to be stomped out many times. Notice the Witch of Endor (1 Sam. 28:3).

It was a forbidden practice (Deuteronomy 18:11; Isaiah  8:19; 1 Samuel 28:7-25). This shows that the trafficking of spiritual spirits was foreign to the true worship of God. God should be called upon, not demons or the human dead.

The ob of the Hebrews was in fact the same as the pythons of the Greeks. It was commonly used to denote the medium and his spirit (familiar). With this trafficking (with) of familiar spirits is many times found ancestor-worship, nature worship, and other types of paganism.

The trafficking with familiar spirits by the Jewish people, in particular by Rabbis continued to be found. Some rabbi was able to visit with the spirits of Adam and Abraham. It has been reported that some rabbis conjured up for questioning the spirits of Titus, Balaam, and Jesus.

A Jesus that you can conjure and manipulate is not the same Jesus that went up.

Familiar Spirits and their Mediums.

The medium prepares himself or herself for the entrance of the spirit.  Most mediums were women.  There was sexual practices involved as well.  The mediums liked to be around grave yards.

The mediums would empty their minds so that the entity would come and possess them. The mediums may show physical signs of the entity entering and taking possession. The spirit would speak audibly only to the questioner and not to the necromancer who alone who could see the spirit. The spirits when taking possession and thereafter may show other signs:

The phrase “peep and mutter” in Isaiah 8:19 in particular deals with the spirits peeping and muttering through the mediums. They squark and gibber from the earth. They speak with their own voice or imitate the voice of the human dead.

Notice about the mediums:  There can be no doubt that mediums can receive communications from another world. And there can be no doubt either that mediums receive this communications from evil spirits.

“Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him” (1Sam 18:12). Satan envies and fears most those who have been with God in prayer and are determined to stand up and fight in faith. Satan fears even a small army of those who are girded up in faith for a fight.

He cowers before those who are up on their feet and ready to resist. And because he fears you, his design is to neutralize your fighting spirit. The devil does this by trying to flood your mind with defeating, distracting, hellish thoughts that breed mistrust and questions about God’s power. He’ll scream into your mind and spirit, “It’s no use fighting any more. You are too weak from your personal struggles. You’re never going to be an overcomer.

The powers of hell are just too big to overcome. So, you might as well relax. You don’t need to be so intense about the battle anymore.” This is all a distraction! Satan’s entire strategy is to get you to take your eyes off the victory of the Cross. He wants to turn your focus onto your weaknesses, your sins, your shortcomings – and that’s why he turns up the heat of your present problems and sufferings. He wants to make you believe you aren’t strong enough to go on. But your strength is not the point: Jesus’ strength is!

The fact is, we’re all going to be in a fight until we either die or Jesus comes back. We may be given seasons of calm, times of reprieve. But as long as we are on this earth, we are engaged in spiritual warfare. And there is simply no end to these battles.

That’s why Paul says Jesus has given us weapons that are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. We have been equipped with weapons that Satan cannot withstand: prayer, fasting and faith. The time has come for us to get our focus unstuck from our current afflictions. We must take our eyes off our trials and fix them on the Captain of this war.

Jesus holds the key to all victory and he has promised us: “I have supplied you with every weapon needed for battle. And I am ready and willing to give you strength in times of weakness.”

A wise man once said ” we have nothing to fear but fear itself ” . These are hard times for sure , and everything  that can be shaken is being shaken….financial  security , job security , even the false security that many people have put into the “church “  is being shaken……. our security is in a person not a  “church “…This shaking has brought about financial , emotional and spiritual doubts in many.The bottom line is fear instead of faith is prevailing in many. And yet as christians we should be looking forward into the days ahead with great faith and hope .It really does not matter what comes upon our world because our King has prevailed His Kingdom will come  and His will  shall be done.As christians we should be looking forward to the future with great faith and hope .We have got to realize that it is not all about us .It is all about Him ! These days are opportunities for God to show Himself to us and many.He is seeking our attention and He wants us to know He is there. Faith , Hope, and love are the only things that truly abide forever…..that is real security !…..we must be grounded in faith ,hope and love….these will bring about true and lasting peace and security in the days ahead and carry us right into eternity! We must stop letting circumstances rob us of our peace and our joy.We must get our eyes off of  our fears and on to our King !..It is His Kingdom ….He rules it.What we look at is what we get….the scriptures say “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith “..Can you embrace this type of faith ? Can you trust God ? I mean really trust Him….If we can walk out 2009 in great faith and hope then 2009 will become one of the greatest seasons of our lives and the life of the church because God will be demonstrating Himself thru us…..and to a lost and dying world…will you let Him do it thru you ?…….Blessings…and Shalom…Jude24

1. You are blessed with every spiritual blessing in christ (Eph 1:3)

2. You are loved by God, holy, and without fault (Eph 1:4)

3. You are adopted as God’s child (Eph 1:5,6)

4. Your sins are taken away, and are forgiven (Eph 1:7)

5. You are marked as belonging to God, by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13)

6. You have been raised up to sit with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph 2:6)

7. You are God’s masterpiece and created anew (Eph 2:10)

8. You have been brought near to God from afar (Eph 2:13)

9. You share in the promise through Christ ( Eph 3:6)

10. You can come with freedom and confidence into God’s presence (Eph 3:12)

11. You are a member of Christ’s body, the church (Eph 5:29,30)

12. You are a soldier for Christ (Eph 6:12)