7.2. SOME COMMENTS ABOUT, AND EXCERPTS FROM, THE BOOK, THE BEAUTIFUL SIDE OF EVIL, BY JOHANNA MICHAELSON (Foreword by Hal Lindsey, who was married to Kim, Johanna's sister; Harvest House Publishers, 1982). This book is out of print. I downloaded a pdf copy of this book from academia.edu. I don't have the original page numbers, and some of the chapter numbers and titles are missing from this pdf. I'll use the page numbers of this pdf. 

One reason that I wanted to comment on this book is to further demonstrate the super-important point that, in general, Satan's supernatural wasn't/isn't counterfeited from God's supernatural, and it certainly isn't OK for us to go to the New Age/occult world (or science, with an emphasis on quantum physics) to learn more about tapping into the God's supernatural. Many Christians are quite naïve and have very little insight regarding all of the things the devil is doing in our day, which quite often leads to sincere Christians (along with large numbers of non-Christians) being deceived by his work. All-too-often sincere Christians get involved with what looks good, but isn't. Johanna's book is titled The Beautiful Side of Evil because much of what was taking place in her life when she was involved with Silva Mind Control and psychic healing seemed beautiful and good, but it wasn't. Isn't healing always good? Not if it comes from the devil's kingdom, and his kingdom is doing a lot of healing, and many other seemingly good supernatural things, in our day. This never can work for ultimate good, and it is sinful for Christians, and very dangerous. 

Johanna became involved in a powerful manifestation of psychic healing (and many other occult things), while believing she was serving God. Those involved with the psychic healings were very often exhorted by Hermanito (the name the demon that was doing the healing was typically called, but they didn't believe he was a demon; more on this as we continue; Hermanito means "little brother" in Spanish) to pray to God for His help, and there was an occasion (page 81) where part of the instructions that the demon gave Johanna regarding a desperate need for healing (not her need for healing) included her saying, "May the most precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which when only represented in Egypt brought freedom to the Israelites by the strong arm of God, free us and favor us against all evil. Amen." Then she was to recite the Lord's Prayer. I'm not an expert on these things, but I know enough to not be surprised by these instructions. Many in the occult are not afraid to speak of God and Jesus, or to carry and quote from the Bible, or to speak of the precious blood of Jesus, or to sing songs about His blood. From the devil's point of view, these deceptive things work for good as long as people don't really understand these things. 

They had a crucifix on the altar and a picture of Jesus also. The devil wasn't being worshiped, at least not directly, and Hermanito, who was doing the supernatural things, wasn't demanding worship or perfect obedience to his directions. Once, when he was being profusely thanked after doing an "operation," he said, "All thanks belong to my father above" (page 87). Everyone assumed he meant God the Father, but surely that's not who he was referring to. Some well-respected surgeons, doctors, and other leaders, including some priests and nuns, promoted this healing "ministry." And some of them actually participated in the operations, even getting their hands bloody when they were directed to put their hands into the bodies of the "patients" who had been cut open, in order to help with the operation. Several people were directly involved in these operations along with Hermanito, who had taken possession of an older woman named Pachita to do his supernatural work. 

But there were powerful indicators that something was wrong too, and if Johanna (or other "Christians") had any discernment at that time, she would have run from that place. If I understand Johanna, she believes she was a deceived, born-again, true Christian when she was involved in that psychic healing. For one thing, in her first week at college, she had read "The Four Spiritual Laws" distributed by Campus Crusade for Christ and had invited Christ into her heart. Also, near the time she was finishing college, she went to church for a while and was impressed with the need to stop taking drugs, which she did. (These things all took place before she got involved with Silva Mind Control or psychic healing.) I'll leave that detail with God, whether she was a born-again Christian while involved with the psychic healing (and other occult things); if she was she was a very backslidden one. It may be relevant that Johanna doesn't believe it is possible for real Christians to lose their salvation. Anyway, she would obviously admit to being totally ignorant of a big part of what the Bible teaches when she was so directly involved with the occult world.    

They also had an occult bronze statue in the center of the altar that was relevant to the psychic healings that were taking place. When Johanna first visited that "operating room," a glow was coming from the statue and the crucifix beside it, and she was instructed to put her finger on the statue three times. When she touched it the third time there was a mild shock and she felt light and detached. The statue was of "Cuauhtemoc, the Aztec prince who had defiantly borne torture and death at the hands of Spanish conquistadores. At its feet lay a pair of surgical scissors and a rusty hunting knife" (page 7). Wikipedia on the internet says he was the last Aztec Emperor and that he died about AD1525 at the age of 27-28. 

The spirit of Cuauhtemoc (actually a demon impersonating him) entered the body of Pachita on a regular basis for many years, and he would do quite supernatural healings through her. It was clear that he was the one doing the work while possessing her; it was not her. Johanna was being prepared to take over for Pachita who, for one thing, was getting old and wasn't healthy. Hermanito had started using Pachita when she was young. Johanna finally became convinced that it was a demon and totally rejected the psychic healing and all of the other occult things she was doing. I'll share a little about her enlightenment and conversion as we continue.       

What about the pair of surgical scissors and the rusty hunting knife? These were the only instruments/tools that Hermanito used in his very large number of supernatural operations. This was all taking place in Mexico City, Mexico. Johanna grew up with her father, mother, and younger sister, Kim, near Mexico City, but they were Americans. There were no anesthetics used when these supernatural surgeries were taking place, and quite often there was no pain, or very little pain. They did use alcohol as an antiseptic. These tools were used to cut, very often deeply cut, into people's bodies to do things like remove cancerous tumors; remove defective vertebrae and replace them with vertebrae that had been acquired from the morgue; to remove things that had been put there by demonic curses (that are very real in Voodoo and Macumba, for example); to remove cataracts; and on and on. I'll give an example later of the removal of a cancerous growth from the brain area. It was very supernatural! Many have a hard time believing that these things actually happened. Large numbers of people were healed there and quite a few people were there to watch these "operations" take place year after year. 

We must understand that many supernatural things that look good, including healings, are taking place through the devil's kingdom. Many of those things are genuine miracles, not fakes. It is totally necessary to understand that genuine miracles don't begin to prove that God was/is involved. This is extremely important! MANY HAVE BEEN DECEIVED AND ARE CONVINCED THAT GOD MUST BE INVOLVED IF GENUINE MIRACLES ARE TAKING PLACE. That is very wrong, very dangerous thinking!  

An Example of One of Hermanito's Operations. (From pages 87-89): "... The knife and scissors had been wiped clean after the last operation and lay ready beside the cotton. 

Perry was a former army officer who had lived in Mexico since his retirement. For several years now he had suffered from an inoperable brain tumor which had increasingly tormented him with blinding headaches and nausea. The pain had become almost unbearable over the years and he was sure he didn't have long to live. 

'Tell him to lie on his side facing you my daughter [speaking to Johanna],' Hermanito [who had taken possession of Pachita] instructed me. 'Hold his hand and keep him talking.' Hermanito stood behind Perry, with Dr. Carlos [a well-respected surgeon who had his own practice, but sometimes assisted Hermanito with the psychic healings, not that Hermanito needed his medical advice/help], beside him. Hermanito extended his hand and I placed a small block of alcohol-saturated cotton in it. He rubbed it all over the top of Perry's head. [Apparently there wasn't much hair, if any, on Perry's head.] Again he extended his hand and I reached for the scissors [the surgical scissors that was one of his two operating tools]. 

'No, little one, hand me the knife first time.' In a single, violent motion he plunged it into Perry's skull.  

The man on the table gasped. 

'Do you feel pain, Perry?' I asked him anxiously.

'Oh, no' he replied with a faint smile, 'but I can feel something moving inside my head - it's so strange!' he laughed nervously. 

Hermanito worked inside the head for several minutes [using the hands of Pachita], snipping and cutting with the scissors I handed him. [Don't ask me how he got inside the head with one violent plunge of the hunting knife into Perry's skull. This was supernatural.] Then a stench, like the kind I had smelled so often during cancer operations, rose from the gaping hole in Perry's head as Hermanito pulled a stringy, dripping blob and dropped it into a large piece of cotton Dr. Carlos held for him.  

'I can't see very well,' Perry said as the wound was about to be closed. Hermanito looked up at me.  

'Little one, look into Perry's eyes...have they become crossed?' They had. Totally. 

'Well, that certainly won't do, will it?' Hermanito reached a hand back into the skull [referring to one of Pachita's hands; very often Hermanito would have Johanna, or others, reach their hands into parts of the bodies that he had cut open in order to help with the surgery; their hands would be covered with blood] - and Perry's eyes snapped back to their normal position. 

Several days after the operation, I [Johanna] called him to see how he was doing. He told me his headaches were completely gone for the first time in years, as was his nausea. He was eating and gaining weight. His color was back. In short, he felt wonderful. In fact, even the toothache he had during the operation had been healed that night. Almost a year later when Daddy ran into him, he reported he was still doing beautifully. None of the old symptoms had returned." 

Some people were not healed by these operations. For one thing, people needed to have faith in what was taking place there. Also, the more people had Christian reality, the more there was power hindering Hermanito's operations. 

How Johanna Got Involved with Psychic Healing. Johanna had much contact with the occult from the time she was young, starting when she was eleven. Much of that initial activity involved demons harassing her and causing her much fear. In college she was in the weird category in many ways and into drugs, a Ouija board, interactions with various demons, etc. By the time she graduated from college, she was in a mess and seriously depressed. She eventually discovered that one of her great grandmothers had been very deeply involved in the occult world and that she had predicted that someone from her third generation would inherit her "talent." 

The primary thing that led to Johanna's getting involved with psychic surgery was Silva Mind Control, which I discussed earlier in this paper. She received her two counselors. For the male counselor she chose Jesus. In general, whenever she went to the laboratory she had been instructed to create with her mind, she could see and communicate with him, a demon impersonating Jesus, which so often happens in the occult world. There was one problem: In the early days of her involvement with Silva Mind Control, "Jesus" would sometimes appear in grotesque ways, like with a werewolf's head. Somehow she didn't catch the idea that something was big-time wrong. We can typically find an excuse for just about anything if we are committed to something. 

Johanna proved to be a gifted student, and eventually the leader of that Silva Mind Control work in Mexico City took Johanna to meet Pachita and to view Hermanito's operations. Before long it was declared that she would soon become a full trance medium and eventually take over for Pachita.  

Some Comments on Johanna's finally leaving that "ministry" and the occult world. She eventually became a serious, Bible-believing Christian who has a ministry that, for one thing, warns against the sometimes quite subtle work of the occult that makes it a top priority to infiltrate and to do as much damage as possible to Christians and Christianity. She finally became convinced that Hermanito was a demon, not the spirit of Cuauhtemoc. By the way, there is ZERO room for Bible-believing Christians to accept the idea that the spirit of a person who died could come back and do things like what Hermanito was doing. The Bible forbids communing with the dead, which is called necromancy, where demons speak through mediums impersonating those who have died. For one thing, these demons are able to provide detailed information about those who have died to try to prove that they really are the spirits of those who have died. Necromancy is one of a very large number of things that the New Age/occult world did not counterfeit: It originated in Satan's occult world, and God's people, including in the Old Testament, are forbidden to go there. 

I'll quote part of the first paragraph that Johanna has on page 91. "By September 1972 I had been working with Pachita [and Hermanito] for over fourteen months. I had washed the blood of over 200 operations from my hands. I had seen everything from the removal of brain tumors to the replacement of vertebrae and lung transplants. I had seen things materialize and [be] removed from the human body during dano (curse) operations [removing things that had been caused by curses that had been put on these people through occult powers] which further defied belief and logical explanation...."  

"Things had become too hectic. The vision was no longer as clear as it had seemed when I first arrived. I needed to get away for a while, to spend time alone where I could commune with God and find my way again" (page 94). She went to say goodbye to Pachita September 1972. It turned out that before long she had become a solid, Bible-centered Christian and she never returned to psychic healing and the occult world. 

Her sister Kim, who knew a lot about what Johanna was into but who had become a solid, Bible-believing Christian, was significantly used by God to help Johanna begin to seriously doubt that the things she had been doing were of God. And Kim convinced Johanna to visit the Christian ministry center, L'Abri, that Dr. Francis Schaefer had established in 1955 in Switzerland. (Dr. Schaeffer had originally lived in St. Louis. I heard Dr. Schaeffer speak quite a few times and read several of his books. He was a solid evangelical Christian and, for one thing, he was able to minister to intellectuals from around the world on their level, dealing with philosophy, other religions, the arts, etc. For one thing, Dr. Schaeffer came to speak at Covenant Seminary when I was there.)

One reason they were able to help Johanna at L'Abri was that at least two people on the staff had some experience dealing with the occult and casting out demons. She certainly needed their help when the demons tried to kill her as she was rejecting them and solidly turning to and accepting the Lord Jesus. She went on to get grounded in the Bible attending a Bible school started by Hal Lindsey.

I'll quote a little of what Johanna says about Yoga. Many Christians think Yoga is safe for Christians to practice. "As a committed Christian, Kim [her sister] was certain that all my pet activities namely Yoga, (I had been teaching Hatha Yoga and learning Raja Yoga for about a year, [Silva] Mind Control, and psychic surgery, were of the devil, and said so. I was equally assured of the fact that she, on the other hand, was a narrow-minded, bigoted, Bible-thumping evangelical, who wouldn't know a genuine miracle from God if it ran her down in the street. ..." (page 96). 

"The practice of yoga had given discipline and structure to my life. Hours of exercise and meditation [this eastern meditation that uses a mantra to go into altered states of consciousness is very definitely off-limits for Christians] were opening my mind and spirit to a closer realization of my unity of the Light of God [the occult world emphasizes the unity of all things] - with the consciousness of the Christ force [which is often spoken of in the occult world but has nothing to do with the Lord Jesus Christ and new-covenant salvation], and that realization filled me with a confidence and a peace that I had never before experienced. ... During meditation vivid scenes of at least fifteen different incarnations [the incarnations go with reincarnation, which teaching clearly goes against the Bible but is widely held in the occult world] had filled my mind, expanding and adding to those I perceived years before giving me a deeper understanding of what I needed to sacrifice in order to achieve perfect unity with God" (page 97).

[[Further Discussion about Yoga. I'm certainly not an expert regarding yoga for Christians (yoga for Christians; yoga supposedly modified to make it safe for Christians), but I am concerned that it can, and sometimes has, hurt, very seriously hurt, Christians. It clearly is wrong to offer worship to other gods in any way, or using mantras, or doing eastern meditation that includes going into altered states of consciousness, or tapping into supernatural (demonic) abilities to do things you couldn't do otherwise. There are quite a few relevant articles on the internet. I'll quote five paragraphs from one of the articles on the internet and then a few other excerpts on this topic.

"Why 'Christian' Yoga?" by Candy Gunther Brown PhD in Psychology Today, posted August 23, 2019. "Psychological research shows that 'brand extension advertising facilitates parent brand recall.' If yoga is a 'parent brand' and [so called] Holy Yoga is a 'brand extension,' then positive experiences with Holy Yoga may encourage sampling of other yoga brands and beliefs about the divine. For some, this is a positive development, while for others [Christians] it is tantamount to apostasy. 

Christians who initially intend to worship Jesus through yoga may gravitate toward other religions and spiritual traditions. Survey research shows that longer-term yoga practitioners are less likely to identify as 'Christian' and more likely to identify as 'spiritual but not religious' or 'Buddhist.' For instance, Kristin grew up Catholic in Indiana and tried yoga for the physical 'stretches.' She now prefers Astanga's [Astanga is a type of yoga that is discussed earlier in this article] 'eight limbs' to Christianity's 'Ten Commandments.' 

How Can Yoga Practice Change Religious Beliefs? 

Ashtanga developer Pattabhi Jois and Pentecostals John Lindell and Corinna Craft [both mentioned earlier in this article: John Lindell is "an Assemblies of God megachurch pastor in Missouri (who in November 2018) provoked emotional reactions by telling his 10,500-member congregation that yoga opens Christians to 'demonic' oppression." "Pentecostal and former yoga instructor Corinna Craft argues that simply relabeling yoga as Christian fails to make it so...] offer similar answers: Yoga postures have already been dedicated to deities other than Jesus. Thus anyone who performs yoga postures, regardless of intentions, attracts the presiding spirits. [Demons will certainly do all that they can do to gain access to Christians and draw them away from the truth, righteousness, and full reality of new-covenant salvation. That's their assignment.] The debate here is over whether these spirits are good or bad. [Bible-believing Christians have to agree that yoga was initiated by spirits who are in rebellion against God. One of my primary concerns is a gradual shift away from a priority on the God of the Bible, His truth, and living for Him in His righteousness and holiness. Demons work in any way that they can against Christianity and Christians. Let's not open any doors for them!] 

Whether or not spirits exist or act in the physical world [and Bible-believing Christians know that they do exist], yoga postures affect beliefs because the human body and mind are connected. People practicing postures become more aware of sensory experiences and want to explain them. 

Teachers and ideas circulating in the broader yoga culture - ideas such as chakras ["The seven chakras are the main energy centers of the body." (from the internet)] and non-religious spirituality - guide interpretations of experience. When people enjoy yoga, they are receptive to the ideas they encounter while practicing."      

I'll Include Several Excerpts Dealing with Yoga from Occult Invasion: the Subtle Seduction of the World and Church by Dave Hunt (Harvest House Publishers, 1998), 647 pages. "As part of the most massive missionary effort in history - aimed directly against Christianity - every guru who has come to the West (from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to Baghwan Shri Rajneesh to Baba Muktananda) was sent here by his guru specifically to win converts to the Hindu/Buddhist pantheistic faith. Yogananda, for example, founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) and one of the forerunners of this massive evangelism campaign, personally initiated more than 100,000 disciples into kriya yoga. Maharishi has initiated millions into his TM brand of yoga. Yet the missionaries from the East all protest that they are teaching the science of yoga, health, and higher states of consciousness, not religion. 

We can register no legitimate complaint against those who seek to persuade others of what they sincerely believe to be important truth. However, they should not lie about their product or their purpose. And that is exactly what the gurus from the East have done. Yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning 'yoke,' and its aim is to yoke with the Hindu concept of God through self-realization: to achieve the enlightenment of realizing that atman, the individual soul, is identical with Braham, the universal soul - i.e., that one's true self is God. Yet yoga instructors solemnly swear that yoga has nothing to do with religion, when in fact it is the very heart of Hinduism" (pages 220-21). 

"Yoga was developed to escape from this unreal world of time and sense and to reach moksha, the Hindu heaven. With its breathing exercises and limbering-up positions, yoga is promoted in the West for enhancing health and better living - but in the East it is understood to be a way of dying. Yogis claim the ability to survive on almost no oxygen and to remain motionless for hours, free of the 'illusion' of this life" (page 222). 

"Hatha yoga, known as physical yoga, is alleged to be devoid of the mysticism in other forms. Not so. Yoga is yoga, and all of the positions and breathing exercises are specifically designed for yoking with Brahman, the universal All of Hinduism. If the goal is physical fitness, one should adopt an exercise program designed to that end, not one designed for reaching godhood. In one of the most authoritative Hatha Yoga texts, the fifteenth-century Hathayoga Pradipika, Svatmarama lists Lord Shiva (known by Hindus as 'The Destroyer') as the first Hatha Yoga teacher. No wonder yoga can be so destructive!  

The average yoga instructor does not mention the many warnings contained in ancient texts that even 'Hatha Yoga is a dangerous tool.' [Georg Feurstein, "A Brief History of Hath Yoga, Part II," in Yoga Journal, September/October 1987, p. 43.] In an unusually frank interview in Yoga Journal, Ken Wilber (practicing mystic and yoga enthusiast, often called today's 'Einstein of consciousness') warns that any form of Eastern meditation, even done 'correctly,' involves 'a whole series of deaths and rebirths; extraordinary conflicts and stresses...some very rough and frightening times' [Catherine Ingram, "Ken Wilber: The Pundit of Transpersonal Psychology," in Yoga Journal, September/October 1987, p. 43.).] ..." (page 223). (end of the discussion on yoga)]]       

And, I'll include one last quotation to show how far from the truth of God that Johanna had become before she escaped from the occult world to live for God as a born-again, Bible-believing Christian: "But above all stood my belief in Jesus Christ. He was my guru, my guide, my counselor and Lord; the Holy One of God who stood far beyond all other avatars (incarnations of deities); the One who deigned to come into my psychic laboratory to commune with me, giving me visions of inexpressible ecstasy. ....” She went on to say that he was her way to salvation through his teaching and example...but not necessarily everyone's way." This shows a serious lack of understanding of the gospel of new-covenant salvation; according to the New Testament the only way of salvation is through the all-important atoning death and resurrection of the Son of God who always existed with the Father, and through whom all things were created, and through receiving the life-giving, Righteous, Holy Spirit of God who enables us to be born again and live in the righteousness and holiness of God.      

7.3. SOME COMMENTS ON, AND EXCERPTS FROM, THE 51 PAGE BOOK, WITCH DOCTOR: THE STORY OF ARLINDO BARBOSO DE OLIVEIRIA, BY LESTER SUMRALL (published by World Temples, Inc. in 1963; a newer publication is available through Lester Sumrall ministries; I assume the content is still the same, but I don't have the newer publication). Lester Sumrall (1913-1996) was a bold, powerful Pentecostal evangelist who ministered around the world. He was noted for his effectiveness in setting people free from Satan's power and establishing churches. He wrote many books, including many that deal with victory over the occult. Some of his encounters with demons are so powerful and unusual that they are hard to believe. I have followed his ministry enough, including being in meetings where he ministered, to say that I am sure that these things did happen.  

One was the deliverance of a boy in the Philippines who would become invisible under demon power. Another case that had far-reaching positive consequences for Sumrall's ministry in the Philippines was his setting free a young prostitute in a Manila prison. She would begin to scream when two demons she could see would literally bite her. Nobody could see the demons but her, but everybody there could see the bite marks on her body with blood and saliva at the wounds. The call went out on the media for someone to help when the medical community, police, religious communities, etc. were not able to help her.  

The Lord Jesus sent Sumrall, who was in the country to minister and establish a church, to set her free, which he did. The news of the problem and how she was set free was broadcast far and wide and it resulted, for one thing, in the authorities helping Sumrall's ministry in the Philippines. Sumrall made movies that deal with these two last-mentioned victories in Christ ("The Invisible Boy" and "Bitten by Demons.") For many years he pastored a church in South Bend, Indiana; he started a Bible college; and his ministry eventually owned quite a few Christian TV stations, radio stations, including short wave radio; and he established a humanitarian ministry.    

One reason that I wanted to comment on Sumrall's book about the Macumba witch doctor here is to further demonstrate the super-important point that, in general, Satan's supernatural wasn't/isn't counterfeited from God's supernatural, and it certainly isn't OK for us to go to the New Age/occult world to learn more about tapping into the God's supernatural. When I first read this (short) book in the late 60s or early 70s, I found this information to be important and interesting. Lester Sumrall wrote the book after meeting Arlindo in Brazil and learning his story. Sumrall established an evangelistic center in Brazilia, where Arlindo lived.  

Arlindo was "baptized to the devil while in his mother's womb" (page 7), and he was a Umbanda-Macumba witch doctor for forty years before he was set free and became a thankful, born-again, Bible-believing, dedicated, witnessing Christian. At the age of three "he went into a trance and revealed he had the power to call up spirits. [This was very unusual at this very young age, and a witch doctor requested that these things be postponed until he was seven, and this happened.] ... When he was seven Arlindo went into trances, talked with spirits and practiced spirit healings. Though he could not read or write at the time, he was able to write prescriptions which a pharmacist could read and fill. He wrote demon-inspired prescriptions for those who came to his mother's house. Soon he was recognized as a boy wonder among the Macumba worshippers" (page 15). 

(The following is not dealing with when Arlindo was young.) When people came to Arlindo with a need, sometimes a spirit would give him the answer in an audible voice. If the need was more involved, "I would go into a trance to get a reply...[which] would last from 30 minutes to 72 hours. Many things would take place in a trance. Sometimes I would cut myself with a knife on my arms, face and legs" (page 17). He went on to mention that he still has the scars. Arlindo didn't explain why he would sometimes cut himself while in a trance (I don't believe he knew why he did this, but it was clearly the work of demons; for one thing Satan and his demons will use people, but they certainly don't love them; they want to take them to hell), but on pages 5-6 he speaks of how "when the spirits were angry with [him]" he would do things while in a trance like walk on broken glass with his bare feet without being cut, or eating mouthfuls of crushed glass without being hurt, or putting fire in his mouth in various ways without being harmed. There were no scars from these things. 

"In Macumba...we always had an altar like the Catholics. We had African gods and Catholic saints together with candles" (page 33). "When I was a Macumba witch doctor, I personally knew of over 100 [gods/spirits; they worked through him], Oxala is the one we called the big god" (page 34).  

How Did Arlindo Get Saved? "In the beginning, God led me slowly and kindly. It was 1952 - my last year as a witch doctor - that I dreamed a most wonderful dream. I saw a beautiful white man with lovely blue eyes [Arlindo made it clear in this book that he believes it was Jesus that he saw. I believe the evidence is super-strong that it was Jesus that he saw, but I don't know about the blue eyes; most people believe Jesus had brown eyes. Arlindo was black.] and long hair - a man about 33 years of age. He came to me in my dream and said, 'Arlindo, do not follow this witchcraft any longer. It is all bad and it is evil.'  

I answered...'I don't know you, but please believe me. Macumba is not bad. I help men find jobs, I heal the sick.' Looking at me tenderly, He said, 'Yes, Arlindo, it is all bad and it is not the work of God.'

I was disturbed. I said to Him, 'Please tell me how it is bad.' He answered me in these words: 'It is enchantment and witchcraft and it is the devil's power and not God's power' " (pages 41-42). Arlindo wasn't at all convinced, but, for one thing, Jesus appeared to him in dreams some thirty times during the next year. Slowly he began to see the evil in witchcraft and wanted to leave it. He knew the spirits would try to destroy him, but though he was attacked by the spirits, he persevered by the grace of God. He mentioned that after eight years he still had to resist the evil spirits. All true Christians have to resist the devil. 

The Assembly of God pastor across the street from Arlindo's sister's home helped Arlindo come to a solid, Bible-based salvation in the Lord Jesus. 

I want to emphasize the point that Arlindo thought he was doing a lot of good through witchcraft. (The more deceptive Satan's work is, the better to seduce people to join his kingdom.) For one thing, "Arlindo told me [Sumrall] several times, 'Please explain to the people that as far as I know I never cursed a person by witchcraft. Many times I relieved curses that other witch doctors had placed on people" (page 8). He went on to mention though that he is not aware of many things that took place when he was in trances. 

I'll give an example of a healing that took place through Arlindo. It looks good, the deceptive beautiful side of evil. "One god [one of the demons that worked through Arlindo when he was in trances] had me offer a dove [as a sacrificial offering] and this was always a good omen. I offered this blood and told the person to go to the Roman Catholic church and as the priest was raising the host [the wafer used in a Roman Catholic eucharist] at the altar, he would be healed. That is exactly what happened" (page 34).        

This is dated but back then (1963) Arlindo was one of the 7,500 Chefe de Terreiros of [the one city] of Rio de Janeiro who boss, lead and guide one-third of the total population of four-million souls in Rio de Janeiro. These modern witch doctors speak words of life and death to their thousands of followers in the strangest rituals of demon worship" (page 14).

This Book Review/Paper continues with Part 6.

http://www.karlkempteachingministries.com Karl Kemp worked as an engineer in the space field throughout the 60s. He became a born-again Christian in 1964. He received an MA in Biblical Studies in 1972. He has been a Bible teacher for 45 years. See the website for more info on his books, papers, etc.