7. CHAPTER 5, "AUTHENTIC vs. COUNTERFEIT" BY JONATHAN WELTON (pages 41-51). The word counterfeit was used 57 times in this chapter. His misuse of this word lends support to the serious misunderstanding that permeates this book: That it is proper and good for Christians to look to the New Age/occult world (and/or to science, especially quantum physics) for things that we Christians need here at the end of this age. He says that all of the miracles and other supernatural things we find in the New Age/occult world are counterfeits of God's miracles and other supernatural things. ("Throughout the Bible we see that everything that Satan does is a counterfeit of something from God's kingdom" [page 42].) And "This brings us to the most important point of this chapter. If there is a counterfeit, there is an authentic that we need to find and reclaim." So, it is good and proper to study the New Age/occult world to find the authentic miracles and other supernatural things that we need. 

This may sound reasonable at first. For example, no one would bother to make counterfeit hundred dollar bills if real hundred dollar bills didn't exist. And no one could counterfeit famous paintings, etc. if the original paintings did not exist. But this reasoning is big-time wrong when we think of all of the miracles and other supernatural things that are taking place in the New Age/occult world as being "counterfeits" of God's miracles, etc. Those New Age/occult world miracles are real (this is not to say there are no fake miracles there), but they are forbidden to God's people because they originate from Satan and his kingdom of darkness. They were not stolen from God and His kingdom - they are not counterfeits in that sense! There are two kingdoms, God's and Satan's, but it must be understood that God is God and Satan is an inferior, created being who rebelled against Him and that he and his kingdom will be judged and totally overthrown at the right time (soon), God's time. It is important to see that at least most of Satan's miracles are not counterfeits of God's miracles, etc.  

Satan has been working miracles, etc. throughout the history of man (to the extent that God permits) as part of his seduction of mankind, to try to keep them from the God who created them, to join him in his rebellion, and he wants to be glorified by the worship of man to the fullest extent possible and to take as many people as possible to hell with him. There are two kingdoms and both of them have the supernatural, miracles, etc. God is the Creator, and Satan is a being (a fallen seraph [one of the seraphim]) who was created good by God but who rebelled through pride and who has been leading a major rebellion against God since before Adam was created. Revelation 12:4 shows that a third of God's angels followed Satan in his rebellion that took place before Adam was created. God allows Satan's kingdom to exist until the end of this age, and then he allows him to be released from the abyss for a short period at the end of the millennium (Rev. 20:2-3), but he will be cast into the lake of fire at the end of the millennium (Rev. 20:10) and everything that belongs to his kingdom will be totally removed forever. It is clear that at least one reason God's allows Satan's kingdom to exist throughout this age is to test mankind, who will they worship, etc.? God is God, and He could destroy Satan and his kingdom at any time. 

I'll quote the introductory paragraph of this chapter (Chapter 5 of The Physics of Heaven) that is in italics. This paragraph was not written by Jonathan Welton. It undoubtedly was written by one or both of the two primary authors of this book. I cannot agree with what they say in this paragraph. "...But as his anointing teaches you about all things...that anointing is real, not counterfeit..." [the ellipses are theirs] (1 John 2:27). [[(This double bracket continues for two paragraphs.) This very much abbreviated translation of 1 John 2:27 causes problems. For one thing, at the front of this book they say that unless otherwise noted they always use the NKJV and that when they use the NASB they mark it NASB. It is clear that they sometimes use the NASB in this book where they don't mark it NASB. They clearly did not use the NKJV here. The words "but as His anointing teaches you about all things" are in the NASB, but the words that follow are not in the NASB. The NASB continues with the words "and is true and not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him [or better, with the margin of the NASB, "abide in Him," without the word "you abide in Him."]  

I don't know where they got the words "that anointing is real, not counterfeit...." Maybe they took them from a different translation, or maybe they supplied the words trying to demonstrate the contrast between the authentic anointing and truth of God and the supposed counterfeits of the devil. Anyway, it is clear that there is nothing in 1 John 2:27 to support the idea that it is OK to look to the New Age/occult world (or to science, with an emphasis on quantum physics) to learn of God's miracles, etc. The apostle John was speaking of the truth of the gospel in 1 John 2:27, the truth that we must know, understand, and have faith in; the truth that was being attacked at that time by the false gospel of the Gnostics (and all other false teachings). (Now I'll continue to quote from their paragraph in italics at the beginning of their chapter 5.)]] Jonathan [Welton] teaches that whenever there is a real, there is sure to be a counterfeit. [[Actually, he teaches that where there is a counterfeit, there is an authentic. On page 42, for example, he says, "This brings us to the most important point of this chapter. If there is a counterfeit, there is an authentic that we need to find and reclaim. ...a counterfeit is evidence that an authentic exists." And earlier on page 42 he said, "Throughout the Bible we see that everything Satan does is a mere counterfeit of something from God's Kingdom." As I mentioned, I don't believe this is true, and that this wrong idea leads to serious error. I will discuss this important point further as we continue.]] We shouldn't be afraid to examine the counterfeits because God's power to keep us is mightier than the devil's power to steal us away. [I don't believe we should have confidence that God will keep us safe when we are going places we have been forbidden to go. (I'll substantiate this statement as we continue.) That would be big-time presumption on our part!] Jonathan tells us that we need be much more concerned about reclaiming all our stolen goods from the enemy than about being afraid of the deception of the counterfeits."   

On page 44 Welton quotes another verse to try to demonstrate that we have nothing to fear as we search for the authentic among what he calls counterfeits in the New Age/occult world. I'll quote his paragraph (Welton says more along this line, but I won't quote that): "Personally, I have a lot more faith in the Lord's ability to keep me than in the devil's ability to steal me away. Jesus said that He has us in His hand and no one can snatch us out. 'I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand' " (John 10:28). I don't know if Welton believes once saved, always saved, but most (or at least many) of those who believe that doctrine realize that there are things they cannot do (or, at least, they must seriously repent if they have been doing them) very much including looking to and associating with the occult world. I recommend reading my paper, Once Saved, Always Saved? on my internet site (Google to Karl Kemp Teaching). I believe I give a very balanced presentation. One of a rather large number of passages in the New Testament that clearly shows that born-again Christians can lose their salvation is Revelation chapters 2 and 3, where the Lord Jesus is speaking. He is powerfully warning true Christians who need to repent that if they don't quickly repent they will lose their salvation. (See my paper for the details.)  

On page 45 Welton said, "We need to be much more concerned about reclaiming all of our stolen goods from the enemy than about being afraid of the deception of the counterfeits." Again, for one thing, I believe it is clearly wrong to think that the New Age/occult world is tapping into the supernatural by counterfeiting what God does. Most of what they do has been part of what Satan has been doing throughout the history of man, not something he is counterfeiting. I'll comment more on this crucial point as we continue. 

I'll quote four paragraphs from what Welton says on pages 45-46 under the subheading "The Test" and comment in brackets as I frequently do: "One reason it has become increasingly difficult to discern the counterfeit from the authentic is that the New Age movement has been adopting Christian language for the past several decades. They honor Jesus as a good prophet, claim to interact with the 'white light' of the Holy Spirit, and they speak of God as their Father [but it will be clear that they cannot be speaking of God the Father of the Bible, or of the Son of God, or of the Holy Spirit if they are part of the New Age/occult world.] This can confuse a Christian who does not recognize the subtle but important differences [the differences are gigantic] between their language and the truth of God's Word. [[(This double bracket continues for two paragraphs.) I can agree that modifications like that make it easier for "Christians" who don't understand much at all about Christianity to associate with the New Age/occult world. However, Christians are called to submit to God, His Son, and the gospel of new-covenant salvation in accordance with His Word and to be faithful to Him. We must be born again and begin to walk in the truth and righteousness and holiness of God with a top priority, by the grace of God through faith. The indwelling Righteous, Holy Spirit enables us to live righteous and holy lives. This walk isn't automatic or always easy, but this must be a top priority, and if we should sin we need to run to God with repentance and be forgiven through the cross of Christ. 

We must believe the basics of the gospel, including believing that the Bible is the Word of God, who created all things and beings, including Satan, the evil angels and demons (but He didn't create them evil); we must believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; in the all-important atoning death and resurrection of Christ; in the judgment to come and heaven and hell. No one who is committed to the New Age/occult world is committed to, and living in the light of, these essential truths. The primary test includes: Do they hold the basic truths of the Bible and are they living in line with these truths with a top priority. The fact that the New Age/occult world can produce miracles etc. is no evidence at all that they are God's people. As I mention throughout this paper, I don't believe we have any reason/excuse/basis to go to those who aren't associated with God through His Son and new-covenant salvation to learn how to tap into God's supernatural. We don't need the devil's help! He may seem to help people for a while for his purposes, but his help never works for ultimate good. He is a totally committed enemy of God and of all who submit to God, and he doesn't love or care for those who submit to him, quite the contrary. (Now I'll quote the last sentence of Welton's paragraph and then quote his next three paragraphs.)]] I have stated that the main difference between a counterfeit and the authentic is its source, but we need to be even more specific about how to discern between the two. 

The test of what source a person is operating in can be boiled down to the question, 'Is Jesus the Lord of their life?' According to Romans 10:9-10, a person must acknowledge that Jesus was raised from the dead and that Jesus is the Lord of his or her life. If a person will not agree with these two things, then it is a fact that they are operating from a source other than the true Jesus of the Bible. [[(This double bracket continues for two paragraphs.) I appreciate what Welton said here, but I have learned from experience that we still have a gigantic problem. We need a whole lot more than having a person agree that Jesus was raised from the dead and for them to confess that Jesus is the Lord of their life. For one thing, they need to actually be born again and living from their heart with Jesus as the Lord of their life by the indwelling Holy Spirit. And they cannot be a solid Christian if they are not grounded in the truths of God's Word, especially the basic truths regarding new-covenant salvation. I am totally sure that the apostle Paul would agree with the required basics that I mentioned in this paragraph and the preceding paragraph.  

Many have so diluted the gospel in our day that multitudes believe they are authentic Christians when it's clear they don't know, or believe, or live in line with many of the essential basics that are required of Christians. For one thing, there is no Christian reality if the gospel and the Holy Spirit are not indwelling our hearts and lives. Many believe all that is required is for them to say a sinner's prayer. We have to go slow about saying that another person is, or is not, a real Christian, but God knows what we believe and if we really have made Him the Lord of our hearts and lives. These things are too important to treat casually! We must make these things top priority. Shallow Christianity is very widespread in our day and very dangerous!]] 

Spiritual practitioners who access and operate in the spirit without Jesus as the Lord are trespassers in the spirit realm. [But, and this is a key point in my Review/Paper, we must understand that there are two spiritual realms/kingdoms, and we dare not go the realm/kingdom that is headed up by Satan.] Jesus put it this way. 'I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber' (John 10:1). [And we are not going to learn, or receive, anything we need from the thief and robber who don't know the truth and are motivated and filled with the wrong spirits, not the Holy Spirit. We will receive things that ultimately hurt us and that constitute serious sin against God.] 

So, to answer the question, 'Are psychics and New Agers operating in real power?' The answer is yes, but they have climbed in as trespassers. They have not accessed the spirit realm through Jesus." [This is the end of Welton's four paragraphs.] And Jesus is the only way to the Father and new-covenant salvation through His all-important atoning death and being indwelled by the Holy Spirit of life. I believe it is clear that the New Age/occult world is of a different, ultimately evil kingdom. We must see that there are two supernatural kingdoms! I agree that Satan can make his realm look good on a temporary basis but the end thereof is death. Welton said enough here to show why we cannot go to the New Age/occult world for help. But he justifies going there based on the wrong idea that their miracles, etc. are counterfeits of God's authentic miracles. And even if it were true (and I'm sure it isn't true) that they were moving in counterfeits of the authentic, it seems totally clear to me that we still could not go there looking for the authentic and help.         

I'll quote a paragraph from page 43 where Welton quotes and misinterprets 1 Thess. 5:21. These frequent misinterpretations of the Bible that I have been pointing out are a very serious problem in this book. (I have found a serious misinterpretation in every section/chapter of the book we have discussed so far.) "We have been commissioned not to throw out all things, but to 'Test everything. Hold on to the good' (1 Thess. 5:21)."  

The NKJV has "Test all things; hold fast what is good." The NASB has, "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good." We need to include 1 Thess. 5:19-20 to establish the context here (I'll quote from the NKJV): "Do not quench the Spirit. (20) Do not despise prophecies." In verse 20 the apostle Paul says "Do not despise prophecies." One problem with the gift of prophecy then, and in our day too, is that there always was the potential for so-called prophetic utterances to originate more from the flesh than from the Holy Spirit. (In a worst-case scenario there was the potential for a Christian or one that wasn't a real Christian, to give a prophecy that originated with an evil spirit.) Since the potential for error is there, what Paul said in verse 21, could be limited to the idea of testing prophecies before accepting them as being from God. In 1 Cor. 14:29 he spoke of the need for prophecies to be judged. However, in the light of 1 Thess. 5:19, Paul could have been including the idea of testing other manifestations/gifts of the Spirit in the Christian church too, where there was potential for error. They were being called to test all these things, not to reject them and thereby "quench the Spirit."

HOWEVER, SIGNIFICANTLY, WHEN THE APOSTLE PAUL SPOKE OF TESTING ALL THINGS, HE WAS NOT INCLUDING TESTING THE THINGS THAT WERE BEING DONE IN THE OCCULT KINGDOM. There is nothing here to begin to support Welton's third and last sentence in his paragraph which I'll quote now:]] Therefore, if we see a counterfeit [in the New Age/occult world], we must test it and find out what it counterfeits so we can reclaim the authentic." The apostle Paul would totally reject this idea. He didn't leave any room for Christians to look to the occult world or other religions for the truth, authority, and power that we need to think and live as Christians. In Acts 19:19, for example, they burned the expensive (fifty thousand pieces of silver) occult writings: They didn't preserve them that they might learn some things that might help them function in the supernatural. We are forbidden to look to, or associate with, the demonic supernatural in any way (cf., e.g., Acts 16:16-18; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; 1 John 4:1-6; and it is very significant that we have been strongly warned of powerful deceptions here at the end of this age [cf., e.g., Matt. 24:11, 24-28; 2 Thess. 2:8-12 with Rev. 13:2, 11-18])! 

It was the same in the Old Testament: God's people were forbidden to look to, or in any way participate in, the Satanic supernatural which was totally widespread in that ancient world (as it is in our day; but in our day very often it is much more subtle, hiding behind the label scientific or the equivalent). For example, see Ex. 22:18, 20; 34:11-17; Lev. 19:31; 20:1-8, 26-27; Num. 25:1-9; Deut. 11:27-28; 12:2-3; 13:1-18; 17:2-7: 18:9-14. This is important! 

I'll quote a paragraph that Welton has under the subheading "Counterfeits to Reclaim." I'll repeat a key point of my Book Review/Paper first: I don't believe it is at all accurate to think of the manifestations of demons to be "counterfeits." The devil has been doing these things throughout the history of mankind. Some would disagree, but I'm confident that the evil, forbidden fruit that the devil tempted Eve with, a fruit that involved direct rebellion against God and His commandment of Gen. 2:17 that promises death for violating this commandment, was the very-tempting-to-mankind fruit of tapping into the devil's supernatural powers. It is full-scale rebellion to turn to Satan, who has been rejected by God and hates God and His people. Eve didn't understand all the details, but she knew that she and Adam had been forbidden to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For one thing, they had only tasted of God's good before eating of the evil, forbidden fruit; after eating of it, they fell from innocence and became spiritually dead sinners who needed salvation, and they began to experience evil. I have a very hard time accepting the widespread idea that Eve, and then Adam, were willing to directly rebel against God for an apple (or the equivalent of an apple).   

"I have found throughout the Scripture at least 75 examples of things that the New Age has counterfeited, such as having a spirit guide...(page 49)." (In Section 7.4 of this paper, I'll finish quoting this sentence and make a few comments.) As I have stated, I don't believe the New Age/occult world has counterfeited the supernatural things they are doing from God's authentic workings, but that Satan has been doing these things throughout the history of man. I would like to discuss the first item that Welton listed here, "spirit guide(s)." God has used angels on occasion to interact with His people and help them in various ways, but that is quite different than how demons readily offer themselves to become "spirit guides" on a rather permanent basis to everyone who will receive their "guidance" and other "help." Spirit guide demons may actually guide and help people in some ways at least for a while for Satan's evil purposes, but, with no exceptions, they are required by Satan, and motivated, to hurt mankind. 

In our world today having "spirit guides" has become very popular. Many consider having spirit guides, or whatever they call them, to be scientific. Many want to think of them as tapping into a great unconsciousness or something like that, but the Bible warns those with ears to hear that these things are part of Satan's kingdom, which is in total rebellion against God and wants to keep people from God, to use them, and to take them to ultimate destruction.    

I'm not an expert on the occult or spirit guides, but I know that getting spirit guides is as simple as entering an altered state of consciousness through demonic meditation, drugs, hypnosis, types of music and dancing, etc. and then receiving the spirits that make themselves available to "help" you. Over the years I have heard of programs where spirit guides are even being given to school children to "help" them.  

One of very many ways to get spirit guides in a respectable manner has been through Silva Mind Control. We will discuss Silva Mind Control in some detail as we continue, including some direct input from its founder, Jose Silva, but now his daughter, Laura, continues his work under the name Silva Method. She clearly boasts of and builds on the work of her father, and his teachings are readily available today, but I haven't been able to confirm that her method includes getting spirit guides. If not, they are still invited to very deeply tap into the supernatural world that is opposed to, and an enemy of, Biblical Christianity, without spirit guides. 

7.1. SOME EXCERPTS FROM, AND COMMENTS DEALING WITH, A SIX-PART ARTICLE ON THE INTERNET TITLED "SILVA MIND CONTROL," PUBLISHED BY THE JOHN ANKERBERG SHOW IN 1986. His four guests for this show were Jose Silva (the man who originated Silva Mind Control), Dr. George DeSau (a clinical psychologist who worked with Silva); Dave Hunt and Dr. John Weldon (both Christians who did a lot of research in areas like this one). 

I'll quote John Ankerberg's introductory paragraph: "Welcome! We're glad that you joined us tonight [for the weekly television program]. We're going to examine the Silva Mind Control Method. One of our guests is Jose Silva. Silva claims that any person who will take their 48 hour, four-day course will develop psychic powers. In the course, a student is shown how to enter an altered state of consciousness...and in that state you will be allowed to tap into higher intelligence in the universe. You will be able to function, after four days in the course, psychically, clairvoyantly [perceiving things supernaturally]. You'll be taught how to invite counselors or psychic guides [spirit guides] into your mind to help you with your problems. [Silva repeatedly states throughout these programs that the really important thing is to have the resources to solve problems. We don't have a sin problem; we just have an ignorance-lack-of-resources problem; we don't need a virgin birth, an atoning death, etc. We needed Jesus to teach us these techniques so we could solve problems.] By the third day of the course, students are supposed to be able to operate psychically enough so that they can project their awareness outside of their bodies. They can have out-of-body experiences. Their minds are supposed to be able to tap any source in the universe for the information, including the minds of other men, alive or dead. [Much, or most, of this they can do without using their spirit guides.] On top of all this, Jose claims that God sent Jesus to teach us all this."  

I'll add part of what Ankerberg said in his introductory comments for Program 2: "...in the third day, every student is introduced to the use of 'counselors' or 'psychic guides' that they introduce into their mind [They can see and communicate back and forth with these demons (to use my word) who are impersonating people]. ...the students are asked to pick two counselors that they would like to have as their counselors. [Later we are told that one is to be male and one female, and we are informed that you cannot always get the counselors you ask for. There probably is a limit to how many demons can adequately impersonate popular choices like Jesus or Mary whenever they are called upon.] The lecturer explains how to invoke them. And in the last session, during meditation [this isn't Christian meditation] two counselors appear in the laboratory of the mind of the student that they have created [the "laboratory"], and they [the "two counselors" (spirit guides) are to be available from that point o­n whenever the student needs them. [This certainly has not been counterfeited from God's supernatural.] ... And you [Ankerberg] speaking to Silva] also say - and I want to find out why - that a Mind Control graduate, mentally, in his laboratory where he is in this altered state of consciousness with his counselors, is a person with immense power to benefit himself and others." Elsewhere in these programs it is mentioned that at that time [1986] Silva's program was already in 71 countries. They promoted providing this method to children too.    

I'll quote part of two paragraphs at the beginning of page 2 of Program 1. Silva has been speaking, but here Ankerberg turns to Dave Hunt, saying, "in your book...[The Seduction of Christianity], you make this quote: 'Visualization [Ankerberg says to Silva, Jose, you're using visualization quite heavily in SMC (Silva Mind Control)] and guided imagery [where a person is guided, for example, to visualize Jesus and then for Him to begin to communicate with them, or to give them a hug, etc.] have long been recognized by sorcerers of all kinds as the most powerful and effective methodology for contacting the spirit world in order to acquire supernatural power, knowledge, and healing.' And you're saying 'such methods are neither taught nor practiced in the Bible [these things and most other occult techniques are not counterfeits of things God is doing], and those who attempt to do so are not following the leading of the Holy Spirit or the Word of God, but are practicing an ancient, occultic technique.' Do you think, Dave, that Jose, in teaching this course to these grade school students, that these students are getting their information from demons? Or is it possible that Jose has really uncovered a new experience - psychic abilities for every man? 

I'll quote part of Hunt's answer from the next paragraph: "Well, he has not uncovered a new experience, that’s for sure, because this sort of thing has been going on down through history. It's known as 'shamanism' or witchcraft. It's been practiced in every culture in every area of history." 

I'll quote a few sentences from what Ankerberg said on page 3 of Program 1: "Alright, gentlemen, I'd like to get us right down to part of the technique, which is visualization. Jose, in your book you've said, 'By visualizing with conviction in alpha and beta [states of consciousness], you are causing, that is, creating.' And you talk about how to do psychic healing when you get into this altered state of consciousness [I think he means alpha state here]." On page 2 of Program 2 Silva said, "We have psychic surgeons in Mexico, Central America, the Macumbas, you name them." I'll give an interesting and important example of psychic healing in Mexico City that was related to Silva Mind Control to some extent when I finish with these six programs by Ankerberg. I believe it is clear that a demon was doing those very supernatural healings, and that those healings had not been counterfeited from God's authentic healings. 

On page 2 of Program 2 Silva tells us that he has had spirit guides all his life. They talk to him, and this is "why I got the idea to pass them on to others, because I was being helped by this source." On page 4 of Program 2 when asked if his spirit guides still speak with him he answered, "Yes, When I go to 'the laboratory level,' when I decide I want to talk to them." 

I'll quote a paragraph from what Weldon said on pages 4-5 of Program 2: "I have to ask who are these spirits? What are they? When you look at the philosophy, the worldview of the healers, the messages of the spirits themselves, again, they are distinctly anti-biblical. [The same thing is true for the entire occult world, including those who supposedly visit our world in UFOs.] That gives me a clue. When I look at the impact of the psychic involvement in the lives of individuals, there is a high degree of tragedy, of suicide, of mental illness, and that's documented in the studies of Dr. Kurt Koch, a German theologian, who's counseled about 20,000 people. I look at the damage that is done in psychic healing; I look at the source; I look at the claims of the psychics themselves, where they got it; and it all comes back to spiritism [which is forbidden in the Bible]. I look at the nature of the spirits, and it seems to me that we're dealing with a demonic phenomenon." 

I'll quote two comments by Ankerberg and Silva's response from page 2 of Program 4: "You've also said that we are to create it just like the Creator. In other words, we are to create even animate and inanimate matter. We can move it around just like God does in the universe; we do here on this earth's plane." Silva answered "Yes." Ankerberg said, "I get the idea that you're saying that we're to do it if it's to get done. You['re] saying, Jesus is not coming back, so we've got to do it. But He gave us the keys, He gave us the message. Look inside, find this power, you've got the power and you can make earth 'paradise earth.' " Silva answered, "You've got it right. You've got it right." 

Hunt makes an important comment at the end of page 5 of Program 4: "Jose says, 'We get a lot of good results.' But there's one result that overshadows all of the apparent good of healing bodies and so forth, and in my opinion that's going to damn souls, because they have rejected the only solution. And all of this good that seems to be done is leading them away from the sacrifice of Christ for their sins upon the cross. They don't need that anymore; all you need is alpha in your right brain."       

I'll quote two paragraphs from what Ankerberg says on page 1 of Program 6 that will, for one thing, help introduce the next section of my paper. He is speaking to Silva: "Okay, When she [referring to Johanna Michaelson] was on our program, she told us about the fact of when she invited her spirit guides into her life, she invited Jesus to be one of those spirit guides [under Silva Mind Control], and that the end result of her story was that after many years [I believe it was less than two years] she felt that she had been deceived by this guide impersonating as Jesus. And there came a time in her life when those guides tried to kill her [when she began to reject what she had been doing to become a Bible-believing, living-for-God Christian]. And it was only the fact of counselors at L'Abri with Francis Schaeffer that helped her in coming to know the real Jesus, the Jesus who is very God [God the Son who always existed with God the Father and the Holy Spirit], the One who died on the cross, and the One who had power over all the other 'guides' and all the other spirits who were afflicting her at that point. [I heard Dr. Schaeffer speak many times and read several of his books. He was a solid evangelical Christian.] 

Now, what I'm saying here is that if you don't know - and you claim that you don't know who these guides are, and you don't know what their source is - and that a student, as you have said in your book, can ask for a specific person in past history or up to date, they can request this person to be their counselor, their guide, but they don't necessarily get that person. With all that as background, how can you be sure that when you ask for Jesus that this is not a demonic being that is there to deceive you? He could put on his 'Jesus suit' to say 'Here I am.' " 

Silva went on to say that there was something wrong with Johanna Michaelson's mind (he had to say something, and he knew, of course, that the problem wasn't with Silva Mind Control), which wasn't true after she became a solid Bible-believing Christian. He couldn't fully explain these spirit guides, but he was obviously convinced that they were not demons or he would have put a stop to spirit guides and at least most of what he was doing. He was satisfied with the fact that he was getting a lot of seemingly good results and helping others to do so. 

I'll include one last quotation from page 4 of Program 6. Hunt is speaking: "Okay, well, wait a minute. Let's read from Jose Silva's, Keys to the Kingdom, page 15: 'Christ came with the message that we were created to be able to solve our own problems and do not need to turn to a supernatural power [at least not to the God of the Bible and salvation through the all-important atoning death of His Son] to solve them for us.' ...."  

It must be understood, of course, that I have only quoted a very small part of what was said in these six TV broadcasts, but I believe I have included enough to demonstrate what I believe needs to be understood. What I have presented here is a prime example of how easy it is to obtain spirit guides in our modern, "scientific" world. They are eager to be received and to "help" people in a way that accomplishes the devil's evil work. Significantly, I believe it is obvious that these spirit guides are not something the devil counterfeited from God's kingdom. Also, the New Age/occult world is packed with other supernatural things that don't involve spirit guides.    

We will continue this Book Review/Paper in Part 5.

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.