Witness of the Welsh revival in the early 19th century, Penn-Lewis wrote “War on the Saints” (which was later abridged by Evan Roberts). She focused on ways that the enemy attacked and deceived the Church during times of outpouring and revivals.
-She had a fierce and zealous view of transformation and action being evidence of true communion with God, and characteristics of inaction and passivity being evidence of the enemy counterfeiting God:
“The false concept of “surrender” as yielding the body to supernatural power, with the mind ceasing to act, is the highest subtlety of the enemy, and is exposed as such in this book, for it brings about – as Herr Lohmann explains – the paralysis of the “cerebral” systems, i.e, the action of the mind, and allows the “vegetative nerves” full control and activity, excited by evil spirits, for the Holy Spirit dwells in, and acts through the spirit of a man, and not through either nerve centre, which have both to be under the control of the spirit.”
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-She also believed that instead of inaction, wrong action and habits can likewise be a counterfeit:
“We have also pointed out again and again that ‘claiming the blood’ cannot protect us from the enemy, if in any way he has given ground e.g., if the cerebral nerves ceased to act by ‘letting the mind go blank’ and the vegetative nerves are awakened to act in their place, so that the ladder are excited to give “thrills “and ‘streams of life’ through the body, no claiming of the precious blood of Christ will prevent these physical laws acting when the conditions for action are fulfilled. Hence, the strange fact which has perplexed many, that abnormal experiences manifestly contrary to the Spirit of God, have taken place whilst the person was earnestly repeating words about the ‘blood’ .”
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-in her book she includes an appendix from an unknown author, written in the late 19th century, published in a British newspaper in the mid 20th century. The follow is the entirety of the excerpt found on pages 149-151 in War on the Saints (abridged):
HOW DEMONS ATTACK ADVANCED BELIEVERS
Extracts from an article contributed to an American paper and reprinted in “The Christian” some years ago. We do not know the writer’s name.
1. The Manifestation of Demon Power: The agency of demons is always brought more conspicuously into notice, in proportion to the manifestation and power of God’s work among souls. When the Son of God was manifest in the flesh, it called forth the activity and outspoken agency of demons more than ever before.
2. Various Kinds of Demons: Demons are of a multiplied variety. They are of various types, greater in diversity than human beings, and these demons always seek to possess a person congenial to them in some characteristic. The Bible tells us of unclean demons, with craft and fortune-telling demons, of insanity, of drunkenness, of gluttony, of idleness, of wonder or miracle working, of despotic demons, theological demons, screeching and yelling demons. There are demons that act more particularly on the body, or some organ or appetite of the body. There are others that act more directly upon the intellect, or the sensibilities, and emotions, and affections. There are others of a higher order that act directly on man’s spiritual nature, upon the conscience, or the spiritual perceptions. These are the ones that act as angels of light, and side-track and delude many who are real Christians.
3. How Demons Fasten on Human Beings: They seek out those whose make-up and temperament is most congenial to themselves, and then seek to fasten themselves on to some part of the body, or brain, or some appetite, or some faculty of the mind, either the reason, or imagination, or perception; and when they get access, they bury themselves into the very structure of the person, so as intimately to identify themselves with the personality of the one they possess. In a great number of cases they do not get possession of the individual, but fasten such a hold on some part of the mind as to torment the person with periodical attacks of something strange and abnormal, out of all proportion to the general character and make-up of the individual.
4. The Object of Demons in Possessing Human Beings: These demons feed themselves on the person with whom they are allied… There are allusions in Scripture, and facts gathered from experience, sufficient to prove that certain varieties of demons live on the juices in human blood…
5. The Class of Demons Which Attack Advanced Christians: There are religious demons, not holy, but nevertheless religious, and filled with a devilish form of religion which is the counterfeit of true, deep spirituality. These pseudo-religious demons very rarely attack young beginners, but they hover around persons who advance into deep experiences, and seek every opportunity to fasten themselves upon the conscience, or the spiritual emotions of persons of high states of grace, and especially if they are of a vivid or energetic temperament. These are the demons that play havoc among many professors of holiness. One way they get hold of persons is as follows: A soul goes through a great struggle, and is wonderfully blessed. Floods of light and emotion sweep through the being. The shore lines are all cut. The soul is launched out into a sea of extravagant experience. At such a juncture the demons hover round the soul, and make strange suggestions to the mind of something odd, or outlandish, or contrary to common sense or the Holy Ghost. They fan the emotions, and produce a strange, restless exhilaration, which is simply their bait to get into some faculty of the soul…
6. Some Examples of How Demons Take Hold of Apparently Spirit-Filled Christians: A very holy and useful woman says, that soon after receiving the baptism of the Spirit, there came to her one night in the church, a wild abnormal impulse to throw the hymn-book at the preacher, and run over the church screaming; and it took all her will power to keep her hand from throwing that book, but she had common sense to know that the Holy Spirit was not the author of such a suggestion. If she had yielded to that sudden feeling, it would have likely given that fanatical demon admission to her emotional nature and ruined her life-work. She is a person who knows the mighty demonstrations of the Holy Spirit, and understands God sufficiently to know He is not the source of wild and indecent conduct. Another person said he felt like rolling on the floor, and groaning and pulling the chairs around, but he distinctly perceived that the impulse to do so had something wild in it; and a touch of self-display contrary to the gentleness and sweetness of Jesus; and, as quick as he saw it was an attack of a false spirit, he was delivered. But another man had the same impulse, and fell down groaning and roaring, beating the floor with his hands and feet, and the demon entered into him as the angel of light, and got him to think that his conduct was of the Holy Ghost, and it became a regular habit in the meetings he attended, until he would ruin every religious meeting he was in…
7. The Most Dangerous Class of Demons: It requires great humility to try these spirits and detect the false ones. Other demons in existence are those pseudo pious ones who soar round the high altitudes of the spiritual life, like eagles around great mountain tops, and seek to fasten their talons upon the lofty and conspicuous prey. These are the demons of spiritual pride, of religious ambition, of false prophetic vision, of strained and far-fetched illuminations, of wild fantastic notions. These are the demons that flit over the sunlit regions in the land of Canaan, and attack very seldom any but advanced believers.
8. Some Effect of Demon Influence: The effects of being influenced by this sort of demons are manifold, and plainly legible to a well-poised mind. They cause people to run off into things that are odd and foolish, unreasonable and indecent. It leads them to adopt a peculiar voice or twang, or unnatural shouting, or some shaking of the body, or such an influence is manifested by peculiar heresies in the mind, of which there is a nameless variety. It produces a certain wildness in the eyes, and harshness in the voice. Such persons invariably break the law of love, and severely condemn people who do not conform to themselves. As a rule such persons lose their flesh, for demoniac possession is very wearing on the vital forces and produces a terrible strain on the heart and nervous system.
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Some takeaways from the above quoted article contained in the appendix:
-notably in section 7, what is considered the most dangerous class of demons are pride, ambition, and false-prophecy!
-in section 5, “religious demons” or religious spirits, are an entire class of demonic spirits, which is not to say they have specific characteristics other than their assignment. I agree with this according so what I’ve discerned, as it seems that religious spirits are a class of their own but according to assignment and not necessarily function or power.
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In the following assertment, in which I believe I disagree, Jessie Penn-Lewis claims to discern between a Godly manifestation and a demonic counterfeit. Although I’m sure it’s true a person can experience a counterfeit spiritual fire, I have personally witnessed so many times heavenly fire as a physical manifestation felt by the senses in a person, uncomfortable but not painful. Although I certainly agree that the fruit (the actions and mindsets) of a person will attest to the nature of their experience. Here is her thoughts on that, found on pg. 156-157:
xxv. “Fire” caused by evil spirits is generally a glow in the body, which the believer thinks is a manifestation of “God” in “possession” of the body, but afterwards results in darkness, dullness and weakness with no reasonable cause; or else it continues deceiving the believer into counterfeit experience.
xxvi. Fire from God: Is a purifying through suffering (Matt. iii. 11, 12), or a consuming zeal in spirit, which deepens into white heat intensity to do the will and work of God, which no trials or opposition can quench. Fire from God is spiritual, not literal, and therefore falls upon the spirit, not the body.
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Heart of Abraham 