Children and the Occult

Some Gleanings from Grandma 
Doris Wagner

One of the callings on my life in recent years has been to teach various classes and seminars on the topic of casting out demons. You might say that I was a "late bloomer" in the field. I learned about it only 15 years ago. But God has given me plenty to do and I am having to turn down many invitations to speak and even more personal deliverance sessions with individuals because the demand is so great and my time is so limited. This is a tragedy, in my opinion. 

A few years ago I was teaching a class to about 50 pastors. 

A pastor of about 35 years of age approached me after class and asked me to pray for his wife who happened to be with him. He told me that she was filled with fear and didn't want to live anymore. They were from a very respected, sound biblical denomination, known for evangelism and holiness. They had two beautiful little primary school daughters and a good church. He was very handsome and loved his family dearly. The wife was totally beautiful, and it would appear that they had everything going for them. 

My method is to ask the person requesting prayer to fill out a very long, detailed questionnaire to save us both time and effort. It was the cleanest questionnaire I had ever received. This gal was brought up in a loving Christian home, suffered no rejection, and had not rebelled as a teenager. There was no vice, immorality, victimization, poverty, or the like in her background. Only two negative items surfaced. She had played "ghost stories" at a slumber party when she was about eight years old. In the process the girls had called up the dead, and a demon appeared and spoke, frightening the group out of their wits. She had played with a Ouija board "in fun - not seriously." This was enough of an invitation to the demonic forces to invade her life and make it miserable enough for her to wish she were dead. It was yet another reminder to me that Satan has come to steal, kill and destroy.  

It only took me about 20 minutes to pray for this woman and get rid of only three demons - fear, death and witchcraft. Her husband wrote me a glowing letter a few weeks later containing the phrase "I am living with a new, happy wife!" They both had a new lease on life.

Why am I giving you this illustration?

Simply because I am alarmed over four things that many Christians take lightly. In my experience these have often been openings for demons to attach themselves to people causing long term misery. Demons don't just go away once they have found a home. They need to be cast out and often major damage control is necessary to bring the afflicted person back to wholeness and health. Let me quickly list these four items, which may bring even more to your mind.

Halloween-
This is a pagan, satanic holiday filled with witchcraft, death, fear, curses and a long list of other negative features. Have nothing to do with promoting it! Provide positive alternatives laden with fun, games, candy, and maybe even a Christian theme. One church I know well, had a huge blowout that included a petting zoo (including a pony, sheep, llamas, rabbits, even ducks and hamsters-yes right inside the church on a large canvas floor cover, surrounded by a temporary fence! Manure is much easier to clean up than demons, believe me - I've done both). Added attractions were games such as "pin the tie on the pastor," and about 20 other booths with games as in a carnival. They brought in pizza, cotton candy and drinks, and all of the kids were dressed up to resemble some Bible character-no devils or witches allowed. Many brought unbelieving friends who had to abide by the rules. It lasted well into the evening and each kid was given a very large bag of candy, all donated by members of the congregation. Was it expensive, messy and a lot of bother?  Definitely! Was it worth it? You bet!

Halloween is coming soon. Don't let it be given over to the devil and don't allow your children to engage in dangerous, demonic activities.  Don't decorate your house with witches, black cats, skeletons and jack-o-lanterns. Choose a harvest theme -decorate with corn stalks, uncarved pumpkins, wheat, fall foliage and the like and explain why to your children.

Pokémon-
I recently returned from teaching a large deliverance seminar in Singapore and the most asked question was "What about Pokémon?" In my opinion, it is a demonic game aimed at capturing kids. Let me briefly quote from the new book Buying and Selling the Souls of Our Children by John Paul Jackson (Order from the Arsenal if you need it.): "...this game teaches children how to conjure demons, cast spells, disable and kill their opponents and fantasize about brutal, dark forces ... Channeling spirits has been something that has existed for thousands of years. Meddling in the spirit realm is very dangerous and even fantasizing about it can be precarious. Inviting 'familiar spirits' is an activity of mediums and sorcerers. If you don't believe your child is channeling spirits when he is playing Pokémon, then you are being deceived" (pps. 38, 39). Moms and Dads, take note.

What about Harry Potter?
I was reading recent newspapers, news magazines, press releases and the like when the last book was released in July. Just for fun, I underlined a few words and looked them up in the dictionary to see what the technical definitions of these words were. Some of the words were: wizard, enchant, magic, witches, witchcraft, conjure and dragon. Space here does not allow elaboration, so look them up for yourself. The definitions were all things expressly forbidden for God's people in His Word. Once again, in my opinion, Harry may be opening the door for demons of witchcraft to attach themselves to kids and lead them further into the dark side. One column said, "If you like Harry Potter, try the following..." and a list of books leading deeper into the subject of witchcraft followed. Once in, a person cannot usually get out by him or herself. And there are not enough deliverance ministers to go around these days, folks. Talk to your kids about the dangers of feeding on witchcraft. I predict a serious outbreak of violence and witchcraft if Christians do not speak up. I was thrilled to read a headline in our local newspaper: "Christian Booksellers Resist Harry Potter's Spell."  Way to go, gang!

What about Buffy, Sabrina, and other demonic t.v., movies and video games?
First of all, recognize that they glorify the demonic! How close should you allow your children to get to them? That is your choice, and I am only sounding a warning.

As I minister to people full of demons who desire to be free, I see that many didn't realize the danger of the activities they dabbled in until it was too late. They were often enticed to try something because it was "cool" or the latest fad, believing that they could not be harmed. I am alarmed that the devil is now targeting our children unrelentlessly.

Parents have a tougher job today than I had in the '50s and '60s. But God is on our side. Let's just not let the devil sell us a bill of goods that this is harmless entertainment. It is a major snare that is enticing our kids into witchcraft. Check out what God says about witchcraft in the Bible. Educate your kids as to the dangers. In so doing you may educate yourself as well!

We at Global Harvest Ministries are attempting to proliferate our seminars and literature in the field. In late July we completed a deliverance seminar here in Colorado Springs attended by upwards of 1600 people from all but two states in America and nine other nations. We thank God for the opportunity of training so many new workers. We are planning at least four regional conferences next year as well as a couple of very large international gatherings. Keep watching our conference schedule.

Doris Wagner is the Executive Vice-President of Global Harvest Ministries and the author of the book "How to Cast out Demons" (Wagner Publications 1999)..