BAALZEBUB--LORD OF THE FLIES!             DO 168            6/72

         1. ONE OF OUR HOMES HAD A PROBLEM WITH A YOUNG PROPHET WHO WAS AFFLICTED WITH A LYING SPIRIT. He was good leadership potential & was put in a place of considerable responsibility, so his sporadic affliction with this lying spirit had caused quite a bit of difficulty from time to time. But each time he would repent & apologise, so we would forgive him & permit him to resume his duties; but each time his trouble recurred, it seemed to be getting worse instead of better!
         2. FINALLY, DURING A MAJOR LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON AN IMPORTANT NEW WORLDWIDE MOVE FOR THE LORD, the Enemy, as usual, tried to hinder & delay by using this boy to stir up trouble to try to get our minds, time & energy all involved with trying to solve this young man's problems, instead of the Lord's business at hand. This is one of the Enemy's stock tactics to keep you from getting God's Work done, & he always tries to get into one of you yourselves, to cause the trouble where he can do the most damage, contention, & division. "DIVIDE & CONQUER!" IS THE DEVIL'S OWN SLOGAN!
         3. THE LORD HAD WARNED ME ABOUT THIS VERY PRECIOUS YOUNG MAN WHEN HE FIRST JOINED US, that he had been through some very terrible & trying experiences, including drugs, evil spirits, demonic religions & incarceration, which had left him both bodily & spiritually weak, so weak that he could not be put under too much pressure or in a position of too much responsibility or he would crack up again, as he had before. Also the Lord warned me that since this precious young man was so earnestly desirous of serving the Lord in a capacity of some leadership, he would be TEMPTED BY THE ENEMY THROUGH PRIDE & JEALOUSY.
         4. THOUGH SOMEWHAT OF A NOVICE IN OUR WORK, HE HAD BECOME QUITE EXALTED IN A POSITION OF PRIMARY LEADERSHIP, due to our great need for the ministry in which he was involved. He apparently, therefore, became somewhat lifted up in his own mind, began to challenge the authority of others, dealing critically, proudly, jealously, harshly & unlovingly with some of his brethren & co-workers. We had had the same problem with him before in other places with other people, so obviously the difficulty was with HIM & not his SITUATION.
         5. WHEN INFORMED OF THE HAVOC HE WAS CREATING & THE BURDEN HE WAS BECOMING, NOT ONLY LETTING THE DEVIL DRAG HIMSELF DOWN, BUT DRAGGING OTHERS WITH HIM & IMPEDING THE PROGRESS OF THE WORK of God, as well as cursing his own brethren & showing his utter disregard & lack of appreciation for our immense patience with him & our longsuffering with his childish temper tantrums of many times past, so that we just couldn't take it any longer, I became so furious with the Enemy that I was overheard early in the morning rebuking the Devil violently in tongues:
         6. "WE REBUKE THE DEVIL IN JESUS' NAME! Send Thy Word, O Lord, & heal him by the power of Christ! They could even rebuke him in the name of David & he would flee! No power in this World can stand the power of the Spirit of God in David!
         7. "ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN & IN EARTH! The spirits are subject unto us! God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, & of love, & of a sound mind! Perfect love casts out all fear! In nothing be terrified by your Adversary, the Devil! I resist you, Satan, in Jesus' name! Resist the Enemy & he will flee from thee! Get thee behind me, Satan! Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the World! When the Enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will raise a standard against him! Give no place to the Enemy! Whatsoever shall be bound on Earth shall be bound in Heaven, & whatsoever is loosed on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven!
         8. "I LOVE TO FIGHT THE ENEMY!--As a strong man that loves to run a race, & a strong man that rejoiceth & shouteth by reason of wine, as a knight that loves the fray, & arouseth himself to fight the Enemy! If you let the Enemy in, I'll knock him out of you! Today they shock him out! Before, they used to beat him out! They don't know how to resist him in Jesus' name!
         9. "IT'S SO RIDICULOUS TO THINK THE HOUSE OF BAALZEBUB CAN FIGHT THE HOUSE OF DAVID!--That the Lord of the Flies can fight the Lord of the Living! The flies only eat the dead, the dung, & the dying & are killed by the Living! I love to fight for the Cause of David & the Name of Jesus! Be strong in the Lord & the power of His Might!" Hallelujah!
         10. We haven't even begun to fight yet! It makes me furious when people take the attacks of the Enemy lying down & let the Enemy walk all over them, without resistance, or go pussy-footing around trying to appease him or trying not to arouse him! I like to hit him head on, & rebuke him in the Name of Jesus in the power of the Spirit & get rid of him, not just keep putting up with him, tolerating him & letting him hang around bothering us & the people he's oppressing, obsessing & attacking! LET'S DECLARE WAR ON THE EVIL ONE!
         11. I HAVE WRITTEN TO YOU ABOUT THIS BEFORE, & SEVERAL OF MY LETTERS HAVE DEALT WITH THIS SUBJECT OF HOW TO CAST OUT DEVILS, but some of you still don't seem to have gotten the point, & are still tolerating his little rascals & letting them cause you a helluva lot of trouble. So I've decided we're going to have to be a little more specific & help you take a more definite stand against the Enemy.
         12. SO THESE ARE THE PROCEDURES I'M SUGGESTING IN DEALING WITH THE DEVIL IN ANY WHO MAY HAVE SEVERE PROBLEMS WITH THE DEMON-POSSESSED, OBSESSED, OR OPPRESSED--& there's a difference between those who are TOTALLY POSSESSED, those who are TEMPORARILY HAUNTED, & those who are ONLY ATTACKED by the Enemy from the outside. I don't believe a child of God can be totally possessed by the Devil, but if you believe his lies, he sometimes seems to be able to take over temporary control, & he can certainly give you Hell from the outside! So whatever you do, DON'T EVEN LISTEN TO HIM, MUCH LESS BELIEVE HIM OR TEACH OR ACT ON HIS LIES!
         13. FIRST OF ALL, AS GOD'S WORD SAYS, DEAL WITH HIM PRIVATELY ABOUT HIS PROBLEM, ALONE AT FIRST, gently & lovingly calling his attention to it & asking if he noticed it or is aware of it, & if he thinks he should do these things in view of such-&-such Scriptures, etc. If he sees where he's wrong, confesses it to you personally, seems genuinely sorry & repentant & definitely apologises to any & all whom he has wronged or who have been affected by his discrepancies, you may forgive him, restore him to fellowship & to his responsibilities, provided that he does not do it again.
         14. SECONDLY, IF HE DOES DO IT AGAIN & has to be again dealt with about it, but repeats his repentance & apologises, I would suggest that you WARN HIM THAT HE IS NOW ON PROBATION, & if he does it again, his job will have to be taken away from him & he will have to be disciplined by giving him some lower task until he learns his lesson.
         15. THIRDLY, IF HE PERSISTS IN HIS WAYWARDNESS, IN SPITE OF WARNINGS FROM YOU & FROM OTHER BRETHREN, GOD'S WORD SAYS YOU'RE TO TELL THE WHOLE BODY OR HOME, & IF THIS DOESN'T CAUSE HIM TO REPENT, YOU'RE TO CAST HIM OUT as a heathen & a publican!--Mat.18. Titus 3:10 says that AN HERETIC, OR ONE WHO PERSISTENTLY DEPARTS from sound doctrine to believe the lies of the Enemy, should be REJECTED AFTER ONLY TWO ADMONITIONS. And 2 John 10 & 11 says that YOU'RE NOT TO BID HIM GOD BLESS YOU, lest you be partaker of his evil deeds! And in another place if says NOT TO EVEN EAT OR WALK WITH HIM if he's disorderly!-2Thess.3:6,7.
         16. ACCORDING TO THESE SCRIPTURES, YOU'RE TO TRY TO CORRECT HIM AT LEAST TWO OR THREE TIMES, & IF HE REPENTS, CONFESSES & APOLOGISES, HE'S TO BE RESTORED AS A BROTHER, remain in the group, & continue working with you in some capacity, even though perhaps not the more important one with which he had originally been trusted, unless he proves during his probationary period that he has really changed for the better, & can be trusted again!
         17. HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO THESE SAME SCRIPTURES, after having been admonished privately, & then by two or three brethren, & finally, by the whole group, IF HE STILL REFUSES TO CONFESS, REPENT, & apologise for his faults, but shows a rebellious tendency to persist in them, YOU HAVE TO ASK HIM TO LEAVE, because A LITTLE LEAVEN LEAVENETH THE WHOLE LUMP & ONE ROTTEN APPLE CAN SPOIL THE WHOLE BARRELFUL, & drag you all down & hinder the Work of God! So you'll have to ask him to go. Usually by this time, you don't even have to ask them--they usually leave of their own accord because they don't want to change or have to face the music.
         18. HOWEVER, OCCASIONALLY, THEIR LITTLE DEVIL WILL WANT THEM TO PERSIST IN HANGING AROUND, SO HE CAN GIVE YOU MORE PROBLEMS, stir up more trouble, cause more turmoil & keep you busy taking care of him so you can't get God's Work done! Don't let this happen to you! IF HE WON'T CHANGE, GET RID OF HIM, as God's Word says! Maybe he'll fit the Jesus People or some church or bar, better! If he's truly incorrigible, a real reprobate, HE'LL PROBABLY TURN JUDAS & TRY TO SELL YOU OUT to your enemies & join them if he can, although they usually don't want him--they just want him to quit you & betray you to prove their point!
         19. ON THE OTHER HAND, IF YOU'LL TRY TO PART WITH HIM IN LOVE & WITH PRAYER that he'll someday see the error of his ways & return, he may just do that, in which case, IF HE RETURNS IN THE RIGHT SPIRIT, WITH CONFESSION, APOLOGIES & TRUE REPENTANCE (doing differently), you're of course to WELCOME HIM WARMLY BACK INTO THE FOLD & forgive him & try to use him again in the Lord's Work & give him another chance, if possible. Or he may even return to some other Home where he feels he can work better, under some other leadership, but HE MUST NOT BE RECEIVED AGAIN INTO ANY HOME UNLESS HE MAKES THINGS RIGHT with his former Home by, say, a letter of confession, apology & repentance, to the other Home or brethren that he wronged--or he'll just continue to cause trouble, because he's not sorry, doesn't care & hasn't changed! So watch those backsliders!
         20. IF THE CASE IS SEVERE, & THE BROTHER OR SISTER IN QUESTION CONTINUES TO LISTEN TO, BELIEVE & SPREAD THE LIES OF THE DEVIL AMONGST OTHERS, sowing seeds of dissension & discord among brethren, one of the seven abominations to God, you will have to USE VERY FIRM MEASURES in dealing with the case, particularly if it's demonically inspired, because devils can frequently cause their victims to erupt in violence, if they don't get their way, & either harm themselves or those around them!
         21. SO TO PROTECT THE REST OF THE HOME, ITS MEMBERS, & ITS MINISTRY, YOU MAY HAVE TO RESTRICT THE ERRANT MEMBER TO HIS QUARTERS, & limit his contact with others until you are through dealing with him & he has made his decision either to repent or leave. If he is really possessed, obsessed or oppressed by an evil spirit, then you should deal with him accordingly, CALLING THE BRETHREN TOGETHER for prayer over him & laying hands on him to either CAST OUT OR REBUKE THE EVIL SPIRIT & PRAY FOR HIS COMPLETE DELIVERANCE.
         22. IF HE DOES NOT SEEM TO WANT TO BE DELIVERED OR GET DELIVERED hereby, you must, of course, with reluctance, explain to him why he MUST LEAVE THE HOME, in order that he not be a bad influence on others & in order to protect your sheep, according to God's Word. You could GIVE HIM TWO OR THREE DAYS OF COMPLETE FASTING & PRAYER & READING HIS BIBLE & MO LETTERS either alone, or under the watchful eye of another brother or two, in order to give him time to make his decision & not disturb others.
         23. IN THE MOST EXTREME CASES WHERE THERE'S DANGER OF VIOLENCE & harm to himself or others, which USUALLY OCCURS AT THE TIME OF UNITED PRAYER FOR HIS DELIVERANCE AS THE DEMON COMES OUT OF HIM, or if he refuses to let it go & explodes, you may have to BE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ENOUGH BRETHREN THERE TO PHYSICALLY RESTRAIN HIM FROM DOING ANY DAMAGE, if necessary. IT CAN TAKE AS MANY AS TEN MEN TO RESTRAIN THE DEMON-POSSESSED: TWO TO EACH ARM & LEG & TWO TO THE HEAD, which the Devil often tries to jerk to break his victim's neck! This is no joke!
         24. SO DON'T PLAY AROUND WITH THE DEVIL! Before you deal with a very SEVERE CASE, HAVE YOUR WHOLE HOME DOWN ON YOUR KNEES in prayer & fasting, & have at least a DOZEN ELDERS OR TOP MEN or maybe all your people, participate together at the crucial moment of the LAYING ON OF HANDS FOR DELIVERANCE, IN CASE HE RESPONDS WITH VIOLENCE. It would be a good idea to have two brethren at this moment of exorcism lay four hands firmly on one leg, two other brethren lay four hands firmly on the other leg, & two other strong brethren firmly gripping each arm, while two others lay hands on his head to keep it from jerking or falling, as they pray!
         25. IT MUST BE MADE PERFECTLY CLEAR THROUGHOUT ALL OF THIS THAT THE PERSON IS NOT BEING RESTRAINED FROM LEAVING, but is absolutely free to leave the premises at any time he chooses!--And you're only praying for him in such a way as to be prepared to RESTRAIN HIM FROM HURTING HIMSELF OR OTHERS, should he become violently torn by the Devil as you pray, which sometimes happens, as in the Bible.
         26. YOU'D BETTER BE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING & WHAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH & HOW TO DO IT BY THE POWER OF GOD'S SPIRIT, & know your authority by the Word of God, & PRAY WITH FAITH & CONVICTION, REBUKE THE DEVIL DEFINITELY & CAST HIM OUT FIRMLY IN THE NAME OF JESUS & TELL HIM EXACTLY WHERE TO GO, BECAUSE HE HAS TO OBEY YOU & go exactly where you tell him to in Jesus' Name! Don't let him re-enter his victim or someone else or remain on the premises.
         27. IF YOUR SUBJECT IS NOT DELIVERED IMMEDIATELY, which sometimes happens because of UNYIELDED SIN in the person to which the Devil clings, or due to the subject's own STUBBORN WILFULNESS & refusal to yield up his evil spirit, UNLESS HE SHOWS A DEFINITE IMPROVEMENT & GENUINE DESIRE TO BE DELIVERED, DON'T KEEP HIM AROUND! Get him off the property as soon as possible! With genuine demonic cases, they can cause all kinds of trouble, including violent attacks on their own wife or children or even themselves! So KEEP ALL DANGEROUS ARTICLES & POSSIBLE VICTIMS OUT OF REACH, & the demoniac carefully WATCHED & RESTRICTED until he's left the property.--And be sure to SEARCH HIS BELONGINGS BEFORE LEAVING FOR ANY HOME PROPERTY OR LITERATURE! FAMILIES SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW THEM UNLESS THEY SO DESIRE. DISCLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEM TO AUTHORITIES, if necessary, & IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY OUR OFFICE TO MAIL A WARNING TO ALL HOMES! PRAY!
         28. HERE AGAIN IS A SIMPLE SUMMARY OF THE STEPS TO FOLLOW WHICH WE RECOMMEND IN SEVERE CASES OF DEMON POSSESSION OR TEMPORARY OBSESSION manifested by false prophecies, defiance of leadership, lying about leadership, harsh & violent condemnation or lies about other brethren, & one who is sowing discord amongst brethren, causing weaker brethren to stumble or be offended, or a general troublemaker who is dragging down the whole group, inciting others to insubordination, leading sheep astray, & making himself a general nuisance in such a way as to disrupt the peace & order of your whole Home or in danger of doing so, & continually wasting your time & energy in having to deal with him, & thus truly hindering the operation of your Home & work for the Lord.

                  1) PRAY WITH HIM PRIVATELY about his problem & for deliverance.
                  2) IF NO CHANGE, have TWO OR THREE BRETHREN PRAY WITH HIM about it.
                  3) IF STILL NO CHANGE, RESTRICT HIM TO HIS QUARTERS IN PRAYER & FASTING & Bible & MO Letter reading, with two or three other brethren if possible, while you CALL YOUR HOME TOGETHER FOR PRAYER.
                  4) EXPLAIN THE CASE TO THE WHOLE HOME & have them go to fasting & prayer, while you & other strong brethren join those in his room in desperate prayer & a FIRM LAYING ON OF HANDS, WHILE YOU COMMAND THE DEMON TO LEAVE him in the Name of Jesus & tell it to leave the property, enter none else, & not return.
                  5) AS DEMONS SOMETIMES GO INTO A VIOLENT RAGE when being confronted in prayer, be sure your men HAVE A FIRM GRIP ON THE SUBJECT, SO THE DEMON CANNOT HARM HIM OR CAUSE HIM TO HARM OTHERS, as it leaves him or if he refuses to give it up.
                  6) BE SURE HIS WIFE OR CHILDREN ARE SEPARATED FROM HIM at this time so he can't harm them, & she must consent to this.
                  7) IF HE SEEMS TO BE COMPLETELY DELIVERED, CONFESSES & APOLOGISES TO ALL, YOU MAY FORGIVE HIM & RESTORE him to fellowship, ON PROBATION, WATCHING HIM PRAYERFULLY until sure. DO NOT ALLOW HIM TO PROPHESY OR LEAD SPIRITUALLY again till sure. This probationary period should last A WEEK OR TWO OR MORE. Do not permit him to RESUME LEADERSHIP EXCEPT BY GENERAL CONSENT of all, & only in the presence of other ELDERS TO WATCH & JUDGE until they are sure he is completely delivered & changed.
                  8) IN SOME CASES, LEST HE SUBVERT EVEN HIS WIFE & CHILDREN in privacy, it's wise to request that they both CONSENT TO SEPARATION DURING THIS PERIOD OF PROBATION. This is a very effective way of finding out whether they love themselves or the Lord the most.
                  9) IN SOME CASES OF PROBATION, it's also wise to have the subject continue in FASTING & PRAYER & STUDY FOR A DAY OR TWO until he shows definite signs of deliverance or makes a definite decision to leave. SET A DEFINITE TIME LIMIT ON HIS DECISION TO COMPLY OR LEAVE.
                  10) IN CASES WHICH REFUSE TO RESPOND FAVOURABLY to any of this treatment, but DECIDE TO LEAVE OR MUST BE REQUESTED TO LEAVE because of failure to comply, SET THE EXACT HOUR OF THEIR REQUIRED DEPARTURE at a humane & convenient time if possible, so they'll be able to journey on without too great a hardship. HELP THEM, if you can, with their transportation or fare, if necessary, at least out of your local territory for your own good, to prevent local trouble-making.
                  11) THEIR MATE OR CHILDREN SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO LEAVE WITH THEM if the mate or children prefer to stay in the Home & serve God.
                  12) SEARCH THE DEPARTEE'S BAGS for Home property & literature.
                  13) IF YOU CAN, GIVE HIM A LITTLE MONEY to go on & PART IN PRAYER.
                  14) NOTIFY THE CENTRAL OFFICE at once by phone or mail, depending on the severity of the case, so he can't rejoin without permission. PRAY!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family