We are so blessed to live, as Christians, under the protective wing of our Heavenly Father. Pagan, primitive peoples do not have that advantage. According to missionaries who live among them, these people have frequent, if not daily, encounters with spirits and spiritual beings. Perhaps it is because our culture was once strongly Christian that we are protected from such encounters.
I personally know of two people who have told me of a very strange occurrence in their lives. Both of these people are Christians. Both told of awaking from a strange dream with the persistent, overwhelming feeling that something was trying to drive them from their bodies and to take over their bodies. They felt as if they relaxed for an instant, they would lose their bodies to another entity. Both, in their panic, called on the name of Jesus, and instantly the persistent pressure was gone.
One of these persons said to himself, “So evil spirits are real and all they need is a body.” He was answered by a malicious voice that he heard in his mind, “You’re right! You’re right!” For both of these Christians, this was a terrifying experience, and it confirms the existence of the evil spirits about us. And they both were rescued, were saved by the all-powerful name of Jesus!
Michael Dawson, a Christian missionary who was born in and has lived his entire life in the Amazonian jungle, tells of a native shaman that he had witnessed to several times. The shaman was a powerful man in his village and did not wish to relinquish that power and authority. He was able to control the people of his village with the help of his attendant demons or spirits.
When it became apparent the shaman was dying, his family gathered around him. They saw him die. But . . . . he came back to life!
This is the story he told: He knew he was dying and his demons were with him. They were leading him away. Then he could tell he was approaching what we know as Hell. He could feel the heat, and his demonic attendants were betraying him. They were taking him there! He remembered what the missionary had told him, and in his panic he called, in his own language, upon the name of Jesus. The next thing he was aware of was his family gathered around him and weeping over his death.
The former shaman became a faithful Christian, and witnessed to those in his village.
I was personally told the story of the two persons who experienced an evil spirit attempting to possess their bodies. I cannot vouch for the veracity of the story of the shaman, although I trust Brother Dawson. However, there is a truth that I cannot deny.
How I praise our Righteous Lord for Jesus!