Defeating the Wicked Witch of the West

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against a spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).

It's true that many people remain blissfully ignorant of the things that Satan is doing in attempt to destroy the people of God, but I think we forget that some of Satan's greatest victims lie not within groups of unsuspecting Christians, but rather, within his own camp of willing human vessels who have agreed to follow him. They do so with the promise that they will gain some type of power, influence, or riches, appealing to their basest human desires. However, demons have a more insatiable appetite than that of their willing victims, and whatever they offer is always at the expense of someone else, and is always partnered with devastating, unintended consequences. Since Genesis, Satan has promised mankind if they just follow his lead, they can become "like God," (Genesis 3:5). Many have fallen prey to this lie, but none more so than the community of witches, warlocks, and Satanists that congregate and wait on instructions from Satan himself, and partner with demons to kill, steal, and destroy by any means possible; whether natural or supernatural (1 Peter 5:8).

Yes, you read that correctly. This group still exists. They are still putting real curses on real people. They are still performing heinous, unspeakable rituals on people and animals which typically involve the use of blood. Their acts are still abominable to the Father. The Father still sent His Son for this purpose; that He would "destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8) and that His heart is to "seek and save that which is lost" (Luke 19:10). You don't lay down your life for someone you don't love. Less likely are you to lay down your life for someone that mocks you and even worships the one that inspired the idea of your own bloody death on a cross. Yet Jesus loves the Satanist, the witch, and the warlock, and I believe that this Halloween, during the night where witchcraft and demonic activity tend to be at its peak, is the night Jesus is going to reveal Himself to many that are practicing such things and "know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).

I'm inspired to write about this topic, because a couple of weeks ago, I was about to be demonically attacked in my sleep yet again, which is something I've confronted off and on ever since I gave my life to Jesus (this will be a topic for another day), but this time around, I counteracted the attack in a way that I never have before. If you are anything like me and have experienced witchcraft attacks, I'm about to share with you one way that will result in a win-win situation for both sides.

Confronting the Witch

I had a dream that I was in a different century, perhaps the late 1800's. I was in what looked like an attic room with a man that had a lot of half-finished projects. He was working late into the night at his wooden work table, working by the light of candles and oil lamps. He began telling me stories of his life as I listened curiously. Then, he began telling me stories of his wife, and how she was a witch. As soon as he mentioned his wife, an actual witch appeared in the room with us, and she almost seemed to be acting out the stories he was sharing. She looked like the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. She had green skin, wore black, drape-y clothing, a pointy black hat, and rode around the room in circles on an all-black broom stick. He seemed either unbothered or unaware that a witch had just appeared in the room, and continued on with his stories about his wife as he worked.

Baffled, I looked at him, then I looked at the flying witch, and back at him again. Then, I had a thought. "This is a witch, but this is also a real person that needs Jesus, and He can set her free!" Looking at the man, I said "I hate to interrupt, but I have to take care of this." I pointed at the witch, declaring that I was canceling all her curses in the name of Jesus.

She stopped mid-flight on her broom, turned around, and started heading right toward me. The look on her face was one of vengeance and resentment for exposing her agenda. As she was heading toward me, I admit, I started to second-guess what I was doing, and started to believe that this might end badly, but instead of acting out of fear, I felt a surge of compassion for her and began shouting "I plead the blood of Christ over your life!"

She was knocked off her broom by an unseen force, and was now rolling on the floor and wailing loudly. Still a bit unsure of myself, I thought "Wow! That actually worked!" and as she continued to roll and wail, I approached her. I now had to speak louder than her wailing, and I heard myself shout:

"REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL!"

"REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL!"

"REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL!"

I continued, "And the gospel is this, that Jesus was crucified on a cross for your sins, was buried, and resurrected three days later so that now you can be reconciled back to the Father. He doesn't want religion, He wants reconciliation. He wants to be with you!"

She had stopped wailing, rolled over once more, and slowly rose to her feet. As she rose, she underwent a complete transformation. Her skin was no longer green. She no longer wore clothes fit for a funeral and instead wore a feminine little sundress that looked beautiful on her. The greatest change, however, was that she was completely in her right mind. She had the glow of a free woman whereas before, she seemed to have nearly no control over what the demons were making her do and say, but there she stood; an altogether new creation. I was both astonished and thankful for the blood of Christ that still works just as well now as it did thousands of years ago. He really does make all things new for those that repent and come to Him.

There was a great calm that swept over the room, and the woman, the man, and I all stood, looking at each other, as if to say "Now what?" Another thought came to me, and this is when the dream became pretty lucid, because I realized I was in this dream, that I had full control, and at the same time, the people in front of me seemed like real people. I've heard that some witches and Satanists can "astral project" themselves out of their bodies and into different places (I know how crazy that must sound) but I wondered if they could do the same thing in people's dreams. Here was a now an ex-witch who originally came to attack me, the attack was thwarted, and now she had given her life to Christ. I asked her and the man, "Are you two real people in real life?" and they both answered that they were in fact real people. It may be true, or it may not be, but regardless, I told them, "I want to see you both again so I can tell you more about Jesus." Then I pointed at the ex-witch and said "But you can't manipulate your way into my dreams again. That's demonic, and we don't do that anymore, righttttt?" She shook her head and replied, "Oh, no. I'm definitely done with that stuff." "Good!" I said. "Then hopefully I'll see you later and we can discuss this further." Then I woke up, absolutely baffled at what I just saw.

The Takeaway

The first verse that came to mind that I actually hadn't thought about in quite some time was when Paul reminds the Corinthians that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty for the pulling down of strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4). Not that we should ever go out on "witch-hunts" and try to cast out all the demons and pull down all the strongholds, but if they ever cross our territory, we've been given weapons that are even better than any WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction). We have the sword of the Spirit, which is sharper than any two-edged sword (Ephesians 6:17). Jesus also calls Him the Spirit of Truth, and we know the Truth is what sets people free (John 16:13, John 8:32). In this dream, a stronghold was pulled down as the witch was literally knocked off her broom and brought down to the floor, and the truth of the gospel and the truth about God's heart for her set her free and put her in her right mind, because "the Lord hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind" (1 Timothy 1:7).

I also thought this was a good picture of the power and beauty of repentance, and how Jesus takes people individually through His death and resurrection when we decide to give Him our lives. The witch in the dream had died to her old self--the carnal nature and all it's lusts--and she resurrected to new life, completely clean and pure, as if she didn't do any of those things. Looking at her after the fact, you would have never believed she was a witch just a few moment earlier. It really speaks to what Jesus can do with a heart that's fully surrendered.

As far as what the man represents in this case, I think it's a picture of apathy in the Church. The man was hidden away in relative darkness, working by candlelight and lamplight, surrounded by unfinished projects. His focus was on busying himself with fruitless works while he couldn't have cared less about the most pressing "work" that needed to be done that was right in front of him. He let the demonic run rampant around him when he could have risen up in his authority, put a stop to it, while being moved with compassion for his wife, who he's called to love, and being instrumental to her salvation. Instead, there he sat, paying little attention to the scene, pretending as if nothing were happening. These days, I see some of the Church taking a similar approach to evil, having a mentality of "If I hide away and try to ignore it, then it will go away or work itself out eventually," or in regards to unbelievers, thinking "There's no point in doing anything. They're never going to change," so instead of manifesting the Kingdom of God, they tinker around in pointless activities. We must take heed that we actually love people and take a stand against evil.

Conclusion

I think this dream actually has many layers, and I didn't touch on all of them, but as Halloween approaches, let's remember the witches, warlocks, and Satanists, and remember their humanity. The Lord "remembers our frame. He know we are but dust" (Psalm 103:14). Let's counteract any attack they bring with the blood of Christ and bring them to the foot of the cross and remember that we were no less guilty than they were before Jesus found us and cleaned us up. When we see people that are under the sway of the evil one, we don't call down fire from heaven. In their zeal, the disciples asked Jesus if they could do this and He rebuked them and replied "You don't know what spirit you are of! For the Son of Man didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Luke 9:54-56). I don't know about you, but I want the faith of Jesus to see people according to God's created purpose for their lives, and not how they portray themselves to be at any given moment. This is the way of the Kingdom, so let's not fall prey to apathy and instead pray the most "unlikely characters" into God's family, because He wants every last one of them.

The Secret Girl