Annie Fintan, an ex-witch speaks on Territorial Spirits
As a Christian, I have heard various theological viewpoints on different issues. I generally prefer to stay out of the arguments that surround these opinions. However, one in particular has drawn my attention recently.
Due to the fact that I am a former witch, it is not uncommon for people to ask my opinion on the spirit realm.
Lately there has been a lot of teaching about Territorial Spirits and it is rapidly gaining in popularity. Naturally, those who have heard this teaching have many questions.
I have been asked whether I believe that territorial spirits do exist. However, I cannot give a simple "yes" or "no" answer to that question. The truth is, I really do not know. In fact, I don’t think any human knows. It concerns me that some of these beliefs border on superstition, and I believe they should be closely examined.
Those who teach of Territorial Spirits often use Daniel 10:12-13 as the basis for their teaching. This passage tells of an angel of God who was intercepted by the "prince of the kingdom of Persia". There are various opinions of what was actually meant by this passage of Scripture, but I am going to set those aside for the moment.
I would like to point out that one of the first things the angel said to Daniel was "Do not fear."
I have seen many people who have heard these teachings led into tremendous fear, rather than faith in a God who is All-Powerful. They become terrified at the slightest disturbance in their life, and are sure that a demon is responsible. I have to think that the devil doesn’t even mess with these people, because he already has them where he wants them. They are defeated once they have lost their faith and trust in God.
On the other side, I have watched people become obsessed with the spirit realm, to the point that their entire Christian walk is based on fighting it.
Throughout the Bible, we are reminded that we as Christians have nothing to fear. We are also told that our focus is to be on Christ, and if our focus is on anything else, it will damage our relationship with Him.
When we meet challenges in our lives, it would be easy to blame our difficulties on the demonic. However, there are many causes for our day to day problems that have nothing to do with demons. God uses the trials that we face to strengthen us and to bring us closer to Him. But it seems that many get so busy warring with the principalities that they see as the source of their problems, that they forget to turn to God at all. We so easily forget that ultimately we can do nothing in our own strength. The battle is God’s and Satan has already been defeated!
Daniel 10 actually speaks of a spiritual battle that was not fought on earth and was directed by God Himself. The demon did not ruin God’s plan, and Daniel was not ordered to take authority and bind this demon. He was actually not even asked to pray about the matter.
God does not need our help. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to rebuke Satan or his demons. We are told to put on the full armor of God and resist evil. We are instructed to intercede on the behalf of those who are deceived, not bind and take authority. When the Bible does speak of binding, Jesus is the one who does it, without any human involvement.
As Christians, we are not to spend our time obsessed with identifying and fighting demons. The commission we have been given is to share the love of God with those around us. I am concerned that we may be loosing sight of what God has asked us to do.
I have also been asked if, in my travels as a witch, I set up demonic strongholds and claimed certain areas for the entities that I served. People want to know if I tried to take control of locations so that Christians would be ineffective.
My answer to that is a most definite "No". As a witch, I had no interest whatsoever in anything the Christians were doing. I believed that those I served already owned the earth or were a part of it, so there was no need to stake a claim. I did not believe the Christian God had any power, so I had no reason to occupy myself with challenging Him.
If I had encountered Christians battling to break strongholds that they assumed I had set up, I would most likely have found it amusing. Their fervor would not have impressed me in the least. If anything, it would have left me with a bad impression of God’s people.
However, when I encountered God’s Love through His people, although I was demon possessed I could not help but be affected. No one tried to bind the spirits within me, or take authority of them. No big show was needed, just God’s love, and that is what transformed my life.
So while I cannot give you a definite answer on whether Territorial Spirits exist, I certainly believe that if they do, they cannot hinder God’s plan.
The truth is that we live in a fallen world, and we may actually encounter demons from time to time. Whether or not these demons are Territorial Spirits seems of no consequence to me. They cannot interfere with God’s plan, because He defeated them on the cross. The only way that they have any control over us is if we give them that control, either by taking our focus off of God, or by fearing their demonic abilities.
I do not believe that as Christians, we need to say certain words in a certain way to avoid the demonic. If we are challenged by a demon, we need only to tell it to go. We are not told to go looking for them, or to rebuke them.
As God’s people, let’s not get caught up on peripheral issues that ultimately are of no consequence. Our relationship with Christ is what is important. Annie Fintan
Refuge Ministries International
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