Excerpts from "I believe in visions" by Kenneth Hagin. His thoughts on when a believer can cross the line and lose his or her salvation.
“Now I will show you how these evil spirits get hold of people when they are allowed to,” the Lord said to me. Suddenly in the vision, I saw a woman, I immediately recognized her as being the former wife of a minister. I had been introduced to her and her husband on one occasion. Other than that, I didn’t know either of them and I had no communication with either of them in any way. I only knew that she had since left her husband.
“This woman was a child of mine,” the Lord said. “She was in the ministry with her husband. She was filled with the Spirit, and the gifts of the Spirit were operating in her life. One day an evil spirit came to her and whispered in her ear, ‘You are a beautiful woman. You could have had fame, popularity, and wealth, but you have been cheated in life by following in the Christian walk.’ The woman realized that this was an evil spirit and she said, ‘Get thee behind me, satan.’ The spirit left her for a period.
By and by the same spirit returned. He sat on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, ‘You are a beautiful woman, but you have been robbed by taking this lowly walk of Christianity and living a separated life.’ Again she recognized this as satan and said, ‘satan, I resist you in the name of Jesus,’ and her left her for a while.
But he came back again and sat on her shoulder, whispering the same things in her ear. This time she began to entertain these thoughts, for she liked to think she was beautiful. As she began to think along the lines the devil suggested to her, she became obsessed with that thinking.”
Then in the vision I saw the woman become transparent as glass, and I saw a black dot in her mind, “That dot represents the fact that she is obsessed in her thinking with this spirit,” the Lord said. “At first she was oppressed on the outside, but as she allowed the devil’s suggestion to take hold of her thoughts, her mind became obsessed. She wanted to think, ‘I am a beautiful woman. I could have wealth and popularity, but I have been robbed in life.’ Still, it wasn’t too late. She could have resisted; she could have refused to think those thoughts. Then the evil spirit would have fled from her and she would have remained free. But she chose otherwise.
Finally she left her husband and went out into the world, seeking fame and wealth which the devil offered. She took up with one man after another. After a time that thing got into her spirit.” In the vision I saw the black dot move from her head to her heart, and then the woman said, “I don’t want the Lord anymore. Just leave me alone.”
I said, “Lord, why are You showing this to me? Do You want me to pray for this woman? Do you want me to cast the devil out of her?”
“No, I don’t want you to pray and cast the devil out of her,” the Lord answered, because you couldn’t anyway. She wants that spirit, and as long as she wants it, she can have it.”
“Then why did You show this to me, Lord?”
“I have shown this to you for two reasons: first, so you could see how an evil spirit will get hold of a person, even a child of God, if they will let him; second, I want you to deal with that spirit who is operating through that woman and harassing and intimidating the ministry of her former husband.”
“How do I do that?” I asked. The minister was in the same state I was in, but the woman was in another state.
“There is no distance in the realm of the spirit,” the Lord said.
“Simply speak to that spirit and command him, in my Name, saying, ‘You foul spirit that is operating in the life of this woman (calling her name), that is harassing and embarrassing the ministry of the servant of the Lord (calling her husband’s name), I command you to desist in your operations and stop in your manoeuvres this moment.”
In the Spirit I said those words, and immediately that spirit ceased to operate through her to intimidate that minister. From that day forward the minister never again was troubled by her or that spirit.
“Lord, what will happen to her?” I asked.
“She will spend eternity in the regions of the damned, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth,” He answered. And in the vision I saw her go down in to the pit. I heard her awful screams.
“This woman was your child, Lord. She was filled with your Spirit and had part in the ministry. Yet You said not to pray for her. I cannot understand this!”
The Lord reminded me of the following scripture:
“If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it” (1 John 5:16).
I said, “But Lord, I always have believed that the sin referred to in this Scripture is physical death, and that the person is saved although he has sinned.”
“But that Scripture doesn’t say physical death,” the Lord pointed out. “You are adding something to it. If you will read the entire chapter of First John, you will see that it is not talking about life and death – spiritual life and death – and this is spiritual death. This refers to a believer who can sin a sin unto death, and therefore I say that you shall not pray for it. I told you not to pray for this woman because she sinned a sin unto death.”
“This really disrupts my theology, Lord. Would you explain some more?” I asked. (Sometimes we need our theology disrupted if it is not in line with the Word).
Jesus reminded me of the following Scripture:
HEBREWS 6:4-6
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
"Yes, I know that Scripture, but my denomination said that those who were once enlightened’ does not refer to Christians – it means lost persons who get under conviction.”
The Lord said, “Remember, I told you this woman was my child. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she had part in my ministry. You will notice that the Scripture says, ‘it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,
The Lord said to me, “The sin that this scripture speaks about is that of the believer who turns his back upon Me. Notice the words in this Scripture, ‘He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy… of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God…’ (Hebrews 10:28-29)
“Because of great persecution, the Hebrew Christians referred to in this passage were tempted to go back to Judaism, but if they went back, they would have trodden under foot the Son of God. They would have counted the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, for they were saying that Jesus is not the Messiah; He is not the Son of God. They turned their backs on Me. This is why
Paul warned them that if they did that, it would be impossible to renew them unto repentance.
Forgiveness for Adultery
“It is sad that this woman left her husband for another man, but adultery is not the unpardonable sin. If she had turned back to Me in repentance, even though she might have had a hundred men, I would have forgiven her. Whatever she might have done, if she had asked Me to forgive her, I would have.
Even if she had been a baby Christian when she said, ‘I don’t want Jesus anymore; leave me alone,’ and didn’t actually realize what she was doing, I would have forgiven her. If she had done that because she was tempted and pressed into in beyond measure, I would have forgiven her. But she knew exactly what she was doing, and she acted wilfully when she said, ‘I don’t want him anymore.’
Therefore I tell you not to pray for her. I merely showed you this so you might see how the devil can get hold of Christians if they will permit him to.
Pastor Poju Oyemade
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