When the Holy and Unholy Mix

Now, I would like to give briefly my summation of this whole phenomenon or movement or whatever you want to call it, based partly on personal observation and partly on what I believe to be reliable reports. My summation is very simple: It's a mixture of spirits, both the Holy Spirit and unholy spirits. They are mixed together.

In Leviticus 19:19, God warns us against mixture. He is opposed to mixture. God says this:

“You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed, nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.”

So, God warns against three things: breeding mixed livestock, sowing with mixed seed, and wearing a mixed garment.

We could say that sowing with mixed seed represents the message that we bring when it is partly truth and partly error. Wearing a mixed garment would be like a lifestyle that is partly scriptural and partly of this world. And letting livestock breed with livestock of an incompatible kind would be equivalent to a Christian ministry or group aligning itself with a group or ministry that is non-Christian.

It's an interesting thing about such breeding: its product is always sterile. For instance, you can mate a horse with a donkey, and the product is a mule. But a mule is always sterile. It cannot reproduce. I think that's one reason why there are so many sterile operations in Christendom. They are being bred with the wrong mate.

Now, I've observed this carefully, and I've had grievous experience of this condition of a mixture of spirits. I find that it is something which the scripture warns us against. For instance, there's a character in the Bible, King Saul, who had a mixture of spirits. At one time, he prophesied in the Holy Spirit; at another time, he prophesied in a demon.

His career is really a warning. He was a king who ruled for 40 years. He was a successful military commander. He had a lot of successes, but mixture was his undoing, and his life closed with tragedy. On the last night of his life, he went to consult a witch. The next day, he committed suicide on the battlefield. Surely that offers no encouragement to any of us to cultivate any kind of spiritual mixture in our lives.

I've observed that the result of mixture is two things. First of all, confusion, and then division. For instance, we have this mixed message, part of which is true, part of which is false. People can respond in two ways. Some will see the good and focus on it, and therefore accept the bad. Some will focus on the bad and therefore reject the good. In either case, it does not accomplish God's purposes.

Once upon a time, I was a pastor, a long time ago, but I remember that the most difficult kind of people to deal with were people who were a mixture. I'll give you a little imaginary example. We have Sister Jones in our congregation. One Sunday, she gives a beautiful prophetic message, and everyone is uplifted, excited. But two Sundays later, she stands up and gives a revelation which she had in a dream. The further she goes with this revelation, the more confused and confusing it becomes.

Eventually, as pastor, I have to say to her, "Sister Jones, I thank you, but I really don't believe that is from the Lord." And she sits down, but that is not the end. After the meeting, Sister White comes to me and says, "Brother Prince, how could you talk to Sister Jones like that? Don't you remember that beautiful prophecy she gave two Sundays ago?" And when Sister White is gone, Brother Black comes to me, and he says, "If that's the kind of revelation she has, I won't listen to any more of her prophecies."

So you see what we have? Confusion. And out of confusion, division. I believe that's exactly what is happening in the church: confusion resulting in division. Certainly, there is tremendous division. I believe confusion will always produce division.

The Bible gives us no liberty to tolerate the incursion of evil into the church. We are not to be passive. We are not to be neutral. Proverbs 8:13 says,

“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.”

It is sinful to compromise with evil. It is sinful to be neutral toward evil.

In John 10:10, Jesus spoke about the thief, the devil, who comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. We always need to remember, whether it is in an individual life or in a congregation, the devil only comes with three objectives: to steal, to kill, and to destroy.

I can remember many times I've been speaking with a person who needed deliverance from an evil spirit, and I've said to that person, "Remember, the devil has three reasons for being in your life: to steal, to kill, and to destroy. You need to take a stand against him, not be neutral. You must drive him out."

What is true of an individual is true of a congregation. It is true for the body of Christ worldwide.