Only a short comment, here. Balaam was a foolish/false prophet of Israel, yet at the time, God had to use him for His purposes even though he was easily swayed to the other side. At one point, God even had to speak through his donkey to get His message heard. I don’t know how Britton compares with Balaam, but God’s truth is truth, no matter how it comes, or who is the mouthpiece. I have been very blessed by reading any of Britton’s writings thus far.

Well, anonymous, it’s understandable why you wouldn’t want to leave your name and let God defend you if you are correct Familiar spirits indeed. Perhaps you need another reading of Job.

I suppose using your criteria for judgment (i.e, looking at events to discern spirits) you would then be able to come to no other conclusion but that familiar spirits led all the disciples to slaughter save one, whom they chose to share with a sentence to death in exile. Stephen was stoned. Peter was hanged upside down on a cross. And Paul? Boy, he must have really been deceived, since his “hearing from God” led him to shipwreck, multiple jailings, beatings, hunger, rejection, and so on. From the first day of his calling, Paul was suspect and despised by fellow believers. Was Paul being deceived?

Sometimes God leads us into things knowing full well we will fail or make a mess of things. , not as a test, per se. He does it because he wants to reveal something to us about our own character and shortcomings that we may learn form it and be conformed more to the image of the Son. There are many pardoxes of the Christian faith- we have to surrender to gain victory, we have to die to live, we have to give all to gain, and become wiling to be last to be first. God uses what appears to be foolishness to natural man to confound those of us who are wise in our own estimation.

Only God knows the intent of the heart. The rest of us have to settle for being fruit inspectors and observe what follows a professed believer. I would pray that none of my mistakes would be blamed on being deceived by the Devil and instead by chalked up to acting in my flesh or doing what I believe God calls me to to the best of my ability, and let Him do what He may through it.

One thing I will leave you with, my friend. Be very, very careful about ascribing to the Devil the works of God. We as a culture may limit “taking the Lord’s name in vain” to a few select swear words, but it is much, much more than that, not the least of which are tacking His name onto something He never said and that runs counter to Scripture, or blaming him for the works of the Devil, or calling His works demonic.