# How to test spirits

From our perspective, both God and the devil live in [The Unknown](unknown.md).

Thankfully, God is faithful to show us enough elements of Himself to indicate His presence.

- [James 3:17](https://biblehub.com/james/3-17.htm) spells it out:
  1. That wisdom will firstly be pure.
  2. If it is pure, it will be peace-loving, gentle, and accommodating.
  3. It will also be full of mercy, yield good [results](results.md), express itself impartially, and will be sincere.

At the same time, we are responsible to test the spirits to be sure ([1 John 4:1](https://biblehub.com/1_john/4-1.htm)).

## Firstly, stay attentive to good things

In some ways, we are never "unspiritual"

- Our ideas and thoughts are fashioned and framed by spiritual forces beyond us.
- We've only developed a secular [philosophy](philosophy.md) within the last few centuries of a "self-oriented" worldview (i.e., Descartes' first principles).
  - Every idea comes from another source, and is never really "our idea" (irrespective of [intellectual property law](legal-ip.md)).

We become familiar with what we pay attention to.

- We gain wisdom when we pay attention to true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy things ([Philippians 4:8](https://biblehub.com/philippians/4-8.htm)).
- The corrupting nature of sin means that our choice of [self-education](education.md) changes the situation:
  - Learning about sin alone leads to very unclear thinking about *both* sin and righteousness.
  - On the other hand, learning about righteousness leads to understanding of sin as well.

This is important because there are multiple types of people who will destroy the Gospel:

1. Many false prophets and wolves [Matthew 7:15-16](https://biblehub.com/matthew/7-15.htm).
2. Divisive people, who self-condemn with their obsession with their works ([Romans 16:17-18](https://biblehub.com/romans/16.htm), [Titus 3:9-11](https://biblehub.com/titus/3.htm)).
3. In the last days, pretty much everyone ([2 Timothy 3:1-5](https://biblehub.com/2_timothy/3.htm)).

## Individually test each case

A few simple rules test everything:

- [1 Corinthians 12:3](https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/12-3.htm)
- [1 John 4:2-3](https://biblehub.com/1_john/4.htm)
- [Isaiah 8:19-20](https://biblehub.com/isaiah/8.htm)
- [2 Corinthians 3:17](https://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/3-17.htm)

1. Anyone who says Jesus is cursed is *not* speaking through the Holy Spirit.
2. Only someone speaking through the Holy Spirit can say Jesus is Lord.
3. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
4. Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.
5. Spirits from God will attest to God's law and the testimony of those who follow God.
6. The message will bring freedom, not bondage.

## Specific cases

If a spiritual event has happened, it can be validated with [scientific](science.md) proof.

- Luke, a physician, delivered the Gospel message in a clear and deductive way to an analytical crowd.

Preaching

- Be careful of their preaching in proportion to their [artfulness in public speaking](language-speaking.md)
  - Paul himself was intentionally plain, without a heavy focus on [influential](power-influence.md) language ([1 Corinthians 2:4](https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/2-4.htm)).
- Typically, exegetical [Bible study](bible-study.md) is safer.
  - If it is topical, the speaker has more room for theological vagueness or falsehood.
- Pay attention to the connected Bible verses.
  - Watch for patterned connections between unrelated verses.
  - Pay attention to verses that don't apply:
    - "Let not man separate what God has joined together" in [Mark 10:9](https://biblehub.com/mark/10-9.htm) is about marriage, *not* parenting or personal property.
    - "Stand strong in the faith" in [1 Corinthians 16:13](https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/16-13.htm) is about trusting God, *not* about career or personal satisfaction.
- Most false teachers speak *very* fast, so analyzing their statements can be tedious.

Speaking in tongues

- Ask to record what they're saying, then [translate it in your own time](https://github.com/Phileosopher/toolbox/blob/master/language-writing-receive.md).

Healing gift

- When God heals, it will often be out of the way, *not* in front of a televised crowd of 8,000 people.
- If they're legitimately healing, ask for them to go to the hospital with you.

Controversial theology

- look at the *exact* Bible verses being referenced and do a Bible study on them

Death experiences

- God intentionally veiled [death](hardship-death.md) and what happens afterward from us.
- Most death experiences are oriented toward three possible motivations:
  1. Gaining [influence](power-influence.md) for a [theological](theology.md) view that would otherwise be unpopular.
  2. Gain influence with specific people who have felt a severe personal [loss](mind-feelings-sadness.md).
  3. A new rush of [meaning](meaning.md) by desiring to build a [legacy](legacy.md), but not [educated on the typical physiological experiences of death](hardship-death.md)

Prophecies

- Make a record, with a date, of the indicated prophecy.
  - Preferably, save a video of them.
- Be very particular with their wording, since many of them use "weasel words" and vague language to [lie](people-lying.md) their way out of it later.

## Don't get carried away

In many cases, the people who make false claims to spirituality are either [Cluster B personality](mind-neurodivergence-clusterb.md) with severe delusions, or have been influenced directly by a demon.

- Either way, even *hinting* at their false teaching will bring [abuse](hardship-abuse.md) on yourself.
- In other words, only call out the false spiritual activity when you are absolutely ready to lose something associated with your connection to those individuals and groups.