Contending with the Spirit of Python
In the Book of Acts we see a record of the early ministries of the Apostles and the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the known world. On the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost came in and ignited a Holy Spiritual Fire in the hearts of every Born Again Believer, the good news of the gospel, and the demonstration of the power of God to perform signs, wonders and miracles began to spread like wildfire.
No one could stop the spread even though the religious authorities certainly did their best to do so. A Holy Ghost pandemic was unleashed upon the world and there was nothing on earth that would stop its spread into every nation, and into the farthest reaches of the globe. It came from the heart of God to a world that was already caught in the grip of death, and it came to bring life, a life more abundant.
The Pharisees, Sadducees and even the High Priest hated to hear the name of Jesus, because every time it was preached their hearts were pricked with conviction by the Holy Ghost, reminding them that they had murdered the very Son of God. The didn’t want to repent and so they didn’t want to the hear the truth. And they were afraid that their control over the people would be lost. This gospel message was a threat to their power and authority and they wanted it stopped. It was the Light that shined in a dark place to expose the works of the devil.
The best efforts of organized religion at persecuting the true church only served to cause the preaching of the gospel to spread more rapidly. The power of God and the Love of God to reach out to fallen man and save souls was greater, and still is, than any power or plan that either men or the devil could think of. Jesus had overcome the world and no power on earth could stop the move of God to build his church.
What men could not do, Satan thought he could do, so he devised his own plan to stop the gospel from spreading. As we read the Book of Acts we will discover one of the strongest methods of attack that Satan has devised. He is not omnipotent, nor is the devil omniscient or omnipresent, so he has to learn as he goes, devising new ways to attack the church; new ways to choke out the message of the gospel; and new ways to silence the voices of those who witness and preach the gospel.
Satan is always trying to play offense while he should be trying to play defense because God is always way ahead of him in the battle of good and evil.
The fulfilment of the plan of God for the redemption of man and the ultimate destruction of Satan’s plans to kill, steal and destroy are on a steady march to the end and nothing Satan does can stop it. Every time the devil comes up with a new way of attack, God already has a way waiting to stopping him because the very gates of hell cannot overcome neither the church, nor the power of God in the earth. Every time Satan arises to a new level of attack, the Lord lifts up the standard of the Blood stained banner of the cross even higher!
The method of attack, employed by Satan against the church, can be seen in Acts 16:16 where we read, “And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:”
If you were to read this verse in the original Greek text the words “spirit of divination” would say, "the spirit of Python".
The Hebrew word that describes this spirit is “???, Pey Tav Nun or (PETEN)” and it means,“a deadly serpent”. (Note – when America sent military forces into the middle east, one of the things we sent was the Cobra Attack Helicopter. The Jews called it Peten because the cobra is a deadly serpent found in the desert).
The city of Delphi in Greece, according to history, was the location of the Oracle of Apollos. According to Greek Mythology Apollos was given the name Pythius because he had killed the great serpent Python. Python was supposedly a demi-god serpent that was born out of the mud left over after the waters of the great flood receded. Python and was the protector of Delphi, so when Apollos wanted to establish his oracle there, he had to first kill the serpent.
The oracle of Apollo was set up in Delphi and given the name of Pytho. For those who may not know what it was, an oracle is usually someone who is either “a priest or priestess empowered by the gods who would act as a medium, or channel through whom advice or prophecy is sought. The oracle of Apollos was where the ancient Greeks went to try and get advice from their gods or to seek a word of prophecy.
At the oracle of Pytho, established in honor of Apollo, the prophetess sat upon a high golden tripod that was placed over a deep hole in the earth. The priestess, either in her own ability to deceive others, or more likely by the empowerment of the demonic spirit that was in her, pretended to be in touch with the gods speaking to her from the deep hole and foretold things to come.
To show what it was really all about, the Arabic language describes what was happening at this oracle by saying that what was spoken forth came from "an unclean spirit, foretelling future things".
When we examine what the Jews teach concerning consulting with an oracle, they describe the oracle as Ob, which we translate into a Familiar Spirit. So you can see that the Spirit of Python really speaks of Familiar Spirits and words or prophecies coming from an unclean spirit. None of those things could ever be considered a source of understanding or good news for the church.
God had given Israel some laws concerning consulting with an Ob (a familiar spirit, sometimes referred to as a wizard) in the Book of Leviticus.
Leviticus 19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
If America lived by the Law of Moses we might have to dismantle a few mountains to find enough stones to put to death every psychic, wizard, witch, warlock, fortune teller and false prophet in our land. Instead, our society, from the back alleys to the White House, embraces them and seeks after their words and prophecies. When you’re getting advice from the devil it’s no surprise that we are a nation in trouble. All we are doing is asking our murderer which weapon he wants to use and then giving him permission to use it.
If you were to seek out occurrences of the Spirit of Python in the Septuagint, the oldest Greek interpretation of the Hebrew Old Testament, you would find that the Spirit of Python was in a man named "Engastrimythos" who was a ventriloquist, that seemed to speak out of his belly, and pretended to predict future events.
In the Old Testament we read the story of King Saul as he consulted with the “witch of Endor” rather than seeking God for his answers. The Witch of Endor is called the mistress of Ob in Hebrew teaching, meaning that she was possessed by the Spirit of Python.
As we read these verses in the Book of Acts, we can understand then that the Spirit of Python was at work in the life of this young girl as she went around prophesying and bringing attention to the work that Paul and the others with him were doing.
She wasn’t just operating through deception or pretending, but she was really possessed by the Spirit of Python.
How do men and women invite the Spirit of Python into their hearts? Quite often we find, as it was in the case of this young girl who followed Paul, either the one possessed, and/or the ones who are over her stand to gain wealth and fame from the power of the demon that is being displayed.
As the scripture says, “The love of money is the root of all evil”, and those who love money and will do anything to get it, become easy hosts to be used by the Spirit of Python. Never forget that this world is Satan’s domain for now and he has power over his kingdom that is only limited by the power of God.
Satan will open the coffers of his kingdom containing ungodly wealth and pour out the prosperity of this world upon those who will agree to be used to destroy the church and to kill the very souls of God’s people, and slow the spread of the gospel.
Too many people are convinced that the financial blessings that they enjoy are a sign of God’s approval, and God does bless in that manner as he sees fit. But never let that be the test of whether we are right with God because the scripture also speaks of the “deceitfulness of riches” in Mark 4:19.
How was the Spirit of Python manifesting in this young girl as she followed Paul on the way to his prayer meeting?
Act 16:17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
Act 16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
What was the Spirit of Python in this young girl trying to accomplish? There were times before I began to understand the reasons for her constantly following and crying out were really bad.
On the surface it seems that this might not be such a bad thing to have someone following you around, announcing your purpose and drawing a crowd. In some ways she was making the Apostles into heroes and bringing them fame.
But it was not for their good in the end and Paul, being filled with the spirit of discernment by the Holy Ghost, began to see the truth behind it all and knew that it was time to put an end to it.
As we look at this incident concerning the Spirit of Python, let us be reminded that that same spirit is working in the earth today. Where can you see it, and what is happening in the church, and in the lives of Christians everywhere, that we can attribute to the Spirit of Python? It is very likely that all of us have dealt with this spirit and maybe we are right now and don’t realize what we are fighting against.
When we remember that we are in a Spiritual Warfare, and that the devil never stops trying to kill, steal and destroy, we can easily understand that the Spirit of Python is always there, as the deadly demon from the power of the devil that is trying to stop the work of the Lord, hinder the spread of the gospel and steal the power of the church to be the witness of Christ in these last days.
As the church, the family of God, and individual families and people who are called by God to be his witnesses, we have all been called to bear fruit for the Lord and to fulfill the purpose that he has given us as a part of his plan of redemption.
It is that Spirit of Python that tries to stop, hinder, destroy and defeat everything that we do for God. He puts the squeeze on us through fear, through doubt, through frustration when there seems to be no results in what we are doing. He squeezes even more when we begin to get lukewarm in God; when we let the cares of life take our time away to pray and seek the face of God. The Spirit of Python works like a giant snake to wrap himself around you and begin to squeeze the life out of you until there’s no room in your life for God to move.
He’s always near when we gather to worship the Lord, trying to hinder the worship in any way he can. He’s always there when we stop to intercede for others to be saved, healed or delivered. He is always there when we deal with the financial matters of the church, and to hinder the financial well-being of our families. He’s always at work in the government, both the government of the church and the government of the nation, to stop both from being productive for the purposes of spreading the gospel.
Like a physical Python, the Spirit of Python works by continually tightening his grip on the hearts and minds of his victims, trying to squeeze the hope, the breath and the life out of them. His grip may seem tolerable for a while but the more time passes and he’s allowed to continue, the more limited things get.
Like he was doing through this girl that followed Paul, the Spirit of Python loves to broadcast information that will ultimately bring trouble to his victim. He will bring attention to what’s happening when a ministry begins to work in a city or area and he stirs up trouble to try and stop it. Sometimes the government of the church that is caught up in traditionalism will be stirred up to oppose the move of the Holy Ghost to bring revival. Even the civil government can be stirred up to oppose what God is doing by creating and enforcing local ordinances and limiting where, when or how the meetings may be held.
The Spirit of Python loves to work through people who are spiritually weak and not truly sold out to God. He searches for those who are vulnerable to being deceived and can be led into error because they either don’t know the Bible as they should, or they are still living too close to the fence spiritually.
He loves to find people in the church to use for his purposes. There are many in the church today who have never really had a true Born Again experience. They speak and try to act as Christians but they aren’t seeking the heart of God. They seeks the gifts, but not the Giver!
They love to act as though they have the gifts of prophecy, or can speak a word of knowledge, or they have some great revelation from God that no one else has, but their hearts are far from God and they aren’t speaking what God is saying. When you’re around them, there is an uneasy sense of something being wrong with their “works” and the spirit they have. Much of the time all they really want are the praises and recognition of men who are quick to label them as someone special.
A true prophet doesn’t need to seek the accolades of man. He serves the Lord and let’s God get all the glory! Anyone who truly loves the Lord and is used in any way like a prophet, or in the gifts of the Spirit, only feels privileged and honored to have used, but will always point everything to Jesus and give God glory for all that is said and done.
The Spirit of Python manifests outside of the church, in the worldly crowd as a Fortune-teller, a psychic medium, a sorcerer, a channeling contact with the spirit world, and even through horoscopes and Ouija boards or tarot cards. He manifests his control in witchcraft, occultism and many forms of idol worship.
But inside the church and in our families the Spirit of Python manifests differently because he knows that the worldly manifestations are not easily accepted in the church.
Inside the church, it manifests through prophetic people who refuse to submit to authority and without them knowing it, they begin to receive revelation and prophetic words that aren’t coming from the mind of Christ, but from the lying lips of the devil. Their prophetic words often bring on a lot of confusion in the hearts of the hearers as they try to reconcile the false doctrine they are given with what the Bible teaches. The deceitfulness of Python tries to mix with the Truth of the gospel and it’s like mixing oil and water. There is always the sense of something not being right about it.
The Spirit of Python is responsible for so much of the rebellion in the church and for causing a lot of the slander of one Christian against another or one ministry against another. Python rises up in the hearts of a lot of people who love to gossip and spread tales, bringing condemnation of one another among Christians in the church because those things are usually rooted in pride, selfish motives and the need for self-gratification, to make themselves appear better than others.
In the world, the Spirit of Python often is accessed in the same manner as he was in the ancient oracles, and in the Old Testament. There is always a cost to hear his words and receive his prophecies. Why is there a charge for the Psychic Hotline, or the seances, or Fortune Tellers? It’s all because the one possessed by the Spirit of Python is like the girl in the Book of Acts and looking for ways to get earthly gain.
The thing to note is that the Spirit of Python often speaks things which are true, or knows what to say and how to say it, so that those who seek his advice are easily fooled. How does this happen? The devil is so devious that he has demons tracking and reporting on many who will eventually be drawn in to be deceived. He knows their wants, their desires and what they want to hear, so he tells them what they already hope to hear. It’s not revelation, but the gathering of information that is used to deceive.
Oracles, psychics, palm readers, occultists and those who hold seances to connect with the dead are used by the Spirit of Python to cause people to believe in the lies of the devil and trap them into a life of sinful deception. That’s why its forbidden in God’s word to consort with any of these types of people.
The number one target of the Spirit of Python is the Holy Ghost filled church. He opposes the true prophetic for it exposes his lies. He hates intercessory prayer because he knows that the power of prayer will tear down his strongholds in the hearts of men. He fears the anointing of the Holy Ghost and the Gifts of the Spirit operating by the will of God because he has no defense against them to cast him out in the name of Jesus.
Python attacks by bringing lethargy into the church, slowly destroying the desire that we have to do a work for the Lord, squeezing the energy and will out of those who let him, so that they just give up the fight. He brings in distractions to interrupt our ability to do intercessory prayer, and he will do a lot of things to interfere with true worship of God, by making us think of everything and everyone else but worshipping God.
What does Python use in the hearts of people in the church to get them to move in agreement with his plans to squeeze the life out of the church?
He uses ambition; not a bad thing until it becomes the main focus. We can desire to be used of God to sing, preach, teach or whatever, and that desire is good, but when the desire becomes an inner pressure to make it happen no matter what we have to do, then its coming close to the Spirit of Python.
He uses Greed, the desire for authority and recognition, the ability to control what’s going on, manipulation to gain control or to further our own agenda, and becoming a leader who refuses to repent if we wrong another – all of these things are part of the working of the Spirit of Python. The one caught up in these kinds of self-centered actions is a prime target for being used by Python to destroy the work of the kingdom of God and destroy the unity and peace of the church.
The Spirit of Python is often seen in our families in the same manner. It’s all about destroying unity, creating division, killing faith, and stopping the work of the Lord that Jesus is trying to accomplish through us.
We have all come into contact with the Spirit of Python one way or another in our walk with the Lord. I thank God that Jesus says he is greater in us than the Spirit of Python that is in the earth. Python is that old serpent, the devil. He is deadly, and he has many demons working with him to bring about his plans, but our God is Greater!
Jesus has already overcome the Spirit of Python! He has given us every spiritual weapon we need to defeat Python at every instance where he tries to arise.
We have been given the weapon of the truth of God’s Holy Word, to use it as a sharp two-edged sword and speak it to Python, proclaiming that God’s word is true and everything else is a lie! The power of the truth cuts through the deceitful lies, and the washing of our hearts and minds by the flowing life-giving water of the Word of God cleanses us from every attempt of Python to grow a root of bitterness, or create a seed of doubt in us! Speak the Word to him and destroy his lies with Truth!
We have the power to defeat the Spirit of Python through true heartfelt worship of our Lord Jesus Christ in Spirt and in Truth, for when we worship God with all our heart, and we have come together in his name, Jesus is in our midst, and He inhabits the praises of his people.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty! Python has no power in the presence of the Lord, and he is forced to leave as a defeated foe! If we praise the Lord and worship God in spirit and in truth, we will overcome Python’s work! Force him to stop squeezing the life out of your faith and let God arise in your hearts and your enemies be scattered!
The Spirit of Python is powerless in the face of pure trust in the Lord and absolute faith in God’s power to bring us to his desired end. God has a plan and if we put our trust in him, God will not fail!
The Spirit of Python is under the feet of Jesus, and through faith in Jesus, and when we are under the anointing, the calling and the authority of Jesus’ name, then we can declare in faith that we are Children of the Most High God, and proclaim that through the name of Jesus and the Blood of the Lamb that we shall not be overcome. The Python squeeze is destroyed because our faith in God grows ever larger, pushing off the power of the devil that is trying to destroy.
This spirit does not want you to believe the true word of prophecy about yourself. He does not want you to receive the anointing that God has for you. He does not want you to stand up and believe you are who Christ says you are and that you have access revelation from the Holy Ghost, and the prophetic Word of God that is real.
The Python spirit is not afraid of religion, but he fears the anointing of the Holy Ghost upon the Child of God! When we have that anointing, and we walk in faith, Python is fearful that we will simply do like Paul, suddenly get enough of his squeezing action, and turn to cast him off! Python will have to flee when he is cast out in the name of Jesus, through our faith in Christ alone!
If you’ve felt the Spirit of Python coming against you, it’s time to rise up in faith and cast him off in the name of Jesus!
• If you’ve felt him trying to destroy your peace,
• If you’ve felt him trying weaken your faith in God
• If you’ve felt him causing you to wonder about your own salvation
• If you’ve felt him trying to interfere with your faithful life in Christ, to cause you to lose your resolve to be faithful and to serve God with all your heart;
• If you’ve felt him trying to make you wonder if God will ever do what he said he would do in your life;
• If you’ve felt him trying to make you fearful that you might not make to heaven yourself, or that the troubles of this life may become too great for you to handle
Then today is the day to cast of the Spirit of Python that is trying to slowly squeeze the victory, and the life of the spirit of God, out of you!
Call upon the name of the Lord, and in the name of Jesus, and by his authority, and through the power of the Blood of the Lamb, declare by the Word of God that victory is yours!
Cast off the spirit of Python by the power of the name of Jesus and his shed blood, and be free.
For whom the Lord has set free is free indeed and the spirit of Python is defeated by the power of God!
