Simon the wizard

I found the text below in a book entitled 'The Enigma of the Holy Spirit'.
It emphasizes how important it is that we as Christians have beliefs about the Holy Spirit, based on a sound interpretation of God's Word. When we seek experiences of the Spirit without it, we run the risk of demonic influence on heart and life.


The story of Simon the sorcerer provides us with a stern warning against spiritual deception and deception.
Many of God's people in our days of doctrinal confusion see no danger in entering the spiritual realm without sound doctrine to guide them and keen discernment based on God's word to find out what the deception is. As a result, many are tricked and exploited by religious impostors.

Simon who was under the spell of demonic power and misled the people of Samaria, promoted himself as 'a great man' (Acts 8:9). The people were misled into thinking that he'the great power of God' was (Acts 8:10), all the while performing miracles by demonic powers (Acts 8:11).

The same danger exists in our day, especially in circles where people, hungry for the power of God, fall prey to ignorance and error of the teachings of the Holy Spirit. In many places confusing terms are used such as 'receiving the Holy Spirit', 'the baptism of (or in or with) the Holy Spirit' and doctrinal errors abound. As a result, few Christians realize that they are exposing themselves to demonic delusions as they seek an experience of "tongues" or of "healing." Worse, they forget that seeking experiences that are not sanctioned by the word of God and proper biblical teaching expose themselves to control by demons and all forms of extremity.

From: 'The enigma of the Holy Spirit' by Dr Sunny Ezhumattoor

Acts 8:9 ff