Introduction

Pentecostals and Charismatics1 have a dynamic demonology. As the movement has grown in size and influence its views have caused the church to rethink a number of issues. This paper explores the development of the idea of “spiritual warfare” especially as it has developed in the Charismatic movement since the 1970s. This conception of demonology is not a new development with in the Charismatic movement, but since the early 70s it has gone through a discernible development that has become increasingly more sophisticated and has grown to have citywide, nationwide and worldwide implications.

The Charismatic development of “spiritual warfare” can be seen to result in part, from the distinctive hermeneutic used by Pentecostals and Charismatics as well as from the theological historical roots of these movements. This paper will survey the writings of five authors dating from 1970 to 1991. The first three authors are distinctly Charismatic, whereas the last two are harder to characterize as such. There are no claims made by any of the authors that the idea of demonology as spiritual warfare originated with him or her nor is it unique to any one of them. It is more accurate to see these five proponents as representative of a broader group to which they give voice.

Survey of the Literature

In a movement as diverse and broad based as the Pentecostal / Charismatic movement at the end of the twentieth century, it is difficult to select and focus on a given aspect such as demonology while trying to do justice to the various points of view and differing practices. Stephen Glazier points this out in the preface to Perspectives on Pentecostalism: Case Studies from the Caribbean and Latin America, “Pentecostalism is a loosely structured phenomena (sic.) and... (as it is sometimes tempting to suggest) there are as many ‘Pentecostalism’ as there are Pentecostal congregations...”2 F.P. Moller makes the same observation regarding demonology when he writes, “It is not possible to give a comprehensive exposition of all perspectives from which Pentecostals see the activity of demonic powers. The subject is stated too broadly....”3 This being the

1 The editors of Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements in the opening essay, “The Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements,” (2-6) readily admit that the distinction between these two groups is difficult to make. However, they do point out that such a distinction can be made along both theological lines and ecclesiastical lines. For the purpose of this paper, “Pentecostals” are those who are members and adherents of classical Pentecostal denominations and “Charismatics” characterizes persons outside these classical Pentecostal denominations. 2Stephen D. Glazier, ed., Perspectives On Pentecostalism: Case studies from the Caribbean and Latin America (Washington, D.C., 1980), vii.3F.P. Moller, “Pentecostal Perspectives on the Activity of Demonic Power,” in Like a Roaring Lion...:Essays on the Bible, the Church and Demonic Powers ed. by Pieter G.R. de Villiers (Pretoria: C.B. Powell Bible Centre, University of South Africa, 1987), 173.

case, though, there is enough commonality and agreement within the movement so that a survey and summary of Pentecostal / Charismatic demonology can be made.4

The focus of this paper is on the distinctive way in which the idea of “spiritual warfare” has developed especially in the past twenty-five years. In the opening chapter to his book, Engaging the Enemy, C. Peter Wagner makes the observation, “As we begin moving into the 1990s, I sense, along with many other Christian leaders, the Holy Spirit is saying, ‘prepare for warfare.’” He then goes on to give his appraisal of how God has “been moving His people, step by step, through phases of preparation, setting the agenda for the current decade.”5 These phases are; 1950s evangelism at home and abroad; 1960s compassion for the poor, the oppressed, the homeless and the destitute; 1970s first seeds of the current growing prayer movement; 1980s renewal of the prophetic ministry.6 He concludes that, “now in 1990 spiritual warfare is moving into the forefront.”7 However, the development of the concept, theology and practice of “spiritual warfare” in the sense in which it is understood today, can be traced in the literature from at least the early 1970’s.

In the early days of the Pentecostal movement, exorcism was closely connected to the ministry of divine healing and was practiced widely.8 By the 1970’s a body of literature started to develop that sought to equip Christians9 with the knowledge of how to understand and succeed in the practice of exorcism or deliverance ministry.10 One characteristic of this literature was the pronounced usage it made of warfare as a model and framework for understanding the demonic realm and the Christian’s interaction with it. This language and model are taken directly from Scripture as is demonstrated in the introduction to a book published in 1970, where the author, Michael Harper, writes:

The early Christians often seem to have viewed their experience in terms of warfare. Military terminology is liberally sprinkled through the pages of the New Testament...

4See for example the article by L. Grant McClung, Jr. “Exorcism” in Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, s.v., eds., Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B. McGee (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988 ).5 C. Peter Wagner, ed., Engaging the Enemy: How to fight and Defeat Territorial Spirits with Foreword by John Dawson (Ventura: Regal Books, 1991), 3. Wagner does not limit his observations to any particular group within Christianity. The phrase “His people” is not qualified and can be taken to mean the whole Christian Church.6 Wagner concedes that this reemergence of the prophetic office is not as widely recognized implying that the other developments are recognized by God’s people (ibid., 3).7 Ibid., 4.8See McClung, “Exorcism,” (290) and Donald W. Dayton, Theological Roots of Pentecostalism, 2nd ed., (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers: 1987), 119-121.9 Each of the authors read for this paper addresses himself or herself to the Church at large. None of them understands thier message as limited to a particular group or branch of Christianity. For each of them this is a area that all Christians need to understand and practice. 10”Deliverance” is a term that is commonly used in the literature surveyed for this paper. In the reading done to date, I have not found any discussion of a preference for one term over the other. Even though it is not certain that these are synonymous, in this discussion they will be treated as such.

But the war the Christians talked about was not “against flesh and blood." The weapons they wielded were not “carnal." It was spiritual warfare... And that is what this book is all about.11

For Harper, the issue goes beyond that of the occasional demon possession and act of exorcism. His concern is that all believers become aware of the spiritual battle that is raging as a result of the expanding supernaturalism, good and bad that characterizes this time.12 Harper has started to move toward a broader application of the concept of spiritual warfare, but his book still focuses on the individual and his or her immediate surroundings.

Frank and Ida Hammond published a book in 1973, that Frank Hammond calls “a trumpet call to total spiritual warfare.”13 The Hammond’s give expression to a sense of organization in the demonic realm and portray demonic resistance to the gospel as systematic. In speaking of Satan’s kingdom they write, “It is highly organized to carry out its purpose. Demon powers are set in array and given authority by Satan to control the entire world and plague it with pernicious evil.”14 As a result this book goes on to describe the need to do “battle” for self, the home, the church, the community and country.15 Even so, the bulk of the Hammond’s book is devoted to methods of exorcism for the individual.

By the late 1970’s, those who had invested much time and effort in deliverance ministries were trying to come up with quicker ways to accomplish broader results in this war against Satan and the demonic forces arrayed against the ministers themselves, their churches and their communities. In 1978, Travis Waters wrote a book that is meant to give the church a key element for victory in the raging battle. Like those before him, he builds his understanding of the realm of the demonic on a passage in Ephessians 616.

We in modern Western cultures have such difficulty believing in the full biblical scope of the spirit world. We are over-educated, over-psychologized, and desensitized, whereas the Apostle Paul had no difficulty with the idea that “we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12)17

He goes on to use Daniel 10 as an example of what Paul is teaching in this passage, Daniel’s true enemy was not Darius, the king of the Chaldeans, but the demonic prince of the kingdom of Persia who resisted the Archangel Gabriel as he attempted to come to Daniel with the answer from God18

11Michael Harper, Spiritual Warfare ( London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1970), 5.12Ibid., 12-13.13Frank and Ida Hammond, Pigs in the Parlor: A Practical Guide to Deliverance (Kirkwood: Impact Books, Inc., 1973), Foreword.14Ibid., 10.15Ibid., 11-18.16 Cf. Hammond, 5-10. Harper does not develop the idea of the demonic organization and his treatment of Ephessians 6:6-18 focuses more on the protection offered by the spiritual armor (81-90).17 Travis Waters, He Laughs in the Heavens: A Songbook for End-Time Warriors (San Jose, CA: Fellowship Ministries, Inc., 1978), 4.18Ibid., 4

Then he asks, “Brothers and sisters, are not our true foes those princes over our communities, our states, our nations? Do they not hinder and stifle us at every turn? Do they not take the blessings of God and in a few short years stagnate and pollute them?”19 For Waters, the force behind the evils of society are a hierarchy of demonic figures that are under the control of Satan who is the ultimate strong man.20

The main thrust of his book was to develop the idea of “binding the strong man” as a key to gaining deliverance from the demonic and a release of the full power of God.21 This is not unlike the reasons for deliverance set forth by the previous authors, but Waters goes a step further and claims that the demons that harass an individual are supported and sustained by an area strong man. For him, personal deliverance is hindered, if not impossible, without binding the strong man.22 Another idea that Waters develops is that of corporate prayer. In Waters’ scheme, deliverance becomes a community ministry as an entire church body must become involved in the various activities and disciplines that are seen as necessary for effective deliverance ministry.23

In these three authors, there is a discernible progression in their understanding of the complexity of spiritual warfare as a model for demonology. It is difficult to tell to what extent these authors have influenced each other. However, each of them does demonstrate the influence of other leaders in the Charismatic movement during the 70s. Harper relates an incident he witnessed involving Dennis Bennett who is recognized as a strong influence in the early Charismatic movement.24 Waters cites articles published in New Wine, a periodical that was widely circulated in the Charismatic movement. New Wine was an organ for distributing the teaching of a group of Charismatic leaders including Bob Mumford, Derek Prince, Don Basham25, Charles Simpson, and W.E. “Ern” Baxter.26 Waters also quotes Bob Mumford directly as a confirmation of what he was experiencing in his own ministry.27 The Hammond’s express gratitude to Derek Prince in the forward to their book, who, as noted already, was a leader in the Charismatic movement during that time. These references to leaders and publications, though limited, demonstrate that the ideas expressed by these writers were informed and influenced by others around them even though each makes liberal use of their own experiences and personal “revelations.”

In these works, the main focus is on the individual believer and only indirectly on the unchurched. By the end of the 1980s, however, the idea of spiritual warfare

19Ibid., 4.20Ibid., 7.21Ibid., 8.22Ibid., 21.23Ibid., 92-100.24Harper, 11, 12. For a brief sketch of Bennett’s life and ministry see “Bennett” by Larry Christenson, in Burgess and McGee (53,54). 25Basham also wrote a book on demonology entitled Deliver Us From Evil. A copy of this book could not be located in the time period in which this paper was written and so bibliographic information was not available, but see article on Basham by Stephen Strang in Burgess and McGee, (51,52).26See the articles in Burgess and McGee for biographical information and the connection of these leaders to each other.27Waters, 24, 25.

became more broad based and the focus shifted to its necessity for successful evangelization.

In an article published in the July 1989 issue of Evangelical Missions Quarterly, C. Peter Wagner calls for a more thorough study of the idea of territorial spirits. He states, “My principal calling is to obey the Great Commission. Thus, I see territorial spirits chiefly in terms of their alleged ability to prevent the spread of the gospel.”28 In this article Wagner explores a Scriptural basis for this understanding of the demonic realm along with a series of “contemporary examples.” His ideas are reflective of those developed by Harper, the Hammond’s, Waters and those who influenced them despite his statement that this is a “subject that is relatively new.” What Wagner does signal is the shift of emphasis in the development of the idea of spiritual warfare from that of concern with personal holiness to that of evangelism and church growth. Wagner also brings “respectability” to the idea as the professor of church growth at Fuller Seminary School of World Mission.

In the same year, John Dawson’s book, Taking Our Cities for God, was published. He, too, understands that in order for the gospel to have its fullest effect the strong man must first be bound. “When we minister in a given city we, too, are hindered by the spirits oppressing the people, until we discern the nature of the enemy’s deception and 'bind the strong man' by acting in the opposite spirit.”29 His book is a manual for spiritual warfare over a city with the goal of making a way for the gospel to come with power into a given city.30

Even though the emphasis in Dawson is on evangelism, there are echoes of some of the same ideas set forth by Waters. Waters’ concern was that believers see and understand the demonic forces behind the evils of our day. This same idea is found in Dawson when he writes, “We tend to look at problems caused by fallen angels without seeing them as the cause. In the daily newspaper we read reports of gang violence, corrupt government and child abuse, without clearly establishing the connection to the very real conflict in the unseen realm.”31

Finally, in 1991, Wagner compiled and edited nineteen articles from eighteen leaders and authors representing both Pentecostals and Charismatics in a book titled, Engaging the Enemy: How to F ight and Defeat Territorial Spirits . In his introduction, Wagner makes the claim, “The growing interest among scholars, pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and lay Christians in strategic-level spiritual warfare cries out for research and teaching.”32 Without trying to survey what each contributor to this volume has to say, it is significant to note that this volume demonstrates the growing interest in this aspect of demonology.

28C. Peter Wagner, “Territorial Spirits and World Missions,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 25/3 (July 1989), 278.29John Dawson, Taking Our Cities For God: How to Break Spiritual Strongholds with a Foreword by Jack Hayford (Lake Mary: Creation House, 1989), 20.30Ibid., 12-13, 203-219.31 Ibid., 135, 136.32C. Peter Wagner, ed., Engaging the Enemy: How to Fight and Defeat Territorial Spirits With a Foreword by John Dawson, (Ventura: Regal Books, 1991), xvii.

Pentecostal / Charismatic Hermeneutic and Spiritual Warfare

The operation of certian basic methods of interpretation common among Pentecostals and Charismatics is clearly evident in the field of demonology. The development of the idea of spiritual warfare as we have traced it through the above authors, although not inevitable, is at least an understandable outcome of the Pentecostal and Charismatic hermeneutic.

Pentecostals and Charismatics will typically have a high view of Scripture. The Scriptures are inspired, authoritative and infallible. It is not within the scope of this paper to explore the meaning of these terms or thier implications.33 However, there are two implications from this that are active in the authors surveyed above.

First, each of the authors presumes that the Biblical record is in fact, true. Others, such as Langton and Gaybba, who also recognize the authority of Scripture, will argue that the demonology of the New Testament is a cultural presupposition of the time. Their argument is that the Jewish Scriptures do not support the idea of a personal devil and demons as concieved in the New Testament. They see the developement of first century Jewish demonology as a result of Judaism’s interaction with Babylonian ideas and Persian Zoroastrianism which believed in a dualism in which good is eternally pitted against evil.34

However, Jewish monotheism which had prevailed against similar ideas of other dominant ancient cultures, greatly modified this dualism and thus we see the development of Jewish demonology in the apochraphal and apocalyptic literature of the post-exilic period. For this reason these theologians argue that the New Testament record does not compel us today to accept it as reflecting reality.35 The Pentecostal and Charismatic will reject this view and take Scripture as it stands. In each of the authors mentioned above there is an uncritical and direct acceptance of the Old and New Testament portrayal of and teaching on demonology.

The second implication that is particularly true of Pentecostals and Charismatics, is the idea that Scripture is the normative model for Christian life. This is particularly true of the narrative portions. Arrington points this out, “For the Pentecostal, Scripture is not merely the historical record of God’s working among the ancients; the Bible is the primary source book for living...life...The Pentecostal expects the mode of God’s presence to be the same today as in Biblical times. Because the NT believers shared in this Pentecostal experience with the Holy Spirit, they demonstrated the experiences

33Burgess and McGee, “Hermeneutics, Historical Perspectives on Pentecostal and Charismatic,” by French L. Arrington.34Gaybba in Like a Roaring Lion..., ed. de Villiers, 92. 35See Edward Langton, Essentials of Demonology: A Study of Jewish and Christian Doctrine, Its Origin and Development (London: The Epworth Press, 1949), 222-224. See also B. Gaybba, “The Development in Biblical Times of Belief in Demons and Devils and the Theological Issue Raised by Such a Development” in, Roaring Lion.... Langton and Gaybba both see New Testament demonology as a cultural norm into which Jesus was born. They see this demonolgy as a late development resulting from Jewish adaptation of Perrsian infulences in its own appocalytic literature. Neither of them accepts the New Testament “presumption” of a personal devil and demons as being real, but as a way to explain the problem of evil that is no longer acceptable today.

available to the Latter Rain Pentecostal.... All the miraculous works of the Holy Spirit are understood to occur today as they did in the apostolic church.”36

For the Pentecostal and Charismatic, the Bible is more than a source of ethics and moralisms, it is the inspired record of how the believer should expect to experience God, the world and Satan. This means that if the Scriptures speak of Satan, demons, principalities, powers, spirits of wickedness in high places, and of warfare, then we should expect to experience these entities today. Again, each of our authors, functioning within this hermeneutic, understands himself or herself to live in a world that is inhabited and affected by demonic forces under the control of Satan. If Jesus had to do battle with Satan and demons, then the church today should expect nothing less.

This view of Scripture demonstrates how the Charismatic is able to develop the concept of spiritual warfare as we have traced it. It also helps explain why they portray the demonic realm as arrayed and organized into a complex system usually resembling a governmental or military organization.

The reason that Charismatic demonology moved in this direction can also be seen to arise out of another characteristic of their hermeneutic. One way to understand the Pentecostal / Charismatic method of interpretation of Scripture is sometimes refereed to as pneumatic epistemology. This term tries to capture the idea that the “interpreter relies on illumination by the Holy Spirit in order to come to the fullest comprehension of the significance of the text.”37 Inherent in this is the idea that the authors of Scripture wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit. Therefore, the interpreter can only fully understand the Scripture through the illumination of the Spirit. Pneumatic epistemology also includes the idea of “phenomenological” interpretation. “The Scriptures are the product of an experience with the Holy Spirit which the biblical writers describe in phenomenological language.... When one encounters the Holy Spirit in the same apostolic experience, with the same charismatic phenomenology accompanying it, one is then in a better position to come to terms with the apostolic witness in a truly existential manner.”38

Each of the above authors includes many examples of experiences with the demonic, with angels and with the Holy Spirit to demonstrate how they came to understand the Biblical revelation. Waters, for example, found himself stifled in ministry even though he worked hard in the deliverance ministry. He talks of seeing very little fruit for so much labor. This, however, did not cause him to pursue other ways of understanding the language of Scripture such as is proposed by Gaybba and Langton who do not see in Scripture any compulsion to believe in personal, intelligent demons.39 Instead, he returned to prayer and seeking the Spirit. As a result he has a vision of a demon. This demon was a “strong man” assigned to him by Satan to stifle his ministry. As a result of this experience, which recurred over a period of several weeks,

36Arrington, “Hermeneutics,” 383 , in Burgess and McGee, Dictionary.37Ibid., 382. See also Howard M. Ervin, “Hermeneutics: A Pentecostal Option” in Essays On Apostolic Themes ed. by Paul Elbert (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1985). Arrington relies on this article for his discussion of pneumatic interpretation.38Ervin, “Hermeneutics,” 33.39See note 2.

Waters came away with what he believed was a fuller understanding of spiritual warfare that was essentially different from his understanding prior to this experience.40

Waters’ experience is unique in that it is his own experience. On the other hand, it is typical in that each of the other authors in this study describes either first hand experiences or those of others. It must be noted that, true to their hermeneutic, these experiences are both informed by Scripture while also informing their understanding of Scripture. This is pneumatic interpretation in action and helps to explain the development of spiritual warfare that we have observed.

Historical Roots of Spiritual Warfare

While rejecting the idea that one need only look to the New Testament to find the roots of Pentecostalism, Donald Dayton also warns against the tendency to “overemphasize the continuity of Pentecostalism with what went before.”41 Demonology and the practice of exorcism can be traced throughout the history of the church.42 This, however, would not demonstrate the source nor explain the prominence of this ministry in Charismatic circles today. While the Charismatic understanding and experience of spiritual warfare as it has developed in the past 25 years, can be explained by the hermeneutics of the movement, there are also historical theological developments that can be seen as the roots from which this aspect of Charismatic demonology has grown.

There are two concerns in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles that directly effect and help account for the development of the idea of spiritual warfare. One is the concern for holiness that is a strong influence in the pre-history of Pentecostalism. The Charismatic movement picks this up in those groups that share a holiness background. The second concern is for witness or evangelism, which is a strong impulse in much of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement.

Donald Dayton, Robert Anderson and Charles Jones demonstrate that Wesleyan Holiness as it came to be expressed in the United States in close association with 19th century revivalism is the seed bed out of which 20th century Pentecostalism grew.43

40Waters, 1-3.41Dayton, Donald W., Theological Roots of Pentecostalism, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987), 36,37.42The ministry of deliverance became ritualized as part of the baptismal rite at least by the third century. This is seen in Tertullian’s reference to this in “The Shows” 2:4 (in David W. Bercot, ed., A Glimpse at Early Christian Church Life, (Tyler: Scroll Publishing Co., 1991)). See also Kelly, Henry Ansgar, The Devil At Baptism: Ritual, Theology, and Drama, (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1985), 163-187. Kelly cites several exorcism formulas from various branches and orders of the Church that were ( and still are ) used at baptism. His conclusion is that this “impulse to liturgize the antidemonic was first given systematic expression by the Egyptian Gnostics. See also Michael Harper, Spiritual Warfare, 125-127 for several more exorcism formulas from various traditions. 43See Dayton, Theological Roots; Robert M. Anderson, Vision of the Disinherited: The Making of American Pentecostalism (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishing, 1979), Chpt 2; Charles E. Jones, “Holiness Movement” in Burgess and McGee, Dictionary.

Winning the lost and calling the believer “to a life of piety and service” were the concerns of this movement.44

In both Harper and Hammond, the emphasis is on the need to become knowledgeable about how the demonic realm affects the individual. Their concern is for the believer to become free of the defiling work of demons in the believer's life. Whether or not either of these authors recognize the deep roots of this concern in the tradition, it is significant that it has found expression in this way. For both of them, deliverance is no longer a sign of power much akin to divine healing. Rather it is to become a way of life for those who take seriously the call to holiness. This is especially evident in the Hammond’s when one examines their chart “Common Demon Groupings.” The chart lists fifty-three main headings with two to twenty sub-listings in each group. Some of the “common demon groupings" are, bitterness, strife, jealousy, passivity, mind-binding, hyper-activity, sexual impurity, and religious.45 In Waters we begin to see a shift from the individual to the community. Though he is still focused, overall, on helping the individual Christian find a way to live victoriously over the influence of the demonic, in his closing remarks he makes this statement, “As other groups in San Jose do their prayer battles, we then can all unite in purpose and prayer to see a sweeping revival over the area, God speed that day!”46

This statement by Waters gives evidence to the rise of the second theme of evangelism. It is this theme that takes the prominent place in the development of spiritual warfare in the 1980s and 1990s. Peter Wagner, claims, “The subject of territorial spirits and world missions is surfacing on the agendas of many church, seminary and mission leaders.”47 Paul Yonggi Cho writes, “My ministry started with city taking...The key to breaking that bondage [a great demonic oppression over a village] was casting out of a demon from a woman...when she was healed our church exploded with growth...We are now in excess of 600,000.”48

This is an example of the articles in Wagner’s book. It is at this point that the three rivers, Classical Pentecostalism, Charismatics (including “Third Wave”) and Third World Pentecostalism come together. Wagner’s book includes contributions from each of these groups: Jack Hayford is the Senior Pastor of the First Four Square Church of Van Nuys (The Church on the Way); Richard Chiundiza is the national director of Disciples in Action Ministries, Zimbabwe; Edgardo Silvoso of Argentina is the founding president of Harvest Evangelism, a ministry dedicated to the evangelization of Argentina. The emphasis of Engaging the Enemy is to give insight into spiritual warfare as a necessary step for the evangelization of a city or a nation. Dawson has the same theme of spiritual warfare as the means by which the church can effectively preach the gospel in given areas. As with the theme of holiness, there is no mention of the concerns of previous generations, but, clearly a strong impulse for evangelization is still present in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement.

44Anderson, Vision, 30.45Frank and Ida Hammond, Pigs, 113-11546Waters, He Laughs, 96, 97.47 Wagner, “Territorial Spirits,” EMQ, 278.48 Paul Yonggi Cho, “City Taking in Korea,” in Wagner, Engaging, 117-118.

ConclusionWhen one takes into consideration the theological history and hermeneutic of

the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement, it becomes clear how a dynamic demonology developed in these groups. Overall, Pentecostal and Charismatic demonology is a way for the faithful to understand the presence and prevalence of evil in society. As a development within a broader demonology, the conception of spiritual warfare gives a practical and systematic way for believers to come to terms with their interaction with the evil that so deeply characterizes human societies. At the same time the Charismatic conception of personal spiritual warfare is a means by which the believer can come to terms with the evil so often discovered in their own lives.

A danger in this conception is that this can become escapism from the problem of evil and each individual’s responsibility to resist evil at every level. Instead, as seen in the Hammond’s, the responsibility for every moral and ethical failure can be shifted to a demonic influence. There also seems to be a tendency to oversimplify the problem of evil in some of the writings surveyed.

Another danger is the spiritual, emotional and psychological damage that can result from an aborted attempt to rid a person of physical, mental or spiritual problems that are not demonic at all.

Also, the terminology of spiritual warfare is that of power. The term “power evangelism” is used in reference to the spiritual warfare discussed in Wagner. In this matter caution and wisdom are called for.

Pentecostal and Charismatic demonology in general, and spiritual warfare in particular, are both consistent with the supernatural worldview of this movement. Also, within a broader demonology, spiritual warfare is a dynamic development that fits with the holiness and revivalist theological history of the movement although it approaches these issues from a different trajectory. Still, the issues raised by this discussion call the church to examine its understanding of the Scriptural record and come to terms with these issues. This cannot be ignored because the members of our churches are going to be exposed to and in some cases, drawn to the ideas presented here. In order to prevent misuse and abuse we must understand the issues and be prepared to give direction and insight as to what the Spirit is saying to the Church.