"We see, in many a land, the proudest dynasties and tyrannies still crushing, with their mountain weight, every free motion of the Consciences and hearts of men. We see, on the other hand, the truest heroism for the right and the greatest devotion to the Truth in hearts that God has touched. We have a work to do, as great as our forefathers and, perhaps, far greater. The enemies of Truth are more numerous and subtle than ever and the needs of the Church are greater than at any preceding time. If we are not debtors to the present, then men were never debtors to their age and their time. Brethren, we are debtors to the hour in which we live. Oh, that we might stamp it with Truth and that God might help us to impress upon its wings some proof that it has not flown by neglected and unheeded." -- C.H. Spurgeon . . . "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31, 32 . . . . .

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Friday, July 15, 2016

TTUF INTERVIEW with GREG REID – Author of the book, NOBODY’s ANGEL: an autobiography PART 3 of 4

This interview is conducted between myself, James Fire and Greg Reid.

This article comprised of four parts (1-4) is dedicated to the LORD Jesus Christ, to His saint, son and warrior Greg Reid, and to Mark, a precious soul that was stolen from life by the enemy of the church.


Greg's profile:


     Dr. Gregory Reid is a retired Private Investigator with over 20 years’ experience as a contract criminal justice trainer on occult crimes and crimes against children. He is the author of 11 books, including TROJAN CHURCH, A Cry In The Wilderness, The Color Of Pain and the recently released War of the Ages: A Complete Scriptural Guide to Confronting and Defeating Satan's Kingdom.


This article is based on the book, NOBODY's ANGEL (follow this link to purchase your own copy)!


Dr. Reid has been in youth ministry since 1975. A graduate of Christ for the Nations Bible School in Dallas, he holds an honorary degree from Logos Graduate School and is an ordained minister with American Evangelistic Association. He is the Director of YouthFire ministry and he served as youth pastor at CrossPoint Church in El Paso for seven years.


And now we will pick up where we left off, in PART 3 of 4 in our interview with Greg . . . 


From Chapter EIGHT – INTERCEPTED PLANS


Q. Talk about the deception that is ‘white magick’ vs. ‘black magick’ or even ‘gray’. I myself was intent to practice magick for white purposes only – but slid rather quickly towards the black – and if not for God’s immediate intervention, would no doubt have fallen quickly into it.

In your observation, is there a common migration from white to black among occultists or do they generally stay where they are?

A: Some stay in the white area pretty much, but even that is an illusion. I’ve met white witches who do the whole “Harm none” schtick but will tell you without hesitation if someone hurts their loved one, they will do a 'law of return ritual' and the consequences can be VERY black, even leading to death of the offender.
So really, the terms black magick and white magick are subjective based on the practitioner and how deluded they are into believing either one is okay.
One of the things I discovered is that I had no power at all when I was in it; everything I did was orchestrated and performed by demons, and I was just a puppet


New agers who essentially practice white magick whether they call it that or not, can stay in that delusional space of believing it’s all good for years or a lifetime. There certainly are many who cross over, because there is an addiction to the supernatural and to power that simple “white magick” doesn’t satisfy, and sin being what it is, it always takes us across the next boundary.


Q. How eager were teens in the mid 60’s to be recruited into the occult? How much effort did it take for you to persuade them?


A: It was somewhat easy to at least get other kids interested. I knew my stuff, I could talk it like I knew it all, and I could do things. Being able to pick an ace of spades out of a deck of cards that either scared the ones off I was trying to recruit, or fascinated them and made them want to see or do more. It really took very little effort on my part either way; and thankfully, I was only initially able to pull in a handful of kids into my world.


Q. Encountering the preacher in the V.W. (pg. 40, paragraph 3) was a turning point for you, looking back in hindsight. Was the conversion of your friend, Eric, genuine do you think? Did his decision make an impact that led to your own conversion?


A: Oh, yes, Eric’s conversion was for real. He changed immediately. I barely recognized him that night. Unfortunately, his mother beat him pretty bad and forbid him to go back. And he didn’t. But I can say for sure that watching it happen for him, and the way the man who took us to the Bible study genuinely loved and prayed for us, was mind-bending and made me ache inside to believe it could be real. So God made sure we intersected shortly after that – twice – which led to my surrender July 20th, 1969.

(Incidentally my own spiritual rebirth in Christ was June 20th, 1980 - I wasn't quite 18 years old.)


I saw Eric two years after that. He had been to jail for drug dealing, moved away. He came back to town and called me and wanted to see me. I will never forget standing outside our cars on a cold breezy winter night at the top of Topanga Canyon, seeing his tears, and asking me to pray for him. He was so messed up and lost. I still think of him. I still pray for him.


Q. It was at this time you learned that God had power and love to change anyone – even the worst of the worst. Do you think people getting involved in occult practices (New Age or New Spirituality are terms used commonly today) are searchers for spiritual reality and in this sense, easier to reach than die-hard atheists or moralistic Humanists?


A: I find it fairly easy to converse with New Age people, even though they believe they are inherently good. I think most of them are where they are because they had a spiritual hunger, that was satisfied by a poisonous counterfeit. But some of my background makes it fairly simple to share truth with them. Not many receive it, but it is definitely a field white unto harvest.


On the other hand, die-hard atheists are prime targets for truth, because they’re not playing a game of “I’m ok, you’re ok.” They hate religion, and usually Christians. So did Paul, and look what happened! A teacher in Bible school once said that "When you throw a rock into a pack of wild dogs, it’s the one that yelps the loudest that got hit."
Spiritually, sometimes it’s the ones who are the angriest or protest and argue the most that fall for Jesus the hardest when they do
.


Q. When you prayed and suddenly found yourself out in a field instead of your own room – did you perceive this as a vision from God at first or just another astral projection?
Was such a radical experience needed to affect your own deep-rooted conviction that you were no good, unlovable, unreachable by anyone, including God?


A: I knew in an instant this was not astral projection. I was GONE from where I had been, and it was not ugly or demonic, it was completely unlike anything I could even grasp.
Looking back, I feel I can say like Paul whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell – I just know that I had been taken to a place where Jesus Himself took me to heaven and held me in His arms.
And then I was not there, but in my bed. Not a vision…not astral projection…something I can never fully grasp. And yes – I believe God knew this was what I needed to destroy the lie that He could never love me. And in an instant, it all changed forever
.


Q. When Satanists/occultists get close to conversion to Christ, and even after conversion, is it common for a struggle between the dark and the Light to vex them and create uncertainty and instability in their lives?


A: Coming out of the occult or Satanism is one of the most difficult things people can imagine. There is so much that has to be untangled. Plus, satan doesn’t like to lose, so he immediately goes into 'plan B': He knows he can’t take our salvation so he does everything he can to make us miserable, to send doubts, fears, make things go wrong, etc.
Honestly, my road to freedom was treacherous and long. It isn’t so for everyone, but it certainly was for me. And I can honestly say, it has been worth every tear, every time of dark uncertainty, every trial. He is making me into an overcomer. It is worth it all!


Q. It would seem that on pg. 47, last paragraph – that this was the time of your genuine conversion. You became a marked target then by your occult abusers or someone that they needed to reclaim?


A: Well, whatever they had worked so hard for was completely derailed in one moment. Not sure what happened on their end, but I am fairly sure once they learned I was now a Jesus freak, further “recall rituals” would have been in order. And of course, all the demons that enjoyed the use of me as a satanic vessel suddenly were denied access – and man, did they turn on me! But once my “friendly spirit guides” got their masks ripped off and I saw them for what they were, God gave me the tools of the blood of Jesus, the full armor and the powerful Name of Jesus to send them flying.

Note to readers: I did an article on The Definition of a Biblical Freak, which you can read here.


From Chapter NINE – REJECTION, REBELLION and REDEMPTION


Q. After your conversion to Christ, you had a transition to make, from the “all paths lead to God” motif to ACTS 4:12 and JOHN 14:6.

For someone like myself, once I accepted Christ, I dropped any convictions and beliefs about the occult immediately – though I had other pre-conceived notions that had to be eliminated.
What impact would biblical discipleship have on a new convert, fresh out of the occult?
This is just about a lost practice in the church today; could a lack of discipleship be why so many professing Christians are agreeable to evolution, Humanism, Socialism, ecumenism, yoga, other religions?

A: Real discipleship from the get-go is essential. I had been brainwashed for 7 years; that doesn’t change unless it is challenged; and they challenged me on my long-held beliefs.
Once I was faced with the obvious choices: Believe Jesus and His Word, or go back and hold on to the very things that had nearly destroyed me, I went through a several month, God-directed “deprogramming” from lies to the truth of God’s Word.


We don’t teach these things. We don’t talk about these things. That’s why when I do weekend trainings on spiritual warfare I am faced with so many Christians who still read astrology in the papers, still believe in reincarnation, still believe in ghosts, still believe all paths lead to God. These lies are SPECIFIC and they need to be addressed in the church because we are now faced with a pagan raised generation to which truth is a stranger, and it is up to us to make sure they get free.


Q. Action Life attendees were repulsed when you brought your Ouija board to the Bible study and scolded you for it. Would a gentler approach have worked better on you or did you need this hard-core rebuke to ‘shake things up’ and challenge your beliefs?


A: I think a little gentler approach would have been okay Because deep down, I was just a fragile little boy wanting to loved and accepted. But God used it anyway!


Q. Having done the Ouija board one more time in order to interrogate the spirit that operated the planchette and command it in Jesus Name to reveal its true self, the word haltingly spelled out “S-A-T-A . . .” and then immediately pointed to the word “Goodbye” and flew off the board!

Johanna Michealson in her book, The Beautiful Side of Evil had a similar experience as a psychic healer when she discovered that her trusted spirit guides – one of which was ‘Jesus’ – revealed themselves as demonic spirits.
These spirits are prolific in their influences over this world – responsible for so much deception – from alien abductions to Zoroastrianism. Comments?

A: The whole world lies under the influence of the evil one. He has an army of footsoldiers (demons) whose job is to deceive and destroy. It goes everywhere from the classrooms, to the White House, from liberal churches to hard-core Satanist groups. If we take Ephesians seriously, then we understand we are not fighting a human battle but against powers and principalities and spiritual wickedness in high places. Only believers fully awake and equipped will be able to fight this battle and redeem the lost in this hour of darkness.


Q. After you were water baptized and came out “feeling clean, new and innocent again” you were demonically attacked some months later. Likewise after the LORD’s own baptism, he encountered Satan in the wilderness, but he failed to lure the LORD via various temptations away from His Holy Purpose.

The “layers of healing” you mention on pg. 56, paragraph 4 testifies that the former ties to occult bondage aren’t necessarily so easily broken, or the damage they cause, immediately healed.
What is your advice for those new believers that have recently come out of the occult?  

A: Hang in there regardless of how hard it is. I came to the Lord with a bit of the “come to Jesus and everything will be wonderful” idea, but the honeymoon was short, and the battle has been fierce. It is different for everyone, but I think for those of us who have been pulled out of the occult fire, it can get pretty rough. Find people to pray with you and stick with you no matter what. And no matter how you may fail, don’t quit. And even if none walk with you, pick up that cross and carry on, knowing that Jesus said He will never leave you or forsake you. The greater the battle, the greater the victory. The harder the road, the stronger you will become, and the abler you will be able to help ANYONE who is suffering and struggling in their walk. And it’s never for nothing – God will use every little thing for His glory and your good. He is a good, loving Savior and He is determined to take all the enemy meant for evil in your life and turn it for good. I promise you – He will. He promised He would. Believe it – walk in it. The overwhelming victory is ours in Jesus!


~ END of PART ONE of NOBODY’s ANGEL ~


~ PART TWO of NOBODY’s ANGEL: REMEMBER ~


From Chapter TEN: REMEMBERING WHAT I CRIED TO FORGET


Q. “Stuffing memories” of the traumatic nature is a reflex action to avoid the unimaginable horrors that predators inflict upon their prey; you described this at the beginning of this chapter.

‘Stuffing’ can lead to all sorts of emotional upheavals and detrimental effects; what can help people struggling with these issues and the reflexive action of suppressing memories?
Does this kind of trauma tend to reveal itself more during your alone time?

A: I think it’s important to take time when memories surface. They can get triggered at any time by any thing, whether alone or in a crowd of people.
The important thing I learned is that when something surfaced, I may not have been able to control my original reaction, but I CAN control how and when I set about processing a memory.
Self-control is one of the fruit of the Spirit, and I learned that this can also help here. I would often set some time apart to lay down and pray and ask God to help me face the memory I had tried to suppress. I also told myself that I could STOP remembering whenever it got to be too much to handle.
I would literally say to myself, “This happened a long time ago. I’m not there anymore. As much as it hurts, they can’t hurt me anymore. I survived.”
At some points I would just say, “That’s enough. Stop.” And I would return to it when I felt better able to walk through it. Believe me, in a life where all those controls were taken away, it is a gift from God to be able to put all these things under HIS control and HIS timing
.


Q. The sense of smell can be a powerful memory inducer, more than any other of our senses, and can uncover even distant, long buried memories and reactions to such. Your reaction to the smell of gardenias for example.

The sense of touch is also something that made you extremely uncomfortable. Any sense of rejection, even superficial, hurt you deeply.
This seems like the classic approach/avoidance syndrome – on the one hand you needed to be loved, craved it in fact; on the other, you rebelled inwardly towards any display of love from others.  Comments? 

A: Once I discovered WHAT I was reacting to and WHY, then being able to break through the fear of any given thing (i.e. smells, touch), then I was able to just receive love from others as well as not go nuts when some sensation triggered a memory.


Q. The physical sensation as well as paralysis and numbness is often a reaction people have when faced with imminent danger – “the deer in the headlights” as it were.

Was this something conditioned in you by your predators, like the mantra “Having seen this, you will forget” or do you think it’s a psychological and, or physiological response to trauma?

A: I think it’s both, and all of those. The “fight or flight” idea is probably accurate; we do one of either when we’re threatened. I took the paralysis route, and it was hard to break.


Q. What are the dangers of hypnosis and other mind-altering techniques? You seemed to have enough discernment to know to avoid these methods in an attempt to uncover hidden memories. Comments?


A: Hypnosis was part of what they used to bury everything. When I began looking for help, two therapists said I needed hypnosis to get to the memories. I said no thanks. I believe it would have only reinforced what they did -or worse – produce false memories that would act as a screen for the real events. I’m glad I said no.
God was able to do all that without it.
Hypnosis is dangerous, in my opinion. Our minds are sovereign, and it’s up to us to protect and “gird up the loins of your mind.” One of the seminal new age books on reincarnation,
Seth Speaks was channeled via hypnosis. No thank you
.


From Chapter ELEVEN – WAKING UP


Q. Talk about the profound effect the book JAY'S JOURNAL by Beatrice Mathews Sparks had on you (pg. 69, paragraph 2).


A: It was a story of a kid who got lured into hard core Satanism. I felt like it could have been my story. It really rattled me, but there were also some ritual things he described that touched a place in me that started to uncover hidden things in my past.


Q. The skin rash and the dreams about Mark indicated that memories were beginning to surface. In your experience with other victims, what’s the typical range of time that memories of these horrors begin to surface (or is there even a measurable range of time)?

A: It’s usually between 25-30.


Q. You spoke of occult groups like “Love Israel”, “Fountain of the World”, “the Process Church” with such infamous and nefarious people like Charles Manson, David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) and foundational occultists like Aliester Crowley.

During the 70’s through the 90’s there was a strong underground network of covens and occult groups across this nation and the world. 
Hypothesis for a moment: Are these networks still intact and perhaps preparing for a ‘comeback’ that may well tie in to the reign of anti-Christ?

A: Some are. The Process has mutated but it’s still out there. Crowley was part of the Order of the Golden Dawn, although they kicked him out. There are still numerous underground covens still working both separately and together.
Just a few weeks ago, several Satanist groups did a mass ritual in Los Angeles on 6/6/2016. I see them increasing exponentially during this time
.


Q.It’s been observed by various experts on the occult, that for every stronghold of the New Age havens in this country at its center is a strong movement of Satanism, veiled just beneath the surface. Comments?


A: It's pretty complex. Some work together, some separately. There’s a lot of rivalry among the little groups and “witch wars.” As you go up the food chain, the hands get heavy and people end up dying and the power starts to coalesce among fewer people. Really, Satanists, wiccans, new agers, etc are just considered foot soldiers and “useful idiots” (pardon the phrase) by those who are REALLY running the national or global show.


Q. After the death of your uncle, you began to feel the presence of evil spirits like you hadn’t in years (pg. 73, paragraph 3).

Do you suspect that these familiar spirits would have been your inheritance had you remained in the occult group that was grooming you for leadership?

A: No question about it. The blood tie was the strongest in the family. He was both my uncle and my godfather. I suspect that the demons and “power” might have gone to his sons or son, but he had only daughters. So there I was


Q. Christians who understand Christ’s victory over Satan and all the power of the kingdom of darkness, who read biographies like yours, may not understand why there was such a struggle in your life against these powers – can you explain to them how and or perhaps why deliverance isn’t always a ‘quick fix’?


A: It’s hard to satisfy people on this issue. I believe in the victory of the cross, the total forgiveness of sins. But some of us get healed and delivered gradually – “I see men as trees walking” MARK 8:24.
The occult is so damaging that it scars every part of you. Although it is not the same thing, Christians are also frustrated sometimes from people who struggle with mental illness, autism, etc. I think it is enormously compassionate if we would just say, “I am not sure why the struggle is so hard, but we will walk you through it.”
I daresay I might have gotten a lot further a lot sooner, but Christians were afraid of people like me. They still are. So some of the responsibility is on us I think
.


Q. Page 76, paragraph 4 – You came to terms that you were a psychological wreck, made by the occult group that had owned you – admitting this, you asked yourself: “don’t you want to be free? God I want the full truth. Nothing else. Show me how. Show me when. Show me WHO.” 

From that point on, how many years did it take before you were free of your past in a substantial way?

A: That moment happened in October of 1982 I believe. It probably was ten years before I was nearly completely free of the bondages and fears, and the memories. Really, the bulk of healing took place before 1988. It feels good to be free.


Ch. TWELVE – QUEST FOR PROOF


Q. It would seem your grandmother with such dark secrets that she had, was perhaps attacked by these malevolent forces that silenced her for good. If she had confided in you, do you think you would have learned of an entirely new, bizarre and even deeper and darker revelation of your family’s occult history?


A: I have no doubt. I got bits and pieces from my dad, but even he was almost entirely in the dark. I sure wish I knew the rest. I know she resided in Pasadena, California about the same time Satanist Jack Parsons of NASA fame had his OTO Lodge, a Crowleyan magick lodge. She was a mean drunk and she did a lot of occult stuff, and I would not be surprised if she traveled in some of those occult circles with people like the mayor, John Carradine, etc. I‘ll never know. I’m grateful she found Jesus.


Q. Even your mother seemed in denial of certain events; she had secrets of her own. Do you suppose she never saw the signs of your own ritual abuse or was too afraid to face up to them?


A: She was PTSD at the very least. I would like to believe she knew nothing about any of it, but I am fairly certain that she knew something and may have known some of these people. I pray she was not involved in a significant way. But her own buried memories and denial were so, so typical of those of us who were ritually used.


Q.  The terrors revealed that happened in Box Canyon and “the white house” indicated that the ritual sacrifice of a male teenager was not at all uncommon but a “standard initiation for these groups”.  Critics of such things always point out that there is no physical evidence: never a body discovered, nothing at the scene of such crimes to indicate that they happened.

Your response?

A: There wouldn’t be, would they? The Mafia had their cement shoes, occult groups have things like portable crematoriums. If you are sacrificing humans and have been for some time, you get pretty good at disposing of evidence. Because you do everything you can to keep from exposure.


Q. The wolf-like persona of this demonic spirit that plagued you would seem to have inhabited your person in some way, even though at this time, you were saved and indwelt by the Spirit.

Previously in answer to an interview question you stated that the conditions of possession, oppression, influence aren’t so clear cut and easily defined.
Scripture seems reasonably clear whether or not a Christian, born again of God’s Spirit can actually have the Holy Spirit and a demonic spirit dwelling in such a one simultaneously. Talk about “sanctification (page 85, paragraph 2)”.

A: Sanctification is, of course the gradual process of being changed into the image of the Son. It is a step by step process of becoming holy and set apart. Paul said the old things are PASSING away, all things are BECOMING new. 

It’s a process. I know it is difficult for people to understand how someone like me who had been a believer for at least 10 years ended up having an ugly demon extracted out of me. I can’t explain it; I can only say, either I wasn’t saved (and I know I was) or there is more to understanding how all of this works than we know. 
I wish it was all tidy. Often it isn’t.

Q: Without getting too involved in this controversy, would you say that what would seem to be demonic possession of a Christian could be such powerful oppression that is looks like the former? 


A: Again, the scriptures only refer to being demonized, not possessed in the sense that we think of it – a full takeover. And that can be by degrees. We speak of oppression, like “I have a really bad headache and I know it’s demonic oppression.”
Most Christians won’t struggle with that, although it’s admitting the devil can somewhat physically affect us. If we have opened up doors to the enemy, he has permission to come into whatever area we have compromised. How that “looks” so to speak is hard to quantify
.


Q: Some might ask: If a demon can possess a born again Christian, what’s to prevent them from doing so with any Christian?


A: The prevention is walking with Jesus the best we can. But if we deliberately open up forbidden doors, we somewhat lose the protection He gives us. That is why Paul could say, “I turned him over to Satan for the destruction of the body that his spirit might be saved” 1 COR 5:5.
That indicates that Satan was allowed to wreak havoc on a disobedient believer, but his spirit would not be destroyed
.


There are more questions still regarding Chapter TWELVE in this book, but that will have to wait.

Here we must end PART 3 of 4. We shall conclude this interview with Greg Reid in the 4th and final segment of this interview.

For those of you who have delved into the occult, either in the shallows or the depths, and have discovered that you have involved yourself with demonic spirits that are adversely affecting and, or influencing you, understand that there is hope of deliverance, and His name is JESUS CHRIST, the LORD of all!

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