Satanic Ritual Abuse Requires Spiritual Ministry
In order to understand the mysteries of satanic ritual abuse (SRA) it is first necessary to understand there is a spiritual realm around us, hidden from our natural eyes, where spirit beings observe our lives and exert influence upon us. The Bible tells us that angels from God are ministering spirits or messengers sent forth from God to assist believers on earth. Certain Bible personages such as Mary and Zacharias were privileged to receive special visitations from these beings.
There is also an evil spiritual realm where demons dwell sent forth by Satan to destroy our lives if possible. If we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, and if we live according to God’s commandments, we have protection from these evil spiritual beings. When we disobey God, these evil spirits have permission to exert negative influence on our lives. For example, God commands that we forgive those who hurt us or wrongfully exploit us. There is a parable about this principle in Matthew 18 concerning a servant who was forgiven a tremendous debt by his master only to turn around and cast into prison a man who owed him a paltry sum. Obviously, God has forgiven those of us who love Him of tremendous debts. If we refuse to forgive those who have wronged us, we are like the servant who refused to forgive his fellowman. In this parable, the master learned of the servant’s refusal to forgive his fellowman and punished him by subjecting him to the tormenters or torturers until he should repay the entire debt.
This parable gives us a picture of what happens in the spiritual realm when we refuse to forgive others for their wrongs to us. We are then exposed to demonic spirits that torment us—spirits like depression, fear, jealousy, delusions etc.
God has placed a barrier between human beings and the spiritual realm so that we cannot see and hear these spiritual entities. The Bible refers to this barrier as being a “veil.” This is for our protection. God knows that if we can see and hear demon spirits, they will deceive us. The Bible says Satan can appear as an angel of light. If Satan can, his demons can also. People who see into the spirit world become deceived in a way that hinders their ability to know and experience the true reality of Jesus Christ.
If God has a barrier between us and the spiritual realm, why are some people able to see and hear spirits? The answer is they have either participated in occult activities of their own free will or been subjected to them by others as a baby or child. The Bible warns us in Deuteronomy 18 and other places, “…never make your son or daughter pass through the fire. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead” (NTL).
Occult involvement removes God’s protective barrier (veil) and opens our eyes and ears to the supernatural realm of spirits. Persons who have suffered satanic ritual abuse have had this veil removed through the rituals they were forced to endure. Their subsequent ability to see and hear demon spirits makes life very difficult and confusing because of the continual harassment from these beings. The satanically ritually abused may hear strange voices, see and feel the physical presence of demons and experience dreams and visions that are so vivid it is hard for them to know whether or not they actually happened. Demons can appear to them as hideous terrifying monsters or they can take on the form of now deceased human beings. In this way an evil, abusive person, now deceased, can seem to appear at their bedside at night to harangue and harass them and seemingly continue the abuse from beyond the grave.
These manifestations result in satanically ritually abused persons feeling controlled by powerful forces against their will and they have nowhere to turn for help. The church is basically uninformed in its knowledge of satanic ritual abuse, unpracticed in deliverance ministry and, therefore, impotent in its efforts to bring healing to the survivors of satanic ritual abuse. The mental health community, for the most part, only knows to treat them for mental illness usually giving them medications, some of which only further open the spiritual world and increase their torment.
Jesus Christ has the power to set them free if the church will be willing to rise to the challenge. First of all, the church needs to be willing to believe that satanic ritual abuse actually happens in this country. It is a sad fact that many believers, perhaps because of fear, refuse to acknowledge this phenomenon. Second, we need to believe that the awesome power of Jesus Christ is available to us for setting these persons free if we are willing to leave our comfort zones and accept the challenge.
The ministry to satanically ritually abused persons can be a tremendous blessing. Their openness to the spiritual realm may also enable them to see and hear angels and Jesus Christ. When a committed Christian prays with them for the Lord to minister to them, the abused are sometimes able to see Him and hear Him as He ministers healing to them. Through the eyes of the severely abused, we who help them learn precious things about our Lord and His love and power that are life changing. May the church arise and accept the challenge that lies before her to set the prisoners free!
