by Pierre Oddon
It is at my express request that I agree to put in writing things that have been part of my ministry but about which I have spoken very little. What follows is not a doctrinal treatise but a testimony. If a witness relates facts he is not always able to explain them.
So I waited some forty years before talking about these things (nevertheless, I always answered the questions asked). With these decades of hindsight, I can measure the grace the Lord granted me by confronting me, right from the start of my ministry, with powerful demons, since they were posing as Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It’s hard to beat that.
Context
I grew up in a genuinely Christian family and in a church that respected the Bible. The fundamental teaching was that people are sinners, estranged from God by their faults, but that they can regain a relationship with God by confessing their sins and accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus is the Son of God who wanted to pay the debt of sin that separated us from God : “ he suffered, he the just, for us unjust, in order to bring us to God. ”
On the other hand, I never heard a teaching on demons in my church. Sure, we read the gospel accounts, even the ones about demons, but the emphasis was always on the unique and marvelous power of the Son of God. God’s coming to earth – in the person of Jesus Christ – had “ awakened ” all the power of the Enemy.
More simply I would say : Yes demons existed, they manifested themselves in an exceptional way during the incarnation of Jesus Christ but defeated by Jesus they are waiting to go into the “ eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels ”.
As a “ Bible peddler ” I used a converted van and parked at various locations. I did this for 26 years and had countless contacts with a perfectly heterogeneous public.
Since then, various questions have arisen for me:
Why demons on every page of the Gospel and more demons today ?
Do demons still manifest themselves today in our civilized France or did they really disappear after the coming of Jesus Christ ?
Everybody pretty much agreed that demons were still manifesting themselves today in animist, polytheist etc. circles, but had they really left our Christianized countries to take refuge and regroup all in Africa ?
Was this speaking in tongues declaimed in a loud voice by a “ Pentecostal Christian from the coffee-bar ” next door the real “ speaking in tongues ” of the Bible? Why did it make me so uncomfortable?
Questions that were, for me, unanswered until then.
My first confrontation
A young, newly married man said to me :
» I’m a Christian and attend the Baptist Church next door. My young wife speaks in tongues, has visions etc. I wonder if it’s all from God… «
I replied : I don’t know, it would be better if we met.
With the appointment made, I was in big trouble! Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I had the wisdom to do a few things:
I’m not sure what I’m getting myself into.
- Pray to ask for God’s discernment and protection
- To educate myself on these issues that were foreign to me
- To associate myself with a witness
- Take a small Sony recorder (cassette ! 1986)
March 19, 1986 :
My friend and I walk in and are greeted by a young couple. The young woman, 20 years old, is beautiful, blond and comely. Her outfit is rather provocative – especially at the time – mini skirt, high heels… I discreetly switch on my recorder and place it on a piece of furniture. This is why I have irrefutable proof of the facts. I should point out that this recording has withstood all the hazards of a long life … for almost 40 years! I’ve never made another.
In the pastoral relationship we settle certain doubtful points, the young women confessing certain things and asking the Lord for forgiveness. We pray for her complete deliverance and it seems to me that we’ve done what we needed to do.
I have to clarify a detail here that is important. Sitting next to the young woman around a small round table, I was embarrassed by her mini-skirt, which had lost another ten centimeters or so when she sat down. I pointed this out to her and asked her if she could wear something else, as it was distracting me. She blushed and went to change. What followed showed that I had done the right thing, for she had – among other things – a mind called “ seduction ”….
That’s when it all began !
The instructions in God’s Word are clear, but I’d never experienced them. The Bible commands us:
It’s clear and simple.
I ask her if, following confession and prayers, she can still pray in tongues and to tell me if she still has visions. Yes she still speaks in tongues and has various visions that seem suspicious to me.
Having put ourselves together under the Lord’s protection I then put the question to the spirit (and not to the young women, whom I had asked not to answer me) while she spoke in tongues:
“ Spirit, do you confess Jesus Christ come in the flesh ? ”
The reaction was immediate and three simultaneous things happened
- His feet tapped the floor with force
- A powerful voice replied :
NO !
The problem had been posed … all that was missing was the solution. Easier said than done … and so, as a novice, I entered the suspect realm of “ exorcists ” that is, shamans, sorcerers, exorcist priests etc. Things were moving fast and I had to take responsibility. I had the privilege of knowing the teaching of the Word, which alone could guide me:
- The Lord Jesus cast out demons
- The disciples cast out demons
- The apostles cast out demons
- Simple believers cast out demons
That was a lot. On the other hand, the epistles do not give many details about the practice of the thing.
So I had before me a possessed sister in Christ, and there had to be a solution. One clue was 1 Corinthians 12:3: “I want you to know that … no one can say ‘Lord Jesus’ except by the Holy Spirit”, says Paul. So I asked her to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. She did so immediately, without any problem, since she was a child of God. This puzzled me, but I also remembered that the Lord clearly differentiates the person, from the spirit that is in the person : (Mk 5.8 ; 9.25 ;Cf. Acts 16.18)
I also remembered that the Lord had asked the spirit its name (Mk 5.9 and Lk 8.30)
Later I understood that a demon who gave his name recognized the authority of the one in command. From then on, this was the “ beginning of the end ” for the evil spirit.
Somebody will say but God gave the gift of discerning spirits and that’s important. Of course it is. If you have it, you’re sure never to go wrong. But I was not aware that I had received this gift. In the Gospels and Acts, we’re not told that the people who cast out demons had a gift. They cast out demons because the Lord told them to do so as simple as that ! And even 1 Corinthians 12 doesn’t exactly speak of the gift of casting out spirits, but of “ discerning spirits ”. What is certain and established is that at the beginning of the afternoon I knew nothing and that 2h00 later I had identified 7 demons and they had been cast out in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I could give the details of what happened (since I have an hour-long recording) but I don’t think there will be any profit for the reader. The Word is as sober about these matters of exorcism as it is about divine healings. The fruit speaks for itself.
Exceptionally, I can make available a 2.15-minute extract. It’s one of the most powerful moments, since:
- The demonic tongue spirit is called Jesus (hence the fundamental importance of always giving our Lord Jesus Christ these titles of glory (Read in this regard the first paragraph of 1 Cor 1 and 1 Pet 1 to be convinced)
- I have found that there can be several demons (Cf. Lk 8.30 ; Mc 16.9)
- The spirit does not always respond and can resist (as was the case in Mark 5.7-10 for Jesus’ encounter with the legion demon)
- Despite his resistance he finally gives in and leaves.
- The Spirit may come out crying out, as in Lk 4.41 (this is the only time I’ve had this phenomenon)
Practical lessons: Satan is stronger than we are, but Jesus Christ defeated him at the cross. If the Lord places such a case before us we can resolve it through faith in his Word and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Second testimony
The Word of God affirms that on the basis of two testimonies things are established. So this is the reason for sharing with you a second case that is complementary to the first.
October 1986 : I’m with my van on the Canebière, the main street of the city of Marseille. Two young women approach, pushing a small child in a stroller. One of them knocks on the van’s Plexiglas door and asks me a question. I answer, and she says to the child’s mother: “Go for a walk, I want to talk to this gentleman. I would later learn that she had asked the Lord for a sign and that I had given it without realizing it.
She tells me that she gathers in a Pentecostal church on the Côte d’Azur and that a missionary, working in Africa, had passed through her church. At the end of his sermon, he asked people to come forward if they wanted to be healed by the laying on of hands. Then he asked if anyone also wanted to receive “ the Holy Spirit ”.
Here’s the testimony of the young women: “ I felt something enter me and I spoke in tongues ; but the problem is that since ‘I don’t belong to myself anymore’. My head has become like a freeway, with lots of ideas – not my own – running through it. Do you think it’s the Holy Spirit doing this ? «
I told her the first thing to do was pray. Which we did together, sitting at the table in my camper. Suspecting something was wrong, I looked at her as she prayed. Her eyes widened and, with an assurance unaccustomed in this field, I said to her: “Miss, you’re possessed!
There weren’t many people on the street but I remembered the previous case : If she screams, I’m going to find myself in a difficult situation !
I used the same method : This time I ask him first what is your name ? ” he answers : ‘ Holy Spirit ’ . Then I say to him:
“Do you confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh?
No answer but a nod of the head to say yes. I realize that “confessing” is not the same as nodding! So I ask him to say it out loud. It’s then that a cavernous male voice, stuffy, choppy says
“I confess that Jesus Christ came, came, in …. in… spirit !” »
I replied : you are not the Holy Spirit but a spirit of Satan ! He acknowledged this with a nod of his head!
The diagnosis had been made, but the problem had not been solved for all that.
- I teamed up with another servant of God and we tried, to no avail.
- Persuaded that the Lord would give us victory I employed the great means: fasting, prayer, two old co-workers and a prayer team present in the room … Things happened: violent manifestations of the demon, I had to gird the girl and I learned why, when and how the demon had entered:
“ She said : ‘spirit come’ so I came.”
etc. Despite all this, we were unable to cast out the demon! We were defeated!
About 1 month later I received a letter
“ Thank you sir for all you have done for me : I am completely delivered … ”
Understand this, as you can !
Conclusion
Let these two testimonies be a serious warning to anyone concerned with speaking in tongues.
About the Lord’s Supper, Paul asks us to “ prove ourselves ” (1 Cor 11). I think it’s fair to say that we should do the same with speaking in tongues.
- If it corresponds to Acts 2, we’re talking about easily verifiable and translatable foreign tongues.
- The person is not obeying the Word (Cf. Acts 5.32)
- The church does not put the Word into practice (1 Cor. 14.5, 27)
This simple control can avoid serious problems. Seduction only grows (2 Cor 11) and God’s children can be seduced (Jas 1.22)
But it’s wrong to say that anyone who speaks in tongues is demon-possessed. I have been able to collaborate happily with pastors and servants in the Lord’s work. I have also met many Christians who “spoke in tongues” and who were not possessed. Their speaking in tongues was usually psychic. It was repetitive gibberish, with none of the structure of a language. It was untranslatable … even by those who claimed to have received the gift of interpreting tongues … who recognized it. From then on, a rethinking is necessary for normal spiritual growth.
I have other testimonies like this one, but it’s clear that these two cases are enough to challenge a person who loves the Lord. For the others “ we believe what we want to believe. ”
Of course I’ve had every possible question and received every attack you can assume. The main one is : “ The Holy Spirit cannot cohabit with a demon ”, a remark on the same level as : “ God is not omnipresent, because that would force him to be in hell. Either hell doesn’t exist, or God isn’t omnipresent ”.
A testimony is a testimony everyone is free to believe or reject what I say. It’s your responsibility, not mine.
I feel I must warn you that the field of exorcism is a dangerous one. You can’t oppose the enemy without reacting. The practice therefore requires a certain spiritual maturity, a holy life (which offers no foothold to the enemy), humility and dependence, without which one exposes oneself to painful experiences. ( Cf. Acts 19.15-16)
I think I was kept in my service by the fact that I never sought notoriety and simply assumed my responsibility when the Lord put cases in my path. I never sought any.
Yes, Jesus Christ is Lord ! To him alone be glory!
February 26, 2024