Enemies Within the Church: Are People Influenced by Occultism Instigating Strident Anti-Marxism Among Evangelicals?

Occult Ties and Anti-Marxist Activism Among Christians

By Julio Severo

Marxism is satanic, a reality that no Christian who truly loves the Bible and Jesus Christ doubts. So an anti-Marxist flag draws especially evangelicals today for conservative action in the cultural wars.

Many would conclude that only God would use such flag, so that whenever it is used, conservative Christians listen to the call to fight Marxism. But not always is this so. Satan has also used this flag for his own conveniences.

While left-wingers and right-wingers hotly debate if Hitler was a left-winger or right-winger, in his book “Hitler’s Cross: How the Cross of Christ was used to promote the Nazi agenda” (Moody Press, 1995), Erwin Lutzer argues the case that Hitler was an eminently occult man who was nominally Catholic. He also highlights the anti-Marxist component in Hitler’s message.

Lutzer said,

“Many churchmen were duped. Father Falkan, a Catholic parish priest, said, ‘I must admit that I was glad to see the Nazis come to power, because at that time I felt that Hitler as a Catholic was a Godfearing individual who could battle communism for the Church … the anti-Semitism of the Nazis, as well as their anti-Marxism, appealed to the church.’”

Most victims of Hitler were Jews who were predominantly Marxist, and even today Jews, who predominantly identify themselves as Marxist, usually identify Hitler as an anti-Marxist right-winger. See one of Hitler’s speeches against Marxism that drew Catholic and Lutheran Germans in 1933: https://youtu.be/o_B7LJIV4l8

You can also read my article: Hitler’s Strident Anti-Marxism.

So not always anti-Marxism has a Christian base. Sometimes it can have a dubious base hiding an occult background. And what does the Bible say about dubious things? “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22 AV)

Trevor Loudon, a prominent anti-Marxist, has produced, in a partnership with a Protestant church, the movie “Enemies Within the Church” to warn Christian leaders and churches. The problem, in my view, is that his background, experience and ties are not Christian, or Christian only in the appearance. Loudon himself said, “I have studied at Z.A.P. from 1976 to 1982, 1986/7 and 1999 to current. I am enjoying my studies immensely at the moment and plan to continue indefinitely.”

Zenith Applied Philosophy (ZAP) is a combination of Scientology, Eastern mysticism and the ideas of the American John Birch Society. The result of this combination is anti-communist esotericism. The John Birch Society does not seem to pose risk, but definitely Scientology and Eastern mysticism are a spiritual risk, in the Christian perspective.

I take occultism very seriously. In fact, I do not see occultism as less threatening than Marxism, because God’s Word takes occultism very seriously. And as this term implies, occultism often has dark, hidden and evil realities. People can often have a Catholic appearance and sometimes a Protestant appearance, but they have an occult involvement, an occult influence.

A common method of Loudon is to show that if certain person exposed by him has ties with Marxists, then he is a Marxist too. According to him, as an incriminating factor, the ties of a person are an evidence of his real nature. I agree with him. If this can be applied to Marxism, why not also to occultism?

By using the same methodology of Loudon, cannot I pinpoint that his own ties with occultists are an evidence of his occult nature?

It is fascinating that instead of recognizing that he was involved in Z.A.P., Loudon said that he is “studying it” — for many years. He attended ZAP meetings with Ian Brackenbury Channell, known as The Wizard of New Zealand.

Another occultist who says that he “studied” occultism is Olavo Carvalho, when his background shows very clearly that he founded astrology schools and gave classes on astrology for years in Brazil and he has several books on astrology, alchemy and occultism in Portuguese. (See more about Carvalho on Conservapedia.) They obviously think that the use of “study” is savorier than involvement. So both employ the method of treating “involvement” with the innocent-sound word “study.” In fact, Loudon is connected to Carvalho through the Inter-American Institute (IAI), where he is a member. Are they “studying” together?

Although Carvalho, who has been a self-exiled Brazilian immigrant in the U.S. for 15 years, says that he founded IAI, the real founder is John Haskins, a former Calvinist who has abandoned (and attacked) all Protestant churches for considering them “apostate.”

If there is confusion about who founded IAI, there is much more confusion about the true ideology of Carvalho. If Americans were able to read Portuguese, they would see Carvalho saying very clearly that he is not a conservative, right-wing and left-wing Brazilian. More confusion than this only Hitler, who is accused simultaneously of being a right-winger and left-winger. The reality is that occultists live and speak in a state of confusion and they provoke confusion and chaos.

I am very admired that Loudon, who is able to research and find any obscure details of Marxists and their English and non-English views has been completely unable to research and find Carvalho’s sordid details in Portuguese.

Carvalho said famously September 2018: “Evangelical churches have done more harm to Brazil than the entire left” — implying that evangelical churches should be fought much more than Marxism is fought. He has also voiced a number of other anti-Protestant remarks. He has reviled evangelicals in spite of the fact that they are the main conservative force behind Bolsonaro’s victory in Brazil, and they are beginning to voice criticism because the Bolsonaro administration has given them very little space.

“Enemies Within” let evangelicals gain the victory for Bolsonaro and next used and surfed on the wave of the conservative evangelical victory to proclaim themselves as “savior.”

And what has Loudon done for Carvalho? Loudon’s website has over 1,000 mentions of Carvalho, as recorded by Google. Their ties are not speaking; they are yelling.

If Loudon can connect the dots between two men because of their common Marxist ties, why cannot I connect the dots because of the ties between Loudon and Carvalho? If he is so careful about the ties of the Marxists he exposes, why is he so careless about his own ties?

Even though Carvalho could point to his Protestant adherents as an evidence that he is not anti-Protestant, socialists do the same thing. In fact, even though the Workers’ Party is a Brazilian socialist party that in its pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality stances is anti-Christian, they also point to its many Catholic supporters and few Protestant supporters as an evidence that they are not anti-Catholic and anti-Protestant. Ariovaldo Ramos, the former president of the Brazilian branch of World Vision, is the most prominent Protestant supporter of the Workers’ Party.

In both cases — Carvalho’s and Workers’ Party’s —, their Protestant adherents are an evidence that there are “Enemies Within the Church.”

So Carvalho, who fights Marxism, also fights Protestantism. And Loudon is connected to him. Is this the kind of appearance of evil that we are told to abstain by God?

Jesus also taught us to “watch and pray.” To watch is to observe closely in order to check for dangers, or appearances of evil, or “Enemies Within the Church.”

Jut to pray is not enough. It is necessary also to observe and verify very closely what you are seeing.

Before producing “Enemies Within the Church,” Loudon produced the movie “Enemies Within,” which also featured… Carvalho. In his turn, Carvalho said that Loudon is “by far, the world’s greatest specialist in communist hegemony.”

A “student” of occultism praising another “student” of occultism. Occultists always praise occultists. And Loudon is not the only “student” of occultism who has praised Carvalho. Wolfgang Smith and Steve Bannon have praised him too. Bannon is today persona no grata in the U.S. government after U.S. President Donald Trump expelled him from the White House, calling him an opportunist and leaker of confidential information.

By calling Bannon, who is a Guenonian conservative, an opportunist, Trump defined very well Guenonian conservatives, including Carvalho, who has portrayed himself as the man behind the current conservative wave in Brazil when reality points to evangelicals and their traditional conservatism. In fact, he has trained his adherents to see him as a “savior” against Marxism.

Bannon, Smith and Carvalho share the same background: They were inspired by René Guénon, an Islamic occultist who founded the Traditionalist School to promote esoteric conservatism and fight Marxism. When are they going to say that Guénon also “studied” occultism? Bannon, Smith, Carvalho and Guénon came from the same Catholic background.

I call their influence “Enemies Within the Church” or appearance of evil.

I call Loudon’s ties with Carvalho and his occult background “Enemies Within the Church” or appearance of evil.

But there is a difference. While left-wingers among Christians are honest about their left-wing leanings, occultists among Christians never admit to Christians that they are involved in occultism. They always manage to find an elegant excuse. “Study” is only one of their many subterfuges. If Marxists among Christians are “Enemies Within the Church,” what are occultists among Christians? Secret Enemies Within the Church? Are not they worse than Marxists because they hide their occult nature and use anti-Marxism to portray themselves as better than Marxists?

How can a Protestant church make a partnership with a man with an occult background and involvement to produce the movie “Enemies Within the Church” to warn Christians while they are at the same time ignoring “Enemies Within the Church” in his occult ties?

How can a Protestant church make a partnership with a man with an occult background and involvement without proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to him and expelling his demons?

How can a Protestant church make a partnership with a man with ties to a Brazilian immigrant who reviles Protestantism and Protestants?

Carvalho is unknown in the U.S., but his anti-Protestant views are very known in Brazil, including his statement: “Protestantism was born from hatred and blood thirst. Its Christian inspiration is ZERO.”

Carvalho not only reviles Protestants in general, but he also reviles and threatens me specifically. See this article: Astrologer Olavo de Carvalho calls for Brazilian Federal Police to investigate Julio Severo on the allegation that accusations against him involving the Inquisition and occultism are collusions paid by the Russian government.

By “Enemies Within the Church” I see Marxism and occultism infiltrated in the Church. I have fought both for years. I fight their Marxist and occult ideologies, but I am always open to help them, because Jesus Christ has empowered every Christian to expel demons from people, even from people who have a Christian appearance, but are involved (“studying”) occultism or Marxism.

Any contact between a Christian and an occultist should be an opportunity for deliverance of the oppressed occultist, not for the occultist to use the church for his activities.

Christians should be spiritually smart in their contacts with occultists, but some are negligent. Over 24 years ago a Presbyterian family invited me for a meeting. All of them, about 7 people, had been born in the Presbyterian Church. I talked to them about what Jesus could do for them through the Holy Spirit and, as I was spiritually guided, I explained about the danger of attending spiritualist places.

There are spiritualist places with large halls in Brazil that are used for spiritualistic mediums to channel their spirits during their religious meetings and also for social events, such as a spiritualistic lecturer addressing the evils of drug abuse. There is nothing wrong about inviting people around the city to hear a lecture against drugs. But the place is a place of demons.

I told just it to the Presbyterians gathered to hear me: A spiritualist place is a place of demons. They said that they rejected mediums and spiritualistic beliefs, but adding that to attend their social meetings against drugs posed absolutely no spiritual risk.

So I challenged them: “Let us give the Lord an opportunity to show what is hidden. Let us pray and He will show.” Next, I asked them to close their eyes and pray. In my audible prayer, I invited the Holy Spirit to make His presence real. Very fast, some of them began to be sick and throw up. They said that they were feeling a bad presence within them.

I explained that the “bad presence” within them was not obviously the Lord. It was what they had received when attending the spiritualistic place, that no one going to these places goes out without receiving something within. I said that the Holy Spirit revealed what was hidden: Demonic influence. They understood. I told them never to attend such places, except for preaching the Gospel, and I proceeded to expel demonic influences from them.

Loudon, Carvalho and Bannon need deliverance. Occultism is not just an intellectual interest that you can choose and next leave. The spirits in it never leave the person who got involved, by interest or not, in occultism. Occultism is not merely a philosophy, it is demonic involvement. With deliverance, they will stop deceive themselves and others by not recognizing that what they are doing is not just “study,” it is demonic involvement.

It is impossible to touch fire without being burned. It is impossible to enter the fire without being seriously burned. Loudon entered the fire. Demons will not leave him until properly expelled and until he receives a proper discipleship.

Jesus spent much time preaching the Gospel, healing the sick and expelling demons. Have you ever wondered that when Jesus was expelling demons, as recorded in the New Testament, He was not doing it to pagan people, but to Jewish people who attended the weekly meetings of Bible reading? There were many pagan people who worshiped demons in Jesus’s time, but He did not expel demons from them. He expelled demons from people who listened the Bible every week — but, certainly, were involved (“studying”) in some serious stuff!

The Jewish meetings were radically conservative and traditionalist. No one of them would support abortion and homosexuality. Never.

If mere nominal attendance in Bible meetings, which are filled with the Bible, but not with the Holy Spirit, can open you to demons, guess what happens when you get involved (“study”) in ZAP or other occult meetings!

Mere religious commitment is not enough to keep demons away or out. It is necessary to be filled with God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.

This is the reason I recommend the book “Power Evangelism,” by John Wimber, published by HarperCollins, to help Christians understand deep spiritual realities and empower them to help oppressed persons.

Occultism, which the Bible calls witchcraft, is worse than Marxism. If you attend a Marxist meeting, you do not become a Marxist. But if you attend just one occult meeting, you never leave without one or more demons and their influence. And if you do it for years, as it is Loudon’s case, there are definitely demons.

Christians should not sanctify occult persons and movements just because they fight Marxism. Rev. Moon and his cult fought Marxism and had close ties to the Republican Party and U.S. conservatives. But they caused extensive spiritual and psychological havoc in countless families. They led people to Hell.

In this perspective, there are “Enemies Within Loudon” and there are “Enemies Within Bannon” and there are “Enemies Within Carvalho” and there are “Enemies Within Rev. Moon’s Cult” and through them and their “conservative” activities in churches, there are “Enemies Within the Church.”

If a church wants to fight Marxism without watching and praying, they will ignore appearances of evil and they will not expel demons from people with an occult background. They will even let such people to lead them in anti-Marxist activism. Is not this also “Enemies Within the Church”?

Occultists and people with occult ties have, for the sake of the anti-Marxist fight, had a free ride among conservative evangelicals. I just saw a friend praising Trevor Loudon. He does an astounding work against the Gospel Coalition, exposing its flirting with the gay agenda. But, for the sake of conservatism, he is unable to see evangelical flirting with occultists or people with occult ties.

I understand his concern over evangelical flirting with the gay agenda. This is the reason I have written an article titled “Ed Shaw, Gospel Coalition and Homosexual Feelings: What They Say and What Jesus Said,” about the Gospel Coalition. And I understand also the dangers of flirting with occultists and people with occult ties. This is the reason I wrote this article.

Expelling demons, within and outside churches, is so important as proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. In fact, this is so important that Jesus spent his time just doing it. To preach the Gospel without expelling demons is not the Gospel at all.

Marxists need such ministry. And anti-Marxists with an occult background also need it.

After all, Jesus came to save Marxists and anti-Marxists. And he came to save left-wingers and right-wingers, whether they have a Christian or occult background.

“Enemies Within the Church” have no chance to fool Christians when Christians are fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit and His Word, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, healing the sick and expelling demons.

Portuguese version of this article: Inimigos dentro da Igreja: pessoas influenciadas pelo ocultismo estão instigando antimarxismo estridente entre evangélicos?

Source: Last Days Watchman

Recommended Reading:

Steve Bannon and Olavo de Carvalho Together: Two Occultists Promoting an Occult “Conservatism”

Steve Bannon’s Occult Movement, Brazil and Conservative Evangelicals

How the Powerful Union of Trump with Evangelicals Saved the U.S. from Steve Bannon and His Occult Plan of a “Traditionalist” Government