Seeing The Supernatural:  How To Sense, Discern, And Battle In The Spiritual Realm, by Jennifer Eivaz

[Note:  This book was provided free of charge by Chosen Books.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

It may seem particularly humorous, but I read a lot of books that deal with the subject of spiritual warfare, and many of them come from the same publisher or group of publishers.  Admittedly, my own beliefs about spiritual warfare are somewhat distinct to those of the publisher, but even so I find a great deal that is of interest in seeing the connections between different people who claim great gifts of discernment for themselves and demonstrate themselves as being part of the same larger tradition [1].  These writers show a good deal of evidence in that they read the same books and often know and respect the same people and even quote each other frequently.  They use the same sort of non-biblical jargon and it seems that a great deal of their appeal is directed towards believers with a high degree of sensitivity, certain mystical tendencies, and an experience of feeling that their gifts of spiritual discernment have received negative treatment from somewhat repressive church authorities.  It is pretty likely that this consists of a large number of people and that these books have a high degree of appeal to certain audiences.

The particular version of the book I read was a bit under 100 pages and was divided into eight chapters.  The author begins by discussing both sides of the supernatural, knowing that many people tend to focus on negative (demonic) aspects of the gifts of spiritual discernment while others focus on the positive (angelic) aspects of those gifts.  Immediately after this the author turns to discussing the gift of discerning spirits, not only whether they are good or bad but what specific sort of spirit they are.  The author then gives a great deal of autobiographical detail in giving some of what she believes are the fundamental principles of distinguishing between spirits, sometimes to a very specific degree.  The author then moves on to discuss spiritual atmospheres, the sort of characteristic problems that beset different areas and institutions.  The author then talks about the very helpful gift of distinguishing between those who are for or against you.  The author moves after this to discerning angels, specifically, before moving on to discerning various powers and principalities.  The author closes with a discussion about the importance of knowing what to do with one’s discernment, including not overreacting to it as some do.

In reading this book and others like it, one is faced with the reality that there is a highly advanced demonology and angelology among charismatic Christians that is quite distinct from other backgrounds within Christianity.  Strikingly, though, the author of this book demonstrates a high regard for respect for authority as well as obedience to clear biblical commands and a strong degree of hostility to spirits of anarchy that she views as demonic.  What surprised me was the strong degree of agreement between the author and me, despite our differences in religious worldview.  Then again, as someone who has a deeply personal degree of interest in spiritual warfare, largely springing from the darkness and brokenness of my own personal background and my own fairly high degree of personal sensitivity in such matters, perhaps it is not surprising that I would have somewhat similar views to those with similar areas of interest even if we come from different places.  It is in that light that I give this book a somewhat cautious recommendation, because there is much in here that I find a bit too formalized in human traditions and unbiblical expressions but also a great deal here that is of insight to believers with a strong interest in spiritual warfare as well as the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/10/07/book-review-armed-and-dangerous/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/07/05/book-review-winning-the-battle-for-the-night/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/05/13/book-review-the-lifestyle-of-a-watchman/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/02/28/book-review-angels-gods-supernatural-agents/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/01/20/book-review-moving-in-the-apostolic/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/11/24/book-review-a-rabbi-looks-at-the-supernatural/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/10/23/book-review-identity-thief/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/10/07/book-review-the-power-that-changes-the-world/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/07/11/book-review-the-paranormal-conspiracy/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/06/18/book-review-self-deliverance/