Title: Defeating Dark Angels
Author: Charles H. Kraft
Major Themes: Healing, Christian Living, Prayer
Synopsis: A biblically-based approach to helping people get free from demonic oppression.
I’m known as someone who reads a lot of books, but I recently realized that I don’t always take people’s book recommendations to heart—case in point: Defeating Dark Angels. My brother listened to it a while ago, asked me to read it so he could have someone to discuss it with, and I wasn’t in the mood to read it at the time, so by the time I actually got around to reading it, he’d more or less forgotten the finer points of the book that he wanted to discuss. Oh, well. I still appreciated it, and we still got a bit of a discussion about the book—this was an interesting one, for sure!
Publisher’s description:
Demonic oppression is a very real spiritual phenomenon, yet it remains a terrifying and misunderstood subject for many Christians. What does the Bible say? Can demons exert power over Christians? Can a Christian be possessed? How do you know if a problem is psychological or spiritual?
In this revised edition of Defeating Dark Angels, Dr. Charles H. Kraft, a retired evangelical seminary professor and experienced deliverance minister, reveals everything you need to know. With clarity and biblical insight, he explains
- why and how dark forces come against God’s people
- our authority as Christians over demons
- how to resist the influence of demons
- how to break their hold on the lives of others
- the need for continued healing and care after deliverance through counseling
Weaving practical application with firsthand accounts of demonic activity in the lives of real people, this is your complete guide to defeating dark angels and ministering God’s freedom to others.
My thoughts:
Having grown up in a fairly traditional Christian culture, I was never that comfortable with people who claimed to be able to perform healings or other things along that line. As a child, I was taught—sometimes directly, sometimes just through inference—that most Christian healers are out to make a big name for themselves, and anyway, healing is mostly a thing of the past. What that teaching didn’t jibe with, however, were the numerous missionary stories I heard that spoke of the Lord’s healing power in many different circumstances—to me, it sounded recent, possible, and immediately available if we ask for it. Still, I was cautious when I came to this book. I knew I likely wouldn’t agree with everything in it, and I didn’t want to read something that focused more on a man’s achievements and prowess at dealing with demonic activity rather than on Jesus’ power to heal.
To say the least, I was definitely on the more skeptical end of the scale when I picked up this book.
What surprised me, as soon as I got into the first few pages, was how Jesus-focused and fact-based Defeating Dark Angels is. I’ve heard (and participated in) discussions about demons and demonic activity at times, and this book both reaffirmed those discussions and made many of the Biblical accounts make a lot more sense to me.
Was I still hesitant about the whole “running a healing ministry” thing? Yes! But did it match my preconceived notions about what a “healing ministry” looks like? Not at all. This book advocates for a heavily prayer-based combination of counseling and directly dealing with demons, and I found Kraft’s approach both refreshing and surprisingly inspiring. This isn’t some woo-woo say-the-right-words-and-you’re-healed sort of thing. Over and over, Kraft encourages turning to the Lord, relying on His strength, and using the insights He gives you (as well as the tools He supplies in directly confronting demons) to bring help and healing to hurting people.
There are some sections of the book that I found challenging. I’m not from a Charismatic background, so I think that plays heavily into it. And yes, I don’t agree 100% with all Kraft says. But what most surprised and encouraged me—and what has stuck with me for several months now after finishing the book—was Kraft’s emphasis on the power of Christ in a believer’s life. It’s one of those concepts I’ve heard before, but this book brought it into focus a lot more for me. I’m not planning on starting a deliverance ministry, but I know my prayers—and boldness in prayer—have changed dramatically since reading this book.
No matter what Christian tradition you come from, I’d recommend you read Defeating Dark Angels. It’s not an easy read, but I think it’s an important one. Here in the Western world, we don’t tend to think that much about the devil and demons except in a very nebulous sense, and as Kraft points out, that’s a dangerous way to live. With Jesus working through us, though, we have power over demonic forces, and as followers of Jesus, we are called to fight in the spiritual war (Eph. 6:11). This book is a tool to help us in that fight, and for that reason, I believe it should be read and shared with other believers.
WARNING: There are occasional mentions of people who were raped. A few mentions of making love/sexual intercourse, usually in relation to helping rape victims or hearing their stories.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Audible Audiobook (unabridged) | Audio CD (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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