Well, I am a Christian and I really struggled with this issue for awhile. After I read the books the first time I felt like God was telling me to get rid of them. But I didn't, I couldn't, then. I had such an obsession and strong love for them there was no way. I didn't want to, plain and simple. But He kept pressing. So finally, begrudgingly, I packed them up to sell. That was my first mistake. I should have obeyed God and thrown them out, but my flesh couldn't, and at the time, it was stronger. Well, because they sat in a bag in my room for weeks, that temptation was still there. Not to mention every single one of my friends read them as well and are just as into them as I am. So eventually I gave back in and got them back out and started reading again.
At first, nothing changed. I loved the books even more and was becoming obsessed all over again. But then, strange things started happening to me...like, every single night I would wake up over and over throughout the night in hot spells, drenched in sweat. Now, this is very abnormal for me, I am only 19! But, I didn't really think anything of it. Well, after a few days, i began to have other things begin happening to me. Every time I was home alone i would hear voices and other unusual noises. I was completely seized with a spirit of fear and didn't know what to do. I tried to just forget about it, and continued reading the books. Well, it continued bothering me what was happening so I talked to my mother about it. She told me I needed to choose what I wanted more - God's way, or mine. I wasn't spending time every day with God like I should be, so the devil didn't have to work hard to tempt me. I had caused an open door when I picked up those books and I was the only one who could close it. The devil had legal right to torment me because I had let him in! Ephesians 4:27 says: "Leave no such room or foothold for the devil, give no opportunity to him."
I really want to share with you some of my main reasons for believing Twilight is much more evil that we are being led to think. Yes, it is nicely packaged - the devil always starts out pretty and leads us deeper into deception. He paints Twilight as a harmless love story, just like Stephenie Meyer does. But it says in 2 Corinthians 11:14-15: "And it is no wonder, for Satan himself masquarades as an angel of light; So it is not surprising if his servants also masquarade as ministers of righteousness. But their end will correspond with their deeds."
It all started on the night of June 1, 2003 when author Stephenie Meyer had a dream. She is quoted on her website as saying, "I woke up (on that June 2nd) from a very vivid dream. In my dream, two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the facts that A) they were falling in love with each other while B) the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately."
She has also been quoted, saying, "I may have had some help from at least one "terrifying" spirit guide."
One of my main problems with this series is that it portrays there can be a "good" side to evil. That is a huge lie from the devil! Edward cannot be good, he is a vampire. In the occult, vampires are physical manifestations of diabolically empowered entities, undead, aka - demons! Edward is described at the end (or near it), to be an incubus. This is a perverted occult concept. According to Satanists, an incubus is believed to be a dark supernatural entity that is able to manifest itself and engage in sexual relations with a woman. Clearly, that is not something God wants his children glorifying. Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or who uses divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard or a necromancer. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and it is because of these abominable practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you."
Well, many characters in these novels posses supernatural abilities, such as:
- mind-reading
- automatic writing (writing performed without conscious thought or deliberation, typing by means as a medium for spirits or psychic forces)
- levitation
- lycanthropy (the magical ability to assume the form and characteristics of a wolf)
- precognition (knowledge of something in advance of its occurrence, especially by extrasensory perception)
- clairvoyance (the supposed power to see objects or events that cannot be perceived by the senses)
- super strength, hearing, and speed
You see, there is NO "beautiful side of evil". Sin is sin, evil is evil. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" - Isaiah 5:20-21
You can't take an evil being/entity and have him aim to be good. He is cursed! Just like demons try to portray themselves as harmless or "good" dark spirits, so does Meyers in these characters. God specifically warns us against this type of thinking. 1 Timothy 4:1 "But the Holy Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach." So Stephenie Meyer paints this beautiful picture in her books of Edward who is an evil being, yet struggling to be good. Well I'm sorry but a demon by any other name is still a demon!
Listen to what she confessed in one interview:
"I actually did have a dream after Twilight was finished of Edward coming to visit me - only I had gotten it wrong and he did drink blood like every other vampire and you couldn't live on animals the way I'd written it. We had this conversation and he was terrifying."
I think its obvious what really visited Meyers throughout her dreams. It says in 2 Corinthians 11:3 "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ."
Are you starting to see now why these seemingly harmless books are really very dangerous? Let me continue what happened with me. I did stop reading the books after my talk with my mother, but they stayed in my room beside my bed. Well, i continued to be tormented. After a couple more days of this, I was finally willing to do whatever it took to stop these attacks from the devil. I told my mother what was still going on and she told me that until I got rid of the thing/things in my life that were allowing the devil's power to have a hold on me, I wouldn't be free.
There are essentially three (basic) steps to breaking strongholds of bondage in your life through spiritual warfare. And the reason you MUST do spiritual warfare is because, "For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood, but against the despotisms, against the powers, against this master spirits who are the world rulers of this present darkness against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly sphere." Ephesians 6:12.
Step one is basically realizing who you are in Christ and the authority you have, through Him, over your own life. John 8:32 says, "And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free!" The Word of God is the only way to come against the lies of the devil.
The second step is to cut off all the areas in our lives where we have given Satan legal rights to opress us and keep us in bondage. I had to confess to God that I knew reading those books was wrong. As well as watching certain movies, and listening to certain music. I basically had to do some "house-cleaning" in my life. If I didn't remove these things then they would continue to be open doors for evil to enter my life. Its like I read in this excerpt:
"An unholy vow is like a spiritual signature that the enemy uses as legal right to gain access into our lives. But demonic vows can also be made unconciously just by getting curious about the occult and watching horror films or reading forbidden materials. Those kinds of things give the enemy your spiritual signature; it tells Satan, "Yes, I'm interested in your world. Tell me more." And that gives him the legal right to enter in even though we didn't think we were doing anything blatantly wrong."
By reading books like Twilight about things of the occult and darkness, I had done this. So I decided to completely get rid of the books. I believe that physical objects can carry spiritual value. It says in Deuteronomy 7:26 "Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and abhor it, for it IS an accursed thing."
And I believe that step three is to turn to God and no longer mess with these things. Like James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." So now, when the devil tries to tempt me, if I draw near to God, he will leave! Spiritual warfare is about guarding our minds and the pathways of our hearts for God when Satan tempts us and fighting back against him.
So, one night before I went to bed I began reading in two books, daily devotionals, to help me. I prayed for God to help me to be able to let go of these things that had such a hold on me. And then for His strength to stay away from them. I didn't wake up one single time that night - or since then.
One song that I play over and over because the words are so powerful to me is called Shake Yourself Loose. The lyrics go like this:
Said you been bound up, lookin for a way to break free. Devil's had you tied up, listen to these words from me. Your situation may seem hopeless but its not the end. Though you are burdened and have shackles on your feet, I want you to know you're about to break loose! Jesus took the keys and gave them to you. So shake loose, everything that binds you up, who told you that you can't make it? When God says that you can shake it. - I heard that Satan had you bound, no you don't have to stay, yes you can leave today! Just like in the Bible days, when men began to pray, those jail cells start to shaken, those chains a start to breakin! - Don't let the enemy keep you in bondage, praise your way through, shake loose! I got the key, free at last!"
Well, before I went to sleep I set all my Twilight books outside my bedroom door and told my mother I didn't really know how I should get rid of them but she could do whatever she wanted with them. When I got home from work the next day, she told me that she, my sister, and my father had had a book burning. Hahaha! I was kind of stunned at first, but that is actually very scriptural. See, throwing them away does get rid of them, but it doesn't completely destroy their power. It actually instructs in the Bible TO burn objects of the occult. Deuteronomy 7:25 says, "You must burn their idols in fire, and you must not covet the sliver or gold that covers them. You must not take it or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the Lord your God." Also in Acts 19:18-19 it says, "Many also of those who were now believers came making full confession and thoroughly exposing their former deceptive and evil practices. And many of those who had practiced curious, magical arts collected their books and throwing them, book after book, on the pile burned them in the sight of everybody. When they counted the value of them, they found it amounted to 50,000 pieces of silver. (about $9,300)"
Something very interesting happened though as they burned the books. The fire blazed, and burned the pages, but the smoke smoldered a very strange color, it burned a bright yellow/dull green. Now, this may not have been anything at all, but that is quite unusual. Usually the only thing that burns this color is sulfur, which is not found in paper! But, it is found in Hell...as it says in Revelation 21:8 "But the cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, the practicers of magical arts, the idolaters, and all liars - their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
Another strange thing is that they said every now and then a smell would come from the fire that was horrible. They said it smelled exactly like something dead. Now again, I don't know why the paper would smell that way, we just found that very interesting.
Well when I got home from work and they told me all this they took me out on our deck to where the bucket of ashes was. I bent over it and saw a tiny piece of paper laying on top of the pile, very small but not yet disintegrated into ashes like most of the rest. I picked it up and the edges turned to ash in my fingers but I could make out what the words said. The back was unreadable, and the front was only big enough for one line, four words, and it said... "I don't want to." How ironic! I really didn't want to burn them! Well, my flesh didn't. And the devil didn't want his works to be burnt. Did you know that Satanists and members of the occult fear being burned to death the most?
My mother had saved one page for me to burn myself. She said she just ripped out and set aside the page she was at when she decided to. It ended up being the first page in the last book. All it said was, "Breaking Dawn". I thought that was so awesome because I really feel like I have broken my dawn. Its no longer night anymore.
Satan has created a beautiful picture, or story, to mask his evil, but it is all just a dangerous mask, a fatal lie. Please don't believe him. Get close to God and let Him begin to expose the tricks of Satan to you. I feel like this is exactly what happens to us a lot of times, we get deceived, tricked, lied to, and blinded by the devil, I know it happened to me. Like Jesus says in John 12:40 "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, he has made their minds dull, to keep them from seeing with their eyes and understanding with their hearts and minds and repenting and turning to Me to heal them."
God promises us that when we turn to Him, He will hear and answer us. Turn away from the things of this world, which won't last and will only lead you to death, and turn to Him who gives you life, and life eternal!
Romans 16:19b "...but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil."
John 12:46 "I have come as a Light into the world, so that whoever believes in Me may not continue to live in darkness."
Matthew 21:22 "And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you shall receive."
Luke 11:9 "So I say to you, ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you."
*I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD:
I have gotten many requests to use content from this blog and/or post it to other sites and places. I absolutely give you permission to do so. I would love to continue hearing how it has affected you or someone you know. If you use my blog in any way I would also love to read or hear how you used it! :)
