One thing is certain (if only the believers can remember this one thing): there is a basic difference between the work of evil spirits and the work of the Holy Spirit. Only when a man fulfills the condition for the working of the Holy Spirit will the Holy Spirit work. Similarly, only when man fulfills the condition for the working of evil spirits will the evil spirits work. Even if a man is pursuing the Holy Spirit outwardly, as long as he fulfills the condition for evil spirits to work, the Holy Spirit will not work. Evil spirits will seize the opportunity to work. Therefore, an ordinary believer need not be concerned if he cannot distinguish between something from God and something that counterfeits God; he only needs to examine the conditions under which he received these things initially. If he initially fulfilled the conditions for the working of the Holy Spirit, what he has received must be from God. If he initially fulfilled the conditions for the working of evil spirits, even though he was outwardly pursuing the Holy Spirit, what he has received must be from the evil spirits. We are not rejecting supernatural things. But we need to distinguish what is from God and what is from Satan.

What are the basic differences between the conditions for the Holy Spirit to work and the conditions for evil spirits to work? (1) All supernatural revelations, visions, wonders, etc. that require the complete cessation of the mind's function or that are received when the believer's mind stops functioning are not from God. (2) Visions that come from the Holy Spirit are always given to believers when their minds are completely active. Moreover, every faculty of the believers' minds must be enlivened to receive a vision from the Holy Spirit. When evil spirits work, it is entirely the opposite. (3) Everything that comes from God agrees with God's nature and the Bible.

Let us not care for the outward form, whether it plainly identifies itself as being from demons, disguises itself as being from a divine source, or comes in different kinds of outward designations. We only need to ask what is the principle behind the works. We should realize that all supernatural revelations that are of the authority of darkness require the suspension of the function of the mind. But if something is from God, both the capacities and faculties of the mind can still be active and not suffer any hindrance. The vision seen by the Israelites at Mount Sinai in the Old Testament and the vision seen by Peter at Joppa in the New Testament, both confirm that those who see visions are entirely capable of using their own minds.

There is a basic difference between the revelations and visions given by God as recorded in the Bible and the so-called revelations and visions believers receive today. In studying each case of God's supernatural revelation as recorded in the New Testament, we see that everyone who received a revelation had a functioning mind; they were all able to control themselves and could use any member of their body. But the so-called supernatural revelations today all require that the recipient's mind be passive, some totally, some partially. In addition, the recipient is either partially or totally unable to use his own members. This is the basic difference between something being from God and something being from the demons. For example, the tongue-speaking as recorded in the Bible shows that all the speakers were able to control themselves and were all fully conscious. For example, Peter on the day of Pentecost could still hear the people's mockery and reply. He could still prove that those with him were not drunk but were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). The tongue-speakers in the church in Corinth could count and know that the number was "two or three" (1 Cor. 14:29); they could exercise self-discipline to speak "one by one" (v. 31), and if there were no interpreter, they could even "be silent" and not speak (v. 28). They all were conscious and could exercise self-control. This is because "the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets" (v. 32). Is this the case with tongue-speakers today? Is it not true that they have completely lost control of themselves and are completely ignorant of what they are doing? Is it not true that the spirits of the prophets are not subject to the prophets, and instead that the prophets are subject to the spirits? Here we can see the basic distinction between what is from God and what is from demons.

All that we have said above concerns the difference between supernatural things given by the Holy Spirit and supernatural things given by evil spirits. Now we want to briefly see the difference between the work of the Holy Spirit and the work of evil spirits with respect to natural things. Let us consider the example of hearing the voice of God. The first thing we need to remember is that the Holy Spirit always intends that we understand things clearly (Eph. 1:17-18). The Holy Spirit never regards man as a machine. He has no intention for man to follow Him senselessly, not even in the matter of doing good. Moreover, He expresses His will from man's spirit—the deepest part of his being. God's leading is never (1) confused, (2) blurred, (3) stupefying, or (4) forceful. Whatever comes from evil spirits has the following characteristics: (1) It enters from the outside, mostly from the mind; it never issues from the deepest part of one's being. It is never an intuitive revelation, but a thought that comes like lightning. (2) It is always compelling, impulsive, and forceful, demanding immediate action. It does not allow time for one to think, consider, or examine. (3) It causes the believer's mind to become numb and confounded, and makes him unable to think. Everything that comes from evil spirits, whether supernatural or natural, always causes the believer to lose the proper use of the mind. But whatever comes from the Holy Spirit is not this way.