Claim. The works of good and evil spirits look similar at the outset but diverge in their fruits over time. Good spirits’ works increase peace, righteousness, and health; evil spirits’ works increase anxiety, fear, selfishness, and ill health. Without understanding the Principle, religious authorities often lump them together — a serious pastoral error.
Elaboration. Per 4.4. The Works of Good Spirits and Evil Spirits: “good spirits” includes God, spirits on God’s side, and good angels; “evil spirits” includes Satan and spirits on his side. Their works share similar appearance at the outset but yield diverging fruits.
The fruit-discernment criteria:
- Good spirits over time: increase peace, righteousness, even improved health.
- Evil spirits over time: increase anxiety, fear, selfishness, deteriorating health.
The mixing problem: “Since a fallen person stands in the midway position between God and Satan and relates with both of them, the works of a good spirit may be accompanied by the subtle influences of an evil spirit. In other cases, phenomena which begin as the works of evil spirits may, as time passes, merge with the works of good spirits.” Pure cases are rare; discernment is iterative.
The pastoral stakes: “It is a pity that many religious authorities, in their ignorance, condemn the works of good spirits by lumping them together with the works of evil spirits. This may place them in an advertent opposition to the Will of God.”
This atomic gives the practical discernment heuristic that the give-and-take-action doctrine generates: same-form-different-fruit applies not only to acts (cf. dp-good-and-evil-discerned-by-purpose-direction-not-form) but also to spirit-influences.
See also. dp-satan-acts-only-through-common-base-with-evil-spirits-and-humans