TRY THE SPIRITS
TRY THE SPIRITS
“. . . try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out onto the world” (1 Jn. 4:1).
The devil is not God, but he is supernatural. He can transform himself into an angel of light and even empower his demons to work miracles (Rev. 16:14). We should not be ignorant of his devices.
An interesting illustration about “trying the spirits” is described by Eric Metaxas in his biography of Martin Luther. He calls it “The Curious Case of Anna Laminit”. On his way back from his famous 1,600 mile round trip to Rome, Luther went out of his way to meet her. She was an famous “holy woman” who was reported to have not eaten in 14 years. She claimed that God miraculously sustained her solely by partaking of the Holy Sacrament. Her caloric intact was so small that she claimed to have not had a bowel movement or produced a drop of urine for 14 years. Luther longed to meet her for apparently she had achieved the spiritual perfection for which he was striving.
Anna was born in 1480 and due to loose living during her teen years she was publicly beaten and driven from the city. She returned in 1497 and lived in a poorhouse run by believers. It was at this time she was inspired her to become a “hunger martyr”. By doing so she became so famous that even the emperor and his wife came to see her and were taken in by her claims.
The emperor’s sister, the Duchess of Bavaria, however, was not so gullible. She determined to “try the spirits” to see if Anna was truly from God. Therefore she invited Anna to visit her at a Munich cloister. Anna was assigned a bed chamber with a peep hole so that the skeptical Duchess could observe her without being seen. Anna foolishly walked into the trap. Not realizing that she was being observed, Anna opened her stash and began gorging on a large supply of dainties and delicacies, including juicy pears and pepper cakes. Her inevitable stools were flung out the window.
Once this element of her fraud was exposed, it was also discovered that she was also having sexual relations with several different men including the vicar of the local church. One of her paramours was the wealthy Anton Welser, to whom she bore a son. Anton dutifully paid her the handsome sum of thirty gulden each year to provide for his care. When the child died, the deceitful Anna kept the news from the wealthy father that she might continue to receive his money.
When the Dutchess exposed her duplicity Anna was fortunate to be allowed to leave the city with dignity. Her destination was a nunnery in Kempten, 60 miles south, where she continued to ply her role as a “hunger martyr”. When she was again exposed she fled north to Kaufbeuren and took up with a widowed man named Hans Bachman. The couple moved to Fribourg, Switzerland where they were married in Nov. 1514.
It was then that Anton Welser discovered that his son had died many years before and was furious that Anna had defrauded him for many years. After being arrested and confessing to all her deception Anna was sentenced to death by burning. Her sentence, however, was reduced to death by drowning. Thus on May 5, 1518 she was placed in a large sack and ended her life in the river.
Anna made a mistake by dealing with the devil, and thousands of others made the mistake of not “trying the spirits”. Not only were there many false prophets in the days of the Apostles, but also perilous times are predicted for the last days. Jesus warned “Many false prophets shall rise , and shall deceive many” and because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold (Matt. 24:11, 12). It is obvious today that iniquity is abounding and that the love of many is waxing cold. This only emphasizes our need to “try the spirits” for there are still many false prophets who have gone out into the world!