The Sean McDowell Show - Horrifying Story out of Witchcraft (w/ Julie Lopez)

Episode Date: September 20, 2023

Why would a 5th generation witch leave her practice and follow Christ? Julie Lopez was practicing as a witch until her father's suicide completely unraveled her life. In this video, she shares the horrifying story of witchcraft devastated her family, but also the powerful transformation in her life after following Jesus. *There are a few theological issues in which I differ significantly with Julie, but the focus of this interview was on her story. I may revisit some of these issues for clarity in an upcoming video. In the meantime, please discuss respectfully below! WATCH: Real-Life Story of an (Ex) Teen Witch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjOh4O2vmA0 *Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf) *USE Discount Code [SMDCERTDISC] for $100 off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM) *See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK) FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sean_McDowell TikTok: @sean_mcdowell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmcdowell/ Website: https://seanmcdowell.org

Why would a fifth-generation witch become a Christian? Our guest today, Julie Lopez, has a fascinating story that you're going to have to hear. We're going to get into how she entered into witchcraft, what it meant to practice witchcraft, and then ultimately why she left and became a Christian. Julie, I watched your story online, was just so motivated. I thought it was powerful. Had to have you on. First off, thanks for being willing to share your story. Thank you so much, Sean, for inviting me and it's an honor for me to be able to be here with you. Thank you. Well, one of the things that jumped out when I heard you telling your story was just that

you were a fifth generation witch. I mean, that means if I'm doing the math right, like your great-great-grandma, so to speak, this has been in your family for a while. So do you mind telling us a little bit about your family and how you personally were introduced to witchcraft? So, yes. So I'm originally from Colombia, South America, and my mom, my grandmother, my great grandmother, my great great grandmother, as far as we know, all of them were involved

in witchcraft. So since I was young, I was exposed to different rituals. But eventually, when you grow up, you don't actually realize how bad it is because it's part of your culture is part of your family so you don't actually see any issues and i actually started to realize since a really young age how i was spiritually sensitive i could see things i could dream and things become real so that's why that was like my first introduction to this world and to a spiritual beings to demons let's put it that way and uh i guess that was like my first i believe that my first encounter was when i was like around four or five years old and uh i had this encounter with this with this demon and that completely changed my life and from that moment i believe that there

was a fight I could see angels I could feel the presence of angels and at the same time demonic things behind me and then I grew up we moved to Spain when I was around six seven and I was raised in in Spain and I just grew up seeing my mom doing different cleanses, rituals. So it was like part of our life. So I never realized how bad it was until, you know, until what happened with my dad. So we'll come to that, what happened to your dad. But you described seeing demons and you have this memory of four and five. I'm guessing at the time you didn't interpret it that way, but now you look back and interpret it that way right

going into witchcraft you clearly thought this is the right thing to hold the bad powers at bay is that fair yes exactly like because you don't know anything else outside that you just think like okay you have the power you have the control and I believe that not only me, but a lot of people that came out for the occultism, when they came out of that, all of they say that I feel like I'm losing my power. So you have that sense of like, that you have the power, that you can control everything around you, that no one can literally mess up with you

because you are gonna do something to them in revenge. So it's like like you feel that you have this sort of power so eventually i didn't know anything apart from that and all of these demonic things and none of around i didn't even know that i was having encounters with demons i didn't even know my family like never told me i was really young um so i never hear the word demon or this type of things and And when I started to experience that, something in me knew this is not right. Even when I was like four

and I was having those encounters, I knew that, you know the fear, you knew this is not real. And even like all my family knows that when I was that age, they said that I saw Satan because I was so traumatized from that experience that all of my family, everyone knows that, hey, when Julie was young, she saw Satan and this and this happened to her.

Eventually I thought, okay, I saw Satan. If there is angels, there has to be also Satan. So my four year old mind was trying to put into words what I was feeling, what I was living. And it was quite traumatic, to be honest. Yeah, understandably. And we'll get to how your story plays out. But you said you were born in Colombia and then grew up in Spain. Was your family outliers? Like it was, oh, that's the family who practices witchcraft.

Or was it common in Colombia and or Spain where you grew up at least? So in Colombia, it is actually witchcraft is quite common. And what people don't realize is that Catholicism is some sort of witchcraft. My great-grandmother, she used to be the healer of the village. People used to go to her to do cleansings. She was a medium too. So she was well-known. They used to know that she had some sort of gift in healing.

She used to do abortions. She used to be a medium. So people used to know her gift. But you know what? At the same time, she used to say that she was Catholic. And sometimes for some rituals, she will use some saints to do these rituals. So people actually here in Colombia is really common for people to do witchcraft and at the same time go to church, go to like Catholic church and, you know, have this

type of saints and at the same time do witchcraft. So Catholicism and witchcraft in here is part of the culture, is completely normal. I know that there's a lot of people like me that went through similar experiences. In Spain also there is a lot of Catholicism. Witchcraft is not as predominant as it is in South America. Yeah. That's helpful., my Catholic friends would be quick to say that Catholicism and witchcraft are completely opposite and opposed ways of living in the world. But it sounds like in that experience, they got blended together where somebody could say they're Catholic and then still do these practices that are completely opposed to scripture and Jesus and, and the church, etc.

That's really interesting, that background experience. Maybe you could define for us, before we get more into your story, what you mean or what is meant by witchcraft. What is it? So witchcraft is some sort of control and manipulation. So I know that a lot of people are going to say witchcraft is not that, witchcraft is all about, you know, peaceful and freedom and talking to nature. I was there too. I thought that was witchcraft. I thought that we were getting connected with nature and we were worshiping nature and we were doing different things to align ourselves with

the universe. But witchcraft is nothing more and nothing less than control and manipulation so you doing things to get your own way whether it's white witchcraft whether it is black witchcraft is literally you taking the control and manifesting what you want that is control that is manipulation whether it's new age whether it's manifestation whether it is you doing white magic to help someone whether it is you doing black magic witchcraft is nothing more and nothing less than control and manipulation because you want your own thing you are trying to do what you think is best and you are guided by all of these spirits and it's not the holy spirit so i always say that if it's not guided

by the holy spirit if it's not who is guiding the experience which spirit is actually guiding the experience that type of thing that you you are trying to do if it's not the holy spirit let me tell you something you are stepping into witchcraft you are stepping into control you are stepping into manipulation is that what the draw or the lure of witchcraft is that it just empowers somebody to have what they want and supernatural means to get it is that why somebody would practice witchcraft at its core do you think you know the bible said that rebellion is as the scene of witchcraft i believe that rebellion and witchcraft comes together and i said people that have been deeply rejected that they have some sort of open portal in their life

with the spirit of rejection they become rebellious and these people have a tendency to gravitate towards witchcraft why because of the same thing. Control, manipulation, they want the power because some sort of they have been rejected. Now they are rebellious. Now they feel like they want the control. They want the power. And witchcraft gives you that. Witchcraft gives you the ability to feel that you are powerful, the feel that you can change everything around you, that you have the control, that even you can punish other people if they are doing something wrong to you so you have this concept that wow actually witchcraft sounds pretty good if you are you know if you're not christian and you see that is the enemies

presenting this to you you kind of feel like okay i want power i want this i want to be able to control what i want. And because people have been here from childhood and they had this awful experience when they felt that they have lost their voice, people gravitate more towards witchcraft. So I believe rebellion, rejection, witchcraft comes together. When did you start owning this and actually practicing it where you would have said to somebody, Hey, I am a witch. And then whether it was white witchcraft or black witchcraft, the way described it,

how old were you? And when did you really start owning and practicing it for yourself? So I just started when I was 12, 13 years old, but you know something? I never ever told anyone that I was a witch or that I was doing witchcraft. I just shared my testimony, I think it was in last year in January, and that was the first time that I actually mentioned like, you know, I come from a witchcraft background.

I never, I used to go to school, to university, to college, whatever. My friends didn't even know that I was in the background doing witchcraft and you know why I didn't feel the need to say that I was a witch because it was part of my identity you know when you know that you are a doctor you don't go everywhere saying you are a doctor you just practice it you it's not like you are saying it so I grew up just thinking this is normal this is part of my family this is who i am and i used to be at home being trained some which is like training me teaching me about white witchcraft so i started at the age of i think i was 12 13 and this week um she was moving in white witchcraft so

there are different type of witchcraft white witchcraft is believed to be the one that is no harm, that you don't make any harm, that you help people, that you connect to nature and all of that stuff. So she started to train me with white candles, candles to read candles, to interpret my dreams, to teach me to how to control my dreams. Because by that point, when I became 12, my dreams became crazy.

It was like suddenly something was activated and I could see things. I could read people's mind. I thought I was getting crazy. So this woman started to guide me into, you know what, be careful with the things that you are declaring. This is how you can control your dreams.

This is how you change your dreams. This is how you bring positive things to you are declaring. This is how you can control your dreams. This is how you change your dreams. This is how you bring positive things to you. So she told me all of that stuff about positivity, affirmations, declarations, dreams, the power of your words. So that was like my first kind of like touch with like actually doing and practicing witchcraft. So if you remember remember or comfortable sharing what's an example of a dream that you had that like came to be that you interpreted in a certain fashion like what does that look like do you remember one in particular

sorry can you repeat that yeah you mentioned that this woman who was kind of mentoring you into witchcraft helped you interpret dreams and certain dreams you would have would come to be. Do was in Spain but by that point and in my dream I saw two trains and in the dream I saw the trains exploding and then I saw different people outside dying and bodies everywhere and just chaos and when I wake up from the dream I was I knew this means something something is going to happen So I went to the kitchen. I was getting ready to go to school. I put the TV on and there was, I think it was the 11th of September in Madrid. When I put the TV on, the news came

and they were just announcing that there was a terror attack in Madrid and two trains literally exploded and there was my body. So when I saw the images of the trains and everything I started to have like a panic attack because it was so real and that's when I realized that what is happening this is too strong because I grew up seeing things having dreams a specific dreams I used to see when my family was gonna have arguments so it's weird there was like something that will come to my dream and will tell me there's gonna be arguments in your house like

proper fights so i will be scared in a corner waiting for that to happen so i grew up like having that type of dreams and then when that dream with the trains happened i i completely became like nervous of my dreams of like what is happening, why I am seeing this. So this is when this witch, she started to tell me when you dream something negative, you have the ability to change that. And I remember another dream that I had, I was like in underground and I saw fire. But in the dream, because she was teaching me, I realized, okay, I'm dreaming. I have control over my dreams.

And in the dream, I started to create different things. Like the underground was burning. And in my dream, I started to swap everything. And everything became clear. And when I wake up, I up i realize wow i have the power there's something in me that's been locked and locked and now i can access the realm of dreams that access of like changing things around me and that was yeah when when i started to go um deep into this so before we talk about what it meant for you to go deep into this, what are just some

misconceptions that maybe people have about witchcraft, maybe from movies or from books? What do you think are some common things that people assume witchcraft is like, that it's not actually like, at least in your experience? Sorry, what is misconception that's an idea that somebody has of what witchcraft is like but in reality it's not actually that way like a misunderstanding of witchcraft or a bad idea about it so for me i've never practiced witchcraft and i have certain ideas of what it's like because i've seen movies and I've heard stories. But the more I study it, I realize, oh, I had some faulty ideas of what witchcraft really entailed. So are there some common faulty ideas that you see in culture that don't really represent what witchcraft is?

So for me, you know, I even believe people even in church are practicing witchcraft is? So for me, I even believe people even in church are practicing witchcraft. I always said that witchcraft is not just you reading title cards or you going to mediums or all of these spooky things. Hey, witchcraft is control and manipulation. We have pastors doing witchcraft. We have prophets doing witchcraft. What do I mean by that? That we don't realize, but there are people, Christian people, people that say that there are believers stepping into control and manipulation. So they might be in a pulpit and they might not be doing rituals there in the pulpit, but they are releasing control and manipulation over people. What do i mean by that

i see a lot of people that to have finances they kind of like are manipulating people to get a prophecy for a thousand dollars or a thousand whatever and people are controlling and manipulating so i say people like you think that witchcraft is just enchantments and poisons and tarot cards no no you yourself as a christian can even be stepping into control and manipulation with a no we even have witches in government we even have witches running countries and running nations and they are not even open saying like hey i am a witch this is what i mean but the people that you see, that they are in power, these people are not saying that they're witches, but behind, they are releasing all of that stuff over the nations.

So this is why, don't think that a witch is going to come to you with a hat, with a long nose, and say, hey, I am a witch. No, the ones that are the better dressed, I'm telling you, are the ones that are witches and are behind doors doing stuff and putting curses on people and releasing things over nations. So we need to have, I believe that we need to have a lot of discernment because we could even have witches sitting in church, worshipping. We could even have witches at the front and we don't even know. So that's why I believe in this season, the Lord is raising people in this area of discernment that are calling out what he's been trying to allow for many years. Well, your willingness to share your story shed lights on this, and we're going to get more into your story.

But a moment ago, you were talking about how it was in the dream that you had that really woke you up, and this other kind of witch came in and was guiding you. You said that's what got you to get really into witchcraft deeply. What did that look like when you really threw yourself into it? How did you really start to practice it at that point? It just became my daily bread. It just became like every time going to sleep paying attention to my dreams now going to school and realizing that i have the power to even release

courses because this witch was telling me the same way that you can attract good things you can also release these negative things but eventually because I grew up with so much physical abuse and all of the stuff around me, I already have a root of bitterness inside of me. So every time that someone used to do something to me, subconsciously, I was already thinking, I'm going to get back to you. I want to do something to you.

And that led me to start to explore the other side. And then we moved to a different city. That was like two years later. I was about 15, 14. And that was when I was now introduced to Black Witchcraft. And that for me was like, whoa. That for me was like, now I can. Because you know what?

Because I was growing up with so much anger and hate, I want to revere it. So if someone, even an ex, whatever, I knew that they were doing something to me, I knew now I have the power to come back to you. And that's when we did a ceremony for me to be consecrated to this spirit guy. Then I started to learn more about crystals

and about healings and about tobacco reading and about astral projection and about carcasses and all of these things. So that was like, when I was 15, it was when I started to go deep into that. Okay, if you can help me with a few of these concepts you mentioned. You mentioned astral projection. I've heard people talk about this. What is it? How did you practice it?

Explain this as if the people listening don't even know what astral projection is. Introduce us to that idea and maybe what you got from it at that point in your life. So, you know, my first experience, it wasn't on purpose I wasn't I wasn't looking for that I didn't even know what was that like suddenly one day

I was sleeping I have one of my friends I was living in a different city and I remember as I went to sleep something happened to my body and I just came out and I found myself traveling to where my friend was. I saw her clothing. I saw her crying. She just break up with her ex, with her boyfriend. And then when I came back again, I messaged her and I'm like, are you OK? Something happened. And she was like, how do you know? And I'm like, I just I don't know. Are you wearing this and this and this? And she was like, yes. And I told her, did you just break up with your, with your boyfriend? And she, and she was crying. And I realized that was the first time that I actually had an

out of body experience and I could travel. I saw her, what she was wearing, what was happening. And that was the first time. And now I became interested in like, okay, what is this? Could you, can you control this because it happens to me many times that I didn't want to do it and I will just come out of myself even like when I became Christian all my days that was such a struggle because eventually you know now this is not from God this is dangerous you're opening portals enemy demons can come as you are like doing that and kill you as you are there cutting the silver core so i realized when i became christian uh this is dangerous you know i need to be intentional

now so after i had that experience i just started to investigate more like can you control this can you do it when you want and eventually astral projection is when you are leaving your body so they say that you have an astral body and your astral body is connected with something called, which is the silver core, which it talks in the Bible about the silver core is connected to your body. OK, the moment that you are traveling around, if that silver core breaks, people die. That's why when people are meditating, when people are doing astral projection, if the silver core is broken, people die that's why when people are meditating when people are doing astral projection if the silver code is broken people die and that's why some people i don't know if you have hear of people that die doing meditation or that people are dying as they are sleeping or something happen why because there is this thing thing this thing like core the silver core that connects both things and in the spiritual

realm when you are outside when you are doing this you feel like a pull back like you have to come back to your body but it's dangerous why because if there's demons around okay this is like a different dimension if there's demons around the demons might not allow you to come back to your body so that's why some people when they are doing that's why meditation is so dangerous that's why astral projection is so dangerous that's why leaving your mind white is so dangerous why because you are opening yourself to this realm of the spirit and you don't have protection there okay so the moment that you try to come back to your body, if there's demons there, they can literally kill you

before you go in and you die. So that's why, but you know what? But now when I became Christian, that was one of the things that I was fearing like, okay, I don't wanna step into that. I know this is demonic. I knew completely that everything that I was doing was wrong even speaking in tongues.

I was, when I became Christian, I was like, okay, no, this is witchcraft. For me, everything when I became Christian was wrong, even speaking in tongues. That was when I became Christian. I was like, okay, no, this is witchcraft. For me, everything when I became Christian was witchcraft. So I was being really careful with not practicing those things. But then I realized in the Bible, you know, you can teleport yourself. The Holy Spirit, the Bible said that Phillips in the Bible, he was teleported from one city to another one. And I realized, wow. And that's when I started to realize the enemy doesn't create, he was teleported from one city to another one.

And I realized, wow. And that's when I started to realize the enemy doesn't create, he copies. So everything that you see in witchcraft, in the occultism that they are doing, is a copy of what's been given to us as children of God. So I realized, actually, we don't call it astral projection, but guided by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can take you out to a different city, or the Holy Spirit can take you out of your body to show you something. And I had that when I became Christian. Now I will have in those experiences, but guided by the Holy Spirit. So that is a big difference that when it's guided by the Holy Spirit, you don't control nothing because you are dependent on the Holy Spirit and there is protection.

So when you are accessing the realm, there is protection because he is protecting you. So I had a few experience when I became Christian of like that sort of like traveling around and the Holy Spirit showing me things and taking me to places. But I believe everything has to be guided by the holy spirit and you have to be dependent on the whole on the holy spirit now i know if there's a lot of people if they're watching this right now and have stayed with us are thinking julie this is crazy this stuff doesn't happen anymore this is not knowable by science. What's your response when you hear a lot of people skeptical about witchcraft and the supernatural realm? What do you think? Could they possibly be right? Or you've just experienced so many things that there's no chance there's not a supernatural

realm to you? I just tell people, you know what? You cannot take my testimony this is what i have lived what i have experienced i believe 100 that this is real because i have lived it i breathed this witchcraft actually like kill my dad now i become christian and i know that there is a supernatural there is another dimension and you have access to that. This is real. Whether you go to this side or you go to this side, it is real. But I always say that, you know, in this side with God, with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, there's so much freedom.

I didn't come to this side because I knew I could get power because I don't have any power. The power is Jesus and he gave us the power and the authority. But once you surrender to the Holy Spirit, you start to realize that all of this is accessible. You can access all of this realm. But for the people that don't believe in this, I just say, like, just open up to the Holy Spirit.

Just ask the Holy Spirit to give you revelation, to give you dreams, to give you visions. The Bible said you have not received because you have asked no. So instead of going to the dark side, why you don't come to the light and you start asking the Holy Spirit to open your eyes, to open your spiritual eyes, to open your discernment so you can actually see things. Because let me tell you something. Before we were humans, we were spirits. Okay. Our now here on earth, this is just a natural experience.

So I believe that people are looking, humans are looking for a spiritual experiences when in reality we are a spiritual beings living a natural experience. So the spiritual realm is should be part of our DNA spiritual realm should be part of our DNA. It should be part of our daily life. Eventually, because of sin, iniquities, curses, open portals, people lose that connection to the spiritual realm, which is through Jesus. That's why he died so we could have that connection again. But we are spiritual beings living a natural life. So we shouldn't be now looking for different spiritual experiences in Hinduism, in witchcraft, in occultism, in Satanism. We don't need that. We have everything with Jesus.

We have everything with Jesus. We can experience all of that through the Holy Spirit. We don't need any other source. Jesus is the way. Jesus is the life. And outside of Jesus, there's just destruction. Jesus is the way. Jesus is the life. And outside of Jesus, there's just destruction. There's just control. There's just manipulation. And there's nothing but outside of that. Well, the body does say we are, the Bible does say we are body and

soul. There's the physical world, but there's an immaterial supernatural world. Are you aware of when people leave witchcraft? This is the last question before we get to your father, you've mentioned a couple times. Do any people leave and become atheists or agnostics? Or is the supernatural experience so powerful that if they leave witchcraft, they've got to go somewhere else that embraces something supernatural whatever that may be you know yes why because people in witchcraft they have been exposed they know that there are something supernatural something strong in that side that when you eventually it also depends on how deep you were involved.

But all the people that I have known that have come out of the occultism, they know that they have to go somewhere because they're being tormented. It's like, you know when you come out of a gun, when I was young, I used to be involved in this gun. It was like a huge one in Spain. You couldn't leave the gun the only way that you

could leave the gun it was there or they will hit you why because you knew so much information that you couldn't leave the same happens in the occultism you have now so much information the enemy doesn't want you to leave and start talking about all of this because why he's gonna be exposed so when people try to come out of that he starts to harass people demons start to come and touch you in the middle of the night give you nightmares it's sleep paralysis you feel like you are being choked you can't because you have been exposed to that you know what is happening there and now when you come out of that you need to look for help you need to go i have someone that i was um helping she was coming out of

witchcraft we did the prayer she throw her things her title cards all of the stuff and she started to be persecuted by the demons the only way that she would be free it was under the shower with the waterfall in i told her you need to get baptized asap because what the demons are trying to do they are trying to stop you from from moving to this side so i know that when people come out of the occultism you need help you need guidance if you are trying to come out of that my advice is like find someone that can help you that can cover you that can pray for you for you to get out of that my advice is like find someone that can help you that can cover you that can pray for you for you to get out of that because there's gonna be warfare even me when i became christian and i got pregnant this demon this spirit god was still chasing me and what was

coming to speak to my husband to see if he could come to me so there was there was a stiller they understand and uh so yeah yeah thank you for for sharing that you've a couple times mentioned your father and what witchcraft did to him and i've heard you share your story that this was kind of a big piece that brought you out of witchcraft eventually and i believe your mother too uh what what happened so what happened was that so when we moved to a different city in Spain we started now to go deep into black witchcraft so now it becomes this black witch came she became my mom's best friend and she was constantly in the house she told my mom your daughter has a gift we need to

consecrate her she needs to have a spirit guy so we did a ritual in the house they dressed me all white everyone was wearing that they did a some sort of like ritual prayer there and they gave me to this spirit guy so now i i he became like like my best friend i could hear him i could um smell him feel, he will speak to me in dreams. So I will use him for rituals and for things. So we started to open portals in our house to darkness with rituals. Now like sending curses to people, like there was so much hate there. And I remember the last ritual that we did in the house, my dad wasn't there. We did this ritual with other witches, is my mommy in the entrance of the house

we did a circle and we started to call upon this demon so one of the demons came took over this witch and she started to speak like in tongues and in a different language and then she look at my mom and she said to my mom someone in your family is going to die in one week so this demon was already releasing someone in your family is going to die in one week and my mom started to cry i was shocked and this demon asked my mom do you want to know who it is and i look at my mom but at that point i was trying to commit suicide so that there was a spread of death already around the family so i told my mom i don't want to know who it is because if it's me i don't want to know if i'm going if i if i want to die so i don't want to know that so we

have the session straight away because it was so strong my mom was crying everyone was shocked like well what's happening why is this is the demon saying that someone is going to die like you know it was so the energy was so heavy there so we closed up but we already opened a huge portal there in the entrance of the house by that point i was living with this witch because there were some issues in the house so i i left to live with her and i remember exactly one week later at it was a sunday 28th of september 2008 um this witch receives a call from my mom on a Sunday at five in the morning she called her and she told her you have to come home quick and she was crying crying she didn't tell me what happened so we went there and I remember like the look of this witch's face

she was so calm she almost looked happy so it gave me I felt like nothing happened everything is fine she looked fine if it was something bad, she will be stressed. Like, you know, you notice it. So I felt like everything is fine. So she took me to my house. When I went, I was going out outside. My mom was outside of the house with my little brother that he was two. But that point, and she was crying, crying. I was like, what happened? But she was in shock. She couldn't even speak. She couldn't even talk. She was crying, crying, crying. And I just, well, I just thought my dad, what is my dad? I thought that my dad left us because I was talking to him and he wanted to divorce. So I was just thinking like he left us. So I went inside of the house. As soon as I entered in the house, there was this heavy atmosphere. Like you cannot imagine. I only experienced experience that twice that day and recently when I

was trying to do some deliverance on someone and I went to her house and I felt the same atmosphere which is witchcraft and death I realized so I went in there and I felt that presence and I was like like what is this feeling what is this that is happening around I went to my parents room he wasn't there i ran outside and then i failed to check next to the house we have us we had a storage so i pushed the door and i saw my dad there he just committed suicide he hung himself when i saw it in there it was like my whole world just crashed completely because my father was he was he was everything for me like you know my relation he was so close we were like so close and when I saw him there it was like my life my life was taken out of me and after that my other brother came he

was 11 and his reaction was anger so he's been battling all his life with that anger he didn't cry he was angry he was hitting stuff my reaction was anger. So he's been battling all his life with that anger. He didn't cry. He was angry. He was hitting stuff. My reaction was crying, crying. So after he died and we saw him there, the police came, took the body.

The atmosphere in my house, it was crazy. I believe that there was a point during those days that we were there after my dad died that I was possessed. My mom tells me that I was possessed my mom tells me that I was found in the same place when he committed suicide I was trying to commit suicide in the same place we have flashes but I don't remember clear like what and then the flash that I have is me trying to hang myself there and so after that and after which I literally I thought I was becoming crazy I could see my dad walking in the house.

I told my mom, dad is here. It was like we, that house, I'm telling you, it was possessed. We started to have nightmares. I started to have dreams with blood. It was just awful. And we only lasted in the house like five days. For five days, my mom realized this is not right. Something is happening

here we took a few clothes and we left straight away to my aunt's house and my mom at that point she realized that witchcraft killed my dad so this black witch this black witch that was my mom's friend i believe that she knew what she was doing and we believe that she was she wanted a sacrifice she wanted to destroy our family and you know my mom had another friend that was a witch that was her best friend from here from Colombia she she was a white witch and this witch used to tell my mom be careful with this other witch she's not coming with good intentions she is of high rank she has you know a lot of authority and even the witch from here the white witch tried to astral project to our house to see what was going on because she was sensing and she told my mom when i tried to enter in your house there was this cloth

of darkness she said someone of her rank took over your house and I couldn't enter because she was trying to see in the spirit what was happening in the house because she knew that my dad died but she didn't know what happened so she was trying to to to go to the house because my mom cut the conversation with her because she believed that she was being jealous when in reality she was trying to warn my mom but when my mom when we left that house, my mom called this woman, the one, the white witch, and she told her, like, look, I tried to astral project to your house, this happened, I saw this, what is going on, this witch, she didn't come with good intentions. And you know what? As soon as my dad died, this witch that was doing

black witchcraft, that you know helping us teaching us everything she completely disappeared from our life it was like it was like her mission was over she was gone our family was destroyed was ruined and my mom at that point she realized witchcraft destroying my family so even though she wasn't christ, she grabbed the Bible and she repented for witchcraft. Wow. At that moment. And we started to read Psalm 91 and Psalm 23 every night. Eventually she repented.

I did. I still had so much anger. That increased my anger, my hate. I hated my mom. I thought that it was her fault. I was completely blind. But, you know, she made us repeat every single night for one month, Psalm 91 and Psalm 23. After one month, I left my mom.

I took my things and I just left completely broken to just live my life. And then I started a different process there. Julie, first off, I'm so sorry that happened to you. It's hard to think of something more devastating than finding your own father having done that. How old were you, if I can ask? I was 18. Oh, you were 18. Okay.

Now, leading up to that, you had said that you were questioning your own life. Did you attempt suicide? Where did that come from? So clearly, cracks in this practice of witchcraft had begun before it culminated with what happened to your dad. How did those cracks kind of begin? And why did you feel like you needed to end your life? So when I started, when I was consecrated to this principality, to this spirit guide, I started to be tormented. Like even though like I was doing witchcraft, but I didn't realize that the same thing that was helping me to do witchcraft now was the same thing that wanted my

life, that wanted me to kill myself, that wanted me to cut myself i wanted my blood i was i didn't realize that and then i started to feel this heavier pressure i became alcoholic when i was only like 16. my family didn't even know because they used to be out all day so i used to just go to school my drink drinking their concom drink and, clean everything, go to sleep. My family, my parents didn't even realize that I was actually drinking every single day when I was 16. And I was just entered into this circle of depression, heavy depression. And then my first attempt, I took some pills. And then my brother, he was nine by that point, he found me and he called the ambulance. I don't know how he did it. And they managed to save me.

I just had a whole bunch of pills. They cleansed my stomach and I just entered into this cycle of trying to kill myself, trying to cut myself. And then after that, eventually there was a spread of death around the house. There was clearly like we were opening portals and eventually it finished with my dad but after my dad died eventually with all the anger that I was carrying I still tried to kill myself for like

that year I tried to take pills I tried to cut my I just tried to a million days throw myself out of a window so it was just crazy how even in all of this process, how the Lord still preserved my life. Because I could be there now. I went through so much during that year when my dad died that I wouldn't be here. If it wasn't for God's grace, I wouldn't be here. Julie, so you left at 18. Your mom was reading to you Psalms 91, Psalms 23 23 but you weren't a believer yet what was that process like for you finally to say i believe in jesus and experience deliverance from some of this

witchcraft and demonic oppression so after so i left my mom because i had i just i was blaming her for everything that was happening i didn't want to know anything about her. So I went through the process that year of just living with my ex, just drinking again, trying to commit suicide. And then towards the end of the year, so my dad died in September. Then after one month in October, I moved out. Next year in September, I went to visit my mom to the city where she was living. I went to see her, and she told me like, hey, someone,

I didn't know that in the back she was having encounters and she was like being invited to churches and she was battling in that area. I didn't know. And she was like, hey, there is this church and they talk about prophecy. I just want to go and see what it is. Eventually, we were amazed with the whole future things and tarot cards. So I was like, oh, that's interesting.

Okay, let's go. So we went there and they were literally prophesying. They were putting people in line and they were giving people prophecy, prophecy. And to me, my cousin and my brother, they gave us the same prophecy that we are going to move to London, that we are going to be studying. But eventually my mom thought that's witchcraft. So I remember her, she just, you know, she has stand and to move to London, that we are going to be studying. But eventually my mom thought that's witchcraft. So I remember her, she just, you know, she stand and she started to say, this is witchcraft, I love you.

She was so angry. And I look at my mom, we left the church, we left the place. And my mom said, that's witchcraft, they shouldn't be doing that. They are telling all of you that. My mom just became literally like super angry. And I left the place place i went to my city but now i had like something in me like what was that like what was that prophecy thing so i started to be curious for that so i started to ask my friends do you guys know of a church but

i didn't want to cut a catholic church because i used to go to a catholic church i just didn't like the whole saint praying to saints and demons blah blah so i didn't want that again so someone told me she wasn't even christian she told me i know this church in a different city i don't know you want to go she gave me the number the address and i was like i'm gonna go and i remember before going to that church I was so excited I was I don't know why inside of me I'm like I don't know if I knew that I was going to find something that it was going to change my life I was super excited it was like around 30 minutes far from my city so I just grabbed the bus it was late like 6 p.m and I went there and as i was going there i was i could feel the the shaking like i was nervous and i remember when i entered into that chart it was so small it was probably 20 30 people and as soon as i entered in that place this presence just hit me like something that i had all

my life a high experience darkness bad things bad things, negative things, death around me. I never experienced freedom or love or just this presence of joy in my life. So that for me was tangible. As soon as I entered, that presence hit me. And as I was walking in, I was like, I started to shake. And then the father of the house, the apostle, he came. He was my first spiritual father. He came. He looked at me and he just hugged me and he said, welcome home.

And I have never seen him in my life. And I started to cry, to cry, to cry. And I remember that I was shaking. That was my first encounter with the presence of God, with his love, with his grave. And I became so in love, kind of like addicted to that presence. I became like, I want more. I want more. So every week, I will go like twice to just have an encounter with that God. Every week, I will go twice. Let me tell you something. Every time that i went to the church i had an encounter

every time i will leave that church shaking i'm not lying to you to the point that i started to invite my friends like you have to experience this there's something in this church and one of my friends that we we used to drink together and party and do all of this. She came with me. As soon as we entered, the presence of God came. We literally left that church shaking. And she became Christian. She married. She had children now. And that was my first encounter, actually, with the love of God.

I didn't receive that crazy deliverance of like, demon, come out. No, it was love. My first encounter with God was he given me joy he given me love it was like you know God knows what you need at the perfect time he knew that probably at that moment what I needed the most was love was feel was that feeling of feeling love feeling accepted feeling like everything is gonna be fine fine, you are home now. So that process that year there was just that, feeling the love of God, having encounters with him. My spiritual sense is activated in a different way. I remember one day when I was coming out

of that church, I was coming out with my friend and as we were walking into cross, I hear a voice that told me, stop. When I stop, a brick fell in front of us. It told me, why stop? And I look at her and I told her, I don't know. I hear a voice that told me, stop. If we have like more, this brick will probably hit us and who knows what. And I started to have like those type of encounters. But then after that, eventually I started to be harassed by the demons because there were legal rights and finance. That was like my first encounter was that.

It's really interesting to me that it's the love of God that really drew you. I interviewed recently another woman who was a witch, and when she went and heard, she was at the point of literally sacrificing her own life, attempting suicide. Hearing that a God loved her and he had sacrificed for her is what transformed and changed her heart. Sounds like it's a very similar thing to your experience, that there's a power in God's love that was very different than the lure of the power that you could have in witchcraft, and it changed you from the inside out. Let me ask you this.

Is there a connection in witchcraft with sexuality? It's often portrayed this way in film is there something about that like what's the ethic when it comes to sexuality and witchcraft is that some of the lure like when you describe somebody casting spells and having certain powers over what they want i can imagine there'll be a lot of people casting spells for relationships and for certain areas of of sexuality is that a big piece of witchcraft or not i believe you know what sex sexual immorality is huge in witchcraft first of all, the principality that moves behind witchcraft is Jezebel's spirit. The Jezebel spirit moves with witchcraft and moves with sexual immorality. Also, sexual immorality in witchcraft, in Satanism, in the occultism, is used for the channeling of demons.

That's why in some rituals you have orgies. That's why in some rituals they get the person, the sacrifice, and they have virgins. Why? For channeling the demons because there is something there. Also, why sexual immorality is so strong in witchcraft and in these rituals? Why? Because when there is a virgin and the virgin is having sex for the first

time, there is something that the hymen breaks and there is blood. Blood is covenant, okay? That's why we have the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus is a covenant. So through sex, when they do these rituals and these things, when the the imen or him hymen of the virgin is broken there is a covenant there being made in the spiritual realm and this channel is a filter for chat for channeling demons so yes sexual immorality and witchcraft are tied together a lot of people come to witchcraft because they want to cast spells on people. I myself, I did some rituals and some things to someone that I was with because I didn't want him to leave. So I know that through sex and through doing certain things, you can release a spirit of

lust, especially if you are trying to break a marriage, you release a spirit of lust through also astral projection. You go to the house, you release the spirit in the through also astral projection you go to the house you release the spirit in the in the house and that's when marriage is start to break so sexual immorality in which government the occultism is is huge and is part of the rituals is part of the covenants is part of the things that they are doing so when you became a Christian and you were delivered from some of this, just really oppression, was it once and then move on? Is it an ongoing process for you? What does that look like just given the past of what you experienced and come from?

So in my case, I believe that God set me free first from the things that were literally stopping me from advancing. And I always say this, deliverance is daily. Even right now, I'm still asking Holy Spirit, examine my heart, check my heart. Is there something in me that you want, that you need to set me free from? Please send me, transform me. For me, deliverance is daily. Deliverance is not a one session. Deliverance is not just one praying, repenting or renouncing one manifestation.

Deliverance is a poster, is daily, every single day. But I remember my first deliverance. So when I became Christian, then I had that experience in Spain. Then I moved to the UK. I moved to London. And, you know, even though I gave my life to Jesus and I was having this encounter, when I moved to London, I tried to commit suicide one more time. I caught myself again. I didn't want to leave. I was done. There was a still one around. There was contracts that were coming. But you know what? As I was on the floor bleeding, I hear the Holy Spirit telling me, just call upon the name of Jesus. You have you you have help now. So as I was there, I started to just scream, Jesus, help me. Jesus, help me. And suddenly a woman came knocking at the door and she was a Christian lady and she entered the house.

My mom, she started to evangelize to us, evangelize to my mom. She told me like hey there is this group of young people who you would you like to go so after that I started to attend this church with young people they used to do encounters like encounters they didn't move in deliverance but it was inner healing so I my process first was forgiving releasing my father for what it happened for giving my mom for giving myself for giving God that was my first process but after that I met my husband I got

pregnant and he told me once one day he wake up I was like seven months pregnant he wake up once and he told me once and he didn't know anything about my background. At this point, I never share anything about my past, what happened, what do we do? Nothing. I just felt like I don't want to share that. That's something from my past, something that I hate, something that I don't even want to remember. That's it. So my husband, by that point, he didn't even know. And one day he came and he tells me, I had a dream and in the dream, this person that looks like this, like this,

it was this spirit guy. He came asking me for permission for you. And I was shocked. I was like, what? And then eventually I had to tell him the whole story. I told him I was consecrated to this spirit guy. In the spiritual world, he looks like this he looked exactly how my husband described him is exactly how he is and I just told him like okay

I was involved in this this happened like he was shocked he was looking at me like you you are crazy and eventually my mom my mom was crazy and was Christian by that point. So I called my mom and I told my mom, I think this demon is still around. Like he's asking, you know, my husband, he can come to me for some reason because demons understand authority. There is ranks in the spiritual realm. That's why he asks us the body of Christ.

We have to respect rank and we have to respect honor. And there's so much division. This is where like that house divided kind of stand and you know darkness are so organized they understand rank they understand authority and they know that my head at that point was my father right because my father sorry my husband because he became my head now so they have to go to him to ask him so my mom realized that there was my mom my mom at that point she was learning about deliverance about iniquities and she realized okay we have to

do what a deliverance on you blah blah and i realized i had a coin that when i got consecrated to this spirit guide the coin represents covenant the same way that when you get married, you have a ring and it represents a covenant with your wife. I had a covenant, an object with this spirit guide. So I went through the process of deliverance. Eventually at that point I manifested all of that stuff. I throw the coin, we break the legal right. And this demon tried to come back one more time to my husband. He wanted to see if he will

open the portal because even though the legal right woman wasn't there but the bible said that when the house is empty a demon will come and if it's empty he will bring seven words demons right so eventually i went through the process i was was free. I was set free, but the demon still came back to my husband in a dream and asked him, can I go to her? Can I go to her? Would you allow me to go to her? And we told my husband, if that happens again, said no, said that he doesn't have any legal right.

So in the dream, my husband told him, no, you don't have any legal right. That's not gonna happen. And that was the last time that I had any sort of heavy encounters with this demon. have an illegal right that's not gonna happen and that was the last time that i had any sort of heavy encounters with this demon and you know before that he was he was coming touching me moving things around and and after that completely freedom i have never again failed or experienced anything like that i've got two last questions for you. I hope that's okay. One is, why are you sharing your story now? I heard you say that you were married and hadn't told your husband,

and then that was when you were seven months pregnant. So there must have been years that you were a Christian, never shared it publicly. Yet now I saw some videos where you're on stage sharing it, interviewed by my friend, Billy Halliwell, willing to come on my channel, share your story. What changed in your mindset and approach to this? So I have been a Christian now for like, I think 14 years, 13, 14 years. And as I said before that, I just, I felt like it was a part of my past that i didn't want to remember i believe the enemy was trying to put that fear and a shame and embarrassment

so i wouldn't speak about this i remember i think it was two years ago two or three years ago i was with my spiritual father tommy arayomi and we were just doing, we were just live talking about demons and stuff like that. He didn't even know about my background. So when I started, I felt led to tell him about spirit guides, about what happened. And he looked at me and he tells me, what? Like he didn't even know. And then from that moment, he allowed me to share my testimony in the church in rick london and that was i was so scared i didn't want to go the enemy was literally putting

fear on me putting like you're gonna speak you're gonna sound crazy they are not going to believe you you are lying he started to put all of this fear in me but the first time that i shared my testimony in rick london like openly like that was the very first time in all of these years of my Christian walk, like two years ago, that I shared my testimony. And after that, I had such a conviction of the church not being aware of the spiritual things and the lord put in my heart this feeling of like you need to through your testimony awaken my church and let them know that there is a spiritual realm that the same way that there is light there is also darkness and also to expose the work of darkness and after that i started to have revelation of like the similarities of witchcraft and Christianity and what the enemy uses as a copycat.

And the Lord started to show me tongues and the blood of Jesus and prophetic acts and all of this. And I was like, wow, all of these years, what I thought it was witchcraft and walking in fear and walking in. I don't want to know that now the Lord broke that and turned that to now to expose the enemy. So that was one of the reasons why now I'm like open of like sharing this because I also hear comments and people actually saying like, wow, I've received freedom. I was a Christian doing tarot cards. I didn't even know

like I'm free now. You changed my mind. And I'm like, wow, Lord. So you are using my life to actually, you didn't only set me free, but you are using my testimony to set other people free. And the Bible said that we have overcome by the blood of Jesus and by the power of the testimony. So that's why now every time that I have a chance, I'm going to share my testimony. I'm going to expose darkness and what the enemy intended to harm me and to kill me. Now the Lord is using that to bring glory to his name. Amen. You have become quite the preacher, Julie. I love it. And you should out of your story. So here's my final question is if somebody's watching this and they've stayed with us until the end, and they're just kind of dabbling in certain occultic practices. They're not sure if it's a big deal. Thinks maybe

you can be a Christian and practice some of these things too. What would you say to that person? I feel, I feel, um, I will say to them, don't open portals to the enemy because they always say like, you know, it's innocent. Um. I have even heard people and talked to people that say, I'm practicing, I'm absolutely fine. But remember that the Bible says that the enemy comes as angel of light. So you might feel for a season that even like, you know, some people in the occultism say, I have my angel, I have my guardian angel. Let me tell you something, that's not an angel, That's a demon that is dressing as an angel of light. And at first, it might look like, wow, like you are gaining some things that you are learning, that you are manifesting, that you are controlling all

of this. But eventually, it will turn to the other side. You are going to start to feel oppressed. You are going to start to feel depression witchcraft brings mental health issues the enemy the demons come to bring depression anxiety suicidal thoughts all of that stuff you know what let me tell you something witchcraft also brings poverty witchcraft brings a lot of issues infirmities miscarriages it brings it brings it brings accident. Why would you want to stay on that side? Witchcraft is all negative. Why would you want to be on that side when now in this side you have the Holy Spirit, you have the freedom, you don't have to walk in fear, you don't have to walk in condemnation. And as you are becoming one with the holy spirit you realize

oh okay i have power but it's not my power it's not for my own good it's not for my own purpose is the holy spirit now using me to impact people to impact nations and you learn to rely completely of the holy spirit you never will never be the same so now you realize and now you are depending on his voice you are depending on his voice. You are depending on his presence. And trust me, darkness doesn't bring anything good at some point or another is going to turn. Why? Because the enemy doesn't give anything for free. He doesn't give you, he's not going to give you anything for free. He may be giving you things now, but he's going to come back again and be like, what are you going to give me now? Is it your life? Is it a sacrifice?

Is it blood? What are you going to give me now? But now when you come to this side, guess what? You have everything for free. You have salvation for free. You have the grace. You have everything for free. So why are you going to go to a place where through the blood of Jesus you have been giving everything?

There's no way. Julie, that's a great response. Thank you for being willing to come on and share your story with me, with others. I think it's powerful, and I hope you get even more and more opportunities to talk about what you've been through and the power of Jesus in your life. So I want to encourage you, bless you, say thanks for coming on. It's been really, really meaningful. For those still with us, make sure you hit subscribe. We are going to bring to you some more stories like Julie's, some apologetic topics, try to help and equip you to think Christianly and live out and defend your faith.

So make sure you hit subscribe so you don't miss other interviews we have coming up. And if you've thought about studying apologetics, we would love to have you study with me at Biola. We have a top-rated master's program, and this topic we covered today, Theology and Spirituality, Demons in the Occult, is a part of our program. We not only do apologetics, but we also do very, very careful thinking about the supernatural realm as well. Informations below, totally distance program. Would love to come beside and train and equip you. Julie, again, really appreciate you coming on. Thanks for sharing your story and being with us today.

Thank you so much for allowing me to come in here and for allowing me to share my testimony of what the Lord has done. God bless you.