Have you ever received a chain letter on social media like Facebook? When I was young we used to get them in the post but today they can be sent at great speed and in large number viâ the Internet.

For those not familiar with them, chain letters consist of a message in which the recipient is, for example, to repeat a prayer in the letter and then forward it to a certain number of people whom are asked to do the same thing. Here's one a got today in Facebook - from a minister in a third-world country who probably had no idea that he was engaging in witchcraft:

Common sense alone should tell you something is not quite right with this. It is, in fact, a mediaeval form of witchcraft. Have you considered what you are putting your faith in when you send one of these chain-letters to someone? The chances are that someone in the chain has put a curse on it. This is, in reality, just a form of superstition, which is a form of witchcraft.

Think about it. How could a 'revelation' be so general that it could specifically identify a real issue? Statistically, someone in the clain is likely to be 'struggling' with someone or something. Indeed, probably most people are struggling with something. These are the sort of very general questions asked, or statement made, by all psychics. What do you think the likelihood is that God has said your struggle is 'over'? I guarantee that for most, if not all (most likely all), will still be struggling even more after receiving this particular chain-letter. The promises are so general that that it would be true to say that a 'blessing' is coming everyone's way all the time. Yahweh never stops blessing. 'GOD will fix two things (BIG) tonight in your favor'?? 'Tomorrow will be the best day of your life'?? How do they know? And how do they know that will be true of all the recipients of this chain-mail? They don't. It's occultism. These are bare-faced LIES and you know who the father of lies is (Jn.8:44).

This pagan practice has unfortunately deeply infiltrated the Christian churches. If you get a chain-letter you need to send a message to the sender, inform them what they are doing, and if necessary rebuke them but under no circumstances forward the mail on! Declare that you, as a believer, are standing against witchcraft because if you don't you can be sure to receive another...and another...and another. Curses will keep coming your way. So smash the chain.

One deliverance minister has this to say about the practice:

"Remember that anything that causes you to take your eyes off Jesus (Yah'shua) is a sin, as "whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). So when you recite a prayer that someone emailed you with the instructions that you should forward it to a certain number of people and then back to the person who sent it to you, you are practicing witchcraft.

"The goal of witchcraft is to get you to sin by trusting in something or someone other than Jesus (Yah'shua) for a blessing and/or attempting to manipulate the forces of darkness to control events in your favor. This is a no-no for the Christian. Witchcraft is an abomination to God, and is punishable by a generational curse" [1].

Here's an example of another chain-letter:

“Hope all is well. When you have a moment to yourself, read this, It was difficult for me to decide who I thought would DO this because many people claim to pray, but not everyone does. I’m sure I chose the right twelve.

“Please send this back to me (You’ll see why). May everyone who received this message be blessed. There are 12 months/ 12 disciples/ 12 tribes of Israel / Jesus’ birth celebrated in the 12th month. There is nothing attached. Just send this to twelve others. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.

“There is no cost, just a lot of reward. Make sure you pray, and pray believing God will answer.”

[Prayer] May today be all you need it to be. May the peace of God and the freshness of the Holy Spirit restore your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight, and conquer all your fears.. May God manifest himself today in ways you have never experienced. May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer, and your prayers be answered I pray that faith enters a new height for you; I pray that your territory is enlarged. I pray for peace, healing, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, true and undying love for God. In Jesus Name, Amen…

“Now send this to 12 people within 5 minutes and remember to send this back….. “I count as 2, you’ll see why.” [Brackets added, boldface added, parentheses in the original.]

This sounds even more 'Christian' than the one I received but it's actually a lot worse. Here was a response that was sent back:

Absolutely not. In the name of Jesus (Yah'shua), I renounce this abomination as another tactic of Satan, who was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. I send this back to the sender with every ungodly spirit attached to it bound by the blood of Jesus (Yah'shua). I break this infernal chain, sent by the blind to the blind.

[Sender], I am serving you notice: never again send me anything like this masquerading as Christianity. It is witchcraft: an abomination in the eyes of God (Elohim). I have no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, neither do I fellowship with the ungodly. Commit this to memory.

You have my email address for professional use only. My advice to you is to use it as such, and not for nefarious purposes.

Don’t you ever do this again. [1]

The deliverance minister who sent this response commented further:

"There is a lot wrong with this email. For one, why does he keep saying, “You’ll see why?” Why all the suspense? Why not just tell us? Because you wouldn’t like it, that’s why; because there is no reason.

"You see, we all love a mystery. We love secrets and riddles and unlocking hidden meanings. The writer of this email knows this fact all too well. The promise of “finding out why” is very enticing.

What could be the mysterious reason the receiver should send the email back to him (the sender)? And what could be so important about him being number 2 that he couldn’t just tell us from the beginning? Isn’t it just a bit curious that he would be number 2, yet he chose twelve people? Wouldn’t that automatically make him number 1? Of course it would.

The answer is that there is no great mystery. There is no reason he is number 2. This man is into cabalistic numerology...."

Witches try these things out on Christians all the time to get them to sin. The Internet is swarming with them. There's a lot more to that second chain-letter than meets the eye and probably only someone coming out of witchcraft would spot all of it. It's a spiritual minefield. It reeks of the devil in so many ways.

Here's just one more thought:

"Finally, it is worth mentioning that the way this person beguiles the receiver into forwarding the email on to twelve people is by flattery. This he does from the outset by saying that it was “difficult” finding twelve worthy people who would do his bidding, and that he is “sure [he] chose the right twelve.” [1]

Chain-letters come in many forms but they are basically all characterised by these three main elements which can appeal to every kind of person of any religion or not religion at all:

Christians/Messianics ought to know better for without realising it they will soon find themselves spiritually compromised and cursed. So if you have received any of these chain-letters and maybe passed them on to others, you need to repent immediately and break the curses you have put on yourself and your family and break the curses you have tempted others with in Yah'shua's (Jesus') Name. Do it now!

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