If you are familiar with Remnant Radio, you know that they have a social media presence where they invite pastors, teachers, theologians, and historians from different denominations and churches to have discussions. They state up front that they may not always agree with their guest, but they desire to break people out of their theological echo chambers. Recently, they featured Alexander Pagani on their broadcast to discuss Christian deliverance ministry and his book, The Secrets to Deliverance. After watching it, I had some thoughts and observations I would like to share.

Alexander Pagani, who espouses to be an Apostle, tells of his radical encounter with Jesus in a prison cell, where he was called to ministry. He stated that Jesus merged with his body, and it was in that moment he was regenerated. He also felt called to the apostolic while in prison, and it was there he learned how to cast out demons. He discussed the need for an upgrade in deliverance ministry while he was ministering post incarceration, since the tactics once used seemed outdated for the Christian hip-hop community. According to Pagani, weaponry and methods needed an update because as Satan gets an update, the church needs an update.

While listening to his account, I could not help but to think of the Apostles of Christ and the accounts in Scripture of them walking with Jesus Christ and seeing Him post resurrection. They were also called by Christ Himself to be apostles. Those today who claim the title of Apostle at times tell of stories where they had a radical encounter with Jesus Christ and were called to the ministry. Though Pagani denies affiliation with the New Apostolic Reformation and disagrees with it, he states his beliefs to be aligned with the five solas and the fivefold kingdom.

During their conversation, Pagani explained his method for troubleshooting the true presence of a demon: If the individual coming for deliverance does not know his legal name, then he concludes there is no demon, as there is a lack of supernatural knowledge. He admitted that there is no Scripture to support this practice, but it reminded me of the account in Acts with the seven sons of Sceva and the demon who knew Jesus and Paul, but not these men. This type of practice can give the impression of elevating that specific individual as having status and authority. This again goes back to the calling of an Apostle, and these types of claims are also seen in movements such as the New Apostolic Reformation.

Mr. Pagani went on to discuss various areas in the deliverance movement with the hosts of Remnant Radio, from communicating with demons and generational curses to demon possession and the lack of power of among Christians who don’t engage in deliverance. While his book was referenced at times, and one of the hosts stated at the beginning of the discussion that if he had a demon, he would call Alexander Pagani, I wondered if Pagani’s book had been indeed read and evaluated by them in accordance with Scripture. As someone who read his book, I noticed several times where Scripture was given extrabiblical meaning that would not normally be extrapolated from the text or by other commentators. He claimed in this book that the Holy Spirit gave him revelation on these passages and that he was carrying on the ministry of Ezekiel. Though he claims to be an apostle, he has also stated that he does not have the authority to write Scripture, thus attempting to make a distinction between himself and the Apostles of Christ.

However, his claims of the Third Person of the Trinity giving him revelation on Solomon’s temple, the body of Christ, and the parables of Jesus correlating with Christians having indwelling demons, is troubling. After reading such a book, it begs the question as to whether someone would read Scripture without his book and come to these same conclusions and extrabiblical revelation. I believe another point to consider is this: At no point in time has God spoken without authority. The argument could be made that a claim to God speaking obligates believers to obey said claim. For those of us who reject the revelation in his book, are we disobeying God? I appeal again to the claim of apostleship. The Apostles of Christ had authority in the church. God inspired them by the Holy Spirit to write Scripture, and we know that the Bible contains the very Word of God, which we are to obey and to acknowledge as authoritative in our lives.

I am thankful for those who write books that help in our understanding and our spiritual growth. There are writings that are encouraging and challenging to us. But none of them hold authority in our lives as Scripture does. Those who claim to write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit are laying claim to divine authority. These types of claims need to be evaluated, especially when teachings are perpetuated, leading to error. We must rest in the sufficiency of Scripture for our lives, rejoicing in the fact that it helps us to see the beauty of the gospel and the joy of His salvation. There is no secret to deliverance because the truth is contained plainly in the pages of Scripture, and that deliverance was made manifest in the flesh by Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Listen to this recent discussion here: The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: Remnant Radio and Alexander Pagani: A Conversation on Apple Podcasts