Some acts of restoration concern our neighbor, but others directly concern God. In this regard, you must be more rigorous with yourself than with others. This section focuses essentially on idolatry, which is adultery against Christ, to whom every true Christian is spiritually betrothed.

“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, following the abominations of the nations that the Lord had driven out before the children of Israel. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had torn down; he erected altars to the Baals, made Asherah poles, and bowed down to all the host of heaven and worshipped them. He built altars in the house of the Lord, although the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. He made his sons pass through fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, divination, witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.

He set a carved image, the idol he had made, in the house of God—of which God had said to David and Solomon his son: “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever. I will no longer drive Israel from the land I appointed for your ancestors, provided they are careful to do all I have commanded them, all the law, statutes, and ordinances given through Moses.” But Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the Lord brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh captive. They bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon. In his distress, he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. When he prayed to Him, the Lord was moved by his plea and brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.

Afterward, he built an outer wall for the City of David west of Gihon in the valley, as far as the Fish Gate, and encircling the hill of Ophel; he made it very high. He also stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah. He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, along with all the altars he had built on the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed on it peace offerings and thank offerings, and he commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. The people, however, still sacrificed at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.” (2 Chronicles 33:1–17)

Manasseh, a descendant of Solomon, abandoned his communion with God and diluted it with traditions, rituals, and mysticism. He became an idolater. Through this act, he lost his inheritance and power. But by restoring everything he had spiritually destroyed, he regained communion with God, and God restored him to the throne. That’s what happens when someone stops communing with God and becomes merely religious. Worse still for those who are fully bound in traditional practices—they become slaves of the slave: Satan.

Don’t be deceived. One cannot be a Christian and still be subject to traditions. Christ is above tradition. Anything in tradition that does not honor Christ must be cut off and thrown into the fire. Whatever remains of the tradition afterward is what can become your genuine tradition. Even then, tradition must never become a hindrance in your walk with Christ.

Any tradition that draws you away from God and His commandments is demonic. It’s better not to get involved. Moreover, some traditions—whether cultural or religious—may seem harmless but are actually toxic and, over time, disconnect you from Christ’s DNA.

In Jesus’ time, the issue had already been raised. The Pharisees and scribes asked Him:

“Why don’t Your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
Jesus replied: “Hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship is in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions!” And He continued: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!”
(Mark 7:5–9)

Anyone who places tradition or religion above intimacy with God is a true hypocrite. And that hypocrisy always ends in tragedy. Most “Christians” who go to church but continue performing traditional rituals or visit witchdoctors suffer the most from familiar spirits and demonic possessions. You cannot be a Christian and practice black magic.

You cannot be a Christian and practice white magic. You cannot be a Christian and consult witchdoctors, mediums, or spiritual healers. That is a false doctrine which makes you either an active or passive occultist. However, every Christian carries a culture and a tradition they can honor, as long as it does not offend God.

Culture can be healthy. But tradition, in its raw form, is never healthy. It is an act of submission to spirits or servants of spirits—familiar or territorial. Behind every tradition—especially those involving rituals, sacrifices, or vows—there are spirits that are not of God.

When you encounter the Perfect One—Jesus—He will help you distinguish between cultural and spiritual aspects of tradition. This is not a call to renounce your culture or heritage. God allowed you to be born in your specific location. However, you must discard everything in your culture or tradition that does not honor God. Otherwise, you will remain a slave and never become a son of the Kingdom. Only sons have true communion with God.

When church leaders resist the work of the Holy Spirit, and faith becomes limited to laws and rules, religion becomes the first obstacle to true communion with God. Show me a Christian who lived only by the law without the Spirit of truth and fire, and I will tell you that person doesn’t exist. That kind of Christian is a myth.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit, which qualifies you for restoration, places you above the law. You no longer live by the law, but by the Spirit of Truth who cleanses, sanctifies, and justifies you. You become a saint both on earth and in heaven. Strict observance of the law does not make you holy or pure—it only makes you moral or upright. But tradition degrades you. It makes you neither holy nor righteous. That’s why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees—the defenders of the law and religious traditions:

“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?” […] Jesus answered, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?”
(Matthew 15:3)

Are you ready to break with tradition and religion, whether cultural or religious? You must reexamine everything: What rituals have you participated in? What witchdoctors have you visited? What charms or amulets do you still possess? You need to retrace and burn it all. This time, to do so, you will need guidance (we will cover this in section 5).

You can’t do it alone. As a child, were you dedicated to the spirit of water, the mountain, or any other spirit? You’re a baptized Christian, but your parents visited a witchdoctor to conceive you? Find out! Dig into your family tree.

You must retrace everything. Know where you come from. Who were your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents? What were their occupations? What roles did they play in the village or city? What were their religious or cultural practices?

Confess all of it to your Creator and tear down every altar—literally and spiritually—that they erected. Your ancestors may have been criminals, witches, great sorcerers, etc. They might have hurt many innocent souls. And the blood or tears of those souls might weigh on you, their child or descendant. Curses affect four generations.

If there’s a sin to flee more than death, it’s idolatry. It’s a sin against your lineage, because what you do with spirits directly affects your descendants. It is also adultery against God—denying His fatherhood and handing yourself to Satan. That’s why some wombs produce animals, insects, or unformed creatures. Some of your peers are not just human—they are spirits, consecrated to water spirits, animal totems, air spirits, or mountain spirits.

A consecrated child needs deliverance. Even if baptized with water, he will never commune with God because he is a spiritual prostitute. Your restoration—your personal rebuilding—must involve deliverance. Deliverance breaks all spiritual bonds with spirits, what some call “soul healing.” This applies to both active and passive occultists.

You are a Christian and have participated in esoteric sessions (Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, etc.) without practicing them? You’ve visited a witchdoctor, allowed others to consult diviners for you? Then you are a passive occultist.

You are a Christian and engage in skull worship? You are an active occultist. You are a Christian who visited witchdoctors to get charms to protect your business? Then you are both passive and active occultist. You are a Christian woman and a “dove” in the Rosicrucian order? Then you are an active occultist.

You are a Christian and your father or mother is a Freemason or Rosicrucian, even if you are not? You are a passive occultist. Worse, by their vows, links, and sacrifices, you are already consecrated. Some mystics, even before conceiving, dedicate their unborn children while still in the sperm stage—timing the conception with the moon, stars, and spiritual alignments. Even your name may be tied to mysticism. Many people don’t know the meaning or origin of their names.

In another series, we will go deeper into idolatry and its devastation in Christian communities. Manasseh understood the weight of his iniquity—even though his father Hezekiah had remained faithful to God. He rose up, destroyed what was evil, and rebuilt in those same places sanctuaries that pleased God.

Sin turns you into a Manasseh. If you’ve destroyed hearts, you must restore them. Where you built evil, you must first tear it down, then build good in the same place. That becomes a pleasing aroma to God. It is one of the main reasons your prayers may go unanswered…

This text is an excerpt from the book “How to Commune with God?” written by Jean-Paul Marie (Pastor Samuel Binyou).
We invite you to read the next article: “PRAYER OF REPENTANCE”.

THE RESTORATION OF MANASSEH