Deputies: Barron Co. pastor steals from church members

A Barron County pastor has been arrested after deputies say he stole from church members’ homes.

Deputies took Pastor Jon Paquette, 56, into custody Thursday after a searching warrant.

The investigation is still ongoing, but deputies say Paquette was targeting the homes of church members while they were not home and stealing prescription medications. It’s still undetermined how many houses were robbed.

Rise of Satanism another sign of 'America's fall from God'

Elementary schools forced by the government to allow “Satan Clubs” on school grounds. Statues of Baphomet are erected in major American cities. And a national headquarters for the “Satanic Temple” in Salem, Massachusetts, famous for its “witch trials” during colonial times.

Has America gone to the devil? Christian leaders are speaking out – and they are reluctantly saying it has.

Karl Payne, pastor of leadership development at Antioch Bible Church and the former chaplain of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, said the rise of devil worship is an ominous development.

“Historian Arnold Toynbee famously declared countries crumble from within,” he said. “I believe we are nearing the end of that same course in our country that once represented a light of hope and freedom to the world.”

Payne, the author of “Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization and Deliverance,” said America is no longer a Christian nation. And Christians need to wake up.

“For a country and people who have historically valued life more than death, truth more than deception and the rule of law and common sense more than tyranny or hedonism, the rise of Satanism probably comes as a shock,” counseled Payne. “But for those who have watched the promotion of occultism, spiritism, demonism and hedonism in the media in the name of ‘pluralism’ are not surprised. It is simply more evidence of our culture’s fascination with narcissism, death and rejection of common sense.”

Of course, the Satanic Temple says it does not literally worship the devil. Instead, Satan and demonic imagery are used as a “formidable weapon to fight for separation of church and state.”

However, Jonathan Cahn, the bestselling author of “The Harbinger” and the new blockbuster “The Book of Mysteries,” said the use of this kind of imagery is not innocent.

“It is yet another manifestation of America’s fall from God,” he told WND. “It is no accident that we are seeing more and more displays of Satan in America’s public life. This is an unprecedented development in American history. This could not have taken place in earlier days. And it’s no accident that this is happening in the same America that is increasingly removing any display concerning God or faith from the same public square.”

Rabbi Cahn argued no society can simply become “secular.” Instead, as a society declines, it calls what was once evil good and good evil. The result is nothing less than a total societal transformation.

“It is another sign of the increasingly powerful position and brazen stance of evil, immorality, ungodliness and anti-Christianity in the new America,” Cahn thundered. “That which in former days existed only in the shadows and in the periphery of American culture is now in the spotlight and center stage – and seeks to drive that which was formerly in the spotlight and center stage of American culture to the periphery and into the shadows.”

And Cahn warns it won’t stop there.

“In the judgment template of ‘The Harbinger,’ when ancient Israel turned away from God, it turned to the god Baal. One of the names of Baal was ‘Baal Zevuv,’ or ‘Lord of the Flies.’ When that Hebrew name was translated into Greek and then English, it became ‘Beelzebub’ – the name of Satan. So it is no accident that we are now seeing in America the same thing. When one drives God out of one’s life, when a nation drives God out of its national life – it opens the door to the devil.”

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Carl Gallups, a pastor and author of the new book “When the Lion Roars: Understanding the Implications of Ancient Prophecies for Our Time,” long has warned Christians are going to be “targeted” for persecution. And he noted acidly the Satanic Temple is targeting school districts that host Christian after-school programs.

Gallups says there is a link between the increasing secularism of American culture and the rise of demonic activity.

“As the culture of the United States, the largest Christian nation the planet has ever known, becomes increasingly secular, and as much of America’s church slips progressively into apostasy, the intensity of demonic activity will only increase,” said Gallups. “This is not only a biblical prediction, but also a current reality that, with growing frequency, is reported upon practically every week.”

According to exorcists, there is unprecedented demand for services in expelling demons. Pastor Gallups argues this reported increase in demonic activity and the growing acceptance of Satanic imagery is nothing less than a sign of the last days.

“There can be no doubt that the Word of God speaks of a demonic outpouring occurring in the days just before the return of the Lord,” he said. “The implication of those prophecies is that the deluge will be on a global scale. Although we have always had the influence and impact of the demonic realm to deal with, never before has that sphere of existence had such a platform from which to manifest itself and to so boldly proclaim its seductive message. The intense focus given to this ‘Satanic Temple’ is just another example.

“But even this group is just a symptom and a sign. The problem is that man’s sinful nature is running amok, and this is now being celebrated. The world continually acquiesces to the growing evil and abject mockery of God’s Word that now surrounds it.”

Besides serving as a pastor and chaplain, Payne is also an experienced exorcist who has personally helped believers suffering from demonic attack. He also stated the growing acceptance of demonic symbolism is a dangerous sign for the future.

“These events have end times significance,” he told WND. “This world is ripe for the acceptance and ascension of a Satanically inspired global leader who will promise peace and freedom while he systematically eliminates all who disagree with him. A temple honoring Satan is just one more step towards that end.”

Expert Claims Media Driving Demonic Activity

Huge spikes in reported demonic activity all over the world. Black masses and blasphemous rituals held in cities around the country. The rise of Satanism as devil worshipers openly organize in what was once a Christian country.

Suddenly, Halloween doesn’t seem so innocent anymore.

Karl Payne, the former chaplain of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and a pastor at Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, Washington, has been engaged in the spiritual fight against demons for many years.

Calling demons real, powerful and dangerous, he chronicled his fight against them in his book “Spiritual Warfare.” And he argues the media is encouraging a troubling trend with its sensational and borderline celebratory treatment of a serious issue.

“I believe there is a correlation between the media’s incessant and increasing promotion of these kinds of subjects and an increased workload for those of us who actually work with real demonization and deliverance,” the pastor told WND. “Why should that come as a surprise? The same media industry that restricts the promotion of tobacco products because of the destructive and addictive effects promoted by advertisements on naïve, gullible young minds chooses to bombard those same naïve, gullible young minds with other harmful imagery. Audio and visual presentations of demonic, occultic and Satanic inspired death, destruction, slashing, bashing, blood, gore, murder, rape, terror and mayhem on a nightly basis. And yet they defiantly declare it represents nothing more than harmless entertainment.

“They act like it is a video game, if you don’t like what you see or the score you get, you can just hit reset and try again. But the reality is that demonization is real, and there is not an easy reset button to push once a person is caught in the middle of demonic conflict and desperately wanting out.”

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Payne rejects the idea Americans have always been titillated or entertained by dark subject matter.

“There was a day in our country and culture when glamorizing and glorifying demon possession, witches, curses, vampires, zombies and such would have been viewed as something to reject, as crossing a line that needs to be avoided, not entertained,” he said. “That day is gone. ‘I am free to do what I want, any old time,’ has become an accepted axiom that has replaced the golden rule reminding people to treat people the way you wish to be treated.

“Celebrating the rejection of moral and ethical absolutes in conjunction with the loss of common sense has not created a secular utopia. Instead, we have a country and culture where parents cannot allow children to play unsupervised in their own front yards or walk to the park to play on the swing set. This is progress?

“I do not know anyone who actually works with demonization and deliverance that is surprised that as men and women increasingly open their lives and minds to ‘entertaining’ demons, we have to work harder.”

And with Halloween around the corner, it’s the busy season when it comes to using dark subjects as “entertainment.”

Halloween displays are becoming increasingly gory and over the top. Children around the country are being exposed to bloody displays everywhere from front lawns to supermarket displays. And exorcism and possession are being used as fodder for television shows.