“Thus, we find ourselves on the earth-plane surrounded by dark and malignant spirits; yet these dark forces have no power at all except what is derived from the spirit of the mundane or the earthly spirit. And so far as the children of God ally themselves to the Spirit of God in covenant relation, and place their hand, as it were, in the hand of God’s angel, overcoming fear and following the leadings of that divine messenger wholly, to that degree they are safe.
But if one desires power, honor, wealth, the gratification of the lower nature, or any of the things that attract the men of the world, and attempts to gain them through unity with these mundane souls, the angel of God will leave him at once to the unmerciful influences of the dark world, who will promise and in part fulfill their promise to gratify the desires of the person and to give him the condition on earth that he desires; but with every benefit derived from that source will come many, many evils, sorrows and perplexities, until the soul is hopelessly bound and drawn out of the body to become an associate of the dark and malignant forces to which it has yielded itself. This is a dark picture, but this fact is the cause of the old idea of a tempting Devil.
Remember, however, that God rules the universe and that there is no power but that which is derived from the name Yahveh, or from Universal Mind and Will. Because of this it is said, “The name Yahveh is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.”
While we bring to light this dark side of the picture, we hope that you will not dwell upon it. We know that the world is full of darkness, temptation, deception, and all that is evil – evil because antagonistic to our hope and desire to be one with the Father; but it remains for us to hold closely to the original Christian principles, that is, consecration of our life to God and confiding trust in him, like the trust of a little child in the arms of its parent. It is this condition of mind that has preserved the church, notwithstanding its errors, its false doctrines. These principles have preserved its people through all the centuries down to the present.
Because of their failure to maintain these principles, the angel in the Revelation said to God’s people: “But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.” (Revelation 2:4).
Here we meet, not new doctrine, not new theories, but are brought back to the “rock of ages”, to the foundation laid by the Christ 1900 years ago; “For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” ( 1 Corinthians 3:11); He is the only door. On the contrary, instead of presenting new doctrine, we are obeying the injunction of the Spirit by the apostle: “Wherefore let us cease to speak of the first principles of Christ, and press on unto perfection.” For, as the Christ said, “I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.”
Hiram Butler
The Mark Of God: Understanding Your "I AM Presence" 