When the New Testament mentions a Python Spirit during an interaction with a young girl, the whole story seems fantastical to us today. Our modern culture focuses on what it can prove scientifically, so these mystical elements of Christianity make people (oftentimes even Christians themselves) skeptical.
On the surface, this makes sense. However, Luke wrote Acts to a specific people in their time. In context of the biblical big picture, we find a fascinating connection between the python spirit and the Gospel. A spiritual enemy seeks to undermine God’s redemptive story, and this conflict in Acts shows us how we can deal with the python spirit.
Where Does the Bible Mention a Python Spirit?
In Acts 16:16-18, Paul encounters a slave girl possessed by a Python Spirit.
During Paul’s second missionary journey, he and his companions—including Silas—traveled to the Roman colony of Philippi. A slave girl approached them, and Acts tells us she was possessed by a “python spirit.” The Greek term is pneuma python. The Greek culture connected the python with the Oracle of Delphi, where priests and priestesses could supposedly channel the god Apollo to provide information about the future.
The girl’s masters used her for fortune-telling, which brought great profit. The girl followed Paul and his companions for several days, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation!” Ironically, while her words were accurate, Paul discerned her message disrupted their work and didn’t come from God but evil. Perhaps the demon sought to ride the momentum of Paul’s true work while trying to bring legitimacy to idolatry (Apollo).
Paul let her interrupt for a few days, but he then became “troubled,” or disturbed in his spirit. Turning to the girl, he commanded the demon, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. Immediately, the spirit left the girl and revealed the power of Jesus over demonic forces. God, through Paul, wouldn’t allow idolatry and witchcraft to be associated with the Gospel.
While Paul delivered the girl from her demonic possession, it also enraged her masters since they lost their source of wealth. These masters dragged Paul and Silas before city leaders and accused them of causing trouble in a way that was illegal under Roman law. The city leaders then beat and imprisoned Paul and Silas.
How Is the Python Spirit Connected to Greek Mythology?
Much like Moses dealt with the Egyptian magicians and the plagues targeted Egyptian gods in Exodus, Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles (or the Greeks) included dealing with commonly held but false religious beliefs and the spirits behind them.
The python spirit would have been well understood in Paul’s day. It had roots in Greek mythology. The Python was a serpent or dragon-like creature associated with the god Apollo. According to the myth, Python guarded the Oracle of Delphi, which was a place where people looked for fortune-telling from the gods. Apollo supposedly killed Python, and the god’s association with divination became a central Greek religious practice.
During Paul’s first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas healed a lame man in Lystra. Because of this miraculous healing, the people confused them with gods. They called Barnabas Zeus (due to his spiritual authority) and Paul Hermes (the Roman Apollo) because he was the primary speaker. This again shows how the Greek crowd connected Apollo with prophetic words (Acts 14:8-18). The crowd wanted to make sacrifices to the men, but Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes in grief and stopped them. They proclaimed they were only human beings, not gods, and pointed people to the one true living God.
The idea of the python spirit was associated with the god Apollo and developed over time to symbolize fortune-telling. The Greeks believed the Pythia (Delphi priestesses) were possessed by a divine spirit which gave them power to deliver messages or guidance. This made the priestesses famous for fortune-telling and gave them a revered status in the culture. Over time, the “python spirit” became a broader term for any spirit-inspired divination, even outside of Delphi.
First century Hellenistic society believed in spirits, oracles, and other supernatural forces. As we can imagine, the idea of people revealing the future held great value for the Gentiles, and those with the “power” to do so were feared or held in awe. Many saw people with the python spirit as mediators between humans and the gods. The owners of the slave girl in Acts 16 used her for their own financial profit. People paid the masters money for prophetic utterances from the girl.
The girl’s bondage was both physical, social, and spiritual. Slavery was also a common occurrence during Paul’s days and the Roman Empire. The demonic Python spirit also held her in spiritual bondage. When Paul freed her from spiritual bondage, he undermined an oppressive political and spiritual system, and he and Silas dealt with the consequences. However, God still gave them victory over the chains and brought a jailor to Christ through their imprisonment.
The Bible's Warnings against a Python Spirit
While the term “python spirit” only appears in Acts 16, the whole of Scripture has consistent warnings regarding witchcraft, idolatry, and the influence of evil spirits. Particularly, the serpent appears as an evil influence or force from Genesis to Revelation.
Starting at the beginning, in Genesis 3, the serpent embodies Satan. This serpent tempts Eve to disobey God and eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. She and Adam both eat of the forbidden tree and throw all of creation into sin and death. Here in the first few chapters, the Bible establishes the serpent as a deceptive and cursed being. While symbolic, the idea continues.
In Numbers 21:4-9, the Israelites complain against God and Moses, and God punishes them by sending fiery serpents among the people that bite and kill many. When the Israelites repent, God tells Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. Anyone who looked at the serpent was healed. The serpent symbolized the curse being killed through sacrifice, a type of salvation Jesus used to teach how he must die on the cross (John 3:14-15), taking on the curse to kill sin and death. His crucifixion leads to salvation for all who believe.
Beyond the actual serpent or python, the Scripture lists divination, sorcery, and speaking with spirits that are not God as abominations (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). These practices overlap with idolatry, seeking power or truth from anything other than God. In Israel’s history, idol worship often connected to witchcraft practices and pagan rituals (1 Kings 18:18-19, Isaiah 44:9-20).
When Paul casts out the demon in Acts 16, he reveals Christ’s power over demonic forces, much like Jesus did in his ministry. We see Christ’s ultimate victory in Revelation, which calls Satan “that ancient serpent,” who deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9). The book includes the final victory over the “dragon,” another serpent-like creature, who is Satan, leading to the end of his influence and lies (Revelation 20:10).
In the Garden of Eden, Satan quotes God’s command but twists it to deceive. “Did God really say …?” When Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness, he also quotes the Old Testament out of context to deceive, which Christ rebukes. James tells us the Devil believes and fears God, but he doesn’t follow God (James 2:9). The Python spirit in the slave girl uses truth, “these men are from God,” but the goal was to distract, distort, and draw people into idolatry. If she had truly believed these men spoke salvation, she would have repented and denounced her idolatry.
What Should Christians Learn from Paul’s Interaction with a Python Spirit?
Paul’s response to the possessed girl teaches us several lessons. First, we still deal with evil powers, a truth relevant despite modern Western skepticism. Evil is real and actively opposes God’s redemptive plan through Christ and his children. Many in our society dismiss ideas of demons, but the Bible declares them as real. They try to deceive and destroy. Paul’s rebuke and deliverance from the Python spirit reveals how we must not forget this. Ignoring such forces can cause a blind spot, keeping us from addressing the spiritual evil behind other events or issues.
The New Testament empowers us to deal with the Devil. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Paul teaches our weapons aren’t physical but spiritual, God-given weapons to demolish evil strongholds. In Acts 16, Paul didn’t beat the girl or try to kill her physically. She wasn’t the enemy. He delivered her. The strongholds we deal with include false philosophy and deceptive “imagination” that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. Like Paul, we can use the Spirit and Scripture to counteract these lies. Through bringing “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” we can resist the subtle dark spiritual influences.
We’re in a fight, a war, whether we know it or not. It’s easy to overlook this since the battle is unseen. However, God hasn’t left us weaponless. Ephesians 6:10-18 details our spiritual armor. In these verses, Paul uses the Roman centurion’s armor to symbolize the spiritual weapons God provides us through the Spirit: truth, righteousness, the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer. These tools empower us to resist and stand, overcoming demonic attacks in whatever form they come.
Finally, Paul’s example in Acts 16 highlights the importance of spiritual discernment in realizing and facing demons. Not all supernatural manifestations come from God, even if they don’t appear evil at first. The verses imply Paul waited until he had correct insight from the Spirit and the proper action in obedience to God. We must learn to test the spirits, as 1 John 4:1 teaches us, to make sure they line up with God’s Word. Along with supernatural discernment, a gift of the Spirit, we can look at the fruit. Spiritual powers that distract, distort, or draw away from Christ’s mission should be confronted and dealt with in prayer, God’s love, power, and humility.
The example of the Python spirit teaches us to operate with spiritual eyes wide open, relying upon Christ’s authority through the Spirit and biblical truth, In this way, we can face evil with confidence, remembering people aren’t the true enemy. Let’s arm ourselves with Scripture, prayer, and faith to proclaim and live Jesus’ victory over that old, lying serpent.
Peace.
Photo credit: ©Unsplash/Angiola Harry
