Revivalist Isaiah Saldivar is sounding the alarm on what he calls one of the most deceptive spiritual tools creeping into the church—the Enneagram. In a recent video, Saldivar questioned whether Christians should be using it at all, calling it “demonic” and “completely opposed to the biblical worldview.”
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“The Enneagram is a system of personality typing that describes patterns of how people interpret the world and manage their emotions,” Saldivar explained. “It basically describes nine personality types. You’ve heard like you’re a seven, you’re a three, you’re a one.” While the personality chart may seem harmless, he says its deeper roots tell a much darker story.
The Origin Matters
“The devil does not care about your intentions,” Saldivar warned. “You might say, ‘I have innocent intentions doing the Enneagram test,’ but like many people doing Ouija boards, they have innocent intentions. Intentions don’t matter. They could still be an open door.”
Tracing the history of the system, he pointed out its earliest connection to Russian occultist P. D. Ouspensky and his teacher George Gurdjieff, who viewed it as a symbol of the cosmos rather than a psychological tool. The modern Enneagram, Saldivar noted, was later shaped by occultist Óscar Ichazo, who “claimed to have discovered the personality type meaning of the Enneagram when it was taught to him by the archangel Metatron while he was high on mescaline.”
“That’s how he got it,” Saldivar said. “That’s how he got this revelation—from an archangel, a demonic spirit, while he was high.”
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From the Occult to the Church
According to Saldivar, the Enneagram spread from occult circles into Catholic mysticism and later into mainstream Christianity. “It’s important to note that most Enneagram books can be found in the New Age section,” he said. “There’s other books that have tried to tie Christianity into the New Age movement. It’s a false spirit, guys.”
He pointed specifically to The Sacred Enneagram, a popular book often sold in Christian categories, quoting passages that describe the Enneagram as:
- “A pathway to God.”
- “A sacred map to our soul.”
- “An alive force that finds you.”
- “A tool for reclaiming your true identity.”
“Guys, that sounds demonic,” Saldivar said after reading the excerpts. “That does not sound like a personality type.”
A False Gospel of Self
Saldivar argued that the Enneagram replaces biblical truth with human-centered spirituality. “The Enneagram forces us to wake up,” one passage from the book reads. “It’s a sacred experience and a map to your soul.” Saldivar rejected that message outright: “That’s enough for me, guys, to say let’s stay far away from it.”
He said the Enneagram’s message directly contradicts the heart of the gospel. “Christ is how you find your way home. Christ is the door, not the Enneagram,” he said.
To illustrate the contrast, Saldivar drew a clear line between what the Bible teaches and what the Enneagram promotes:
| Biblical View | Enneagram View |
|---|---|
| Seek to know God | Seek to know self |
| Humans have a sinful nature | Humans are basically good |
| Salvation is through Christ alone | Salvation comes through self-knowledge |
| We die to self | We find self |
| We are created in God’s image | We reclaim our “original essence” |
“This goes against the biblical worldview of Jesus,” Saldivar said. “It goes against the biblical worldview of salvation. It goes against the biblical worldview of dying to self. Instead, it tells you to find yourself. It’s demonic.”
A Warning to the Church
Saldivar cautioned believers not to be deceived just because the Enneagram has been dressed in Christian language. “If you follow preachers that quote this, that get involved in this, they’re probably ignorant,” he said. “I would stop following them. I would stay far away from the Enneagram because of its occult roots, because of the quotes from the book that go directly against the Bible.”
He reminded his audience of 1 Thessalonians 5:21—“test the spirits, test everything and hold fast what is good.” The problem, Saldivar argued, is that many Christians see the Enneagram as a harmless alternative to horoscopes, not realizing both have the same spiritual roots.
The Final Word
“The devil comes as an angel of light,” Saldivar concluded. “He comes innocent.” He urged believers to reject the Enneagram and any tool that replaces God with self-knowledge. “Stay away from these tests. They sound innocent. You might think, ‘I’m just a type three, I’m a type seven,’ but if you look at the origins, this is an open door to unclean spirits.”
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For Saldivar, the choice is a simple one: “The Enneagram connects you to other sources—demonic spirits. Christ is the only source you need.”
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
