DEMONISM IN THE LIGHT OF SCRIPTURE. Part 2 of 2.
Continued. Others propose the psychosomatic theory. So-called cases of demon "possession" were in actuality physical or mental disorders. With our present knowledge of medicine and psychiatry, many alleged instances of demon activity can now be explained as forms of psychosis or psychoneurosis, habits, addictions, psychological states of the mind, or other physical or mental disorders.
Contrary to such rationalistic explanations, the Scriptures, without reservation, look upon evil spirits, not as mere hallucinations, influences, habits, functional disorders, states of the mind, or psychological problems, but as intelligent personalities. Frequently, behind what may appear to the skeptic to have some logical or natural explanation, Jesus discerned an evil, supernatural entity causing the problem which plagued its human victim. Thus, He "rebuked" the fever in Peter's mother-in-law (Luke 4:39), loosed a woman who had been bowed together by Satan for eighteen years by casting out a "spirit of infirmity" (Luke 13:11-16), and set the "insane" Gadarene free from a legion of demonic spirits (Mark 5).
Possession by numerous malevolent spirits is not uncommon even in this day, as those who have dealt with such oppressed victims can attest. Their numbers may range from a dozen or more to hundreds, and in one instance Satan actually admitted to a pastor through the lips of the victim he possessed that there were 1,067 demons in this individual.
At other times, the Scriptures indicate the reality of demonic spirits by clearly distinguishing between mere functional disorders and those conditions which result from demonic oppression. We are told in Mark 1:32-34 that the people brought unto Jesus" ... all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with demons ... and he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many demons. "In Matthew 8:16 disease and demon possession are also distinguished, as they are in Mark 16:17-18, and in Matthew 10:1, where Jesus gave the twelve disciples "power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease."
The Scriptures show many instances where physical and mental oppression are caused by the presence and activity of evil spirits. In the case of the lunatic child. We read that "Jesus rebuked the demon; and he departed out of him: and the child was healed from that very hour" (Matthew 17:14-18). In Acts 10:38 we are told that Jesus healed all who were oppressed of the devil. Again in Matthew 12:22 the frequent relationship between demon possession and physical affliction is clearly seen: "Then was brought unto him one possessed with a demon, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw."
Demon oppression or possession is never treated merely as an organic disease or functional disorder by Jesus. If the cause was an evil spirit, He cured the oppressed individual by casting out the demon.
Further evidence that Jesus was often dealing, not with mere organic disorders or superstition in the minds of the people, but with distinct intelligences, is seen in:
The Lord's direct commands to the evil spirits (Mark 5:8); Their recognition of Him ("And unclean spirits, when they saw him ... cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God," Mark 3:11); Their display of certain attributes of personality, such as: Feeling (Mark 5:7), Fear (Luke 8:31), Intelligent speech (Mark 5:7-12), Knowledge (Acts 16:16), and Their personal names ("My name is Legion," Mark 5:9).
Demons today often identify themselves by name or character as spirits of fear, pride, doubt, lust, resentment, and so on. In one ministry, they have personally heard demons identify themselves either by name or by character. In one instance, a demon identified himself, saying, "I am antichrist" (i.e., the spirit of antichrist); another confessed, "I am the demon of death."
The various kinds of evil spirits and the nature of their work and activity in human life and affairs will be covered in detail in our further studies.
There is an almost infinite variety of demonic spirits. There are, for example, spirits of lust, infirmity, insanity, suicide, fear, hate, and pride, as well as deaf, dumb, and blind spirits, who vary in personality, power, appetites, and intelligence. As disembodied spirits, their purpose is to oppress or possess their victims, with the ultimate intention of either the mental, spiritual, or physical destruction of the individual.
C. How Demons Gain Access.
How do demonic spirits gain access to their victims to vex, oppress, or possess their minds or bodies? As Matthew 12:43-45 and Mark 5:6-13 clearly indicate, demons as disembodied spirits have no "rest" unless they can find habitation in a physical body, preferably human, through which they can satisfy their own appetites, lusts, and desires. Counseling with oppressed and afflicted individuals has confirmed that there are basically four avenues which can be opened whereby demons gain access to the mind or body: (1) emotional crises, (2) sin, (3) doubt, skepticism, and ridicule of divine things, and (4) occult involvement.
1. Emotional crises.
It is generally assumed that cases of oppression by evil spirits can be traced to some form of sin or weakness of character on the part of the afflicted individual. But this is not always true. Unusual emotional experiences such as extreme fright, or prolonged, abnormal grief over personal loss can open doors to demonic oppression. Traumatic or shocking experiences can weaken an individual's resistance. The child who witnesses the murder of his parents, or the young lady who finds out she will lose both her legs because of an automobile accident, are typical of those who would be extremely vulnerable to oppression or invasion by such spirits. In one instance, counseling revealed that the emotional and spiritual problems of a person needing deliverance began with a terrible fright at a very early age. Another was set free from a spirit of mental illness, for which he had been institutionalized, after the cause was traced to a severe emotional crisis which he had experienced.
Most people do not realize the effect that their attitudes of mind, their fears and doubts, and their negative confessions can have upon them in times of emotional crisis. The wrong confession, especially when one's body is weakened by accident or illness, or when one is in a state of shock, can open the door to invasion by oppressing spirits. Spirits of infirmity may enter under such conditions, when resistance is low, resulting in deformities, chronic conditions, or even death.
In the case of one individual, serious depression and mental illness resulted from harboring guilt feelings since childhood over the accidental death of a younger member of the family for which she blamed herself. She was later liberated from these oppressing spirits.
In another instance, an individual became oppressed when a deceiving spirit convinced her that she had grievously sinned by submitting to surgery instead of trusting God to heal her. Convinced by Satan that God would not forgive her, she suffered chronic depression and psychic oppression, and was bound with a spirit of fear to the point of mental collapse, before she was liberated.
Such disturbances and afflictions cannot be dismissed merely as psychosomatic disorders, or results of mental suggestion, but accord well with the teachings of Scripture. We are told, "as [a man] thinketh in his heart so is he" (Proverbs 23:7), that "death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21), and that we can be "snared" by the words of our mouth (Proverbs 6:2). But the same verses also reveal that a positive confession of the Word of God can bring salvation, healing, blessing and deliverance (Mark 11:23-24; Romans 10:10; Psalm 91; Revelation 12:11, etc.).
2. Sin.
Such sins as lust, alcohol and drug addiction, theft, sexual excesses, and other sinful habits or forms of intemperance and immorality are frequently the cause of invasion by unclean spirits (cf. John 5:14; Mark 5:8) One psychically afflicted individual acknowledged during counseling with a certain pastor that he actually saw a demon of lust take possession of him as he entered the apartment of his mistress. In another instance, drug addiction resulted in possession by evil spirits from which deliverance was needed. Preoccupation with unclean sexual thoughts and self-abuse led one young man into total possession by a spirit of insanity and a spirit of suicide.
Moreover, sins such as prolonged attitudes of hate toward another, resentment, extreme envy, jealousy, intolerance, pride, uncontrolled anger, lying, desire for revenge, and so on, subject individuals to the influence of or invasion by the powers of darkness. As a result, they will show less and less control over these attitudes and feelings, while emotional outbursts, compulsive lying, thoughts of violence and aggression, mental breakdown, depression, unpredictable impulses or behavior, psychic oppression, and other forms of antisocial or psychotic behavior will increase. A certain pastor has dealt with more than one situation in which resentments, smoldering beneath the surface for years, have had serious consequences.
In two instances, women were invaded by spirits which caused physical and mental breakdown because they opposed and resented the careers chosen by their husbands. In other cases, hate and resentment led to severe oppression from Satan. Compulsive lying, which indicates the influence of lying spirits in an individual, has been the consequence in some cases where willful lying was not brought under control. In one instance, a child who had become a chronic liar said that "voices'' told her to call her school with a "bomb scare." The assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King were obvious examples where demonic spirits of hate and intolerance influenced and controlled the perpetrators of these crimes.
3. Doubt, skepticism, and ridicule of divine things.
Those who persist in negative or skeptical attitudes of mind concerning divine truth, or who resist the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit, stand in grave danger of becoming bound by spirits of doubt, deception, and unbelief. King Saul became possessed by an evil spirit as a result of his persistent rebellion against God's revealed will, and his persecution of David, God's anointed servant. The apostle Paul states plainly that Satan, "the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not" (II Corinthians 4:4), and that in the last days, upon those who do not receive the truth, "God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (II Thessalonians 2:11-12; cf. Matthew 13:10-15; I Timothy 4:1-3).
Some adverse effects of demonic influence which result from skepticism and/or ridicule of divine truth are progressive spiritual deterioration, increased resistance to the supernatural and miraculous, religious delusions and doctrinal errors, inner turmoil and anxieties concerning religious matters, and the inability to concentrate on the Bible and prayer. In some instances, blasphemous thoughts against Christ, opposition to the Holy Spirit, belligerency against ministers of the gospel, and open scorn and ridicule of Christianity in general are the consequences. A certain pastor saw cases where demons which had just been exercised from the victim immediately entered into skeptics who had come to ridicule and criticize.
4. Occult involvement.
The larger part of this book will be devoted to occult participation or involvement, its adverse consequences, and the means of liberation from occult oppression and bondage. Perhaps more than any other, this is the avenue through which the powers of darkness gain access to oppress and afflict their victims. The majority of persons a certain pastor counseled have either been involved in some form of occult activity or know of its presence in their family history. The present-day neurosis epidemic; the increase in psychic afflictions and other mental and physical disorders; and the flood of crime, wickedness, and chaos world-wide, indicate just how successfully the demonic powers have gained control over men and women everywhere through occult involvement.
The Work and Activity of Demonic Spirits.
Earlier, we indicated the broad scope of the kingdom of darkness and its vast hierarchy of wicked spirits, consisting of thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spirit-forces in the heavenlies. Scripture designates Satan as head of the present world-system, ruling in world affairs. The satanic confederacy influences men and nations everywhere, affecting secular and religious institutions alike. Our purpose now is to show Scriptural evidence of how these demonic spirits influence and oppress the lives of individuals in three areas: the physical, the mental, and the spiritual.
1. Physical infirmities.
The Gospels contain many references to evil spirits whose primary objective was to afflict their victims with some physical infirmity. These same peculiarities are still in evidence everywhere today.
(1) Dumb spirits.
A spirit can take possession of, or afflict, some organ of the body, or bind the nervous center controlling some function. Thus, an evil spirit causing dumbness (the inability to speak) paralyzes the speech faculties. In Matthew 9:32-33, we are told that the dumb man was possessed by a demon, and when the demon was cast out by Jesus the dumb man began to speak.
(2) Deaf spirits.
When the malevolent spirit binds or afflicts the auditory nerves, the result is deafness. When both speech and hearing are affected, the afflicted individual is termed a deaf-mute. Medically, a deaf-mute's inability to speak is due to congenital (early) deafness. But Jesus treated such a condition as being caused by an evil spirit, which He cast out (Mark 9:25).
(3) Blind spirits.
When the optic nerve is paralyzed by a spirit, the condition will not respond to surgery (Matthew 12:22). Satan also afflicts people with diseases of the eyes or ears which do not result in blindness or deafness.
(4) Infirm spirits.
This classification includes an infinite variety of oppressing spirits ranging from those which act upon the spinal cord, the muscles, or the brain, causing such afflictions as deformity, atrophy of the muscles, lameness, and so on (Luke 13:11-17), to spirits causing asthma, cancer, tumors, heart disease, paralysis, migraine headaches, insomnia, tuberculosis, and such like. Epilepsy, a disease affecting the central nervous system, results in severe physical convulsions and loss of consciousness, and may be either an organic affliction or an epileptic spirit. If it is a spirit, then exorcism is the only way to set the oppressed individual free.
2. Mental oppression.
There are spirits whose primary function is to assault the mind with evil or unclean thoughts, feelings of depression, apathy, fear, and anxiety, or with temptations ranging from pride to a resignation to failure. Spirits of insanity may take possession of the mental faculties, disrupting normal, rational thought processes. The affected individual exhibits various mental, emotional, and behavioral abnormalities. Suicide spirits also invade the mind, attempting to drive the oppressed individuals to self-destruction or self-injury (Mark 9:17-22), while others relentlessly press their victims into some form of shameful or antisocial behavior (Mark 5:2-5).
Other spirits plague their victims with fears, depression, anxiety, feelings of apprehension, panic, or hysteria. Often these individuals are hypersensitive and irritable, or exhibit destructive emotions of hate, rage, rebellion against authority, resentment, unpredictable moods and impulses, or other psychopathic abnormalities. We will discuss these in greater detail under the heading "Mental and Emotional Disturbances and Abnormalities," in our further studies.
3. Spiritual oppression and delusion.
Without a doubt, the forces of darkness are the most aggressive, cunning, and deceptive in the realm of the spirit. Satan's Basic strategy is to gain control of the lives of men in order to fulfill his evil purposes through them in his warfare against the kingdom of God. Satan reserves his most intelligent, cunning, and powerful spirits for work in this dimension. One such evil spirit, a "prince" in the satanic hierarchy, was powerful enough to withstand for three weeks a heavenly messenger sent to Daniel, until Michael, the archangel, was dispatched to help him (Daniel 10). These spirits are of a higher rank, being the "world-rulers of the darkness of this age" (Ephesians 6:12). They possess and control humans, either in the realm of world affairs or by speaking through Spiritist mediums, by functioning as spirits of divination in fortune tellers and clairvoyants, or by influencing false prophets and deluded religious teachers and leaders.
We cannot overemphasize the importance of insight into Satan's strategy and methods of operation in the area of the spirit. But we are not without help, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds" (II Corinthians 10:4). Every believer is admonished to: Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. -Ephesians 6:11.
The activities of these spirits are often cloaked with respectability. Religious seducing spirits may appear in clerical or religious garb. As an "angel of light" or as "ministers of righteousness" (II Corinthians 11:14-15) they take up residence in churches, seminaries, and other religious organizations and institutions. They lure the gullible into modernistic churches or schools, or into false cults, where they deceive them into embracing religious errors including heresies, legalism, false revelations, and many other forms of religious delusion and practice, as well as denial of the inerrancy of Scripture.
Seducing spirits are taking advantage of the revival of witchcraft and the worldwide interest in occult and psychic phenomena. They are using every opportunity to deceive and ensnare the unwary in all forms of occultism, often clothing it with a respectable aura of religiosity. This is seen in Spiritualism, and in the increasing use of ESP, spirit healing, and the seance in religious services. Lying spirits are active in this sphere, seducing and deceiving their victims, as well as inducing them to lie or deceive others (I Kings 22:19-23; Acts 5:1-11). I John 4:1 warns us not to believe every spirit in the sphere of religion, but to test them. The Bible predicts the increased activity of lying and deceiving spirits at the close of the present age, and they are already going forth to seduce and deceive (II Thessalonians 2:10-12; I Timothy 4:1-3; Matthew 24:11,24).
These spirits often appear in intellectual and cultural garb. In the educational, social, cultural, and political realms of world affairs, spirits of intellectualism, pride, aggrandizement, and avarice or greed have far greater influence than most people are aware. Many outstanding personalities have been influenced or directed by these spirits, or have participated in some form of occultism, subjecting themselves to possible influence of seducing spirits. Many of the world's leading poets, novelists, philosophers, musicians, scientists, politicians, and religious leaders are or have been interested or involved in some form of occultism or other psychic phenomena, often admitting it without apology.
The noted philosopher, Socrates, openly acknowledged that he was guided and inspired by his "Daemon" (demon). Dr. Carl Jung, world renowned psychiatrist, was possessed with psychic powers, and had many psychic experiences. Dr. Nandor Fodor, a well-known psychoanalyst, reported that Jung conversed with a spirit-guide named Philemon, often had horoscopes cast for his patients, and wrote his doctoral thesis on the subject of occult phenomena. Thomas Edison's parents were Spiritualists who conducted seances in their home. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, is said to have worked as a professional medium in New York. Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, received his "revelations” from a discarnate spirit named Moroni. Emanuel Swedenborg, the scientist-theologian whose followers founded the Churches of the New Jerusalem based on his teachings, reportedly communicated with the "dead" on frequent occasions.
It is common knowledge that seances were held in the White House during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Spirits speaking through mediums are said to have influenced Lincoln's decision concerning the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln's apparition has reportedly been seen in the White House by others (a common phenomenon in houses where seances have been held), most notably by Queen Wilhelmina of Holland, during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Psychic Jeane Dixon claims to have been invited to the White House more than once for consultation by the late President Roosevelt, whose death she predicted. Woodrow Wilson is said to have consulted mediums for guidance during the First World War. Mackenzie King, a former Prime Minister of Canada was said to have been active in Spiritualism and to have sought spirit guidance in affairs of state, according to Fred Archer, writer on spiritualism and psychic research.
Archer also reported that Sir Winston Churchill acknowledged he used the planchette at times, and had done automatic or spirit writing. The psychic interests of Britain's Queen Victoria, as well as that of W.E. Gladstone, nineteenth century Prime Minister of England, included attendance at seances and seeking communication with the dead. In fact, Archer cited records showing that the British royal family has had contact with spiritualism for over a century, and that King George of Greece was an active Spiritualist.
Arthur Ford, a Disciples of Christ minister and psychic medium, stated in his book, Nothing So Strange, that he conducted seances for many notable personalities, including many important persons in government: generals, admirals, ambassadors, congressmen, senators, and members of the State Department. Through his Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, many church leaders have become involved in psychic matters, and occultism has thereby made inroads into churches of various denominations, as well as other religious organizations.
Like Jeane Dixon, Ford's psychic powers brought him invitations for consultations and demonstrations far and wide. He conducted seances in Hyde Park Methodist Church of Chicago, and many others. He held seances for Upton Sinclair, the American novelist; Dr. Sherwood Eddy, founder of the YMCA in the Orient; Ruth Montgomery, author of A Gift of Prophecy (about Jeane Dixon); Glenn Clark, founder of CFO; and Dr. Ozora Davis, former president of Chicago Theological Seminary. He demonstrated his psychic abilities before a committee appointed several years ago by the Archbishop of Canterbury to inquire into the claims of spiritualism.
The phenomenal revival of interest in astrology has been featured in Time magazine. In the United States alone there are thousands of astrologers, full or part time, who chart the heavens for millions of interested followers. A Time magazine listing of Americans interested in this form of divination included J.P. Morgan, Mary Pickford, Robert Cummings, Marlene Dietrich, Peter Lawford, and Ronald Reagan.
Astrologers were engaged by several governments during World War II to produce astrological calculations for propaganda purposes; in addition they made predictions as to the enemy's tactics and the outcome of the war. Horoscopes were cast for all the Allied and Axis leaders and exhaustively analyzed. In Nazi Germany, Himmler employed a corps of clairvoyants and astrologers, while the astrologer Louis de Wohl claims to have functioned in this capacity for the British government. And the Russians evidently had an astrologer who served under Stalin and Krushchev.
In the literary field, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes detective mysteries, was active in spiritualism and also its avid defender. Charles Dickens, who had psychic experiences, once confided that every word uttered by the characters in his novels was distinctly heard by him as spirit voices before being written down. Writers on the occult report that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the American poet, was interested in psychic phenomena and attended seances, and that Lord Tennyson and John Ruskin shared interest in the psychic field. Harriet Beecher Stowe, said to be psychic from childhood, stated that she did not really originate Uncle Tom's Cabin but that it came to her in vision. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), American author and humorist, was a member of the (occult) Society for Psychical Research, and reported his own psychic experiences.
Horror fiction, with its monsters, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, murders, and gruesome and revolting subject matter, is plainly of occult origin. Novels such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the horror fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Goethe, and Charles Dickens all point to occult sources. Of course, the works of Shakespeare are replete with witches, ghosts, magic, blood and murder.
Current interest in the occult is reflected in the immense increase in the sale of occult literature, the abundance of horror movies, plays and television programs which reflect occult influence, and the popularity of monster and horror comics for children. The bizarre, strange, macabre, and demonic seem to have captivated the minds of young and old alike. Is it possible that this increase in fascination with the occult, and the increase in physical, emotional, and psychic disturbances today, are merely coincidental? I hope you join us next time for our further studies on these topics. Edited. Shared.
God willing, more will be posted soon. All glory to Jesus alone.
❤️DEMONISM IN THE LIGHT OF SCRIPTURE. Part 2 of 2.
Continued. Others propose the psychosomatic theory. So-called cases of demon "possession" were in actuality physical or mental disorders. With our present knowledge of medicine and psychiatry, many alleged instances of demon activity can now be explained as forms of psychosis or psychoneurosis, habits, addictions, psychological states of the mind, or other physical or mental disorders.
Contrary to such rationalistic explanations, the Scriptures, without reservation, look upon evil spirits, not as mere hallucinations, influences, habits, functional disorders, states of the mind, or psychological problems, but as intelligent personalities. Frequently, behind what may appear to the skeptic to have some logical or natural explanation, Jesus discerned an evil, supernatural entity causing the problem which plagued its human victim. Thus, He "rebuked" the fever in Peter's mother-in-law (Luke 4:39), loosed a woman who had been bowed together by Satan for eighteen years by casting out a "spirit of infirmity" (Luke 13:11-16), and set the "insane" Gadarene free from a legion of demonic spirits (Mark 5).
Possession by numerous malevolent spirits is not uncommon even in this day, as those who have dealt with such oppressed victims can attest. Their numbers may range from a dozen or more to hundreds, and in one instance Satan actually admitted to a pastor through the lips of the victim he possessed that there were 1,067 demons in this individual.
At other times, the Scriptures indicate the reality of demonic spirits by clearly distinguishing between mere functional disorders and those conditions which result from demonic oppression. We are told in Mark 1:32-34 that the people brought unto Jesus" ... all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with demons ... and he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many demons. "In Matthew 8:16 disease and demon possession are also distinguished, as they are in Mark 16:17-18, and in Matthew 10:1, where Jesus gave the twelve disciples "power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease."
The Scriptures show many instances where physical and mental oppression are caused by the presence and activity of evil spirits. In the case of the lunatic child. We read that "Jesus rebuked the demon; and he departed out of him: and the child was healed from that very hour" (Matthew 17:14-18). In Acts 10:38 we are told that Jesus healed all who were oppressed of the devil. Again in Matthew 12:22 the frequent relationship between demon possession and physical affliction is clearly seen: "Then was brought unto him one possessed with a demon, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw."
Demon oppression or possession is never treated merely as an organic disease or functional disorder by Jesus. If the cause was an evil spirit, He cured the oppressed individual by casting out the demon.
Further evidence that Jesus was often dealing, not with mere organic disorders or superstition in the minds of the people, but with distinct intelligences, is seen in:
The Lord's direct commands to the evil spirits (Mark 5:8); Their recognition of Him ("And unclean spirits, when they saw him ... cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God," Mark 3:11); Their display of certain attributes of personality, such as: Feeling (Mark 5:7), Fear (Luke 8:31), Intelligent speech (Mark 5:7-12), Knowledge (Acts 16:16), and Their personal names ("My name is Legion," Mark 5:9).
Demons today often identify themselves by name or character as spirits of fear, pride, doubt, lust, resentment, and so on. In one ministry, they have personally heard demons identify themselves either by name or by character. In one instance, a demon identified himself, saying, "I am antichrist" (i.e., the spirit of antichrist); another confessed, "I am the demon of death."
The various kinds of evil spirits and the nature of their work and activity in human life and affairs will be covered in detail in our further studies.
There is an almost infinite variety of demonic spirits. There are, for example, spirits of lust, infirmity, insanity, suicide, fear, hate, and pride, as well as deaf, dumb, and blind spirits, who vary in personality, power, appetites, and intelligence. As disembodied spirits, their purpose is to oppress or possess their victims, with the ultimate intention of either the mental, spiritual, or physical destruction of the individual.
C. How Demons Gain Access.
How do demonic spirits gain access to their victims to vex, oppress, or possess their minds or bodies? As Matthew 12:43-45 and Mark 5:6-13 clearly indicate, demons as disembodied spirits have no "rest" unless they can find habitation in a physical body, preferably human, through which they can satisfy their own appetites, lusts, and desires. Counseling with oppressed and afflicted individuals has confirmed that there are basically four avenues which can be opened whereby demons gain access to the mind or body: (1) emotional crises, (2) sin, (3) doubt, skepticism, and ridicule of divine things, and (4) occult involvement.
1. Emotional crises.
It is generally assumed that cases of oppression by evil spirits can be traced to some form of sin or weakness of character on the part of the afflicted individual. But this is not always true. Unusual emotional experiences such as extreme fright, or prolonged, abnormal grief over personal loss can open doors to demonic oppression. Traumatic or shocking experiences can weaken an individual's resistance. The child who witnesses the murder of his parents, or the young lady who finds out she will lose both her legs because of an automobile accident, are typical of those who would be extremely vulnerable to oppression or invasion by such spirits. In one instance, counseling revealed that the emotional and spiritual problems of a person needing deliverance began with a terrible fright at a very early age. Another was set free from a spirit of mental illness, for which he had been institutionalized, after the cause was traced to a severe emotional crisis which he had experienced.
Most people do not realize the effect that their attitudes of mind, their fears and doubts, and their negative confessions can have upon them in times of emotional crisis. The wrong confession, especially when one's body is weakened by accident or illness, or when one is in a state of shock, can open the door to invasion by oppressing spirits. Spirits of infirmity may enter under such conditions, when resistance is low, resulting in deformities, chronic conditions, or even death.
In the case of one individual, serious depression and mental illness resulted from harboring guilt feelings since childhood over the accidental death of a younger member of the family for which she blamed herself. She was later liberated from these oppressing spirits.
In another instance, an individual became oppressed when a deceiving spirit convinced her that she had grievously sinned by submitting to surgery instead of trusting God to heal her. Convinced by Satan that God would not forgive her, she suffered chronic depression and psychic oppression, and was bound with a spirit of fear to the point of mental collapse, before she was liberated.
Such disturbances and afflictions cannot be dismissed merely as psychosomatic disorders, or results of mental suggestion, but accord well with the teachings of Scripture. We are told, "as [a man] thinketh in his heart so is he" (Proverbs 23:7), that "death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21), and that we can be "snared" by the words of our mouth (Proverbs 6:2). But the same verses also reveal that a positive confession of the Word of God can bring salvation, healing, blessing and deliverance (Mark 11:23-24; Romans 10:10; Psalm 91; Revelation 12:11, etc.).
2. Sin.
Such sins as lust, alcohol and drug addiction, theft, sexual excesses, and other sinful habits or forms of intemperance and immorality are frequently the cause of invasion by unclean spirits (cf. John 5:14; Mark 5:8) One psychically afflicted individual acknowledged during counseling with a certain pastor that he actually saw a demon of lust take possession of him as he entered the apartment of his mistress. In another instance, drug addiction resulted in possession by evil spirits from which deliverance was needed. Preoccupation with unclean sexual thoughts and self-abuse led one young man into total possession by a spirit of insanity and a spirit of suicide.
Moreover, sins such as prolonged attitudes of hate toward another, resentment, extreme envy, jealousy, intolerance, pride, uncontrolled anger, lying, desire for revenge, and so on, subject individuals to the influence of or invasion by the powers of darkness. As a result, they will show less and less control over these attitudes and feelings, while emotional outbursts, compulsive lying, thoughts of violence and aggression, mental breakdown, depression, unpredictable impulses or behavior, psychic oppression, and other forms of antisocial or psychotic behavior will increase. A certain pastor has dealt with more than one situation in which resentments, smoldering beneath the surface for years, have had serious consequences.
In two instances, women were invaded by spirits which caused physical and mental breakdown because they opposed and resented the careers chosen by their husbands. In other cases, hate and resentment led to severe oppression from Satan. Compulsive lying, which indicates the influence of lying spirits in an individual, has been the consequence in some cases where willful lying was not brought under control. In one instance, a child who had become a chronic liar said that "voices'' told her to call her school with a "bomb scare." The assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King were obvious examples where demonic spirits of hate and intolerance influenced and controlled the perpetrators of these crimes.
3. Doubt, skepticism, and ridicule of divine things.
Those who persist in negative or skeptical attitudes of mind concerning divine truth, or who resist the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit, stand in grave danger of becoming bound by spirits of doubt, deception, and unbelief. King Saul became possessed by an evil spirit as a result of his persistent rebellion against God's revealed will, and his persecution of David, God's anointed servant. The apostle Paul states plainly that Satan, "the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not" (II Corinthians 4:4), and that in the last days, upon those who do not receive the truth, "God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (II Thessalonians 2:11-12; cf. Matthew 13:10-15; I Timothy 4:1-3).
Some adverse effects of demonic influence which result from skepticism and/or ridicule of divine truth are progressive spiritual deterioration, increased resistance to the supernatural and miraculous, religious delusions and doctrinal errors, inner turmoil and anxieties concerning religious matters, and the inability to concentrate on the Bible and prayer. In some instances, blasphemous thoughts against Christ, opposition to the Holy Spirit, belligerency against ministers of the gospel, and open scorn and ridicule of Christianity in general are the consequences. A certain pastor saw cases where demons which had just been exercised from the victim immediately entered into skeptics who had come to ridicule and criticize.
4. Occult involvement.
The larger part of this book will be devoted to occult participation or involvement, its adverse consequences, and the means of liberation from occult oppression and bondage. Perhaps more than any other, this is the avenue through which the powers of darkness gain access to oppress and afflict their victims. The majority of persons a certain pastor counseled have either been involved in some form of occult activity or know of its presence in their family history. The present-day neurosis epidemic; the increase in psychic afflictions and other mental and physical disorders; and the flood of crime, wickedness, and chaos world-wide, indicate just how successfully the demonic powers have gained control over men and women everywhere through occult involvement.
The Work and Activity of Demonic Spirits.
Earlier, we indicated the broad scope of the kingdom of darkness and its vast hierarchy of wicked spirits, consisting of thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spirit-forces in the heavenlies. Scripture designates Satan as head of the present world-system, ruling in world affairs. The satanic confederacy influences men and nations everywhere, affecting secular and religious institutions alike. Our purpose now is to show Scriptural evidence of how these demonic spirits influence and oppress the lives of individuals in three areas: the physical, the mental, and the spiritual.
1. Physical infirmities.
The Gospels contain many references to evil spirits whose primary objective was to afflict their victims with some physical infirmity. These same peculiarities are still in evidence everywhere today.
(1) Dumb spirits.
A spirit can take possession of, or afflict, some organ of the body, or bind the nervous center controlling some function. Thus, an evil spirit causing dumbness (the inability to speak) paralyzes the speech faculties. In Matthew 9:32-33, we are told that the dumb man was possessed by a demon, and when the demon was cast out by Jesus the dumb man began to speak.
(2) Deaf spirits.
When the malevolent spirit binds or afflicts the auditory nerves, the result is deafness. When both speech and hearing are affected, the afflicted individual is termed a deaf-mute. Medically, a deaf-mute's inability to speak is due to congenital (early) deafness. But Jesus treated such a condition as being caused by an evil spirit, which He cast out (Mark 9:25).
(3) Blind spirits.
When the optic nerve is paralyzed by a spirit, the condition will not respond to surgery (Matthew 12:22). Satan also afflicts people with diseases of the eyes or ears which do not result in blindness or deafness.
(4) Infirm spirits.
This classification includes an infinite variety of oppressing spirits ranging from those which act upon the spinal cord, the muscles, or the brain, causing such afflictions as deformity, atrophy of the muscles, lameness, and so on (Luke 13:11-17), to spirits causing asthma, cancer, tumors, heart disease, paralysis, migraine headaches, insomnia, tuberculosis, and such like. Epilepsy, a disease affecting the central nervous system, results in severe physical convulsions and loss of consciousness, and may be either an organic affliction or an epileptic spirit. If it is a spirit, then exorcism is the only way to set the oppressed individual free.
2. Mental oppression.
There are spirits whose primary function is to assault the mind with evil or unclean thoughts, feelings of depression, apathy, fear, and anxiety, or with temptations ranging from pride to a resignation to failure. Spirits of insanity may take possession of the mental faculties, disrupting normal, rational thought processes. The affected individual exhibits various mental, emotional, and behavioral abnormalities. Suicide spirits also invade the mind, attempting to drive the oppressed individuals to self-destruction or self-injury (Mark 9:17-22), while others relentlessly press their victims into some form of shameful or antisocial behavior (Mark 5:2-5).
Other spirits plague their victims with fears, depression, anxiety, feelings of apprehension, panic, or hysteria. Often these individuals are hypersensitive and irritable, or exhibit destructive emotions of hate, rage, rebellion against authority, resentment, unpredictable moods and impulses, or other psychopathic abnormalities. We will discuss these in greater detail under the heading "Mental and Emotional Disturbances and Abnormalities," in our further studies.
3. Spiritual oppression and delusion.
Without a doubt, the forces of darkness are the most aggressive, cunning, and deceptive in the realm of the spirit. Satan's Basic strategy is to gain control of the lives of men in order to fulfill his evil purposes through them in his warfare against the kingdom of God. Satan reserves his most intelligent, cunning, and powerful spirits for work in this dimension. One such evil spirit, a "prince" in the satanic hierarchy, was powerful enough to withstand for three weeks a heavenly messenger sent to Daniel, until Michael, the archangel, was dispatched to help him (Daniel 10). These spirits are of a higher rank, being the "world-rulers of the darkness of this age" (Ephesians 6:12). They possess and control humans, either in the realm of world affairs or by speaking through Spiritist mediums, by functioning as spirits of divination in fortune tellers and clairvoyants, or by influencing false prophets and deluded religious teachers and leaders.
We cannot overemphasize the importance of insight into Satan's strategy and methods of operation in the area of the spirit. But we are not without help, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds" (II Corinthians 10:4). Every believer is admonished to: Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. -Ephesians 6:11.
The activities of these spirits are often cloaked with respectability. Religious seducing spirits may appear in clerical or religious garb. As an "angel of light" or as "ministers of righteousness" (II Corinthians 11:14-15) they take up residence in churches, seminaries, and other religious organizations and institutions. They lure the gullible into modernistic churches or schools, or into false cults, where they deceive them into embracing religious errors including heresies, legalism, false revelations, and many other forms of religious delusion and practice, as well as denial of the inerrancy of Scripture.
Seducing spirits are taking advantage of the revival of witchcraft and the worldwide interest in occult and psychic phenomena. They are using every opportunity to deceive and ensnare the unwary in all forms of occultism, often clothing it with a respectable aura of religiosity. This is seen in Spiritualism, and in the increasing use of ESP, spirit healing, and the seance in religious services. Lying spirits are active in this sphere, seducing and deceiving their victims, as well as inducing them to lie or deceive others (I Kings 22:19-23; Acts 5:1-11). I John 4:1 warns us not to believe every spirit in the sphere of religion, but to test them. The Bible predicts the increased activity of lying and deceiving spirits at the close of the present age, and they are already going forth to seduce and deceive (II Thessalonians 2:10-12; I Timothy 4:1-3; Matthew 24:11,24).
These spirits often appear in intellectual and cultural garb. In the educational, social, cultural, and political realms of world affairs, spirits of intellectualism, pride, aggrandizement, and avarice or greed have far greater influence than most people are aware. Many outstanding personalities have been influenced or directed by these spirits, or have participated in some form of occultism, subjecting themselves to possible influence of seducing spirits. Many of the world's leading poets, novelists, philosophers, musicians, scientists, politicians, and religious leaders are or have been interested or involved in some form of occultism or other psychic phenomena, often admitting it without apology.
The noted philosopher, Socrates, openly acknowledged that he was guided and inspired by his "Daemon" (demon). Dr. Carl Jung, world renowned psychiatrist, was possessed with psychic powers, and had many psychic experiences. Dr. Nandor Fodor, a well-known psychoanalyst, reported that Jung conversed with a spirit-guide named Philemon, often had horoscopes cast for his patients, and wrote his doctoral thesis on the subject of occult phenomena. Thomas Edison's parents were Spiritualists who conducted seances in their home. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, is said to have worked as a professional medium in New York. Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, received his "revelations” from a discarnate spirit named Moroni. Emanuel Swedenborg, the scientist-theologian whose followers founded the Churches of the New Jerusalem based on his teachings, reportedly communicated with the "dead" on frequent occasions.
It is common knowledge that seances were held in the White House during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Spirits speaking through mediums are said to have influenced Lincoln's decision concerning the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln's apparition has reportedly been seen in the White House by others (a common phenomenon in houses where seances have been held), most notably by Queen Wilhelmina of Holland, during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Psychic Jeane Dixon claims to have been invited to the White House more than once for consultation by the late President Roosevelt, whose death she predicted. Woodrow Wilson is said to have consulted mediums for guidance during the First World War. Mackenzie King, a former Prime Minister of Canada was said to have been active in Spiritualism and to have sought spirit guidance in affairs of state, according to Fred Archer, writer on spiritualism and psychic research.
Archer also reported that Sir Winston Churchill acknowledged he used the planchette at times, and had done automatic or spirit writing. The psychic interests of Britain's Queen Victoria, as well as that of W.E. Gladstone, nineteenth century Prime Minister of England, included attendance at seances and seeking communication with the dead. In fact, Archer cited records showing that the British royal family has had contact with spiritualism for over a century, and that King George of Greece was an active Spiritualist.
Arthur Ford, a Disciples of Christ minister and psychic medium, stated in his book, Nothing So Strange, that he conducted seances for many notable personalities, including many important persons in government: generals, admirals, ambassadors, congressmen, senators, and members of the State Department. Through his Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, many church leaders have become involved in psychic matters, and occultism has thereby made inroads into churches of various denominations, as well as other religious organizations.
Like Jeane Dixon, Ford's psychic powers brought him invitations for consultations and demonstrations far and wide. He conducted seances in Hyde Park Methodist Church of Chicago, and many others. He held seances for Upton Sinclair, the American novelist; Dr. Sherwood Eddy, founder of the YMCA in the Orient; Ruth Montgomery, author of A Gift of Prophecy (about Jeane Dixon); Glenn Clark, founder of CFO; and Dr. Ozora Davis, former president of Chicago Theological Seminary. He demonstrated his psychic abilities before a committee appointed several years ago by the Archbishop of Canterbury to inquire into the claims of spiritualism.
The phenomenal revival of interest in astrology has been featured in Time magazine. In the United States alone there are thousands of astrologers, full or part time, who chart the heavens for millions of interested followers. A Time magazine listing of Americans interested in this form of divination included J.P. Morgan, Mary Pickford, Robert Cummings, Marlene Dietrich, Peter Lawford, and Ronald Reagan.
Astrologers were engaged by several governments during World War II to produce astrological calculations for propaganda purposes; in addition they made predictions as to the enemy's tactics and the outcome of the war. Horoscopes were cast for all the Allied and Axis leaders and exhaustively analyzed. In Nazi Germany, Himmler employed a corps of clairvoyants and astrologers, while the astrologer Louis de Wohl claims to have functioned in this capacity for the British government. And the Russians evidently had an astrologer who served under Stalin and Krushchev.
In the literary field, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes detective mysteries, was active in spiritualism and also its avid defender. Charles Dickens, who had psychic experiences, once confided that every word uttered by the characters in his novels was distinctly heard by him as spirit voices before being written down. Writers on the occult report that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the American poet, was interested in psychic phenomena and attended seances, and that Lord Tennyson and John Ruskin shared interest in the psychic field. Harriet Beecher Stowe, said to be psychic from childhood, stated that she did not really originate Uncle Tom's Cabin but that it came to her in vision. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), American author and humorist, was a member of the (occult) Society for Psychical Research, and reported his own psychic experiences.
Horror fiction, with its monsters, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, murders, and gruesome and revolting subject matter, is plainly of occult origin. Novels such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the horror fiction of Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Goethe, and Charles Dickens all point to occult sources. Of course, the works of Shakespeare are replete with witches, ghosts, magic, blood and murder.
Current interest in the occult is reflected in the immense increase in the sale of occult literature, the abundance of horror movies, plays and television programs which reflect occult influence, and the popularity of monster and horror comics for children. The bizarre, strange, macabre, and demonic seem to have captivated the minds of young and old alike. Is it possible that this increase in fascination with the occult, and the increase in physical, emotional, and psychic disturbances today, are merely coincidental? I hope you join us next time for our further studies on these topics. Edited. Shared.
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God willing, more will be posted soon. All glory to Jesus alone.
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