Of course, Hollywood has given us the stereotypical view of how one behaves when possessed by a devil, or demon, as they often call it. Shown are all sorts of histrionics, aberrant and abhorrent behavior from the one possessed. You might hear guttural, evil-sounding voices emanating from the possessed one’s mouth, even a male’s voice coming from a female.
While all these effects may or may not be observed, I think they represent at best a very small portion of those actually possessed. It must also be remembered that Satan and his ministers can be very deceptive.
“And no marvel [i.e, marvel not]; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
Thus, it may not be as easy as we might think to recognize one who is possessed by an evil spirit. In fact, because of the Hollywood portrayal, we might be led to think no one can be possessed unless the person acts in the Hollywood fashion.
Nothing could be further from the truth. To see what I mean, let’s examine some of the ways the Bible documents how evil spirits have manifested themselves in the their victims.
“As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.” (Matthew 9:32-33).
From this example, we see that evil spirits can bind a person’s tongue so he cannot speak. Of course, today, we would pass that off as some sort of genetic or birth anomaly, unless it was caused by an accident. No possession; just DNA.
“And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.” (Luke 11:14).
This could possibly be referring to the same event, although it is not preceded by the same circumstances as the other.
“Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.” (Matthew 12:22).
In this case, the victim could neither speak nor see. Yet, again, it was a devil who was the cause of this disability, not genetic makeup.
“And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.” (Luke 12:38-42).
Mark’s version is a little more detailed, assuming this is the same case:
“And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.” (Mark 9:14-27).
DNA? Genes? An accident of birth? No, according to these scriptural references, the cause is clearly possession.
I’m not saying all persons suffering from these or other medical conditions are possessed by evil spirits. Nor am I saying those exhibiting these and similar symptoms cannot be possessed by evil spirits. What was true in Jesus’ time could certainly be as true today as it was then.
Remember that the evil spirits who exist today are the same ones who existed in Christ’s time. They are certainly capable of doing the same things now as they did then . . . and more. And why not, if no one’s going to pay them any mind?
So, what do we do in such cases where we can determine someone is possessed by an evil spirit? If you’re a Catholic, you perform exorcisms by one trained to do such a work. Even though these exorcism rites are not based on anything Biblical, they still seem to have some effect on occasion. Even people who were not followers of Jesus cast out devils in his name:
“And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbade him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part.” (Mark 9:38-39; see also Luke 9:49-50).
However, their reward may not be the same as the followers of Jesus.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23).
So, how is it done? How was it done? How can we cast out evil spirits today?
By following the pattern Jesus set before us.
In Jesus’ day, he gave his twelve disciples, called apostles, power not only to cure disease, but also to cast out evil spirits.
“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. . . . Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:1,8).
“And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils” (Mark 3:14-15).
“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.” (Luke 9:1).
And this is not all. Later on, Jesus gave the same powers to “another” seventy men. So, that’s at least 140 other disciples who were given this power.
“And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. . . . And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.” (Luke 10:8-9,17).
However, it goes even beyond these 152 men. Listen:
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils . . .” (Mark 16:17).
And as we have seen, in some instances fasting and prayer are necessary to cast out evil spirits, even when power has been given to cast them out. How is that determined, one might wonder? Perhaps if at first you don’t succeed, try it with fasting and prayer.
So, Jesus either cast out evil spirits by his own word, or his disciples cast them out using the name of Jesus, but only after Jesus gave them authority to do so.
The name of Jesus Christ is very powerful in such instances. Nevertheless, we need to be careful how we use that name in casting out devils, or we may wind up like the “seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests,” who used the name of Jesus without authority:
“Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:13-16).
Obviously, there was more than one evil spirit involved in this case or the results could not have occurred as described.
When casting out devils in the name of Jesus, we must keep in mind his warning (Matthew 7:21-23) and also the example of the “seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and the chief of the priests” (Acts 19:13-16). As we have seen, evil spirits do have great power. However, they also can be defeated by the name of Jesus when used with proper authority, as we have seen. Yet, the results are mixed when the name of Jesus is used outside of this given authority, as we have also seen.
This is not something to be trifled with. Yet the situation is far more real than, I think, most people realize. Satan and his angels have not gone to sleep, especially in these last days when they know their time is short.
1 comment:
excellent points and the details are more precise than elsewhere, thanks.
- Norman
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