EXORCISM

"Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices." 2 Corinthians 2:11)

Recently, a person I know asked if I believe in exorcism. I think I blew that person away when I replied that I DO believe in it. That brief exchange got me thinking, and I decided to share some thoughts about it here.

There is no way to do an exhaustive treatment of demon possession and exorcism in a few paragraphs on a blog. It's a very complicated subject; the kind of thing one could easily devote a two or three hundred word book to. This will, therefore, be VERY brief and merely scratch the surface. The question was prompted by the kind of thing which has been shown in films such as the classic mid-1970s movie, "The Exorcist" and more recently in all sorts of horror and semi-horror movies. I have not seen all of these movies, but I have seen parts of "The Exorcist". (I don't think I've even ever seen THAT whole film.) The bottom line is that Hollywood, for the most part, really exaggerates this stuff. There's a LOT of sensationalism they include in films that doesn't happen in real life. This does NOT, however, mean that demons and demon possession are not real and that exorcism is not valid. Exorcism is still considered a very valid rite of the Roman Catholic Church even in the early Twenty-first Century. In addition, the casting out of demons has absolutely taken place in evangelical and Pentecostal meetings; SOMETIMES in public services, and much more commonly with small groups of interceding Christians in fairly private settings.

The origins of demons is itself a controversial matter. Most conservative Christian theologians believe demons are fallen angels...that sometime prior to the Garden of Eden, Lucifer and a group of angels rebelled against God and lost their first estate of being holy angels. There is an allusion to this in Revelation chapter 12 verse 4; as well as in some chapters of the Old Testament. A MORE controversial theory about demons held by a minority of Pentecostals and charismatics is that demons are NOT fallen angels, although there ARE fallen angels. Rather, demons may be the spirits of beings that lived on earth in a pre-Adamic civilization. The pre-Adamic civilization is taught in the study notes of the Dake's Annotated Reference Bible authored by Finis J. Dake (now deceased). This viewpoint is held and proclaimed by healing evangelist Benny Hinn and others. Some advocates of this position argue that it explains the CONSTANT desire of demons to INHABIT BODIES of human beings and animals. I am not 100% convinced of exactly where demons originated. In Bible College we were taught the classic view that they are fallen angels, but I honestly believe the controversial viewpoint of Dake, Benny Hinn and others may have merit.

It's commonly argued that only ignorant and superstitious people could possibly believe in demon possession and exorcism...that this was the belief of ancient peoples who tried to explain away mental illness. A careful study of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) reveals that Jesus came to heal the physically sick, the mentally ill (sometimes called "lunatics"), the neurologically ill (sometimes called "epileptics"),AND to deliver the demon possessed. That was true two thousand years ago, and it is also true today.

You can find some interesting accounts of demon possession in the Bible. If you study Mark chapter 5, it speaks of a demon possessed man who lived in Gentile territory. He was fully naked, and cut himself with stones. The local people tried to chain him up, but he would just break the chains. Jesus cast many demons (perhaps thousands) out of this man. They fled into a herd of pigs; the pigs ran off a cliff and drowned! In the Book of Acts, chapter 19, there were seven itinerant Jewish exorcists called the Sons of Sceva who tried to exorcise a demon possessed man. The demon possessed man actually leaped on them, crying out, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?!" The seven sons of Sceva fled from that place "naked and wounded". Sweet Professor Opal Reddin at Central Bible College pleasantly told our class, "Now, class, now I don't think that the sons of Sceva were totally NUDE!" In fact, I DO think so!

Anybody who has entered into SERIOUS ministry and spiritual warfare IN OUR DAY has encountered demons and forces of spiritual darkness. One missionary to Japan told me that American missionaries ROUTINELY encounter demons in Japan and cast them out. Another missionary, Gordon Bialik has told of demonic encounters in Portugal. One young woman was filled with demons, much like the guy in Mark chapter 5. It took the whole Bible College there days of fasting and prayer to see this woman delivered. I have not experienced anything as intense as Gordon Bialik and that Bible school in Portugal did, but I CAN attest from several personal experiences that this stuff is very real.

There are two erroneous views of Satan, demons, and the powers of darkness. ONE is to disbelieve in them or to totally trivialize them. The other is to become COMPLETELY FOCUSED on them, walking in constant fear, and believing that there is a demon behind every bush. If a person knows Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord and is truly walking in the Word of God and with the Spirit of God they can be victorious over the forces of darkness. If NOT, they COULD become prey for the forces of darkness.

Some will accuse me of trying to "scare people into the Kingdom of Heaven". That was a common approach one hundred or more years ago. I admit, I seldom use the approach of trying to scare people into Heaven, but if this piece accomplished this, I would view that as a good thing. Personally, I would not want to walk one more day without Jesus in my heart and life!

The Bible teaches in First Thessalonians 5:23 that man is a three part being made up of body, soul, and spirit. The body is just that...the physical body. The soul is one's intellect, emotions and will. But the SPIRIT is the part of us that is meant to know God and be connected with God. If that SPIRIT has not been made alive by the Spirit of God, that person is not a child of God and a "sitting duck" for the forces of darkness. That's why it is SO important to really KNOW the Lord, to receive Him as your personal Savior and Lord and to walk close to Him.

Yeah, no matter what people think of me, I really do believe in demons and exorcism; and I believe that the Lord is more powerful than all the forces of darkness.