How do demons affect your life?

 BY Argie Simonis 

We continue the "Mind of Christ" series. In the previous message that I recommend you see, I gave an introduction to the ministry of deliverance. Using examples, I explained its character and how it works. 

Today I will go deeper and explain how the devil and the demons bind and torment people. What should we know as Christians and how to resist?

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- 1. We do not know for sure the origin of demons.

But we know for sure where they are going. As for their origin, there are 4 popular theories.

- A pagan theory holds that demons are spirits of wicked people who roam the earth (known as ghost stories). This has no Biblical support because in Hebrews we read:

"And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment:" Heb. 9:27

Therefore the spirit of a dead person does not roam the earth and if you ever had a conversation with your dead grandfather or saw your dead aunt in your dream, be sure it wasn't them. It was a spirit. Your grandfather and aunt are gone and they can neither visit you nor talk to you in your sleep. The one who visited you was someone else, with whom you should not be talking.

- Another theory holds that demons are disembodied beings (spirits) from a pre-Adamic race. It is based on the gap theory between Gen. 1:1 and Gen. 1:2, meaning that there was a great gap from the time God created the earth perfect and then the devil came and spoiled it all. God destroys the earth, and then from the book of Genesis chapter 1 and verse 3 up to chapter 2 and verse 3, God no longer creates the earth, but reforms it.

Although in some circles this is a fairly popular theory, there is really no Biblical support for such a thing.

- The third theory claims that demons are fallen angels who, together with the devil, were expelled from heaven, before the temptation of Adam and Eve. This theory is based on the 12th chapter of the Apocalypse and was popularized by the book "Paradise Lost" by the English poet John Milton, published in 1667.

Its theme is the loss of Paradise, both by the first human couple, Adam and Eve, and by the rebel angels led by Satan.

and

- Finally, the theory that is starting to gain ground lately is that demons are the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim, giants who perished in Noah's flood. (Genesis chapter 6)

Wondering what I believe?

 - I don't know, and I don't think it would matter if I knew. -

Jesus never mentioned it, nor taught on this subject.

There are some writings, the so-called "apocalyptic", which supposedly reveal to the readers mysteries that concern them as God's people and are going to happen in the end times. Examples are the Book of Enoch and the Book of Giants, but they remained (and I personally believe this was the right thing to do) outside of the Old Testament.

Honestly, no matter what happened, whatever the origin of the demons is, it is not important in the ministry of deliverance. Jesus never thought it was necessary to give any teaching to His disciples upon it. What matters is knowing that demons are bad and must be cast out from humans. The Lord is clear that the place they will end up is the lake of fire:

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Rev. 20:10

So what we need to know is that we belong to the good team that at the end of the story wins.

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- 2. Demons cannot possess a person, but one can be demonized.

Let me explain this.

The word -demon possession- is nowhere to be found in the New Testament. "Demon possession" as a term is confusing, and when people hear that someone is possessed, their mind immediately goes to the movie "The Exorcist".

There is not one verse in the entire Bible that tells us that the devil has possession of anything. Even the demons that are with him are not his property. God created them, as did with Lucifer, and they rebelled against God. But everything belongs to God and HE has the last word. The devil may be the ruler of this world, but God's word tells us that:

"... the prince of this world is judged." John 16:11

Notice, here it says that the devil is the ruler of this world, but nowhere does it say that he owns this world. He owns absolutely NOTHING!:

"The earth is the LORD's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods." Psalm 24:1-2

But can the devil enter and dwell somewhere? Of course yes. I will explain it with an example:

When a mouse enters your house, it does not mean that it becomes the owner of your house, as with any pest that enters. it may live in your house, but your house does not belong to it.

The same goes for the devil. To give him this big value, that a man can literally be the possession of the devil, this is unbiblical.

The word used in the Bible is the word "demonization", and this term does not have the meaning of possession by the devil or by demons as it has been given in some interpretations. Not even the demons working with satan are his property, much less a human!

In some Christian circles the terms are divided into two categories:

- demonic possession

  

and

- demonic influence,

in the sense that the Christian cannot be possessed by demons, but only be influenced or tormented by them, and that only a man of the world who has sold his soul to the devil can be possessed by demons.

I understand that this view may sound more appealing and may be easier to digest for someone who will hear it, but it is something that is not supported Biblically. I emphasize that the Biblical term is "demonization" and not "demonic possession" in the sense of property as I mentioned earlier.

There are 4 expressions used in Scripture:

1. A person who HAS a demon, and is mentioned 16 times. A typical example:

"For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and you say, He has a devil." Luke 7:33

2. A person INDWELLED by a demon.

3. A person WITH a demon

4. A person who is VEXED by unclean spirits and mentioned only once in the book of Acts:

"There came also a multitude out of the cities round about to Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one." Acts 5:16

All these expressions used in the New Testament mean one thing: They are talking about a person indwelled by a demon. The degree to which demonization is experienced varies in each case, and we must be very careful before labeling someone as demonized. If we see a crazy person walking down the street, it does not necessarily mean that this person is demonized; it might be, but when we take the bulldozer and start calling demonized

- those who speak strange,

- those who are psychotic

and

- those who behave strange,

it is like saying that a person without legs is demonized because he was born with some deformity in his body.

Some people are literally missing chemicals from their brains. The brain is an organ, like the heart, legs, arms and all other organs and parts of the body, and because there is a lack of understanding of mental illness, many Christians, especially in charismatic circles, see it all as demons. Such a thing is neither spiritually, nor Biblically, nor medically correct.

I'll say it again: A man can be demonized with the concept

- of residence,

- of influence,

or

- harassment by evil spirits,

but that does not mean that this person is possessed by demons in the sense of propery. What this means is that evil spirits can dwell within them affecting their lives to some degree, and usually their presence manifests in moments of weakness or in areas where that person has given place to the devil.

How many times have you heard someone say:

"I lost control of my actions"

If you lost control, it means someone else took it.

-- Who was that?

Another example:

"I lost control and I hit my wife. I don't know what happened to me."

Some people, when they hear something like this, immediately jump into conclusions and say:

"He blames the devil again..."

And yet, it is not so. This person is describing something that happened to them, a reality that they experienced. In other words it says someone sitting in the back seat took control of the steering wheel. And this happened because most of the time when a person loses control like this, at some point he was playing games with the devil, and at the right moment the devil took control of him and pushed him in the direction he wanted.

Although the responsibility for this of course lies with the person himself, and when he, (as we all will) come before God will give an account for what he did, it is wrong to say that the devil has NO responsibility for causing this person to do such a thing.

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As Christians we are not called to accuse the devil, but to fight him. If the serpent had not existed in the Garden of Eden, man would not have sinned. Adam and Eve had it all. They felt no lack, until that voice came and said to them:

"... has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Gen. 3:1

This external pressure they received caused them to sin.

- The devil is always involved in such situations. -

Deliverance ministry does not teach people to abdicate their responsibilities and the authority they have. Both of these are very important and have a place in our lives, but when you are dealing with evil spirits inhabiting a person, there will be times when that person will temporarily lose control of certain actions or thoughts, and he will be harassed and tormented.

If by the grace of the Lord you have never personally experienced something like this, praise God, but that does not mean that it does not continue to be a reality for some other people. In the Bible Τhere are many references in the Bible of such incidents, where we see another entity living as a parasite inside a person. It has its own mind, its own will, it speaks, and is trying to satisfy its own desires by imposing them on that person.

It interferes with your mind by creating a bunch of negative thoughts that come from within you and not from your external environment. For example, it can be thoughts of lust, addiction, anger, criticism, fear and terror. In the Bible we see people with demons falling into fire and water:

"And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for often he falls into the fire, and oft into the water." Μatt. 17:14-15

Mark refers to it as a dumb spirit:

"And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought to you my son, which has a dumb spirit;" Mark 9:17

We see others cutting their bodies, as in the case of the two demoniacs:

"And when He was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way." Μatt. 8:28

This last is a typical case of severe demonization with a mental illness, because as soon as Jesus set them free, He also healed their minds:

"And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid." Mark 5:15

Here I will emphasize something:

In every deliverance it does not necessarily mean that the mind is also healed, just as every deliverance does not necessarily bring complete physical healing to someone, --- although in many this happens as well. There are testimonies of people who were healed immediately after deliverance, but this can neither be made a rule, nor is it supported anywhere in the Bible.

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3. Can a Christian be demonized?

He shouldn't, but it's something that can happen. And I will explain it:

Do Christians have flesh? Yes, I agree that the old man was crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6), but the flesh remains there. In the 5th chapter of the letter to the Galatians, Paul mentions a very long list of the works of the flesh, which if you read it basically describes the C-V of a demon!

I have said many times that everything should be studied in the light of the entire Bible, with at least two or three Bible references that confirm to the subject being considered.

Those who argue that a Christian cannot have demons do so because they isolate specific passages of Scripture and misinterpret them.

If you ask me how I can prove to you that a Christian can have a demon, my answer is this:

-- I don't have to. You just have to prove to me that a Christian can NOT have a demon, and that is something you will NOT be able to do, because it is NOT Biblically based.

Jesus never discriminated who He would deliver from demons.

- Who did He deliver? Those who had them.

- Who did He heal? Those who were sick.

- Who did He save? Those who were lost.

The theology here is very simple:

- The gospel is for the sinner,

- the healing is for the sick,

- deliverance is for the demonized.

How these people got this demon is another topic I will deal with in the next message. But if someone comes and tells me

"I have a demon",

the first thing i will ask is 

"what makes you think you have a demon?".

I do not outright reject a someone's testimony.

When the father brought his son to Jesus to set him free, the Lord did not tell him

"I don't believe you, children can't have demons", nor did He ask him if he has had a medical examination:

"And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought to you my son, which has a dumb spirit;" Mark 9:17

"When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying to him, You dumb and deaf spirit, I charge you, come out of him, and enter no more into him." Mark 9:25

Let's look at another case. When a Canaanite woman came to Jesus and

"And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried to him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, you son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." Matt. 15:22

Jesus didn't ask her "How do you know she's possessed?"

He believed that the testimony of a suffering person was accurate and seeing her faith He said:

"Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith: be it to you even as you will. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." Matt. 15:28

Jesus saw these suffering parents who diagnosed themselves  the problem in their children without being expert doctors or scientists. They saw there is a problem in them that is beyond the physical, a demon. No degree and no school gives you the right to say that this is impossible to happen. So what did Jesus do? He drove it out. -- That simple!

In Matthew chapter 10 we read:

"And when he had called to 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." Matt. 10:1

For those who believe that casting out demons was the prerogative of only the first apostles, or today's  -special- ministers, compare this with the passage in Mark:

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;" Mark 16:17

Jesus did not say that only a select few can cast out demons, nor do you only cast out demons from non-Christians. He never made such a distinction, because there is NO distinction.

My comment on the issue of demonization is that Christians can have what they WANT or ALLOW to have.

There are people who have left churches where deliverance is taught because they do not agree that Christians can have demons.

But if you ask them about all this bad behavior that many Christians have, they cannot explain it.

But when you ask them:

"Can Christians give place to the devil?"

It is something that of course they cannot deny, because Paul says:

"Neither give place to the devil." Eph. 4:27

The apostle Paul says this to the Church, to believers, and not to the world. In Galatians, Paul speaks of a spirit of witchcraft that operated upon Christians:

"O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" Gal. 3:1

Jesus says something similar about the witchcraft practiced in the church of Thyatira:

"Notwithstanding I have a few things against you, because you suffer that woman Jezebel, which calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols." Rev. 2:20

"Neither give place to the devil." Eph. 4:27

So the question here is:

"How can you give place to something you can't have?"

These are simple and very important truths through the word of God and those who do not understand them are in confusion.

The place that Paul refers to in the previous verse from Ephesians, has the meaning of a dwelling place by an occupant.

Let me explain it with a practical example:

There are some who have large houses with extra rooms, and they rent them out. Tenants have the right to use certain areas of the house for themselves. They can also share areas such as the living room and dining room to hang out, but there are areas they are not allowed to enter for any reason, such as the owner's bedroom. These tenants have keys to the house and have signed contracts.

Notice this now: Just because the house belongs to the owner, does not mean that others cannot enter or live there.

God's word describes to us what happens when an evil spirit leaves a house (your body is considered that house):

"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.

Then he said, I will return into my house from where I came out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished.

Then goes he, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also to this wicked generation." Μatt. 12:43-45

Another type of description is that our body is a temple. The temple had different areas. It had the courtyard, the inner temple (the sanctuary), and the Holy of Holies. The  Bible describes that Jesus took the spear and drove out of the temple courtyard the merchants and money changers - that is, people who worked there, in the area of the temple.

In the same way, the Lord drove out evil spirits from people. Therefore, to say that under no circumstances can a Christian have demons goes against what the Scriptures teach us.

I believe the main problem here is not a theological one, but a matter of pride, because for a Christian to admit that there is a possibility he has a demon, that opens a can of warms!

--- What if you do have a demon?

--- And if behind all these strange behaviors you observe in yourself there are some "guests" who have become roommates or tenants, who have a contract and have the keys to your house?

And because they come early in the morning and don't bother you 24 hours a day, but you only see them at night, you ignore them and think it can't possibly be a demon.

--- Why not;

So to conclude my answer to the question "Can Christians have demons?"

I will say this:

When Jesus went to a place where there were demons, they never left on their own. Basically the demons manifested in His presence, but they left only when the Lord rebuked them.

So when someone comes to the Lord, just the fact that Jesus comes and dwells in him does not mean that the demons automatically leave. It may sound like a good idea, but as I said in the previous message, our spirit is what is sealed and protected by God's Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). The flesh (body and soul) continues to be vulnerable.

There is not one verse in God's word that teaches that just the  presence of the Lord automatically casts out demons. His presence stirred them up and caused them to manifest, but His command was what drove them out.

A typical example is when the Lord went to the synagogue:

"And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught." Mark 1:21

"And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with you, you Jesus of Nazareth? are you come to destroy us? I know you who you are, the Holy One of God.

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold your peace, and come out of him.

And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him." Mark 1:23-26

The synagogue was the type of today's church. And very likely this man was what we would call a Christian today.

If a person had demons before he came to Christ, where did they go when he came to the Lord? 

I will tell you where they went. Either they hid, or the Lord's presence disturbed them so much, that they make your life a daily hell. This also explains the fact that many people who come to Christ feel that their lives are getting worse and not better.

See another example:

"And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand." Acts 28:3

The viper was already hidden there, but it came out and stung Paul as soon as the fire disturbed it.

Thus, many people come to Christ and the first thing they experience is that everything goes for the worse. This is because the demons were disturbed by the fire of the Holy Spirit and came out of their hiding place.

For most Christians, however, these demons hide somewhere in the basement of their home and only show up in moments of weakness. And the wrong theology they have prevents these people from getting rid of them, so these demons  become pets in their lives.

The result is that these people continue to suffer in silence, unable to experience the freedom that Jesus offers them, because they do not want to admit the possibility that they may be harboring dangerous visitors.

--- Let me make it clear here that I'm not trying to convince you that you have a demon. But I am explaining some things that we as Christians need to know.

Some also say that a Christian cannot have demons because light and darkness cannot be together:

"Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness?" 2Cor. 6:14

Of course, Paul here is talking about marriage and not about demonization.

But notice that he does not say that Christians CANNOT marry unbelievers, but that they SHOULD not marry unbelievers. In other words, Paul is not saying what Christians CAN NOT do, but what they SHOULD NOT do.

In 1 Corinthians he says:

"All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." 1Cor. 6:12

So if we accept the argument that Christians cannot have demons, then we must also accept that they CANNOT and it is IMPOSSIBLE to marry unbelievers, which you understand is not true.

Paul continues and says:

"... for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness?" 2Cor. 6:14

Notice that he's not talking about coexistence here; he's talking about communion. As Christians, in our spirit we are righteous because the Spirit of God dwells there, but our flesh continues to be vulnerable and under perfection:

"Why, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Phil. 2:12

So we have seen that darkness can coexist with light, just as righteousness can coexist with unrighteousness, but they cannot have communion together. They don't hang out for coffee or share common interests. Righteousness and unrighteousness are not friends; they are foes. Light and dark can coexist, but they are not on the same frequency.

Let's look at it a little more practically. Do you work with non-Christians in your workplace? Do you have neighbors who are not Christians? Of course you have. But what you don't have is a covenant relationship with them and that's exactly what Paul says in the passage we read. Do not enter into a covenant relationship with unbelievers.

--- You are on a different frequency and they are passengers in another vehicle. There can be no meaningful communication or communion with them. ---

Do you see how some verses can be misinterpreted and lead to wrong teachings? 

The reason I am proceeding gradually and with caution in this matter is that the devil has built strongholds in many Christians and polluted their minds with wrong thoughts. These strongholds I am trying to destroy with this teaching and strengthen your faith. And when these strongholds are destroyed, freedom comes:

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

It is not the truth that you simply hear that sets you free, but the truth that you know personally.

The mission of a demon is

- first to ruin your life,

and

- secondly, while it is there it makes sure to pollute your thoughts so much and build strongholds in your mind that even when it is gone and you are delivered, you will still feel demonized by all those strongholds and evil thoughts.

- Demons are cast out, but the strongholds are pulled down. -

- The flesh is crucified and demons are cast out. -

The opposite cannot be done. You cannot crucify demons nor cast out the flesh:

On the next message I will continue talking about ways of demonic entry, such as curses, inheritance, psychic bonds and other important issues, so don't miss it!

To be continued...