Demonic Possession
By Elliott NeschBible Studies | Issues in Church and Society | Spiritual Writings | Faithbuilders
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." - Mark 16:15-18
CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND
Demons and evil spirits are very real; deliverance from demons is a biblical healing power that can be proven effective to this day. Although the Bible does not mention the word "exorcism," we have adopted the term today for deliverance of evil spirits. The New Testament includes exorcism among the miracles performed by Jesus which set precedents in Christian teaching. Recently on the rise in American culture, demonic possession has been part of the belief system of Christianity since its beginning but we know very little about it except for what the Holy Bible tells us or what we see in movies like The Exorcist and more recently The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
Obviously, some mental health professionals have a hard time believing in Satan and his works but I believe that the exorcists' and eye witness testimonies of the supernatural provide proof that the exorcism phenomenon exists. There are signs of demonic possession, some of which are much more obvious than others like speaking in foreign or ancient languages, and there is a procedure for evicting the spirits. Depending on the exorcist, the exorcism process may vary but throughout history only one name has had the power to free souls from demonic possession: Jesus Christ.
Exorcism is the practice of evicting demons or spiritual entities which have possessed a person; the word "exorcism" means "to come out of" or "to drive out." Exorcism originated from the Greek word exorkizein which means "to bind by oath"(Bancroft). The practice of driving out evil spirits is common throughout the Bible, but the word "exorcist" appears only once in the New King James Version (Acts 19: 13).
Demons are generally described as malevolent spirits or satanic forces. The word demon is derived from the Greek word daimon which refers to beings with special powers which placed them between people and God (Bancroft). Derek Prince further describes demons as disembodied creatures that have an intense craving to occupy physical bodies and, nevertheless, have accepted marks of personality including will, emotion, intellect, self-awareness and the ability to speak (89).
Many victims of demonic possession are influenced by the occult or are cursed. Webster's Dictionary defines occult as "beyond the range of normal perception; secret, mysterious, esoteric; dealing with magic, alchemy. . .the supernatural"(694). The word occult is derived from a Latin word which means "concealed" or "covered over" (Prince 113). Curse is defined as "an evil or source of misery" (Webster 236). The act of exorcism is considered a dangerous invocation and has been throughout history.
The concept of demon possession is very ancient maybe originating in prehistoric Shamanistic beliefs ("Exorcism"). Malevolent demons or ghosts are common in all cultures around the world even to this day. For instance, Wape Papuans in New Guinea believe ancestral spirits act to provide or withhold meat from their living descendants. In African societies, the concept is highly elaborate where the spirits are able to behave just like humans feeling hot or cold and even pain. If they are annoyed, they may send sickness or death. Ancestor spirits play an important role in patrilineal society of traditional China. A boy was to care for his parents even after they died providing them with incense and anniversaries in the spirit world after their death (Haviland).
Today, the notion of spirit interaction is deeply embedded in our language with phrases such as, "Battle our demons," "What's gotten into you," "What possessed you to. . .," and, "It's the work of the devil" (Bancroft). Before Christ came onto the scene, evil spirits are mentioned in the Old Testament. For example, 1 Samuel 16: 23 shares, "David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him."
In some cultures the exorcist functioned in much the same way as doctors do today; people would visit the exorcist seeking a cure for mental or physical illness (Bancroft). Socrates spoke of the insane as those who are under the influence of demons and Plato also affirmed that demons possessed mortals (Bancroft).
Also, such accounts from the 4th century AD depict exorcisms as Zeno of Verona describes, "His face is suddenly deprived of colour, his body rises up itself, the eyes in madness roll in their sockets and squint horribly, the teeth, covered with a horrible foam, grind between blue-white lips; and limbs twisted in all directions are given over to trembling; he sighs, he weeps; he fears the appointed day of Judgement and complains that he is driven out; he confesses his sex, the time and place he entered into man. . .(Sargant 47). The Middle Ages (500-1500AD) saw a revival of demonology and the treatment of mental illness was mainly left to the clergy who believed evil spirits were the cause (Bancroft). The Roman Catholic Church continued developing the formal rite of exorcism and by 1614 the Rituale Romanum (the Roman Ritual of Exorcism which is still used today) was completed (Bancroft). Due to a greater understanding of psychology in recent times, the practice of exorcism has diminished ("Exorcism"). In 1999 the Vatican updated the 1614 guidelines urging the exorcist to avoid mistaking mental illness for possession (Nickell). One important concern in exorcism is differentiating between demonic possession and psychiatric illness.
CHAPTER TWO: PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
At this point, you're probably wondering if I have any personal experience with this sort of thing. Unfortunately, yes. When I was on drugs, before I was born again, I saw several demonic manifestations on people. These manifestations can only be explained by supernatural evil. Especially, when I was on meth demonic activity in my life increased. I believe I was even possessed at times. I would be frozen in the state of paralysis. It terrified me because it couldn't be explained.
It happened a few times after I got born again and not only did I get frozen in paralysis but I saw the evil spirits. One time it was a dark cloud-like figure above the room. Once it was a dark silhouette accompanied with the sounds of laughing children running up and down the hall. Another time it was a glowing angel-like figure. Once, I was paralyzed with a sharp pain in my side along with a loud buzzing sound and an intense pressure around my head like the spirit was pressing in on me or trying to enter in. All I could do was push out the Name, "Jesus," and it immediately left. I saw the spirit go around the room, then the exact same thing happened again until I said, "Jesus." I immediately dropped to my knees and prayed and the spirit left.
In all these instances after I was born again I rebuked the demons in the Name of Jesus and just like that I snapped out of it and the spirits left. Being paralyzed, I was scared; one time all I could mutter through my clamped mouth was, "Jesus," and I was able to move again and the presence left. Demonic affliction is something I've realized I have to live with. I'm not afraid of the demons anymore because they have no power over me except to mess with me. He who's in me, Christ, is greater than the dark principalities and spirits of this world. I am powerless to these unclean spirits. The devil has the power to crush me, but I am saved and preserved by Jesus Christ in every spiritual battle; it is by no victory of my own but Christ's victory.
One evening I got a call from a friend (who wishes to remain anonymous). This person had been drinking at their dorm room and was very intoxicated. This person had been known to drink before but this time was different. In the past week, I knew this person had attempted suicide but had failed. They parked their running car inside of a relative's garage but, thank God, the relative came home. This was all very uncharacteristic behavior and extremely out of the ordinary for my friend. While on the phone, I thought my friend's voice sounded alien. It didn't sound like the friend I know and love, the voice was high-pitched and reminded me of a witch. Also, after years of friendship, I had never heard this person talking so blatantly obscene screaming curse words at me and saying nonsense like, "I want the cops to find me naked!" At one point, I remember them screaming, "I'm in danger!" My friend also said she destroyed everything in the room. At first, I didn't want to label it anything out of paranoia, but, the next morning, after talking to my friend and hearing what others had to say about my friend, I was convinced they were demonically influenced.
The next morning, my friend called me and said they felt they were possessed by something. Those were their words, not mine. After talking to others on their floor, we confirmed that my friend drank an entire handle of Vodka, taking shots while reciting the Lord's prayer and peer-pressuring others to do the same. She vomited and urinated all over her room and screamed, "There's blood in my throw-up!"
One young lady said my friend was trying to "cast a spell" on her and talking in gibberish. Her neighbors said that loud bangs on the wall and sounds were coming from my friend's room all night long. My friend's neighbors came in to restrain my friend. These two people, one male and one female, were both substantially larger in size than my friend, yet one of them said my friend had superhuman strength while fighting them off. Keep in mind, all of these testimonies about my friend's state are coming from non-Christians who know nothing about demonic possession. I had no time to explain. They also said they came into my friend's room at one point to find her convulsing. Moments later, she tried to squeeze out of the window (six floors up) and almost did but was pulled back into safety.
It was about an hour-drive down to their residence. Truthfully, I was a little frightened. I had seen demons in my own experience but I had never been faced to drive one out of anybody, one of my closest friends nonetheless. I kept praying for the Lord's protection. When I reached stoplights, I was writing notes in my Bible on what I should say and pray when I reached them. I knew Jesus already had victory over these evil entities but I was still shaken up because I love my friend and I knew something very ugly had invaded their spirit that we both had to face. I had to shut out my fears and go. I couldn't let my friend know I was afraid. The demons already knew I was afraid and they knew I was coming. I just pressed forward relying on my rock and strength: Jesus Christ.
When I arrived, my friend was lying in bed covered in bruises and scratches. Another friend was in the room saying, "It's freezing in here." It was unnaturally cold in the well-insulated room. It was much colder than the other rooms surrounding it. My friend was bedridden, pale and sick. Come to think of it, my friend had been sick for quite some time now with "mono" which was negatively affecting her school work. Everything was beginning to make sense. If I had known ahead of time what I was up against then I wouldn't have arrived alone but it was too late now.
Luckily, my friend is a Christian who was ready to repent and change her lifestyle. Otherwise, this problem would've likely persisted and gotten much, much worse as Matthew 12:43 speaks about. I wanted her to make that choice clear before we began. Also, I had asked if she had known when this all might have started but she couldn't remember. I sat down opposite the bed and began to pray out loud. Then, we read the Scriptures aloud alternating turns. I then prayed for all evil spirits to leave, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I command all evil spirits to depart in peace from this child of God," as my friend got tense and sat up in bed.
She gagged on some rotten smell. I didn't smell it but it was just another confirmation of what we already knew. I kept praying and reading the Word. The room was still chilly. I told my friend that it was now their turn to pray and that it was essential. They said, "No, I can't. I feel uncomfortable."
"Listen to yourself," I said, "Why should you ever feel too uncomfortable to pray?" Now, she got very anxious and nervous and tried to pray but physically couldn't. We would begin by bowing our heads and closing our eyes but the words would not come out.
Out of confusion and frustration as to why they couldn't physically say the words, my friend began to cry saying, "Why is this happening to me?" She, sane and sober, was totally aware of being tormented by some demonic influence. After calling some of my friends and her family for prayer request, I lead her in prayer by starting the prayer with, "Lord Jesus. . ."
Finally, after praying to Jesus Christ, my friend felt like herself again and the presence had left. The room was now very warm; I was sweating and I don't sweat easy. The "mono" left with the demon as well. The following day, we had another intense session of prayer, I advised her to seek further counseling and, most importantly, to maintain a Christian lifestyle rooted in prayer and reading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I never wanted to encounter anything of that nature and once I did I didn't want to believe it but it was true. If I could go back, I wouldn't have proceeded alone. That mistake put both of us in a dangerous position but luckily nothing resulted.
During that time, what terrified my friend the most was not being able to speak a simple prayer. How is this possible? She could not say a prayer yet minutes earlier was reading scripture. Matthew 10:32-33 informs us of demons that constrict speech so we know they exist. It says, "While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man was amazed and said, 'Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.'" And remember, even Satan can quote Scripture. Matthew 4:5-7 explains as Satan tempts Jesus in the desert:
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
The day after deliverance, my friend called me again. "Remember when you asked me if I had remembered when this all started?" my friend asked.
"Yes. . ." I responded.
"Well," she said, "I think it was when I took some Ecstasy at a
concert a few weeks ago." It made sense to me that this drug was an entryway
that Satan exploited through my friend. Ever sense that initial moment, my
friend was confined to her sickbed or, "deathbed," were her exact words. I
also talked to other pastors and trusted friends about this. After hearing
the story, one of my friends, who has had heavy occult and drug involvement
in his past life but is now a born again Christian, told me he was not
surprised. He told me, from personal experience, that some Ecstasy
manufacturers and Meth cooks are involved in occult practices, which
shouldn't be surprising, and actually placed curses or spells on pounds of
drugs at a time before it was sold. They would pray to Satan over the drugs
invoking specific curses including paranoia and lust.
Overall, that deliverance strengthened my faith. At first, the thought of going to battle with an evil creature frightened me but that's just what Satan wants. My fear soon disappeared as the Holy Spirit came upon me in the moment strengthening me and giving me the right words. I remembered that my friend and I are saved children of God and nothing can change that because Christ has already defeated the enemy and died for our sins. Hallelujah!
About six months after that, I had another experience with the demons. I met a young lady who had been sexually abused by her uncle. She also wishes to remain anonymous. What I thought was just another Sunday morning turned out to be much more.
My friend Justin and I picked this young lady up for church. I was already troubled that morning because I had been woken up by a demon. There have been several occasions where I have seen demons, since I became a Christian, but this particular morning was the second time a demon made physical contact with me. The demon woke me up by strangling me. It put its hand around my neck and squeezed. I couldn't breathe so I woke up. I know it made physical contact because I couldn't breathe and I felt the hand around my neck. The hand was cold. I will never forget that chilled and lifeless member squeezing my neck. This cold and dead hand was trying to squeeze the life out of me by strangling me. I saw the demon. At first it looked like an old man but as I was staring into its eyes the old man withered up. The face became more and more wrinkled and full of death until it dissolved away into nothing. The whole experience lasted only three to four seconds. I had made it very mad but I didn't know why. I found out why at church later that morning.
It was a new church for me. There was only five people total including the pastor. After the intimate church service, the pastor approached us and we talked. His wife offered to pray with our young lady friend. She declined and asked me to take her home. I said, "No. I'll pray with you." She was still reluctant to pray. Then the pastor got involved. We wanted to pray for God to give her direction. But she was frightened for some odd reason. Then Justin came over to pray as well. Just then, something unseen knocked her back against the wall. She testified later that she felt a push at her chest, pushing her against the wall away from us. I had a very uneasy feeling. Something was not right. I said, "God is good all the time, sister. What can it hurt to pray?"
She said, "Elliott, take me home." I didn't move. "Justin, take me home." Justin didn't move either. She became terrified. We knew something was very wrong in her spirit. She cried and ran out of the room, almost out the door but the pastor's wife stopped her and talked. Us men circled up at the alter and began praying for her, some were praying in tongues.
This was all ordained by God. It turns out the pastor's wife had been sexually molested by her own father and once she told our friend that, she broke down that barrier. We continued praying and the ladies continued talking. The pastor's wife shared her testimony which finally brought our friend to pray with us.
She came over to the circle. We were on our knees. We laid our hands on her and prayed. She was to repeat the prayer after the pastor which went well until he asked her to forgive her uncle for what he had done to her. It was essential that she put her torment in God's hands and forgive her uncle. She wouldn't do it. She shrieked and became more terrified. "NO! Why did you let him do it, God! I was only a child! NO! I will not forgive him!"
"You need to forgive him, sister," we all said and continued to pray. Finally, after probably ten to fifteen minutes of prayer, she said the words. She forgave her uncle for the hurt and pain he caused her. I had one hand on her as we were praying and my other hand was holding Justin's hand. Justin was trembling uncontrollably. We all felt something very powerful.
We felt the Spirit of God driving out that evil spirit of unforgiveness and child molestation. As she forgave him, we all felt the Holy Spirit in that room. It was incredible. Myself, I was overflowing with joy. I couldn't contain it smiling bigger than ever. All I could say was, "Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus." The moment she forgave him, she transformed from tormented with tears of bitterness to over joyous; a different person. She had been reborn. It's something that can't be put into words; you had to feel the Holy Spirit in that church. My eyes were still closed in prayer, I feared to look on the holiness of God which I knew was present. I could feel the Spirit but she actually saw it. She saw an aura around us all. She described it with tears of joy. She also said the entire church was brighter. We all praised the Lord and the Holy name of Jesus.
Afterwards, she told me about a dream she had the night before. I was in the dream. In the dream, she was facing her uncle. She continually turn around and see me standing opposite him with a smile on my face. She would turn back and her uncle kept getting closer and closer until he got right in her face. On one hand, was her uncle and her problems. On the other was me willing to help her. Her dream ended with me embracing her. Just like the dream, I embraced her at church to pray with her. The deliverance at church began where her dream ended. I don't think it was a coincidence that her dream took place at the exact same time I encountered that demon which tried to choke me. He was angry at me to be perfectly honest because I was in part of God's plan to take her away from his torment. Praise the Lord we have victory in Jesus!
But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have hear Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning you former conduct, the old conduct which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4: 19 - 24).
Yet another instance, I got a call from a friend on the phone late at night. She knew I had experience with this sort of thing. Her younger sister said there was a demonic entity tormenting her. The friend that called me said she was praying silently before she went to bed and her younger sister yelled from another room, "Are you praying?" Obviously my friend wondered how her sister knew she was praying since she couldn't hear it out loud.
Her younger sister said she heard a voice in her head saying, "Don't pray. Don't pray." When I asked her little sister about what was going on she told me about the voices and also said she saw a horrific creature that was not from her imagination.
Unfortunately, they were in another city so I told them to put me on speaker phone and pray with me. Like the earlier case, the younger sister couldn't pray. My guess was that this was a mute demon. When others in the home began to pray with us all on speaker phone and the young girl rededicated her life to Jesus the demons left.
I testify to that which I have heard and that which I have seen. You may not believe in demons. You may not believe in Jesus. That doesn't change the truth that demons are real and Jesus Christ is the only way to defeat them. If you don't believe in demons, then you are exactly where they want you! The truth is you don't know what you're talking about. I have been rendered powerless under these creatures.
I know they are real and they are very powerful, I dare not speak evil of them but rebuke them in the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus Christ is the only way to be set free. I once went to a church that sold t-shirts which read, "Satan sucks." In reality they have no idea what they are talking about forgetting that the devil was created by God and possesses a power that is out of this world.
Likewise also these dreamers of dreams defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" But these speak evil of whatever they do not know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! (Jude 1: 9 - 11)
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14: 16). "If you abide in My word, you re My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8: 31, 32).
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