What happened to demon possession?

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Um, is it just an odd coincidence that that last post of yours was your 666th? Get me an old priest and a young priest!
 
Hmmmmm, somebody get a hold of Lon and tell him to post anything. A hello, the weather report, I don't care just post something.
 
I was asked by a kid the other day about demon possession -- he wanted to know if it was real -- so ofcourse I told him it was real, but I have had something on my mind since he asked the question. Why, in the gospels, is demon possession not all that uncommon, and today we hardly ever see cases of demon possesion. At first I thought that maybe demon possession did not happen all that often in the gospels. However the Gospels basically cover a three year period of Jesus life (with the exception of his birth and the passage in Luke when he was twelve), and Jesus encounters and casts out several demons during this time (according to their account so did the seventy that Jesus sent out). Anyway, what do you guys think? Are demon possessions still as common as they were? If they are, why does the church as a whole not encounter these demon possessed people? If they are not, why are they not?

:flamingscot:

You may or may not find the following post helpful. I think there was a definite reason for an unusual stirring up of demonic activity in the days of our Lord's flesh, as well as afterward in the ministry of the apostles.

http://www.puritanboard.com/f15/i-need-definition-demon-possession-13978/

DTK
 
I was asked by a kid the other day about demon possession -- he wanted to know if it was real -- so ofcourse I told him it was real, but I have had something on my mind since he asked the question. Why, in the gospels, is demon possession not all that uncommon, and today we hardly ever see cases of demon possesion. At first I thought that maybe demon possession did not happen all that often in the gospels. However the Gospels basically cover a three year period of Jesus life (with the exception of his birth and the passage in Luke when he was twelve), and Jesus encounters and casts out several demons during this time (according to their account so did the seventy that Jesus sent out). Anyway, what do you guys think? Are demon possessions still as common as they were? If they are, why does the church as a whole not encounter these demon possessed people? If they are not, why are they not?

:flamingscot:

I would say that the most important thing about the demon possession portion of the Gosple's is to understand why they are there in the first place. Obviously God allowed them to happen in order to teach us somthing about Christ. Without getting into all the specifics I would say the main point to them is to show us the power of Christ over evil.
As to the question of modern manifestations I am VERY sceptical of them to say the least.
 
Ouch, ouch my friend. Well, if it was up to me to choose I guess I'll take the mental problem for myself but I do hope you're wrong. Of course I've seen the modern manifestations that USE mental problems and bad theology as well. :cheers2:

As to the question of modern manifestations I am VERY sceptical. Most who experince them are either suffering from a mental problem or are brianwashed by bad theology.
 
Ouch, ouch my friend. Well, if it was up to me to choose I guess I'll take the mental problem for myself but I do hope you're wrong. Of course I've seen the modern manifestations that USE mental problems and bad theology as well. :cheers2:

As to the question of modern manifestations I am VERY sceptical. Most who experince them are either suffering from a mental problem or are brianwashed by bad theology.

Well i edited my first post about 2 minutes after I put it up since I didnt want to insult anybody, however you quoted before my edit went through :( .

To be honest I still think 99.99% of people that claim to have seen this stuff are probably just being caught up in the hype so to speak, but I should have chosen my original words more carefully so as not to insult my brothers in the Lord which is why I edited. My apologies if I insulted you. :handshake:
 
Not insulted at all Joe. I won't share a beer with just anyone my friend. So if I give you the :cheers2: icon, that means I'd gladly sit down and share a beer with you. Of course if you do not imbibe then those are two frosty mugs of sweet tea. This is a tricky topic and we must be cautious in approaching it. Your skepticism is certainly a cautious and therefore a safe approach and most usefull in 99% of the stories we hear. As we get outside of western culture and parts of Lancaster, PA that % drops pretty quickly.
 
I don't know why people think demon possession isn't alive and well here in America today..
we have many who have moved here from other countries who are deep into occult practices..
that bring these things with them.

but even looking at all the false teachers that abound in so-called churches today, these men may not be
physically possessed by demons..they are certainly being influenced by demonic forces.

and I agree with the others who say that many of these people may be locked up in mental hospitals,
but doctors today are so far from Christ, trusting in their drug's and their 'worldly' knowledge they are
blinded to it, instead of callling things sin, they call them mental disorders, or diseases..

How many people here actually go visit the mentally ill in these hospitals? How many have actually been to one?
 
I will be the exception to the rule here - I know I am not the only Reformed mental health professional in existence, but it's probably a smaller club than the Reconstructionists at this point. Some of you may believe I am literally playing devil's advocate.

I don't believe in demon possession, though as pointed out above, it is theoretically possible in cultures or peoples that have not yet heard the Gospel. There is a much more simple explanation of the evils responsible for our behavior - sin. Is that talked about much in mental hospitals? Depends on the person. I have spoken with both Christians and non-Christians about the idea of sin (e.g. rebellion), but I wouldn't begin there with a person who may not even be in their right mind to start.

I would separate demon possession from belief in the occult - that certainly is present. Maybe I am too concrete and shouldn't separate the two. I suppose by 'demon possession' I mean the classic person who appears to be so out of control of their behavior, as someone high on PCP. Substance abuse itself is so prevalent, which is yet another manifestation of sin.
 
Ouch, ouch my friend. Well, if it was up to me to choose I guess I'll take the mental problem for myself but I do hope you're wrong. Of course I've seen the modern manifestations that USE mental problems and bad theology as well. :cheers2:

:lol:

Seriously, is it possible to hear demons without actually seeing them?
 
beej6;

I will be the exception to the rule here - I know I am not the only Reformed mental health professional in existence, but it's probably a smaller club than the Reconstructionists at this point. Some of you may believe I am literally playing devil's advocate.

I believe you would be correct, it is a small club.

I don't believe in demon possession, though as pointed out above, it is theoretically possible in cultures or peoples that have not yet heard the Gospel.

Why wouldn't it possible in societies that have heard the gospel?

I guess, I'm questioning more what makes us think that just because many here in the west don't acknowledge it as possible--automatically means it's not possible.

Could it be more, that because so many don't acknowledge the possibility at all, because we have the gospel, that they won't/don't even consider the possiblity?

And why does it make one Charismatic because they believe demon possession is still possible today? Have so many forgotten our battle is not against flesh and blood?

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

I seen a commercial the other night for a new show coming out about those who claim to communicate with the dead--isn't that a spirit of divination? And these people aren't in a mental hospital they are on national TV, making a name for themselves.

Act 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

There is a much more simple explanation of the evils responsible for our behavior - sin. Is that talked about much in mental hospitals? Depends on the person. I have spoken with both Christians and non-Christians about the idea of sin (e.g. rebellion), but I wouldn't begin there with a person who may not even be in their right mind to start.

I'm curious, what is their 'right' mind? If they are lost, isn't their 'right' mind bound in sin? (just asking)

I would separate demon possession from belief in the occult - that certainly is present. Maybe I am too concrete and shouldn't separate the two. I suppose by 'demon possession' I mean the classic person who appears to be so out of control of their behavior, as someone high on PCP. Substance abuse itself is so prevalent, which is yet another manifestation of sin.

What would be the out of control behavior?

schizophrenic? emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations.

If I look at the description of this disease..I see..things which all deal with a lack of the Holy Spirit and the fruits thereof...Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, self-control, faith, meekness...

They may not be able to think clearly.
They may not know the difference between what is real and what is not real.
They may have trouble managing emotions.
They may have a hard time making decisions.
They may not relate well to other people.

They may hear or see things that are not there.
They may feel as if they are being watched.
They may experience a change in self-care or personal appearance.
They may experience a change in personality.
They may feel angry or fearful toward loved ones.
They may act in ways that are strange or out of place.
They may develop an extreme focus on religion or the occult.

Looking at the second list, hearing/seeing things which are not there, could it be a demon they are hearing and seeing? Could it be a demon that is watching them? could it be the demonic forces bringing about the personality changes, also causing them to act in ways that are strange or out of place?

If they are demon possessed what might their appearance become?

So why shouldn't/couldn't we consider it to at least be a possibility?
 
During one of the so-called 'deliverance' sessions involving one of my daughters a voice spoke to me that only I heard telling me to stop the other's from praying.

Someday I should post some of the experiences and let you guys figure out what was going on.

In this particular instance, a lady who was supposedly 'sensitive' to spirits felt that a demon had attached itself to an internal organ in my daughter. She named off different organs while the pastor and another friend and my self had our hands on my daughter. The pastor would speak to the demon that was attached to said organs. When he addressed the demon attached to her kidneys my daughter screamed a horrible scream and flew up off of the couch. The three of us tried to hold her down. She sounded like she was being torn in half. I tried to comfort her but she continued to scream. Finally she grabbed both sides of my face and her whole countenance changed, her eyes met mine, only it didn't seem like my daughters eyes at all, and a voice said, "Stop them, you must stop them". I heard it clearly though her lips never moved. We quit at that point until a later date.

I've said before, I don't believe the deliverance was doing anything. The demons do these things just to keep us in the 'game'.

It was at a later attempt that the pastor was going through the house anointing the door posts with oil and praying a 'hedge' in each room that I saw the face again. My daughter from the previous 'deliverance' would turn and look at me and her face would change to an evil grin. This became a tip off that the demon was moving to another room. The craziest thing was, my other daughter had never shown any sign of demonization and was just staying out of the way. As we began to pray for my tormented daughter she finally relaxed and appeared to be at peace. I looked up the stairs and my other daughter now had that same evil grin on her face. Over the course of the next hour it kept jumping back and forth between them and would always broadcast the jump with that same turn of the head and evil grin. When we finally cornered it, my daughter who had never been plagued, had place glasses of water around her bed and sprinkled herbs on her bed, she sat in the middle and she had drawn pentagrams on both her hands. When we asked her why she said it was to keep evil spirits away.

This daughter had never shown any interest in the occult or magick or anything similar. Now, how do you explain this?

These are just a couple of countless experiences we had. We were not pentecostals or given over to emotionalism and we certainly weren't looking for demons behind every shadow.


Seriously, is it possible to hear demons without actually seeing them?
 
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I confess i do not find humor in the actions of Satan's legions. My humor is reserved for the idea that a demon is behind every sinful action of every human being.
 
Bob, I literally could not get rid of goosebumps during the ENTIRE reading of your post.
 
I've been attending the Fall Bible Conference at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Oklahoma this week. The speaker is Dr. Sam Storms. Tonight he will be speaking on the subject of "Praying for Deliverance and Defeat of the Devil." You can watch the service live via the internet (7:00 PM Central Time) at Emmanuel Live

I'm interested in hearing the perspective of Dr. Storms, who is both a charismatic and a strong Calvinist.
 
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