Demons - What Do We Believe?
- Thread starter Where is the Messiah
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I believe demons are definitely out there influencing us and non believers. I think society has just chosen to forget about them. We are still in a spiritual war.
If there were 3000 replies to this thread, from every corner of Christendom, by the most bookish of scholars; what are the chances that we'd be any closer to a consensus on the subject of demonology?
I'll admit it: I am SO uninterested in demons. And I am SO tired of the fakery some call "spiritual warfare." I dealt with so many fakers, who called themselves "warriors" and desired fame for their ridiculous antics. Most of that interaction was immediately after my first husband's death, and I felt surrounded by them, with their ridiculous fears. I was told that all amphibians and their likenesses were inhabited by demons, as were owls, and some even claimed that all black or white cats were also inhabited. Silliness. They loved and reveled in their fears!
That written . . . .
Keith Green sang that we are modern, wiser people, so we don't believe in satan anymore. Well, we don't believe in satan, nor do we believe in its demons. We're too smart for all that.
I will be interested in what people write here, because I have avoided the subject since the late '70s.
That written . . . .
Keith Green sang that we are modern, wiser people, so we don't believe in satan anymore. Well, we don't believe in satan, nor do we believe in its demons. We're too smart for all that.
I will be interested in what people write here, because I have avoided the subject since the late '70s.
Jesus didn't avoid the subject. He commanded us to cast out demons.
We just need to use some lateral thought off what scripture says.
Scripture says:
1. There are many! Heb 12:22
2. They are created above us Psalm 8:5. Hence they have more power and intelligence.
3. They retained their power. The devil had confidence / ability to 'fight' after he rebelled Rev 12.
4. A third of the angels fell with the devil Rev 12:4.
5. Loving sin is hating God Matt 6:24. Hating God is hating His creation / us.
6. The fallen angels are consumed with sin on a level we can only glimpse. They are hence all deceitful John 8:44. None can be trusted.
Some things I have learnt:
1. God is protecting every single one of us. Fallen angels are more powerful and intelligent then us. But yet we are not dead. It is hence a no brainer.
2. God doesn't over ride free will, so anyone who wants demons will get them. It's not to say they lose God's protection, but they certainly do push the envelope.
3. That cold feeling in a particular bush at night is not always just a feeling. If you you-tube testimonies the previously possessed would say they could trace the actual position of a demons presence in their house.
4. Demons have to respect the name of Jesus. Not respecting it echoes to God. So it doesn't matter who says it. Hence the best advice to saved or unsaved is simply to use the name of Jesus to issue commands.
5. Demons are bored. They have nothing to do except wonder and harass us. They are mischievous. Looking for any invitation.
6. We can create pretty realistic robots. How much more angels? Grey aliens, mermaids, bigfoot etc could all be creations by them.
Some popular questions:
1. Where is the evidence they exist? Well 1. they are more intelligent then us and 2. their 'time' in the sun has not yet come. They need to wait for the rapture. After the rapture, I am sure there will be no doubt as to their existence.
2. Can a Christian be possessed? This is the biggest joke. If Jesus is in my house, you think He will share it with a demon? Demons can oppress us if we give them the power to, but not possess us.
Scripture says:
1. There are many! Heb 12:22
2. They are created above us Psalm 8:5. Hence they have more power and intelligence.
3. They retained their power. The devil had confidence / ability to 'fight' after he rebelled Rev 12.
4. A third of the angels fell with the devil Rev 12:4.
5. Loving sin is hating God Matt 6:24. Hating God is hating His creation / us.
6. The fallen angels are consumed with sin on a level we can only glimpse. They are hence all deceitful John 8:44. None can be trusted.
Some things I have learnt:
1. God is protecting every single one of us. Fallen angels are more powerful and intelligent then us. But yet we are not dead. It is hence a no brainer.
2. God doesn't over ride free will, so anyone who wants demons will get them. It's not to say they lose God's protection, but they certainly do push the envelope.
3. That cold feeling in a particular bush at night is not always just a feeling. If you you-tube testimonies the previously possessed would say they could trace the actual position of a demons presence in their house.
4. Demons have to respect the name of Jesus. Not respecting it echoes to God. So it doesn't matter who says it. Hence the best advice to saved or unsaved is simply to use the name of Jesus to issue commands.
5. Demons are bored. They have nothing to do except wonder and harass us. They are mischievous. Looking for any invitation.
6. We can create pretty realistic robots. How much more angels? Grey aliens, mermaids, bigfoot etc could all be creations by them.
Some popular questions:
1. Where is the evidence they exist? Well 1. they are more intelligent then us and 2. their 'time' in the sun has not yet come. They need to wait for the rapture. After the rapture, I am sure there will be no doubt as to their existence.
2. Can a Christian be possessed? This is the biggest joke. If Jesus is in my house, you think He will share it with a demon? Demons can oppress us if we give them the power to, but not possess us.
One thing is for sure.. The level of demonic activity we see in early Church is not seen today.. There is a reason for that being so high at the time of Jesus.. Demons clearly recognized Jesus as Son.. Hence, the entire hell focussed on ministry of Jesus.. Doing everything to stop the kingdom of God from progressing.. Even now the work of demons is the same.. Stop the growth of Church..
Spiritual warfare is absolutely true.. However, people take it to the extreme of literal warfare.. That is, shouting and screaming at demons to scare them.. I think this is how it should be taken Biblically
Life of believers - Can never be possessed by demons.. A believer has Holy Spirit in them.. Demon cannot possess a believer.. However, a demon can influence and torment believers.. The key to remember is, the authority of demon is what God has permitted.. Our personal responsibility also matters.. We should not invite demon and think it can do no spiritual harm to us.. We have to put the armor of God and stand still.. It is not about going into head to head battle.. We are to resist the devil.. THat will make him flee away..
Life of unbelievers - Yes, they can certainly be demon possessed.. Not just influenced, but actually possessed.. In such cases, we don't need exorcism.. Only truth can set a person free.. It is the Gospel and regenerative of work of Holy Spirit that can deliver the person from demons.. So there is no formula to work with demon possessed people!
Knowledge is power my dear.
I would encourage you to study the Scriptures to grow in that knowledge of demons and their activity.
A few quick examples:
1. Demons are created beings who had a freewill. They choose to follow Lucifer when he rebelled.
2. There are two kinds of demons:
A. There is A group that is so bad and demonic that they are chained until the day of judgment.
B. The 2nd group is what we see exploiting humans today with illnesses and spiritual attacks.
3. Since they are "created" beings, they do not preocreate and are in fact "A-sexual".
4. They have a hierarchy with Satan at the top.
5. Demons can not posses the true believer BUT certainly can affect his life and surroundings.
Hi King man. Who are you doing???
Now, for the 2 groups of demons.......
Jude 6 tells me..............
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day".
Evidently, and in my opinion this group whose rebellion was so great, they are locked up, incarcerated in someway by God and do not have any freedom of movement or activity.
2 peter 2:4 confirms this.....
"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment".
The 2nd group of fallen angels are those we see in the world today. There is a demonic power and it is real. They persecute humans today and when the Rapture takes place and there is no Holy Spirit to restrain them, then all hell will be on earth.
I know what you mean. I read a couple books that involved Ed and Loraine Warren (the two world renowned demonologists). What was weird to me is that in my initial days of just having come to Christ, I was reading that Loraine Warren would participate in seances and whatnot, to talk to the dead. Honestly this makes me want to burn all those books because that is just nonsense and not scriptural at all, and both Ed and Loraine claimed to have been very devout RC. Should the seances really surprise me though? I know RC's teach that purgatory is real so Ed and Loraine would also be sending people 'into the light' who they though were stuck here...more nonsense.
I didn't want to hijack this thread with the Warrens. I just wanted to throw another comment out there regarding the craziness of false teachings. I will admit, being a newer Christian, I bought into that nonsense. I am so glad that God has since renewed my mind and shown me the truth.
Yes, I believe in it; I just want nothing to do with it or its minions. I admit a pure hatred for it. I agree with Keith Green's song: some think they are so smart to deny its existence.
I lived my first 19 years where it was welcomed in the home. Someone in my home loved that shivery delight of its presence while using a facade of G-d in order to get along in society. Father, a minister and pastor, could not subdue it and didn't seem to try.
As a toddler, I saw who was strongest in that home. The stronger was the one most welcome, the one most active, so I saw our G-d as the evil, weak one. Being little, I understood that I would be forced to live with this confusion for years to come, so I sought power by submitting to what seemed stronger to me. The wrong one.
I am so glad when I was 14, G-d was able to overcome all that in spite of that house, in spite of me, in spite of the additional 5 years there.
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A very interesting book in this respect is "Hostage to the Devil" written by a former Catholic priest. Although I am not a Catholic I think that the recounts of demonic possession contained in this book are quite informative and revealing. I learned several things about the demons' modus operandi by reading this book. According to the book (take it with a pinch of salt), demons are part of something that they call "the kingdom"; they believe that they are "one" with each other (this goes far beyond a simple agreement with each other) while at the same time being separate entities; sometimes they target people even from before their birth and they mark these people for possession (they will appear sporadically during the life of this person and they will go as far as to destroy his/her parents lives in order to isolate their victim), they cannot gain control over a person without being accepted by this person (the person is always aware of the fact that he is allowing the entrance of an "entity" into his life, but sometimes he is led to believe that this entity is a friendly entity or that it is God); demon-possessed people and demons cannot pronounce the name "Jesus" (they use other name like "the unmentionable" to refer to him); demons are subjected to other demons who are more powerful than them and they are very much afraid of their superiors; demons try to kill the person that they are oppressing, but sometimes they might discourage this person from committing suicide if they believe that they can use this person for an evil purpose; if a person accepts Jesus into his/her life the demonic possession is stopped and dissolved immediately; there are people called the "perfectly possessed" who have willingly relented their body and life to the demons (these people normally live functional lives and cannot be exorcised, since they don't want to be exorcised).
This is not the truth. So many people come to Christ and still need deliverance. Demons go "underground" to avoid detection, but they do reveal themselves as the person begins to grow in Christ, yielding more and more of their lives to Jesus. This is when the person becomes aware that they need some counseling or some sort of help. Deliverance is often the last resort in those who are unaware, and are members of churches that do not teach vigilance in these areas, or allow free reign of Holy Spirit.
I have this one in my library. An excellent book by Malachi Martin!