After you take your final breath, you will be plunged into a very real spiritual realm. It already exists, but you can’t see it now. In the previous lesson, we explored five questions about demons. If you haven’t read it, be sure to do so after this one. It will be linked again at the bottom. Now, let’s explore four more questions.
- Who can be possessed by demons?
- Why did God allow demon possession?
- Does demon possession still happen today?
- What danger do demons pose right now?
The overall question we are addressing is, “What can we know about demons?” We will consult the Bible for our answers, not my experiences or yours, not speculation, and not pop culture. Stick with the study till the end, so we can pursue God’s truth together.
1. Who can be possessed by demons?
When I read about demon possession in Scripture, it’s scarier than the movies. Movies depict fictional monsters in false realities. Demon possession in the Bible actually happened. When it did, it absolutely wrecked people’s lives. It seems that people with bright futures who were part of loving families lost everything once demons entered them. They were cast out of society, their health was destroyed, and they lost their sanity. Who could blame them? Imagine a spirit under the control of Satan himself poisoning your psyche every moment of every day. The movies aren’t scary; they can’t happen. Demon possession, on the other hand, was as real as real could be. Could it happen to you? Are you one breath away from having everything ripped away by a homeless evil spirit finding shelter in your body?
Here’s what we can know: absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38–39
This language is all-inclusive; therefore, it includes demons by default. Yet the apostle made a special effort to mention them. He says neither “angels nor principalities nor powers…shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” Notice where the love of God is found: “which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The apostle began the same chapter with:
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:1
If you are in Christ Jesus, that is, you believe in Him, you’ve repented of your sins, you’ve been baptized into Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, and you are actively walking in the light, then you’re safe. God’s love will never leave you. You may wonder, “But what if I mess up?” Read 1 John 1:5–10 to remind you that this does not mean you have to be absolutely perfect. When we walk with Him, we have continual cleansing.
For me, it is not presumptuous to believe I’m safe. The Lord has delivered me from the power of darkness and welcomed me into His kingdom (see Colossians 1:13–14). His love abides in me. Can you imagine God’s love leaving any room in my life for a demon to take up residence? No way. If you are in Christ, then, there’s nothing to worry about. Similarly, the apostle Paul says this about Christians:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
1 Corinthians 3:16–17
In this passage, Paul uses the plural you. Later, in 6:19, Paul will use the singular you to make the same point. The church is made up of the saved. As individuals, and as a body of believers, the church serves as God’s temple. Although there are warnings of both the church and individuals letting their guard down and wolves coming in, when the believers are faithful and serve as the true temple of God, do you think demons would feel welcome? Do you think God is happy to share His temple with the devil?
All this is to say, no, even in some of the gospel accounts where demon possession seems to be on every page, I do not believe disciples of Jesus could be possessed by demons. In Luke 8, we are introduced to Mary of Magdala and her friends. Jesus had healed them of infirmities and evil spirits. Mary herself had seven demons. After being healed, we see Mary remain a faithful disciple throughout the rest of the gospel accounts. Those demons never returned. In fact, although some disciples of Jesus in Scripture got sick and some even died, we never see an active disciple of Jesus ever become possessed or repossessed by a demon. You and I can rest peacefully in the arms of the Good Shepherd. He lays down His life for His sheep. He will protect us from possession.
With that assurance, I give two scriptural warnings. One is that demon possession is actually not the biggest threat demons pose. Not even close. We will discuss the biggest threat at the end of this study. The second warning is that repossession was possible if the healed person did not remain faithful and fill their life up with Christ. Jesus said:
When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.
Matthew 12:43–45
The issue here is that the person left his house (his body) empty after he was cleansed. The evil spirit was cast out, and the healed individual did nothing to replace the demon, so the demon and his friends saw that as an open invitation to party. This should be a sober warning to all of us. Christianity is not about being healed and taking your rest. It’s about being transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus. God’s kingdom is currently at war, and you are enlisted as a soldier. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t stop serving King Jesus.
2. Why did God allow demon possession?
Demon possession is virtually absent from the Old Testament Scriptures. When we ask questions about demon possession, we must go to the New Testament. It is important, however, to remember that demon activity was still rampant in the Old Testament, primarily at any time people worshiped other gods. When they sacrificed and bowed down to idols, they believed some god of their region was receiving their prayers. Of course, followers of Yahweh knew that a so-called god wasn’t really inhabiting the statue. Since that made-up god didn’t receive the worship, does that mean nothing was really going on in the spiritual realm when these pagans bowed down? Absolutely not! Scripture says, “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God” (1 Corinthians 10:20).
Demon activity is always occurring. But what about possession? If you picture a graph that depicts demon possession in the Bible, it would be flat throughout recorded Old Testament history. Turn to the first pages of the New Testament, and it’s in full bloom. It’s not ramped up. It’s at its peak. Sometime in the 400 years between Malachi and John the Baptizer, demon possession began. Why? Why did God allow demon possession? It relates to the final promise of the Old Testament and everything we see at the beginning of the New Testament—the coming of the Messiah.
Jesus was the first person on record, and likely the first in history, to exorcise demons. The people noticed.
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
Mark 1:25–28
Jesus has been teaching this crowd authoritatively. They are marveling at this new Rabbi who has such teachings and boldness. Simultaneously, this first demon of Mark’s gospel account walks into their assembly, and Jesus rebukes the demon. The demon listens, and Jesus heals the man. The people marvel again, accept Jesus’ authority, and spread the news. Why did God allow demon possession? This is why: To prepare the world for the kingdom and the King.
Imagine being in these people’s shoes. Demon possession is a new problem, and it’s spreading throughout the land. No one can do anything about it. Then, Jesus comes and heals these people—with only His voice. No oils. No balms. No rituals. No trinkets. Simply His command. You and I would respond just like Nicodemus: “No one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). Once He has their attention, He teaches them about the kingdom. In fact, that’s exactly how Jesus responds to Nicodemus’ praise.
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3
As Jesus prepared to deliver the kingdom to the people, He had to prepare the people themselves. Jesus also explained it in this way:
But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
Luke 11:20–23
God allowed demon possession to prove Jesus had power over Satan. Jesus’ casting out of demons was like binding the strong man (Satan) before plundering his house (the world). Jesus was coming to redeem the sinners that Satan had claimed for himself and give them a kingdom.
It’s normal, and even good sometimes, for us to ask the question why when folks are suffering. It’s good only when we are patient enough to seek the truth. Here we see why God allowed this terrible fate called demon possession: It put God’s power on display as the kingdom of God came into the world. But what about today?
3. Does demon possession still happen today?
As we have already seen, if you are a disciple of Jesus, you are safe from demon possession. But what about everyone else today? Should they fear demon possession? There is no biblical reason why anyone should fear demon possession today. Notice I said possession. There is, in fact, something much worse than possession we need to be concerned about today, but we will discuss that next. Jesus said:
But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Luke 11:20
As we saw in the previous question, Jesus cast out demons to prepare the world for the coming of the kingdom. Has the kingdom arrived? Certainly. In Matthew 16:18–19, Jesus promised to build His church and then give the keys of His kingdom to Peter. In Acts 2, we see Peter use those keys (by means of preaching the gospel) to invite Jews to be transferred from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus. In Acts 10, he does the same for the Gentiles. Paul told the Christians in Colossae:
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:13–14
If you’ve been redeemed and forgiven by the blood of Jesus, then you are part of the kingdom of God. The purpose of demon possession and exorcism has come and gone. Let us return to our imaginary graph of demon possession. We see possession drop off almost as quickly as it arrived. As Jesus traveled the regions of Galilee and Judea, demon possession seemed to be around every corner. With every exorcism Jesus or His disciples performed, His fame spread. As Jesus approached Jerusalem for the final time, demon possession began tapering off. After His resurrection and into the book of Acts, demon possession is hardly mentioned at all. In Acts 16, Paul cast out a spirit of divination in Philippi. In Acts 19, we see the episode we referenced in the previous lesson, where the charlatans who didn’t know Jesus tried casting out a demon by mentioning Jesus’ and Paul’s names. The demon saw no reason to obey them and attacked the fakers. Get this: that moment in Acts 19 is the final time demon possession is mentioned in Scripture. Despite the rest of the book of Acts and the New Testament covering several more miracles and decades more of church history, the Bible never mentions another possession or exorcism after Acts 19, which took place around AD 55. Does this mean demon possession had ceased at that point? Possibly, but not conclusively. Demon possession and exorcism had, indeed, fulfilled their purpose. Does that mean it cannot happen today? As curious as we are about the spiritual realm, we must be okay with the fact that the Bible does not answer all our questions.
I continually hear of reports of demon possession today from specific parts of the world. So far, every piece of evidence provided, however, seems more in line with terrible physical and/or mental illnesses, diseases, and infirmities. These may be the work of Satan, but I’m not so quick to call these demon possessions now that we’ve truly studied the Bible on the subject. Although the victim may lose control of the body during this episode, in these reports, he or she also often blasphemes God, which (as we saw in the previous lesson) cannot be associated with demon possession. Additionally, I still have never seen a person who is supposedly possessed by a demon in the twenty-first century break chains and overpower an entire mob.
The ability to cast out demons was something that not every believer had in the first century. It was given to specific people, along with many other miraculous gifts, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, and being immune to deadly poison and snake venom. If God is permitting demon possession today, it would be reasonable to expect Him to also give us the miraculous ability to cast them out. And if He is providing that miracle, we should expect the other miracles as well. Of those who are supposedly casting out demons, how many among them can also raise the dead like Jesus did? Not only is the evidence lacking in modern-day demon possession (at least as it’s described in the Bible), but I also reiterate that there is no biblical reason why anyone should fear demon possession today. Demon possession has fulfilled its purpose. Phew. I can now relax. Demons pose no threat today, right? Not so fast!
4. What danger do demons pose right now?
Here’s something I find interesting: out of the legions of demons and the many different demon possessions we see in the New Testament, not once do we see a warning of demon possession. We do see warnings of other demonic activity, however, and they are applicable to the church in any age. In other words, they apply to you and me right now.
Warning 1: Demons are active in false teaching
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
1 Timothy 4:1–3
What Paul and Timothy were about to deal with specifically had to do with false teachers on the subject of meat and marriage. Generically, what Paul was saying was that any time someone is teaching falsehood, that person is speaking the doctrines (or teachings) of demons. Demons certainly harmed people bodily while possessing them. But the work of Jesus Christ also has to do with the redemption of the spirit. If a demon can influence and harm the spirit, then, he accomplishes much more than harming the body.
Not once do we see a warning in Scripture of demon possession. But how many times do we see warnings of demonic doctrines? Practically every prophet and every apostle of the New Testament, including Jesus Himself, warned everyone who has an ear to hear of the dangers of false teachers. Despite our curiosity overflowing about the spiritual world, it seems that the wise course of action would be to spend more time studying the doctrines of Christ, rather than the relatively inapplicable questions about demon possession. Do you know the truth of Christ well enough to protect yourself the next time someone tries to influence you with false teaching? Notice this:
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4–5
The kingdom of God is at war. The war will not be won or lost by possession of the body. It is fought by faithful obedience to the Lord. Although there is no need to fear demon possession, the Scriptures give this dire warning: demons are active in false teaching.
Warning 2: Demons are active in idolatry
In the book of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul addresses the question, “Is it okay for a Christian to eat meat sacrificed to an idol?” You see, in the first century world, when someone went to the marketplace in a Gentile region to buy food, it was unavoidable to come across meat-sellers who had previously used that meat in the worship of false and foreign gods. Christians had a reasonable question: would it offend the true God for me to eat this food? The answer is both no and yes.
I recommend you read all of 1 Corinthians yourself to get the entire point, but the gist is this: If it really is just a transaction between strangers and the transaction is all about the food (not the worship of a god), then it’s fine for you to eat that meat so long as it doesn’t violate your conscience or that of the people around you. Since the idol that the meat was sacrificed to didn’t really contain a god, then the meat was sacrificed to nothing. You’re in the clear.
There’s a big however to this. If, however, it moves beyond a simple transaction and meal, don’t touch the stuff. Don’t be so arrogant to think your influence means nothing. Don’t walk into this spiritual battle ignorantly. Someone could take the point previously made and say, “Well, since idolatry doesn’t matter when it comes to meat, then it shouldn’t matter in any context.” Christians were then tempted to participate in pagan rituals and temples, thinking it didn’t really matter, since those gods were nothing. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul says this attitude tests Christ (v. 9). It threatens the Christian’s soul (v. 12). The Christian must run away from it (v. 14). It mixes Christian communion (also known as the Lord’s Supper) with fellowship with demons (v. 21). It provokes the Lord to jealousy (v. 22).
What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
1 Corinthians 10:19–20
Although the idol really is nothing, what’s actually going on in idolatry is demon worship. There is no need to fear demon possession, but the Scriptures give this dire warning: demons are active in idolatry.
Demon activity, then, is everywhere—both in false teaching and idolatry. We are at war. Should we despair? In the same context, the apostle gives this famous assurance:
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
We serve a victorious King. We are safe in the hands of the Chief Shepherd. Stay faithful to Him, and you have nothing to fear.
There we have it. Nine questions about demons. If you missed the first lesson, you can read it here. God bless you. Go with God.