Navarre Messenger

May 18, 2008

In this issue:

by Edward O. Bagwell, Jr.

Occasionally, I run into those who want to know whether or not demons possess people today. Sometimes we see accounts of supposed demon possessions in newspapers, in magazines, or on television shows. Demon possession has also been a favorite subject in Hollywood, with such moves as "The Exorcist" and "The Omen." With so much fanciful material bombarding our lives, it is no wonder that we run into people who have questions concerning this. Let's then, look at what the Bible says about it.

First of all, one who examines the Bible will have to immediately admit that demons or unclean spirits did possess people in the days of Christ. There are numerous examples. There was the man in the synagogue (Mark 1:23-28). There were two men of the Gergesenes (Matt. 8:28-34). There was Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9). There were others as well. Jesus demonstrated His power by casting out these demons, and was even wrongly accused of using Satan's power to cast them out (Matt. 12:24). The power to cast out these demons was also given to His disciples (Matt. 10:1; Luke 10:17). So no one can deny the fact that demon possession did occur at one time.

The question that we want to address, however, is whether or not demons still possess people today. Let me say from the outset that I believe that the Bible strongly indicates that people ceased to be possessed by demons after the days of the New Testament. There are several things that cause one to come to this conclusion. First, the ability to cast out demons was usually connected with the ability to speak in tongues, heal people of diseases, and to prophesy (Mark 16:17,18; Matt. 10:1; cf. Matt. 7;22). We know from I Corinthians 13 that the ability to prophesy and the ability to speak in tongues ceased with the coming of the complete revelation of God. We realize that, in general, the miraculous spiritual gifts that the early disciples possessed were given to them in order to confirm the word that was being revealed at the time (Mark 16:20). When the complete revelation had come, there was no more need for them.

These spiritual gifts then ceased from the earth upon the completion of God's revelation, and one would assume that the ability to cast out demons ceased with the ability to speak in tongues and prophesy and heal the sick and so on. If the ability to cast out demons has ceased, then it would follow that the possibility to be possessed by demons no longer exists. It would be ridiculous to think that God would allow us to be possessed by demons with no way out of it.

I'm sure, however, that there may be some reading this who will say, "All right, I realize that the ability to prophesy and speak in tongues have ceased, because they are specifically mentioned as things that would pass away. But demon possession is not so mentioned, so how can you be so sure that it ceased at the same time?''

I think that we can turn to Old Testament prophecy for that answer. Several Messianic prophesies tell us about what will take place during the time that the Messiah's kingdom is established. One such prophecy is found in Zechariah 13:1-4. Here Zechariah talks of a day when "a fountain shall be opened" to his people "for sin and uncleanness." This is clearly a reference to the time when the blood of Christ would be made available to take away sins.

The prophecy goes on to say that three other things would happen "in that day." He says that the name of idols would be cut off from the land - a reference to the fact that those in God's kingdom do not worship idols but the true God. He goes on to say that the prophet and the unclean spirit would be caused to depart from the land. As we have already seen, eventually prophecy ceased in the kingdom; it was done away with.

Now if one claims to be a prophet we know that he is a liar, as Zechariah says, "if anyone still prophesies," he will be told, "You have spoken lies." It is impossible for one to speak prophecies when prophecies have ceased; and if one does, you know he is a false prophet. But notice that at the same time the prophets were to depart from the land, the unclean spirit was to depart from the land.

So just as surely as prophesies have ceased, people have ceased to be possessed by unclean spirits or demons. Homer Hailey makes the following comment concerning this prophecy: "In the conquest of Christ over Satan and his forces, unclean spirits have ceased to control men as they did in the time of the ministry of Christ and the apostles'" (A Commentary On The Minor Prophets, p. 392).

While demons do not possess men today, we need to realize that it is possible for us to allow Satan himself to control our lives. It is him that we need to be concerned with today and not some demons that might possess us. While the demons of Christ's day came in and took control of someone against their will, Satan can only control our lives if we allow him to do so. So we need to be diligent in our efforts to keep him from controlling our lives (I Pet. 5:8,9). We need to turn to Jesus and let him control our lives. ~
 

Capturing Thoughts

By David King

“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 Cor. 10:4-5).

The goal of true Christianity is to capture the hearts and minds (“every thought”) of people. The power of the gospel is its ability to change people’s behavior, not through coercion or trickery, but through changing how they think about life.

Look at how the epistles in the New Testament—especially Paul’s—are structured. Most of these letters are divided into two parts: first, a theoretical section, dealing with concepts, ideas, historical background; followed by a practical section, describing how that theory impacts our daily lives. (John’s epistles do not follow this neat division, but still consist of the two types of information—theory and practice—intermingled with each other.)

Those theoretical sections tend to be more abstract and difficult to comprehend, but they are critical to establishing the foundation for everything else. It is by grasping these underlying truths that we find the motivation to make real changes in our lives. Behavior always follows thinking, so if we want to change how we act, we have to change how we think about ourselves, about God and His plan for mankind, about death and the hereafter.

In short, we have to restructure our entire mental model of how the world works. Consider the pagan religions of the first century, Christianity’s first competitors. These religions had people convinced that the universe was populated with a pantheon of gods, acting in petty, selfish, and unpredictable ways to make life miserable for humanity. Armed with that worldview, people tended to act in ways that were . . . well, petty, selfish, and unpredictable. Christianity’s message of a single God of perfect character, yet deep compassion, offered these pagans a refreshing alternative to the chaos of their current lives.

Today, atheism promotes a worldview that there is no God, no afterlife, and no “morality” other than what man constructs. Despite recent attempts to portray atheism as a moderate and beneficial philosophical system, history has shown the practical results of atheism to be destructive. People have a hard time acting unselfishly when there is no metaphysical reason to do so.

Even many faiths that call themselves “Christian” are tainted with erroneous ideas that undermine the practical intent of the religion of Christ. For example, some faiths teach their adherents that “the church” is the ultimate authority, which results in followers who blindly accept whatever The Institution feeds them, rather than what God has revealed in His Word. They have been trained not to think for themselves, so they behave accordingly.

“Capturing thoughts” is not brainwashing. It is articulating a philosophical system that rests on a firm foundation, and results in a life that is happy and fulfilled. ~

 

The Bible says that the word of God is living and powerful. In Hebrews 4:12 and following we read: "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."

This is a statement of immense importance; God's word is living and powerful. The Lord said of the words which He spoke that "they are spirit and they are life" (John 6:63). It is evident that what the Lord had to say is extremely important, because they contain life, not physical life, because we are already living physically, but spiritual life, eternal life. Later in the same chapter of John, the apostles are asked if they, too, will turn away and cease to follow Jesus because of His words. Peter's response was; "Lord, to whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). We, then, must be very careful in our attitude to these words. When we read what the Lord had to say, and the things which He inspired His apostles and prophets to say by the Holy Spirit, we must view them as they are, the words of God. And if they are the words of God, then we must be careful to do as they teach us to do. A loose and flippant attitude toward the living and powerful word of God is spiritually fatal. ~

Reprint
Roger Lindsey