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An Introduction to Spiritual Warfare
Introduction
The Bible reveals that there's a spiritual realm which is unseen but which affects the physical world. The devil and his demons are waging a vicious and evil spiritual battle all around us, trying to thwart God's plans and trying to prevent people from becoming saved. Christians need to know about this spiritual battle so that we're aware of the devil's schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11), and so that we can take our stand against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:11), and so that we can protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our ministries (Ephesians 6:16). If we're blind to the battle and unaware of what's going on around us simply because we can't directly see it, then it becomes easy for the devil to deceive us in clever, subtle ways and to prevent us from being effective at doing God's work here on earth.
This article is intended to be an introduction to the subject of spiritual warfare. The point of this study is not to focus on demons but rather to gain a deeper understanding of who we are in Christ and the authority that we have over the demonic realm. Our focus must always be on Jesus, but in order to be effective soldiers for Christ it's helpful for us to understand the nature of our enemy. It's beyond the scope of this discussion to delve into the specifics of how one actually "does" spiritual warfare, but there are many good books which can be found at your local Christian bookstore. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide.
Do Demons Really Exist?
The idea of evil spirits and demonization is difficult for many people to accept. The "demon-possessions" mentioned in the Gospels are often considered to be nothing more than unscientific first-century explanations for physical diseases or mental illnesses.
However, the Bible is clear that demons exist. Consider the following passages:
"He [Jesus] called his twelve disciples to him and gave them
authority to drive out evil spirits
and to heal every disease and sickness." (Matthew 10:1)
"[Jesus is speaking] Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,
drive out demons.
Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:6-8)
"[Jesus is speaking] And if
I drive out demons
by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if
I drive out demons
by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12:27-28)
"Just then a man in their synagogue who was
possessed by an evil spirit
cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!"
The
evil spirit
shook the man violently and
came out of him with a shriek."
(Mark 1:23-26)
"When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a
demon-possessed
man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" For
Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man.
Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the
demon
into solitary places. Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he replied, because
many demons had gone into him. And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The
demons
begged Jesus to let them go into them, and
he gave them permission.
When the
demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs,
and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned." (Luke 8:27-33)
Notice that Jesus confirmed the existence of demons. The argument could be made that the people in the first century didn't have our modern medical understanding when diagnosing diseases (so they just
assumed
that demons were involved), but that argument can't be used with Jesus! Either Jesus was lying or being deceptive (which is impossible for God - Hebrews 6:18), or else demons really do exist.
What Are Demons?
The following passages tell us that God is a spirit, and that angels are spirits, and that the devil and his demons are angels:
"God is spirit,
and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)
"Are not all
angels
ministering
spirits
sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14)
"'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for
the devil and his angels.'"
(Matthew 25:41)
"And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and
the dragon and his angels fought back.
But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.
The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan,
who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth,
and his angels with him."
(Revelation 12:7-9)
"And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day."
(Jude 1:6)
So demons are angels (i.e. spirits) who made the decision to follow the devil in his rebellion against God.
Where Do the Devil and His Demons Live?
In the popular imagination, and in cartoons and comic strips, and in books and TV shows and movies, the devil is pictured as living in and ruling from a place of fire and brimstone called "hell." However, this is an erroneous idea because the devil has never been to hell:
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"
(Matthew 25:41)
"[After Christ has physically reigned on earth for a thousand years]
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur,
where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.
They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
(Revelation 20:10)
In the above passages, notice that the lake of burning sulfur has been
prepared
for the devil and the demons, and they will be cast into the lake of fire in the future to be tormented day and night.
In the following passages, we can see that the spiritual forces of evil include rulers, powers, and authorities which live in the heavenly realms:
"In that day the LORD will
punish the powers in the heavens above
and the kings on the earth below." (Isaiah 24:21)
"His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to
the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms"
(Ephesians 3:10)
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
(Ephesians 6:12)
The fact that the spiritual forces of evil include rulers, authorities, and powers indicates that there is a demonic hierarchy or chain of command. But what do these rulers rule over? The Bible tells us that certain demons have control over territories here on earth:
"Then he [an angel] continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But
the prince of the Persian kingdom
resisted me twenty-one days."" (Daniel 10:12-13)
"So he [the angel] said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will
return to fight against the prince of Persia,
and when I go,
the prince of Greece
will come" (Daniel 10:20)
How do we know that these "princes" are actually demons? Notice in the following passages that the term "prince" often refers to angelic beings (both good and bad):
"But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then
Michael
[the archangel Michael], one of the
chief princes,
came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia." (Daniel 10:13)
"but first I [an angel] will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except
Michael, your prince.
And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.)" (Daniel 10:21-11:1)
"At that time
Michael, the great prince who protects your people,
will arise." (Daniel 12:1)
"But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebub,
the prince of demons,
that this fellow drives out demons."" (Matthew 12:24)
"Jesus said, "This voice [God's voice] was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now
the prince of this world will be driven out.""
(John 12:30-31)
"I [Jesus] will not speak with you much longer, for
the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me,
but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. Come now; let us leave." (John 14:30-31)
"When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because
the prince of this world now stands condemned."
(John 16:8-11)
In the above passages, the terms "prince of this world" and "prince of demons" tell us that there's an evil kingdom and a hierarchy of command among demons, as the following passages also demonstrate:
"If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can
his kingdom
stand?" (Matthew 12:26)
"Or again, how can anyone enter a
strong man's house
[Satan's kingdom] and carry off
his possessions
[unsaved people] unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob
his house."
(Matthew 12:29)
"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of
the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."
(Ephesians 2:1-2)
"For he has rescued us from
the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves" (Colossians 1:13)
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live--
where Satan has his throne."
(Revelation 2:12-13)
"The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads
the whole world
astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." (Revelation 12:9)
"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than
the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
"We know that we are children of God, and that
the whole world is under the control of the evil one."
(1 John 5:19)
So there's a hierarchy or chain of command among demons, with some demons having control over kingdoms, territories, and (to some degree) people. The devil has control of the whole world, and Christians are aliens and strangers living in enemy-occupied territory:
"If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is,
you
[all Christians]
do not belong to the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15:19)
"[Jesus is praying for His disciples] My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:15-17)
"We are therefore
Christ's ambassadors,
as though God were making his appeal through us." (2 Corinthians 5:20)
"But
our citizenship is in heaven.
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20)
"You adulterous people, don't you know that
friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."
(James 4:4)
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect,
strangers in the world,
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1:1)
"Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially,
live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear."
(1 Peter 1:17)
"Dear friends, I urge you, as
aliens and strangers in the world,
to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." (1 Peter 2:11)
We are aliens and strangers living in an enemy-occupied world. Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20, above) and we are here on earth as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20, above).
We have now seen that there are spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, and that these evil forces include demons who are assigned authority over territories and (to some degree) people here on earth.
Have you ever noticed that there are pockets of sin in your city, meaning areas where certain activities seem to be more prevalent? For example, where are the red-light districts? Where are the centers of pornography or strip joints or prostitution? In what part of town does gambling take place? Where are the high murder rates? If you think about it, you'll probably realize that there are areas in various parts of your city which are known for their sinful activities. Why is that? Now that we've seen that certain evil spirits are assigned to rule over specific geographic areas, we can begin to realize that the "unseen" spiritual battle is not always unseen after all.
What Are the Devil and His Demons Able to Do?
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The devil creates doubts and deceptions in people's minds, and he twists what God says in order to deceive us and tempt us into sinning:
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman,
"Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.""
(Genesis 3:1-5)
-
The devil can only do what God
allows
him to do and nothing more. In the following verses, the devil incited people (the Sabeans and the Chaldeans) to attack and kill, and he created atmospheric disturbances (fire from the sky and a mighty wind from the desert). All of these actions had deadly consequences for humans:
"The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he
[Job]
has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and
the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword,
and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said,
"The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants,
and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said,
"The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword,
and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, when suddenly
a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead,
and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"" (Job 1:12-19)
-
Again we see that the devil can only operate within God's parameters, and that he has the ability to afflict people:
"The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he
[Job]
is in your hands; but you must spare his life."
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and
afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head."
(Job 2:6-7)
"On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been
crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all."
(Luke 13:10-11)
-
Here are several more examples which demonstrate that God
allows
evil spirits to perform deeds which ultimately carry out God's plans:
"Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and
an evil spirit from the LORD
tormented him. Saul's attendants said to him, "See,
an evil spirit from God
is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when
the evil spirit from God
comes upon you, and you will feel better." So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me." ... David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him." Whenever
the spirit from God
came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and
the evil spirit would leave him.
[Notice that this is how David entered King Saul's service and thus was on hand to fight Goliath.]." (1 Samuel 16:14)
"After Abimelech had governed Israel three years,
God sent an evil spirit
between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech.
God did this
in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers." (Judges 9:22-24)
"Micaiah continued, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left.
And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?'
One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.' " 'By what means?' the LORD asked. " 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. " 'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.'
So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you.""
(1 Kings 22:19-23)
"[Jesus is speaking to the apostle Peter] "Simon, Simon, Satan has
asked
to sift you as wheat [in other words, Satan wanted to put Peter through some trials and tests, but he had to
ask permission].
But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."" (Luke 22:31-32)
"As soon as Judas took the bread,
Satan entered into him.
"What you are about to do,
do quickly," Jesus told him,
but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him." (John 13:27-28)
"To keep me from becoming conceited
because of these surpassingly great revelations,
there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)
[Compare 1 Chronicles 21:1-3 with 2 Samuel 24:1-3 below]
"Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are." But Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?"" (1 Chronicles 21:1-3)
"Again
the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah."
So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, "Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are." But Joab replied to the king, "May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?"" (2 Samuel 24:1-3)
-
Some translations of the Bible imply that demons can "possess" people's bodies. However, the English word "possessed" is not the best translation from the original Greek. For example, Thayer says that the Greek word
daimonizomai
means "to be under the power of a demon" (Thayer's Greek Definitions). A better English word is "demonized," which covers the range from mild afflictions to partial control of the person by evil spirits:
"When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two
demon-possessed
men coming from the tombs met him.
They were so violent that no one could pass that way."
(Matthew 8:28)
"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 who had been mute
spoke." (Matthew 9:32-33)
"Just then a man in their synagogue who was
possessed by an evil spirit
cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!"
The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek." (Mark 1:23-26)
"Moreover,
demons came out of many people,
shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But
he
[Jesus]
rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ."
(Luke 4:41)
"For Jesus had
commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man.
Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had
broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places."
(Luke 8:29)
"A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.
A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.
Even while the boy was coming,
the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion.
But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father." (Luke 9:38-39, 42)
"With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many,
and many paralytics and cripples were healed." (Acts 8:7)
"Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day
the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"
Then the man who had the evil spirit
jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor." (Acts 19:13-17)
-
The devil showed Jesus
all
of the kingdoms of the world
in an instant.
He said that all of their authority and splendor had been given to him (the devil), and Jesus did not dispute this statement. Notice that the devil first attempted to exploit Jesus' weakness at this point: His hunger. Then the devil tried to twist Scripture for his own ends. The devil is a master of lies and deceptions, with millennia of experience, and he will use cunning tricks to deceive us. He knows our weaknesses and he can figure out what buttons to push to tempt us into sinning. Notice that Jesus used Scripture as His only weapon to combat the devil in this encounter, which shows how important it is for us to be solidly grounded in God's Word:
"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" The devil led him up to a high place and
showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
And he said to him,
"I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.
So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time." (Luke 4:1-13)
-
Here's a spirit which was able to predict the future:
"Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had
a spirit by which she predicted the future.
She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling." (Acts 16:16)
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The devil and his demons are able to masquerade as angels of light, or apostles of Christ, or servants of righteousness:
"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen,
masquerading as apostles of Christ.
And no wonder, for
Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
It is not surprising, then, if
his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.
Their end will be what their actions deserve." (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
-
The devil can perform all kinds of counterfeit miracles, and he will use every sort of evil to accomplish his plans:
"The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with
the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,
and in
every sort of evil
that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
"For false Christs and false prophets will appear and
perform great signs and miracles
to deceive even the elect--if that were possible." (Matthew 24:24)
"Then I saw
three evil spirits
that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are
spirits of demons performing miraculous signs,
and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty." (Revelation 16:13-4)
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The devil is said to hold the power of death, but this probably refers to keeping people bound by the
fear
of death. The devil can cause people to die, but
only
as God allows (as we saw earlier in Job 1:12-19):
"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy
him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--
and free those who all their lives were
held in slavery by their fear of death."
(Hebrews 2:14-15)
"The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he [Job] is in your hands; but
you must spare his life.""
(Job 2:6)
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The devil blinds the minds of non-Christians and snatches the Word of God from them:
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
"Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it,
Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them."
(Mark 4:13-15)
"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then
the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved."
(Luke 8:11-12)
"Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom.
The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age."" (Matthew 13:36-40)
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The devil's purposes are to "steal and kill and destroy" and to spread lies and deceptions:
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a
thief and a robber.
... I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:1, 9-10)
"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a
murderer
from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for
there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
(John 8:44)
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Non-believers are under the
control
of the devil and they are his
captives
for doing his will:
"Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and
escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will."
(2 Timothy 2:25-26)
"We know that we [Christians] are children of God, and that
the whole world is under the control of the evil one."
(1 John 5:19)
"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were
under the power of the devil,
because God was with him." (Acts 10:38)
"I [Jesus] will rescue you [the apostle Paul] from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and
from the power of Satan
to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." (Acts 26:17-18)
Are Christians at Risk?
If the devil can control and influence people's minds and actions to some degree, then are Christians at risk? The answer is "yes," Christians can be influenced and attacked by the devil and his demons:
-
According to Acts 4:32-37, believers were selling their homes and possessions to share the proceeds with needy people. Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold their house to give the money to the apostles, which indicates that they were believers. However, the enemy filled Ananias' and his wife's hearts and minds with greed and deception, which means that he can attack and influence the thoughts, feelings, and actions of Christians as well as non-Christians:
"Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that
Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit
and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?"" (Acts 5:3)
-
The apostle Paul was concerned that Christians will have their
minds
led astray by the devil:
"But I [Paul] am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning,
your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ."
(2 Corinthians 11:3)
-
The apostle Peter rebuked Jesus and denied that Christ would suffer and die. Peter did not fully understand the implications of Christ's death, but Jesus knew that it was the devil who was influencing Peter:
"Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This [speaking of Jesus' death] shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter,
"Get behind me, Satan!
You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."" (Matthew 16:22-23)
-
Christians are told to submit to God and to resist the devil. This would not be necessary if the devil were powerless to attack Christians:
"Submit yourselves, then, to God.
Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)
"Be self-controlled and alert.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith,
because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:8)
-
Christians are told to put on the full armor of God in order to stand against the devil's schemes and to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. This would not be necessary if the devil were powerless to attack Christians:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."
(Ephesians 6:10-11)
"In addition to all this, take up the
shield
of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."
(Ephesians 6:16)
-
The devil accuses Christians before God day and night:
"The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I [the apostle John] heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For
the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down."" (Revelation 12:9-10)
Can Christians Be "Possessed" by Demons?
Becoming a Christian removes the
penalty
of your past sins, but it doesn't necessarily remove the
effects
of your past sins. For example, if your body was damaged in some way by drugs or alcohol before you became a Christian, you probably weren't instantly healed the moment you got saved. You might still have some of the
effects
of your past sins to deal with. In a similar way, if you have taken part in occult practices or other demonic activities then you might have opened yourself up to the possibility of being afflicted by demonic spirits.
Christian counselors who have decades of experience in dealing with demonic afflictions say that when the Holy Spirit enters a person's heart at the moment of salvation, this doesn't necessarily cause any demons to stop afflicting the person. By sinning we give demons "legal rights" over areas of our lives, and some of these demons might still be around even after the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside us. Consider for example that the devil "accuses [us] before our God day and night" (Revelation 12:10), which means that God allows the presence of the devil in His Throneroom (see also Job 1:6 and 2:1 where the devil presented himself before the Lord). In other words, God allowed an evil spirit into His presence, and therefore we can't dogmatically say that the Holy Spirit will never allow any demons near Him when He's in a Christian. Also, if we say that the Holy Spirit absolutely cannot or will not dwell in the presence of evil then we're forgetting that He dwells within the heart of our sinful, evil, corrupt, fallen flesh. The idea that Christians can be afflicted by demons might be difficult for many people to accept, so let me simply refer you to the spiritual warfare section of your local Christian bookstore for further study. An excellent resource is
The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare
by Dr. Ed Murphy (see chapters 53 to 56, for example).
People who are afflicted by demons are usually not aware that their problems are spiritual in nature. This means that you or I might be suffering from demonic affliction or oppression without even knowing it. We might be suffering from physical infirmities, emotional problems, problems with recurring sin in our life, problems dealing with things such as anger, lust, pornography, and so on, all of which can have a demonic origin. For example, there was a woman in Luke 13:10-16 who was bent over for 18 years and could not straighten up (which we might diagnose as a form of scoliosis today), and Jesus said that her physical infirmity was caused by an afflicting spirit. When Jesus cast out the evil spirit, her physical infirmity immediately disappeared and she was able to stand up straight. Scripture also speaks of lying spirits (1 Kings 22:23), a spirit of dizziness (Isaiah 19:14), a spirit of prostitution (Hosea 5:4), a deaf and mute spirit (Mark 9:25), a spirit of fear (Romans 8:15), a spirit of stupor (Romans 11:8), a spirit of timidity (2 Timothy 1:7), a spirit of falsehood (1 John 4:6), and so on. These are possible examples of afflicting spirits, and there are many other ways in which evil spirits can afflict people.
As we saw earlier, the English word "possessed" is not the best translation from the original Greek, but unfortunately this is the term that many versions of the Bible use when describing the activities of demons. According to Bible scholars, a better word is "demonized," which covers the range from mild afflictions to partial control of the person by evil spirits. The passages in the previous section show that Christians
can
be demonized.
All Christians Are Involved in Spiritual Warfare
Notice the descriptions of spiritual weapons and armor that we have available to us, and notice the wording which indicates that
all
Christians are soldiers in this spiritual war:
"Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."
(Ephesians 6:10-11)
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
(Ephesians 6:12)
"Therefore
put on the full armor of God,
so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Ephesians 6:13)
"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."
(Ephesians 6:14-15)
"In addition to all this,
take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."
(Ephesians 6:16)
"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
(Ephesians 6:17)
"And
pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind,
be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
(Ephesians 6:18)
"For though we live in the world,
we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."
(2 Corinthians 10:3-4)
"in truthful speech and in the power of God;
with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left."
(2 Corinthians 6:7)
"Endure hardship with us
like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer."
(2 Timothy 2:3-4)
"to Apphia our sister, to Archippus
our fellow soldier
and to the church that meets in your home" (Philemon 1:2)
"But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker
and fellow soldier,
who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs." (Philippians 2:25)
As the above passages demonstrate, we are
all
involved in spiritual warfare, whether we like it or not, and whether we realize it or not. Imagine a soldier on a battlefield who can't see or hear an enemy and therefore he doesn't believe there's an enemy out there, so he wanders around without his weapons, not carrying out his assigned duties, completely defenseless and vulnerable, stumbling into the enemy's camp without even being aware of it. The enemy doesn't care if that soldier was ignorant or if he was "just playing around." That soldier won't last long before being hurt by the enemy, yet this is how many of us live. We don't know that there's a war being fought in the spiritual plane, and we don't understand that there's an enemy of pure evil out there. We don't understand that God has an assigned place for each and every Christian, and that we have all been given spiritual gifts and spiritual weapons (defensive and offensive) for waging the battle in the heavenlies while we are here on earth.
What Are You Feeding Yourself Spiritually?
Have you ever examined yourself (and your environment) and honestly and prayerfully tested your beliefs against Scripture? What are you feeding yourself spiritually through the activities that you're involved in, and through books, magazines, TV shows, movies, radio, etc., and what types of beliefs have you begun to embrace because of the things that you're exposed to? What organizations are you involved with, such as lodges, orders, leagues, societies, masons, etc., and are you aware of the spiritual philosophies that they teach as you go deeper into the organization? Do you know for sure that your church is not teaching false doctrines, and have you ever asked for their statement of beliefs and compared it with the Bible?
Do you try to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5)? As a Christian, have you ever gone to a palm reader, a fortune teller, a seance, a "trance channeler," played with an Ouija board, followed your horoscope, purchased "healing" crystals, gotten involved with hypnosis, "visualization," transcendental or other forms of meditation, yoga, martial arts, or other activities associated with "Eastern" spirituality? Do you believe in reincarnation, karma, fate, evolution, out-of-body experiences, psychics, the prophecies of Nostradamus, UFOs, "near-death experiences," past life experiences, good luck charms, voodoo, superstitions, etc.? Do you own statues or jewelry or other objects which depict pagan gods or goddesses or have occult symbols on them (such as an Egyptian "ankh," which looks like a cross with a circle on top)?
All of these beliefs and practices are not necessarily sinful or evil, but some of them such as trance channeling, mediums, seances, voodoo, etc., are quite obviously sinful because they are denounced in Scripture (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Going to a palm reader or a fortune teller or playing with an Ouija board, etc., might seem harmless, but we've seen that there are forces of evil at work in the spiritual realm. The devil and his demons are masters of deceptions which draw the unwary deeper and deeper into his territory as they make a "small" compromise here, and believe another "little" lie there, and so on. Soldiers in wartime don't make little "harmless" excursions into enemy-occupied territory on a lark, and neither should we be dabbling in areas which are not of God, because at that point we might be voluntarily entering into the devil's domain.
Reincarnation, "karma," past life experiences, and similar beliefs are also refuted in Scripture (see my article called
Does the Bible Say Whether or Not Reincarnation Is Real?),
but what about such things as yoga, martial arts, meditation, visualization, and so on? Don't they potentially have some exercise and health benefits? If you're involved in some of these things, it would be wise to ask yourself what spiritual philosophies are you being fed as you do these things. For example, most martial arts studios require students to bow to a shrine or to an emblem on a flag or to the teacher, and so on. Often there are statements that the students must repeat over and over which are intended to instill certain character traits in the students (gentleness, humility, and so on).
Concerning yoga, check out
PraiseMoves.com  .
The lady who created this exercise program was heavily into the New Age movement, but she is now a Christian. Here are some things that she says about yoga, based on her 22 years in the New Age:
"According to Webster's New World Dictionary, yoga (coming from an east Indian Sanskrit word which means "union with god" or "to yoke") is "a mystic and ascetic Hindu discipline for achieving union with the supreme spirit through meditation, prescribed postures, controlled breathing, etc.""
"I call yoga "the missionary arm of Hinduism and the New Age movement.""
"From experience I can say that yoga is a dangerous practice for the Christian and leads seekers away from God rather than to Him. You may say, "Well, I'm not doing any of the meditation stuff. I'm just following the exercises." It is impossible, however, to separate the subtleties of yoga the technique from yoga the religion. I know because I taught and practiced hatha yoga for years."
"Nine out of Ten Hindus agree: "Yoga is Hinduism""
"A staff member of an east coast Classical Yoga Academy wrote to me, "Yes, all of yoga is Hinduism. Everyone should be aware of this fact." This staff member went on to say she didn't appreciate my "running down of the great Hindu/Yogic religion.""
"Did you know that yoga postures are offerings to the 330 million Hindu gods? Can you see a twisting of Romans 12:1 here ("present your bodies a living sacrifice")?"
"While practicing yoga may not seem to have an adverse effect on your Christian walk, it may be effecting your Christian witness. Of course not everyone who knows and trusts you will jump into yoga and find themselves engulfed in a New Age lifestyle for 22 years as I was, but some weak ones might – and be hopelessly lost as others have been. Would you agree that we are responsible for planting seeds of faith or doubt that can lead people to Christ or away from Him?""
Sometimes Christians are swayed by concepts such as "going to the light when you die and being enveloped in total Love" (as those who have had "near-death experiences" often describe) or by the prophecies of Nostradamus or other psychics. But once again, these things must be interpreted in light of Scripture. There's a book called
Embraced by the Light
by Betty Eadie in which she describes her near-death experience, and many people have found comfort in her descriptions of "Jesus" and the "utter explosion of love" that she felt while she was in "heaven." But is this the Jesus of the Bible? Many of the things she says about her version of Jesus and heaven are totally out of character with the real Jesus and heaven described in the Bible, and there are several books and magazine articles which refute Betty Eadie's book in light of Scripture (such as
Deceived by the Light
by Doug Groothuis).
Concerning Nostradamus, it turns out that he was a sixteenth-century seer who was schooled in spells and incantations and other "magic arts," and he used numerology and occult (i.e. satanic) forms of divination to come up with his prophecies. People say that his prophecies are amazingly accurate, but we need to have some discernment here. His methods came from occult, satanic practices, and for this reason he should be dismissed by Christians. Consider that the apostle Paul encountered "a slave girl who had
a spirit by which she predicted the future."
(Acts 16:16). Notice that this girl was predicting the future, and notice that it was because of an evil spirit. Therefore, the fact that Nostradamus' predictions
seem
to be accurate in some cases and the fact that he is known to have been schooled in the occult should make us realize where his prophecies really came from. His alleged accuracy should not influence us to believe him in any way or to be impressed by him or to feed our spirits with his non-Biblical predictions.
If you own any artwork containing occult symbols or pictures of pagan gods or goddesses, be aware that these might be more dangerous than you realize. Idols are associated with demons in Scripture, and the Israelites in the Old Testament were told over and over to smash and completely destroy all sacred images and idols from other cultures. Notice God's attitude toward any artwork or objects associated with pagan beliefs:
"They made him jealous with their
foreign gods
and angered him with their
detestable idols.
They
sacrificed to demons,
which are not God-- gods they had not known,
gods that recently appeared,
gods your fathers did not fear." (Deuteronomy 32:16-17)
"They
worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them. They
sacrificed
their sons and their daughters
to demons."
(Psalm 106:36-37)
"Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a
sacrifice offered to an idol
is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but
the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons,
not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons." (1 Corinthians 10:18-20)
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you.
Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols,
and demolish all their high places.'" (Numbers 33:51-53)
"This is what you are to do to them:
Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." (Deuteronomy 7:5-6)
"Destroy completely
all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.
Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places."
(Deuteronomy 12:2-3)
Make it a point to become fully aware of any spiritual philosophies that you or your family are being exposed to, and listen to the Holy Spirit within you to discern whether you have peace concerning these things.
Stay Focused on Jesus
The point of this discussion is to get you to take a look at the beliefs and practices which might have subtly crept into your life. These things might have seemed harmless or even healthy at the time, but they can have a dark spiritual side. Think about the music that you or your children listen to, and the TV shows and movies you watch, and the games you play or allow your children to play (because there are many demon-oriented video games, card games, board games, etc., on the market), and the way you participate in Halloween, and so on. How are these things de-sensitizing your spirit towards immoral sexual activity, violence, crude language, the occult, New Age philosophies, and so on?
We must always set our minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2) and fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We must be careful not to be taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (Colossians 2:8).
References for Further Reading
There's a self-deliverance procedure in my article called
How to Cast Afflicting Spirits Out of Your Life
which can help you rid yourself of demonic afflictions that might be hindering your walk with Christ.
There are also a number of good books on spiritual warfare, including:
-
The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare
by Dr. Ed Murphy
-
The Adversary
and
Overcoming the Adversary
by Mark I. Bubeck
-
The Believer's Guide to Spiritual Warfare
by Thomas B. White
-
Breaking Strongholds in Your City,
edited by C. Peter Wagner.
-
Possessing the Gates of the Enemy
by Cindy Jacobs
-
The Last of the Giants
by George Otis, Jr.
-
That None Should Perish
by Ed Silvoso
-
Taking Our Cities for God
by John Dawson
All for Your glory, Lord Jesus!
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