When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God. (Deut. 18:9-13)Here are a few accounts of demon possession in the Bible.
They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure 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 impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” (Mark 1:21-27; cf. Luke 4:31-36)There are several truths that are revealed in these Scriptures:
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5:1-20; cf. Matt. 8:28-34, Luke 8:27-37)
A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
“You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:17-29; cf. Luke 9:37-43)
News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. (Matt. 4:24)
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. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” (Matt. 9:32-33)
A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. (Matt. 15:22-28)
Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah. (Luke 4:41)
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20)
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven…. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Luke 11:14-16, 20)
• There are such things as evil spirits, demons.
• They recognize who Jesus is.
• They are subject to Jesus’ authority.
• More than one can be present in any one person.
• They can control other beings such as pigs.
• They are going to have a final judgement.
Before she went to India, Amy Carmichael had a short mission to the west coast of Japan in a city called Matsuye. She wrote a note in the Daily Light for July 14, 1893: “God’s power in casting out the Fox Spirit.” She later recorded it in her autobiography:
After a while spent very happily with the Buxtons I lived with two others of our party who had a house at the further end of the town, and soon after I went there we heard of an old man who was demon possessed by an evil demon. As in India, so in Japan, people might live in the country for years and never once even hear of, much less come across, this kind of thing. It was in the purpose of God that is should come my way, therefore it was so. The man who, as the people believed, was possessed by the Fox spirit lived in a street near our house. He was in a very desperate condition. When we were told of this, words I had read often came to me as if they were new: All power is given unto Me…. These signs shall follow them that believe; in My Name shall they cast out devils.
Misaki San and I read these words together and we prayed, and waited upon the Lord. Then, full of confidence that the power of the Lord would cast out the Fox spirit, we asked if we might see the man. We were taken to an upstairs room where he was confined. He was strapped and bound to two heavy beams laid crosswise on the floor. His arms were stretched out as if for crucifixion. His body was covered with burns. Little cones of powdered medicine had been set on his skin and lighted. They burned slowly with a red glow. That alone, one would have thought, was enough to make him mad; but it had not been done till all other means known by his people had been tried in vain. The idea was that the fire would drive out the Fox spirit. We had been told that he was possessed by six Fox spirits; but that was nothing to what the man had who said, “My name is Legion, for we are many.
“You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down” (Psalm 91:12).
Tommie Titcombe was a British missionary in the early 1900s. He was twice refused by the board of the Sudan Interior Mission. He told the director he was going to go to Africa anyway. When asked what board he would travel under, he replied, "I don't know, Mr. Bingham. It may be some old woman's wash board, but I'm going to Africa!" The director relented and accepted him as the first missionary to the Yagba people of Nigeria. Here is an excerpt from his biography, Tread Upon the Lion, by Sophie de la Haye.
One day on trek, I entered the village of Lofin. There in the marketplace I saw witch doctors disguised with grotesque masks, gathered in the center of a milling crowd. The noise was deafening; they were dancing and shouting to the accompaniment of intricate drumming. I pushed into the mob to see what was happening. When they shoved aside to let me pass, I was shocked to see a young girl lying stiff as a board, horizontal to the ground, but about two feet above it. She was perspiring profusely and foam oozed from her mouth. Being under the control of demons, she was oblivious to everything. I’d heard about this but hadn’t seen it before.
I became aware of an oppressive, strange feeling, and my amazement grew when I realized that this power that controlled her was defying the law of gravity. I just had to do something; in fact I was so shaken, I forgot to ask the Lord what He wanted me to do. Instead, I touched the girl’s body. It was as thought I’d touched a live wire. I became drenched with sweat and felt as though I was going to be crushed to death. “Jesus, deliver me from this awful power!” I cried.
The mob howled to see the servant of God defeated. I realized I’d brought this upon myself by stepping into this situation in my own strength. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit…” (Zech. 4:6)
I was badly shaken. As a child of God I realized the demons couldn’t have unchallenged power over me, but God had permitted this to teach me a lesson. In the midst of pandemonium, peace returned to my troubled heart. Withdrawing from the crowd, I sat under a tree and turned to God’s promises in Isaiah 41:10 and 13. They had helped me many times. Then I read Mark 16:17: “In my name shall they cast out devils.”
“Lord, what shall I do now?” I prayed.
“Fear not, Tommie, I will help you.”
I stood, not rushing this time, but praying every step of the way as I returned. The crowd parted, still laughing and jeering. I knelt down beside the girl and prayed, “Lord, deliver this girl from the bondage of demonism, in Jesus’ name.”
At once the girl dropped to the ground, limp. I picked her up and carried her to a nearby hut and laid her down. The crowd roared after me. I turned and said, “Remember, my God, who has delivered this girl from the demons, is standing by my side.” Hearing this, they went outside the town to a sacred idol grove.
The girl lay quiet, still unconscious. I sat beside her, praying silently, when she suddenly asked, “Where am I?”
“It’s all right,” I told her. “The Savior whom I worship and serve has delivered you out of bondage of the demons.”
My three companions and I slept outside that hut for three nights so that the people couldn’t get to her. On the third night, I had the joy of leading that girl to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
When she had fully recovered, I arranged for two Christian couples to escort her to Oro Girls School.
So, with God’s help, His servant trod upon Satan’s attempt to destroy this young life.
This was not an isolated case. In another village where the gospel had never been heard before, I came upon a group in the process of their Satan worship. They would jump up in the air and remain there with nothing to support them.
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