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How Does a Person Become Demon
Possessed?
Dear
Mr. Wilson:
I’ve
been watching your video seminars on the web.
Thank you for making them available for free! A
few days ago I was watching a segment from
Revelation and I heard you say that predatory
violence is the clearest evidence of demonic
possession. Maybe it’s just me, but after
hearing you say this, I am seeing predatory
violence in the news almost every day. You
probably saw the story about a disgruntled truck
driver in Connecticut who killed eight coworkers
before killing himself. Then, in California, an
uninvited husband showed up at his ex-wife’s
birthday party and after killing her and her
friends, he dropped their two children off with
his parents and then killed himself. Last week,
three young men in Boston ordered pizza and they
ambushed the 58 year old pizza delivery man. They
stabbed him to death for about $100 before eating
the pizza. These tragedies are senseless and
outrageous, but until I watched your video I had
not yet connected the dots. If your conclusion
about predatory violence is correct, then demonic
possession is rampant! How does a person become
demon possessed?
Thanks,
Cindy
__________________________________________________________
Hello
Cindy:
Thank
you for your email. You are correct: There is
more demonic possession around us than people
realize! Demonic possession is an important topic
and many Christians shy away from it because (a)
they believe demon possession is part of the
occult, and (b) they believe there is nothing
that can be done about it. Actually, demon
possession is not limited to the occult and there
is something that can be done about it!
A
demon possessed person is dangerous because he is
not in control of himself. His need for
gratification can eclipse whatever pain or
suffering his actions may cause. When a person
has no empathy for others and no controlling
sense of right and wrong, everyone around that
person is at risk. The Bible speaks of demonic
possession in a number of places,1 but
it does not differentiate between mental illness
and demonic possession. An important difference
between demonic possession and mental illness is
this: Mental illness has a predictable pattern of
behavior which mental health experts can detect
and diagnose. Fortunately, many people with
mental illness are helped with
“leveling” drugs. Even though mentally
ill people can be dangerous to themselves and
others, they are not predators with a
predetermined scheme or target. The three
examples you cited indicate demonic possession to
me. So, let s determine how a person becomes
demon possessed.
First
consider this thought: Everyone is a possible
candidate for demonic possession. In fact, a time
will come during the Great Tribulation when there
will be two groups of people on Earth. One group
will have the seal of God and the other group
will be demon possessed! Therefore, demonic
possession is only going to increase and it is
imperative that Christians understand the topic.
The only way out of demonic possession is through
divine intervention.2 Medical science
cannot exorcize a demon. An ordinary person
cannot help someone who is demon possessed and
neither can a possessed person cast out a demon
who has consumed him.3
Demonic
possession comes through the process of sinking
lower and lower into the clutches of sin. The
Bible teaches there are four types of sin:
defiant, willful, accidental, and ignorant. Of
course, all wrongdoing is sin,4 but
God deals with our sins in different ways as
outlined in the following paragraphs:
Defiant
Sin
To
understand defiant sin, we must first understand
how the Holy Spirit works in a person’s
life. The Holy Spirit sets the clearest evidence
of God’s will before us (the truth about
God’s will), strongly impresses us that this
knowledge is true, and convinces us that
God’s will must be obeyed (conviction).
Defiant sin begins when we refuse to obey the
knowledge and conviction given by the Holy
Spirit. Over time, defiance can be habitual and
when it does, the Holy Spirit will eventually
cease to work within us. Let me be clear, when it
comes to defying the Holy Spirit, there is a
point of no return. The Bible calls this point
the unpardonable sin.5 After the
person reaches the point of no return, he or she
has no desire or internal urging to do what is
right, to learn about God, or please and honor
Him. When the Holy Spirit leaves a person’s
heart, it is though a person becomes a zombie
– having little discernment or concern about
right or wrong. There is no peace in such a soul
– only a restless, cold, tormented heart.
Accidental
Sin
Accidental
sin, on the other hand, occurs spontaneously
without forethought – such as telling a lie,
uttering a bad word, being dishonest, etc.
Accidental sins plague humanity because every
sinner is “spring loaded” toward
wrongdoing.6 This explains why the
Bible says, “….all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God.”
7 We cannot help it, but
sooner or later the carnal nature will rise up
and cause each of us to accidently sin. Even
though he had been a Christian for more than
twenty-five years when he wrote this, the apostle
Paul lamented, “I do not understand what
I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what
I hate to do. And if I do what I do not want to
do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is
no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin
living in me.” 8 Even
though all wrongdoing is sin, God will not hold a
person guilty for an accidental sin if that
person confesses his sin 9 and
restores or repairs the damage caused (makes
restitution). 10 God knows that no one
is perfect, but God does require that each sinner
show sorrow for his sins by forsaking them
and making things right.
Ignorant
Sin
Even
though every sin has guilt, God does not condemn
a sinner or wrongdoing if he is ignorant of his
sin. This may sound comforting; however, ignorance
is not bliss. Each sin has seeds of death within
it.11 Each sin (big or small) has
a potential for a deadly outcome – even if
we ignorantly sin! For example, consider the past
6,000 years. What has been the outcome of
Eve’s ignorant sin 12 of
eating the forbidden fruit?
Ignorance
will not alter the consequences of wrongdoing.
For example, what difference does ignorance or
knowledge make if a person falls out of a tree?
The law of momentum is impartial and so is the
law of sin!13 The law of sin demands
that ignorant and informed sinners reap what they
sow.14 Look at the stories in the
newspapers; people are reaping all that has been
sown. Even worse, history says that we are
corporately reaping the consequences right now
which generations sowed in the past!
This
brings us to a profound point. Sin is not a set
of arbitrary rules which God made up according to
His pleasure. God infinitely understands the
seeds of death found in every sin and He wisely
set up boundaries (laws) to protect us from
sin’s deadly harvest (the consequences of
wrongdoing). Because every sin has the potential
of a deadly harvest, God commands us to avoid
wrongdoing for our benefit, not His. So,
blessed are those who are honest in heart,
willing to grow in discernment about matters of
right and wrong and double-blessed are those who
walk in the light!
Honesty
Knowledge
is a double-edged sword. Knowledge can save us or
it can condemn us. Consider the following two
examples: A sinner receives knowledge and the
Holy Spirit convicts the sinner to obey the
knowledge; however, the sinner refuses to obey
because he prefers to indulge in the pleasures of
sin. God reads the sinner’s heart and sees
that the sinner has chosen to rebel. In this
example, God holds the sinner guilty of defiant
sin.
In
this next example, suppose a devout person loves
God but he has chosen to honestly refuse
to embrace truth about God’s will because of
the new information is contrary to his present
knowledge of God. In this situation, the
sinner’s rebellion stems from his love for
his religious heritage instead of the pleasures
of sin. Even though this sinner insists on
remaining ignorant, God sees that he has an honest
heart. God will not hold this sinner
guilty because guilt is not imparted unless
knowledge and conviction are both present.15
Unfortunately, the person in this example will
not benefit from advancing truth. This was
Israel’s experience and we know they
wandered in the wilderness for forty years,
eventually dying there. Again, the point is made
that ignorance is not bliss when it comes to sin.
In this example, we see how “honest
rebellion” can keep a sinner in the
wilderness throughout his life, even though he
will not lose eternal life.16
God
reads the heart. He understands defiant, willful,
accidental, and ignorant sin. He sees our
knowledge base and the amount of Holy Spirit
conviction in each heart.17 God is
more than fair in His judgment. Human beings sin
every day (through acts of commission or
omission) without any awareness that out actions
are sinful in God’s sight, but a merciful
God overlooks our ignorance as long as we are
honest and faithful according to all that we
believe to be right and true.
When
it comes to pleasing God, He is primarily
concerned with our honesty and faith. Human
beings cannot comprehend God’s higher ways
because God is infinite. His ways are a thousand
times higher than our highest thoughts!
Therefore, honesty and faith are nonnegotiable in
His sight. Honesty is an openness to the facts
and a willingness to know more truth.18 If
we are honest in heart, the Holy Spirit will be
able to show us new concepts from God’s
Word. After we receive knowledge, the Holy Spirit
will produce conviction. Together, these produce
a compelling sense of “this is the way,
therefore, walk in it.” When knowledge and
conviction come together, a testing truth occurs.
God tests us because He requires everyone to step
out in faith and follow the leading of the
Holy Spirit, even though our friends and family
may think we are crazy. Therefore, honesty (an
attitude of openness toward new truth) and faith
(our willingness to act on conviction) enables
the Holy Spirit to sanctify (purify) us.19
Deliberate
Sin
Sin is
a topic that has multiple dimensions and we
briefly looked into defiant, accidental, and
ignorant sins. Now, we need to examine deliberate
sin because this sin is the doorway through which
demons attempt to gain control over people. When
deliberate sin finally becomes defiant sin,
demons rejoice!
When
Jesus created Adam and Eve, He gave them
intelligence. Because we have intelligence we
have the capacity to think and analyze situations
and to intelligently reason from cause and
effect. Even teenagers can analyze some aspects
of life and determine what is good and what is
evil. (Smile). Prior to sinning, Adam and Even
knew the difference between right and wrong,
20 but they did not have the knowledge of
good and evil.21 Prior to sinning,
Adam and Eve had a natural tendency toward
right doing. They did not have to struggle to do
right because it came naturally. When Eve
ignorantly22 sinned and then Adam
deliberately sinned, 23 the result was
the same. Bot became subject to the law of sin
which leads to death.24 They lost
their sinless natures and wrongdoing came naturally
– not only to Adam and Eve, but to their
offspring as well! Sinners commit all four types
of sins from time to time and God knows that we
cannot prevent it.25 But, a God of
amazing grace and bountiful mercy does not give
up on us until He sees there is nothing further
He can do with us!26
The
Knowledge of Good and Evil
God
has given us the Bible for several reasons. First
and foremost, He wants us to know about His love
for us! This knowledge can be transforming if
properly understood and embraced. God also gave
us the Bible because it contains the truth about
good and evil. God wants every human being to
understand goo d and evil because seeds of death
are within every sin. The Royal Law contains the
greatest two commandmentsfollowed by the Ten
Commandments28 27 and this
is which shows us what love will do and not do.
The Bible also tells us about the thirst of the
carnal naturethat sins of omission are treated
like 29 and it reminds us sins of
commission.there is a sin of failing to bring
glory 30 Finally, the Bible tells us
to God.overwhelming, but sinners are not 31
This knowledge may appear to be helpless and
neither are they hopeless. This is a fact: In our
own strength, we cannot overcome sin. Here is
another fact: We can overcome sin by allowing the
Holy Spirit to transform us from within!
John
wrote, “No one who is born of God will
continue to [deliberately or defiantly] sin,
because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot
go on sinning, because he is born of God [and
power to overcome sin is given to everyone born
of God]. This is how we know who the children
of God are and who the children of the devil are:
Anyone who does not do what is right is not a
child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his
brother.” 32
Of
course, the devil does not want people reading
the Bible or advancing in the knowledge of
God’s love or the Bible’s definition of
good and evil. Consequently, the devil tries to
reduce or eliminate the importance of the Bible,
and sadly, his efforts are paying off very well.
(Recent surveys taken by the Pew research Center
indicate that succeeding generations of
Christians tend to study the bible less than
previous generation.) To further reduce the
effectiveness of our minds (so that human beings
cannot determine good from evil) and reduce
self-control (so that human beings will find it
easier to do evil), the devil and his demons have
introduced all kinds of mind-altering substances
into society. The demons well know that mankind
is “spring loaded” to do evil.
Therefore, demons prey on young people because
(a) they are largely ignorant about matters of
good and evil, (b) having the carnal nature, they
are spring loaded toward wrongdoing, and (c) they
are fascinated with mind altering substances that
give an delusional sense of well-being. Add
promiscuity and sexual immorality to this mix and
there is a doorway to pleasure that most young
people cannot resist.33
God
hates promiscuity and sexual immorality34 because
once a person becomes involved in sexual
immorality, there is a possibility that sexual
gratification will shut out self-control.35 In
other words, it is easy to become a slave to
passion.36 If a person willingly
engages in sexual immorality, knowing that it is
sin, then it is deemed a deliberate act and God
holds that person guilty for his sin. On the
other hand, if a person ignorantly engages in
sexual immorality, the consequence of this sin
will be horrible even though God may overlook the
sinner’s guilt. Remember, there is no
difference when falling out of a tree. The man
who understands the law of momentum hits the
ground just as hard as the man without knowledge.
There is a sorrowful harvest for every sin
because seeds of death are with every sin.
The
Doorway to Hatred
There
are other doorways besides sexual immorality that
lead to demonic possession and we must consider
one more doorway involving passion. This passion
is hatred. (God’s anger toward evil is
sometimes called hatred, 37 but
God’s hatred is unlike human hatred.) Human
hatred is the inverse of love.38 The
ultimate desire of human hatred is murder.39
hatred generally springs from bitterness,
jealousy, or vanity. Hatred can grow from real or
imaginary injustice. Hatred can become a passion
and it can become so powerful in a person’s
heart that he cannot free himself of it. Prisons
are full of people who are bound internally with
hatred. Demons can easily possess a hate-full
heart because hatred does not care about right
and wrong, justice or truth. Hatred is blind. If
possible, it would seek more than death can
offer! Hatred is like a bucket with a hole in its
bottom that cannot be filled. Demons seek out
people who harbor hatred because such people will
often commit predatory violence.
John
wrote, “Do not be like Cain, who belonged
to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why
did he murder him? Because his own actions were
evil and his brothers were righteous. [So,] Do
not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates
you. [Cain was humiliated when God honored
Abel’s offering, but refused to honor
Cain’s offering and this made him furious
with Abel. Cain’s hatred for Abel led him to
kill his brother for revenge.] We know that we
have passed from death to life, because we love
our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in
death. Anyone who hates his brother is a
murderer, and you know that no murderer has
eternal life in him.” 40
The
Fight to Do Right
As
long as the carnal nature is within us, we must
not stop fighting the good fight.41
The greatest battles on Earth occur within the
human heart – the fight to do right must
never end. We cannot give in and allow passions
of hatred, sexual immorality, or pleasures to
overtake us. Be assured, the devil has a custom
set of temptations carefully crafted for each
person. If a person is too old or too wise to
chase after pornography and knows better than to
indulge in the temporal pleasures of sexual
immorality, then be assured that the devil has
plenty of other temptations. In the game of life,
the devil uses chips such as money, power, fame,
drugs, leisure, shopping, sports, and materialism
to capture our affections. He uses these chips as
a foothold into our soul and too many sit at his
game table, winning very little, but having a
great time (they think) as he overtakes their
souls!
There
is a doorway into each heart and the devil and
his imps know where it is. They are doing their
best to kick it down with tailor made temptations
so that they might overpower us and possess us.
Until the sealing of god’s children is
completed, 42 the war between Christ
and Satan over the souls of human beings will not
end. If, through Christ’s strength, we
persevere and win a victory over one passion,
watch out for a “door kicking event” in
another area. The devil doesn’t knock. He
lures us into temptation when opportunity is
present; he attempts to kick the door down with
everything he has. Jesus said, ‘When an
evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through
arid places seeking rest and does not find it.
Then it says, “I will return to the house
that I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the
house swept clean and put into order. Then it
goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked
than itself, and they go in and live there. And
the final condition of that man is worse than the
first.” 43 We see here that
no victory over the flesh is final until the
sinful nature has been removed. So, be on guard
– fight the good fight!
Lucifer
has been called a murderer from the beginning44
because he was the first to be filled with
violence.45 When Lucifer saw that he
could not have what he wanted, violence broke out
in Heaven.46 The same process holds
true on Earth. When someone is filled with
insatiable bitterness, craving, or passion,
predatory violence often follows.
The
devil and his demons never sleep. They are doing
everything possible to increase the misery index
of mankind. They are on a mission to destroy us
by (a) eliminating the Word of God (which tells
us about God’s love for us and the knowledge
of good and evil, (b) dulling our minds with
additive substances, and (c) inflaming carnal
passions and pleasure. These demons are
relentless because they know that they can
overtake a person when a sinner gets so deep into
sin that he stops struggling to do what is right.
Listen to the words of this wise woman:
“Whatever weakens your reasoning, impairs
the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your
sense of God, or takes away your relish for
spiritual things, in short if anything increases
the authority and the power of the flesh over the
spirit, that to you becomes sin, however good it
is in itself.” Susanna Wesley (mother of
John Wesley)
Is
There Any Hope
Is
there hope for a sinner after he sins defiantly,
willfully, accidently, or ignorantly? Yes! Yes!
Yes! There is hope for any sinner unless
he becomes defiant and remains defiant. Defiant
sin leads to the unpardonable sin.47 The
Holy Spirit knows the incalculable value of
eternal life. The Holy Spirit loves each sinner
with boundless love. The Holy Spirit knows the
devil’s games. Therefore, the Holy Spirit
does a little “door kicking” at times
in an effort to get through. The Holy Spirit is
not temperamental or easily discouraged. He
dearly wants to enter a sinner’s heart and
bring that sinner to Christ so he might be saved!
“My dear children, I write this to you so
that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin,
we have one who speaks to the Father in our
defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not
only for ours but also for the sins of the whole
world.’”48
Summary
The
human race is caught in a war for souls that is
intensifying. The Holy Spirit is working hard,
but the devil and his demons are winning the
battle just as they did in Noah’s day.49
Sinful natures mean we are hit with a double
whammy! We have carnal nature and there is a
devil. The bible teaches there is a sin that does
not lead to death50 because God knows
that it is impossible for someone with a sinful
nature to consistently live without
sinning.51 Yes, Jesus offers victory
over every temptation.52 Jesus offers
to transform the desires of our hearts and minds
so that we will not become a victim of our own
passions.53 When temptation comes
knocking, we should recognize that the devil is
hiding, ready to rush in, kick the door down and
take over another soul. On our own, we cannot
overcome a single temptation for very long, but
we can overcome a whole world of temptation
through honesty and faith in Christ.54
Prayer
is the key to overcoming. Pray ahead of
temptation. If we ask the Lord to change our
heart from within, He will! When He sees that we
really mean what we say, He will repair the
damage within us and that temptation will have no
appeal.55 If we abide in Christ, we
will become and remain conquerors,56
and like Peter, walk on the water. It is
highly important that we show the Lord our
sincerity. If pornography is a problem, show the
Lord you recognize it is a problem by throwing it
out of your house, shut off the internet and all
sources through which it comes. Buy no more of
it! If sexual immorality is a problem, show the
Lord you recognize it is a problem by breaking
off the relationship. If it is an ongoing
relationship, by all means, do not get married
until the relationship is rebuilt on solid ground
and the Lord is the center of it. If substance
abuse is the problem, show the Lord your sincere
desire to stop the problem by seeking a counselor
who understands the twelve step program. If
spending or shopping is a problem, show the Lord
you are aware of it and seek a godly counselor
who understands problems involving insatiable
desires. Most of all, we have to stop looking to
this world as a pattern for our lives. We have to
focus on God’s Word: “Do not conform
any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of the mind. Then you
will be able to test and approve what God’s
will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect
will.”57
I hope
this helps!
Larry
Wilson – Faith is like a greasy flagpole
– the minute you stop climbing, you start
slipping!
References
1. Matthew
4:24; 8:16; 8:28; 9:32; 12:22; 15:22
2. Matthew
10:1; Mark 3:15
3. Matthew
8:28,29; 17:14-20
4. 1
John 5:17
5. Matthew
12:31,32
6. Luke
11:13; Jeremiah 13:23
7. Romans
3:23
8. Romans
7:15-17
9. 1
John 1:9
10.
Matthew 5:23, 1 John 5:17
11.
Roman 6:23
12.
Genesis 3:13; 2 Corinthians 11:3
13.
Romans 7:23
14.
Galatians 6:7, 8
15.
Romans 2:14, 15; Acts 10:15; 34, 35
16.
See 1 Corinthians 3:9-15
17. 1
Chronicles 28:9
18.
John 3:21
19.
1 Peter 1:1, 2
20.
Genesis 2:17
21.
Genesis 3:22
22.
Genesis 3:6, 6, 13; 2 Corinthians 11:3
23.
Romans 5:12
24.
Romans 7:23, 24
25.
Romans 3:23; 7:12-20; 8:5-12
26.
Genesis 6:3-8
27.
Matthew 22:34-40; James 2:8
28.
Exodus 20:3-17
29.
Galatians 5:17-21
30.
James 4:17
31.
Romans 3:23; 1 Corinthians 10:31
32.
1 John 3:9, 10
33.
Galatians 5:19; 2 Timothy 3:4; Jude 1:7
34.
Colossians 3:5, 6
35.
Leviticus 18; Matthew 5:17-20; Acts 15-29;
Hebrews 13:4
36.
2 Peter 2:19, 20
37.
Deuteronomy 16:22; Psalm45:7; Proverbs 6:16;
Malachi 2:16
38.
Matthew 12:30
39.
John 8:44
40.
1 John 3:12-15, insertion mine
41.
1 Timothy 6:12
42.
See Chapter 6 in my book, Jesus: The Alpha and
The Omega
43.
Luke 11:24-26
44.
John 8:44
45.
Ezekiel 28:16
46.
Revelation 12:7-9
47.
Matthew 12:31, 32
48.
1 John 2:1, 2
49.
Genesis 6:3
50.
Romans 3:23; Romans 7:11-20; 8:5-12
51.
1 John 5:16, 17
52.
Romans 6:14; 1 John 1:9; 1 Corinthians 15:57
53.
Ezekiel 36:26
54.
1 John 5:4
55.
1 John 1:9
56.
John 15
57.
Romans 12:2
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