Demons today?

Demons today?

By Richard P. Joseph

We often hear people today talking about demon possession.  I have never seen it in my life except to say that there have been people who become very agitated by my presence or my words.  So, do demons possess people today or is this something that only occurred in the past?  Are demons real or is there another definition?

There are some that say that the devil, Satan and demons are really a description of any opposing force against God.  There is some truth to that but is there an actual spiritual being we call Satan or the devil?  

Satan is not mentioned much in scripture compared to the existence of God.  However, when he is mentioned, it seems that they assume it is a common belief that he exists in some form or another.  There are also places where Satan is used simply as a term for an opposer of good or in other words the opposition party.  However, the overall concept of Satan in scripture and in extra biblical literature such as the Book of Enoch,  is that he is an actual entity who can tempt, accuse, oppose, and be imprisoned in a real hell.  So is he just an opposition party or a real being?

I have a question for you all;  Who was the first group of people that knew who Jesus really was?  This is a multiple choice question.

1. The Pharisees
2. The disciples
3. The poor
4. The demoniacs

Let’s go to Mark chapter 1;

 23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 saying, “What [n]business do we have with each other, Jesus [o]of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.

Yep, if you guessed #4 then you are the winner.  There are several instances in scripture where demoniacs shouted out that they can identify who Jesus really is, the Christ.  They recognized him immediately and with certainty.  So if the word satan is only an opposition or just the evil side of man then how come those that are “demon” possessed were able to identify Jesus immediately and no one else could?  Can a sickness or a rebel have that kind of discernment?  Of course it can’t.  Only a “personage” can.  That puts Satan into the realm of a real being who had some previous experience with the son of man.  He could identify him with an uncanny accuracy where the scholars could not.  This proves that Satan is an actual spirit that is subject to the power of God. Another example is Acts 19:15. Someone who was not yet a solid Christian attempted to cast out a demon but the demon denounced them and attacked them physically.
 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” The evil spirit readily recognized Jesus and Paul but did not recognize that person as having power over him.
So then I ask are there demon possessed people today? I personally do not think so.  In Revelation 20, Satan’s earthly power was destroyed.

10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and [f]brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.   

Those that follow Satan today are doing it out of choice rather than by force.  In AD 70 Satan was cast into hell where he will stay forever.  He may be shouting orders from hell but you do not have to listen.  That kind of demon possession is over and we are freed from the bondage of sin and death.  Anyone who desires sin and death are in it by choice and not by force.  Satan is no longer the prince of the power of the air but is a defeated foe who is the prince of nothing any more.  Jesus Christ crushed his head and bound him forever.  

Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The [f]kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” 

We could go on and on but I think there is a deeper meaning to contemplate. Many of us are familiar with the music of John Lennon.  Although a great musician and songwriter, he fell into the same trap that many others fall into. He saw Christianity as just another religion and eventually rejected them all. Many of his darkest songs were about his rejection of religion.  Songs like Imagine, God and I found out were types of manifestos of how he saw religion. This is similar to how many young men go to seminary and somehow come out atheists.  As I study the bible and I come across the commentary of so called scholars, I feel the same weight that those young seminary students feel.  If I believed everything that these kooks are saying I will end up just like them where there is no God, no devil, no heaven and no hell.  I sometimes wonder why they are in it at all if it only leads them to the desperate position of “we all just evolved” and there is nothing but survival of the fittest and we all rot in the grave and give back to mother earth.  I was told outright by someone that Satan was really only the concept of opposition to God.  Lennon said it best in his song called God where he says “God is a concept” at the beginning of the song and then concludes the song with  “I just believe in Yoko and Me”.  The fastest way to come to ruins is to believe in yourself.   You can all go down that path but as for me and my family “we will serve the LORD”.  

God is real, the devil is real, heaven is real and hell is real.  The good thing though, is that Jesus has overcome the world.

Ps.  I found this sermon from the Berean Church in Virginia.  It has some pretty good information on it.

https://youtu.be/FRcbzVYIFWY