CIM Briefing Papers
DEMON POSSESSION
C.I.M. Outline #30
I. Introduction
There are many reasons why the subject of demon possession
is a relevant subject of interest among Christians. Some of
these are:
A. The popularity of eastern mysticism and religions, i.e.
the New Age Craze.
B. The current romantic view of Native American Indian
culture and their animistic religion.(No this is not
politically correct!)
C. The apparent increase in satanic ritual abuse victims
has prompted Christian counselors to question the line
of demarcation between mental and spiritual etiologies.
D. A proliferation of deliverance ministries has increased
the debate among evangelicals about definitions,
methods, etc.
E. The evangelical presses are cranking out a high volume
of literature on the subject of demonology both in
fictional and non-fictional form. The works of Frank
Peretti are bestsellers. We are now hearing of "dark
angels," "territorial demons," "generational curses,"
"transference of spirits," and "warring in the
heavenlies."
II. The Problems
A. The problem of definition. Exactly what is demon
possession? What are its symptoms?
B. The mind-body problem. How can that which is spiritual
influence or control that which is physical? Spirits
are non-spatial; how can they inhabit that which is
physical without violating the laws of physics? The
Holy Spirit is likewise said to indwell our bodies
which is described as a temple ( I Cor. 6:19). (This
is a tough philosophical issue and will not be covered
in this outline. For a more thorough analysis of this
problem ask for CIM's paper on The Mind-Body Problem.)
C. Does demon possession occur today?
D. Can Christians be possessed by demons?
E. How can we discern the difference between so-called
symptoms of possession and mental illness?
F. How can possession be distinguished from oppression or
other forms of demonic influence?
G. Can and should Christians attempt to cast out demons?
III. Overview of Biblical Demonology
A. Their origin. The most satisfying view is that they
are fallen angels. Satan is their Prince (Matt.
12:24). See also Rev. 12:4.
B. Their personality. The Bible uses personal pronouns
and assigns to them the attributes of personality, i.e.
they have intellect, etc. Along with the greek word
for demons we find the following descriptive
adjectives: "unclean", "evil", "more evil", "deaf",
"dumb", or "mute", "spirits of infirmity", and
"divination".
C. Their primary work. As Satan's subjects they carry
out his work in the world. In general, their work
seems to be one of temptation and deceit. I Cor. 14:29;
I Tim. 4:1. More Specifically, they seek to torture
the victims they possess.
D. Their destiny. Matt. 25:41. Eternal punishment in
Hell.
IV. Relevant Biblical References to Demon Possession
(For a complete list of Scripture references for demonology
see Appendix B in Philpot's book listed in the bibliography)
A. Old Testament: Lev. 20:27; I Sam. 16:14; 18:10; 28:7ff.
B. New Testament:Matt. 4:24; 7:22; 8:16,28ff.; 9:32ff.;
10:8; 11:18; 12:22ff.;12:43ff.;15:22; 17:14ff. Mark
1:24,26,32,34,39; 3:15,22; 5:2ff; 6:13;9:38;
7:26,29,30; 16:9,17. Luke 4:33,35,41; 7:33; 8:2,27ff;
9:1,42,49; 10:17; 11:14,15,18,19,20; 13:32. John 7:20;
8:48,49,52; 10:20,21. Acts 8:7; 16:16; 19:12,13. I
Cor. 10:20,21. I Tim. 4:1
V. Defining Demon Possession
A. The Problem: The Bible does not give an all inclusive
definition. All we can know is what we induce from a
careful study of all biblical references. The picture
presented in the NT is that the people readily
recognized demon possession, and was apparently
recognizable even by pagans (as in the case of the Syro-
Phoenician woman in Matt. 15).
B. The Biblical words: Three words are used:
(Note: The actual phrase "demon Possession" is not used
in the Bible. It first appears in Josephus near the end
of the First Century.)
1. "daimonion exon" (16 times) "one having a demon".
The word has the idea of one "bearing a demon within
oneself" with resultant physical and mental
suffering.
2. "daimonizomai" (13 times) "to be demonized". It has
the idea of control, influence, or dominion over the
victim, and it is a control that apparently cannot
be resisted by the person being demonized.
3. "Ochloumenous: "one tormented by evil (unclean)
spirits." It is used only in Acts 5:16. A root of
the word is used in Luke 6:18 "Those troubled by
evil spirits." It is also used in Greek literature.
The emphasis in this word seems to be on the torture
wrought by the evil spirit.
C. Definition:
1. In some way that we cannot totally explain, a demon
(or demons) possesses, inhabits, or controls a
person's body and faculties against the person's
will for its purpose of doing its will in the
material world, and to destroy and torment its host
physically, mentally, and spiritually.
2. Unger, an authority on demonology says: The chief
characteristic of demon possession is the automatic
projection of a new personality in the victim, the
inhabiting demon using the body of the possessed
individual as a vehicle for his own thought, words
and acts. (See DEMONS IN THE WORLD TODAY,
pp.102ff.).
3. Demon possession should not be confused with demon
influence. However, the original word
"daimonizomai" may refer to a variety or degrees of
demonical activity. Demon possession itself may
appear in degrees of severity. Being possessed by
more than one demon implies a deeper level of
possession. Some demons may also be more powerful
than others.
VI. Symptoms of Demon Possession
(The following symptoms are more properly the symptoms of
being demonized in keeping with the definition of the
original.)
A. Biblical Symptoms
1. Physical: blindness (Matt. 12:22-29), dumbness
(Matt.9:32), a crippled woman (Lk. 13:11-16).
While we can't be dogmatic, it may be that some of
these symptoms were psychosomatic, meaning that
there was no organic or material cause. We also
would not rule out the possibility that demons
could cause illnesses which would otherwise be
diagnosed as being caused by chemical imbalances or
from such sources as bacteria or viruses.
2. Supernatural. Mark 1:24. The demon knew Christ's
true identity. The same demon threw his subject to
the ground. See also the account in Matt. 8 where
the victim had extra-ordinary strength and was made
to break chains, etc. In Acts 16, we have an
account of a girl with apparent psychic ability.
3. Antisocial behavior. Self-inflicted wounds,
nakedness, screaming.
4. Mental or emotional: depression, mental illness.
The boy in Matt. 17:15ff. is described in the
original text as being "moonstruck" or literally
insane. The symptoms were so like epilepsy some
english translations translate it epilepsy. When
Jesus commanded the demon to leave, the boy went
into convulsions apparently caused by the demon.
5. Note: An observation from the New Testament data:
demon possession is almost always linked to
physical and mental symptoms rather than causing
the victim to perform sinful deeds.
B. The Catholic Church recognizes 4 characteristics of
demon possession:
1. Knowledge of a language previously unknown by the
victim.
2. Knowledge of hidden or secret things.
3. Demonstration of superhuman strength.
4. An aversion to the things of God.
C. It should be noted that not all of the symptoms need to
be present for it to be demon possession. In Luke 13:
a demon kept a woman in a crippled condition for 18
years. She apparently had none of the other symptoms.
In the strict sense of the term, she also may not have
been actually possessed by the demon, but under its
bondage.
D. Missionaries, ministers, and those involved in
deliverance ministries, report the same symptoms
appearing in demon possessed people today.
VII. Mental Illness and Demon Possession: The Problem of
Distinctives
A. This is of course, one of the major difficulties. The
Bible clearly recognizes that not all illness is
attributable to demons. Matt. 4:23ff. says Jesus
healed all diseases and delivered those possessed of
demons.
B. The above-mentioned symptoms (in Part VI.) have also
been listed as being characteristics of certain types
of mental illness which are more or less treatable by
modern medicine. The question is: how can we discern
when a condition is caused by demonic control, or,
normal environmental or physical causes? Before we
discuss this, it might be helpful to review some
aspects of the Christian worldview with regard to the
nature of man and the cause of disease:
1. The nature of man
There are two extremes to avoid.
a. The Materialist or naturalist view says man is
just a complicated electro-chemical machine.
This is, of course the prevailing view in
academia and much of modern psychiatry. This
view denies the supernatural or spiritual
aspect of man.
b. The Spiritual view. This view tends to see a
spiritual cause behind all problems including
physical disease, i.e. sickness is due to sin.
Evil in this view is attributable to satan and
his demons (The devils made me do it!). This
view sees the supernatural in everything.
c. A Biblical view: Man is a psycho-spiritual-
physical unity. It avoids the reductionism
of the two preceding views. The important
word here is unity. Physicians know that a
person's will to live affects their prognosis
for recovery. They also know that extreme
anxiety may affect a person's immune system
leaving them less resistant to disease.
2. The causes of illness according to a Biblical view
of man
(Note: it is not entirely Christian to
characterize illness as either physical or mental,
although it is common for us to do so. Man is a
unified being. Even if the symptoms of an illness
are predominantly physical, the soul also suffers.
If the soul is sick, there will also be physical
consequences. In healing then, often of
combination of spiritual and physical resources
need to be employed, i.e. forgiveness,
repentance, prayer, exercise, good diet, and
medication.)
a. A general cause: Sin resulting in the Fall
has affected all creation.
b. Specific physical causes: it could be
genetic, or caused by micro-organisms such as
virus and bacteria, improper diet.
c. Personal sin: it may have direct physical
consequences as when harmful drugs are
purposefully ingested, or the guilt of sin may
cause psychosomatic responses. Note: some
maladies may be the result of the sinful
behavior of others!
d. Satan and demons. See symptoms above in part
IV.
e. Illness may have its primary source in God as
a means of discipline. See Nebuchadnezzar.
C. Distinguishing Demon Possession from Mental illness.
Or, what is demonic and what is pathological?
1. The General Diagnostic Problem: Since man is such
a complex being, it may be impossible to ever
understand the complete etiology of an illness.
From a study of biblical revelation we can
conclude that Satan and his demons can cause a
variety of symptoms (physical, mental, and
spiritual). However, these same symptoms may be
caused entirely apart from demons, or, it may be a
combination of causes, natural and supernatural.
There are primary and secondary causes, as well as
a moral and volitional aspects to health and
sickness, e.g. aids.
2. Specific diagnosis of Demon possession and mental
illness.
(We realize the definition of mental illness is
both difficult and controversial. It is not our
purpose to get technical. We are mainly here
referring to what are commonly called psychoses.
Mental illness may be hard to define [like demon
possession] but we usually know it when we see it!
Some observations:
a. In many cases it may be impossible to know a
priori if symptoms are caused by demons. For
example, an individual may have the symptoms
of a certain form of mental illness which is
treatable with medication. However, if the
treatment does not result in improvement, and
it is learned that the patient has had
involvement in certain occultic activity, the
symptoms may have been demonically caused.
b. Missionaries report cases of demon possession
on the mission field which often exhibit no
symptoms that resemble those of mental
illness. In other words, behavior is normal
and rational. The possession, however, is
obvious due to supernatural phenomena,
opposition to the gospel, and the distinct
presence of another personality.
c. If a person comes to a counselor admitting
that they are demon possessed it is likely
they are not simply because the demons do not
generally want their presence known.
d. Demonic involvement should be looked at
simultaneously along with the medical, mental,
spiritual causes. Never underestimate the
degree of human depravity! See Gal. 5:19-21;
James 1:13.
e. When a person has the normal symptoms of
mental illness, but does not respond to the
normal treatment of those symptoms, demonic
involvement should be explored. Neil Anderson
uses an inventory to check for possible occult
involvement. See his book THE BONDAGE
BREAKER. Others ask questions concerning the
deity of Christ and His shed blood to note the
reactions. Demons believe in God and this
knowledge makes them tremble (see James 2:19).
According to missionaries and those
experienced in dealing with demon possession,
those possessed will evidence immediate
negative reactions.
f. a posteriori. If a person has the normal
symptoms of a mental illness, yet does not
respond to normal treatment, but does respond
to the fervent prayer of righteous Christians,
it is probably safe to conclude that demons
were the source. We are here referring to a
situation where the person genuinely repents
and trusts in Christ, and where the symptoms
do not return.
VIII. Ministering to the Demon Possessed
A. Christians do not have to fear demons. "Greater is
He that is in you..." However, neither should they
be taken lightly. One should have a clear
understanding of what the Bible teaches about the
enemy.
B. From our understanding of Scripture, there are no
special gifts operative today such as "gifts of
deliverance", or "gifts of exorcism", or even gifts
of discernment (in the supernatural sense). Every
believer is a priest and can pray for someone in
bondage.
C. When a case of demon-possession is highly
suspected, we recommend the following:
1. The person needs to be confronted with the fact
that their state is a result of their willful
decision to yield to the evil spirits rather
than to their Creator-God.
2. The person must be enjoined to repent of the
sin of worshipping false gods and turn to
Christ for forgiveness and salvation. Note: in
some cases, due to the severity of the demonic
attack it may be impossible to share the
gospel. See the next step.
3. The Prayer of Faith: "The prayer of a righteous
man is powerful and effective." James 5:16.
(For the right kind of faith see I Cor. 13:2).
Pray that the afflicted will be convicted of sin
(his or hers), righteousness (Christ's), and
judgement (its certainty) (see John 16:5-11).
Pray that the Lord Jesus, to whom all authority
is given, will release this person from the
bondage of the demon(s). It is recommended that
you not be alone but in the company of other
believers who will pray with you. It is also
recommended by some that you pray out loud.
Demons cannot read our thoughts.
4. The Scripture is an offensive weapon (Eph. 6:17)
Read aloud passages which tell of Satan's
defeat.
D. We do not recommend carrying on a dialogue with
evil spirits. Instead, insist (in the name of
Christ) that they shut up.
E. When the person is freed the emptiness must be
filled by Christ or the demons will eventually
return, making the person's state worse than it
originally was. Matt. 12:43ff.
IX. How People become Possessed
Perhaps the most profound thing we will say in this outline
is that "people become demon possessed when they break the
First Commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before
me." This is why the sin of idolatry was so serious in the
OT (see Deut. 32:17 and in the NT, I Cor. 10:20,21). The
images themselves were nothing; it was the demons behind
them. Demon possession is less common in cultures which are
pervasively Christian. Where demons (spirits) are
worshipped, as in Southeast Asia, demon possession is
common. As our own society becomes more pagan we can expect
to see its frequency increase.
X. Final Observations and Concerns
A. It is very dangerous to develop a doctrine of demonology
from experience. See Jn.8:44 . When demons speak they
lie.
B. What about Christians? Can they be demon possessed? We
have no doubt that professing Christians can be
possessed. 85% of the population in the U.S. claims to
be Christian. It is difficult to believe that a
person's body can be occupied simultaneously both by the
Holy Spirit and a foul spirit. When I Cor. says our
body is the temple of the Holy Spirit it uses the greek
word naos, the same word used for the Holy of Holies in
the OT. We find no warrant from Scripture for the
belief that a true, regenerate Christian can be demon
possessed. That a true Christian can be influenced,
harrassed, be oppressed, or be in bondage to demons
there can be little doubt, otherwise the admonition to
put on the whole armor of God would make little sense.
C. I John 4:1ff. This passage does not have anything to do
with testing demons by addressing them. Rather, John is
warning believers about being gullible to false prophets
whose doctrine is heretical.
XI. Bibliography
A. The most useful bibliography for Pastors and counselors:
COUNSELING AND THE DEMONIC by Rodger K. Bufford may be
the overall most helpful for the professional
counselor. While we do not endorse everything in the
following, they are exhaustive and helpful: THE BONDAGE
BREAKER by Neil Anderson, DEMONS IN THE WORLD TODAY, by
Merrill F. Unger, DEMONS: A BIBLICALLY BASED
PERPSPECTIVE by Alex Konya, and DEMON POSSESSION, a
symposium edited by John Warwick Montgomery. We would
single out MIRACLES, DEMONS AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE, by
Edward N. Gross for its sound doctrinal treatment.
We also found the following journal articles helpful:
Walter C. Johnson. "Demon Possession and Mental
Illness," JOURNAL OF AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC
AFFILIATION. (Sept. 1982), 149-154.
William Berends. "The Biblical Criteria for Demon-
Possession," WESTMINSTER JOURNAL. XXXVII number 3
(Spring 1975), 342-365.
B. General Bibliography
Alexander, William Menzies. DEMON POSSESSION IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT.
Anderson, Neil T. THE BONDAGE BREAKER.
Anderson, Neil T. VICTORY OVER DARKENESS.
Anderson, Neil T. WALKING THROUGH DARKNESS.
Bubeck, Mark I. THE ADVERSARY.
Bubeck, Mark I. OVERCOMING THE ADVERSARY.
Bufford, Rodger K. COUNSELING AND THE DEMONIC.
Davis, John J. DEMONS, EXORCISM AND THE EVANGELICAL.
Dickason, C. Fred ANGELS, ELECT AND EVIL.
Dickason, C. Fred. DEMON POSSESSION AND THE CHRISTIAN.
Gross, Edward N. MIRACLES, DEMONS, AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE.
Koch, Kurt. DEMONOLOGY, PAST AND PRESENT.
Koch, Kurt and Lechler, Alfred. OCCULT BONDAGE AND
DELIVERANCE.
Konya, Alex. DEMONS: a BIBLICALLY BASED PERSPECTIVE.
Leahy, Frederick S. SATAN CAST OUT: A STUDY IN BIBLICAL
DEMONOLOGY.
Martin, Walter. EXORCISM: FACT OR FABLE.
Montgomery, John Warwick. ed. DEMON POSSESSION.
Nevius, John L. DEMON POSSESSION.
Penn-Lewis, Jessie. WAR ON THE SAINTS.
Philpott, Kent. A MANUAL OF DEMONOLOGY AND THE OCCULT.
(See his excellent bibliography.)
Unger, Merrill F. Biblical Demonology.
Unger, Merrill F. Demons in the World Today.
Unger, Merrill F. What Demons can do to Saints.
And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten
to undo us;
We will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph
through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, We tremble not for him; His
rage we can endure,
For Lo! his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.
M. Luther
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