[SATAN, DEMONS; (CHRISTIAN): http://www.opendoor.com/Higher.Ground/part1a.html  ]

               PART 1-A: DEMON POSSESSION DEFINED AND EXPLAINED
                                       
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   1. SOURCES OF SUPERNATURAL POWER
   There are only two sources of supernatural power in the universe. The
   first source is made up of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the
   holy angels; they represent the forces for good. The second source of
   supernatural power consists of Satan and his demons. They represent
   the forces for evil.
   
   The term "supernatural" means something above the laws of nature. If
   something is truly supernatural and cannot be attributed to God and
   the power under His control, it must be attributed to Satan and the
   power under his control. There is no neutral supernatural power. There
   is no white magic and there are no friendly ghosts.
   
   If a happening or phenomenon is supernatural and cannot be explained
   by the laws of nature, the source of power is on a short list. It is
   either of God or of Satan.
   
 [massive re-structure has taken place :>  see the #s as indicators]
 
   5. The Origin of Satan and His Demons
   The Bible clearly teaches that there are supernatural beings which
   have superhuman powers. Holy angels are the agents of God and serve at
   His pleasure. Demons are the agents of Satan and are dedicated to
   support his evil activities.
   
[...]
 
   The Bible teaches that God always was but Satan and his demons seem to
   have an origin. Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden so we know he
   is at least as old as the human race. How much older than Adam and Eve
   Satan might be is not known. However, the book of Revelation talks
   about a war in heaven. Although this book is generally considered to
   contain prophecies about the end times, in Chapter 12:7-9, the writer
   (John) seems to have used the historic past tense. As John describes
   it, there was war in heaven. God and the good angels were on one side
   and Satan with the evil angels were on the other side. Satan and his
   angels lost that war and were thrown out of heaven and down onto the
   earth. This is the best information the Bible provides on the origin
   of Satan's demons. The conflict between God and Satan will continue
   until God puts Satan and all his demons in the lake of fire where they
   will be punished forever, as described in Rev. 12:17 and Rev. 20:10.
 
[more massve restructure]
 
   3. Satan's Limited Power
   Although Satan does have some supernatural power, there is a limit to
   this power. The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:4 that "greater is He that
   is in us (the Holy Spirit) than he that is in the world (Satan)." A
   powerful illustration of this is found in Revelation 20:1-3 where
   John, the Revelator, describes what will happen at the beginning of
   the millennium (the thousand years of peace): "And I saw an angel
   coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in
   his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent,
   who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He
   threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him . . . "
   
   This shows the relative power of God and Satan. When it comes time for
   Satan to be put in his place, God won't need to do it. He won't ask
   Jesus or the Holy Spirit to do it. He'll just deputize an angel and
   that's all it will take to completely neutralize Satan.
   
   In the meantime, though, Satan and his demons have real power. Within
   the limits God has set, Satan and his demons can do real spiritual
   damage to humans who are not filled by and, therefore, protected by
   the power of the Holy Spirit.
   

   2. Demons in the Bible
   There is no doubting that demon possession is mentioned frequently in
   the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament. Skeptics may
   claim these accounts of demon possession were really ignorant and
   superstitious descriptions of such clinical problems as mental illness
   and epilepsy. However, one of the Gospels was written by a physician
   named Luke. In fact, the most complete account of the Virgin Birth is
   recorded by Luke in Chapters 1 and 2 of his Gospel.
   
  [...]
 
   Before going on, we need to clearly understand our terms. I will use
   the terms Satan and demon exclusively when I talk about the forces of
   evil, with the exception of direct quotations from the Bible. In the
   King James Version of the Bible, the term "devil" is sometimes used to
   refer to Satan and at other times, "devil" refers to one or more of
   Satan's demons. I will always say Satan when I am talking about the
   chief of all evil. When I am talking about one of Satan's underlings,
   I will use the term demon. I will not use the term devil at all, in
   order to avoid confusion.
   
   
   C. Demons Knew Who Jesus Was
   The word demon comes from the ancient root "da", meaning the knowing
   ones. From the beginning, the demons knew who Jesus was and they knew
   something about His mission here on earth.
   
  
[...]
 
   D. Demons or Illness?
   Physical healing was an important part of the earthly ministry of
   Jesus. However, Luke makes a clear distinction between physical
   healing and providing deliverance from demon possession, as shown in
   these verses.
  
[...]
 
   E. Demons and Epilepsy
   Luke records a case where a child's demon possession caused what we
   would call epilepsy today. ....
  
[...]
 
   F. Demons and Speech Disability
   Luke also documents the case of a person who had his speech restored
   when he was delivered from demon possession. ....
  
[...]
 
   G. Multiple Demons Possessed a Single Person
   Luke records two case of persons who were possessed by multiple
   demons. These cases are important, also, when considering multiple
   personalities, reincarnation, and channeling.
  
[...]
 
   H. Physical Disability Caused By a Demon
   In Luke 13:10-13, he documents the case of a woman who had a physical
   disability for eighteen years because of a demon....
   
   
I. Summary of Luke's Writings About Demons
   Demons knew who Jesus was: Luke 4:33-35; Luke 4:41.
   Difference between those who were sick and those who were demon
   possessed: Luke 4:41-42; Luke 7:20-21.
   Some had multiple demons: Luke 8:2; Luke 8:30.
   Demon caused violence and epilepsy in a child: Luke 9:38-42
   Demon caused speech disability: Luke 11:14
   Demon caused physical disability: Luke 13:10-13
   
   
   4 Real Evil
   Demons are real personalities, not just some vague presence of evil.
   In our society, we have trivialized reference to evil powers. A
   comedian of the 70s was known for the phrase, "the devil made me do
   it!" Today, the term demon or devil can show up in a car name, a brand
   name, or even the name of an athletic team.
   
[huge snip]
 
   Hollywood and demons.
   Hollywood is convinced of the existence of literal demonic entities.
   Movies such as "The Exorcist", "Gremlins", and "Poltergeist" depict
   demons as actual personalities. In April 1989, a part of a Jim Henson
   TV special featured a story about demons and their interaction with
   humans. And Jim Henson is the originator of the "Muppets," a program
   for children.
  
[another huge snip] 
   
   ...when passive aggression is not
   enough to achieve Satan's evil objectives, the demons become Satan's
   strike force in bringing offensive warfare to bear against humans.
   
   Satan's favorite offensive weapon is demon possession. The Bible has
   many documented cases of how demons do possess the mind, will, and
   even body of human beings. Everything you may have read or heard about
   fictional demons is spelled out in vivid detail in the New Testament
   of the Bible. See Section 2 of Part 1 for specific examples.
   
   Modern demon possession rarely takes the form of uncontrolled violence
   and manic behavior. Demons prefer to keep a low profile and possess
   persons for very brief periods of time. In fact, the victims may be
   prominent and respected members of society.
  
 
   7. Symptoms of Demon Possession
   Demon possession may last for relatively brief periods of time for any
   one individual. The rest of the time, the victim of demon possession
   may appear normal by social standards. Only when a demon is in
   residence will its presence be detectable in terms of the behavior of
   the victim. The behavior of these short-term victims of demon
   possession is characterized by four basic symptoms. These symptoms may
   appear alone or in groups, for just seconds of time, and in varying
   degrees of intensity.
   
   
   The four basic symptoms are: (1) violence, (2) lust, (3) greed, and
   (4) an unnatural power of persuasion. A born-again (and Spirit-filled)
   Christian can discern the presence of demons in a human by using a
   technique which has been used by physicians for centuries: a study of
   the presence of symptoms. Although the demon (or demons) may never
   manifest itself openly by causing the victim to speak in a coarse,
   guttural voice or to act out in an antisocial manner, a study of the
   past behavior of such a person will reveal the presence of violence,
   lust, greed, and/or an unnatural power of persuasion.
   
   
   A. Violence.
   There is little doubt that all serial killers and serial arsonists are
   demon possessed. The classic case is Ted Bundy, who mixed violence
   with lust. (See Part 2-B, Section 9, for a discussion of demons and
   criminal behavior.)
   
   Massacre killers are clearly demon possessed, whether the scene of the
   crime is a school yard, a restaurant, or a commuter train. An assault
   weapon in the hands of a demon-possessed killer is a frightening
   thought, indeed. However, after the demonic urge to kill has passed,
   such a murderer may appear calm, in complete control, and even
   contrite. This is because of the intermittent nature of modern demon
   possession.
   
   Violence against family members seems to be on the rise. This includes
   spousal abuse as well as child abuse. What makes a prominent and well
   thought of member of the community physically abuse his wife, to the
   point where someone calls 9-1-1? What drives a parent to go far beyond
   corporal punishment and cause physical injury which requires medical
   treatment? Intermittent demon possession is the clear answer. (See the
   discussion of demonic time-sharing in Section 10 of Part 1-B.
   
   Suicide is frequently associated with demon possession, especially in
   teens and in adults, where there is no discernible cause. If a demon
   can induce a person to commit suicide who has not yet accepted Jesus
   Christ as a personal Savior, Satan has won the battle for that soul
   forever.
   
   
   B. Lust.
   There is a distinct difference between normal sexual desire and lust.
   The Bible clearly endorses sex within marriage to the point of full
   orgasm for both parties. The only sexual sin which can be committed
   between two people united in holy matrimony is selfishness. (See 1
   Cor. 7:1-9 and Heb. 13:4.)
   
   Lust is sexual activity outside the bonds and bounds of legal
   marriage. This includes fornication (sexual intercourse between two
   persons who are not married), adultery (sexual intercourse when one or
   both parties are married to someone else), homosexuality, incest,
   bestiality (sex activities between humans and animals), and child
   molestation.
   
   Demons are drawn by a human's interest in illicit sex. Therefore,
   using pornography in combination with indulging in sexual fantasies is
   dangerous. Regarding using pornography, Ted Bundy said, "Like an
   addiction, you keep craving something which is harder, something which
   gives you a greater sense of excitement until you reach the point
   where the pornography only goes so far. You reach that jumping off
   point where you begin to wonder if maybe actually doing it will give
   you that which is beyond reading about it or looking at it."
   
   When two people are both demon possessed, they may have a lustful
   affinity for each other which defies all logic. As a minimum, such
   lustful affinity causes the end of marriages and careers. Often,
   demon-induced lust leads to murder, completing the profile.
   
   A horrible mix of demonic violence and lust occurs in the case of a
   person who abducts a child, followed by rape and murder. The media
   fully documented such a case in late 1993, where an adolescent girl
   was kidnapped from her own home during a slumber party and later
   murdered.
   
   C. Greed
   Greed here is defined as a need for power as well as money. Problems
   in this area which relate to demon possession range from irrational
   shoplifting to overselling time shares.
   
   D. An Unnatural Power of Persuasion
   The modern cult leader is a classic example of a person with a demon
   enhanced power of persuasion. This is persuasive power which goes
   beyond a charismatic personality coupled with effective communication
   skills. This is the kind of persuasion which can convince large groups
   of people to band together with no visible and logical reasons for
   doing so. A cursory review of the lives of contemporary cultists will
   show an unnatural power of persuasion coupled with violence, lust, or
   greed in case after case.
   
   8. Symptoms in Children
   Children may have learning or behavior problems which are not directly
   linked to violence, lust, greed, or an unnatural power of persuasion.
   However, the Bible clearly documents a case of a young boy who had all
   the symptoms of what we call epilepsy today. (See Part 1-A, Section 2
   of this booklet and Luke 9:38-42.) Both Jesus and the author of the
   Gospel of Luke (who was a physician) diagnosed the source of the
   problem as demon possession: "Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed
   the boy and gave him back to his father." We now know how to treat
   epilepsy with anticonvulsants but who knows how many other cases of
   childhood behavior problems have a demon as the root cause? Parents of
   children who have certain behavior problems and learning difficulties
   should consult a Christian psychologist who understands demon
   possession.
   
   9. Disabilities as Symptoms
   The casual reader of the Bible may not be aware that there are at
   least two cases documented by Doctor Luke where a disability was
   caused by a demon. In Luke 11:14, a man who didn't speak was able to
   amaze the crowd with his speaking ability after Jesus drove out his
   demon.
   
   The second case involved a woman who appeared to have a severe
   physical disability and hadn't stood up straight for 18 years because
   of a demon. In Luke 13:10-13, she stood straight when Jesus placed his
   hands on her and healed her.
   
   It would be dangerous to assume that every person with a disability is
   demon possessed. However, we may never know how many such cases do
   involve demons. Parents and human service professionals should be
   especially suspicious of problems for which there is no discernible
   physiological or neurological cause. This list should include
   schizophrenia as characterized by "hearing voices".
   
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