Dealing with Demons in Grace

The threat from Satan and his demons is much more pervasive than imagined.  As the author of sin, Satan has set up a Cosmic System that is virtually impregnable apart from the Grace of God.  Although Christians have a choice about personal sins, they don’t have a choice about sin in general.  They are born into it, and Satan, the master of deceit, has access to the believer with or without permission.  Demons have infiltrated every area of life, including the local church.  The only hope for dealing with Satan and his demons is the Grace of God.

Contents

Demons Everywhere 
Sin in Human History 
The Cosmic System 
Demon Attacks 
World Impact 
The Grace Solution 
Infirmities 
House Divided 
Fallacies about Satan and Demons 
Do’s and Don’ts 
Dream Attacks 
Demon Attacks in Children 
Purpose of Demon Attacks

Demons Everywhere

Ignorance is bliss.  That’s the state of Christianity today.  Pastors don’t know what the devil is doing because they haven’t been taught.  Theology never got out of the Dark Ages in dealing with direct demon attack, and it falls short on sin (Hamartiology).  The prevailing mood is that if a demon reveals himself to a Christian, it a sign of a perverse person.  Remember, the Lord sent Satan to attack Job.  On the other side are the spiritual quacks who run around pleading the blood, sprinkling holy water, and trying to cast out demons.  Not even the Apostle Paul could cast out a demon before the end of the Apostolic Period.  What makes these confused impostors think they have the precanon Spiritual gifts?

There is only one approach to understanding anything in this life, whether it is sin, Satan, demons, or God.  That is the Grace of God.  God must reveal the truth, and God must solve the problem.  Grace is the free gift of God.  It requires no work on man’s part.  The Church Age is the Age of Grace.  God gave us the completed canon of scripture so that He can fulfill it in Grace.  Church Age doctrine is found in the 21 epistles to the Church.  Anyone who doesn’t believe that is apostate.

The epistles do not teach the casting out of demons.  When a demon attacked, the Apostle Paul was helpless to stop him.  The Lord answered Paul’s prayer and told him to use Grace (Ref. Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh, 2 Cor 12:7-9).  Is that difficult?  So, why do the impostors run around today claiming to cast out demons?  The answer is that they themselves are full of the devil.  Casting out demons is a Satanic trick.  It has been used throughout history by witches to replace undesirable demons with more tolerable ones.  Some demons have vicious traits.  So the witches and wizards sought to replace them.

Sin in Human History

The necessity for Grace arises from the nature of a world of sin.  Satan was a master genius and highest ranking archangel of God until he sinned.  Satan wanted to “be like the Most High.”  He wanted to sit on the Throne of God and take the place of Jesus Christ as the Lord of Creation.  Satan convinced a third of the Elect Angels to follow him.  God gave Satan and the fallen angels an opportunity to repent, but they rejected God’s solution.  Therefore, God found them guilty and sentenced them to the Lake of Fire.  However, Satan appealed the sentence, and God granted the Appeal Trial.  Human history, beginning in the Garden of Eden, is the Appeal Trial.

God created two witnesses, a man and a woman, and placed them in the Garden of Eden.  The man and woman were perfect and without sin.  They had a body, soul, and spirit.  They had fellowship with God, like the angels, and were God’s witnesses for the Appeal Trial.  They were given a test to see if they would sin.  They were told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil, for in the day they ate of it, dying they would die.  They enjoyed a wonderful life in perfect environment.  However, when Satan was allowed to cross examine the witnesses, he convinced the woman to sin.  The woman ate the forbidden fruit, and gave it to her husband, and he ate.

After eating the forbidden fruit man died spiritually, and he would eventually die physically just as God had decreed.  Adam lost the rulership of the world, and Satan took over.  Satan was the author of sin.  After the Fall, Satan ruled the world through his Cosmic System.  Satan lived in sin, and man lived in sin.  God cannot have fellowship with sin.  God is Holy and Righteous, and His perfect Justice must condemn sin.  The Lord gave the man and woman in the Garden a choice.  They could accept His solution and He would pay for their sins, or they could reject His solution and be sentenced to the Lake of Fire.  They chose to believe in Jesus Christ and were saved.  However, they still had sin in their bodies and would eventually die physically.

This set the stage for the rest of human history.  Satan ruled the world in sin.  Man with sin in his body was subject to Satan.  However, man’s sins would be forgiven by faith in Jesus Christ, who paid for the sins.  God would protect man through His Grace from Satan.  However, Satan would be allowed to cross examine the witnesses.

There’s a moral to the story.  Man was created to be a witness in the Appeal Trial.  As a created being, man cannot choose his destiny.  He can choose some things.  He can choose to sin, but there are limits to his choices.  He cannot choose to be free from Satan.  That is God’s decision.  God can limit Satan’s access to man but not prohibit it.  Satan is allowed to cross examine the witnesses.  That happened to Job. It happened to Daniel in the lion’s den.  It happened to the humanity of Christ when He was on Earth.  And it will happen to you.  So, count it all joy, brother!

The Cosmic System

Satan rules the world through his Cosmic System.  The Cosmic System includes millions of demons organized under Satan to rule the world.  Through his policy of lies and deceit, Satan and his demons have infiltrated every aspect of life on Earth.  Satan is engaged in the grand plan of altering human history to destroy Israel and usher in a false millennium to prevent the Lord’s return to fulfill the unconditional covenants to Israel.

However, on a personal level, Satan and his demons have access to humans with or without permission.  How so?  The human body has an Old Sin Nature.  Every cell of the body is contaminated with the sin of Adam.  The Old Sin Nature in the body has an affinity to sin in the Cosmic System.  Demons can attack the body just as the demon attacked Paul’s body without his permission.  Only the Grace of God can prevent a demon from having access to a human body.  The skin is not a barrier to keep demons out.

The illusion that people have is that their body is their own.  That is wrong!  God created the body, and He decides what happens to it.  At birth, He imputes to the body the sin of Adam and judges it with real spiritual death.  The body is full of sin just as the Cosmic System is full of sin.  The popular theology teaches that man must choose to sin.  Whereas, it is true that personal sins are a matter of choice, the human body is open to attack from the Cosmic System without a person’s permission.  So, suffice it to say that everyone is vulnerable to demon attack and influence from the Cosmic System.

Demon Attacks

There are two basic types of demon attacks upon a person:  attacks on the head and attacks on the body.  Satan as the Evil King attacks the head (1 Pet 5:8), and Satan as the Prostitute of Babylon attacks the body (2 Cor 12:7).  The attacks are almost opposites.  The Evil King attack is an attack upon life, and the Prostitute of Babylon attack is an attack upon love.  Evil King attacks include authority attacks, attempts to kill, maim, or hurt, medical ailments and infirmities.  Prostitute of Babylon attacks include demon rape, molestation, and seduction.

Demon attacks may come from Cosmic, Political, and Ecumenical Babylon.  The attacks fall into three categories due to the Justice of God, who rules over all Creation.  Attacks from Cosmic Babylon are associated with the head.  Attacks from Political Babylon are associated with the body, and attacks from Ecumenical Babylon are associated with the feet and legs.

The demon attacks on each area of the body will cause various symptoms and discomfort to indicate an outside attack. For example, an attack on the head may cause breathing or sinus trouble.  An attack on the body may be like a thorn or pin pricking or an attempt at sensual manipulation.  A sudden drop in temperature is also the sign of such an attack.  Attacks on the feet or legs may cause weakness or tingling like the leg going to sleep.

The recognition of the demon attack from Cosmic, Political, or Ecumenical Babylon is a clue that can be used to correlate the demon attack with some other issue in the life.  The issue may be in the past or future.  It may indicate false beliefs or weaknesses that need to be strengthened.  Although the demon attacks are not welcome, they are often inadvertently invited.  For example, a demon attack of sensuality may result from harboring an illicit lust.  Demons exploit personal weaknesses.  They don’t generally attack a person’s strong points.

The demon attack upon the head is the most complicated.  It begins with God’s Judgment.  God decides to punish the person by allowing a demon to have access. The Lord protected Job with a hedge of security until He decided to open the security gate and allow Satan access (Job 1:10).  God’s Judgment of the head produces Scar Tissue of the Soul, which blocks out divine Light and allows garbage in the subconscious to come out and cause problems.  The person does not know what is in his subconscious; so, he is oblivious to the cause of these problems.  The Scar Tissue of the Soul also leaves the person with illusions and subjectivity.  The combination of Scar Tissue of the Soul and garbage in the subconscious leads to cosmic desires, which is an affinity to the Cosmic System from the Old Sin Nature.  This is like a vacuum in the soul that sucks in the Cosmic System.  Next, Satan sees the opening and attacks as the Evil King, who may be a demon sent by Satan.  The demon can exploit the opening to implant thoughts, illusions, or feelings.  Once the demon has access to the soul, he has power over any part of the body, as well as the power to produce all manner of psychosomatic pains.  The stress can cause a headache or the pressure on the brain stem can cause loss of breath and a choking sensation.  This happened to Daniel in the presence of Gabriel (Dan 10:17).  This is one explanation for asthma.

One of the demons of the Prostitute of Babylon has power over the victim as well as other people associated with the victim.  The demon attack begins when God opens the door.  The soul of the victim quickly darkens.  The victim has about two or three minutes to recognize the attack and change his mind.  If he doesn’t change his mind, he will come under the spell of the demon.  The demon attacks the subconscious like a hypnotist.  He does not attack the conscious mind, except to cover it with darkness.  The victim will become tired and sleepy due to garbage in the subconscious.  Then the victim will try to satisfy the desires of the subconscious.  Thus, the victim will sow to the wind in the first stage of double discipline (Hos 8:7).

Under the power of the demon, the victim loses control of his boundaries.  He may be insatiable and fail to establish proper limits for eating or his social life.  This can eventually lead to promiscuity, obesity, and codependency as well as other physical and psychological maladies, especially respiratory problems.  Without control of the mind, the person will be unable to learn and apply Bible Doctrine.  He will be a casualty in the Spiritual life.  His desires will be the pursuit of Reversionism.  At this point the person will fall under the second stage of double discipline and reap the whirlwind from Divine Discipline (Hos 8:7).

The believer is protected by God in the Divine Dynasphere, where in the filling of the Holy Spirit he has Peace.  However, in Spiritual Warfare, testing, and for other reasons, God may open the door and allow Satan access to the believer just as he did the woman in the Garden.  Satan and his demons cannot come near until God opens the door.  God opens the door and reduces the spiritual Light (the Life line).  This gives Satan and his demons access to the believer’s soul and body.  Satan and his demons can put thoughts in the mind and weaken the pressure points of the spiritual body.  The believer falls under the power of Satan and becomes his captive.  At this point the believer is being tested.  He must recognize the attack and resist the devil with the faith in his Edification Complex.  When he resists, the devil will flee.  The attack will usually be associated with another person, who is an antichrist, Evil King, or Prostitute of Babylon.  That person will provide a clue of the meaning of the attack.

The frog demon attacks without any noticeable effects except for a sudden tired feeling.  Once recognized, however, he can be resisted, and he will leave.

World Impact

God opens the door in the soul to allow Satan and his demons to attack the believer just as He did to Job.  God is the Sovereign power over all Creation, and demons can only attack with God’s permission.  Everyone has angels and demons assigned to him.  The angels are sometimes called Guardian Angels.  They enable a person to fulfill his life.  Demons are assigned by Satan to individuals.  The Apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh demon assigned to buffet him (2 Cor 12:7), and Peter was familiar with attacks by Satan, who was like a roaring lion (1 Pet 5:8).  So, it can be assumed that everyone has demons in his life, even pastors.

Demons influence the lives of apostates and reversionists to make them into the Evil King or Prostitute of Babylon.  Demons appeal to people to tempt them and lure them into the Cosmic System where they are enslaved.  People under the power of demons become their slaves to do their will (2 Tim 2:26).  People under demon power do the devil’s bidding and practice evil.  They are the enemies of God and believers (Phil 3:18).  They attack other people with the power of the demon in their life.

People, whether believers or unbelievers, have the power to attack other people.  They can attack with their inherent soulish, or psychic, power or with the power of their demons.  Psychic attacks are rather mild compared to the demon attacks.  A psychic attack, for example, may cause little more than a pain in the body that quickly goes away.  However, an attack from a demon can cause Blackout of the Soul, cause loss of breath, knock a person out, or cause all manner of maladies, including sickness, hay fever, mental illness, epilepsy, and demon possession. 

Although it would appear that demon attacks are the substance of Spiritual Warfare, that is not the case.  Demon attacks are only the symptoms of bigger problems.  Demon attacks from other people may symbolize attacks on the nation.  People are like pieces on a chess board.  An attack may symbolize an attack from criminality of Simeon or Scorpius.  Or an attack may symbolizes an attack on the federal judiciary from Dan or Libra.  The believer who has the power to win the victory in the face of these attacks is a winner believer, who has impact in the world.  The fall of the Soviet Union was due to the impact of such believers.

Satan has good reason for sending his demons into the lives of people.  Not only does this disrupt and distract people from executing the Spiritual life, but the only way Satan can score points is through people.  The activities of Satan and his demons alone have no bearing on the Appeal Trial.  Only the thoughts and actions of people are accepted as testimony.  Demon influence over a person in his sleep through dreams has little value.  The person needs to be awake to testify.  When people wake up in the morning, they are ripe for demon influence.  That is why the early morning is a time when demons attack.

The Grace Solution

The only hope for man is the Grace of God.  Satan has set up a Cosmic System that is virtually impregnable.  Fortunately, God has a better system than Satan.  God’s solution to man’s problems in the midst of the devil’s world is Grace.  God will  provide help in Grace for every trial and exigency of life.  The Grace-oriented believer need not fear or be intimidated by Satan and his demons.  “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31).  He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5).  And no matter how difficult the test, God will not allow us to be tested beyond what we are able (1 Cor 10:13).

Grace begins at Salvation.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that (salvation) is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God! 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

God did all the work for Salvation.  The Lord Jesus Christ paid for the sins of the world so that anyone can be saved simply by believing in Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Acts 16:31).

If a person sins after Salvation, the Grace recovery procedure is to acknowledge the sins to God (1 Jn 1:9).  The recovery procedure, called Rebound, restores the Filling of the Holy Spirit and fellowship with God.  The believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit is free to respond to God through Grace.  This is called Grace orientation.  Grace orientation means responding to God’s Grace.  God is not impressed with anything we can do.  In Grace, He does the work.  Only His solution will be effective against demon attacks.

Through Grace, God reveals the truth to the believer so that he is not blind-sided by a demon.  When a demon attacks a believer, God, in His Grace, reveals all the necessary details about the attack so that the doctrinal believer can understand the spiritual issues and take appropriate action.  For example, the demon attack may have been due to association with an apostate who was under the influence of the demon.  It might be noticed that the demon attack followed or preceded association with that person.  And the location of the demon attack on the body provides another clue as to whether it came from Cosmic, Political, or Ecumenical Babylon.  The Evil King attacks the head, and the Prostitute of Babylon attacks the body.  In the Sovereign Design of God, the pertinent clues will be revealed to the believer who has discernment.

Rebound and the Filling of the Holy Spirit are effective against personal sins, but they will not keep demons from attacking.  During an attack, the believer should resist from a position of Grace.

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Submitting to God is Grace orientation.  Resisting the devil, which includes demons, means rejecting Satan and his demons and not giving in to their attacks.  Resisting includes turning away from, ignoring the demon, and not thinking about him in any way.  An attack can often be thwarted simply by thinking about something else. Resisting requires standing “solidly in your faith” (1 Pet 5:9).  Faith is reliance on Bible Doctrine, which requires alignment of the X, Y, and Z axes of the Spiritual life.  The X axis is faith, or Bible Doctrine.  The Y axis is Divine Love.  And the Z axis is obedience to divine authority.  Satan counterattacks the X, Y, and Z axes through Ecumenical (X), Political (Y), and Cosmic (Z) Babylon.

So that is the solution to demon attacks per Church Age doctrine.  The believer must be on the lookout to spot the attack in order to deal with it.  He may not have the Spiritual strength at first to withstand the attack.  He is told to “be sober” (1 Pet 5:8), which means operate in Spiritual Self-Esteem.  The believer with Spiritual Self-Esteem will have the strength and confidence to handle the attack.  Immature believers who are under demon attack need to get under the ministry of a Grace-oriented pastor so they can grow Spiritually until they are strong enough to resist the demon.

If the demon attack is sent by God to test or teach the believer as in the case of Job, the demon will not be removed until the test is passed.  When the test is passed, God will promote the believer; he will be strengthened, and the demon will be removed (1 Pet 5:10).

Rebound

Rebound can stop a personal attack from a demon.  Rebound often does not work because the victim is blind to the sin that is involved.  For example, the attack that causes choking may be stopped by Rebounding the sin of bitterness.  This is because the demon has dragged the victim into the Cosmic System.  Being under demon control amounts to idolatry.  The demon is full of bitterness, and the victim has a root of bitterness springing up like gall (ref. Deut 29:18; Heb 12:15).  Rebound restores the Filling of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Divine Dynasphere to protect the believer from the Cosmic System.

1 John 4:4 
You are from God, little children, and you have overcome them (antichrists) because greater is He who is in you (Holy Spirit) than he who is in the world (Satan).

Believers are born from God and have the power to overcome antichrists.  An antichrist is a person, such as a false prophet or teacher, with a demon spirit (1 Jn 4:1-3).  The power of the Filling of the Holy Spirit in the believer has the power to defeat Satan and his evil spirits.  False teachers have evil spirits and teach doctrines of demons.  The demon of the false teacher, antichrist, may attack the believer.  Turning away from the evil spirit and turning to the Holy Spirit of God through the Filling of the Holy Spirit (concentration on the Spirit) will overpower the evil spirit.

Fallacies about Satan and Demons

Demons have been hassling man since the beginning.  Either as a tribute to the genius of Satan or the ignorance of man, the Grace solution to handing demons appears to have escaped the understanding of the best and brightest.  Since it is impossible to get to Spiritual Rapport without understanding God’s Grace solution to dealing with demons, it indicates that not many Christians ever break free of Satan’s Cosmic System.  It is likely that even the best of pastors speak the thoughts that Satan puts in their minds and are oblivious to him.  Satan is so slick that man will not even sense his dust apart from the Grace of God in revealing his working.  Satan is so slick that the believer in the pew cannot even trust the pastor. Only by knowledge of Bible Doctrine and the Grace of God will the truth be revealed.  That’s why the believer should “test the spirits” (1 Jn 4:1-5).  He should be listening to the Holy Spirit anyway, not the teachings of man.  It’s not the man.  It’s the message that counts, and the Holy Spirit will honor the Word.

Much of what passes as Christianity is actually the work of Satan.  Those who attempt to cast out demons in the Church Age are themselves false teachers who are under Satan’s power.  The practice of exorcism is also a Satanic ritual of Beelzebub.  Satan uses the trick to take over people.  For example, a demon causes an illness, and a person with the power of a stronger demon casts out the first demon, which cures the illness.  This may be practiced by pastors or priests of Satan, like wizards and witches.

Demon attacks are also associated with cults.  Demons empower the Evil King and Prostitute of Babylon.  The Prostitute of Babylon engaged in ritual copulation with the demon god, Tammuz, at the temple in Babylon.  Furthermore, the idolatry of the ancient world, such as the worship of Baal by the Canaanites, included fornication under demon influence.  Demons participated in ritual prostitution.  Today, Satan and his demons still tempt people to fornicate (1 Corinthians 7:5).  Demons still participate in illicit sex, although they cannot procreate as they could before the Flood.  And the Prostitute of Babylon as symbolized by Jezebel is still active in the Church Age.  People who come under the influence of the Prostitute of Babylon may also be attacked by the demons associated with the Prostitute.  God sends the demons just as He did to the Apostle Paul, to Saul, and to Job.  These demons, which often originate from Beelzebub, may be called the Thorn in the Flesh, “evil spirit from the LORD” (1 Samuel 16:14-15), “the terrors of God” (Job 6:4), Tammuz, the entity, incubus, succubus, Ashtoreth (1 Kings 11:5), Lilith (Isaiah 34:14), UFO mantis type demons, or the Old Hag (Shakespeare).  Note, angels and demons do not have gender.  There are no female angels.  Lilith only appears as a female.

The pentecostal apostates who claim to have the power to cast out demons today are not only confused.  They are under Satan’s power themselves.  They are not Grace oriented.  The power to cast out demons was a temporary gift that was given to some disciples and apostles of Christ before the completion of the canon of scripture.  Those who plead the blood are sadly confused.  There is no power in the literal blood of Christ.  He did not bleed to death on the Cross.  The “Blood of Christ” is a metaphor for His substitutionary spiritual death for the sins of the world.  Prayer will not work.  It didn’t work for Paul.  The “anointing with oil” recommended by James (James 5:14) was part of a Jewish exorcism procedure used during the precanon period.  It is no longer applicable in the Church Age.

Although Satan and his demons have far more influence and may cause more diseases than we realize, another fallacy is giving them too much credit.  Those who are quick to say, “The devil made me do it,” are often simply the victims of their own subjectivity and full of excuses.

Among Satan’s best supporters today are the anti-Semitic unbelievers and Christians who are not Grace oriented.  None of the major Christian denominations are Grace oriented.  They don’t even teach how to receive the Filling of the Holy Spirit.  Who gives them their doctrine and who teaches them?  Obviously Satan is their teacher and the source of their apostasy.

Infirmities

Satan and his demons cause all manner of infirmities.  Most people who are sick are in the Cosmic System.  Even if they are doctrinal believers, they may be weak from Satanic attack.  It happened to Job, and it can happen to anyone.  God must first order the punishment, however.  Then Satan and his demons can exercise power under the conditions of the punishment.  God told Satan that he was not allowed to take Job’s life.  Thus, Satan’s powers are limited based upon the conditions of God.  Infirmities have symptoms, which the medical community has carefully categorized.

The human body is first spiritual.  The physical is just an extension of the spiritual.  When God allows an infirmity, Satan and his demons are given selected and limited access to produce the infirmity.  God turns the person over to Satan, and Satan causes the infirmity.  The infirmity has a spiritual footprint. Acupressure points along the meridians associated with the footprint can be used to block or unblock the spiritual attack of Satan.  This is the basis for Shiatsu and acupuncture.  However, neither of these disciplines understand any more about Satan that Western medicine.  As an example see Hay Fever.

Treating the symptoms may temporarily alleviate the suffering, but the ultimate solution must be the Divine solution.  The human solution is no solution.  God ordered the punishment, and the reason for the punishment must be understood to solve the problem and pass the test.

House Divided

Jesus healed a man who was blind and mute due to a demon-induced illness (Matt 12:22).  Afterward the man could see and talk.  The crowds were amazed and were asking if Jesus were the Son of David (the Messiah) (Matt 12:23).  However, the Pharisees rejected the notion and accused Jesus of casting out demons by means of Beelzebub.

Matthew 12:24 
But after hearing, the Pharisees said, “This one is not casting out the demons except by means of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

The word for “casting out” is the Greek ejkbavllw (ekballo), from (ek, out) + (ballo, to throw), meaning to drive out, expel, literally throw out forcibly.  The point here is that the demons were being driven out by force.  They were not leaving politely.  The word, ekballo, is used for expelling demons (Mk 1:34; 3:15, 22), which have entered men as a house (Matt 12:44; Luk 11:24).  The actual word from the Aramaic text is qp@n*  (napheq) meaning to eject, cast out; to expel, cause to come forth; to bring or take out.

The name, Beelzebul, is the same as Baalzebel, which means god of dung.  This is derived from the Philistine god, Beelzebub, lord of the flies, or from Baalzebul, lord of the dwelling⁴ (in which demons live), or lord of the high place⁵ (or lofty abode).  These are all titles of Satan as ruler of the demons.  He is lord of the flies, corresponding to birds or spiders with power over flies.  And he is god of dung not only for worthless refuse, but because flies are raised in dung.

There were elaborate procedures in Judaism for casting out demons in the time of Christ.  Demons were customarily expelled by invoking the name of a more powerful spirit (Matt 12:29).  However, Jesus cast them out with a word of command (Matt 8:16; Mk 1:27) and the power of God (Luk 11:20).⁶

The parallel passage is Luke 11:15-28.

Matthew 12:25-26 
25 Moreover, knowing their thoughts (reflections), He (Jesus) said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 
26 And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then can his kingdom stand?

When the Pharisees mentioned casting out demons by Beelzebub, Jesus knew their underlying thoughts, or presumptions.  “Thoughts” is the Greek ejnquvmhsi” (enthumos), from (en, in) + (thumos, feeling, thought, passion) = thought, reflection, idea, conception, device (Matt 9:4).  Jesus understood their system of thought, even the hidden part.  Casting out demons was not common knowledge, but the tricks of the trade were known to those who had been initiated in the art.  The bottom line is that Satan is in charge of his demons, and nobody kicks them around without Satan’s permission.

So, Jesus answered the accusation by pointing out that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.  The implication is that if Beelzebul (Satan) were throwing out his demons that would be dividing his kingdom and leading to its ruin.  By throwing the demons of his own kingdom, Satan, in effect, would be fighting himself, and his kingdom could not stand.

Here Jesus is teaching a lesson about who is in charge.  Satan is in charge of his demons, and people don’t go around messing with them without Satan’s approval.  Furthermore, Satan would not be throwing out his own demons, because that would divide his own kingdom and lead to its destruction.

Matthew 12:27 
And if I by Beelzebul am casting out demons, by whom are your sons casting them out?  For this reason, they shall be your judges.

If Jesus is driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul, then he asks the Pharisees by whom their disciples are driving them out.  The implication in the question is that if driving out demons is from Satan, then the disciples of the Pharisees must be guilty of the same.  Consequently, the disciples of the Pharisees will be their judges – i.e. that they are guilty of driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul.

Matthew 12:28 
Moreover, since I by the Spirit of God am casting out demons, then the Kingdom of God has just come upon you.

Jesus points out that since he is casting out demons by the power of the Spirit of God, then something greater has just come – something greater than Satan.  God is more powerful than Satan.  “Has just come” is the Greek fqavnw (phthano), meaning to have just arrived.  During the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God had just arrived on Earth.

So, the purpose of casting out demons was a sign of the coming Kingdom.  The disciples of Jesus were given the power to cast out demons as credentials of their King, the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 10:1, 8).  The name of Jesus came to be used as the means of casting out demons (Mk 9:38; 16:17).  The credentials of casting out demons along with other temporary Spiritual gifts lasted only until the completion of the canon of scripture.

Matthew 12:29 
Or how can anyone enter into the house of the strong man, and steal his household furnishings, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will thoroughly plunder his house.

The house of the strongman is a metaphor for Satan’s kingdom.  Stealing his household furnishings is analogous to taking Satan’s holdings or seizing his demons.  Binding means to tie someone up.  Binding the strong man requires the power of God, since Satan is the most powerful created being (apart from Jesus Christ).  Only if Satan is bound (neutralized), can someone plunder his house (kingdom).  Satan must be bound by God before his demons can be driven out of his house.

Only God (including Jesus Christ) and Satan can remove demons by force.  Faith healers and exorcists cannot.  However, Satan may give his demons permission to leave in order ensnare such people and use them for his own propaganda.  The Church Age Believer resists Satan, which is defensive.  He does not attack Satan.  The purpose of the Church Age is to demonstrate the Grace of God.  The believer who has a demon problem should grow Spiritually to become strong enough to overcome the problem.

Do’s and Don’ts

There are do’s and don’ts for handling demon attacks.  First, be sure to Rebound and carefully consider any possible sins that could give the demon access.

1. Don’t be afraid.  Those who can be frightened have already lost.
2. Don’t react.  Those who react with self-righteousness or anger have already lost.
3. Resist.  Don’t submit to the demon’s demands.  Don’t negotiate.
4. Don’t attack.  Demon warfare must be defensive.  “The battle is the LORD’s!”
5. Don’t believe the demon’s lies.
6. Don’t take the bait.
7. Don’t talk to the demon, except in some rare cases.  Don’t order him around.  Don’t lecture him.
8. Don’t fall under the demon’s spell.  Wiggle or squirm to break the demon’s power.
9. Do turn to God immediately.
10. Do reflect on the scene in light of God’s Sovereign Design.
11. Recall the promises of scripture.
12. Don’t assume there is only one demon involved.  There may be many hidden behind the first one.
13. Don’t feed the demon’s ego.  He wants attention.  Taking pictures or talking about him only emboldens him.

From a practical standpoint, turning on a night light will weaken the demon so that he is harmless and it will be possible to get some sleep.  Demons hate the light, even though some do attack in daylight.

The procedure for handling a demon attack is not designed to remove the demon.  Following the procedure precisely will not necessarily remove the demon.  The procedure is the Grace approach for dealing with the problem.  The demon is not the problem.  The demon is punishment for the weak person.  Withstanding the demon attack and learning from it will enable the Christian to mature and overcome the problem.  This is not a short term fix, but a long-term solution.

Dream Attacks

The most common demon attacks occur in the hypnagogic state, which is the period of dozing off between being awake and falling asleep.  This state occurs about 30 minutes after beginning to doze off.  This is the time of greatest vulnerability to demon attack, since the subconscious is freed from the power of the conscious mind.  In the hypnagogic state, images of demons and demon art are often visible with the eyes closed. In this state demons may induce frustrating dreams, which often awaken the person.  The images usually disappear when the eyes are opened.  However, sometimes the demon image will still be visible with the eyes open, and sometimes a demon assault will follow.

There is a great debate between the psychiatrists, who contend that the dream images are purely imaginary (just dreams), and the paranormal investigators, who believe they are associated with spirits.  The truth is in the middle.  Demons can, and do, cause dreams.  Yet, a person who is dreaming is dreaming.  Both, the demon activity and the person’s dreams have a common thread that is linked to the person’s life.  Events on the Stage of Life are both physical and spiritual (divine or demonic).  So, God allows both demons and dreams to help the person fully understand issues in the Angelic Conflict.

Satan sends the demons to attack, but God allows it.  God has both demon attacks and dreams specified in His Sovereign Design for every person.  Both the hypnagogic demon attacks and dreams can be understood from the perspective of God’s Sovereignty.  The demon attacks are often related to previous contacts on the Stage of Life, and the dreams are associated with personal problems.  Divine viewpoint can be used to understand both the demon attacks and the dreams.  When they are exposed by the Light of Divine viewpoint, they will cease to be a problem.

Demon Attacks in Children

Demon attacks in children are no different from adults.  However, children are especially vulnerable since they may not have reached the age of accountability and may not be believers yet.  They can’t help themselves and are dependent upon adults.  Children under demon attack can be monsters.  The young boys who mocked Elisha and called him baldy (baldheaded) were empowered by Baal.  Elisha cursed them in the name of the LORD, and two female bears came out and tore up 42 of them (2 Kings 2:23-24).  Baal is the enemy of children and desires child sacrifice.

When children become agitated and exhibit frustration with screaming and shouting, it may be caused by a demon and not just poor manners.  The adult must learn to recognize the difference.  Bad behavior should be punished to train the child and prevent future problems (Prov 23:13-14).  However, a child under demon attack needs intercessory prayer.  The adult who is filled with the Holy Spirit can pray for the child to be delivered from evil, and God will deliver the child from the demon.  The result is usually instantaneous.

When parents or others in the child’s company are under the power of demons, such as the Prostitute of Babylon, the child is especially prone to demon attack.  Demon influence is a common problem with children.  In their subjective state they are easy prey for demons and the lies of the Cosmic System.  Adults must be vigilant to protect them.

Because of the child’s subjective emotional state and immaturity, distinguishing behavioral issues from demon attacks may pose a problem.  That is because the demon may take advantage of the child’s bad behavior to create more havoc.  The child’s bad values may be attracting the demon.  Or the bad values of adults may leave the child vulnerable to demon attack.  A mother under the power of the Prostitute of Babylon may leave the child vulnerable to demon attack.

Demons may attack children through dreams, nightmares, or night terrors.  Children may be frightened or terrorized.  Fear is a sin that requires intercessory prayer by the adult.  The child who has been terrorized by a demon needs help.  The fear is a separate problem from the demon.  The child must be helped to overcome the fear, and the demon problem must be handled by the adult.  It is important not to lie to the child or blame the problems on the child’s imagination.  The unknown exacerbates fear, and the truth is its enemy.  Fact and fiction must be separated to handle the problems.

Purpose of Demon Attacks

The question that should be asked is, “Who hinders?” or “What causes demon attacks?”  There are three enemies of the Christian life.  They are the world (people), the flesh (Old Sin Nature), and the devil (including demons).  But what purpose would Satan have in attacking a Christian?  The answer is not much.  Although he hates Christians, he can easily manipulate them without their knowledge.  The best answer is that it is God who hinders.  God opens the door to allow Satan to attack, or cross examine, believers.  Although God’s reasons are not shared with us, some of the reasons are obvious.  He is demonstrating the sufficiency of His Righteousness and Grace Plan in the Appeal Trial of Satan.  He is obligated to allow Satan to cross examine the witnesses.  And He is testing the believer to qualify him for rewards and promotion.

Once Satan and his demons get permission from God to attack, they are full of spite and all too ready to practice their deceit, magic tricks, and malicious spite.  They are full of sin and evil and are ready to practice it.  However, pestering a stupid believer doesn’t do that much to further Satan’s grand plan of conquering the world and ushering in a false millennium.  To do that he has to neutralize the Church and annihilate the Jews.  His two main thrusts are from the Evil King to kill his enemies and the Prostitute of Babylon to promise peace, peace, when there is no peace.

So, there is no demon attack that catches God by surprise.  He knows all, and knew it in Eternity past.  Therefore, the Grace Plan of God is sufficient to handle all attacks of Satan and his demons.  God is on top of the situation.  No demon attack occurs without being exposed and Judged by God in Grace.  He does not leave the believer defenseless, and He is not unjust.  He gives everyone a fair shake, even the unbeliever.  He will never leave nor forsake us, and His Grace is sufficient to handle anything that Satan can try.

References

1.  Larry Wood.  Scar Tissue of the Soul. 
2.  Larry Wood.  Babylon the Great, Solution to Demon Attacks. 
3.  Larry Wood.  Spiritual Self-Esteem. 
4.  Merrill F. Unger.  The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, (Chicago:  Moody Press), 1988, p. 152. 
5.  Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Mt 10:24–33). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. 
6. Vol. 1: Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964- (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, p. 527.

Author: Larry Wood

http://biblenews1.com/index.html