All true Bible believers recognize the fact that an unseen world of demoniac spirits exists. The Old Testament and the New gives numerous examples of human beings that were possessed with evil spirits. Christ and the apostles not only recognized these spirits in people; they also cast them out of their victims. In addition to the historical fact that others have been used to cast demons out of people, we are experiencing such deliverance today; not on the grand scale of Christ and the early church but we are convinced greater things are coming.
These spirits not only afflict men physically, mentally, and morally, but they manifest themselves by speaking through the persons they indwell. During Bible days they were especially fearful when in the presence of Christ and the spirit-filled apostles. They also recognized and testified to the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Mark 5:7). We find that today they still recognize, dread, and fear the authority of the Lord over them.
In spite of the testimony of the scriptures, the ministries of Christ, the apostles, and the early church in confronting and casting demons out of people, it is most amazing that the churches of today are almost silent on the subject. The few that do recognize the need for a knowledge of demons think it is only for missionaries who are going to some heathen country that is given over to idolatry.
This ignorance on the part of the religious world is also why multitudes are experiencing nervous breakdowns, insanity, moral and social problems such as never before. This we believe will increase until God’s people begin to seek the Lord with all their heart. The words of Isaiah 26:16-18 must be fulfilled. “... Lord, in trouble have they visited thee. They poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pains; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.”
Demons, called devils, evil spirits, unclean spirits, dumb and deaf spirits, spirits of divination, spirits of infirmity, and familiar spirits, are evil intelligent spirit beings that constantly seek to deceive, oppress, possess, and destroy mankind. Though they are intelligent beings, they only have a capacity for evil. Being completely unregenerate and diabolical, they are without taint of righteousness and mercy. They respect and fear nothing but authority.
Cast out of their original realm, and being spirit, Satan and his demons have no earthly physical bodies of their own. This is why they are called disembodied spirits. The truth is, they were created spirit beings and never had bodies suitable for this earth realm. Even the good angels are called “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” (Hebrews 1:14).
Since Satan and demons are spirit beings confined to the earth realm, they constantly seek embodiment in the earthly physical bodies of man or beast. Being totally depraved creatures, whose nature is to do evil, they must have a channel or vessel through which they can express or manifest their evil nature.
Demons must live vicariously; otherwise, they are limited in their ability to do evil as they exist in the air around the earth. In a disembodied state, they are miserable creatures walking in dry places seeking rest. (Matthew 12:43-45). However, in this state, they are able to project evil thoughts into the minds of the unwary, tempting and deceiving some whom they enter and indwell.
No life is happy unless it can be doing that which is its nature to do. If it is your nature to love, you are only happy when you are expressing that love in words, deeds, and acts. Likewise, a demon of hate is only happy when he is expressing his nature in words, deeds, and acts of hate.
The demon which caused Judy Clevenger to have convulsive seizures smiled and expressed great delight when told that he would like to kill the girl if he could. Speaking through the girl, he said that he intended to kill her and would with just a few more of the seizures. This spirit also tried to get this girl to kill herself by jumping in front of a car, tying a sock around her neck, smothering herself with a pillow, jumping off of a balcony, taking a bottle of epileptic pills and by cutting herself with a razor blade. Time and again he tried to kill her by throwing her on the floor, out of the car, down two flights of stairs, and by making her beat her head against things.
It being the nature of a demon to torment and destroy, this evil spirit was thoroughly enjoying himself and actually laughed with cunning delight when we talked to him about it. This devil wouldn’t even let this poor girl sleep peacefully at night, but caused her to have terrible dreams about death, cemeteries, funerals, and the death of her father.
Though demons will indwell animals, man is their preference by far. Animals, being of such low mentality, are driven mad quickly by evil spirits. (Matthew 8:31-32). Satan takes far greater satisfaction out of possessing and destroying man than anything else. This is because man was made in the image of God.
This is also why Satan personally tried to tempt and corrupt Christ thus destroying God’s plan to redeem man. (Matthew 4:1-11). One of the demons cast out of Jane Miller in New Orleans a few years ago by Brother Sam Fife said, (referring to the wilderness temptation of Christ) “if we had only won that battle we wouldn’t have to fight anymore, it would be all over.”
The whole demoniac kingdom, from Satan on down to the lowest demon spirit, was aware of who Jesus of Nazareth was. This is why the demons in the Legion said, “... What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). All evil spirits today still recognize, fear, and hate Christ. Time and again the spirits we cast out of Judy Clevenger told us they hated Christ and us.
As this age draws to a close, we can expect the greatest manifestation of demons this world has ever experienced. This is because unregenerate lost men are more in number than ever before. Man also becomes more and more yielded to the power of darkness as he rejects the light of the gospel. To reject light means to invite darkness (demons). We are personally witnessing more demon activity than ever before.
However this is due in part to the fact that the Lord had been leading us into a consciousness of demon reality like we have never experienced.
Though we have had some personal experience with demon possession over the years, we have only recently really had to come to grips with it. For several months we were burdened to seek God for a more definite knowledge of the demoniac world. Today we know why. The Lord was preparing us for a special crash course in demonology. No school on the face of the earth could have taught us what we have had to learn through actual experience.
Through several cases, chosen of the Lord, we have gone through one of the richest and most profitable experiences of our life. As we look back over this time, we stand amazed at the goodness, the mercy, the wisdom, and the faithfulness of our God. Time and again, as we would reach the end of our own strength and the darkness of despair would grip our souls, the Lord would speak and minister strength to us. Only that word in due season would enable us to rise up in the power of his might and continue the battle.
May God help all of his people to realize as never before that we have a wise and powerful enemy who is determined to destroy us. The hardest lesson of all is to realize this enemy is not flesh and blood. Neither can we fight this battle with the carnal weapons of man. As this evil age draws to a close, nothing less than the whole armour of God will enable us to stand.