Category Archives: Demons

Mt 8:28-34; Mk 5:1-17; Lk 8:26-37 – Of pigs and demons

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Mark 5:11 There on the hillside, a great herd of pigs was feeding. 5:12 And the demonic spirits begged him, “Send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.” 5:13 Jesus gave them permission. So the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about two thousand were drowned in the lake.

Why did Jesus allow the demons to enter (and then destroy) the pigs, when he could have destroyed the demons there and then? …

Demons 101

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1. Their reality. Jesus knew the difference between a disease and a demon. Illness can sometimes look like demonisation (and vice-versa), but illnesses do not speak to those about to heal them!  Nor do they possess supernatural knowledge!  Just as their are good angels, so there are disobedient angels. These are demons, and their leader is Satan. The reality of demons, although not obvious to many Western Christians, is heavily documented in the literature of missions and revivals. …

Can we still believe in demons today?

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From Genesis to Revelation – and especially during the earthly life of Jesus – the Bible witnesses to the reality of evil supernatural beings who oppose God and seek the harm of his good creation.

In addition to this plain witness of Scripture, a number of other factors should be considered.

Clinton E. Arnold writes:

  1. Science is inherently incapable of answering this question. Some critics grant science authority to make judgments on issues it is incapable of judging.
…

1 Samuel 16:14 – ‘An evil spirit from the Lord’

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1 Sam 16:14 – ‘Now the Spirit of the LORD had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.’

[See also: 1 Sam 18:10 – ‘An evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied within his house.’]

Bergen describes this as a very unusual form of expression.

It could equally be translated, ‘troublesome’ spirit.

It was a condition which (as Bergen notes) Saul himself was unable to deal with. …

Demons: what they can, and cannot, do

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In Matthew 8:28-34 Jesus casts demons out of a pair of men and into a herd of pigs.

Verses 29-32 are particularly instructive regarding the character of demons:

‘”What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”  Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding.  The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” …

Paul the villain

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Preaching recently in Curaçao, Diocese of Venezuela, The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori demonstrated just how far she has travelled from anything resembling a biblical and apostolic faith.

Pushing the familiar agenda of inclusion and diversity (changing attitudes and laws about same-sex relationships remind us that different is not the same as wrong), she informs her hearers of a particular blind spot that Paul had in this regard.  Schori refers to the incident involving a slave girl, recorded in Acts 16. …

Demons, ghosts, and Jesus

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For those who accept the metaphysical reality of daimons (I’m using a straight transliteration of the Greek, in order to place at a bit of distance the baggage that tends to accompany the word ‘demons’) the conventional idea is that they belong to an order of created, malevolent, non-corporeal beings.

The popular conception a ghost is that it is the spirit of a dead human being.

Peter Bolt has provided solid documentary evidence to show that for many people living at the time of Jesus, ‘daimon’ would have been virtually synonymous with ‘ghost’.…

Mk 9:9-32 – A demonised boy healed – sermon notes

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It had been a mountain-top experience to top the lot. Right there, in front of three of his disciples, Jesus had experienced a brief but amazing transformation. His face shone; even his clothes became dazzling white. Two godly men from long ago, Moses and Elijah, had put in personal appearances. And God himself had spoken: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

As they come down the mountain, Jesus gave Peter, James and John a solemn instruction, v9: “Don’t tell anyone about what you have just seen until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”…

Lk 8:26-39 – The Gerasene demoniac – sermon notes

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What a day this is turning out to be! That really was the mother of all storms, a hurricane from hell.

The sheer violence of that storm…the way the Master spoke to it…the fact that it completely subsided as soon he did so…It was almost as if something (or someone) didn’t want us to get to the other side of that lake.

Anyway, it’s over now. I just hope the Master lets us turn the boat around, sail back the way we came, and change into some fresh dry clothes.…

Marxism, Fascism, and the Occult

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It’s a chilling thought, and one to which secular historians would be unlikely to give much credence.  But it is probable that Marxism, and certain that Fascism, were deeply involved in occult practices.

Take Marx.  In his early teens he was a keen Christian.  Although it cannot be proven that he became involved in a Satanist cult, there was certainly one operating near his home, and his early writings give some indication that he was involved with them. …