For a few weeks, I’ve been processing something wondering when it was time to share it. Today, I felt it was time.
I was talking with a friend who has been following the Lord for many years. He is a practical man who is not easily influenced by shallow interpretations of reality. He said something to me during a recent conversation that rang true with his practical view of reality, and with the biblical record. He said, “Some of the things going on in our world can only be explained as demon possession.”
I share my friend’s assessment, though it can seem naive and out of step with an intellectual interpretation of reality. I am not talking about people running around in red clothing with a tail and a pitchfork or some Hollywood assumption of what evil looks like. These possessed ones can wear expensive suits and live in luxurious mansions. They can direct the course of nations while sitting in seats of government or commit horrendous crimes all the while appearing like the nice neighbors next door. Natural sight does not have the ability to discern the presence of this kind of evil because its presence is masked by human assumption.
When we try to define spiritual reality regarding bizarre or evil behavior using only a mental or emotional metric we can miss the spiritual component, something our ascended social and religious masters want us to dismiss as a possibility. Hell can look like an angel of light until its deeds demonstrate darkness and evil intent to the surprise of the uninformed.
While some who demonstrate evil are mentally and emotionally sick and are being used by evil, others are evil incarnate having been given over to evil becoming fully possessed. It requires Spirit-led discernment to know the difference. Without that discernment, foolish proclamations and decisions are made by believers to the delight of hell.
If we form a worldview without the possibility that some of what we see taking place in our world is the result of demon possession, we will become vulnerable and gullible. We will become blind to the existence of the very things we have been given authority over that should be the object of our prayers and the targets of our declarations.
On point, Garris!
In Acts 16, Paul discerned and rebuked a demon who was possessing a local fortune-teller’s assistant. Every word that she had spoken was true and was promoting Paul and Barnabas as servants of God with a true message. But her motive was to gain credibility with the crowd, so that once Paul left the city, the crowd would regard her as a reliable spiritual guide. At that point, she could direct them to her master, the local demonic fortune teller – and set the hook of deception deeply.
May we press in to develop Holy Spirit discerning of spirits, and boldly confront those who have permitted lying and wicked spirits to deceive and work through them.
Amen.
Thank you for addressing this. So many in the halls of government and especially entertainment call on the demonic in regular rituals, make evil vows, and openly practice witchcraft. Others are naive pawns of the demonic as they follow whole-heartedly their broken desires and lusts and influence others to do the same. I have noticed that Jesus cast out demons as often as he healed people (the two are often mentioned together). It was not some crazed “exorcist movie” type of thing. It appears it was a simple, “come out of him.” The fact that this was written about openly in the Gospels points to it being a condition many people understood existed, and which needed supernatural authority to address. Yet today, this is rarely even talked about, let alone experienced. So thanks for putting it out there. Oh, how we need discernment. And may the pure in heart receive spiritual authority and use it, to set people free!
It is so slimy. It’s as if we need discernment for our discerning.
I am spiritually fortunate to be in your company Garris
The book, The Last Catalyst, by Dr. Debra Lacey warned of such behavior coming into leaders that show up as “people of the lie.”