The Prophetic Messenger
A Newsletter From Mysteries From The Word Of God Ministries
November/December 2001 - Volume 3/Issue 6
Demon Possession
"When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick:" Matthew 8:16
This article describes different types of demons and how they possess and influence people. This article is to help Spirit-filled Christians recognize evil spirits. (If you don't know what a Spirit-filled Christian is see the article "Why The Church Has No Power" in the March/April 2001 issue of The Prophetic Messenger).
This article describes different types of demons and how they possess and influence people. This article is to help Spirit-filled Christians recognize evil spirits. (If you don't know what a Spirit-filled Christian is see the article "Why The Church Has No Power" in the March/April 2001 issue of The Prophetic Messenger).
1. Different Types Of Demons
Demons are also known as fallen angels or evil spirits. There are many different types of evil spirits in the world today but we will just show a few that the scriptures clearly show us in the Bible.
Dumb spirit - Dumbness, or the inability to speak, is sometimes (but not always) caused by demons. In the following scripture Jesus cast out a dumb spirit. In Matthew 9:31-33 it says "31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country. 32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel."
Deaf spirit - In this scripture Jesus cast out a dumb and deaf spirit. Mark 9:21-27 says "21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose."
Familiar spirit - means a demon spirit that transforms itself to appear as someone who is dead. In I Chronicles 10:13 it says "13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;"
Spirit of infirmity - Jesus loosed a woman bound by the spirit of infirmity. In Luke 13:10-12 it says "10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity."
Spirit of fear - The Bible shows that fear is a spirit. I John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." In II Timothy 1:7 it says "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Dumb spirit - Dumbness, or the inability to speak, is sometimes (but not always) caused by demons. In the following scripture Jesus cast out a dumb spirit. In Matthew 9:31-33 it says "31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country. 32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. 33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel."
Deaf spirit - In this scripture Jesus cast out a dumb and deaf spirit. Mark 9:21-27 says "21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose."
Familiar spirit - means a demon spirit that transforms itself to appear as someone who is dead. In I Chronicles 10:13 it says "13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;"
Spirit of infirmity - Jesus loosed a woman bound by the spirit of infirmity. In Luke 13:10-12 it says "10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity."
Spirit of fear - The Bible shows that fear is a spirit. I John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." In II Timothy 1:7 it says "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
2. People Demon Possessed Have Supernatural Strength From The Spirits That Possess Them
The scriptures show examples of demon possessed people who have supernatural strength. In Mark 5:1-4 it says "And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him."
In Mark 9:20-22 it says "20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us."
The man described in Mark 5 who had a legion (or about 2,000 evil spirits) was so strong that he could not be bound and the man's son in Mark 9 these evil spirits were trying to destroy him.
In Mark 9:20-22 it says "20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us."
The man described in Mark 5 who had a legion (or about 2,000 evil spirits) was so strong that he could not be bound and the man's son in Mark 9 these evil spirits were trying to destroy him.
3. Demon Possessed People Can Perform Lying Wonders
Jesus spoke in Matthew 24 about lying wonders being performed by false prophets and false christs. In Matthew 24:24 Jesus said "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
The scriptures show several examples of people performing lying signs and wonders. In Acts 8:9-11 it says "9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: 10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. 11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries." In Acts 16:16-19 it says "16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. 19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,"
The antichrist will perform lying wonders and he is satan in the flesh. In Revelation 13:2 it says "And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." Revelation 12:9 shows us the dragon is the devil. In Revelation 12:9 it says "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Also, in II Thessalonians 2:8-9 it says "8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,"
The scriptures show several examples of people performing lying signs and wonders. In Acts 8:9-11 it says "9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: 10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. 11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries." In Acts 16:16-19 it says "16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. 19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,"
The antichrist will perform lying wonders and he is satan in the flesh. In Revelation 13:2 it says "And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." Revelation 12:9 shows us the dragon is the devil. In Revelation 12:9 it says "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Also, in II Thessalonians 2:8-9 it says "8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,"
Coming Up In The Next Issue
I Will Bless Them That Bless Thee. Read this article in the next issue of The Prophetic Messenger.
Memory Verses
As Christians if we want to live in victory and if we want to be able to share the Word Of God with others we must know the Word of God ourselves. Let's see what the Bible says about this. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Psalm 119:11. " If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7. "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." John 8:31. We encourage you to put the following scriptures in your heart: II Chronicles 7:14, John 16:13, Psalm 37:25, Romans 8:37, I Chronicles 16:11, I Timothy 6:12, I Corinthians 2:9-10, II Kings 5:10-11, I Thessalonians 5:22, Malachi 3:16. Use only the Old King James version of the Holy Bible. (If you have any questions about this please see the book New Age Bible Versions, by G.A. Riplinger ©1993, ISBN 0-9635845-0-2.)
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