[Pastor Ezekiel]

How Does Possession Come About?

The Bible says very little about what gives devils the "right" to possess someone. Obviously, demons cannot possess anyone at any given time or all people would (or could) be possessed from birth. Thus there must be some sort of threshold one must pass which gives devils freedom to invade his body. When Adam chose to obey the Serpent (through Eve) instead of God, he, in effect, gave his "dominion" over the earth and all that was in it to Satan (Gen. 3). This is how Satan became "the god of this world." God originally gave the earth to Adam (Gen. 1:28), but Adam through his eating of the tree of knowledge forfeited it to Satan. This is why the Devil has a "right of access" to every man (even Christ, Matt. 4), because the world and everything in it is under his dominion. This is one of the reasons Christ had to come to earth and die as a man; to redeem back what Adam lost. But until Christ returns as found in Revelation chapter 19, His redemption of the earth will not be applied. So even though Christ has already paid the redemption price, it has only been applied to a Christian's soul and nothing else, including the earth. Therefore, Satan still has limited control and dominion over the earth and every thing in it.

The features that most distinguish man from animals is man was originally created in the image of God and has a free will. These were both manifested in Adam in the garden. Adam chose to follow the Serpent's word rather than God's and we all suffer the consequences of his actions. But the same is before us today. We can choose whom we will serve. We can serve the true God according to the Bible or we can serve Satan through the guise of "self will," and "worldliness." Satan does not portray himself as a devil to man, he is best manifested by self will and desire; by people following what they think is their own thoughts and way. This is the same way he beguiled Eve and influenced Adam. He got Eve to believe her opinion of the tree was more accurate and reliable than God's! Adam knew better, but when he had to choose he selfishly chose Eve over God, and as a result brought subjection of himself and all descendants to Satan and death! Both Adam's and Eve's acts were deliberate self will. So from this we can conclude, and it concurs with the experiences of those who have dealt with demon possession, that the more one moves toward Satan's methods and mentality (self will, occult, etc.) the more susceptible he becomes to Satan's domain and influence, even to the point of possession.

Those who have much experience with demon possession claim persons usually became possessed by dabbling in the occult and "experimenting" with the "supernatural." These are areas which have been Satan's domain since the beginning and when anyone moves, by choice, in that direction (whether ignorantly or not) are opening themselves to demonic attack. 2 Pet 1:3 says, "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue," thus everything a person needs to live and be godly comes from God, but when someone strays away from God and seeks things He is not the source of (but Satan is), then God often allows them to suffer the consequences of their choice.

Below is a partial list of forms of occult activities and movements that are Satan's domain and should be shunned by everyone, especially Christians. Failure to do so may have devastating consequences.

Acupuncture
Astrology
Biological Feedback
Black Mass
Blood Pacts
Charismatic Movements
Christian Science
Clairvoyance
Color Diagnosis
Conjuring Tricks
Cults
Death Magic
Drug Abuse
Fortunetelling and Soothsaying
Ghosts
Goblins and Elves
Group Suggestion
Healing Fanaticism
Homosexuality
Hypnotism
Iris Diagnosis
Levitation
Magic, Magic Charms
Meditation
Metamorphosis
Ouija Board
Parapsychology
Peditherapy
Poltergeists
Pornography
Predictive Dreams
Rock Music
Rod and Pendulum
Satan Worship
Scientology
Sensitivity Training
Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses
Soul Force
Speaking in Tongues
Spirit of the Age
Spiritism
Spiritist Healing, Operations
Superstition
Transcendental Meditation
Translocation
Video Games
Voodoo
Yoga


Oppression And Possession Of Believers?

To sum up what we learned above, we know Satan and devils do exist, we know they are unembodied spirits that work in the spiritual realm, they desire to and are able to indwell humans (also animals) and influence their bodies and minds for evil, they vary in power and authority, but all are more powerful than man, and they can be controlled or cast out by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. But how much power does a devil have over a Christian? Can devils or demons control a believer as they can a lost person?

The Bible mentions basically two types of satanic or demonic influence or control over men:

1. Satanic or Demonic Oppression, where Satan or devils contact and influence people externally; from the outside in.

2. Demon Indwelling or Possession, where the devils actually dwell inside the person, influencing and manipulating him internally.

Practically all will agree Satan has access to every believer from the outside to tempt him and appeal to his self-will, in effort to make him useless for the Lord. Else why would the Bible warn believers to "resist the Devil" (James 4:7) and "neither give place to the Devil" (Eph. 4:27)? However, few will allow Satan's power to go so far as a devil actually indwelling or possessing a believer. Granted, the thought of a foreign spirit controlling a Christian's body and mind for destruction and evil is one of the most harrowing thoughts one could imagine and no sensible believer would want such a thing to occur, but what are the facts? Is it possible? To find the truth we must ignore all emotional appeals and simply examine the biblical facts.

Over the years, while reading and discussing demon possession with other True Christians™, yours truly has found many are repulsed by even the suggestion that a Christian may be susceptible to demon possession. They talk as if one is extremely ignorant or even demented to even think such a thing, but when asked for their biblical proof that it is not possible, their position becomes desperate. They simply cannot produce a passage or verse that PROVES their argument, yet they still cling to their belief.

Over the years I have found that all the arguments against demon possession of Christians are either based purely on emotion or on a misapplication of Scripture. You may be thinking, "Are you saying a Christian can be demon possessed? No, I didn't say that. What I am saying is there is no place in the Bible that conclusively says Christians can't be possessed. But, on the contrary, there are passages that seem to indicate (though not conclusively prove) that demon possession of believers CAN occur.

When asked for reasons why they think Christians can't be demon possessed one will usually hear, "It's not possible for the Holy Spirit and a demon to dwell in the same body," "It is unthinkable to believe the Holy Spirit would let a devil in a Christian's body, which is God's temple," A born again believer has been redeemed by the blood of Christ and because of that no devil can indwell him," etc., etc. But such arguments are purely emotional without a single Bible verse to stand on. These people have convinced themselves of something that is not true because of the repulsiveness of the question, but emotion and feelings do not make "sound doctrine."