Can a Christian be demonic oppressed?

[iLOVE]

Can a Christian be demonic oppressed? If so how?
Question number two. Can fallen angels enter a non Christian (Genesis 6:2) (Luke 22:3)?
Question number three. How was Satan able to influence Peter's speech (Matthew 16:22-23)?

 

[Mike]

Can a Christian be demonic oppress?

I don't understand the question. Can a Christian be oppressed by a demon? Controlled?

Thanks in advance for clarification.

 

[Edward]

Can a Christian be demonic oppress? If so how?
Question number two. Can fallen angels enter a non Christian (Genesis 6:2) (Luke 22:3)?
Question number three. How was Satan able to influence Peter's speech (Matthew 16:22-23)?

Can a Christian? I am not 100% sure on this, but lean towards a yes/no answer. No if they are Spirit filled. Yes if they stumble and somehow inadvertently give them invitation to. Like playing with a Ouija board may open that door for them to come in and possess you. Probably so I would think. But is there other things even more subtile that one could do on accident? Idk.

Can fallen angels enter a non Christian?
I would think so. The entire spiritual realm has certain laws of spiritual physics which are across the board the same, whether it be a good or evil spirit. One of these spiritual laws seems to be that, spirits can merge together. In the NT we see a few situations where some were possessed and even by a lot of spirits (Legion). That's the evil spirits, but even the good. We are to be one with Christ. In Spirit. The Holy Spirit will lead us and fill us. I believe we're talking about possession here too. (but it's how it works there.) (HERE!!).
Ours is to choose to be possessed by God, So a non-Christian may not have much defense against a fallen angel or spirit coming into them. Other than the name of Jesus to drive them out.
The collective Spirit that has many join in with it...is probably strengthened by the addition of more spirits added to it.

How was Satan able to influence Peter's speech? That, is a very good question. I'm not 100% convinced that satan can (always) whisper to us in our mind. It may be that he can only when we are in a stumbled state and are possessed? When one has a connection with God, and is Spirit filled...the enemy probably can not whisper at that time. In those cases where evil or unedifying thoughts arise in our thought stream, it comes from the wicked heart that we still are in possession of. Having not yet been fully sanctified and perfected. Our own wicked heart. Out the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks...(and probably our own thoughts speak to us as well, out of the abundance of our heart. (this is an important thing to realize about ourselves). The enemies indoctrination of the masses are teaching people to not have any responsibility and to point fingers. What? that wasn't me, that that was the devil. That was bob. It was tony. It was reba!

When in fact many many times it is our own deceitful heart and lusts of the flesh that is doing it. I have met the enemy and he is us! lol. So, I doubt that Peter was possessed at that time. He was hanging out with Jesus. I think he had influenced Peter by affecting him in such a way (before any of this even took place) and that the condition of Peter's heart that day...was such that he naturally had the thought himself and it was not satan whispering to him at all that day. Peter had good intentions, but just had a lot more to learn still...that's what happened.

(I think, Lol)

 

[FrankLee]

Absolutely. Pressed out of measure. Paul experienced it. The firey trial Peter spoke of. If you are a soldier for Jesus there are battles. The spiritual armor is for a purpose. If you are a saved, born again Christian and also baptized in the Holy Spirit then there will be battles. If we let Satan have the upper hand then he'll certainly take it. The beasts of the field are the demonic powers we fight against.

Ephesians 6:12 KJVS
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places .

There are wrestlings. There are battles. We don't have to be oppressed but you have to have the anointing of the Holy Spirit to overcome these powers. Acts 19th chapter tells us how.

 

[Runner]

Can a Christian? I am not 100% sure on this, but lean towards a yes/no answer. No if they are Spirit filled. Yes if they stumble and somehow inadvertently give them invitation to. Like playing with a Ouija board may open that door for them to come in and possess you. Probably so I would think. But is there other things even more subtile that one could do on accident? Idk.)

This is always a touchy subject, but I believe all you have said is correct. I happen to have a great deal of "practical experience" in this area. I've studied all branches of the paranormal/occult at a serious level for almost 50 years (including membership in the Society for Psychical Research and American Society for Psychical Research). I believe the key is what you have identified - inviting demonic influence or placing yourself in circumstances where you open yourself to it. I always urge people not even to do this in a joking manner. You are likely to open doors you will wish you never had opened and now don't know how to shut.

That being said, I've had numerous paranormal (or "anomalous") experiences, primarily what are called After Death Communications. Some of them have been very meaningful in my life. The key point is, I've never sought them out. They come when they come (very infrequently, but they do add up over 67 years.) Because I don't seek them out and because of the nature of them, they are entirely comforting and I have no concern whatsoever about them being demonic in nature or origin. In fact, my first was from my father when I was 21 - and he had prayed with me to receive Christ only a few months before he died.

The one and only time I came close to inviting contact was when my first wife (now deceased) and I sat down with an antique Ouija board. We prayed earnestly for protection - but even then, in no more than 15 seconds we looked at each other and said almost in unison: "No way, we're not going to open this door."

Even involvement in a field like UFOs (another one of my great interests, as well as one of my "unsolicited" experiences), which has somewhat of a scientific aura around it, can open the door to demonic influence. The notion that the entire UFO phenomenon might be demonic in origin has received increased attention in recent years and is by no means regarded as far-fetched. By coincidence, I happened to visit a website yesterday (http://www.alienresistance.org/ce4.htm) describing how serious researchers have documented that many people have been able to bring a halt to a supposed "alien abduction" by calling on the name of Jesus.

I likewise don't know the full scope to which a Christian might be exposed to demonic influence. But I do believe the chances are magnified 10,000 times if you invite or encourage such influence. I've been talking only about involvement in the occult, but really the same principles apply if you choose to hang out in bars, around drug users and in other circumstances where demonic spirits are likely to be found because others have encouraged them even if you haven't.

 

[th1b.taylor]

The basic question is a no answer! If a person is not like better than 98% of the membership role but is a follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in them and they are sealed. The Demons cannot enter in with the Holy Spirit except, and this is a weak perhaps, except perhaps Satan himself. But God cast him and all of his followers out of Heaven leaving me believing, even e cannot.

 

[Runner]

The basic question is a no answer! If a person is not like better than 98% of the membership role but is a follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in them and they are sealed. The Demons cannot enter in with the Holy Spirit except, and this is a weak perhaps, except perhaps Satan himself. But God cast him and all of his followers out of Heaven leaving me believing, even e cannot.

1 Peter 5:8-9 (NASB), written to an audience of "God's elect" and "the elders and their flock": "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

I'm not sure exactly what you're suggesting, but good Christians prove every day that they are capable of horrific acts when their human nature rears its ugly head. When it rears its ugly head by inviting or encouraging demonic influence, demonic influence is what they are going to get. Certainly being filled with the Holy Spirit is the best protection, but it would be very dangerous for a Christian to think he was demon-proof just because he was a Christian.

 

[th1b.taylor]

1 Peter 5:8-9 (NASB), written to an audience of "God's elect" and "the elders and their flock": "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

I'm not sure exactly what you're suggesting, but good Christians prove every day that they are capable of horrific acts when their human nature rears its ugly head. When it rears its ugly head by inviting or encouraging demonic influence, demonic influence is what they are going to get. Certainly being filled with the Holy Spirit is the best protection, but it would be very dangerous for a Christian to think he was demon-proof just because he was a Christian.

And I did not say the Demons cannot influence a True Believer, intentionally ignore/quence the Spirit, they can do that but they cannot be indwelt of any demon.

 

[Runner]

And I did not say the Demons cannot influence a True Believer, intentionally ignore/quence the Spirit, they can do that but they cannot be indwelt of any demon.

OK, fair enough. I would agree that a Christian cannot actually be possessed, and it sounds like that's what you're talking about.

My wife, who is Belarusian, had an interesting experience involving her adult daughter in Minsk. One of the daughter's close friends went to visit a well-known psychic. The psychic described with great accuracy a number of the friend's other friends. Then the psychic said: "You have another friend, very close, but I can get nothing about her. She is a closed book for me. There is a light around her I cannot penetrate." It was clear that the mystery friend was my wife's daughter. The daughter is a weak Christian, but my wife is very devout and prays constantly for her daughter to be protected.

 

[Christ_empowered]

I lean towards yes. My experiences with drugs, sodomy, and the occult before Jesus saved me, plus being able to look back somewhat with more of a Christian Worldview, makes me think...these things are very serious, very dangerous, and even many Christians could potentially fall victim to satanic forces, especially with the occult now en vogue.

 

[dirtfarmer]

And I did not say the Demons cannot influence a True Believer, intentionally ignore/quence the Spirit, they can do that but they cannot be indwelt of any demon.

hello th1b.taylor, dirtfarmer here

I agree 100%. Light dispels darkness, heat dispels cold, and the Spirit of God dispels demons. It is only when the hedge that God has around them that demons can influence believers, but never indwell them. All one has to do is read Job 1:10 to understand God's hedge.

 

[FrankLee]

You'd best get as close to Jesus as you can get and do your best to stay there. I've seen enough to know that the light of Jesus is beyond expression. All who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution of all kinds.
God delivered me of all that darkness when He saved me and baptized me with the Holy Spirit. My GM had a familiar spirit and messed with the occult and as a child I was afraid all the time. Jesus saved me at 33, the same age He was at crucifixion and that's the first time I had peace in my life.

God is the only one I fear. How does the devil and his ilk see God? The Lord gave me this scripture to show how the devil feels about the Lord.

Daniel 5:6 KJVS
Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.

The devil's knees knock together when the mighty name of Jesus is uttered! Praise, glory and honor be to His Holy name forever!

 

[th1b.taylor]

OK, fair enough. I would agree that a Christian cannot actually be possessed, and it sounds like that's what you're talking about.

My wife, who is Belarusian, had an interesting experience involving her adult daughter in Minsk. One of the daughter's close friends went to visit a well-known psychic. The psychic described with great accuracy a number of the friend's other friends. Then the psychic said: "You have another friend, very close, but I can get nothing about her. She is a closed book for me. There is a light around her I cannot penetrate." It was clear that the mystery friend was my wife's daughter. The daughter is a weak Christian, but my wife is very devout and prays constantly for her daughter to be protected.

Okay, that sounds right except for a single item. Now I'm reading between the lines and I can be all wet here but if her daughter has claimed to be any sort of a Christian for five years or more, she can be influenced when when and if she quenches the Spirit if she is a real Christian. The odds here in the US 44 to 1 that she would not be a real Christian and from my experience the odds of a real follower of Jesus being found in any Church there are less than they are here. I would definitely keep the lines of communication open and pray for God's hand to touch her heart.

 

[th1b.taylor]

I lean towards yes. My experiences with drugs, sodomy, and the occult before Jesus saved me, plus being able to look back somewhat with more of a Christian Worldview, makes me think...these things are very serious, very dangerous, and even many Christians could potentially fall victim to satanic forces, especially with the occult now en vogue.

No and for the reasons I listed from mine and thousands of preachers Bible Studies under the tutorage of the Holy Spirit. If a person is indwelt with or by a demon, they cannot be saved.

 

[FrankLee]

Devils can be cast out and the person saved just like the gadarene demoniac. Jesus set that man free and then the man was a believer. After Jesus sets you free from these devils you are eternally grateful to Him for doing something for you that no other one can do.

He set me free from spirits of fear and all the others. By the anointing of the indwelling Holy Spirit I can now help others as the Lord leads me.

The devil cannot live in a person that is filled with God's Holy Spirit. The devil doesn't want to be near such a person! That's why we want to stay filled to overflowing with praises and worship of God.

Something's wrong if a person says they are a born again Christian, baptized in the Holy Spirit and yet delves into these dark subjects. It's abnormal. There are so many sitting in churches that believe themselves to be saved but are not. A burning desire to draw close to Jesus is the normal thing. "to know Him and the power of His resurrection"!

 

[Runner]

Here's a very good article that discusses the topic in a balanced manner: http://www.equip.org/article/can-a-christian-be-demonized/

Their main criticism seems to be of "deliverance" ministries that over-emphasize demonic influence. They also seem to agree that a Christian cannot be truly "possessed," which makes logical and theological sense. But I stand by what I have said above about inviting or opening yourself to "demonic influence." The occult is so prevalent in our society today that I think a great deal of time Christians do this naively, without fully realizing what they are involved with.

 

[FrankLee]

I believe that's right. But once a person is filled with the Holy Spirit there is no place for ignorance or naivete.

1 John 2:27 KJVS
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

 

[JLB]

Can a Christian be demonic oppressed? If so how?

Yes.

By allowing a demon to oppress them.

Oppress them with sickness.

10 Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. 12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” 13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.14 But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.”
15 The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? 16 So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” Luke 13:10-16

• there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years

Oppress them with "depression", which is also referred to by some as the "spirit of heaviness".

To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:3



JLB

 

[Cygnus]

I see it this way....
Can a christian...Holy Spirit living insde of him...also have a demon living inside? I lean heavely towards the side of no.

Then again, If I have a gun pointed at your chest and demand you do something I would be just as effective as standing across the romm and have the same gun pointed at your chest.

The gun at your chest would be an analogy to being demonized while standing across the room would be ananlgous to demonic influence.
A demon doesn't have to be inside a christian to oppress them in some fashion.

 

[th1b.taylor]

Here's a very good article that discusses the topic in a balanced manner: http://www.equip.org/article/can-a-christian-be-demonized/

Their main criticism seems to be of "deliverance" ministries that over-emphasize demonic influence. They also seem to agree that a Christian cannot be truly "possessed," which makes logical and theological sense. But I stand by what I have said above about inviting or opening yourself to "demonic influence." The occult is so prevalent in our society today that I think a great deal of time Christians do this naively, without fully realizing what they are involved with.

That is Hank's web site and he is, one hundred percent Bible based.