Do you have demons?

[Vice]

But what about demons. They were obviously present during Jesus' time and were an important enough issue for Christ to empower his apostles to cast them out. Where are they now and what are they doing. Are they running the Churches and is this why they are not mentioned more in these modern times? I mention demons and everybody seems to think that they are a joke or something, yet throughout the Gospels they play a major role.

I don't think many Christians will deny the existence of demons. And demons probably do play an important role in temptation. I'm reminded of CS Lewis' Screwtape Letters. That being said, my personal opinion is that our society is leading us into our own temptations and sins just fine without the help of demons or Satan; they might work here and there every now and then, but why waste their time when we're doing their work for them? Satan and his demons are probably working to a greater degree in cultures where religion is the hub of the wheel rather than "an old fashioned option" (as North American society has made it out to be).

With regard to demons that ran amuck in the Gospels, I find it interesting to note that when God walked among us, evil seemed to counter by boosting its presence around God through demonic possession and whatnot.

 

[Imagican]

So, you guys believe that if you had been infected by a demon that you would know it? In other words, the demons must make their presence known? I still question the reality of demons and their purpose. If there were not many people that held demons within their being, Christ would not have needed to empower His apostles to cast them out. Do you believe that Mary knew she had demons? I mean, obviously there were examples of those that had completely surcomed to their demons, but is this always the case? Couldn't one have demons that were willing to take their time in their influence and not allow the owner to be aware of their presence?

Isn't it possible that there was much more written about demons that has been hidden from us? If I were Satan I would certainly do whatever was within my power to hide the truth of my existence and any information about my purpose and methodology.

 

[Free]

Imagican,

You are jumping all over the place. You are using arguments of those who weren't saved and filled with demons to argue that even Christians can have demons. I don't have a demon because I am filled with the presence and power of Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

You must make it clear who you are talking about - believers or unbelievers.

 

[Eve777]

I believe it is possible to open the door to Demons by the things we do. I visited a young man not to long ago, who had his walls plastered with pics of record albums that had something to do with Satan or evil...there is always music with terrible lyrics playing on his CD...I could just feel an evil presence in that room...when I told him, he was making a place for the Devil, he just laughed but I honestly feel he was....he was inviting the Devil and his demons into his home...

I think we make a mistake when we picture a Demon as a screeching, terrible sight....they can parade around with a smile and fool you into thinking they are just like you.....and before you know it, you are caught in their trap.....

We can send signals as to whether we are willing to accept unholy things in our lives by dabbling in the occult, watching horror movies, role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, taking pills or smoking pot,,,(which lets down your defenses,,you are not in control of your mind....guess who is?) Drinking also lowers your defences.....

I am speaking mostly to the young and immature Christians but even "mature" Christians can get involved in things like this...if you go to places where there is foul language or drinking, although you don't partake or listen to off color jokes, gaze at half clothed people, you are sending out a signal...I have a freind who goes to a Karaoke bar to sing. She thinks it is ok becasue all she does is sing..I think she needs to find some other form of recreation....

Don't send out signals to the Demons that you are interested in anything they have to offer.....

The Bible says to think on the good things.....all sin starts first in the mind, so if we think on the good things and keep our minds on him, we won't be tempted. I don't believe a Christian with the Holy Spirit within can be possessed but we can be tempted...

Resist the Devil and his Demons......you have the power in the name of Jesus.....

 

[Imagican]

Eve!!! I commend you in your understanding. Demons would NOT identify themselves until one had COMPLETELY given over to them. Otherwise we would resist them from the beginning.

Free, I don't know how to differentiate between a 'real' Christian and a 'fake' one. I know that there are many that I have met that just use 'Christian' as a word and certainly don't take up Christ's cross. So I guess in answer to your question: let's just refer to these 'fake' Christians for the sake of this subject, (those that simply state they are Christians without actually walking the walk).

Couldn't the reason that many 'think' they are Christians, (when they really 'might not' be), be the result of the demon posession that I refer? Couldn't Satan and his demons offer the same feelings of 'being saved' as those offered by the Holy Spirit through Christ? Do you believe that Satan may have invaded some of the Churches? And if Satan has invaded a Church could or would the Spirit of Christ dwell there?

The Bible says that there will be those that choose to follow lies and that God Himself will offer 'strong delusion' so that those that thus choose, would believe those lies. Doesn't this mean that if one were to choose the spirit of Satan to replace that of Christ that the person that so chose, would be offered apparent proof that what they wanted to believe would indeed be their truth?

To put it simply: Is it possible or not, that a person could believe that they were following Christ when in fact they were being led by demons to follow Satan?

Before you state your answer let me offer this:

Do you believe it would be possible that I could start a church tomorrow and instead of my intention being the teaching of truth in Christ, my intention was to lead people to Satan. Would it not be possible for me to use the Bible, but through subtle changes, turn my teaching around to benefit Satan rather than glorify Christ?

In other words do you believe that All Churches that claim to be Christian Churches, are indeed teaching the 'truth' in Christ? Or could there be those that under the guise of Christianity be actually delivering souls to Satan? Are all Churches that claim to be Christian Churches ACTUALLY teaching the truth in Christ? Are all denominations that claim to teach the truth actually doing so?

 

[Darrell dunn]

I wonder if most people have any idea, who are what demon activity is.

A christian cannot be possessed but they can have a demon in the flesh.
This is called strong holds in scripture 2 Corin.10:4, And the world calls it habits, Smoking is one it is called Addition.
This is a demon.

As Adam's descendant we continue to name things, as Adam was told to.

Demon activity, is anything that is trying to destroy God's creation.

Any sickness, colds, flu, Hiv.

If this frightens you, You really need to get to know God.

In the Greek the words healed and saved mean the same thing.

If you are saved then get passionate about touching God and get healed.
Heb.11: 6 for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
DILIGENTLY seek him.

____________________

THERE IS ONLY ONE ABSOLUTE TRUTH and all else is a lie!!!

 

[BradtheImpaler]

Just a little food for thought

I'm still hungry.[/quote]

LOL!! Good one, Asimov :bday:

 

[kwag_myers]

I wonder if most people have any idea, who are what demon activity is.

A christian cannot be possessed but they can have a demon in the flesh.
This is called strong holds in scripture 2 Corin.10:4, And the world calls it habits, Smoking is one it is called Addition.
This is a demon.

First, every person who had a demon cast out of them by Jesus was a believer. They came to Jesus for help. That, in my opinion, indicates that Christians can indeed have demons. As for my personal experience, I've seen it with my own eyes. Christians can most certainly be demonized.

Second, a stronghold is not a demon. A stronghold is a ruling way of thinking and behaving. Having a bad temper is a stronghold. You can't cast out the demon of temper or anger. In 2 Corinthians 10:4 the Greek word is ochuroma, which means castle or anything on which one relies. You are correct in saying that the world calls them habits, but again, they are not demons.

Smoking can lead to being demonized, usually by an unclean spirit. But according to the Bible there is no such Demon of Nicotine. I believe that there are five different types mentioned in the Bible. But I'll have to look that up (may take a few days).

 

[Darrell dunn]

Kwag_meyer

The name of the demon is addiction.

And strong holds are definitely demon activity in your life,other wise it would not take the Spirit of God to overcome them.
2Cor10:4 [For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to pulling down of strong holds.]

The word also means to fortify.

I have found that when people use Greek that most of the time they are trying to change what the English says. God inspired My English Bible so I don't care what some other laungage says, I have had God speak to me, and it has always been in American English.
And he has never told me to check the Greek.

And do you think that every thing was named before the bible was written.

We are still naming things.

In this life there are two forces that influence our lives, Gods and satans.

Whos camp do you put germs, virus, infections, illness, disabilitys, mental disorders?

__________________

THERE IS ONLY ONE ABSOLUTE TRUTH and all else is a lie !!!!!!!!

 

[kwag_myers]

It's possible that a demon could be named Addiction (although there is to my knowledge no scriptural reference of this). However, demons are not omnipresent and therefore can only dwell in one place, or person as the case may be. Therefore, a single demon cannot cause all the addictions in the world. These are usually caused by unclean spirits.

2 Corinthians 10:4 says "...pulling down..." not casting out.

I don't use the original text to change the Bible. I use it to get a better understanding of what God is tell me. Here's an example: The elder of my church who does most of the Sunday morning sermons loves to quote Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things to come." I asked the Lord to give me a revelation of what that meant because I didn't understand this verse. The Lord told me to read it. Why I needed to read it didn't make sense to me because (thanks to the elder) I had it memorized. When I finally obeyed, I found that it wasn't the verse, but the translation that I didn't understand. Here's how it reads in the New American Standard, "Now faith is the assurance of {things} hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." To me, that made sense. And trust me, when you're dealing with demons, you need to know and understand God's Word on the subject (or you may end up like these guys in Acts 19:14-16).

Here's what the Bible says about the types of demons: infirmity (Luke 13:11), unclean (Matthew 12:43), deaf and dumb (Matthew 9:25), divination (Acts 16:16), lying (1 Kings 22:22).

 

[BradtheImpaler]

I have had God speak to me, and it has always been in American English

:

 

[Darrell dunn]

kwag_ myers

There are possibly millions or billions of demons or unclean spirits.

So there are lots of them called the same name. By what he causes in our lives or bodys.

The difference between pulling down and casting out is the fact that the demon or unclean spirit doesn't have total control or possession of the person.

You see there are demons or unclean spirits that cause simple things like things to rot.
In the book of Jude Michael the archangel, disputed with the devil over Moses's Body. Because satan wanted to cause it to rot, But Moses is going to need it again, He is one of the two prophets Rev.11:3, Their name is decay because that is the name man has given them.

In Reading Heb. 11:1 threw at lest 12: 4 Realizing that these people heard Gods voice on the matter at hand, They accepted the thing or person as if it were God himself speaking.
I say thing because of the barning bush. Other wise it is a person or voice.
So if you want faith that nothing can shack seek God till you hear his voice, Don't be in a hurry. God can tell you just exactly what the KJ says.

If you ask questions about the word, Then ask God not man. And don't get in a hurry, wait on God, He will answer in away that you will know that it was him.

__________________

THERE IS ONLY ONE ABSOLUTE TRUTH and all else is a lie!!!!!!!

 

[BradtheImpaler]

You see there are demons or unclean spirits that cause simple things like things to rot

Demons cause the decomposition of dead bodies?

 

[Darrell dunn]

Yes satan and his group are trying to destroy all of Gods creation even the body. Also trees, and plaints of all kinds,

When God created the earth and all there was no death of anything.

satan and his bunch causes water to turn green and get stagnate, He causes mold on bread.
______________

THERE IS ONLY ONE ABSOLUTE TRUTH and all else is a lie!!!!!!!

 

[BradtheImpaler]

Yes satan and his group are trying to destroy all of Gods creation even the body. Also trees, and plaints of all kinds,

When God created the earth and all there was no death of anything.

satan and his bunch causes water to turn green and get stagnate, He causes mold on bread

Interesting. In fact, I've been very suspicious about the bread mold myself. I mean, you buy a fresh loaf, it's good for only like 2 weeks and then "what the heck?" Where does that green stuff COME from?

You and I know where :evil:

And "science" thinks it has all the answers! :roll:

 

[Imagican]

Interesting theory on decay!!!! If this were indeed true then we would have Satan to blame for disease and sickness as well. Reading the story of Job it becomes obvious that Satan had at least control of the ailments that he brought against him. And addictions have always been considered demon influenced by the Church. Very interesting possibility.

But how about the personal demons such as those that were cast out by the apostles and Christ himself? Do they still exist? How many were there at that time and do they multiply? Are there more now than ever? Why doesn't the Church discuss and explain the answers to these questions?

Obviously Satan is not omnipotent nor omnipresent as God is and therefore needs demons, (his angels) to do his bidding. Wouldn't that necessitate the need for millions if not billions of demons to accomplish the distruction of the soul of mankind? All of the prophecy concerning the end of the world as we know it predict the spirit of man turning away from God and following Satan. Wouldn't this take many, many, many, demons working 24 hours a day and infecting all that they could in order to make this possible? Have you ever done something that you knew you shouldn't and only negative results could follow and then when questioned about the reason have been only able to offer, " I don't know why I did that."?
Obviously there was some seperate influence offered or we are all just completely insane.

 

[Darrell dunn]

Yes to all of your questions. except there being more. I don't think so.

There may be billions of demons. like you said they can be in only one place at a time.

And God knowing everything about our futures. He would have taken that into consideration when creating angles.

The question we have to ask ourself is. Was there sickness and disease before the fall? Then satan brought it .

The book of Job has been misunderstood for a long time.

Job was acting out of fear offering a sin sacrifice every morning.which should be once a year, THats what tore the hole in the fence, not God.

______________________

THERE IS ONLY ONE ABSOLUTE TRUTH and all else is a lie!!!!!!

 

[kwag_myers]

The book of Job has been misunderstood for a long time.

Job was acting out of fear offering a sin sacrifice every morning.which should be once a year, THats what tore the hole in the fence, not God.

Hmm! Never heard that one before. Could I impose upon you to give a reference, please?

But how about the personal demons such as those that were cast out by the apostles and Christ himself? Do they still exist?

Considering Revelation 18:2 and 19:19, I would have to say yes. If you relate sin to demonic activity, then we know that there is sin on the earth right up until the final judgement in Chapter 20. Again, this would (based on the theory that demons cause sin) support the idea that demons will exist until the final judgement.

How many were there at that time and do they multiply? Are there more now than ever?

The only reference in scripture that I am aware of is in Revelation 12:4, which refers to "the third part of the stars of heaven". Some commentators, such as David Guzik feel this is how many angels fell with Satan. I am unaware that angels or demons have the ability to multiply. However, in Genesis 6:4 we see that angels are able to mate with humans, but only to produce another human.

Why doesn't the Church discuss and explain the answers to these questions?

In my opinion, the church has fallen into the same state that it was in when Jesus began His ministry. We have lost our relationship with God and turned instead to a religion of dead works, i.e., gone from spiritual to cardinal (1 Corinthians 3:3). Since the church no longer has power over demons (see my thread on unbelief), they choose to ignore the existence. Seeking to build a "country club" atmosphere were "all are welcome". I think that the message to Sardis (Revelation 3) is very appropriate for the church today.

 

[Darrell dunn]

[

quote="kwag_myers"]

The book of Job has been misunderstood for a long time.

Job was acting out of fear offering a sin sacrifice every morning.which should be once a year, THats what tore the hole in the fence, not God.
[/

quote]

Hmm! Never heard that one before. Could I impose upon you to give a reference, please?

Job1:5 and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

Job3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come upon me.

Num.29 The sin offering was to be given in the 7th month.
But Job was doing it continually.


quote]We have lost our relationship with God and turned instead to a religion of dead works, i.e., gone from spiritual to cardinal (1 Corinthians 3:3). Since the church no longer has power over demons (see my thread on unbelief), they choose to ignore the existence. Seeking to build a "country club" atmosphere were "all are welcome". I think that the message to Sardis (Revelation 3) is very appropriate for the church today.

I think we have gone father than that I think we are in the church of Laodicean neither hot nor cold.

______________________

THERE IS ONLY ONE ABSOLUTE TRUTH and all else is a lie!!!!!!

 

[Orthodox Christian]

I asked my demons if they are real. They all shouted "no!!" so loud that people nearby looked at me in a strange way and then turned into lizards.
Jim Morrison nodded, and we walked out into the desert.

I don't believe Christians can be possessed by demons, but they can be borrowed.

I played some old Stryper albums backwards, to see if there were any hidden Evangelistic messages. Nope- same backwards as forwards- just another cheesy Christian imitation of popular culture, like Pat Boone, Amy Grant, and Martin Luther.