Demons and the Dry Places

In Luke 11:24-26 and Matthew 12:43-45 Jesus describes the plight of a demon who leaves its habitation. We must keep in mind that the manner of teaching in the Jewish society is not as it is in the Greek or gentile world. The Greeks might say: “The Lord is my Leader,” but the Jews would say: “The Lord is my Shepherd!” Where the Greeks would say: “What I believe is based upon the teachings of the word of God,” the Jews would say: “I am built upon the Rock!” The Greeks would use many words to describe a situation, while the Jews would use word pictures or parables to describe a circumstance.

 

Simon the Sorcerer & the Soothsayer

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Acts 8:5-25 records the ministry of Philip the evangelist as he preached the Gospel in Samaria. A certain sorcerer named Simon believed the Gospel after he had seen some of the miracles done through Philip (Acts 8:13). This same man traded on sorcery and many thought he was some great one (Acts 8:9-10). The people looked to him, because they believed God was working through this man. However, all he did was through the curious arts or the corrupt spiritual gifts of Adam.

 

The Demon Called ‘Legion’

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It is recorded in the synoptic Gospels that Jesus cast out a demon or several demons called Legion. The account is found in Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39. This is an account of the healing of a schizophrenic. Notice that only Matthew says that there were two. Yet, it does not say two men. Neither does Matthew say anything concerning the man or men after Legion was cast out, or that Jesus spoke with the man or men. In fact, in Matthew’s account the only word recorded that Jesus spoke is “Go!” On the other hand, in both Mark and Luke, Jesus spoke to a single man, and it is recorded that a single demoniac came running toward Jesus. Afterward the townspeople saw the one who had been possessed in his right mind and speaking with Jesus. When the people of the community asked Jesus to leave, it was this solitary person who sought to go with him.

 

Balaam & the Witch of Endor

The story of Balaam has always intrigued me. He was an evil man who actually spoke with God. I almost envied him. It seemed that God would listen to Balaam and audibly reply to his prayers. I was impressed, but I was not impressed with his end. I learned to fear God in prayer through the example of Balaam. It seems as though God dealt mercifully with men who prayed to him even though they didn’t belong to the assembly of Israel! For example, Moses’ father-in-law was a priest of Midian (Exodus 3:1), and Melchizedek, if he was not an Old Testament manifestation of the One who became Jesus, is another priest who had close contact with God. Balaam, however, was different from these. Peter spoke of his madness (2Peter 2:16). The Scribes and Pharisees were gripped with madness when they opposed Jesus (Luke 6:7, 11). God says that, if we do not delight in his word and desire to obey him, he will deliver us over to something that produces madness in our behavior (Deuteronomy 28:15, 28). What this madness is has been referred to as demonic possession (John 10:20). People who seem too spiritual are often thought to be mad (Acts 26:24-25). King Solomon said that a bribe causes a wise man to become mad (Ecclesiastes 7:7). This is what drove Balaam to oppose God (Jude 1:11). Paul says that he was driven by madness when he persecuted Christians (Acts 26:11).

 

Demons ~ Metaphors or Living Beings?

Scripture is filled with metaphors. Personality and voice are attributed to things that have no such faculty. For example: in 1Corinthians 12:15-16 speaking is attributed to both feet and ears. In Numbers 20:8 Moses was commanded by God to speak to the rock so that it would give water. Now rocks don’t give water and speaking to one in the presence of others would cause one to wonder about a person’s seriousness or sanity. Nevertheless, Scripture often speaks in metaphor and at times has a Biblical character act out a metaphor. In 1Corinthians 10:4 the rock that Moses struck is used to express Christ. My point in all this is: do demons have to be spirit beings, having a life and a will of their own, or can demons refer to our corrupt inheritance from Adam, metaphorically given life, speech and knowledge?

 

Demons ~ Corrupt Spiritualism?

I have found in my study on this subject that there is not a great deal of Biblical information to substantiate what is commonly held as true concerning demons: their behavior, how they came into existence, and how they come to possess their victims. I am very much surprised with how little is revealed in terms of Biblical evidence to support the current understanding of demonology. If one reads extra-biblical literature, the information is voluminous and authoritative. The problem lies in the fact that this creates more than one authority, and they don’t agree with one another. Yet, no one seems willing to leave any room for error by saying something like, “It is my belief…” They all write as though they know exactly what they are talking about and are the authority on the subject, yet they don’t agree with one another. Not one of those that I’ve read that comment on the Biblical examples, adequately explain how a demon can possess an infant when these beings cannot do anything without the permission of our Lord.

 

Who or What Are Demons?

I have often thought about demons and how and why a person would become possessed. I’ve seen movies that traded on this subject, and Hollywood has made a lot of money producing films that exploit our fear of an unknown and unseen world. However, I have not found Hollywood an accurate commentator on God’s word. Going to the world for my information about the Bible is like asking Pharaoh about the God of Israel or Herod about Jesus Christ. They have heard about what God has said, but they really don’t know what is true and what is not. Recently, I’ve exchanged some commentary on my blog with a gentleman concerning the existence of Satan. As we discussed what I believe about this being, the subject of demons came up. At that point I hadn’t written anything on this subject, and to merely offer some thoughts seemed to me to be insufficient. I promised that I would write about my understanding after the Christmas holidays, and so here we are.