By Bob Vaughn - uca@uncommonanswers.com
"Contending for the faith once delivered to the saints"
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DEMON OPPRESSION & DEMON POSSESSION

SICKNESS AND DEMON SPIRITS

Tthere is a difference between sickness and demon oppression and possession; Let's look at some verses.

Acts 5:16:

"There came a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were healed every one."

Notice that the verse says they brought unto them sick folk and they also brought unto them those that were vexed by unclean spirits.

Let's look in Matthew 10:8. Jesus was sending out the twelve apostles and He said,

"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."

Jesus made a difference between healing the sick and the casting out of devils.

Now let's look in Mark 16:17,18 :

"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Again Jesus spoke of healing the sick and casting out devils as different.  

Clearly there is a difference between healing sickness and the casting out of devils. Sickness may be caused by natural causes; for example, measles or polio or flu. These are viruses; they are not evil spirits but it should be understood that devil spirits can mock sickness and afflictions, in which case the cure is to rebuke them.

POSSESSION VS. OPPRESSION

The word "possessed" in the Greek means to be exercised by demonic beings. A man possessed, is a man the devil exercises -- the devil  controls. The man who is possessed, I believe, has little ability to resist the devils will. Often a man who is possessed of a an unclean spirit will be a man who seems to have a dual personality.He seems to be normal until the evil spirit within him is roused. It takes control of him and makes him do things that are contrary to his will. I have seen numerous people weep because they couldn't control themselves.

I knew a man who was an alcoholic. He seemed to want to serve God. He would kneel at the alter, cry and pray. But he couldn't find the deliverance from alcohol that he needed. He would leave the building, and go out and drink again -- almost as soon as he left. This continued for months. Until one day, not even in church -- in his own bedroom -- with all of his heart he prayed. He found freedom from the devils that made him drink. Freedom -- no more temptation, no more need to yield to it, no more control by that enemy. Before he seemed to have a dual personality; but the very same person. I believe that is demon possession -- a man exercised, as the Greek would say, by demonic spirits.

To be oppressed is different. There is only one verse in the Bible that plainly mentions devil oppression,  Acts 10:38 :

"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."

In the Greek "oppress" means to exercise dominion against. The man oppressed of the devil is the man against whom the devil is exercising dominion. Oppression may not be in every area of his life -- it probably would be in only a particular area of his life. The man who is in a sin/repent, sin/repent, sin/repent cycle is often a victim of demon oppression. The devil  often exercises dominion against him, in one particular area of life.

Let's look at an example.  John 6:70 :

"Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?"

When He said, "one of you is a devil", speaking of Judas, he did not mean that Judas was not a man. The word "devil" in the Greek means accuser. And you could substitute that word : "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is an accuser?" (a false accuser). Judas had this particular personality trait. Jesus chose him in spite of that flaw. Judas was a man who was always trying to find fault. He was a man who was always accusing people falsely. He looked for error, he looked for fault. He was an accuser.

Now let's look at what happened in Judas' life. Turn to John 13:2 :

"And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heard of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him."

This is not just Judas thinking, but the devil (the word devil still means accuser; that is what the enemy has always been called, the accuser -- in the Old and New Testament), the accuser, put it into Judas Iscariot's heart to betray Jesus Christ. Judas was a man who would listen to the devil. The devil used him; the accuser spoke to him like he speaks to all of us. In the 27th verse of this chapter we read,

"And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, that thou doest, do quickly."

So we find a pattern in this man's life. First, he wasn't possessed of the devil; but he was a man that allowed himself to be an accuser; a fault finder. And having this fault he was receptive to Satan's leading. So Satan put the thought there, Judas pondered it and accepted it; then he was wide open to possession by Satan. The accuser,  Satan entered Judas and  possessed him. It was not an overnight thing; it was not something that just happens; but it was an attitude that lead to the place where the Satan possesses.Take heed.

Let's look at more examples of demon possession. Let's look in Mark, chapter 5.

Let's look a little further in Mark 9:17 :

"And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out, and they could not. He answered him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me. 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. And he asked his father, how long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, of a child. And oft-times it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us."

Here was another example of someone being possessed by an unclean spirit. Not all the time, but "oftentimes" these things would come upon him, his father said.

Let's continue in Matthew 12:22 :

"Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw."

From these examples of demon possession we can see the various things that demon possession causes in people's lives.

The question that has been ask is, "Can Christians be possessed by demons? Can Christians have unclean spirits living in them?"

 I Peter 5:8 :

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

Some he can devour and some he can't. Now, let's look into Luke 22:31 :

"And the Lord said Simon, Simon, behold, Satan desires to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for you, that your faith would not fail; and when you art converted, strengthen thy brethren."

Satan was a roaring lion walking about, and he had his sights set upon Peter that he might sift him as wheat. But Jesus said, "I have prayed for you, that your faith would not fail." He was after Peter. But Jesus prayed for Peter. 

"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world" (talking about his disciples -- the eleven) "but that thou shouldest keep them from evil."

Jesus prayed for the Father to keep them from evil. That's what kept Peter from being devoured by Satan -- Jesus prayed for him.

Now, what is going to keep us from being devoured by Satal? It is going to be Jesus praying for us.  In verse 20 of chapter 17 :

"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also that shall believe on me through their words."

The devil won't devour me, because I believed on Jesus through the words of the apostles. The devil is going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; but he knows he can't touch me. Jesus prayed for me.

There is no way (and there will be other scripture as we go along) that a child of God can be demon possessed.

All right, now concerning oppression let's look in Luke 13:11 :

"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. And when Jesus saw her he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. "

Further down, in verse 16 :

"And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?"

This woman who was as much a child of God as you or me. She was a child of faith- a child of Abraham. She had a spirit of infirmity. What does "spirit of infirmity" mean? We know that spirit in the Greek doesn't mean a vapor; it doesn't mean something floating around; it does not mean a ghostly manifestation; but spirit in the Greek means "a rational soul", or one that has the ability to exercise logic and reasoning -- one that is not led by feelings or affections or emotions. A man that is spiritual is one that is living according to reason. God never wants anyone to live a haphazard life in this world. Adam lived according to the way he felt and he died spiritually. Any of us that live according to the way we feel; any of us that live according to our natural affections; are going to die spiritually. We live according to the spirit; we live rationally, reasoning what is right according to the Word of God. That is the way God wants us to live.

"And lest I be exhaulted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exhaulted above measure."

Paul said that there was a reason that this messenger of Satan was allowed to come upon him to keep him humble.

"For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

We see two people who were oppressed of the devil. One was a woman of faith -  a child of Abraham, yet she was bound by a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years until Jesus came along and rebuked that lie of the devil. Then there is -- the Apostle Paul -- who had a messenger of Satan buffeting him in the flesh. He prayed three times for the Lord to deliver him. And the Lord said, "My grace is sufficient for you, Paul." God allowed him to be buffetted in the flesh that he might not be exalted because of the abundance of revelations that he had received. So we see two people being oppressed of the Satan. One was freed and the other was not, even though he was an apostle of God. There was a reason that he wasn't freed -- that the will of God could be worked out in his life. So everybody that is oppressed of the devil will  not be freed, but God's grace will be adaquate for all.

Let's look a little further concerning this. Although it is God's will that some people be oppressed, it seems to always be for thier good. I believe He never wills for Satan to oppress you in any of the rights or privileges that are yous as a child of His. They are given unto you. You are the only one that can allow the Satan to take away these blessings. Satan sometimes robs Christians of the benefits of being a child of God. He does it by oppression. How does he do it? He is a lier.

Satan may lie to you about the benefits of being a Christian; about the blessings that God has provided for his children. The woman in Luke 13 may have really hurt her back. Satan may have then lied to her and said, "You aren't going to get well. Your back is going to stay hurt." And then long after it was well she kept on reasoning that she lifted that washtub and her back was hurt and she was going to stay bowed over. She stayed there, believing his lie for eighteen years. It's so important to realize that not everyone who is sick or afflicted is that way because of believing Satan's lies. I believe most sick and afflicted people are that way because of real sickness or affliction. Sickness and affliction are not necessarily an oppression of the devil.

Bob Vaughn