Friday, November 30, 2007

Demons

Like a good ghost story? Want to hear about demon possessions? No need to go to your local theatre just go get in God's Word! Story after story you will see where demons possessed someone, entered someone, changed someones physical appearance or attitude. Acts 16:16-25 the possession of a little girl; Mark 5:1-19 possession of the man at the graveyard; Job 4:12-21 Eliphaz encounters a demon.

The origin of demons is not clearly revealed but they do exist. When exactly God created angels is open for debate, but what is known for sure is that God created everything good because God, in His holiness, cannot create something sinful. So when Satan, who was once the angel Lucifer, rebelled against God and fell from heaven (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28), one-third of the angelic host joined his insurrection (Revelation 12:3-4,9). There is no doubt these fallen angels are now known as the demons. We know that Satan had access to Gods throne. (Job comes directly after Gen 22 in chronological order of the Bible) Read Job 1:6-7 and you will see that God asks Satan where he has been. Satan tells Him he has been roaming around the world just checking things out. Satan still had to answer to his activities. At what point God stopped this access we do not know. But this should show you that Satan is still very much inferior to God yet still very powerful. So, why do we not take seriously the threat of Satan capturing our heart?

Matt 25:41 shows us that Hell was created for the devil and his angels. Some reject that demons continue to roam the Earth today because Jude verse 6 says they are in chains but 1 Peter 5:8 says that the devil is still roaming like a lion. Why would God allow the devil to still roam but not his angels? We know that Jude 1:6 is talking about the “sons of god” in Gen 6. They were called the Nephilim. They pro-created with the daughters of the Earth and created a breed of giants. These are believed to be the demons that God has locked up forever in chains.

Ghosts, hauntings, seances, tarot cards, Ouija boards, crystal balls—what do they have in common? They are fascinating to most people because they seem to open the window into a curious and unknown world that lies beyond the limits of our physical existence. And to many, such things seem no more dangerous than opening a window in their homes. Many people and authors approach this subject from a non-biblical perspective and we need to be careful to remember this. Nowhere in the Bible does it report hauntings from dead people. The Bible clearly states that there is one of two places you will go when you die. Heaven or Hell. (Luke 16:22-28.) The Bible clearly states that any one who delves in to these things invite disaster (Acts 19:13-17) The following 3 verses show us that the people began to burn those things, which they were using and reading that did not pertain to God. And if God considered the occult practices of contacting the spirit world for wisdom or guidance for the future an abomination worthy of judgment in Moses' time (Deuteronomy 18:9-12), then God, who does not change, considers it still today.

Satanism's common denominator is self. The exact thing that Satan was kicked out of Heaven for. Different types of worship require different beliefs. But it all boils down to live for the moment their creed being, gluttony and debauchery. Most Satanist don’t even believe in Satan at all. Since Satan was kicked out of Heaven who wants to follow a loser? In short, Satanism, while it may or may not be worshiping Satan, is a conscious effort to NOT worship the one true real God.

So can a Christian be possessed? Many theologians believe we cannot be possessed because we have the Holy Spirit in us. But in the case of Judas he opened his heart to the sin of greed. So, if we too, open our hearts to a habitual sin can we invite demons in to our hearts? Sin is a bondage we put on our lives that separates us from worship and fellowship with Christ. And sin derives from allowing the Devil and his demons to draw us away from God. The Bible gives us no reason to believe Satan and his demons can read our minds. Clearly that would take a measure of omnipresence and omniscience, which they do not have. However, Satan and his demons have been observing and tempting human beings for thousands of years. In addition, they can overhear our speech when we talk to others (and to ourselves!). Surely they have learned a few things about us over the years. Even without the ability to know our thoughts, they can probably make a well-educated guess as to what we are thinking, and then attempt to use it to their advantage. That is why we are commanded to “Submit yourselves, then, to God” (James 4:7a), before we are told to “Resist the devil” (James 4:7b).

Demons are real we just do not talk about them like every other culture does. Basically we have forgotten the real threat of them in our daily walk with Christ. Every day when you wake up their is a spiritual battle going on over you. Heavens angels are battling Satan's demons to see who will win your heart that day. But we have the upper hand. Scripture says in Philippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. All we have to do is call out His name and even the demons will tremble and worship Him! What power we have in Christ!

So what's haunting you? Is it a demon or is it that you haven't tapped in to the freedom God has given you over your demons?