Discernment 05: Occupy

In general, if a particular health issue doesn’t yield to standard medical treatment, it is likely related to demonic presence. That goes for other shalom failures in life, as well. If it resists sensible moral treatment, then you should suspect demons holding some claim on things. Begin praying accordingly and asking for the Lord to show you what you need to know to take action that glorifies Him.

As previously noted, everyone has demons in their lives. The question is not how to get rid of them altogether, but a matter of when things have developed to the point God is ready for you to conquer the specific problem. Satan is master of all flesh (AKA this world), so redemption is becoming more spiritual and less worldly.

Some issues are more of a demonic presence in human institutions and activities. Every geographic place has peculiar demonic authorities associated with it, as well. Again, it’s not driving them out, but a matter of limiting their influence in your life. In some few cases, demons will manifest very strongly in individual lives.

The best Scripture reference we have is the Gadarene Demoniac (Matthew 8; Mark 5; Luke 8). Please note that Western traditional mythology about “demon possession” is nonsense. It doesn’t work like that. It’s much closer to the psychology of multiple personalities. For whatever reason, demons are allowed to set up housekeeping in a soul and eclipse the actual root personality of the victim. It’s typically the result of some particular trauma that isn’t managed properly. In the case of the Gadarene man, once the demons were gone, he was thrown back to his original personality, whose normal development had been arrested some time in the past. Thus, he returns to himself with an almost childlike awe of Christ.

But notice something that almost every commentator on that story seems to miss: The narrative makes no sense standing on its own. You must place it in the wider context of what Christ did on this earth. A critical element is that everything took place within the boundaries of the Covenant.

This demonized man was a Jew. The pigs that rushed into the sea were herded by Jews, contrary to the Covenant — no great loss. This event took place most likely just inside the Tetrarchy of Philip. That boundary line cut across older historic territorial associations this area once had with both Gadara and Gergesa. But the only place on the shore of the entire Sea of Galilee that matches this story is down near the very southern boundary of Philip’s domain.

The authority to act against demons rests entirely on one biblical covenant or another. You must remain aware of which covenant applies to the situation you are addressing when you sense in your heart a need to combat a demonic presence. If the victim has no particular affiliation with any covenant, then your assistance may be limited. Our leverage against demons is Biblical Law, not some personal blanket permit from God. The authority of Christ granted to you and I is always constrained by Biblical Law, and this always takes shape under one covenant or another.

Don’t buy into claims someone makes about being a demon hunter. Exorcism isn’t a ministry; it’s a sideline, a part of the wider repertoire of things we all can do in this life to bring glory to our Father. Some folks will do it more consistently than others, but it should not be viewed as a profession in itself. The end result of such a thing always rests in the hands of the victim, and the victim’s fate rests in Biblical Law.

This is not a question of going to Hell. Satan has no authority on that issue. Most Westerners, Church folks in particular, confuse the Lake of Fire with Hell in the first place. Satan has no delight in folks going to either place; his domain is this world. That’s “hell” enough in itself. We are all born into his domain, and his mission is to keep us wrapped up in it.

Our mission is to take back our lives from him and render them to the Father for His glory. The process tends to be incremental. The focus is on covenant living in this life. Satan tries to deceive and confiscate our covenant blessings (shalom), to keep us from the path back to Eden. That’s his job as God’s servant. His restriction to this world is his prison, and his final judgement is that place of fire.

Dante’s Inferno is silly mythology. Demons don’t torment souls in Hell; they are tormented themselves in a place called the Abyss. It’s a figure of speech. We don’t even have sufficient words to discuss all that. Our main concern right now is walking in the Father’s glory and helping other folks to see how that glory is the answer to everything.

The overall focus is on the Father’s glory. We glorify Him by living Biblical Law as our Covenant, and harvesting the blessings as we take back from Satan things that aren’t his.

End of series; got questions?