As we continue to reveal the adversary's kingdom and methods, we must be ever mindful that greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
In this issue, we will begin to look at some of the operations of a demon.
Like their master, demons seek to deceive.
Revelation 20:1-3 1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Demons are teachers of false doctrine.
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
As teachers of false doctrines, demons must inhabit a person's mind. This is accomplished either by a demon exercising their influence on the individual from without or within or both.
A demon can influence a person from without by learned unbelief. For instance, there's an effort aimed for the next general assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) that would allow individual presbyteries to decide whether to ordain homosexuals to the clergy.
At least one presbytery has already ordained an openly gay minister. Rev. Joseph Gilmore, who presided at the ordination of the members of South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., are feeling enormous pride. Gilmore told Family News in Focus radio that what the Bible may have to say about such ordinations no longer applies. "When the writers of the original sacred text (the Bible) wrote all those years ago, they thought the earth was flat. Am I obliged to think the earth is flat?" he asked. "They also thought that there was only one sexuality and that was heterosexuality." If this doctrine is accepted, future generations will suffer, and be influenced by this doctrine of a demon. (Just for the record, the Bible teaches that the earth is round. Columbus got his idea about the earth being round from the Bible.)
Demons also operate from within an individual. This is when a demon has access to the person from within. I choose to describe this by the word demonized. In the case of the person who is demonized, the demon can insert thoughts directly into the person's brain and for the most part, the person will think that the inserted thoughts are his own thoughts.
This is part of the deception. To help a person who is demonized realize that he may not be the source of his own thought takes a lot of love and patience.
Demons are promoters of occult and various forms of divination.
Acts 16:16-18 16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. 18And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
Demons are the unseen force behind idolatry.
1 Corinthians 10:14-21 14Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 15I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 16The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. 18Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
Demons work through people. This is why Paul instructs us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Demons can and do work through people that are saved.
One cannot depart from the faith if one never had the faith to begin with. Timothy here is talking about born-again believers who took heed to seducing spirits.
2 Timothy 2:15-18 15Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. Acts 5:1-10 1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it, at the apostles' feet. 3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 5And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. 7And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. 8And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. 9Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. 10Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. 11And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Some will argue this point. I would say to them if the flesh can still work in a person who is indwelt by the spirit of God, so can the devil. I have a little experience in this field and have personally cast out many demons out of a saved brother or sister.
If demons cannot lure us into the grossly unclean things of sin, they will move to more subtle temptations.
We must remember that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Morality without Christ is one of his chief traps for catching and holding people. In short, this trap is called religion. However, religion takes on many forms. It may be called tolerance, or freedom of expression, or open-mindedness, or privacy.
The cry of our society is for 'tolerance'. If you're not considered tolerant, you're considered a bigot and a hate-monger. The slogan for tolerance? "Don't judge me."
Open-mindedness teaches that if you hold traditional Biblical values, you're considered by society as being either 'narrow-minded' or 'closed-minded.' Those who subscribe to open-mindedness also consider truth to be relative and circumstance based. The slogan for open-mindedness? "What's true for you may not be true for me."
Privacy has been raised to the status of a constitutional right. When nominees are considered for the U.S. Supreme Court, one of the big questions is usually: "What is their stance on individual privacy?" The slogan for privacy: "What I do in private is none of your business."
The drunk, the dope addict, the thief all know that they are sinners. However, the self-righteous church member is convinced he is walking in fellowship.
To be continued …ÿ
Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation, NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.