DEMONIC POSSESSION

by

Elliott Nesch 

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

-- Mark 16:15-18

CHAPTER ONE:

BACKGROUND

            Demons and evil spirits are very real; deliverance from demons is a biblical healing power that can be proven effective to this day. Although the Bible does not mention the word “exorcism,” we have adopted the term today for deliverance of evil spirits. The New Testament includes exorcism among the miracles performed by Jesus which set precedents in Christian teaching. Recently on the rise in American culture, demonic possession has been part of the belief system of Christianity since its beginning but we know very little about it except for what the Holy Bible tells us or what we see in movies like The Exorcist and more recently The Exorcism of Emily Rose. 

Obviously, some mental health professionals have a hard time believing in Satan and his works but I believe that the exorcists’ and eye witness testimonies of the supernatural provide proof that the exorcism phenomenon exists. There are signs of demonic possession, some of which are much more obvious than others like speaking in foreign or ancient languages, and there is a procedure for evicting the spirits. Depending on the exorcist, the exorcism process may vary but throughout history only one name has had the power to free souls from demonic possession: Jesus Christ.

            Exorcism is the practice of evicting demons or spiritual entities which have possessed a person; the word “exorcism” means “to come out of” or “to drive out.” Exorcism originated from the Greek word exorkizein which means “to bind by oath”(Bancroft). The practice of driving out evil spirits is common throughout the Bible, but the word "exorcist" appears only once in the New King James Version (Acts 19: 13).

Demons are generally described as malevolent spirits or satanic forces. The word demon is derived from the Greek word daimon which refers to beings with special powers which placed them between people and God (Bancroft). Derek Prince further describes demons as disembodied creatures that have an intense craving to occupy physical bodies and, nevertheless, have accepted marks of personality including will, emotion, intellect, self-awareness and the ability to speak (89). 

Many victims of demonic possession are influenced by the occult or are cursed. Webster’s Dictionary defines occult as “beyond the range of normal perception; secret, mysterious, esoteric; dealing with magic, alchemy. . .the supernatural”(694). The word occult is derived from a Latin word which means “concealed” or “covered over” (Prince 113). Curse is defined as “an evil or source of misery” (Webster 236). The act of exorcism is considered a dangerous invocation and has been throughout history. 

            The concept of demon possession is very ancient maybe originating in prehistoric Shamanistic beliefs (“Exorcism”). Malevolent demons or ghosts are common in all cultures around the world even to this day. For instance, Wape Papuans in New Guinea believe ancestral spirits act to provide or withhold meat from their living descendants. In African societies, the concept is highly elaborate where the spirits are able to behave just like humans feeling hot or cold and even pain. If they are annoyed, they may send sickness or death. Ancestor spirits play an important role in patrilineal society of traditional China. A boy was to care for his parents even after they died providing them with incense and anniversaries in the spirit world after their death (Haviland). 

            Today, the notion of spirit interaction is deeply embedded in our language with phrases such as, “Battle our demons,” “What’s gotten into you,” “What possessed you to. . .,” and, “It’s the work of the devil” (Bancroft). Before Christ came onto the scene, evil spirits are mentioned in the Old Testament. For example, 1 Samuel 16: 23 shares, “David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.” 

In some cultures the exorcist functioned in much the same way as doctors do today; people would visit the exorcist seeking a cure for mental or physical illness (Bancroft). Socrates spoke of the insane as those who are under the influence of demons and Plato also affirmed that demons possessed mortals (Bancroft). 

            Also, such accounts from the 4^th century AD depict exorcisms as Zeno of Verona describes, “His face is suddenly deprived of colour, his body rises up itself, the eyes in madness roll in their sockets and squint horribly, the teeth, covered with a horrible foam, grind between blue-white lips; and limbs twisted in all directions are given over to trembling; he sighs, he weeps; he fears the appointed day of Judgement and complains that he is driven out; he confesses his sex, the time and place he entered into man. . .(Sargant 47). The Middle Ages (500-1500AD) saw a revival of demonology and the treatment of mental illness was mainly left to the clergy who believed evil spirits were the cause (Bancroft). The Roman Catholic Church continued developing the formal rite of exorcism and by 1614 the Rituale Romanum (the Roman Ritual of Exorcism which is still used today) was completed (Bancroft). Due to a greater understanding of psychology in recent times, the practice of exorcism has diminished (“Exorcism”). In 1999 the Vatican updated the 1614 guidelines urging the exorcist to avoid mistaking mental illness for possession (Nickell). One important concern in exorcism is differentiating between demonic possession and psychiatric illness. 

CHAPTER TWO:

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

            At this point, you’re probably wondering if I have any personal experience with this sort of thing. Unfortunately, yes. When I was on drugs, before I was born again, I saw several demonic manifestations on people. These manifestations can only be explained by supernatural evil. Especially, when I was on meth demonic activity in my life increased. I believe I was even possessed at times. I would be frozen in the state of paralysis. It scared the crap out of me because it couldn't be explained. 

It happened a few times after I got born again and not only did I get frozen in paralysis but I saw the evil spirits. One time it was a dark cloud-like figure above the room. Once it was a dark silhouette accompanied with the sounds of laughing children running up and down the hall. Another time it was a glowing angel-like figure. Once, I was paralyzed with a sharp pain in my side along with a loud buzzing sound and an intense pressure around my head like the spirit was pressing in on me or trying to enter in. All I could do was push out the Name, "Jesus," and it immediately left. I saw the spirit go around the room, then the exact same thing happened again until I said, "Jesus." I immediately dropped to my knees and prayed and the spirit left.

In all these instances after I was born again, I rebuked the demons in the Name of Jesus and just like that I snapped out of it and the spirits left. Being paralyzed, I was scared; one time all I could mutter through my clamped mouth was, "Jesus," and I was able to move again and the presence left. Demonic affliction is something I've realized I have to live with. I'm not afraid of the demons anymore because they have no power over me except to mess with me. He who's in me, Christ, is greater than the dark principalities and spirits of this world. I am powerless to these unclean spirits. The devil has the power to crush me, but I am saved and preserved by Jesus Christ in every spiritual battle; it is by no victory of my own but Christ's victory.

One evening I got a call from a friend (who wishes to remain anonymous). This person had been drinking at their dorm room and was very intoxicated. This person had been known to drink before but this time was different. In the past week, I knew this person had attempted suicide but had failed. They parked their running car inside of a relative’s garage but, thank God, the relative came home. This was all very uncharacteristic behavior and extremely out of the ordinary for my friend. While on the phone, I thought my friend’s voice sounded alien. It didn’t sound like the friend I know and love, the voice was high-pitched and reminded me of a witch. Also, after years of friendship, I had never heard this person talking so blatantly obscene screaming curse words at me and saying nonsense like, “I want the cops to find me naked!” At one point, I remember them screaming, “I’m in danger!” My friend also said she destroyed everything in the room. At first, I didn’t want to label it anything out of paranoia, but, the next morning, after talking to my friend and hearing what others had to say about my friend, I was convinced they were demonically influenced.

            The next morning, my friend called me and said they felt they were possessed by something. Those were their words, not mine. After talking to others on their floor, we confirmed that my friend drank an entire handle of Vodka, taking shots while reciting the Lord’s prayer and peer-pressuring others to do the same. She vomited and urinated all over her room and screamed, “There’s blood in my throw-up!” 

One young lady said my friend was trying to “cast a spell” on her and talking in gibberish. Her neighbors said that loud bangs on the wall and sounds were coming from my friend’s room all night long. My friend’s neighbors came in to restrain my friend. These two people, one male and one female, were both substantially larger in size than my friend, yet one of them said my friend had superhuman strength while fighting them off. Keep in mind, all of these testimonies about my friend’s state are coming from non-Christians who know nothing about demonic possession. I had no time to explain. They also said they came into my friend’s room at one point to find her convulsing. Moments later, she tried to squeeze out of the window (six floors up) and almost did but was pulled back into safety. 

It was about an hour-drive down to their residence. Truthfully, I was a little frightened. I had seen demons in my own experience but I had never been faced to drive one out of anybody, one of my closest friends nonetheless. I kept praying for the Lord’s protection. When I reached stoplights, I was writing notes in my Bible on what I should say and pray when I reached them. I knew Jesus already had victory over these evil entities but I was still shaken up because I love my friend and I knew something very ugly had invaded their spirit that we both had to face. I had to shut out my fears and go. I couldn’t let my friend know I was afraid. The demons already knew I was afraid and they knew I was coming. I just pressed forward relying on my rock and strength: Jesus Christ.

            When I arrived, my friend was lying in bed covered in bruises and scratches. Another friend was in the room saying, “It’s freezing in here.” It was unnaturally cold in the well-insulated room. It was much colder than the other rooms surrounding it. My friend was bedridden, pale and sick. Come to think of it, my friend had been sick for quite some time now with “mono” which was negatively affecting her school work. Everything was beginning to make sense. If I had known ahead of time what I was up against then I wouldn’t have arrived alone but it was too late now. 

            Luckily, my friend is a Christian who was ready to repent and change her lifestyle. Otherwise, this problem would’ve likely persisted and gotten much, much worse as Matthew 12:43 speaks about. I wanted her to make that choice clear before we began. Also, I had asked if she had known when this all might have started but she couldn’t remember. I sat down opposite the bed and began to pray out loud. Then, we read the Scriptures aloud alternating turns. I then prayed for all evil spirits to leave, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command all evil spirits to depart in peace from this child of God,” as my friend got tense and sat up in bed. 

            She gagged on some rotten smell. I didn’t smell it but it was just another confirmation of what we already knew. I kept praying and reading the Word. The room was still chilly. I told my friend that it was now their turn to pray and that it was essential. They said, “No, I can’t. I feel uncomfortable.”

            “Listen to yourself,” I said, “Why should you ever feel too uncomfortable to pray?” Now, she got very anxious and nervous and tried to pray but physically couldn’t. We would begin by bowing our heads and closing our eyes but the words would not come out. 

            Out of confusion and frustration as to why they couldn’t physically say the words, my friend began to cry saying, “Why is this happening to me?” She, sane and sober, was totally aware of being tormented by some demonic influence. After calling some of my friends and her family for prayer request, I lead her in prayer by starting the prayer with, “Lord Jesus. . .”

            Finally, after praying to Jesus Christ, my friend felt like herself again and the presence had left. The room was now very warm; I was sweating and I don’t sweat easy. The “mono” left with the demon as well. The following day, we had another intense session of prayer, I advised her to seek further counseling and, most importantly, to maintain a Christian lifestyle rooted in prayer and reading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I never wanted to encounter anything of that nature and once I did I didn’t want to believe it but it was true. If I could go back, I wouldn’t have proceeded alone. That mistake put both of us in a dangerous position but luckily nothing resulted. 

            During that time, what terrified my friend the most was not being able to speak a simple prayer. How is this possible? She could not say a prayer yet minutes earlier was reading scripture. Matthew 10:32-33 informs us of demons that constrict speech so we know they exist. It says, “While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. And when the demon was driven out, the man was amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’” And remember, even Satan can quote Scripture. Matthew 4:5-7 explains as Satan tempts Jesus in the desert:

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

            The day after deliverance, my friend called me again. “Remember when you asked me if I had remembered when this all started?” my friend asked. 

            “Yes. . .” I responded.

            “Well,” she said, “I think it was when I took some Ecstasy at a concert a few weeks ago.” It made sense to me that this drug was an entryway that Satan exploited through my friend. Ever sense that initial moment, my friend was confined to her sickbed or, “deathbed,” were her exact words. I also talked to other pastors and trusted friends about this. After hearing the story, one of my friends, who has had heavy occult and drug involvement in his past life but is now a born again Christian, told me he was not surprised. He told me, from personal experience, that some Ecstasy manufacturers and Meth cooks are involved in occult practices, which shouldn’t be surprising, and actually placed curses or spells on pounds of drugs at a time before it was sold. They would pray to Satan over the drugs invoking specific curses including paranoia and lust. 

            Overall, that deliverance strengthened my faith. At first, the thought of going to battle with an evil creature frightened me but that’s just what Satan wants. My fear soon disappeared as the Holy Spirit came upon me in the moment strengthening me and giving me the right words. I remembered that my friend and I are saved children of God and nothing can change that because Christ has already defeated the enemy and died for our sins. Hallelujah!

            About six months after that, I had another experience with the demons. I met a young lady who had been sexually abused by her uncle. She also wishes to remain anonymous. What I thought was just another Sunday morning turned out to be much more. 

            My friend Justin and I picked this young lady up for church. I was already troubled that morning because I had been woken up by a demon. There have been several occasions where I have seen demons, since I became a Christian, but this particular morning was the second time a demon made physical contact with me. The demon woke me up by strangling me. It put its hand around my neck and squeezed. I couldn’t breathe so I woke up. I know it made physical contact because I couldn’t breathe and I felt the hand around my neck. The hand was cold. I will never forget that chilled and lifeless member squeezing my neck. This cold and dead hand was trying to squeeze the life out of me by strangling me. I saw the demon. At first it looked like an old man but as I was staring into its eyes the old man withered up. The face became more and more wrinkled and full of death until it dissolved away into nothing. The whole experience lasted only three to four seconds. I had made it very mad but I didn’t know why. I found out why at church later that morning.

            It was a new church for me. There was only five people total including the pastor. After the intimate church service, the pastor approached us and we talked. His wife offered to pray with our young lady friend. She declined and asked me to take her home. I said, “No. I’ll pray with you.” She was still reluctant to pray. Then the pastor got involved. We wanted to pray for God to give her direction. But she was frightened for some odd reason. Then Justin came over to pray as well. Just then, something unseen knocked her back against the wall. She testified later that she felt a push at her chest, pushing her against the wall away from us. I had a very uneasy feeling. Something was not right. I said, “God is good all the time, sister. What can it hurt to pray?”

            She said, “Elliott, take me home.” I didn’t move. “Justin, take me home.” Justin didn’t move either. She became terrified. We knew something was very wrong in her spirit. She cried and ran out of the room, almost out the door but the pastor’s wife stopped her and talked. Us men circled up at the alter and began praying for her, some were praying in tongues. 

            This was all ordained by God. It turns out the pastor’s wife had been sexually molested by her own father and once she told our friend that, she broke down that barrier. We continued praying and the ladies continued talking. The pastor’s wife shared her testimony which finally brought our friend to pray with us. 

            She came over to the circle. We were on our knees. We laid our hands on her and prayed. She was to repeat the prayer after the pastor which went well until he asked her to forgive her uncle for what he had done to her. It was essential that she put her torment in God’s hands and forgive her uncle. She wouldn’t do it. She shrieked and became more terrified. “NO! Why did you let him do it, God! I was only a child! NO! I will not forgive him!”

            “You need to forgive him, sister,” we all said and continued to pray. Finally, after probably ten to fifteen minutes of prayer, she said the words. She forgave her uncle for the hurt and pain he caused her. I had one hand on her as we were praying and my other hand was holding Justin’s hand. Justin was trembling uncontrollably. We all felt something very powerful. 

We felt the Spirit of God driving out that evil spirit of unforgiveness and child molestation. As she forgave him, we all felt the Holy Spirit in that room. It was incredible. Myself, I was overflowing with joy. I couldn’t contain it smiling bigger than ever. All I could say was, “Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.” The moment she forgave him, she transformed from tormented with tears of bitterness to over joyous; a different person. She had been reborn. It’s something that can’t be put into words; you had to feel the Holy Spirit in that church. My eyes were still closed in prayer, I feared to look on the holiness of God which I knew was present. I could feel the Spirit but she actually saw it. She saw an aura around us all. She described it with tears of joy. She also said the entire church was brighter. We all praised the Lord and the Holy name of Jesus.

Afterwards, she told me about a dream she had the night before. I was in the dream. In the dream, she was facing her uncle. She continually turn around and see me standing opposite him with a smile on my face. She would turn back and her uncle kept getting closer and closer until he got right in her face. On one hand, was her uncle and her problems. On the other was me willing to help her. Her dream ended with me embracing her. Just like the dream, I embraced her at church to pray with her. The deliverance at church began where her dream ended. I don’t think it was a coincidence that her dream took place at the exact same time I encountered that demon which tried to choke me. He was pissed off at me to be perfectly honest because I was in part of God’s plan to take her away from his torment. Praise the Lord we have victory in Jesus! 

But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have hear Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning you former conduct, the old conduct which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4: 19 - 24). 

Yet another instance, I got a call from a friend on the phone late at night. She knew I had experience with this sort of thing. Her younger sister said there was a demonic entity tormenting her. The friend that called me said she was praying silently before she went to bed and her younger sister yelled from another room, "Are you praying?" Obviously my friend wondered how her sister knew she was praying since she couldn't hear it out loud. 

Her younger sister said she heard a voice in her head saying, "Don't pray. Don't pray." When I asked her little sister about what was going on she told me about the voices and also said she saw a horrific creature that was not from her imagination. 

Unfortunately, they were in another city so I told them to put me on speaker phone and pray with me. Like the earlier case, the younger sister couldn't pray. My guess was that this was a mute demon. When others in the home began to pray with us all on speaker phone and the young girl rededicated her life to Jesus the demons left.

I testify to that which I have heard and that which I have seen. You may not believe in demons. You may not believe in Jesus. That doesn't change the truth that demons are real and Jesus Christ is the only way to defeat them. If you don't believe in demons, then you are exactly where they want you! The truth is you don't know what you're talking about. I have been rendered powerless under these creatures. 

I know they are real and they are very powerful, I dare not speak evil of them but rebuke them in the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus Christ is the only way to be set free. I once went to a church that sold t-shirts which read, "Satan sucks." In reality they have no idea what they are talking about forgetting that the devil was created by God and possesses a power that is out of this world.

Likewise also these dreamers of dreams defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" But these speak evil of whatever they do not know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe to them! (Jude 1: 9 - 11)

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14: 16). "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8: 31, 32).

CHAPTER THREE

DEMONS OR MENTAL ILLNESS?

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth (1 Timothy 4: 1 - 3).

            When it comes to drawing a line between demonic possession and mental illness, Charles Swindoll in his book Demonism: How to Win Against the Evil argues that Satan does not choose persons with schizophrenia or other serious psychotic disorders because he needs intact, healthy people to accomplish his ends (Schell). But on the other hand, I could easily see someone being diagnosed for multiple personality disorder who was possessed as in a case where the exorcist recalled delivering a woman from “seventy demons–demons of lust and violence and duplicity–they just kept manifesting” (Kaminer). Arthur Guirdham M.D., a British psychiatrist, has concluded after 40 years of practice that every severe mental illness can be explained by spirit interference (Bancroft). Pastor James Watkins notes, “It’s amazing how the anti-psychotic drug Haldol casts out the ‘demons’ of voices in one’s mind.” Watkins adds, “Before claiming anyone is demon possessed, he or she should be thoroughly examined by a qualified professional for any physical or mental issues in concert with a qualified spiritual advisor such as a pastor or priest” (Watkins). 

Father John Nicola, who served as a technical advisor during the filming of the exorcist says the same, “First of all, we want to try to account for phenomena using natural causality, then we might move to a consideration of supernatural causality. But this is very rare. Over a twenty- to twenty-five-year period I was asked by various bishops to examine about twenty cases of alleged possession, and in only two of these were exorcisms actually performed” (Cuneo 21). We must realize exorcism is rare before we get to the actual signs of possession.

            What are some of the other signs of possession? When we think of exorcism, we might think of images of spinning heads, levitation or projectile vomit from films like The Exorcist. Signs of demonic possession may include: the ability to speak foreign or ancient languages, supernatural abilities and strengths, secret knowledge of a person’s life (especially the exorcist), habits of sexual immorality, perversions, fortune-telling, involvement in the occult, blasphemous remarks and great aversion to God, hatred, resentment, envy, pride, vengeance, bitterness, fear, traumas, fixations, complexes, insecurities and phobias (Remsen, Schell 12; “Exorcism”). 

            As a conservative Christian, Neal Lozano adds homosexuality, infidelity, pornography, masturbation and involvement with horoscopes and other “occult” practices all as “entryways” Satan can exploit (Remsen). Demons affect emotions and attitudes, the mind, the tongue, sex and physical appetites (Prince 180). Also, the person may start speaking in the plural form we instead of I (MacNutt 78). MacNutt notes, “Out of the mouth of one of the first persons who ever asked me to pray for deliverance came these embarrassing words: ‘You can’t drive us out; you don’t have enough experience!” (18). He recalls one spirits saying, “I met you before in Jerusalem!” (79).

            Number 50 on the demon groupings chart in Frank and Ida Mae Hammonds’ book Pigs in the Parlor is occult and categorized underneath it are Ouija board, palmistry, handwriting analysis, automatic handwriting, ESP, hypnotism, horoscope, astrology, levitation, fortune telling, water witching, Tarot cards, pendulum, witchcraft, black magic, white magic, conjuration, incarnation, charms and fetishes (115). Leanne Payne writes in her book entitled Restoring the Christian Soul of ministering to a demonized woman whose head was “spinning around as if it would swing off her neck” and to a young man who was “frothing at the mouth” until she thrust a crucifix into his hand and exorcised him (Cuneo 224). Gabriele Amorth notes a fourteen year old boy named Pierluigi who would sit on the ground with crossed legs and with “no amount of force could lift him off the ground” (72). Pastor Bob Mueller of Zion Lutheran Church speaks of a nine-year-old girl who was picked up and levitated (Cuneo 233). Lutheran minister Bob Burmeister describes the same phenomena, “Sometimes there’s a sensation of extreme cold almost a sense of invisible ice masses surrounding the demonized person. 

            At other times there’s a horrible demonic odor, like sulphur or horse manure” (Cuneo154).  Malachi Martin also notes the “inexplicable stench” and freezing temperatures (13). Gabriele Amorth notes an instance when his teacher Father Candido was performing an exorcism on a young man when the victim’s clothes caught on fire and there was also a sudden smell of sulfur (195). Francis MacNutt writes, “Some other signs of demonic presence include unpleasant smells and, above all, cold (79). He also states that the symptoms are universal; the same in the United States as Africa, Japan and the rest of the world (79). For example, in Nigeria, MacNutt noticed:

We would be praying with a group when suddenly a man would fall down in the aisle and start displaying the signs that often indicate the presence of a demon. The Nigerians understood immediately what was going on. If the man began convulsing and shouting in a strange language, the Nigerians would stand and applaud until the deliverance was over (54).

            Does that mean you? You might ask, how do the demons take over? Most of the time, the victim will allow the demon to enter without knowing the terrifying consequences of their actions. Exorcist Gabriele Amorth sites four categories in which we can fall prey to extraordinary Satanic activity: (1) with God’s permission, (2) as innocent victims of an evil spell, (3) due to a grave and hardened sinful condition, (4) through association with evil people or places (56). As in the first case study appearing in Malachi Martin’s book, Marianne is approached by a demon who invites her into “a marriage of nothingness” and she accepts in a desperate search to get in touch with her inner self (48). Another is Richard/Rita who, after getting a sex-change, attends a Black Mass orgy which enslaves Richard/Rita to demonic possession (214). Others bring trouble on themselves by experimenting with Ouija boards and other occult paraphernalia (Cuneo 30). MacNutt notes spirits of the occult, spirits of sin such as hatred, murder or envy, spirits or trauma and ancestral spirits (92). Some invite the possession knowingly and others unwittingly. 

            Francis MacNutt adds that it is quite possible to have a demon yet not be possessed (69). Can a demon possess a born again Christian? MacNutt responds, “It is difficult to answer this question scripturally because there were no Christians until after the death of Jesus, or perhaps until Pentecost. So the only books in the Bible that might deal with Christians being demonized are Acts and the epistles” (72). I think this passage from 1 Corinthians 10:18-22 addresses that question; Paul states:

Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifice of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

            Anybody can be a host for a demon but sometimes demons can be passed down through relatives. In his Believers Guide to Spiritual Warfare, author Thomas White advises parents to look for spirits “that gained entrance into the bloodline” as evidenced by family members who have committed suicide or who have a history of depression or psychiatric illness (Schell). This type of suffering is sometimes called “congenital demonism” or “transgenerational evil” (Kaminer). This brings to mind Exodus 20:5 which says this about idolatry, “I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” Science calls this genetics. The world of science and the world of supernatural will always collide leaving some folks skeptical towards exorcism until they see one performed with their own eyes.

            Until then, skeptics will remain when it comes down to healing by means of deliverance from evil spirits. Professor Jeffrey Reiman appeared on a 20/20 television program about exorcism in 1991 and claimed, “It (exorcism) means that we don’t have to take responsibility for the conditions in our society that breed crime and violence and other forms of evil. We can blame that on the devil well. So I think it’s a counsel for irresponsibility” (Bancroft). Bonnie Henderson Schell in “I Beg You, Do Not Torment Me,” from The Humanist states that Christians want to practice deliverance ministries because of, “a vested interest in a chronic clientele,” and, “mega-growth,” for the church. 

On the other hand, author Michael Cuneo says, “These are not people, for the most part, trying to rip off poor beleaguered souls. The people who perform these are true believers” (Powers 27). The exorcisms are performed for free, I might add. Dr. Bernard Vittone, director for the National Center for the Treatment of the Phobias, says in reference to deliverance cases, “Every one of these cases can be attributed to a mental disorder, most often schizophrenia” (Souter 93). But again, maybe some schizophrenics need deliverance; after all, exorcisms have been being performed and proven effective throughout history before we even had names for these mental disorders. Parapsychologist and author Hans Holzer tells INSIGHT, “I don’t think a minister, priest or rabbi can do a damn thing” (Powers 27). Others in the field of psychology will agree because of the lack of tangible and scientific evidence of evil spirits.

            Psychologist M. Scott Peck began researching exorcisms in effort to disprove the phenomenon. But after research and conducting two exorcisms himself, Peck concluded that the Christian concept of demonic possession was genuine (“Exorcism”). Peck also wrote a book in 1983 called People of the Lie in which he makes claims about seeing demonic possession in his medical practice and he claims that conventional therapeutic techniques are unequipped to deal with it by themselves (Powers 26; Cuneo 43). Peck claims that the only thing preventing medical professionals from taking exorcism seriously was an indefensible bias against the supernatural (Cuneo 46). With some exceptions, most skeptics admit to not knowing for sure if demons really take possession of people (Powers 27). So, what do psychological professionals know about exorcisms?

            The DSM-IV Casebook lists Dissociative Trance Disorder as a diagnosis requiring further study (Lukoff). This Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines possession trance as a single or episodic alteration in the state of consciousness characterized by the replacement of customary sense of personal identity by a new identity which is attributed to influence of a spirit, power, deity, or other person (Lukoff). One case study example is included in which one woman describes, “Sometimes God enters my body, which gets hot when I have visions” (420). With no completed further studies on the issue, many professionals in the field attribute demonic possession to several different psychological disorders. The DSM-IV reads as follows describing “Dissociative Trance Dissorder”:

The essential feature is an involuntary state of trance that is not accepted by the person’s culture as a normal part of a collective cultural or religious practice and that causes clinically significant distress or functional impairment. The proposed disorder should be considered in individuals who enter trance or possession states voluntarily and without distress in the context of cultural and religious practices that are broadly accepted by the person’s cultural group. Such voluntary and nonpathological states are common and constitute the overwhelming majority of trance and possession trance states encountered cross-culturally. However, some individuals undergoing culturally normative trance or possession trance states may develop symptoms that cause distress or impairment and thus could be considered for this proposed disorder. Specific local instances of dissociative trance disorder show considerable variation cross-culturally with regard to the presence or absence of dissociative sensory alterations (e.g., blindness), the identity assumed during these states, and the degree of amnesia experienced following the altered state. . . 

In trance, the loss of customary identity is not associated with the appearance of alternate identities, and the actions performed during the trance state are generally not complex (e.g., convulsive movements, falling, running). In possession trance, there is the appearance of one (or several) distinct alternate identities with characteristic behaviors, memories, and attitudes, and the activities performed by the person tend to be more complex (e.g., coherent conversations, characteristic gestures, facial expressions, and specific verbalizations that are culturally established as belonging to a particular possessing agent). Full or partial amnesia is regularly reported after an episode of possession trance than after an episode of trance. . .

Variants of these conditions have been described in nearly every traditional society on every continent. The prevalence appears to decrease with increasing industrialization but remains elevated among traditional ethnic minorities in industrialized societies. . . The course is typically episodic, with variable duration of acute episodes from minutes to hours. It is reported that during a trance state, individuals may have an increased pain threshold, may consume inedible materials (e.g., glass), and may experience increased muscular strength. The symptoms of a pathological trance may be heightened or reduced in response to environmental cues and the ministrations of others. Presumed possessing agents are spiritual in nature (e.g., spirits of the dead, supernatural entities, gods, demons) and are often experienced as making or expressing animosity. Individuals with pathological possession trance typically experience a limited number of agents (one to five) in a sequential, not simultaneous, fashion. Complications include suicide attempts, self-mutilation, and accidents. Sudden deaths have been reported as a possible outcome, perhaps due to cardiac arrhythmias. . .

In DSM-IV, individuals whose presentation meets these research criteria would be diagnosed as having Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. 

This diagnosis should be made if the trance state is judged to be due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition (in which case the diagnosis would be Mental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified Due to a General Medical Condition) or a substance (in which case the diagnosis would be Substance-Related Disorder Not Otherwise Specified).

            The symptoms of the trance state (e.g. hearing or seeing spiritual beings and being controlled or influenced by others) may be confused with the hallucinations and delusions of Schizophrenia, Mood Disorder With Psychotic Features, or Brief Psychotic Disorder. The trance state may be distinguished by its cultural congruency, its briefer duration, and the absence of the characteristic symptoms of these other disorders.

Individuals with Dissociative Identity Disorder can be distinguished from those with trance and possession symptoms by the fact that those with trance and possession symptoms typically describe external spirits or entities that have entered their bodies and taken over. . .

            A. Either (1) or (2):

(1) trance, i.e., temporary marked in the state of consciousness or loss of customary sense of personal identity without replacement by an alternative identity, associated with at least one of the following:

(a) narrowing of awareness of immediate surroundings, or usually narrow and selective focusing on environmental stimuli

(b) stereotyped behaviors or movements that are experienced as being beyond one’s control

(2) possession trance, a single or episodic alteration in the state of consciousness characterized by the replacement of customary sense of personal identity by a new identity. This is attributed to the influence of a spirit, power, deity, or other person, as evidenced by one or more of the following:

(a) stereotyped and culturally determined behaviors or movements that are experienced as being controlled by the possessing agent

            (b) full or partial amnesia for the event

B. The trance or possession trance state is not accepted as a normal part of a collective cultural or religious practice.

                        C. The trance or possession trance state causes clinically significant distress or impairment in      social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

D. The trance or possession state does not occur exclusively during the course of a Psychotic Disorder (including Mood Disorder With Psychotic Features and Brief Psychotic Disorder) or Dissociative Identity Disorder and is not due to direct physiological effects of a substance or a general medical condition.

            (783-785, emphasis added).

            Now, I will define some of these disorders which can be confused with possession. Personally, I believe anybody who has a mental illness or psychological disorder, in most cases, should repent of their sins, place faith in Jesus Christ and obey God’s commands in order to be healed. It is possible that the person may be demonically possessed but it is more likely personal sin that the Holy Bible, God’s Word, is fully capable of healing.

Schizophrenia is a group of severe disorders characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions (Myers 646). Dissociative identity disorder also known as multiple personality disorder is a rare disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities (Myers 644). Bipolar disorder also known as manic depressive disorder is a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania (Myers 634). Epilepsy is a chronic nervous disorder of the brain affecting consciousness and muscular control; it may be congenital or the result of damage to the brain (Webster 317). Tourette syndrome is an inherited disorder of the nervous system characterized by repeated involuntary movements and uncontrollable vocal tics (Answers.com). It’s hard to imagine all of these symptoms occurring at once as in severe cases of demonic possession, but it’s easy to see how these other disorders may be confused with possession and vice versa.

            Joe Nickell of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal claims early notions of exorcism have been fomented by three brain disorders: epilepsy, migraine and Tourette’s syndrome. He adds, “Psychiatric historians have long attributed demonic manifestations to such aberrant mental conditions as schizophrenia and hysteria.” Parapsychologist Loyd Auerbach states, “There’s nothing to connect the ‘demon’ with reality, and certainly nothing that says that the new personality isn’t some ‘monster from the Id,’ from the subconscious” (258). The psychology of Carl Jung describes possessing spirits related to archetypes, “It may even happen that the archetypal figures, which are endowed with a certain autonomy anyway on account of their numinosity, will escape from conscious control altogether and become completely independent, thus producing the phenomenon of possession” (324). David Lukoff, PhD, believes the idea of possession may lead to inappropriate diagnosis of psychotic disorders. He explains, “demon possession is essentially a spiritual problem , but mental illness is a multifactorial affair, in which spiritual, social, psychological and physical factors play an aetiological role.”

            Elizabeth Loftus, a University of Washington psychologist and memory expert states, “Quite a number of people who watch these exorcism films will be affected and develop symptoms of hysteria. These symptoms will be a full-employment bill for exorcists” (Schwarz). Loftus along with other psychology professors conducted a demon possession study that was later published in The Journal of Experimental Psychology. In the study, the researchers recruited 200 college students in Italy, where the idea of demonic possession is more common than in the United States (Schwarz). Then, the students filled out questionnaires and most students rated demonic possession highly implausible. Next, they were given a series of articles that promoted demonic possession. One-fifth of those students who previously said demonic possession was implausible later said it was more plausible and that they may have witnessed one (Schwarz). Loftus adds, “When you realize what we did with a few stories and a suggestion and then think of the very vivid depictions that are in these movies, I know these films are going to have a very powerful effect” (Schwarz).

            Mark Bancroft, MA, states, “Because a great deal of unconscious material is not ‘owned’ by the individual it will most likely be perceived as an incredibly negative existence coming from the ‘outside’” (part II). He also equates spirit possession with altered states of consciousness (ASC) explaining that it can cause a change in perception which results in a change of an individual’s reality. He also says, “The heightened suggestibility characteristics of ASC is valuable in understanding the effectiveness of exorcisms. The fact that exorcisms utilize consciousness altering techniques, such as ecstatic dance, emotional fervor, and hypnosis should not come as a surprise” (part II). For the record, I am not aware of any of these “techniques” Bancroft mentions but he goes on to say that spirit possession is a “subjective phenomenon which is experienced as taking place objectively. While the person may know the ‘demons’ are within the body or mind, he/she is totally unidentified with them - they are experienced as alien objective intruders.” (part II). I would suggest to this person to do more research before coming to these conclusions. 

            Dr. Melissa A. Bromwell believes all cases of demonic possession can now be explained by abnormal functioning of the brain and nervous system disorder siting schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, multiple personality disorder and Tourette’s syndrome as frequently misdiagnosed as demonic possession. In her article entitled “Demonic Possession” she explains that schizophrenic patients simulate a state of demonic possession on their own by delusions of thought insertion and thought broadcasting. She explains the superhuman strength often associated with demonic possession as the presence of a bipolar disorder accompanied by psychosis. Bromwell notes that individuals who suffer from schizophrenia predominantly marked by catatonic behavior often arrange their bodies in inappropriate postures for long periods of time which might be similar to the bodily contortions observed in possessed individuals. In cases of multiple personality disorder “the differing speech patterns between identities might partially explain the phenomenon of ‘speaking in tongues,’” she states. Also, she reveals how Tourette’s syndrome can be mistaken for possession because of the symptom of coprolalia, the screaming of obscene or foul language. I am no medical professional but I would argue that it is highly unlikely that an individual could be suffering from all of these disorders at once.

            However, Dr. Bromwell does acknowledge, and others doctors should too, that there are many factors about demonic possession which cannot be explained by biology such as “levitation, wounds appearing upon the victim. . .knowledge of languages never before studied. . .and psychic abilities.” She concludes that “the possibility of demonic possession as a real occurrence cannot yet be rejected; no thoroughly decisive evidence exists to the contrary.” Until science can explain each detail, one cannot dismiss the idea of demonic possession as a true phenomenon.

            Unfortunately, there are no long-term studies of people who have undergone exorcisms which leaves most medical professionals in the dark. In her article “The Devil Made Us Do It” from Nation, Wendy Kaminer points out, “Of course, a sociological analysis of exorcism or any form of therapy seems uninformed, unenlightened and insulting to the people who believe in demons”(30).  Francis MacNutt writes in his book Deliverance from Evil Spirits:

First we must admit that the demonic world cannot be seen, measured or placed under a microscope. We are dealing with an unseen, mysterious world of fallen spirits. A spirit, by definition is a “non-material” being. This has always been recognized by people of all cultures. So how do we find scientific proof that demons exist? 

We do not, nor do we expect to. Every evidence we have indicating the presence of a demon is bound to be ambiguous since we do not see the evil spirit itself, but only what it causes people to do. These effects of its presence, moreover, can be explained in some other way (48).

CHAPTER FOUR:

DELIVERANCE THROUGH JESUS CHRST

            Francis MacNutt is the director of Christian Healing Ministries which is staffed by mental health professionals who acknowledge the need for prayer and deliverance in helping people conquer mental disorders. MacNutt reports an increased interest in the mental health community in prayer and exorcism/deliverance. He also states that mental disorders coexist with demonic possession. For example, he says the key to healing someone with multiple personality disorder is discerning which personalities “need to be put back together” and which are demonic and must be cast out (Powers 28). Author John MacArthur in Our Sufficiency in Christ maintains that the church’s embrace of psychology is Satan’s greatest coup (Schell). We don’t have much knowledge of deliverance from demons outside the spiritual realms or what the Bible tells us. 

            However, we do have the powerful personal testimonies of exorcism believers. For instance, one woman says, “I felt there was something inside me, holding me back, dragging me down” (Kaminer 29). Kathy Pugh of Ardmore had struggled with depression and antidepressants but only through deliverance sessions and the power of prayer was she healed. She says, “I realized I needed to repent for choosing hopelessness, that I needed to see life as a gift. . .The doctor said I’m likely to have a recurrence of depression, and I said I’ll come back for the medication then. But I haven’t needed it. Now, I have new spiritual tools even if it does come back” (Remsen). Another woman says, “Since I was a child I was aware of the presence of entities tormenting me. . .My parents thought I was crazy” (Souter 93). This woman realized she had problems medicine couldn’t cure. During several exorcisms, she suffered stiff limbs, abdominal and head pains, and shortness of breath. She was also aware of speaking gibberish in a childish voice (Souter 93). These are all signs of demonic possession. 

            Even though there are smoking gun signs to demonic possession, spirit discernment is often a useful tool in deliverance/exorcism ministry. 1 Corinthians 12:10 lists discerning of spirits as one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. This gift enables us to distinguish whether a person is influenced primarily by the Holy Spirit, natural psychological causes or an evil spirit (MacNutt 81). Frank Hammond tells of how a pain struck him the stomach as if being punched with a fist as a man with an evil spirit approached him (27). Dr. Robert Lindsey, pastor Narkiss Street Baptist Church in Jerusalem and friend of Francis MacNutt, says his right earlobe tingles when there is an evil presence; another evangelist feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up and another even “sees” the demons (MacNutt 82). 

            Dr. K. is well known in the circle of deliverance ministry for her gift of discerning spirits (Cuneo 151). She explains her gift, “When counseling a genuine victim of SRA (Satanic Ritual Abuse), I will feel aches and pains, sometimes quite intense in my ears, my eyes, my back, sometimes even my teeth” (Cuneo 151). Dr. K. also made this thought-provoking statement, “Women are more intuitive than men, more right-brain-oriented, more open to spiritual possesses. This is also why charismatic women tend to have stronger gifts of discernment than men do. They are more sensitive to the spiritual realm” (Cuneo 153). Pastor Bob Mueller has performed in the vicinity of a hundred exorcisms (about 80 percent of which have involved women) and he also states, “Men are much less in tune with their spirituality” (Cuneo 234). 

            How is an exorcism performed? Today, the exorcist will often consult with medical professionals prior to the performance of exorcism. Never will an exorcist perform an exorcism without a prayer team (Powers 27). Beforehand, the person possessed must give consent for the exorcism to take place. In the Roman Catholic Church, only ordained priests can perform exorcisms with permission of the local bishop but, in comparison, Christian denominations believe that all Christians have the authority to perform exorcisms (“Exorcism”). During the Catholic ritual, the exorcist sprinkles holy water on the possessed, reads passages from the saints and the Bible, then those in the room recite the Lord’s prayer. After revealing the cross, the priest will command the demons to leave with God’s authority (Souter 93). Unlike most Christian denominations, Roman Catholics perform exorcisms according to The Roman Ritual.

            The Roman Ritual is a book that contains instructions for exorcists like, “Questions he must ask the possessing Evil Spirit are, for example, the number and names of the possessing spirits; when they entered the possessed; why they entered him; and other questions of the same kind.” Jesus himself asks the name of this spirit in Luke 8:29-31:

For Jesus commanded the evil spirits to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

            Also in The Roman Ritual, “He must remember, therefore, that Our Lord said there is a species of Evil Spirit which cannot be expelled except by prayer and fasting,” referring to Mark 9:29. The exorcist is not to make great speeches or ask the demon questions out of vain curiosity among other things. 

            Francis MacNutt warns that if exorcism is entrusted to the wrong people or carried out recklessly, it may cause considerable damage (Cuneo 110). The exorcist must be careful not to fall into demonic traps which could be potentially damaging for everyone involved in the procedure as in the 1949 Mount Rainer case which was the basis for the story of The Exorcist. Father Damien Karras made the mistake of offering himself to the demon as a sacrificial substitute for Regan, the twelve-year-old girl being exorcised. When the offer was taken, he hurled himself from Regan’s window to certain death (Cuneo 10). Malachi Martin appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1987 and advised, “If it (evil spirit) asks you a question, you never answer. You command all the time” (Cuneo 57). In Malachi Martin’s book, he sites the same mistake of Father Gerald and what happens to him as a consequence of offering himself as a personal sacrifice during an exorcism:

“As Jesus, Our Lord, bore sufferings, so I am willing to bear what it coasts to expel you and send you back to where you came from.”

This was Gerald’s first error. Without realizing it, and what looked like heroism, he had fallen into an old trap. They were now on a personal plane: he versus the evil spirit. No exorcist can function in a personal way, in his own right, offering his strength or his will alone to counter and challenge the possessing spirit. He never should try to function in place of Jesus, but merely speak and act in concert with him as his representative.

For Gerald, the cost of that mistake was high. He had never dreamed that physical punishment could be so intense. It was a full three weeks before he could get up and hobble around his room in great pain; that violent attack on him would eventually prove lethal for Gerald . . . In those few seconds of storm when he was hurled across the room and slammed against the wall, it was a sense of violation that shook and tore him (227).

            Rev. Gabriele Amorth is the Vatican’s appointed exorcist and has performed over 50,000 exorcisms without any fatal mistakes. The testimonies of the exorcists themselves are very insightful to understanding the phenomenon. At age 78, Rev. Gabriele Amorth has been a priest for 50 years. In 1986, Amorth was asked to be assistant to the only exorcist in Rome at that time, Rev. Candido Poletti. Quoted in the London Sunday Telegraph, Amorth said, “I speak with the devil every day. I talk to him in Latin. He answers in Italian. I have been wrestling with him, day in and day out for 14 years”(Powers 26). Amorth said that while training under Poletti he “quickly realized how much work there was to be done and how few exorcists there were to do it” (Powers 26). There are three types of exorcisms according to Amorth: one in which an object is exercised (a house or car), another formally renounces the devil at every baptism, and the third type in which demons are cast from the body of the victim. 

            In his book An Exorcist Tells His Story Amorth describes the important differences between demonic possession and diabolical oppression. Possession “occurs when Satan takes full possession of the body (not the soul)” and oppression in which “there is no possession” but a demonic presence that causes physical discomfort as in the book of Job (33). Demons go to any length to avoid detection (120). During the ceremony, Amorth confronts the demons and demands their names. Father Amorth said that he has had glass, keys and nails spat at him while performing an exorcism. He says, “The objects materialize the instant they come out of the mouth”(Powers 27). He also claims he saw a man rise about a foot and a half off the ground and one individual whom Amorth was exorcising found a live toad in his pillow (Souter 93, Amorth 124). After long periods of prayer the victim is freed from demonic possession (Powers 27). Neal Lozano, on the other hand, has a different but also effective approach. 

            Neal Lozano has helped Christian clients isolate their demonic “bondages” several hundred times over the past decade, for free, with help from his wife Janet. Lozano describes the Roman Catholic Rite of Exorcism as a heated approach between satanic spirits and gunslinger ministers which only exacerbate demonic manifestations such as shrieking, cursing, vomiting and even death such as in the true story of The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Neal Lozano states, “They are real manifestations, but you can either stir them up by focusing on the devil, or you can focus on the person and help them take responsibility, through Christ” (Remsen). Through prayer and inner discernment, the Lozanos help the person isolate areas of bondage one by one. Then, Lozano commands the spirits to leave in Jesus’ name. 

            Francis MacNutt makes a major point, “The Gospel is not meant merely to teach doctrine, but necessarily includes the power to free, to save, and to heal” (66). MacNutt notes in his book Deliverance from Evil Spirits that after a period of prayer when he will command the evil spirits to leave “they would seemingly leave, often through coughing or some other external manifestation” (17). He writes, “The afflicted person almost always feels it when the evil spirit leaves (this is true more than ninety percent of the time) and can tell you, if there is more than one spirit, when all of them have left” (71). He makes another important point that whether these spirits are in or out is another of those areas we cannot prove (71). He also mentions the types of demonic attacks that can occur outside of us like temptation, physical attacks or obstructions or emotional oppression (70). 

            Beforehand, MacNutt encourages forming a prayer team ideally made up of five or six people (156). MacNutt teaches that anything that brings us into the presence of God will make the evil spirits uncomfortable and aid in delivering the afflicted person such as team members praying in the background, or playing prayerful music (178). He also acknowledges that certain Scriptures have a great power in tormenting the spirits such as Philippians 2:5-11 (156). Sounds easy right?

            Not if you’re not prepared as Pastor James N. Watkins wrote as a guest columnist for The Christian Broadcasting Network about one of his experiences that took him by surprise and changed his beliefs about exorcism. It all started with a phone call, “Pastor Jim, Bret’s growling and snarling like a wild animal and trying to jump off the balcony! He keeps saying that Satan’s coming for him.” Bret was thrashing around the second story balcony with two other guys from the youth group sitting on his chest when Pastor Jim arrived. One youth group member said, “He was okay until we started talking about the Lord.” Watkins describes the scene in his article “Are Demons, Exorcisms Real?”:

“I told you I’d kill you! He’s mine!” The screeching voice sounded nothing like Bret’s–it reverberated with a raspy, hollow sound. The August air hung hot and heavy, but I instantly felt chilled and my body began to shake. Still suspicious that he was on something, I sniffed the air. I nearly gagged on the rotten egg smell of sulfur. 

“In the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of his blood, I command you to come out of Bret.” The words coming out of my mouth surprised me, as if someone had voiced them. I was even more amazed when Bret instantly relaxed and stared at the two young men sitting on his chest while he laid sprawled on the balcony. 

“What’s happening? What are you doing here...” Bret completed the sentence by sneering “Pastor Jim” in a threatening voice, his eyes burning straight through me. He tossed his two friends against the house with no apparent effort. “I told you that you can’t have Bret. If we can’t have him, neither can you.” Bret bolted for the edge of the balcony as all five of us pounced on him. 

For over an hour we struggled, prayed, and pleaded for Christ’s power over the evil that seemed to possess Bret. Finally, and only after Bret himself asked Christ to come into his life did the attacks cease.

            Also, Bill Niland, Director of Real Deliverance Ministries in Tampa, Florida, performs exorcisms in a similar compassionate method of finding the “doorway” someone has opened to allow the evil an opportunity to enter their lives. Niland told INSIGHT, “Deliverance involves coming alongside, in gentleness and love, and sharing God’s Word so they [the dominated] can. . .respond to it by repenting” (Powers 27). 

            Father Richard McAlear and Betty Brennan started their own deliverance center in 1976 in Newburgh, New York (Cuneo 133). Betty utilizes her gift of spirit discernment in the ministry. She says, “The gift doesn’t make me special, it’s no measure of holiness, it’s something I’ve got to give back to God” (Cuneo 135). Betty and Richard soon found there own way of performing deliverance which binds the spirits. 

“The screaming, the swearing, the spitting and vomiting. You name it. We thought all this was completely unnecessary,” Betty says, “When we’re doing deliverance, we’re acting by the authority of Jesus Christ. And in the name of Jesus we can prohibit the demons from manifesting" (Cuneo 136). Jesus states, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18: 18). Jesus also says, "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house" (Matthew 12: 29).

"The Scriptures speak of binding, and so this is what we decided to do,” says Betty Brennan (Cuneo 136). “This was our major contribution to deliverance ministry,” Father McAlear states (Cuneo 136). McAlear also mentioned to Michael Cuneo that during one exorcism an overweight woman being delivered threw herself to the floor and began levitating above the ground (Cuneo 137). McAlear adds, “I was there, and I can only report what I saw. And I was sober and sane” (Cuneo 137). 

            In the book Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance from Evil Spirits, Neal Lozano describes what he observes after the ceremony, “Sometimes there may be a sigh or a cough or some expression of a spirit leaving. . .Sometimes you can see stress lifted from the face. . .Sometimes you can see nothing at all. Other times the internal conflict with the evil spirits will surface again” (Remsen). 

Steve Box writes of his deliverance from evil spirits and also mentions the spirits coming out with a physical manifestation such as coughing or vomiting. He writes,

Almost immediately I was slain in the Spirit. Several of the adult male members in our church were casting demons out of me in the name of Jesus. I was spitting some unclean spirits out and breathing others out. . . I can remember growling while some came out and trying to bang my head on the ground  while others came out. Eventually I said, "Let me up. I need to puke and I believe more came out as I vomited uncontrollably. I experienced a peace and release that was awesome to say the least (35).

Neal Lozano says that the goal is to “seal the entryways” against Satan’s return (Remsen). Lozano has done his duty “if the person feels something lift, and goes away feeling encouraged to trust in the Lord” (Remsen). So, are the demons permanently expelled?

            Joel Scheinbaum, a psychiatrist in Los Angeles, believes that exorcism is only temporary (Powers 28). According to most Christian believers, that would all depend on the victim’s relationship with Jesus after the exorcism. We are always susceptible to sin and evil. And Satan along with his demons attack us in our areas of weakness. St. Paul wrote about spiritual darkness in high places or demonic possession saying the ways to deal with it are very ordinary: praying, believing, reading scripture, and just living out a Christian life (Remsen). The Roman Ritual teaches, “If the possessed person is freed from Evil Spirit, he should be advised to be diligent in avoiding sinful actions and thoughts. If he does not, he could give Evil Spirit a fresh occasion for returning and possessing him. In that case, he would be in a much worse condition than before.” In Matthew 12:43-45, Jesus warned us about the possibility of evil spirits returning after an exorcism, He says:

When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire (2 Peter 2: 20 - 22).

As a dog returns to his own vomit, 

So a fool repeats his folly (Proverbs 26: 11).

What then is the solution to the person possessed with seven more spirits, a condition worse than the first? There is one and only one solution: Jesus. Even Mary Magdalene was possessed by seven demons and Jesus cast them all out (Mark 16: 9). Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14: 16). "If you abide in My word, you re My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8: 31, 32).

CHAPTER FIVE:

HOLY SCRIPTURES

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places (Ephesians 6: 12).

It’s easy to see how people may have trouble discerning between physical illness and demonic possession as this passage describes a boy with seizures:

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

“O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “How long shall I stay with you? Bring the boy to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment (Matthew 17:14-18).

            After two thousand years, Jesus Christ still has all authority over evil verifying that He was exactly who he claimed to be, the Son of God. The Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3: 8). Again, as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil (Hebrews 2: 14).

After returning from preaching, Jesus disciples said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” (Luke 10:17). The exorcism must be performed in the authority of Jesus’ name or nothing will happen. What you must realize is that the exorcist has absolutely no authority when driving out the evil spirit or spirits; the authority comes from Jesus Christ who has already defeated the devil. Jesus tells us in Mark 16:17, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons.” At one point, the disciples came to Jesus with saying:

“Teacher,” John said, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

“Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward” (Mark 9:38-41).

            Again, I can’t stress how critical it is for the exorcism to be performed in the name of our Lord Jesus. Without His name, it’s not an exorcism. Acts 19:13-17 explains further:

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out to the house naked and bleeding.

When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.

Acts 16: 16 - 18 also details how the Apostle Paul commanded unclean spirits in the Name of Christ to depart. The following passage teaches us that there are certain types of unclean spirits (in this passage it is a spirit of divination), and unclean spirits will use the bodies they inhabit to hinder the preaching of the gospel:

Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you i the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.

            When the Pharisees (a separatist Jewish sect of Jesus’ time that had a strict, legalistic and often hypocritical keeping of the laws of Moses) discovered that Jesus was expelling demons, they said in Matthew 12, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” But why would Satan drive out members of his own kingdom? Jesus explains that only by the Spirit of God can Satan be cast out. He said,

Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters (Matthew 12: 25-30). 

        As Jesus spoke of tying up the strong man to rob the house, there are other passages that also talk about binding and loosing:

Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18: 18).

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,

To undo heavy burdens, (Isaiah 58: 6)

In passages like Mark 1: 21 and 1: 29, the Holy Bible teaches us of Jesus’ control over demons by not allowing them to speak and commanding them to retreat. Simply, he commanded them to retreat and not return and he patiently waited until the spirits departed.

Also, the demons knew who He was and, for that reason, obeyed Him just as they obey the believers of Jesus’ kingdom who exorcize demons in His name and His name only. Jesus cast out evil spirits with just one word (Matthew 8: 16). Matthew 8: 28-34 reveals two very important concepts of demonic possession: one that Jesus has all authority over evil, and two that demons were sent to kill, steal and destroy (illustrated best when Jesus permits two demons to enter into a herd of pigs), while Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” This passage shows Jesus’ unique authority and the demons’ intent to kill. Matthew writes:

When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

I believe, contrary to the Catholic Church and The Roman Ritual, that every believer in Christ has the authority through Christ to expel demons (Mark 16: 17, 18). But we  must be careful and obey Jesus’ commands. It’s possible Jesus was referring to Catholics’ heretical teachings when He said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord. Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but He who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart form Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7: 21 – 23)! Repent, and believe the Gospel so this is not you! God’s word will not return void (Isaiah 55: 11), He will use a donkey to speak His word in accomplishing His purpose (Numbers 22). As we can see from Matthew 7, not all those who profess faith in Jesus Christ will enter the kingdom of heaven for narrow is the path and there are few who find it (Mathew 7: 14).

It is always profitable to exercise our application of the Scriptures to our daily lives and walk with the Lord Jesus. Since I had this demonic possession analysis posted on the web, many people have e-mailed me with specific problems of demonic affliction and possession. Unfortunately, most churches have removed demonic possession from their teachings on the Bible even though it was a major part of Jesus' ministry. They have replaced God's law and the spiritual battle with psychology and psychiatry. In reality, Jesus Christ is always the answer to any struggle. Just pray! It's unbelievable how many people around the world suffer from and/or are curious about demonic influence on the human spirit; this is mainly because of the famine of demonic teachings and preaching in churches worldwide.

I had one young lady write me via e-mail and she went into detail about several demonic experiences she'd had. I had no doubt she was telling the truth and genuinely seeking counsel after hearing about her experiences. We kept in response with one another for a few weeks and I exhorted her from the Scriptures. The young lady wrote back and said the evil spirit departed when she invoked the Name of Jesus but a few weeks later she began having problems again. She had been using drugs which I believe was the source of the demonic influence in her life. However, she stopped using after a time of repentance but the unclean spirits continued to provoke her. I became frustrated because I didn't know what to tell her. Obviously, she can't petition God with sin in her life but, according to her, she was repenting, seeking God and the spirits were still manifesting.

When in doubt, pray! I prayed for God to give me wisdom for this young sister and he immediately answered my prayers by bringing to my memory the following Scripture (Mark 9: 28 - 29) which I shared with her and encouraged her to follow:

And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

As far as I know, the young lady followed the Lord's words in prayer and fasting and she was set free. We are in a spiritual battle and do not wrestle against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6: 10 - 20). We must be in obedience according to God's word. Evil spirits and the devil will depart with prayer and fasting, but not apart from the Name of Jesus Christ.

Without the revelation of Christ, the Old Testament contains little mention of evil spirits. In researching demonic spirits in the Bible, I came across some unique Scriptures in the Old Testament concerning spirits sent by God like Jeremiah 51: 11, Judges 9 and 1 Kings 22. Some would believe these spirits to be demonic but I disagree because God has no fellowship with demons (1 Corinthians 10: 18 - 22). 

1 Samuel 16: 23, in the Old Testament, specifically identifies the spirit afflicting King Saul as an evil spirit. However, Jeremiah 51, Judges 9 and 1 Kings 22 account God sending certain spirits to achieve His will. Let me explain.

Jeremiah 51: 11 says, "The LORD has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, because it is the vengeance of the LORD." In this case, the Lord caused the Medes to go to war against Babylon. This spirit was not an evil spirit but a spirit sent by the Lord to accomplish His purposes for His glory. The prophet Daniel prophesied earlier that the Medes would defeat Babylon and God watched over history to be sure that His word came to pass.

In 1 Kings 22, when the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Israel, Ahab, inquire going to battle with the king of Syria, they inquire the Lord through the prophet Micaiah who prophesies evil, not good concerning the king of Israel. Micaiah then speaks the word of the Lord to the kings who listened to their false prophets rather than Him,

"And the LORD said, 'Who will perform Ahab to go up that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one spoke in this manner, and another in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, 'I will persuade him.' The LORD said to him, 'In what way?' so he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets.' And he said, 'You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.' Now therefore, look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you" (1 Kings 22: 20 - 23).

Later, Ahab and Jehoshaphat go to Ramoth Gilead to battle against the king of Syria and Ahab dies just as Micaiah the prophet said. This story is repeated in 2 Chronicles 18. A similar spirit is mentioned in Judges 9, about Abimelech who makes himself king in a conspiracy to kill his brothers:

After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three year, God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech that the crime done to seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be settled and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers. And the men of Shechem set men in ambush against him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way; and it was told Abimelech (Judges 9: 22 - 25).

In 1 Kings 22, the lying spirit is sent by God, and in Judges 9 the spirit of ill will is sent by God. Both the lying spirits and the spirit of ill will were sent by God to achieve His purposes and justice. The lying spirits were sent to the false prophets because the kings didn't want to hear the word of the Lord. Even the king of Israel said, "There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of he LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil" (1 Kings 22: 8). The spirit of ill will was sent to the men of Shechem for the justice of Abimelech, the tyrant. But these are not demonic spirits! 

At times, as the previous Scriptures show, God has reserved the ungodly and unjust under punishment for the day of judgment (2 Peter 2: 9). He will send delusion to those who have rejected God's mercy and Jesus Christ by locking them in their lawlessness and reserving them for the day of judgment. This is done by Him for good and not by evil spirits. Further, 2 Thessalonians 2: 11, 12 says of those who had pleasure in unrighteousness and lawlessness,

And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

But even in the Old Testament, it is only by the Spirit of the Lord that evil spirits are cast out. We read in Zechariah 13: 1, 2:

"In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. It shall be in that day," says the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets  and the unclean spirit to depart from the land."

Over the ages, only by the might and power of God and for His glory are demons sent to the pit. The times and covenants have changed but Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13: 8).

CHAPTER SIX:

SEX, DRUGS, ROCK & ROLL (AND DEMONS)

"Hell from beneath is excited about you,

To meet you at your coming;

It stirs up the dead for you,

All the chief ones of the earth;

It has raised up from their thrones

All the kings of the nations.

They all shall speak and say to you:

'Have you also become weak as we?

Have you become like us?

Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,

And the sound of your stringed instruments,

The maggot is spread under you,

And worms cover you.'

"How you are fallen from heaven,

O Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are cut down to the ground,

You who weakened the nations!

For you have said in your heart:

'I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation 

On the farthest sides of the north;

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

I will be like the Most High.'

Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,

To the lowest depths of the Pit.

"Those who see you will gaze at you,

And consider you saying:

'Is this the man that made the earth tremble,

Who shook kingdoms,

Who made the world as a wilderness

And destroyed its cities,

Who did not open the house of his prisoners?'

-Isaiah 14: 9 - 17

PART I:

 DEVIL'S MUSIC

The previous scripture is concerning the fall of Lucifer, the Devil. It says the sound of Lucifer's stringed instruments is also brought down to hell. This is no coincidence that musical instruments are associated with the serpent of old, the Devil. Satan uses drugs and music here on earth to influence the kingdom of darkness by manipulating musicians and addicts with demonic possession. Many musicians have truly sold their souls for rock and roll; they have made a covenant with the Devil and the armies of demons for musical talent. But it's not too late to repent and ask Jesus for forgiveness!

John Nevius, author of Demon Possession writes, "It may be said in general of possessed persons, that sometimes people who cannot sing, are able when possessed to do so; others who ordinarily cannot write verses, when possessed compose in rhyme with ease" (58).

Many of the following quotes from rock stars are taken lightly by rock fans who do not know of the spiritual battle around us but consider it cool to glorify the devil and demons. But to us that know the truth, these quotes shouldn't surprise us.

In a December 5, 2004 interview on CBS' 60 Minutes, influential musician Bob Dylan was asked if he ever looked back in surprise at the music he wrote. Dylan answered, "I used to. I don't do that anymore. I don't know how I got to write those songs. Those early songs were almost magically written." Why is Dylan still performing after a 45-year career? He says, "It goes back to that destiny thing. I mean, I made a bargain with it, you know, long time ago. And I'm holding up my end . . . to get where I am now." 

When asked with whom he made this "bargain" Bob Dylan said, "With the chief commander." He adds with laughter, "In this earth and in the world we can't see" (Powers). Obviously, Dylan is describing the spiritual realm by "the world we can't see." Also, remember that the ruler of this world, the "chief commander" of this world as Dylan put it, is the devil! Did Bob Dylan make a bargain with Satan for his music ability and fame? 

Pop music star Britney Spears checked into the Promises rehab facility in Malibu, California. While in rehab, Britney was in and out and received poor marks from the staff for refusing to take the treatment seriously. She walked out into traffic and was saved by a staff member. A short time after being rushed to the hospital, she tried to take her life again by taking too many Xanax tablets (Beig). After shaving her head, she wrote “666” on her forehead and had a mental breakdown (“Britney”).  Other reports say she tried to hang herself with a bed sheet while in rehab and ran around the clinic screaming, "I a the Antichrist" (Morgan). In the documentary They Sold Their Souls for Rock n Roll Britney Spears is seen at an MTV party wearing a shirt that says, “Page Six Six Six”, the mark of the Antichrist. 

All we have to do is listen to the lyrics of many rock songs today, and we will see that music is definitely one the devil's most useful tools. Demonic possession, hell, the devil and rebellion from God is all glorified in music today. 

Homosexual rock star David Bowie was quoted saying, "Rock has always been the devil's music. . . I feel we're only heralding something even darker than ourselves" (Rolling Stone, 80).

The famous rock and movie star Meat Loaf said in Time magazine, "When I go on stage, I get possessed."

Marilyn Manson mutilates animals and himself on stage. He blasphemes God and attacks Christianity. Marilyn Manson claims his album Antichrist Superstar came by supernatural revelations. He says, "I heard this album as finished. I heard it in dreams. . . It was like the revelations of John the Baptist or something" (huH, 34). If Manson studied the Bible, he'd know the dangers of his soul by rejecting the free gift of God of salvation in Christ Jesus. He continues, "I think every time people listen to this new album maybe God will be destroyed in their heads" (huH, 37). This poor and tormented soul is believing the lies of the devil who only wants to destroy him. Manson says, "Hopefully, I'll be remembered as the person who brought an end to Christianity" (Spin, 34).

Jimi Hendrix is often referred to as the greatest guitarist who ever lived. There is evidence that Jimi received his revolutionary guitar skills from the evil spiritual realm. Jimi said, "Things like witchcraft, which is a form of exploration, and imagination have been banned by the establishment and called evil because people are frightened to find out the full power of the mind" (Curtis, 127).

The documentary film They Sold Their Souls for Rock N Roll is an excellent resource for further study on this subject of demon possession on musical influence. In the film, Alan Douglas, an executive to Jimi Hendrix said, "Now one of the biggest things about Jumi was what he believed in, that he was possessed by some spirit and I got to beleive it myself. And that's what we had to deal with all the time and he was very humble about discussing it with people because he didn't want people to feell like he was being pretentious and so on, but he really believed it and he was wrestling with it constantly."

Also in the They Sold Their Souls for Rock N Roll, Fayne Pridgeon, a girlfriend of Hendrix is quoted saying of Jimi, "He used to always talk about some devil or something was in him, and he didn't have any control over it. . . It seems like to me that he was so tormented and just torn apart and like he really was obsessed with something really evil. And he said, 'you know like you're from Georgia,' you know he said, 'I should know how, you know, people drive demons out.' He actually thought about, you know, if we ever go, because I used to talk about my grandmother and all her weird stuff, you know, and he used to talk about us going down there and having some root lady or somebody see if she could drive this demon out of him."

In the famous rock song "Hells Bells" AC/DC sings:

"I got my bell

I'm gonna take you to hell

I'm gonna get ya

Satan get ya"

Angus Young of AC/DC said, "By the time we're half way through the first number, someone else is steering me - I'm just along for the ride, I become possessed when I get on stage" (Hit Parade, 60).

AC/DC's songs are on the radio everyday. Satan wants us all to burn in hell with him; he wants to steal the inheritance of our loving God, Christ Jesus. AC/DC glorifies this destruction and liken hell to a party in their song "Highway to Hell":

"Ain't nothing I would rather do

Goin' down, party time

My friends are gonna be there too. . .

Hey Satan, paid my dues. . . 

I'm on my way to the promised land

I'm on the highway to hell"

Richie Blackmore of the band Deep Purple often went to seances for musical inspiration. Speaking of the seances, Blackmore stated, "You can't be very tired. . . otherwise you'll get possession." Richie Blackmore also spoke of bringing another musician to one of the seances, "The next moment, he was knocked out of his chair and was foaming at the mouth - he was unconscious" (Circus, 46).

Also, Jim Morrison of The Doors recollected of the time just before the birth of his musical career, "In that year there was an intense visitation of energy. I left school and went down to the beach to live. I slept on the roof. . . I met the spirit of music. An appearacne of the devil on a Venice Canal. Running, I saw Satan" (Morrison, 36, 37).

These rockstars think hell, the devil, destruction and rebellion from God is cool. Once I was deceived as they were, but there's nothing as cool as Jesus Christ! There are no words to describe the love and revelation of Jesus Christ, but these rock stars are deceived into denying His power and treating the cross as a common thing. 

PART II: 

DRUGS & SEX

Also associated with the music industry is drugs and sex. Rock stars often use their influence and fame to have sex with young girls and women at their concerts, and to glorify the use of drugs. 

The pop culture movement of the sixties was spearheaded with drugs and music influencing the youth and causing a drug revolution that is still alive and well in our generation. I took part in this movement myself. Before I knew the Lord Jesus Christ, I was in bondage to addictions of drugs and sex. I was a slave under the power of the evil forces of sorcery and fornication.

Psychedelic drugs such as LSD open doors to demonic possession and spiritual experience. Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber" (John 10: 1). Those who use drugs for spiritual enlightenment are thieves and robbers according to Jesus. Jesus is the only way  and any other way is rooted in the kingdom of darkness (John 14: 6). 

In 1959, the movie star Cary Grant received an LSD-assisted psychotherapy session and concluded: "I have been born again" (Dr. Albert). This was a false enlightenment and Cary Grant was still powerless and dead to sin because he did not go through Jesus. Jesus says, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3: 3). 

Dr. Albert Hoffman is known as the father of LSD. He was the Swiss chemist who inadvertently created the mind-altering psychedelic drug LSD (Dr. Albert). In Dr. Hoffman's book LSD - My Problem Child, he includes narratives of poor souls who experimented with the drug and likened their experiences to demonic possession. From chapter five, Hoffman summarizes their experiences, 

Both the estrangement from the environment and the estrangement from the individual body, experienced in both of the preceding experiments described by Gelpke - as well as the feeling of an alien being, a demon, seizing possession of oneself - are features of LSD inebriation that, in spite of all the other diversity and variability of experience, are cited in most research reports.

Dr. Hoffman himself was opened up to demonic possession when he first experimented with the drug. In his book he writes,

The dizziness and sensation of fainting became so strong at times that I could no longer hold myself erect, and had to lie down on a sofa. My surroundings had no transformed themselves in more Janefying ways. Everything in the room spun around, and the familiar objects and pieces of furniture assumed grotesque, threatening forms. . . Even worse than these demonic transformations of the outer world, were the alterations that I perceived in myself, in my inner being. Every exertion of my will, every attempt to put an end to the disintegration of the outer world and the dissolution of my ego, seemed to be wasted effort. A demon had invaded me, had taken possession of my body, mind, and soul. I jumped up and screamed; trying to free myself from him, but then sank down again to lay helpless on the sofa. . . It was the demon that scornfully triumphed over my will.

The truth is we are helpless to these demonic spirits as Hoffman and myself have experienced. Only Jesus Christ can set you free! 

As a former drug abuser, I know that drugs can open a person up to demonic oppression and possession. When I was addicted to meth and other drugs such as LSD and Ecstasy, I would get into fits of rage inflicting violence on people I loved and myself which was very out of character for me. I would see demonic manifestations on people's faces, even on my own face in the mirror. This was all before I knew the Lord Jesus, so I didn't understand the spiritual ramifications. I was on drugs every day of my life for about three years; I know a drug experience from a spiritual experience such as demonic possession. An experienced drug user like myself knows what to expect on certain drugs, but rarely demons would manifest around me and I knew something supernatural was happening; a demonic entryway was opened by the wickedness of the drugs but was not an effect of the drugs themselves. If you have not been a heavy drug user or ever had genuine spiritual experiences then this might not make sense to you.  Similarly, the message of the cross is foolishness to those that are perishing (1 Corinthians 1: 18). Drug users know what to expect on drugs, different drugs achieve different results, but the supernatural cannot be denied as something completely separate.

Once in high school class, I was paralyzed by a demon and I couldn't speak or move for a long period of time, just grunt through my grinding teeth and drool on myself. If I had only known the name of Jesus Christ back then as I do now. In earlier chapters I have talked about similar experiences I've had while sober and the demons were sent away immediately at the name of Jesus Christ without fail in every instance, in contrast to those experiences I had while on drugs and had absolutely no control. There was a time I fell back into drugs as a young Christian and again it opened a doorway to demonic oppression, but, again, the second I said the name of Jesus the evil spirits departed. I quickly asked Jesus to free me of my addictions and forgive me and He did and I have been clean ever since. Praise Yeshua and glory to God!

Drugs are a false spiritual enlightenment. People can have genuine spiritual experiences, even genuine spiritual experiences on drugs, but, according to Jesus, these are thieves and robbers. He said,

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door,but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. . . Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10: 1, 2, 7 - 10).

The Bible warns us of drug use and it's dangers. The word "sorcery" from the Holy Bible is translated from the Greek word "pharmakeia" where we derived our English words "pharmacy" and "pharmaceutical." Sorcerers often used mind-altering drugs to bring about altered states of consciousness. Thus, the following scriptures can be applied to drug users or sorcerers using drugs to achieve an enlightened spirituality rather than Jesus Christ our Lord:

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5: 19 - 21).

And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk, and they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts (Revelation 9: 20, 21).

And the light of the lamp shall not shine in you anymore. And the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived (Revelation 18: 23).

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Revelation 21: 8).

Blessed are those who keep the commandments, that they have the right to the tree of life, and may enter into the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie (Revelation 22: 14, 15).

I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers (Malachi 3: 5). 

As a former drug user, I know that sorcery, the use of evil supernatural power of people, is especially evident with meth. Meth was my drug of choice for about three years of my life. Praise God I was delivered from this drug before it was too late. I know there was a supernatural evil power of me, sorcery, when I was on meth. All I cared about was shooting up; I knew I would die on meth and that was okay because it was all I ever needed until I met Jesus. I chose meth over my family and friends. 

On meth, I would stay up for weeks at a time and meth was the only thing going into my body. I would fast to the devil without even knowing it. I am 6 feet 2 inches tall and I remember one point weighing only 125 pounds. I would swallow meth, smoke it, snort it and shoot it, sometimes grams at a time. I was in bondage to the devil. 

While under the influence of meth, I would do things uncharacteristic. Once, I strangled my girlfriend and threw her down on the stairs. Normally, I wasn't a violent person. I would hallucinate often that everybody was a police officer out to get me. I would also see black figures watching me. On one occasion, I hallucinated somebody else's face every time I looked in the mirror. Some would say that these effects are just from the drugs, but I believe there is also a supernatural and spiritual element involved. 

I began to realize the supernatural battle when I was on drugs. I never believed in God or spirits previous to my drug use but I soon changed my mind. Once at school, I was paralyzed in my seat, drooling on myself. I was completely conscious but had no control over my body. I wasn't convulsing, I just couldn't move for my life. I was trying to speak to the student next to me who was staring at me but I couldn't. I just grunted through my teeth. Several times I saw demonic manifestations on people's faces. 

Once I was paralyzed in my car and felt a spirit take over my body. As soon as it left, I was terrified. I didn't know how long I had been possessed but that was the first time I was convinced there were spiritual ramifications from the drugs was doing and selling. I became a suicidal person on meth often thinking about shooting myself or overdosing on purpose.

There is a demonic control over you when on meth unlike any other drug, it is hard to explain if you've never done the drug. Meth literally changes you every time you do it. I remember getting chemical reactions in my body from it like swelling. I ruptured veins shooting up and would have to wear long sleeves. After a week of no sleep or eating, I was throwing up white liquid, probably meth, out of my nose and mouth. None of this would stop me from using. 

On one meth binge, I had a bad batch that prevented me from urinating and I had to put ice on my testicles I hurt so bad, yet I continued to get high in bondage to the devil destroying myself. I even punched walls in fits of rage and punched myself in the face. The Bible speaks of one demon-posessed man mutilating himself in Mark 5: 5, "And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones." In 1 Kings 18: 28, the worshipers of Baal cut themselves as well: "So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them." Any sacrifice not made to God is made to demonic spirits. "But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons" (1 Corinthians 10: 20).

Remember, the devil and demons will try everything to kill, steal and destroy. They hate you because you're made in God's image and they hate God. I introduced many young people to meth as I was dealing this wicked drug destroying their lives along with mine.

Steve Box is also a former meth user and the author of the book, Meth = Sorcery. Box tells about his demonic experiences with meth which he calls Satan's end times drug. Box would also have paranoid visions of the swat team chasing him (24). Pharmakoi or pharmacy also is defined as the cutting of herbs or mixing of potions (Box 40). 

As Simon the sorcerer bewitches people with his sorceries in Acts 8: 11, meth is made with many chemicals like a witches brew mixes ingredients. The meth recipe includes red phosphorus, pseudo ephedrine, muriatic or hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, mineral spirits, acetone, camping fuel, iodine crystals, anhydrous ammonia, lithium and lye (Box 40). It is easy to see how a meth addict is demonically possessed and how this possession can be confused with paranoid schizophrenia. Steve Box describes a meth user in his book,

This person thinks or believes, without justification, that other people are plotting or conspiring against him, are harassing him or are otherwise persecuting or trying to harm him in some way. This person interprets or exaggerates trivial incidents in a self-referent way; to see two people talking at a distance and to irrationally assume that they are plotting against or criticizing him. This person has delusion jealousy in which a person delusionally believes that his spouse or partner is having sexual relations with someone else. This person has hallucinations, visual as well as audio, experienced as voices and sounds that are negative to them . . . Parts of their body or actions and impulses are controlled or dictated by some external force. . . This person's feelings and emotional characteristics become blunted, flat and have peculiar lack of facial expressions and sense of self becomes disturbed (64).

In my days of selling drugs, I knew of women who sold their bodies for drugs.  It is not uncommon for women (and men) to defile themselves with prostitution and fornication with their dealers in exchange for drugs. Drugs can open a demonic entryway leading to all kinds of sins including fornication and even murder. 

Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body (1 Corinthians 6: 18).

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are (1 Corinthians 3: 16, 17).

We are the temple of God. If you are possessed by demons or destroying your body with drugs and sexual immorality, then the Spirit of God does not and cannot dwell in you. God hates it! God hates sin because it destroys you. You cannot partake of the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons (1 Corinthians 10: 21). Only Jesus can set you free and cleanse you of your sins so that God may dwell in you by His Holy Spirit. 

There was a brother in a Bible study I was leading who was also a former meth user. He explained how he was driven out into the wilderness and chased by armies of marching demons. He then stripped naked and baptized himself in a nearby lake.

One friend with whom I used meth described a short man with dread locks that would follow him around day in and day out saying, "The joke's on you. The joke's on you." It's so absurd, I believe it. He was very serious and troubled when he told me about this demon. Just as the devil accuses us, so do the devil's demons. It reminds me of Psalm 40: 15, "Let them be appalled because of their shame, who say to me, 'Aha, aha!"

I cannot deny that meth and other drugs are used as a gateway for demons. The true proof of this is a changed life in Christ. The majority of meth users are addicted for life; I knew I was and had no problem with that. The only solution to be set free is the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. My life, among others, is proof of the power in Jesus can you set you free from demons, drugs, sexual immorality, murder, and all sin!

The devil, demons and drugs withstand us in our walk with the Lord. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4: 7). Meth is demonic and rooted in sorcery and the only way to defeat it is Jesus as Paul  rebuked Elymas the sorcerer:

But Elymas, the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand (Acts 13: 8 - 11).

CHAPTER SEVEN:

CONCLUSION

            After sitting in during several private exorcisms, author Michael Cuneo observes, “There’ll be the usual flailing and groaning and spitting and vomiting and some obligatory shrieking and slithering along the floor.” Cuneo adds that mass exorcisms by hundreds of people produce “bedlam and pandemonium” in which those being delivered start, “ripping their clothes. . .pummeling their groins. . .ripping their hair out and publicly masturbating” (Powers 27). We can only imagine how difficult it is for the exorcist, prayer team and observers to keep strong composure in moments like this.

            As exorcism made its way into American culture, sociologist Michael Cuneo observes that it “was converted. . .into a kind of suburban home remedy” (Kaminer 29). Michael Cuneo examines some of the popular notions of demonic possession and rituals of deliverance from evil in his book American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land of Plenty which he refers to as a cultural commentary (xiv). Cuneo researched his topic by attending exorcisms and interviewing hundreds of people who believe that possession is a routine problem in America (Kaminer 28). Cuneo asserts that “untold numbers” of ordinary middle-class people believe they have been possessed or afflicted by demons (Kaminer 29). But he believes, after witnessing more than fifty exorcisms, that all of it could be explained in social, cultural, medical, and psychological terms (275). He says, “And I still don’t know,” referring to demonic possession (274). Personally, I know they are real and I think Cuneo might have benefitted from an exorcism as many of the his interviewees suggested. 

            Cuneo feels, as do I, that the numbers have increased recently as a direct result of the release of William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, Malachi Martin’s book Hostage to the Devil and the film The Exorcism of Emily Rose (xiii). The American popular entertainment industry is very influential. In his own words, “In addition to being influenced by the popular entertainment industry, the practice of exorcism in contemporary America is remarkably well suited to the therapeutic ethos of the prevailing culture. . .With its promises of therapeutic well-being and rapid-fire emotional gratification, exorcism is oddly at home in the shopping-mall culture, the purchase-of-happiness culture, of turn-of-the-century America” (xiv). He says elsewhere in his book, “Far more than the Roman Catholic Church or any other religious institution, then, it is the popular entertainment industry in America that has been responsible over the past thirty years for promoting the mystique of exorcism” (69). 

            According to the Association of Italian Catholic Psychiatrists and Psychologists, about 500,000 people are seeking exorcisms each year (Souter). Rev. Bob Larson is an evangelical leader in the U.S. who conducts hundreds of exorcisms annually and has noticed a significant increase in the last half-decade. The reason, he says is, “Moral decay. . .The violence, drugs and sex abuse” (Souter). Others like Cuneo believe that the recent movies and books play a role. I believe it’s both. America has mythologized Satan while turning exorcism into a pop-culture sensation. Either way, there is more demonic influence in this world and why should we be surprised? 1 Timothy 4:1 says, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”

            Where does Satan, the enemy, stand in all of this? Satan is the ruler of this world; Christ said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). All of these demons are working hard under Satan, the Prince of Demons, to make us suffer but Jesus Christ can put an end to this terror. In Demon Possession and the Christian, Fred Dickason warns Christians that the Angel of Light or Satan appears as a false teacher corrupting music, art, movies, books and relationships (Schell). He is doing everything he can to keep people’s attention off Christ. Pastor James Watkins adds, “But if we spent all our time talking about Satan, the occult, Satanic lyrics and demons, we’d be taking our attention off Christ. I wonder if Satan is just as content with demon obsession as he is with demon possession?”

            All of us could benefit from some form or another of deliverance from evil forces. I conclude that demonic possession is real but very rare; therefore, discernment between demonic possession and psychological causes is essential in preventing further damage to the victim. With the need for exorcism/deliverance on the rise in American culture, we should be encouraged to think twice about the forces of good and evil surrounding our friends, family and ourselves. Jesus once said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (Luke 10:18-19). So, if you find yourself or your friends talking in foreign languages that you have never heard or being told what to do by controlling evil forces, just say a prayer to Jesus Christ our Savior.

            With that being said, I would like to leave you with encouragement in your faith, prayer life and good deeds which suppress the enemy greatly. The power of prayer and leading a Christian life, a life in Christ, is our strongest weapons against the devil. James 2:18-22 says:

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not your ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

I testify to that which I have heard and that which I have seen. You may not believe in demons. You may not believe in Jesus. That doesn't change the truth that demons are real and Jesus Christ is the only way to defeat them. If you don't believe in demons, then you are exactly where they want you! Why? Because you're either in the kingdom of Jesus Christ or the kingdom of the devil; it's black and white. Jesus is God in the flesh and He said, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad" (Matthew 12: 30).

The name of Jesus Christ is the only way to be set free. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me. If you abide in My word, you re My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Jesus Christ is the Name above all names. Call upon His name in spiritual warfare. The demons have already been defeated along with their master, the devil. Salvation is in Christ alone. If you've ever had a demonic experience, believer or non-believer, you know that there is a war in Heaven for your soul! 

All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's perfection. He is perfectly loving and perfectly just. Since we, sinners, have been defiled by this world and our sins, a perfectly just and loving God cannot have anything to do with us. A perfect God cannot have a relationship with an imperfect creature like you or I, but He wants to because He loves us! This is a paradox, but nothing is impossible for God. He loves us so much that He made it possible for us, in our sins and imperfections, to be friends of God. 

God has made us perfect that trust in Christ, who was perfect, then we may dwell in God's presence. God became a man, Jesus Christ, and lived a perfect life. This was always part of God's plan to demonstrate His love and glory. 

As Christ was on the cross, people walked by and mocked Him saying, "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." He was fully capable of coming down from the cross and destroying His enemies, but He chose to die for His enemies because He loves us. While we were God's enemies (sinners), Christ died for us.

As Christ was on the cross, He that knew no sins became sin for you and I. He was a holy and acceptable sacrifice, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God. God hates sin! Because Christ became sin for us, God poured out His wrath on Him for the sins of the world. 

As Christ hung on the cross, He cried, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me." God the Father forsook His only Son as He hang on the cross. Why? Because God is just and he who justifies the wicked in as abomination to God. Christ justified the wicked, you and I. The only way God can remain perfectly just and perfectly loving, and bring us to Him is the way of the cross. The only way was for God to become human like us, be tempted like us yet remain perfect and die in our place.

The man that was nailed to the cross because of your sins is the God that created the world and gave you life. God is love.

Those that trust in Christ, God's only Son, for the forgiveness of sins are set free from sin, death and the wrath of God because Christ took it upon Himself. Those that trust in Christ are free from the consequences of sin but God took the consequences upon Himself in Christ. 

But those that refuse God's free gift of salvation will be destroyed in their sins and their death will be evidence of their guilt. God is love and He has demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son into the world to save the world. 

Death had no power of Christ because He didn't sin. He rose from the dead and those that believe in Him will rise to be declared legally righteous in the eyes of God, not by anything we did but on the merit of Jesus Christ. God has put all dominions and creatures under the authority of Christ. One day every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Christ is Lord. 

There is one God. There is one way. God has shown us His way and the soul that rejects it will have no excuse but to be judged accordingly. God has manifested His character, love, and power in Christ Jesus His Son. 

There is a spiritual battle over your soul and every spirit is in one of two kingdoms: light and darkness, Christ and Antichrist, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the Devil. Anybody who rejects or denies Christ as God in the flesh is Antichrist. Even to be undecided is to be Antichrist. Not to choose is to reject Him. You are with Him or against Him.

Many cannot say for sure wether God is real or not. But true Christians like myself, who have been born again, who have experienced the power of Jesus, know for a fact that God is real because the Creator of this universe has sent us His Spirit of truth that bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. It's a fact. Truth is truth. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to God except through Him! This is God's way, not my way, not a belief but the truth!

Repent! Turn from your sins and seek the Lord Jesus Christ. Today is the day of salvation!

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