| SPIRITUAL WARFARE: Characteristic Activities of Demons Derek Prince HIS GLORY REIGNS B. Childress Sep 12 2008 0800 A Evil spirits or demons are, according to my (Derek Prince's) understanding, the lower echelon of the "spiritual hosts of wickedness" (Ephesians 6:12) that Satan directs against humanity. They have three main purposes assigned to them by Satan: first, to torment and afflict us; second, to keep us from knowing Christ as Savior; and failing that, third, to keep us from serving Christ effectively. In accomplishing these purposes, demons are normally invisible. They cannot be perceived by human eyes. We can, however, recognize their presence and activity in the same way that we recognize the presence of the wind. Actually, this is an appropriate comparison because in both Hebrew and Greek, the word for spirit is also the word for wind. We never actually see the wind, but we see the effects the wind produces: dust rising in the streets, clouds sailing across the sky, trees all bending in one direction, rain being driven across our field of vision. All these "signposts" reveal the presence and activity of the wind. So it is with demons. We do not normally see them, but we recognize their presence by certain characteristic actions. Listed below are some of the most typical of their activities:
1. Demons Entice Demons persuade people to do evil. Every one of us has experienced this at some time. Enticement often comes verbally. You pick up a wallet dropped on the street and you see cash inside. Then something whispers to you, Take it! Nobody will ever know. Other people would do the same. If it were your money, they'd take it. Anything that has a voice is a person, and that voice belongs to a demon that is enticing you. If you yield, Satan will have begun to break down your defenses. You will no longer have a clear conscience. You will know you are guilty. That prepares the way for Satan's next assault. 2. Demons Harass Demons study you, follow your movements, observe your weak moments, detect your weak places. Then they engineer situations that will open the way for them to slip in. Take, for example, a businessman who has had a terrible day at the office. Everything has gone wrong. He tripped on the staircase, his secretary spilled coffee on him, the air conditioning failed, an irate customer came in threatening to sue. Then, on the way home, he spent an hour sitting in his car in a traffic jam. When he finally reaches home, supper is not ready and the children are running around screaming. This is when he loses control and starts to shout at his whole family. He is a kind, gentle man, and his wife and children are shocked. They forgive him quickly when he apologizes. His outburst could simply have been a loss of self-control. But the demon of anger was watching, and now it waits for a similar opportunity. When the man loses control again, the demon seizes that unguarded moment and slips in. Soon his wife notices a change in him. His love for his family has not changed, but there are times when something else takes over. His eyes reveal a strange glint. When the demon of anger gains control, he abuses his family, actually hurting those he loves the most. Afterward he is ashamed and remorseful. He says, "I don't know what made me do it." This is just one of many examples of how demons will harass a person until they can find a place or moment of weakness through which they can gain entrance. 3. Demons Torture Jesus related the parable of a servant whose master forgave him a debt of several million dollars, but who then refused to forgive a fellow servant a debt of just a few dollars. The parable concludes with a judgment on that unforgiving servant: "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him" (Matthew 18:34). In the next verse Jesus applied this parable to all Christians: "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." The torturers, I (Derek Prince) believe, are demons. I have encountered hundreds of Christians who are in the hands of the torturers for one simple reason: unforgiveness. They have claimed forgiveness from God for the incalculable debt of all their sins, yet they refuse to forgive another person for some offense, real or imagined. After Jesus taught his followers the model prayer we have come to call the Lord's Prayer, He added only one comment: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." There are various forms of torture to which we may be subjected. There is, for instance, physical torture. One example is arthritis: twisting, torturing, crippling, binding. I (Derek Prince) am not suggesting that all arthritis has a demonic cause. Yet it is remarkable how often arthritis is actually associated with an inner attitude of resentment, unforgiveness, and bitterness. Then there is mental torment. One common form is the fear of going insane. You would be surprised at the number of Christians tortured by this fear. Frequently they are ashamed to confess it to anyone. Like the enticement to do evil, this demonic attack may also take a verbal form: Your Aunt Lois just entered a mental institution and your neighbor had a nervous breakdown. And you'll be next! Usually this fear is the work of accusing demons that continually bombard the person's mind. Another form of spiritual torture is an inner accusation that says, You've committed the unforgivable sin. When a person tells me he is being assailed by this thought, I (Derek Prince) always answer, "That's nothing but an accusation of a lying spirit. If you really had committed the unforgivable sin, you would be so hardened that you wouldn't care. The fact that you are concerned about it proves that you have not committed it." 4. Demons Compel No word is more characteristic of demon activity than the word compulsive. Behind most compulsions is a demon - for example, compulsive smoking and compulsive consumption of alcohol or drugs. It is well established that these activities produce a chemical reaction in the brain. This opens up a place of weakness in a very sensitive area through which demons can easily enter. Compulsive eating can also be demonic. But gluttony is "respectable." You may not find many alcoholics in the contemporary Church, but you will find many gluttons! Compulsive eating usually starts with the loss of self-control. Then one day gluttony slips in. Christians are often unwilling to acknowledge that they are compulsive eaters. But acknowledging the sin is the essential first step to deliverance. There are many other forms of compulsion. One is garrulousness - compulsive talking. There are many warnings against this is Scripture. For instance: "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise."(Proverbs 10:19). Excessive talking will always end in some form of sin. Again, the apostle James said that if anyone "...bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain." (James 1:26). If you have not kept your tongue under control, you may have opened the way for a demon. Two demons that might seize such an opportunity are gossip and criticism. Both are at home in religious circles! We all need to stop and check on ourselves: Are there things I do simply out of compulsion? We may have become so accustomed to our habits that we are hardly aware of them - yet they may be demonic. 5. Demons Enslave Let us take an example from an area that few in church talk about: sex. Suppose you have committed sexual sin. You repent and meet God's conditions for forgiveness. You know you are not only forgiven but justified - "just-as-if" you have never sinned (see Romans 8:30). But you still have an intense desire to commit the same sin, even though you hate it. You are sure you have been forgiven, but you are not free. You are enslaved. One very common example is masturbation. Some psychologists say masturbation is normal and healthy. It is not worthwhile to argue about that. I simply know there are thousands of people, both men and women, who masturbate and then hate themselves for doing it. Each time they say, "Never again!" but it happens again. They are enslaved. How grateful I am to the Lord that I (Derek Prince) have learned the answer! Now I tell people in my teaching, "You can be set free from masturbation. Just be determined. Come against it in the name of Jesus. Shake it out of your fingers until you can feel they're free." Over the years I (Derek Prince) have seen hundreds of people delivered in this way from the tormenting demon of masturbation. Marriage does not necessarily resolve the problem of masturbation. If either partner still has a demon of masturbation, the demon will seek to obtain for itself the physical satisfaction that should be enjoyed by the other partner. This is one reason the sexual relationship in some marriages does not provide the physical satisfaction that each partner should expect. When we combine compel and enslave, we arrive at a particular form of enslavement. 6. Demons Cause Addictions I (Derek Prince) have discovered that an addition is often like a branch growing out of another, larger branch. To help people, we may have to go beneath the addiction and discover the larger branch out of which it grows. Two common examples are continuing personal frustration and a deep emotional need that is not being fulfilled. Let us take, as an example, two married women, one an Episcopalian and the other from the Church of God. Each is aware that her husband runs after other women, spends money on himself that she needs for housekeeping, and shows little interest in his family. Each is reaching out desperately for some source of comfort. The Episcopalian walks across her living room to the cocktail cabinet and becomes an alcoholic. The woman from the Church of God, who would never go near an alcoholic beverage, goes to the refrigerator and eats everything in sight. She becomes a foodaholic - a glutton. In either case, deliverance from the addiction, whether alcohol or food, will probably not be complete unless the branch that supports the addiction - each woman's frustration with her husband - is dealt with. The best solution would be for the husband to repent and change. But even if he does not, the wife cannot expect to be set free unless she forgives him and lays down all her bitterness or resentment against him. In the U.S. today more than fifty percent of all households are singles. As a result, the deep emotional need for loving companionship may be left unsatisfied. If a person feels betrayed and cut off by a parent, spouse, or friend he or she may turn instead to a dog or cat or some other pet (Animals are often more loyal than humans - and also less demanding!). This longing for companionship may result in a strange kind of addiction. In other cases we may not become addicted ourselves, but we may be the cause of addiction in another. Busy parents may discover to their dismay that a teenage child has become addicted to one of the many drugs that are so easily available. Too late they discover that their son or daughter has turned to drugs as a substitute for the love and companionship they were too busy to provide. Almost anything that is both compulsive and enslaving is an addiction, and there is no limit to the forms that addictions may take. In I Corinthians 6:12 Paul said, "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." This provides us with a scriptural definition of addition: A person is addicted when he or she has been brought under the power of anything that is not helpful. I (Derek Prince) believe that addictions, so defined, are almost always demonic. In attempting to solve their problems, people sometimes trade one addiction for another. It often happens, for instance, that a person gives up smoking and immediately puts on excessive weight. He or she has traded nicotine for gluttony. Pornography is a tragic example of an addiction. The man enslaved by pornography finds himself compelled to tune in to those TV channels that satisfy the demon within. He cannot walk past a magazine or video display in a store; it draws him like a magnet. Television is a largely unrecognized addiction. Some people cannot walk into a room without switching on the TV. It is not a reasoned action. These people may have no idea what they want to watch. They reach for the television set without thinking, just as an alcoholic reaches for a drink. In the long run, the social results of television addiction may be even more disastrous than those of alcoholism. More recently the World Wide Web is spawning addictions. People have been classified as "addicts" because of social withdrawal and loss of control. Psychologist have discovered that addicts include such varied groups as housewives, construction workers, and secretaries. Side effects range from plummeting job performance to broken marriages. Some forms of addiction have no recognized name, for example someone I (Derek Prince) once dealt with who had a compulsive desire to sniff nail polish. Another, more familiar addiction is sniffing airplane glue or a similar product. This is amazingly common among young people, and often not recognized by parents. Some addictions are more powerful or dangerous than others, but none is beneficial. Two socially acceptable beverages that can become addictive are coffee and soft drinks, especially caffeinated drinks like colas. According to statistics, the average American consumes 50 gallons of soft drinks in a year. Sometimes a person who stops drinking coffee or cola goes through withdrawal symptoms similar to those of a person going off hard drugs. A decisive factor in the marketing of a commodity is the fact that it can become addictive. Once a person has become addicted, the producer is guaranteed a customer for life. Some tobacco companies in the U.S. acknowledged recently that they deliberately altered the nicotine content of their cigarettes in order to ensure addiction. 7. Demons Defile That demons defile is not surprising since the Bible calls them "unclean spirits." One main area that demons defile is our mental lives - our thoughts and imaginations. This can take the form of impure, lustful images or fantasies that project themselves unbidden into our minds. This may happen especially when we are trying to focus on the things of God, either in worship or in Bible reading. Any strong, lustful impulse that rises up in our minds at such moments is almost certainly demonic. Demons oppose our communion with God. Another area of personality regularly defiled by demons is that of speech. Many men (and women, and even some children ) cannot speak three sentences without using obscene or blasphemous language. For five and a half years in the British Army during World War II, I (Derek Prince) was surrounded by such men. In fact, until the Lord saved me, I was one of them. That was another element in the powerful, supernatural deliverance I received when I was saved. One day I could not speak without blaspheming and cursing. The next day that language no longer came out of my mouth. This is not the result of an effort of my will. It was just gone! Only later did I realize that God had released me supernaturally from defiling demons. The demons of blasphemy and unclean speech had to go, in the same way that the demon of yoga had gone. 8. Demons Deceive It is believed by many that demons are behind almost every form of spiritual deception. In I Timothy 4:1 Paul says, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;". People cannot depart from the faith who have never been in it. These are Christians who have been enticed out of sound, biblical faith into some form of doctrinal error. Spiritual deception, I believe, is the greatest single danger that threatens Christians in these latter times. And behind each form of deception is a corresponding demon. Any doctrine that detracts from the holiness of God, or that attacks the person, nature, and work of Christ, or that undermines the authority of Scripture, is demonic. Already in the first century Jude found it necessary to exhort the Christians of his day "...it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 1:3). The need for such earnest contention has increased exponentially since the time of Jude. Demonic deception, however, goes beyond distortions or aberrations of the Christian faith. It includes all religions, cults, or philosophies that set aside any of the great central truths of the Bible, especially anything that concerns Jesus Christ. We need to remember that demons are always trying to conceal or distort who Jesus is. Another way demonic deception manifests itself is by causing Christians to mimic the behavior of animals. I call such demons "animal spirits." Manifestations of these animal spirits are more likely to occur in churches in underdeveloped countries, but occur in churches in more "civilized" nations, too, and are attributed to the Holy Spirit. 9. Demons Attack the Physical Body Demons may affect us physically, for instance, a demon of tiredness. Another physical effect that demons can produce is unnatural sleepiness. Isaiah speaks about "the spirit of deep sleep" (Isaiah 29:10). Sometimes, when a Christian wants to pray or read his Bible at ten P.M., he is fast asleep by 10:15. Yet the same person can stay up watching TV until the early hours of the morning. Many Christians have testified to being affected by a supernatural force that opposes them when they seek to read the Bible or pray. Unnatural sleep can also be a means of escaping unpleasant life situations. If we go beyond specific symptoms of demonic activity, such as those listed, we can discern one general characteristic of most people who are demonized: restlessness. A person who can maintain an attitude of serene composure in all the troubled circumstances of life is probably demon-free. But there are not many such people. Source: They Shall Expel Demons, by Derek Prince, Copyright 1998, Chosen Books. |
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