Just about everyone these days has heard about ' demon possession ', it was made a household name by the 1973 movie ' The Exorcist ', and again it has become popular after the 2005 movie ' The Exorcism Of Emily Rose '. To myself and thousands of others, we have known and believed in demon possession for a long time from another source, the Holy Bible. The Bible written in sections or books, some more than a couple thousand years ago, tells us all we need to know about demon possession and that it is a very real condition.

In this day and age, when you mention demons or demon possession, most folks laugh or joke about it. Do these same folks laugh and joke about the Holy Bible ? To laugh and joke about the belief of demons and demon possession, is the same as laughing and joking about the Holy Bible and the word of God. If you are a true Christian and you believe in the Holy Bible as being the divinely inspired word of God, then you should have no doubts about the existence of demons and demon possession.

What are demons ? Demons are supernatural beings with great power and knowledge, their knowledge comes from not just their high intelligence, but the fact that they have been alive since before the earth was created. They are often called or known as ' fallen angels ', in fact that is exactly what they are. When satan rebelled against God, he along with his followers, (1/3 rd of the angels of heaven), were cast out of the Third Heaven, where God's throne and the actual city or place called Heaven currently exists. These ex-angels, now called ' demons ', were banished forever from the 3rd heaven where they once worshipped God and his son Jesus. Now for thousands of years, they have been condemned to live in what is called heavens 1 and 2, this area encompasses the planet earth, the sky above it, the stars, planets and the solar systems beyond it.

Demons are usually invisible in their natural state to the human eye, but they can take on any solid form they wish, and then we can see them. Demons can appear as wips of what looks like smoke, lasting only a few seconds, or at other times they look like fleeting shadows, often seen out of the corners of the eyes. They can take on any shape they choose, even an animal, they can appear solid or transparent and ghost-like.

What does the Bible tell us about demons and some of their abilities:

1. Demons seem to desire a body to possess or use as a host, like a parasite. It could be that when they were cast down from Heaven that they were changed into another form, or they just have a strong desire to control and cause as much trouble to humans as they possibly can. In ' Mark 5:12 ', when Jesus was exorcising demons from a possessed man, the demons spoke to Jesus and begged him, saying: ' Send us among the herd of pigs; allow us to go into them '.

2. Demons have great strength. In ' Luke 8:29 ', a man was possessed by demons, and while possessed he was able to break chains easily, the demons also made the man want to dwell among graves and lonely places. 3. The demons are responsible for many of the diseases and illnesses that people have. In ' Luke 11:14 ' , a man that had been mute and unable to speak, became able to speak normaly when Jesus removed a demon from him.

What are some causes of demon possession ? Sin. yes, sin is the cause or thing that leads to someone being controlled and ultimately possessed by demonic forces:

1. Abuse - Some folks claim they were abused as children, and this has brought them under the control of demons.

2. Occult Activity - Reading and trying spells and other things in occult books.

3. Spirit communication - Using an ouija board, channeling, or automatic writing, is an open door to demon possession.

4. Astrology and Fortune Telling - Using ones horoscope or visiting a fortune teller to know the future is wrong according to the bible, clearly a warning that demonic forces are involved with it.

5. Music and Movies - Movies and music can be fun and inspirational, but most of the movies today are very sinful. Todays movies are full of such sinful things as sexual encounters that are out of marriage or with the same sex, cussing or using Jesus's name in vain, and there are numerous movies these days that show or try to let us think that dabbling with spells, sorcery and witchcraft are ok, when the Bible clearly says that any witchcraft or sorcery is wrong and can open the door to demon forces.

6. Sexual perversions - Pornography is very addicitve and often leads to more and more perverted sexual desires, such as same sex encounters and sex with animals which is growing more and more in todays perverted world, all of which is evil and wrong according to the Bible and Jesus. Demons can use these filthy and perverted desires to weaken our wills and mental states, until we allow them to enter us, and possess us.

There are many other activites and things that can ultimately lead to someone becoming possessed and controlled by demon forces, but the main cause is sin.

There are a lot of folks that say demon possession is just symptoms of either a mental illness or some other medical condition, or sickness. This can be true at times when the person does have a medical problem, but in a true case of demon possession, there will be signs or activity that NO sickness or disease can manifest, such as:

1. Knowledge of future events and hidden things - Demon possessed people have been known to gain a sudden knowledge about things that was never shared with others, or to even reveal future events that come true.

2. Superhuman strength - Possessed individuals have been known to break ropes, chains and other restraints with ease, and it often takes up to 4 full grown men to hold a demon possessed child down.

3. Speaking in unknown or strange languages - Demon possessed inviduals who have no prior knowledge of foreign languages have been known to start taking fluently in strange languages or foreign tongues, such as Aramaic, Latin and other languages.

4. Levitation and Psychic Powers - Demon possessed individuals have been known to levitate and hover in the air in front of other witnesses, or cause objects in the room to move by themselves.

5. Smells - Often in the presence of a demon possessed individual the surrounding air will become so horriblly smelling that folks will get sick, the smell has been described as the smell of cancer or death, or even sulphur.

5. Reaction to Holy relics or sacred items - Demon possessed individuals have been known to fear or even react violently to crosses, bible reading, holy water or other sacred relics and symbols. In one case of demon possession in pennsylvania in the early 1980s a young man, who was possessed had his head covered with a sack, so he could not see. He held his hands behind his back and a few different items were placed in his hands, when a cross was dropped into his hand, it burned his skin and became hot to others that touched it.

The best way to avoid demon activity and possession in your life is to avoid sin as much as possible. Read your bible as often as you can, go to a nice bible believing church, and most importantly, accept Jesus Christ as your lord and saviour, repent of your sins, and try not to sin like you did before your conversion.

As we are now living in what I call the ' End Times ', we will be seeing and hearing a lot more news about possession and demon activity. If you would like to know a lot more about the ' End Times ', and read some great Christian articles on such subjects as 'Being Saved, Armageddon, The Rapture, and much more, visit the website: ' Signs Of The End Times '

By Robert W. Benjamin

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