A Christadelphian Bible Talk

Transcription

1 A Christadelphian Bible Talk Demonic Possessionis when Satan or a demon enters and takes over the physical and mental capabilities of a victim, however, the soul and will remains free. Satan acts through the victim without the victim s consent, thus the victim is morally blameless. Satan does not act alone when he possesses an individual. He works side by side with many evil spirits such as spirits of lust, hate, destruction, suicide, revenge, anger, anxiety, desperation, death, torment, etc. demonic-possession/ 1

2 1. An irrational and violent reaction against the name of Jesus 2. Violent struggles with a strength out of proportion 3. Any involvement in occult practices now or in the past 4. The possession of or exposure to any objects which have been used in occult practices, including from a witch or medium 5. A disturbed history in previous generations 6. Bondage to sexual perversion or other compulsive habits 7. Strange behaviour, including sharp bursts of temper or moodiness, mutterings or frothing at the mouth 8. Change of voice in speech or laughter 9. The grip of a nameless fear 10.The inability to pray even when the person longs to do so 11. Something strange about the eyes: unnaturally bright, glazed or full of manic hatred... Is there a Supernatural Devil and, if so, can he get into your mind? 2

3 In the Old Testament the word DEVIL is never found The word SATAN is found 27 times and means an adversary 3

4 The word DEMONS occurs 4 times and translates 2 Hebrew words And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORDat the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the LORD. They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations. (Leviticus 17:6 7 NKJV) 4

5 They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your fathers did not fear. Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you. (Deuteronomy 32:16 18) For the Levites left their common-lands and their possessions and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests to the LORD. Then he appointed for himself priests for the high places, for the demons, and the calf idols which he had made. (2 Chronicles 11:14 15) 5

6 But they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works; they served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot by their own deeds... (Psalm 106:35 39) But they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works; they served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot by their own deeds... (Psalm 106:35 39) 6

7 04/12/2013 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols... Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, What does this babbler want to say? Others said, He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods, [daimonion] because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. (Acts 17:16 18) Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, world and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; Him and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. (1 Corinthians 8:4 6) 7

8 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, 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. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? (1 Corinthians 10:19 22) I stretched out my hands all day long to a people who broke faith and opposed, to those who walked in a way that was not good but followed after their own sins. This people who provokes me is before me always; they sacrifice in their gardens and burn incense on their bricks to demons that do not exist, among their graves and in caves... (Isaiah 63: 2-4; see also Psalm 96:5 LXX) 8

9 In the Old Testament there is no mention of DEMON POSSESSION If demons are mere idols powerless and lifeless how did people come to believe in demon possession? 9

10 A belief in the existence and activity of demons is not limited to the New Testament. Some conception of evil spirits or demons was held almost universally by the religions of the ancient world. Many of these religions had developed a rather extensive demonology. Egyptianreligion included the use of magical incantations to ward off disease and misfortune caused by malevolent spirits. Greek popular belief postulated a class of spirit beings (possibly spirits of the dead) between men and the gods. These beings could afflict people with madness and sickness. Zoroastrianismconceived a dualism in the spirit world, with a dark kingdom of demons under the direction of Ahrimanwarring against the spirits of light led by AhuraMazda. Though the Hebrew concept of Yahweh s sovereignty minimized the development of demonology in the canonical writings, Jewish literature began in the intertestamentalperiod to elaborate on the origin and activity of malevolent spirits. Reese, D. G. (1992). The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday. God also enabled him [Solomon] to learn that skill which expels demons,which is a science useful and sanative to men. He composed such incantations also by which distempers are alleviated. And he left behind him the manner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons, so that they never return, and this method of cure is of great force unto this day; for I have seen a certain man of my own country whose name was Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal in the presence of Vespasian, and his sons, and his captains, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was this He put a ring that had a root of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils... Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged. 10

11 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked [Jesus], saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? that they might accuse him. Then he said to them, What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Then he said to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, how they might destroy Him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all. (Matthew 12:10 15) 11

12 Then one was brought to him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this be the Son of David? Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. (Matthew 12:22 25) Then one was brought to him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this be the Son of David? Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. (Matthew 12:22 25) 12

13 Who was Beelzebub? Now Ahaziahfell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? (2 Kings 1:2 3) In light of the context of 2 Kings 1... and the tendency of Hebrew scribes at times to distort certain names, it seems best at present to regard Baal-zebub as a caconymic( lord of the fly/flies ) for an original Baal-zebul, Baal the prince. Maier, W. A. I. (1992). Baal-Zebub(Deity). In (D. N. Freedman, Ed.)The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and, By the ruler of the demons he casts out demons. So he called them to himself and said to them in parables: How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end... (Mark 3:22 26) 13

14 What is your name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion; for we are many. Also he begged him earnestly that he would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged him, saying, Send us to the swine, that we may enter them. And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. (Mark 5:9-13) So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon- possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid... (Mark 5:14 15) 14

15 Now when Jesus had come into Peter s house, he saw his wife s mother lying sick with a fever. So he touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed. And he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. (Matthew 8:14 17) Conclusions 1. The Old Testament says nothing about the Devil,and the demons it describes are false gods or idols, which only exist in the minds of their worshippers 2. The New Testament talks about Demon Possession when describing some illnesses, because that was the language of the day 3. When Jesus cast out demons, he was healing ill people 4. Demon terminology came from ancient pagan sources: Egyptian, Persian, Greek and Roman myths and religions 5. The Bible says that God is supreme above all and that there are no other gods or forces to rival Him. 15

16 I am the LORD,, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me... there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things... They shall be ashamed and also disgraced, all of them; they shall go in confusion together, who are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved by the LORDwith an everlasting salvation; you shall not be ashamed or disgraced forever and ever. For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD,, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:5 7, 16-18). 16