Know your adversary

Okay back to the OP....
Reading scripture it comes across to me that dealing with demons or spirits was almost common practice for Jesus and His disciples.

Jesus:
1. Temptation in the Desert
(Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13)
Jesus went out into the desert and fasted for 40 days. During these 40 days, Satan tempted Him. Jesus resisted all of the temptations, and Satan departed. Matthew adds that angels came and ministered to Him following the temptations.

2. Demon in the Synagogue
(Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37)
While teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus was interrupted by a man possessed by a demon. He cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Jesus ordered the spirit to be quiet and to come out of the man. The man convulsed, and with a loud cry, the spirit left the man.


3. The Possessed Swine
(Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39)
Jesus and His disciples were traveling in the region of the Gerasenes. When they arrived there, a man (Matthew reports two men), who had been living among the tombs because of demonic possession, approached Jesus and fell prostrate before him, calling out, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what have you to do with us?” The demons begged him, “Do not torment us.”

“What is your name?” Jesus asked.

They answered, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.” They begged Him not to drive them away from that territory and requested, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”

He allowed them to enter the nearby herd of swine. The pigs ran down a steep bank into the sea and drowned. The man who had been freed of Legion proclaimed to all the people what the Lord had for him.

4. Driving Out Demons by the Power of Demons?
(Matthew 12:22-32; Mark 3:20-30; Luke 11:14-26)
After Jesus drove a demon out of a person who was mute, restoring their speech, He was accused of driving out demons by the power of the Beelzebul (the devil). Jesus responded to the accusations:

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people* drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first.”

5. Jesus Rebukes Demons
(Luke 4:41)
While curing the sick, Jesus was approached by demons, who called out, “You are the Son of God!” Jesus rebuked them and ordered them not to speak because they knew He was the Messiah.

6. The Disciples Are Unable to Drive Out a Demon
(Matthew 17:14-20; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-43)
A man came to Jesus and told him his disciples were unable to cast out a demon from his son. Jesus asked that the boy be brought to Him. Upon approaching Jesus, the demon caused the boy to convulse. The man told Jesus that the demon had forced the boy into fire and water in an attempt to kill the boy. The father asked Him to help “if you can.”

Jesus replied, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”

“I do believe,” the man responded. “Help my unbelief.”

Jesus order the spirit to leave the boy. Once again, the demon made the boy convulse, and with a cry, the demon left. The boy laid on the ground motionless. His father thought he was dead, but Jesus took the boy by the hand and helped him up. Later, the disciples asked why they were unable to drive out the demon. Jesus told them (from Mark’s account), “This kind can only come out through prayer.” In the Gospel of Matthew, He says, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

7. Greek Woman’s Daughter
(Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30)
A Greek woman went to Jesus and asked him to drive out a demon from her daughter. He replied, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”

To which the woman responded, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”

Jesus then said, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”

When she returned home, the demon had, in fact, left her daughter.

8. Mary Magdalene
(Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2)
Both the Gospels of Mark and Luke describes Mary Magdalene as someone out of whom Jesus had driven seven demons.

9. Jesus Warns About Satan
(Luke 22:31)
Jesus warns Peter about his denial of Jesus and the great desire of Satan to cause division among the disciples of Jesus:

“Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat…”

10. Jesus Sends Disciples out with Authority Over Demons
(Mark 6:7; Matthew 10:1, 8; Luke 9:1)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus sends His Apostles out to spread the Gospel. One of the directives He gives them is to drive out demons, and He gives them the power to do so.

“Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.”

11. Jesus Predicts Exorcisms
(Mark 16:17)
Jesus, after the Resurrection, told the Apostles to go out and evangelize. Among the signs He said they could expect to see was the ability to drive out demons.

“These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages…”

Bottom Line
This list is not at all exhaustive, but should serve to illustrate that Jesus saw the great torment that resulted from demonic activity. He did not play games with demons; He rebuked them and drove them out. Demons and the occult are not fun; they are dangerous. But the Gospels also reveal that Jesus is stronger. Demons flee at His very name.


I will post this and continue next with various accounts of the apostles.

ACTS 19:11-16
11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. (so they sent for those with evil spirits to be brought to them....again appearance that this is common practice)

14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.

15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? (yes they can speak through the person they are inhabiting)

16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.


KEY POINT! These priests did not have the slightest understanding on how to rebuke and cast out demons....they had observed Paul do this and it must have looked so simple that they assumed they could do this as well.
It doesn't mention what kind of evil spirit was in this man but it was quick to refute the priests authority over it and went after them realizing they were ignorant of how God's Laws apply. (laws meaning RULES so to speak that we must follow precisely to accomplish our task).

I am posting and starting another page....trying to keep the reading short,

Okay...so I posted the latter 2 posts to lay a foundation that I am going to expand upon.....
BTW....I am not a scholar in the study of demons and evil spirits...but I speak of personal experience which I am not allowed to share at this time....but I can tell you that I had one cast out of me 32 years ago at Rhema in Broken Arrow....that's all I can share about it. After I was delivered I studied every book, video, scripture and person to learn how to recognize evil spirits and how to deal with them..(Most flee at the name of Jesus...but as Jesus said...some require fasting and prayer.)....

Okay that is then end of discussing demon possession...I want to move on to spiritual attacks that can plague us daily if we don't do as scripture teaches us....

And I will start on that tomorrow...

Have a blessed day in the Lord!

aspen said:

I’ve met the enemy and the enemy is me

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All by yourself?

amadeus said:

There may indeed be other enemies but striving to defeat them without defeating yourself would ultimately be a wasted effort, would it not? God will take care of the rest of them, but if we by the power of God in us do not with His help defeat the beasts within ourselves we will never benefit from His victories.

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Yes, we must incorporate our faith in Him to achieve victory in our weaknesses.

GTW27 said:

What a man believes in his heart so he is. And I believe the words of Jesus. All of them, including those that came through Paul.Paul who used to be Saul. In the same way, my name is Rich who used to be Richard. I do not know about anyone else, but I walked in the darkness as Richard, and now I walk through the darkness as Rich, walking in His marvelous Light. The old has passed away and all things have become new. I have a new heart that He put within me. A heart that is not wicked or deceitful, but a heart that loves and holds no ill will toward anyone. This is our truth, brothers and sisters in The Lord. Give no power to that which was,("the one thing I do") but proclaim out loud that which is.("It is no longer I that live") And if you should slip, just put it under The Blood and keep walking. A reminder of knowing and believing who we truly are in Christ Jesus is needed before ever facing a defeated foe.

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Good word, Rich!....and it is through your knowledge and understanding of this very thing that gives you the wisdom to know your adversary and walk victoriously over any attack the enemy brings to you.
I have met so many Christians who do not know how to defeat him or even who can recognize when they are being attacked.
As in my testimony of the pastor I didn't recognize this as an attack from Satan as the false witness against me through my pastor. So my anger and bitterness towards him was misguided....later I learned how the enemy works....and today I can easily recognize him operating through others.
Isaiah 54:17 has become one of my favorite scriptures that encourages me to trust God to keep any weapon formed against me from prospering.

Miss Hepburn said:

These posts have helped me a lot. Last Friday, 6 days ago...my sister, 70, sweet person...but tormented from childhood stuff...
got upset and her voice dropped an octave, she almost 'growl' and her face changed.
My mother, I did not realize til a few months before she passed, was sometimes 'possessed' in this way...and with
a very Christian friend of hers with me, she turned in front of him...and he said "I've never seen anything like it.'
I simply said, "Welcome to the family." Ha! We used to call 'it' , "Mom's witch face."
There is a list of things on another thread..but left out is, "Forgetfulness of the 'attack or possession'."
Or minimizing the effect it has on others...then moving on...blaming others is big.
I did read that this bad spirit makes the person think these bad feelings from the spirit is 'themselves'....so my sister identifies
SO much with dread, worry, self-righteous angers, etc...as herself...part of herself.

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I am so sorry to hear about your sister's torment. This is a lying, seducing spirit that causes oppression and can keep a person bound their whole life if they don't take authority over it. Oppression and depression....the demon keeps reminding her of how much of a failure she is....whether it is true or not....this is what has entered her thoughts and eventually entered her heart.
Scripture says as a man thinketh so is he......
She has to be set free

VictoryinJesus said:

@Heart2Soul
Reading through your post here. Don’t have much to add as I don’t know the topic of evil spirits very well. Do you ever wake up to ...as if He speaks and connects something you were not even considering? The other morning I awoke to the unjust judge being wearied and troubled by the widow...And thought of the woman possessed with the spirit of divination following after Paul for many days not giving up...was Paul a judge? Went immediately afterwards to read the passage: Acts 16:13-19 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. [14] And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us : whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. [15] And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. [16] And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: [17] The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. [18] And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. [19] And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

Maybe nothing but thought I would share. I’m confused on whether Paul was to judge or not to judge. If that changed after going to the Gentiles. Another topic I don’t know well. It was just odd to go to the passage though after the connection and see Lydia say “If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there.” ...then the possessed woman following after them for many days...more or less begging them to cast it out of her and set her free from those making gain of her. Don’t know what to make of it though...

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You are comparing apples to oranges.....the judge troubled by the widow was one elected to serve and uphold the law of justice.
Lydia was asking Paul if he judged her walk as pure....her conversion. This is more like spiritual discernment....which Paul had the gift to discern. Judge in this sense is not condemning but rather esteem...I looked up in the strongs concordance to make sure.
Paul was an Apostle and a teacher, a prophet and evangelist....but he never judged according to any Jewish laws or anything.....just stuck with the teachings of Jesus.

Heart2Soul said:

You are comparing apples to oranges.....the judge troubled by the widow was one elected to serve and uphold the law of justice.
Lydia was asking Paul if he judged her walk as pure....her conversion. This is more like spiritual discernment....which Paul had the gift to discern. Judge in this sense is not condemning but rather esteem...I looked up in the strongs concordance to make sure.
Paul was an Apostle and a teacher, a prophet and evangelist....but he never judged according to any Jewish laws or anything.....just stuck with the teachings of Jesus.

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VictoryinJesus said:

@Heart2Soul
Reading through your post here. Don’t have much to add as I don’t know the topic of evil spirits very well. Do you ever wake up to ...as if He speaks and connects something you were not even considering? The other morning I awoke to the unjust judge being wearied and troubled by the widow...And thought of the woman possessed with the spirit of divination following after Paul for many days not giving up...was Paul a judge? Went immediately afterwards to read the passage: Acts 16:13-19 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. [14] And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us : whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. [15] And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. [16] And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: [17] The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. [18] And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. [19] And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

Maybe nothing but thought I would share. I’m confused on whether Paul was to judge or not to judge. If that changed after going to the Gentiles. Another topic I don’t know well. It was just odd to go to the passage though after the connection and see Lydia say “If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there.” ...then the possessed woman following after them for many days...more or less begging them to cast it out of her and set her free from those making gain of her. Don’t know what to make of it though...

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VictoryinJesus said:

@Heart2Soul
Reading through your post here. Don’t have much to add as I don’t know the topic of evil spirits very well. Do you ever wake up to ...as if He speaks and connects something you were not even considering? The other morning I awoke to the unjust judge being wearied and troubled by the widow...And thought of the woman possessed with the spirit of divination following after Paul for many days not giving up...was Paul a judge? Went immediately afterwards to read the passage: Acts 16:13-19 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. [14] And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us : whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. [15] And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. [16] And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: [17] The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. [18] And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. [19] And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

Maybe nothing but thought I would share. I’m confused on whether Paul was to judge or not to judge. If that changed after going to the Gentiles. Another topic I don’t know well. It was just odd to go to the passage though after the connection and see Lydia say “If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there.” ...then the possessed woman following after them for many days...more or less begging them to cast it out of her and set her free from those making gain of her. Don’t know what to make of it though...

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@VictoryinJesus .....if you woke up with the thought of Judge/Judgment/Judging.....I would definitely study it deeper.....we are in a time that judgment first comes to the house of the Lord, then the nations.....compare what is happening worldwide....I believe the earth is travailing in pain and all the disasters taking place is His Judgment....birthing God's outpouring of His Spirit as the Awakening of those asleep (spiritually) is happening and His people are rising up walking in His Power and Might...
So is the falling away.
He may be wanting to show you a deeper understanding of this.

Truth said:

One of the things we need to watch out for are Soothsayers! I know, what is meant by this!! When we meet people we should be on guard to others that present stuff with Soothing Sayings, I had a brother that was really good at gaining confidence with others, He was truly a Con! don't get me wrong I love my brother, BUT, Truth is Truth!

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Soothsayers are psychics...who operate by the power of satan. False prophets, seducing spirits, lying spirits and spirits of divinations are really working overtime....just look at the chaos in our politics!
Your brother, the con, is most likely being controlled by a seducing spirit....they use flattery and charm.