The Danger of Demon Possession
The most dangerous trap of all is demon possession. Jesus speaks of the condition of a demon possessed person:
Matthew 12:43-45 (NKJV) “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first...”
In this story, Jesus speaks of an unclean spirit (a demon) seeking rest, a new home in another victim. Finding no other empty house (a mind open to a demon’s enticements), he returns to his last home and finds that while the man is getting his life back in order, his mind is empty of the spiritual convictions and defenses needed to resist being demon possessed again. The unclean spirit invites other demons to join him, and the man is in a worse state than before. An important lesson is that once the door to demon possession is opened, the victim is weakened against resisting any future incursions from demonic spirits. The danger is in not being able to escape this self-inflicted prison of permitting the demonic possession by not filling their empty mind with Bible study and worshiping God.
In Mark 9:28-29 (NASB) we read, “When he came into the house, his disciples began questioning him privately, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’ And he [Jesus] said to them, ‘This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.’” By prayer, Christians can ask God to expel a demon, but he cannot declare that the demon be cast out. If and how God answers that prayer is His decision and under His control.
Romans 10:9-11 (NASB) promises that “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the scripture says, ‘WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.’”
Beyond confession and prayer, it would be dangerous to attempt to cast out demons yourself, as some men learned in Acts 19:13-16 (NASB) “But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, ‘I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.’ Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, ‘I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”
In the New Testament, the apostles never give any advice or instructions to the Christian churches about casting out demons. Rather, Ephesians 6:10-18 instructs that the Christian defense against demonic power is by putting on the armor of God of—faith, righteousness, truth, salvation, the Word of God, and spreading the Gospel of peace.
In another episode we read in Matthew 17:14-15,18 (NASB) “… a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before him and saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water…’ vs. 18 And Jesus rebuked him [the demon], and the demon came out of him [the boy], and the boy was cured at once.”
Here we have a case of demon possession turning a boy into a lunatic. Today this might easily be mistaken for mental illness. In counseling troubled patients, a Christian psychologist might want to understand whether a patient is mentally disturbed or demon possessed. Anyone subject to the torment of demon possession might as a result be struggling with mental illness.
Richard Gallagher, a board-certified psychiatrist and professor of clinical psychiatry at New York Medical College, says he has personally encountered demonic possession and is convinced that possession is more widespread than anybody is willing to admit. A Washington Post article reads as follows:
Demonic Influence Begins in Small Steps
Subtle and incremental steps lead to demon possession. Today the entertainment industry is permeated with magic, witchcraft, demons and violence, a first step for some to desire to connect with the spirit world. From its beginnings, Hollywood has gradually caused the public to accept witches, magic and demons and even the idea of good witches. All this is in place of teaching our children Bible stories and good morals.
Starting decades ago, cartoons desensitized children with “friendly” ghosts and witches, and to this Disney movies have added all kinds of magic. Baby Boomers grew up with Casper the Friendly Ghost and progressed to TV shows like Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. Even before this we find Glenda, the good witch of the north in The Wizard of Oz.
Desensitized children became adults and watched with their children more witches and more magic — and finally today the result is a desensitized public, entertained by all sorts of magic, evil and violence daily, including vampires and werewolves. Hollywood adds romance to make it all very seductive and wrapped up in a shiny package. Today, we find the occult everywhere: on our screens, in bookstores, games and literature. The success of the Harry Potter books and movies has enticed generations of children to pursue magic and witchcraft and most disturbingly, to consider these things normal and commonplace. Even our education systems promote exploring this entertainment.
Tapping into Spirit Entities
Wiccans believe that when using psychic or spiritual powers they are tapping either into entities (i.e. gods, goddesses and spirit guides) or else into the universal power or force of all creation which they call “Universe.” The Christian’s primary responsibility is looking outside of our self to find the will of God. One does not find the will of God by asking the universe something. It is found through the lessons and principles He has provided for us in Scripture, which always give us powerful answers for both goodness and true spirituality.
“If the Lord wills” (James 4:15) is not directing the power of God in our lives; it is asking for the direction of the power of God in our lives. This is a big difference between the Wiccan approach and the Christian approach. Isn't it presumptuous to take for granted that we can access spiritual power for good just because we want to do good? Satan is much smarter than us. His bottom line is to REPLACE the majesty of God and the sacrifice of Jesus with whatever form of antichrist (in the place of Christ) he can create for the purpose of spiritual confusion and misdirection (1 John 2:18,22, 4:3; 2 John 1:7)
Ouija Boards – a Dangerous Game
Ouija boards, the popular Halloween board game patented in 1890 by the Kennard Novelty Company, can open spiritual doors that invite demonic spirits into the room. It became popular in the United States in the mid-19th century after so many people lost loved ones in the Civil War. Within a year of its patent, the company grew from one factory in Baltimore to two in Baltimore, two in New York, two in Chicago and one in London. By 1967, the patent was in the hands of toy company Parker Brothers and annual sales reached 2 million — more than Monopoly.
The premise of the Ouija board is that a living person can communicate with a dead person whose spirit will communicate back by spelling out answers on the board. Packaged as a spooky and fun board game, like a mouse trap, many children and adults have taken the bait and unwittingly become entrapped in demonic enticement leading to demonic possession. Adults, broken hearted with the loss of a loved one, use the game in hopes of communicating with a deceased relative. While someone using the board may not have the intention of calling a demonic spirit, the act of using the Ouija board is a form of divination and is hence forbidden by the Bible.
Shamanism
A practice related to witchcraft is Shamanism, another diversion away from worship of and obedience to God. Wikipedia states it is, “a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.”
In such a trance state, who is in control of the mind of the shaman? It is very dangerous to put oneself under the control of a spirit entity. Turning over the control of mind and will to an outside energy opens the door to demon possession.
Reiki Healing
Popular now among some in the alternative health community is Reiki Healing. According to the website reiki.org, “Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by ‘laying on hands’ and is based on the idea that an unseen life force energy flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's life force energy is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.”
In a book entitled, Basic Questions on Alternative Medicine, a corporate project by members of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1988), there is a short chapter on Reiki (pp. 61-63). Drawing information from that chapter we find that although Reiki claims to be an “ancient healing practice that Buddha (and Jesus) used,” all records of it were lost. It was supposedly rediscovered by Mikao Usui, a Zen Buddhist monk, in the mid-1800s “during a psychic experience.” Purportedly, details about lost aspects of the practice have “been revealed through channeling.” The authors say that a second-degree Reiki practitioner “learns about spirit guides and how to contact and use them in healing sessions” and that third degree Reiki masters give “complete control of healing sessions to their spirit guides.” Healing sessions seem to be based on the use of “life-energy” (i.e. ki, chi, or prana), which is directed from the practitioner into the patient’s body.
The authors of this chapter conclude by stating: “Reiki is antithetical to biblical Christianity. Channeling is a way of communicating with spirits to obtain information not otherwise accessible. It is denounced in the Bible as sorcery, mediumship, and Spiritism… (Leviticus 19:26, 31; 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:9-14).”
