Where Do Dispossessed Demons Go
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The devil has possessed no one.
Not yet anyway. If he had he would have been dispossessed a long time ago and out of the picture now.
You see, all dispossessed spirits are confined to the prison of hell until the day of judgment and while confined they no longer have access to humans or their environment (Jude 1:6).
So the devil has possessed no one yet. He’s still “going to and fro in the earth, and…walking up and down in it.” He leaves the “possession” of humans to his demonic minions.
But more importantly – and this is a huge observation – because dispossession puts demons out of commission permanently, I seriously doubt possession is a key part of Satan’s strategy these days.
Since all “confined” demons pose no threat, each dispossession represents a loss in man power. Since he lost a large number of demons during the ministries of Christ and the Apostles he has probably rethought that approach. “Possession” is probably not his method of choice these days.
And demons can be dispossessed or neutralized in more than one way: Read more
The Devil Can’t Do That
Well, actually he can – he really does have that kind of power – but there are very good reasons to think he can’t use all that power at will.
The actions of “demons” are attributed to the “devil” in this post since demons follow his lead – making him master – and always act under his authority. Because demons only represent the devil’s agenda it isn’t wrong to say the devil is responsible for their actions.
The Devil’s Names
Unfortunately, while the Devil is not a mythological character – he is a very real person – there are many mythological ideas floating around about him. His many names contribute to the confusion:
- Serpent – stemming from the devil’s embodiment of a snake in the Garden of Eden. The word is associated with stealth and deceitfulness for obvious reasons.
- Beelzebub – literal meaning: “Lord of the flies” but was originally the name of the deity worshiped by the Philistines. In the NT the Pharisees used the name as a clear reference to the devil when they illogically accused Christ of using Beelzebub’s power to cast out demons. Christ’s response ratified their meaning while exposing their bad logic.
- Devil – from the Greek “diabolos” meaning slanderer or acccuser. As the devil, he is completely cynical. He views everyone the way he sees himself – only bad. Psychologically, slandering and accusing others makes him feel better about himself but it has no judicial value even when the accusations are true. He cannot condemn anyone.
- Satan – this name speaks of his adversarial nature. He obstructs and opposes those who faithfully serve God’s purposes. There are several instances of this in the Bible.
- Murderer – a moniker given by Jesus in John 8:44 indicating his malicious intent from the beginning. However, while murder is clearly his intent and he definitely has the power to murder anyone at will he is not allowed to do so.
- Liar and father of lies – another name given by Christ and the characterization is reflected in his many interactions with God and humanity starting with Adam and Eve in the Garden.
- Belial – meaning worthless. There are no direct references clearly identifying the devil as Belial. This term is used to refer to people who by their own choices have adopted the mindset of the devil and by that choice become the children or sons of Belial. But since the people so referenced are the worst kind – idolators, rapists, murderers – it isn’t a stretch to suggest Belial is in fact the devil.
Note: Every person is born with a sinful nature and therefore vulnerable to his influence but not every person who commits a terrible sin like murder becomes his child. Those who do commit such sins and regret it CAN still become God’s child. Those who, by personal choice, commit to murderous intent are the ones who become officially the devil’s child.
- Prince of this world – Jesus called him this three times in John (12:31, 14:30 & 16:11). Similarly Paul referred to him as the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit that works in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2) and as the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
- Dragon – while “serpent” depicts the more quiet, subtle, apparently harmless expressions of Satan’s destructive nature “dragon” symbolizes the more fearful, powerful expressions of his ill will. This name is used only once (Revelations 12) and is associated more with his response to end time events than his everyday activities. As time runs out he becomes desperate and expresses himself in more violent ways.
- Apollyon – the Greek form of the Hebrew word “Abaddon” which literally means “place of destruction” otherwise known as “the abyss” or “bottomless pit.” As king of this pit Satan was awarded the name Apollyon (Revelation 9:1-11) thus associating the place and a person with destruction.
- Lucifer – of all the names this one is the most misunderstood. The Latin meaning, “light bearer,” and English rendering, “morning star,” speak of beauty and glory. The original meaning of the name characterized the state in which Satan was first created but with his reversal of character has taken on a sinister feel.
His original created state, described in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-18, depicts artistic ability (light, color and music), wisdom and strength. Although these passages are referring directly to the King of Babylon (Isaiah) and the King of Tyre (Ezekiel) there are clear indications that another personality is being defined.
Isaiah’s king fell from “heaven” and Ezekiel’s was in the Garden of Eden. Either the devil is being referenced or these human kings have supernatural powers. And since both these kings were quite evil – and were destroyed because of it – and the devil does have political influence it isn’t difficult to see him as the personality behind the personalities.
But, there is a lot of overlap in the characterizations of these names. They don’t each represent
uniquely different qualities and taken together they describe him mostly as the ugly person he is.
They aren’t all about supernatural power.
Yes, some of the names suggest powers that are well beyond the scope of human ability but taken in context those powers operate with limitations. No where is he ascribed the power to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants to whomever he wants. Read more
Does Jesus Want You To Be Happy?
Filed under: Bible Study, Christian Living, Sermon on the Mount
Does Jesus really care about our happiness?
Yes He does and there is no place where He makes the point more clearly than in the first part of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12).
Unfortunately, what people say about the beatitudes doesn’t always convey “happy.”
Even the word “Beatitude” is a bit misleading. It has a ceremonial ring to it and casts the pall of religious sludge over teachings Jesus intended to be refreshing.
Not only is the word not found in the Bible, it is stretching the point to call it English. It is a transliteration of the Latin word “beati” – meaning blessed or happy – and, to my knowledge has no other use other than referencing the first part of Jesus’ Sermon. Google it for yourself and see.
No doubt the word is still used today because clerics popularized it and their intent was anything but clarity.
Generally speaking all religions, including Christianity, are not known for showing a happy face but believe it or not this word actually means “supreme blessedness or happiness” (The Free Online Dictionary ). Usual interpretations convey everything but…
Take for example the following statement by John Gill:
All mankind are spiritually poor; they have nothing to eat that is fit and proper; nor any clothes to wear, but rags; nor are they able to purchase either; they have no money to buy with; they are in debt, owe ten thousand talents, and have nothing to pay; and in such a condition, that they are not able to help themselves. The greater part of mankind are insensible of this their condition; but think themselves rich, and increased with goods: there are some who are sensible of it, who see their poverty and want, freely acknowledge it, bewail it, and mourn over it; are humbled for it, and are broken under a sense of it; entertain low and mean thoughts of themselves; seek after the true riches, both of grace and glory; and frankly acknowledge, that all they have, or hope to have, is owing to the free grace of God.
This is Mr. Gill’s explanation of “poor in spirit” which was the first point Jesus made in His sermon. No disrespect intended but where’s the “happy?” I don’t even get a warm fuzzy after reading those remarks.
The sad part is many others sound just like him. There are minor differences in wording but the spirit is the same. Read more
Eye Witnesses To Heaven – Are They Genuine?
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There are two categories of people that refuse to believe eye witness reports of heaven.
One is the atheist-type who rejects any idea of an afterlife that includes heaven and God.
But, since atheists have very few standard beliefs and they suggest so many different afterlife possibilities it would take too long to consider their ideas.
We will save them and their concepts for another post.
The other category of individual who refuses to accept any eye witness reports of heaven is the conservative Christian. A few passages in the Bible seem to stand in the way so they approach the topic incredulously, intending to discredit the idea.
There are, of course, all kinds of so called death experience tales being pushed, many of which are strange and unusual to say the least but there are also reasons to expect temporary glimpses of heaven on the odd occasion.
Heaven is never given geographic coordinates but we know it isn’t far away. Paul said to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, so our last breath on earth is the doorway to heaven and the transition is instantaneous.
The after-life is so close we shouldn’t be surprised visions of heaven or hell overlap our last minuets in this world.
Rather than ignore the subject and leave it open for shady suggestions we should explore the topic thoroughly from a biblical perspective. A fair look at the key passages may clarify the issue. Read more
Heaven Assumed In The Bible
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Some people don’t accept heaven as a reality. They have never seen it, touched it or visited so they choose to reject the idea.
But, the reality of heaven is not based on personal experience. Like the outer edge of the universe, a place no one has seen or visited, there is good reason to believe it exists. I’ve never been to either place but I have no doubt they are real.
And just like places closer to home, e.g., the north and south poles or the top of Mt. Everest, I have never been to or touched these places but I do believe the people who’ve been there and taken the pics.
Well, heaven is just like these locations. I haven’t been there yet either but others have and some have told us about it. The most recent case was four year old Colton Burpo whose story was told in Heaven Is For Real
Colton, however, wasn’t the first to talk about visiting heaven. The Bible mentions several who had similar experiences:
- Jesus came down from heaven and returned to heaven and while here He referred to it often.
- Paul, in one of his near death experiences visited heaven.
- John, who wrote the Book of Revelation, was transported to heaven and described a number of things he saw there.
- Stephen had a vision of heaven while being stoned to death.
- And following the completion of the Bible many martyrs had the same experience.
- Many others even at the threshold of natural death speak of heavenly visions only they can see.
Going further back in history, the Old Testament tells us:
- Enoch and Elijah bypassed death and were both transported directly into the presence of God, heaven.
- Jacob saw angels descending and ascending a ladder that reached down from heaven, implying that it isn’t very far off.
- Isaiah and Ezekiel both recorded visions of heaven.
So the concept is well established in the Bible and even though it is referred to as the third heaven – the first one being earth’s atmosphere and the second outer space – it obviously is very near. Some have crossed over and come back and several more have seen it.
Heaven is described as having physical dimensions but its proximity isn’t calculated only in geographical terms or hard measurements. It’s much closer than you might think. Read more
Tim Pepper - Beautiful Frustration