Cast Out, Rebuked, Commanded.

Matt 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him (((JESUS))) many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick

Luk 9:42  And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father. 

Act 16:18  ...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

Cast out.

Rebuked.

Commanded in Jesus' name.

No where do we find in our God's word long drawn out examples of exorcising demons.  We are told this--

Mar 9:17  And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 

Mar 9:18  And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. 

Mar 9:19  He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. 

Mar 9:20  And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 

Mar 9:21  And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 

Mar 9:22  And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 

Mar 9:23  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 

Mar 9:24  And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 

Mar 9:25  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 

Mar 9:26  And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 

Mar 9:27  But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. 

Mar 9:28  And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 

Mar 9:29  And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. 

The last two verses here- the disciples wanted to know why they couldn’t cast this particular evil spirit out of the one possessed. This spirit was deaf and dumb- no talking, no speaking and we know for a fact from other passages on demon possession that some who are possessed have the demons speak through the one possessed, but not this one.  This evil spirit tried to kill the one it possessed, not all of them do. The evil spirts, the legion of them in those possessed in another instance inhabited their humans for a long time without attempting to kill them. Yes, the evil spirits caused them harm and gave them great strength and made their lives wretched, but it didn't attempt to kill them or else they would have succeeded, these were men near tombs, not under the protection of a loving father.  The boy brought to Jesus who the evil spirit tried to throw into fire and drown in the water was only saved because he was watched by his loving family and kept as safe as possible.  Evil spirits obviously can be of various sorts- various kinds.  Some are rebuked and cast out instantly, others only by prayer and fasting- the fasting indicating there is a length of time involved.

So, how does one know what kind of demon is possessing someone, if they know at all a demon is possessing someone?

Because we do not HAVE the ability to know concretely, beyond doubt if someone is possessed today due to the many scientific revelations of the numerous mental diseases that a person can have, what are we to do?  It's extremely hard to believe in demon possession over let's say- schizophrenia, or multiple personalities and the like.

We've all, or I should say, some of us have seen movies about demon possession - there is the famed movie classic that seemed to start a slew of copycats- 'The Exorcist'- and the details seeming step by step the discovery of a child possessed by a demon and her eventual release through exorcism in which a person dies as they try to free the child of the demon. It's very sensationalized. Since then there have been numerous movies, some even filmed as documentaries based on supposed true events. The horrors of one possessed, the trail and tribulation of trying to get them free from possession all depicted before cameras allowing people glimpses into something that may or may not be real.

I believe demon possession is a real thing because I believe the Bible, because I believe Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior and He believed in demon possession.

However, I don’t know how to determine true demon possession verses mental illness.

I do know this--

'Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.'

When Jesus returns for His people many are going to tell Him that they cast out devils in His name. These many will be told by Jesus that He never knew them, they will be told to depart from Jesus, they will be told they are workers of iniquity.   All the while these workers of iniquity will be under the impression they belong to Jesus, they are living a life of a lie.

Prophesying, casting out demons, doing wonderful works…. These are things we need to be leery of, because Satan would have us caught up in the sensational, caught up in the counterfeit spiritual power.

More on this tomorrow by the will of God, by the grace and mercy of our LORD and SAVIOR, all through HIS love, HIS guiding, HIS truth. Please, Father, keep me from all evil! Guide me, please! I believe, LORD, help thou mine unbelief!