![]() This happened after he had repeatedly disobeyed God. Perhaps the best example we have is King Saul who was attacked by a demon (1 Samuel 16). In one sense, we don’t really know, as the Bible does not often discuss what a person was like before they were demonized. Thus, if one does not want to translate daimonizo as “demonized,” I would use the word “oppressed.” Oppression, in contrast, points to the harm and forceful influence on a person and uses a term that is more familiar in our world. Also, the term “possession” makes it sound like Satan “owns” the person as opposed to him either having control or afflicting a person. While discussing “possession” and “oppression,” I would note that I think the term “oppression” is better than “possession” to translate “demonized.” This is partly because “possession” conjures up all sorts of images in our culture that may not be helpful and could be misleading. Therefore, it may be helpful to use different words to capture the idea that there are different levels of their effectiveness and attack - but the exact terms are not necessarily tied directly to Scripture. However, it does seem plausible that there are different levels of demonic activity, as we see the Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 13) was attacked by a messenger of Satan, but Satan is said to have filled Judas and Ananias’ hearts (Acts 5). Therefore, my conclusion is that a distinction between possession and oppression is not found in Scripture. These terms describe the same situation in Matthew 8:28 (demonized), Mark 5:2 (with an unclean spirit) and Luke 8:27 (had demons), so once again, these do not seem to reflect different ways demons work. Since these two words (possessed and oppressed) are attempts to describe the same situation, the Bible does not seem to reflect a difference made between “oppression” and “possession.” We find other terms in the Bible to describe someone influenced by a demon as someone could be said to “have a demon,” “have an unclean spirit,” or “be afflicted” by a demon. For example, the word is translated in Matthew 4:24 as “demon-possessed” by the New International Version (NIV) but as “oppressed by a demon” by the English Standard Version (ESV). These two words are used to translate a Greek word ( daimonizo) that is a bit difficult to render into English (the most literal term would be “demonized”). Is there a difference between being “possessed” or being “oppressed” by demons? I also wonder if there were so many demonic encounters in Jesus’s ministry because Satan saw the Son of God on earth and increased his attacks and assaults. Therefore, to have a lot of demon activity may make people ask questions and be open to spiritual concerns – other tactics prove more effective. Perhaps demon activity happens less often today because Satan has already lured most Americans into thinking there is no supernatural world. Therefore, this tactic might be one that Satan used in his attacks on God’s kingdom more frequently at that time just as people have used different weapons in wars over the years, his tactics might change. ![]() That said, we also see a lot more of this activity at the time of Jesus than in the Old Testament with minimal discussion about it in the New Testament epistles that give instruction to the church living between Jesus’s first coming and second coming. Nothing in the Bible says that Satan would stop working this way, so it would seem that this phenomenon does continue today and I believe there are credible accounts of such activity by many people. While I have written blog posts in the post on spiritual warfare, the origin of Satan and demons, their activities, what Scripture says about “possession” and demonization, and how we engage in this battle, I decided to study further and tackle some of the most frequently asked questions over the next couple of blog posts.ĭoes demon “possession” as seen in the Bible still happen? ![]() ![]() Our sermon series called “ Pushing Back the Darkness” has prompted people to ask a variety of questions about demons and other aspects of spiritual warfare. ![]()
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