I encourage you to read The Surprising Origin of Demons: What Are Demons, Part 1 and Why Didn't Jesus Explain Demons? What Are Demons, Part 2, before reading this article.
Let me state at the beginning that what I am going to share with you is slightly more speculative than the previous blogs, simply because science and theology are still exploring the implications of both fresh perspectives as well as the impact of quantum physics in understanding the universe. We are, to say the least, going through major shifts in our frame of reference.
Better tools and access for understanding Greek and Hebrew have helped many people, for instance, slough off the idea of hell as a place of eternal torment by God. That one idea is creating major ramifications in the religious "church" world as organizations try to keep their organizations in tact, while the average person can look up that topic and get information about hell and history surrounding it with nothing more than the stroke of a key on the internet.
WHAT IS DEMONIC?
So if you are looking for definitive absolutes here, then you may be disappointed. This is partially so because a vast number of things that we have attributed to "demonic" activity simply aren't. For instance, we suppose that if cabinet doors swing open and things fall off the walls or plates jump off shelves... it must be a demon in the house. Yet, the truth is we never find these things associated with demons anywhere in the Bible. In fact, demons are only associated with people experiencing sickness or mental disease or occasionally seemingly superhuman strength.
Paul Bishop on Facebook wrote this...
I'm told that Yoga is sinful because it opens us up to the demonic gods of Hinduism.
Let’s suggest for a moment that I believe this.
Weightlifting. Why would that be okay without being open to the spirit of Hercules? Wasn’t he known for strength? As were countless from other pantheons.
Let’s see.. jogging and running. Shall we talk about Hermès?
And then there’s the Zumba and various forms of dancing. Zeus! Bet ya didn’t know Zeus was the patron Greek god of dancing!
But why stop at working out? Let’s look to music and arts! Apollo!
So guys. I guess we can’t really do anything at all, due to connection to the demonic as it is everywhere.
One could be afraid of living in America because Thursday is named after the Greek god Thor, and doing anything on Thor's-Day may open me up to a demonic spirit!
We also associate things like levitation, psychic phenomenon like knowing the future or knowing the past of a person, out of body travel, etc, as demonic. Yet, throughout both Scripture and Church history we find those exact things happening to those who confessed Christ.
Saint Francis of Assisi is recorded as having been "suspended above the earth, often to a height of three, and often to a height of four cubits" (around 1.3 to 1.8 m). St. Alphonsus Liguori, when preaching at Foggia, was lifted before the eyes of the whole congregation several feet from the ground. Liguori is also said to have had the power of bilocation.
In the Orthodox tradition St. John the Wonderworker (1896-1966) was said to be levitating while in prayer, an individual witnessed this while checking in on him while the Saint was in prayer. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_and_levitation)
People like Ezekiel, John and Jesus experienced what might be called out of body experiences. Jesus levitated (as much as we don't like to use that word, it is what happened) in Acts 1 as he "ascended" into the clouds. John heard a voice on the island but heard "come up here" into the spiritual realm. His body was on earth, but his "spirit man" was in the heavenly realm.
We have all heard the stories of mothers who suddenly with some otherworldly strength lifted their cars to save their babies. We don't think they are possessed of demons right? Nor were they necessarily Christian.
Let's extend this with further examples. There seem to be clear Mosaic teaching that necromancy (talking to or calling up the dead) is forbidden, as was astrology. Of course, so was shellfish! But they were not told why as much as they were commanded to not participate.
Yet, we find that the stars themselves were set in their order and design to speak a message and the constellations literally tell the story of the Gospel. Abraham was not merely asked to notice the number of the stars, but to pay attention to its message. (Check out this powerful message I shared on Youtube called The Gospel in the Stars).
Saul, for instance, scared and alone, sought a medium to call up the spirit/soul of Samuel the prophet from the dead, and actually spoke to him. Fast forward to the NT and we find Jesus speaking to Moses and Elijah, and the author of Hebrews telling them to at least figuratively pay attention to the great cloud of witnesses who had gone before them. If you think about it, when you pray to Jesus are you not talking to one who died and went to heaven?
Maybe you haven't been to as many funerals as I have, and heard sincere stories of people who saw their beloved grandmother appear to them briefly immediately after death. Other's tell of being visited in a dream and communicating with the loved one who died. The stories are too numerous to discount as fantasy or the conjured halucinatin of a needy distrought person. Many of the thousands of people who had near death experiences will tell you of meeting their dead family members in the heavenly realm before resuscitating.
What Bible teachers will often say is that when God is the author of it, then it may be ok, if he initiates it and orchestrates it. Otherwise, it may be "demonic".
But is there another perspective here that we are missing? Could it be that the problem was never about any of the things that we call "demonic", (though the Bible never uses that word to describe them). Maybe all along, the real problem was without Christ the perspective would be skewed. Maybe human ability is far greater than we imagine and the spiritual realms could be too confusing, leading to wrong conclusions about God and the universe without the guidance of the Truth. It is not that there was a dark source. It was that there was darkened understanding.
What if Peter was right and the Spirit has been poured out on ALL flesh now? What if what John said of our time is true? Revelation 21:3. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying “Behold— the dwelling of God is with mankind. And He will dwell with them. And they themselves will be His peoples. And God Himself with them will be their God." (DLNT). God now indwells all humanity! We are all children of God, even if some don't realize it. (See Is God the Father of Us All).
As a sort of former Charismatic/Pentecostal I was shocked to discover that there were people in other denominations that had not experienced the "Baptism of the Spirit" but they experienced what we call the gifts of the Spirit. Much more enlightening was discovering good loving people who didn't believe in God, nor practice the "occult" and yet healed others, or had prophetic dreams (many "unbelievers" in the Bible had prophetic dreams).
What if the "gifts" of the Spirit aren't "counterfeited" by a "demon", but rather they are inadequate and ignorant experiences that are universal to all humanity?
I say that all for this reason... demonizing everything only drives it further away from the truth. There are no demons to fear, so once you start seeing through that lens it will make it easier for us to understand "what goes bump in the night" doesn't originate in an uncontrollable dark spiritual fallen angel. Demons were mistakenly believed to be the spirits of dead people, both good and bad. So then what of wild modern experiences?
A Non Demonic Source?
So then what IS the source of some of the wild, seemingly dark experiences? That is so broad that books would need to be written I suppose. But more importantly, what if we have neglected the simplest answer to why things move, fall off the walls, etc.? What if you are the cause? That's right. What if your beliefs in demons, darkness and fear actually set things in motion in the spiritual-physical realm? What if you are more powerful than you thought and are doing nothing but shadow boxing yourself?
I know from personal experience that when we quit believing demons were the source of the problems in our home those things just stopped. I believe it was OUR fear and focus that caused those things to happen.
Don't believe that's possible? I want to share a really interesting documented scientific secular study that was done a number of years ago called the International Peace Project. It was an experiment that was done during the war between Lebanon and Israel that began in 1982. It was during that time that researchers trained a group of people to “feel” peace in the bodies while believing that it was already present within them, rather than simply thinking about it in their minds or praying for peace to come. Remember these people comprise a diversity of religious and secular participants.
At appointed times on specific days of the month, these people were positioned throughout war-torn areas of the Middle East. During the window of time when they were feeling peace, terrorist activities ceased, the rate of crimes against people went down, the number of emergency room visits declined, and the incidence of traffic accidents dropped. When the participants feelings changed, the statistics were reversed. This study confirmed the earlier findings: when a small percentage of the population achieved peace within themselves, it was reflected in the world around them.
The experiments took into account the days of the week, holidays, and even lunar cycles; and the data was so consistent that the researchers were able to identify how many people are needed to share the experience of peace before it’s mirrored in their world. The number is the square root of one percent of the population. This formula produces figures that are smaller than we might expect. For example in a city of one million people, the number is about 100. In a world of 6 billion, it’s just under 8000. This calculation represents only the minimum needed to begin the process. The more people involved in feeling peace, the faster the effect is created. The study became known as the International Peace Project in the Middle East and the results were eventually published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution in 1988. (p 47, 48, The Spontaneous Healing of Belief).
That which is possible for good... can it not be possible for evil... through human beings, not demons?! So maybe those things happening in your home wasn't a demon after all!???
WHAT WAS JESUS DOING THEN?
In the last blog I suggested one of the reasons Jesus didn't explain "demons" or debunk their meaning was because he was simply demonstrating his superiority to their superstitions, just like he did with Hades.
But what WAS happening as people were healed and mental illness cured? A single answer won't fit every single situation, but for just a moment I want to ask you to shift your perspective. As is commonly known today, everything is made of energy. Down to the smallest quantum particles, the entirety of existence is composed of different levels and frequencies of energy. Did you know that scientists can measure the electromagnetic field of the heart many feet away from the body?
This is not some New Age thought. It is nothing new to Chinese medicine. Some 3000-7000 years ago they developed exercises designed to help the monks gain back physical strength since they had become weak from only doing mediation. These exercises were designed to move and engage all the organs and joints in the body. But at the same time, they understood "chi", kind of what we call energy, could be moved through the body in ways that appropriate energy would bring healing or help sustain healthy organs. (Interesting side note... they see the human body as the temple that join both heaven and earth together.). Those exercises are called Gi-Gong (chi-gung).
Science has since demonstrated that each organ vibrates at different frequencies and in addition that our thoughts and emotions can generate energy signatures that can get trapped in different organs of the body. I suggest reading Feelings Buried Alive Never Die if you want to expand your understanding. In addition, you have heard the stories of people who had organs donated to them and then started having the memory flashes of the other people. Memories, as energetic signatures can be stored in the organs of the body.
There are thousands of stories of modern day healings that happen as a result of simply doing simple regular qi-gong exercises and moving energy through the body.
So what happens when the perfect energy source of the Holy Spirit flows through the pure heart and intention of Jesus Christ? Negative, old energy causing sickness, disease and disorders are suddenly healed by a word, by a touch, by love.
I did an experiment with someone a couple of months back. The woman had pain in her knee, so in this case instead of praying for her or commanding pain to leave. I simply held my hand above her knee and slowly and repeatedly moved my hand as if I was washing her knee with the energy coming from my hand. A few moments later, she said not only was the pain gone but she felt it moving from her knee downward and out of her body in the same motion I was making.
I am confident that when belief, intention and the power we possess are out of order it can cause us all kinds of dysfunction both physical and mental. According to Prevention Magazine:
It is estimated that 90 percent of all physical problems have psychologial roots. That may sound like a gross exaggeration. In fact, it's probaby a conservative estimate. A growing body of evidence indicates that virtually every ill that can befall the body- from acne to arthritis, headaches to heart disease, cold sores to cancer- is incfluenced, for better or worse, by our emotions. (Quoted in Feelings Buried Alive Never Die, from The Complete Guide to Your Emotions and Your health, p 563 by Emrika Padus and the editors of Prevention Magazine).
Karol K. Truman goes on to quote another source saying,
The second most important prenatal influence is the father's attitude toward the pregnancy and his commitment to the relationship with the mother. One investigator has estimated from his studies that women trapped in a stormy marriage run 'a 237% greater risk of bearing a psychologically or physically damaged child than a woman in a secure, nurturing relationship'- putting her child at a greater risk than would many physical illnesses, smoking, or very heavy manual labor." (Mysteries of Pre-natal Consciousness, by Sarah Belle Dougherty, Sunrise Magazine, February/March 1990)
What does all this mean?
I am suggesting these tentative conclusions:
1. Jesus' energy/Spirit through word and touch was what healed/drove out the unhealthy energy no matter what the problem. Deep seated feelings buried within organs of the body or the long embrace of emotional states that affect the body and mind, are healed/made whole by the Spirit, intention, love and belief Jesus walked in. Sometimes what people "perceive" as leaving another person is simply energy, that is all.
2. "Supernatural" experiences don't arise from demons, though participants may believe it to be so since they were trained to see through that lens. They arise from our (or someone else's) own power influencing the environment around us, for both good or bad. Human, but powerful.
3. If you want to know about Legion, then check out this blog Love, Demons and Mental Illness where Jesus essentially healed the mind of the man knowing exactly what he needed.
I realize we have not tackled things like "unclean spirits" or supposed "fallen angels" or Nephilim yet. We will.
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SATAN, DEVIL AND DEMONS? THIS WAS A POWERFUL 3 HOUR TEACHING ON THE SUBJECT.
Are you SURE you know who/what satan, devils and demons are?
Have you been involved in "spiritual warfare" movements where the more you focus on the devil, the more warfare you actually get or where there is more talk to the devil than Jesus?
I'm not an outsider, pointing the finger, but an insider who has been through all kinds of "spiritual warfare" over the years. From extensive study, personal experience and insight into this beautiful gospel, I want to share with you THREE HOURS of material that was presented by me at a recent event.
What if you have been shadow-boxing an enemy that doesn't even exist?