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Paranormal Activity, Ghosts, & Demons

love4me said:
People are trying to convince me that they are real but I say they aren't. What does the bible say about it? I know of just 1 place in the bible where it talks about the man that was possessed with a demon and Jesus cast out the demon into the pigs. Can anyone give me any ideas on what is right and wrong?
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Just thought I would chime in with my two cents here. (You know, the "change" we were promised. lol, jk) People believe in ghosts, aliens, etc in a sub-conscience attempt to explain that which they normally couldn't explain. Something out of the ordinary happens that isn't immediately obvious or explainable and people immediately begin to make things up like ghosts, aliens, near death experiences, out of body experiences, etc. When in all actuality these situations have a perfectly reasonable explanation. For centuries people have made up stories like this. Vampires, were-wolves, etc. Demons and demonic possession I believe is real simply becuase of the occurences that you read about in the scriptures. But all of this holly wood stuff, just go ahead and flush it down the toilet where it belongs. When it comes to the human mind you reap what you sow. Garbage in, garbage out.
 
This is a very interesting topic. One where we may speculate a great deal without doing injustice. The original post however, was (Ithink) dealing with a simpler issue. Does paranormal experience take place? The spirits of the dead do not appear to be able to wander freely, according to many references that detail the eternal abode of these spirits. There is no Biblical teaching that indicates that departed souls haunt the living or anywhere in this world. There is, however ample information to prove that there are evil spirits that influence men against God. Their origin and nature is immaterial to this question. The important thing to remember is that in IJohn we are told "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world". Also note in Job 1 that the enemy could not go beyond the permission of God to afflict Job. Yes, there are evil spirits in the world, manifesting themselves in various ways, but we need not fear them, because of Jesus. I am persuaded that a genuine believer cannot be possessed by evil spirits, the Holy Spirit will not have those kinds of house guests. We may not be possessed, but we may be oppressed by evil spirits (a lot of human depression) but God has provided an escape threough Christ and the Holy Spirit's ministry. We may also be obsessed with evil spirits, focusing on them instead of the Lord, our choice, again the same escape is available. That there is spiritual warfare going on around us in the unseen realm would be foolish to deny, but we are victors through Christ. I may not agree in all points, but these two books by Frank Peretti give us a good understanding of whats going on around us. "Piercing the Darkness", "This Present Darkness". Never fear, we've read the last chapters of the Bible and we know who wins! :D
 
John Whitten said:
Never fear, we've read the last chapters of the Bible and we know who wins!
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SHHHHH!!! Careful and don't spoil it for those who haven't read it yet. lol, jk :D
 
I suppose I should share some more here. I usually do not try to spectacularize the demonic. I am not really interested in giving them glory. However, over the years I have been involved with the demonic quite profoundly. It all started when my first wife and I began to hear babies crying in another room when there were no babies there. This was in 1975. It then escalated into being attacked physically at night (long story). Well, it was discovered that I myself needed some serious deliverance. So, three pastors of three different church met with me and excised the demons. This was a very serious event and the story itself would make some of you not be able to sleep very well. After this event and a few more events, the Lord set me free, and the attacks completely stopped.

Over the next few years I put these events behind me. However, in 1981 three prophets prophesied over me that because God had done such a powerful work in my life that he was now about to position me in a place that would require me to deal with the demonic in peoples lives. In fact, he said quite clearly that I would be looking people in the white of their eyes and casting out the demon(s). Since my only experience with this stuff was when I was delivered, I didn't know what to think about all of this stuff. So, I placed it on the back burner and immediately forgot about it.

A few months later I was doing my regular ministry of visitation. This ministry was specifically towards those who had visited the church the previous Sunday. My partner and I went to visit a single mother who had a child. There was nothing unusual about the visit, but as usual, we left our phone numbers in case the visitor had any questions. So, two days later, this lady calls (it was now Saturday morning) in a panic and tells me that I need to come to her house right away because a neighbor of hers is in the house "who has spirits". I asked my first wife if she didn't mind coming with me to see what was going on over there. To make a long story short, the visit resulted in a very serious exercising experience (similar to the movie the exorcist). Not only was the prophecy fufilled that was spoken over me a few months earlier, God launched me into a ministry I really didn't want, but have enjoyed seeing people set free.

Since that time it would take a book to write all the various deliverance experiences I have been a part of (and believe me, I do not go seeking for them, but it seems that God has a way of placing me in the circumstances that require this ministry). From my experience, these "ghosts" are nothing more than demons impersonating loved ones (or others), and can only be properly dealt with through Scriptural means. One thing is for sure, because of Jesus Christ, we have the unlimited power to confront these hosts of evil eye to eye without fear. I just want to encourage all believers to "fear not"! You will be amazed how much power is in the Name of Jesus!
 
DaPastor,

Have you ever had anyone ticked because they wanted their demons back? The only guy actually kicked out of my church didn't say it aloud, but shortly before he gave his final outburst I dealt with a few things around his house (and I suspect some others did too, but as Baptists we don't talk about this kind of thing much) and instead of being pleased he was, well, not.
 
Great story Randy. Thanks for sharing it. In Western society confrontations of this outward nature as you describe are more rare. Very few people would doubt your stories at all if they had experience in 3rd world countries or places like India where the spirits tend to be more commonly overt rather than covert in their operations.

Thanks again for sharing.

Curtis
 
Tlaloc said:
DaPastor,

Have you ever had anyone ticked because they wanted their demons back? The only guy actually kicked out of my church didn't say it aloud, but shortly before he gave his final outburst I dealt with a few things around his house (and I suspect some others did too, but as Baptists we don't talk about this kind of thing much) and instead of being pleased he was, well, not.
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Hey,

Actually, I recall one time I cast out a demon from this man (and sometimes I will see them leave), and I watched it leave and then watched it jump right back in the man. It caught me off guard, so I asked the man if he desired for the demon to leave? To my astonishment, he replied "no"! I suppose some people enjoy the sin that is associated with a particular demon so much that they will put up with very reality of having one possess them in order to continue in their sin.
 
Curtis said:
Great story Randy. Thanks for sharing it. In Western society confrontations of this outward nature as you describe are more rare. Very few people would doubt your stories at all if they had experience in 3rd world countries or places like India where the spirits tend to be more commonly overt rather than covert in their operations.
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Hi Curtis,

They are certainly covert in American society, for sure. One unfortunate thing about having the gift of discernment of spirits is that sometimes I discern demonic spirits in people so unexpectedly that they actually startle me because I was just minding my own business. One time a couple invited me over to dinner. They had been attending the church I was pastoring for a few weeks, so I accepted the invitation. As soon as they opened the door to their apartment I realized that the wife had a very strong demon of fear inside her. Since it was a social situation, more than a ministry situation, I really didn't know how to handle it. The demon insided her knew that I had discerned that he was there, so he kept glaring at me through the lady's eyes. This frustrated me. What frustrated me even more is that this demon was mocking me because I was unwilling to deal with him in this kind of social situation. As the evening went on, I kept asking God to help me figure out a "polite" way of dealing with this filthy demon. After being there for a few hours I hadn't come up with a resolution to the problem. So, the couple walked me to the door. I stepped outside the front door, and was about to leave (with both husband and wife standing at the door), when it dawned on me that this was my opportunity. So, I asked the couple if they wouldn't mind if I said a prayer over them before I leave. They both agreed. At this moment I began praying. I then laid my hands on the forehead of the woman, and said, "In the Name of Jesus, demon of fear - LEAVE!". All of a sudden, she passes out, falls on the floor, while her husband watches in astonishment. She comes too immediately and they both begin asking me in complete amazement what just happened. I then explained the entire story with them. This was one occasion that I clearly witnessed the demon leave.
 
"John Whitten wrote:
these two books by Frank Peretti give us a good understanding of whats going on around us. "Piercing the Darkness", "This Present Darkness"."

In addition to the books suggested by Pastor John Whitten; I would also highly recommend "Lord Foulgrin's Letters" and "The Ishbane Conspiracy"...both written by Randy Alcorn. I have found that these books appeal to both adults and teenagers.
Blessings,
Fairlight
 
I've never believed in ghosts or in the dead reappearing..."BUT"..I will admit I have always found the account of King Saul having the witch of En Dor bring Samuel back from the dead to be perplexing. The written account in 1 Samuel 28 doesn't seem to indicate a hoax. 1Samuel 28:12 states that the witch "saw Samuel". It doesn't say that King Saul was able to see Samuel but in verse 15 it states that Samuel spoke to Saul.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this ?
Blessings,
Fairlight
 
Concerning demonization and the believer - a very balanced approach to this subject has been written by C. Fred Dickason, one time chairman of the theology department at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. It is called "Demon Possession & the Christian". His thesis, which mirrors my own, is that there is compelling evidence from the Bible, theology, and counseling, showing that Christians can indeed be affected by demon activity (or demonized). Pastors that miss this leave many believers struggling with their bondages for many years.

I remember vididly when a family began attending the church I pastor. They had left a local Foursquare church that they had been attending for years, but felt led to the church I was pastoring at the time. It was obvious to me that the head of the household was in demonic bondage, so I began to pray for him, and I began to meet with him in order to excise the demons out him. Since I regularly attended the city wide pastor prayer meetings, I happened to share with the family's previous pastor that this couple was attending the church I was pastoring, and I was conducting some deliverance sessions with the head of the household. This pastor was very offended about this event, and told me in no uncertain terms that this man was saved for many years, filled with the Holy Spirit, and although had some hard struggles with a particular sin from time to time in his life, he was, overall, a very faithful man to God and church and could not be demonized. So, instead of arguing about whether this man was demonized or not, I asked him to come to the deliverance session I was having that week. The pastor agreed! So, as soon as we arrived at the home, the pastor immediately sat down in front of the man I was ministering to and talked in much detail about his past repentance, salvation, and his commitment to following Christ. Afterwards, he looked at me and said there is no way this man has a demon. I said, ok, watch this: I said, "In the Name of Jesus Christ, I command the demon inside of ____________ to give me your name?" This man immediately slid off his chair, began talking in some demonic language, and began wiggling like a snake on the floor. This pastor was in utter shock! This event totally confronted his theology. He didn't know what to say. So, I merely asked him to join me in helping this man get set free from a bondage that he had been struggling with for years. He agreed, and we ministered to this man.
 
Fairlight said:
I've never believed in ghosts or in the dead reappearing..."BUT"..I will admit I have always found the account of King Saul having the witch of En Dor bring Samuel back from the dead to be perplexing. The written account in 1 Samuel 28 doesn't seem to indicate a hoax. 1Samuel 28:12 states that the witch "saw Samuel". It doesn't say that King Saul was able to see Samuel but in verse 15 it states that Samuel spoke to Saul.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this ?
Blessings,
Fairlight
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For all views in detail, I suggest this pdf:

http://gts.grace.edu/documents/Figart-S ... st-GTJ.pdf
 
1 Sam 28:12-14
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.

14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

Fairlight, that is a very perceptive observation and a good question. I have colored two phrases that, IMHO are pertinent to the issue. The witch had a reputation of producing supernatural or paranormal results or she wouldn't still be in business. Saul had gotten rid of most of the practitioners, so it's likely the frauds were all gone. However, this woman saw something she did not expect and "cried with a loud voice". She also saw what she described as "gods ascending out of the earth", not her normal experience. The witch also described what she saw sufficently to convince Saul that Samuel was there. I believe she had unusual results because God intervened, per Saul's request, to further cement God's judgement upon Saul. The witch didn't do this, God surprised her and she was scared. There are only a few other reported cases of someone temporarily rising from the dead, but not enough information to establish a precedent. What do you think, does this fly?
 
Yes sir, John ! It flies pretty well. It's actually the best response I've gotten on this topic, as I've posed this question a number of times over the years. :)
Blessings,
Fairlight
 
John Whitten said:
Fairlight said:
I've never believed in ghosts or in the dead reappearing..."BUT"..I will admit I have always found the account of King Saul having the witch of En Dor bring Samuel back from the dead to be perplexing. The written account in 1 Samuel 28 doesn't seem to indicate a hoax. 1Samuel 28:12 states that the witch "saw Samuel". It doesn't say that King Saul was able to see Samuel but in verse 15 it states that Samuel spoke to Saul.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this ?
Blessings,
Fairlight
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1 Sam 28:12-14
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.

14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

Fairlight, that is a very perceptive observation and a good question. I have colored two phrases that, IMHO are pertinent to the issue. The witch had a reputation of producing supernatural or paranormal results or she wouldn't still be in business. Saul had gotten rid of most of the practitioners, so it's likely the frauds were all gone. However, this woman saw something she did not expect and "cried with a loud voice". She also saw what she described as "gods ascending out of the earth", not her normal experience. The witch also described what she saw sufficently to convince Saul that Samuel was there. I believe she had unusual results because God intervened, per Saul's request, to further cement God's judgement upon Saul. The witch didn't do this, God surprised her and she was scared. There are only a few other reported cases of someone temporarily rising from the dead, but not enough information to establish a precedent. What do you think, does this fly?
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I agree with John Whitten, as well.
My theory is that "Naturally" speaking, men can only die once and then go on to await judgement or whatever God has in store for them (Hebrews 9:27). "Supernaturally"-speaking (or with supernatural intervention) this does not apply. Here's another example of people rising from the dead and interacting with others.

During the moments surrounding Jesus' death and resurrection, this is reported:

Matthew 27:51-53 51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
 
How would one know or suspect of having a demon inside on them? I keep having lucid dreams of some presence standing over me. once I had a dream a black silhouette of a man was holding me down. Do you think that there is a possibility of something in my household or just a product of to much thinking on the subject. I wake up terrified.
 
love4me said:
How would one know or suspect of having a demon inside on them? I keep having lucid dreams of some presence standing over me. once I had a dream a black silhouette of a man was holding me down. Do you think that there is a possibility of something in my household or just a product of to much thinking on the subject. I wake up terrified.
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I've experienced similar things when I was a kid and it wasn't just in my dreams either. I knew in my case that my experiences definitely involved something bad because I wasn't the only one at the house I was at who experienced it. It was definitely bizarre and I tried to test the experience to see if what I was seeing was really there, and I couldn't rule it out with any natural/normal explanation, so it was some bad spirit.


I don't think there is always a clear way to know if what you're experiencing is a demon or if it's self-induced by your fears or worries on this matter. I think asking a pastor or asking and praying to God about it could reveal an answer. One thing to do is not fearfully worry about it, because fear can add fuel to the fire in this case. My problem gradually went away as I began to lessen my fear to where I feared no more. and pray and also having my grandma and others pray for me. Discuss this with fellow Christians and your husband and ask each of them to pray for you. It very well may be just a nightmare that are some times caused by you having fearful thoughts, especially having those thoughts as the last thought right before you doze off to sleep but ask those people for counsel and prayer anyways.
 
love4me said:
How would one know or suspect of having a demon inside on them? I keep having lucid dreams of some presence standing over me. once I had a dream a black silhouette of a man was holding me down. Do you think that there is a possibility of something in my household or just a product of to much thinking on the subject. I wake up terrified.
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Hello,

From my experience, if someone is having regular negative dreams, they may be demonized. Because if one is totally set free, they are TOTALLY set free. In other word, once I went through deliverance, all the negative dreams went away. If, on the other hand, one is experiencing a negative dream every six months, then it is more than likely just a demonic attack.

Concerning things in the household causing attacks, I have found that most of that is superstition - unless the item was specifically related to acts of sinful behavior. For example, if one was being plagued with getting high, and they were once drug attacks, yet, they still have crack pipes in the house, etc..., part of their freedom will require them to get rid of every drug paraphernalia. For those who have never had that problem, these items wouldn't cause any demonic activity, in and of themselves.

If you do not know a pastor that has experience with deliverance, you can pray for your own deliverance. Here is a site that can help you walk through this: http://www.greatbiblestudy.com/self-deliverance.php

I tend to stay away from "deliverance ministries", although God uses me to help people get set free often. The reason being is that much of what I see is a bunch of super-spiritual mystical nonsense. So, I probably wouldn't advocate many things on the website I am pointing you too, but at least they help people get set free. Besides, Jesus never called anyone to the singular ministry of deliverance. He called all of us to make disciples, and although making disciples sometimes requires that we are involved with deliverance, it is only one part of the big picture of kingdom building.
 
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