Can demons possess humans?


Demons Possess Humans

The Bible teaches that demons can possess humans. There are many references in the Bible that show people were possessed by evil angels (Matthew 9:32-33; 12:22; 17:18; Mark 5:1-20; 7:26-30; Luke 4:33-36; Luke 22:3; Acts 16:16-18). Those who were possessed by the angels of darkness exhibited different behaviors like being deaf, dumb, blind, sick, depressed, mentally sick…etc.

But Jesus had authority over all the evil angels and He cast them out. “Many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word” (Matthew 8:16). Even Jesus’ followers were given the authority to cast evil angels out. Jesus declared, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).

Evil angels cannot randomly control anyone, an individual has to first open certain avenues for the evil angels to gain access. Such avenues include being involved in sin, the occult, witchcraft, and other evil practices (through literature, TV, board games, drugs, music, internet, eastern religions, immorality…etc.). By opening these doors to the spirit world, someone can get attacked, harassed or even possessed by the dark angels.

To stop these demonic activities, a person needs to repent of his sins, command the evil spirits to leave in Jesus’ name, and close the channels that introduced these evil spirits in the first place. We have the following assurance from God: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Submitting means walking in God’s way and “Abstain[ing] from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

To maintain this victory, the believer needs to daily abide in the Lord through the study of the Word and prayer. Jesus promised, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). And He added: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19; Mark 6:7). And the Savior affirmed, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

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In His service,
BibleAsk Team

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