Do you believe someone can be demonically possessed? Are drugs the gateway to possession?

[Mateo1041]

My wife and I adopted 2 children from Ukraine recently. One time when we were out walking in Kharkiv there was this guy dressed in a long black trench coat. He was walking very slowly, head down and arms extended as if he was ready to embrace someone, and yet I felt eyes on us. It was creepy enough that I moved us as far away as possible as we passed him and I even kept looking back once we had passed. He'd also stop completely at random, stand on his tip toes, and just freeze completely for minutes at a time. We felt a lot of evil in Ukraine, but this instance really had us off guard.

 

[rockytopva]

We are being invaded from outer space!

 

[Mateo1041]

You are the second one to accuse me of this in this thread. See post #41 for my response.

I don't see post numbers on my phone, but I'd think it really unfortunate if someone is giving out misleading info on a Christian forum, especially to young people and those with a genuine interest in the Bible. Especially in this day and age when God's Word becomes a salad bar to pick and choose from based on our own sinful desires and bias. So what do you think of this Jesus? What do you think of God and the Bible?

 

[smithed64]

Jesus said there was Demons. Was he a liar? I suggest you reread the Gospels. What happened to them?

Lost Girl,
What farout posted. Is the truth.
Continue to pray and seek out God, stay in His Word.

 

[Steve Petersen]

I don't see post numbers on my phone, but I'd think it really unfortunate if someone is giving out misleading info on a Christian forum, especially to young people and those with a genuine interest in the Bible. Especially in this day and age when God's Word becomes a salad bar to pick and choose from based on our own sinful desires and bias. So what do you think of this Jesus? What do you think of God and the Bible?

Jesus emptied himself when he incarnated. He was not omniscient while on earth, so I would expect that his belief system would be similar to those of other Jews around him.

The Bible is not inerrant.

 

[marineimaging]

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The Bible, being literal, is sufficient in all things over the history of mankind. You surely will be one of those who are described as the many who called upon Jesus and He said, I knew you not. But on this issue it seems that you don't believe in demons for one of two reasons. You only believe what you experience and have never encountered one, or, you are not a Christian or a believer as you say you are. Demons exist in this world and I say so for two reasons. 1) I have encountered them 2) The Word of God says so. To answer the question of whether drugs are a "Gateway" (and alcohol is a drug) anything that confuses the mind and makes us a drunkard, out of touch with reality, uninhibited..., is a gateway to possession. The Bible is very clear about that. That goes for ANYTHING that we do or say or watch or partake in, that is not sanctified by God and is even declared to be against Him including our own self pleasure above all that He considers Holy, is a gateway to demonic possession. To having a reprobate mind. I admit to having been all that I am referring to here at one time or another. But, I am asking if you see the difference. I worked hard to climb out of the hole and I work at staying out as do others I know and care about. I slip, but I then work back out of the hole and I don't want anyone to join me. My wanting to get out, and to help others out, doesn't make me self righteous. In contrast have you ever noticed how good people are surreptitiously attacked from below by those who are in the pit and don't care. Those who have given in to a reprobate mind, thieves, abusers, perverts, all the way to just being evil and enjoying it? Those who do nothing good themselves, are lazy, substance abusers, those sucking off the goodness of America - - - notice how it is when they see a good person in the news or rising in the community, they come out in the shadows, at night, when they think nobody is looking and they start trying to coax the good person to come down there with them? "Come on, it's fun. You'll like it." It is like they can't stand others be good, or they want to justify their own laziness, their bad manners or even evil behavior by getting others to stumble down to their level rather than climb out themselves. That, in a nutshell, is the nature of evil.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

Jesus emptied himself when he incarnated. He was not omniscient while on earth, so I would expect that his belief system would be similar to those of other Jews around him.

The Bible is not inerrant.

Explain the Samaritan woman at the well? John 4:18

 

[Steve Petersen]

Explain the Samaritan woman at the well? John 4:18

Hagiography.

 

[kcmonseysr]

Lost Girl: "So I'm curious as to what you all think--I think it's definitely possible for someone to be demonically possessed. The worldly answer would be to say that this guy was on drugs, but I believe it's more than that. Do you think drugs can be a gateway to possession as well??"

Yes it is possible for someone to be demonically possessed. And yes, I do think that drugs can be a gateway to possession (not all that take a drug automatically become possessed). I have seen both and have experienced scenarios very close to your well-described WalMart encounter. Not often, and more in the past years than currently, but experienced none-the-less (I am now almost 70 years old and was a 'child of the sixties' hippie who spent much time 'looking for God'). And, far more importantly, the Scriptures also give witness to this as others have well posted here.

I think that your actions as described during your encounter were wise. I do not recommend 'demon hunting without a license'. As you encounter them, quickly reach out to the Lord and follow what guidance you receive at that time: ignore, confront, or leave. Accept that you have some sort of a gift, but I don't suggest that you 'get wound out on it' and began overly focusing on that to the exclusion of other food needed for your healthy growth.

And, as an aside, as you are growing do ignore the Steves of this world who are blind and ignorant but who still wish to push their 'wisdom' on these things. Maybe one day the Lord will open his eyes as well.

 

[JLB777]

In our day and age there is a scientific answer for everything it seems. It's funny to think people refused to believe the Earth was round yet we have people nowaday's that believe a baby made from 3 different people is the evolution of science and a miracle. I'm 16 by the way, so I don't know as much as I probably should about the bible, but I've seen some pretty creepy stuff but for right now I'm just going to mention this one incident that occurred last night. So my mom and I were at Walmart picking out some new shelves for my room. We found one we really liked so my mom asked me to go get a shopping cart from the front. I did what she said and it took me a while to get it because it was at the front of the store--10 minutes later I make it back. Now I already detest Walmart. God bless Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart Store lol.

But back to the serious topic, as my mom and I are putting the heavy box in the shopping cart, this man begins to walk towards us, but it isn't a slow casual walk. It's a frantic, bouncy walk. It worries me a little, and usually when I'm worried about a particular person it's never a good sign. My mom believe's I have the gift of discernment, and if you don't know what that is it's basically when I feel that the holy spirit is letting me know something isn't quite right. I'm sure everyone is blessed with this, but sometimes I notice things that others are oblivious too. But enough of that... so this guy just gave me a strange feeling. I was helping my mom put the box in the shopping cart and he walks past and I don't know if you've ever had the feeling of someone standing right behind you with a knife to your back but that was the kind of feeling I got. Like I was in danger, and right when I felt that he said something under his breath. I could clearly pick out the f-word because it shocked me but I couldn't figure out what else he was saying. My eyes widened and my mom asked me what was wrong. I said "did you not hear that?" and she said "Yeah I just ignore childish people like that. It's not even worth my time." But I was at a loss for words. I wasn't angry, or upset.. I was just confused. I told my mom that I felt confused as well, and I tried to convince myself that maybe he was mad because we were in the way. This is when things started to get scary, and my mom began to feel scared to. After we put the box in the shopping cart we went down another isle, and we could hear the guy yelling something in the distant. For whatever reason I couldn't make out what he was saying--it was clearly English but it was slurred and because he was a ways away I couldn't tell what he was saying. We walked down the isle some more and this is when we saw him on the other end to our left. He had to have walked there quickly in order to get there, because we had heard him to our right not even moments before. But I looked at his eyes for a short 2 seconds and I had to look away from the amount of evil I felt. Like, I just remember his eyes being black.. But like a shiny black.. It was strange. He walked towards us as if he was coming to us but last minute he turned the other way. My mom and I were done looking after this. We felt scared that this guy would do something crazy like shoot or stab us. We walked out and we could hear him yelling nonsense but we were just ready to leave.

So I'm curious as to what you all think--I think it's definitely possible for someone to be demonically possessed. The worldly answer would be to say that this guy was on drugs, but I believe it's more than that. Do you think drugs can be a gateway to possession as well?? I'd like to know your views on this.

The Greek word for sorcery is pharmikia, from which we get the word pharmacy.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

Hagiography.

LOL...you could say that about anything. That is like answering the question "prove it" and you say "because"...

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

If you are talking about Jewish marriage in the first century, a primary source would be one from that era. Could you please cite one for me?

I am not going to spoon feed you. Read the Mishnah and Talmud...

 

[Colter]

Addiction has nothing to do with demonic forces.

 

[JacksBratt]

No, Jesus defeated Satan, his demons were all locked up. They are all gone.

They are defeated, yes. Locked up, no. Why on earth would the scriptures tell us that:

Ephesians 6:12King James Version (KJV)

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

How can we "wrestle against" entities that are locked up?

They will not be locked up until the end of the tribulation. During the millennial age, where Jesus rules the earth, Satan and his demons and fellow fallen angels (learn the difference between these two) will be bound.

Then, near the end of the 1000 years, they will be loosed again "for a short time". During this time, some will still be deceived, as unbelievable as it is (just goes to show you how deceptive Satan is).

Then, the end of time and the white throne judgement. After this, all unsaved humans, fallen angels, demons and Satan will be tossed in the lake of fire forever.

 

[Hallstone]

In our day and age there is a scientific answer for everything it seems. It's funny to think people refused to believe the Earth was round yet we have people nowaday's that believe a baby made from 3 different people is the evolution of science and a miracle. I'm 16 by the way, so I don't know as much as I probably should about the bible, but I've seen some pretty creepy stuff but for right now I'm just going to mention this one incident that occurred last night. So my mom and I were at Walmart picking out some new shelves for my room. We found one we really liked so my mom asked me to go get a shopping cart from the front. I did what she said and it took me a while to get it because it was at the front of the store--10 minutes later I make it back. Now I already detest Walmart. God bless Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart Store lol.

But back to the serious topic, as my mom and I are putting the heavy box in the shopping cart, this man begins to walk towards us, but it isn't a slow casual walk. It's a frantic, bouncy walk. It worries me a little, and usually when I'm worried about a particular person it's never a good sign. My mom believe's I have the gift of discernment, and if you don't know what that is it's basically when I feel that the holy spirit is letting me know something isn't quite right. I'm sure everyone is blessed with this, but sometimes I notice things that others are oblivious too. But enough of that... so this guy just gave me a strange feeling. I was helping my mom put the box in the shopping cart and he walks past and I don't know if you've ever had the feeling of someone standing right behind you with a knife to your back but that was the kind of feeling I got. Like I was in danger, and right when I felt that he said something under his breath. I could clearly pick out the f-word because it shocked me but I couldn't figure out what else he was saying. My eyes widened and my mom asked me what was wrong. I said "did you not hear that?" and she said "Yeah I just ignore childish people like that. It's not even worth my time." But I was at a loss for words. I wasn't angry, or upset.. I was just confused. I told my mom that I felt confused as well, and I tried to convince myself that maybe he was mad because we were in the way. This is when things started to get scary, and my mom began to feel scared to. After we put the box in the shopping cart we went down another isle, and we could hear the guy yelling something in the distant. For whatever reason I couldn't make out what he was saying--it was clearly English but it was slurred and because he was a ways away I couldn't tell what he was saying. We walked down the isle some more and this is when we saw him on the other end to our left. He had to have walked there quickly in order to get there, because we had heard him to our right not even moments before. But I looked at his eyes for a short 2 seconds and I had to look away from the amount of evil I felt. Like, I just remember his eyes being black.. But like a shiny black.. It was strange. He walked towards us as if he was coming to us but last minute he turned the other way. My mom and I were done looking after this. We felt scared that this guy would do something crazy like shoot or stab us. We walked out and we could hear him yelling nonsense but we were just ready to leave.

So I'm curious as to what you all think--I think it's definitely possible for someone to be demonically possessed. The worldly answer would be to say that this guy was on drugs, but I believe it's more than that. Do you think drugs can be a gateway to possession as well?? I'd like to know your views on this.

Shamanism has always been worldwide, using drugs as a gateway for gaining spiritual power, but all they gain is demonic activity and possession, that's what the pharmakeia is referring to, demons cause a multitude of maladies, just read your Bible, anytime you come close to someone that you sense evil like that, just pray to the Lord Jesus and stand strong in your faith and you will see God's power. Using drugs to touch the spiritual is a fools game that many people play that ends with hellish consequences. I have sensed that same thing when I used to deliver medications to Mental Hospitals, also have sensed that when I was in the presence of someone having what was called 'epileptic seizure', it was so strong it was an extremely repulsive atmosphere, it reminds me of the man that had the boy in which the demon would convulse him and try to kill him in fire and water. The Bible has all the answers, Just believe what Jesus says and you will do fine.

 

[Strachan]

Addiction has nothing to do with demonic forces.

One of the reasons Jesus came was to "set the captives free". Captivity implies bondage, and is often to be found in addictions. Not always, but quite often it is.

 

[Steve Petersen]

LOL...you could say that about anything. That is like answering the question "prove it" and you say "because"...

No less circular than 'because the Bible says so.'

 

[JacksBratt]

You assume that everything Jesus is purported to have said in the Gospels are things he actually said. You believe that as a matter of FAITH. I don't.

ABSOLUTELY..... without question...... and YOU DON'T???? Really???

How on earth do people read the scriptures with the attitude that some is true and some is false and some is fabricated or twisted???????

People, the Bible has to be taken as a whole. All of it, or none of it. If you want to pick and choose what is real and what can be ignored..... you will fall to the deception of the evil one.

Do you not remember that:
2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Did Jesus not use scripture in His battle against Satan during His temptation?
ALL means ALL, people......

 

[Steve Petersen]

ABSOLUTELY..... without question...... and YOU DON'T???? Really???

How on earth do people read the scriptures with the attitude that some is true and some is false and some is fabricated or twisted???????

People, the Bible has to be taken as a whole. All of it, or none of it. If you want to pick and choose what is real and what can be ignored..... you will fall to the deception of the evil one.

Do you not remember that:
2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Did Jesus not use scripture in His battle against Satan during His temptation?
ALL means ALL, people......

William Dever laid this continuum of approaches to the Bible's weight with regard to history in the introduction to his book, 'Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?'

1. Assume that the biblical text is literally true and ignore all external evidence as irrelevant.

2. Hold that the biblical text is probably true, but seek external corroboration.

3. Approach the text as well as the external data with no preconceptions. Single out "convergences" of the two lines of evidence and remain skeptical about the rest.

4. Contend that nothing in the biblical text is true unless proven by external data.

5. Reject the text and any other data since the Bible cannot be true.

I would put myself somewhere between 2 and 3. You seem to be a 1.

The shortcoming with this approach is that it doesn't address the 'extraordinary claims, extraordinary evidence' requirement.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

No less circular than 'because the Bible says so.'

At least it is the original source..."because" has no source other than your opinion...