Epilepsy & Demon Possession

[Mista]

Hello All,

I am a Pentecostal (AG) and posted a Prayer Request to our prayer chain, in regard to my daughter who is an epileptic. An ordained minister of the John G. Lake Ministry, who is also on our chain, replied to me in this way.

"I'm sure you've heard this before . . . Jesus clearly defines epilepsy (in the new testament) as a demon spirit. ( Matthew 17) . We don't know why certain people are afflicted by this....often it's a generational thing....where some poor child has to pay for the sins of his /her ancestors. But the good news is demons have to flee at the name of Jesus."

Needless to say, I was absolutely shocked when I received this message! My daughter demon possessed?? So I did a bit of research, going back to the source, the Bible. While it is true that demons can inflict disease, the Bible clearly shows the difference between disease and being possessed by demons. Scripture distinguishes between ordinary cases of sickness, and other illnesses that are symptomatic of something else. Matt 4:24 states "So His fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to Him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and He cured them." (NIV).

As for the other statement...about my daughter having to pay for the sins of her ancestors....well, I'm researching that right now!! Please help me out on this one...

God Bless,
Mista

 

[oneshot012]

I would love to help in answering your question but i can't seem to understand what you are asking. i am sorry and i know that it is probably because i am reading this at 12am but if you could restate your question a little more clearly i might be able to help you.

 

[Mista]

The woman who replied to my prayer request also insinuated that my daughter is afflicted with epilepsy because of some great sin her parents/grandparents/great-grandparents committed. This I cannot believe...that God would curse an innocent child with epilepsy because of the sins of her ancestors. I did do a bit of research and found this scripture: John 9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

I think this answers my own question..

 

[Anthony]

Hello All,


"I'm sure you've heard this before . . . Jesus clearly defines epilepsy (in the new testament) as a demon spirit. ( Matthew 17) . We don't know why certain people are afflicted by this....often it's a generational thing....where some poor child has to pay for the sins of his /her ancestors. But the good news is demons have to flee at the name of Jesus."

Classic "false teaching"

I think some of these guys feel that the Medical Discoveries over the last 200 hundred years have been the work of satan. Or worse all ill are caused by your parent's sins.

The people in Biblical times did not have alot, but they weren't stupid, they knew the difference between sickness and demon possession.

LK 7:21
At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.


and that verse you quoted is clear on the generational curses

JN 9:1-3
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

 

[P_G]

Funny how some Christians give more power to demons in their life than they give God.

You know what I prayed over a girl last week who has cancer real bad.
Now unless Jesus chooses to heal this sweet child of his then surely she will die.

How she loves the Lord (Patty is her name) Trusts him - Worships him.
You know at our special free flow worship service there this weekend sick lady was dancing before the throne.

God has allowed this illness to be sure why we cannot know and it is not for us to know we just ponder why

Now if she is not healed and this wonderful saint goes to her reward perhaps as the Pastor at her funeral I should just get up and say it was because she was possesed and the demons got her. Or too much sin in her life!

Or perhaps I would tell the truth! The Lord teaches us much and in many different ways. If Patty can trust Jesus with all her heart whether she lives or dies and it makes no difference which. Does she not teach us all how to have faith?

I don't know why this little girl of yours has epilepsy. But the BIBLE!!!! (remember that book?) Says that ALL THINGS work together for the good for those who love the Lord.
As for me I am going to give the power and the glory where it belongs - to Adonai not to some demon.

Blessings

Pastor George

 

[deg]

I do not think the realm of Spirit is exactly clear, that is why it is such a sphere of faith. I feel to share this with you: it may spread light on this topic, although I do not have any revelation as to whether this applies to your little gem:

Exd 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

Exd 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

also check out: Num 14:8 Deu 5:9

BUT...

Heb 12:18 Ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Jer 31:29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
:30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

You are in the New Testament, a brand new covenant. Seek the Lord's will, and ask Him to SPEAK into your life about this topic, whether that be a word of healing or of gentle direction, or whatever He chooses to reveal. He surely is Lord, and is perhaps seeking something to change in a life involved. Perhaps he waiting for the fullness of time. Perhaps through these trials greater gleam will adorn your spiritual armour. I do not know, but rest in the peace of faith, regardless of the veil on all our hearts.

In loving kindness, and a groaning spirit for the little one,

Deg

Psalm 138

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

First I would like to clarify something. . . .a person afflicted with illness by a demonic spirit is not the same as demon possession. As far as I could tell from the first post. . .the statement made was "demon spirit", not "demon possession".

I don't necessarily believe that every sickness is caused by demons but it certaintly does not hurt to bind any and all effects our enemy might be wielding against us and/or our family, past and/or present.

Whatever it is or wherever it comes from you don't have to just sit by and let it happen. Wherever your faith is . . .apply it. Do everything you are able to medically but also rely on God and what His word says about the believers authority over all sickness and disease and our enemy. It won't hurt anything. Just a thought.

 

[pentecostal girl]

The woman who replied to my prayer request also insinuated that my daughter is afflicted with epilepsy because of some great sin her parents/grandparents/great-grandparents committed. This I cannot believe...that God would curse an innocent child with epilepsy because of the sins of her ancestors. I did do a bit of research and found this scripture: John 9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

I think this answers my own question..

I think that God made your child the way he wanted to. In the bible it says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made I can't seem to find the verse about epilesy as a demonic spirit, could tell me where it is ?

 

[Mista]

The woman was referring to Matt 17:14-18
14When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."
17"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.

 

[me godly]

I would agree with Quaffer. Not all sickness is caused from demons.
To find out if it was caused from a spirit simply command any spirit not of God to reveal itself in the name of Jesus. If one was there it would have to reveal itself.

 

[Heinrich]

Demons can influence people but this does not mean the person is possesed.

Mista I think you should just pray to God to direct your prayers.
There really seemed to be lots of false teachings and more confusing teachings on these things
But it is clear from scripture that the LORD does heal so there can be no harm in praying for healing then can there?

James 5:17 (I think it's there) "The prayer of faith will heal the sick."

I sometimes wish it was as easy as it sounds :-D

 

[Mista]

Ohhhhh yes!! We've been praying!! Last time my daughter was here with me, I took her along to our AG church, we annoited her, laid hands on her and she felt the presence of the Holy Spirit...it was so wonderful to witness....

Matthew 21:21-22 "Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Blessings!!

 

[TheScottsMen]

The Bible DOES NOT say all Epilepsy is from Devil. That is simply plain nonsense.

##An ordained minister of the John G. Lake Ministry, who is also on our chain, replied to me in this way.##

I will not speak bad of a Brother in Christ. John G. Lake and others have brought thousands to the saving knowledge of Christ...but..as often happens, some tend to go to an extreme on a subject. Lake studied under Alexander Dowie who feverish follower of Christ and healed thousands through the Holy Spirit but had his own faults on biblical doctrines (not allowing his sister medical attention, thus she died) and I have a feeling that Lake may have well picked up on this and other doctrines of Dowie. I'm sure others on here will be able to give you more info on Lake then I can (I did my study on Dowie last semester so ask away on him!)

As for sickness, all sickness comes from sin one way or another. Through Adam, all have sinned and for short of the glory of God. Because of sin, our body is able to get sick, to get disease, to be able to be stricken by the devil (as with Job). NOTE: I am not saying that we get sick or God strikes us with a cold because someone lusted for a snickers bar.

But the Bible teaches us that God sent his son Jesus into the world to save men from all sin (Mt. 1:21; Eph. 1:7; 1 Jn. 1:7-9; Rev. 1:5); to heal men of all diseases and to deliver from demons (Mt. 8:16-17; Acts 10:38; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Jn. 3:8); and to answer all prayers for anything that one desires that is covered by the promises of God (Mt. 7:7-11; 18:19-20; 17:20; 21:21-22; Mk. 11:22-24; Jn. 14:12-15 15:7; 16:23-26). We can be free from sin and live a sinless life through the power of the Holy Spirit. Wen can become New Creations in Christ and have renewing of our mind. We have the power of attorney which is the name of Christ Jesus over all sicknesses and demons. The victory has been won! All sickness can and will be healed in the name of Jesus. We need to pray in faith for the healing and BELIEVE what we prayed for has been answered and the answer was YES.

As for generational curses and spirits passed down to sons and daughters. Lets think about this. Lets say a sons father had a demon spirit. A son is born to that father. The son grows up in a spirit filled church that preaches the Word of God. At 6 years old the boy accepts Jesus into his life and is baptized in the name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The boy is now part of the body of Christ. Is their demon possession on him? Is a demon in the body of Christ? God forbid!

I would take this woman's comment as sticks and hay. Eat the hay and move the sticks aside.

 

[ablikespaintball]

I think that God made your child the way he wanted to. In the bible it says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made I can't seem to find the verse about epilesy as a demonic spirit, could tell me where it is ?

Naw man! I totally disagree with it!
You know maybe it's because i believe almost all sickness comes from satan.....lemme ask you a question, why would God give one of his children sickness?? I'm thinking this is maybe generational??
Well anyway, wether you agree with this or not, have your daughter just REBUKE the sickness, and it will flee.

God Bless!
AB

 

[JillLars]

Well anyway, wether you agree with this or not, have your daughter just REBUKE the sickness, and it will flee.

This is a very dangerous philosophy. With medical science there is no reason to simply rebuke the sickness, sicknesses (not all) can be cured medically. It is nice to pray for sickness to leave, but not in place of common sense. I had an aunt who died of breast cancer because she did nothing to treat it but pray, it would have been completely treatable if she had gone to the doctor.

 

[ablikespaintball]

well i could care less if anyone believes me, but it doesnt' do any harm to just try it does it???

EDIT: And i hope you took a look at my scripture and how it applies to healing also....look at my first post.

 

[JillLars]

It does harm if you only pray instead of seeking medical treatment (see the story about my aunt above). I believe that prayer can work, but we should use all the outlets God has given us, both spiritual (prayer) and physical (medical).

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

It does harm if you only pray instead of seeking medical treatment (see the story about my aunt above). I believe that prayer can work, but we should use all the outlets God has given us, both spiritual (prayer) and physical (medical).

We are told to walk in obedience to what God's Word say's in all areas. That would include the physical. If someone want's to wait on God for their healing that is their right. I'm not against doctors, but we are to seek God first not a human doctor. We are to seek Him first and then do what He tells us. I've known many who trusted God for healing and were healed w/o the intervention of man.

My doctor is a Spirit filled, tongue talking believer and she lays hands on me and prays. She's also allowed me to lay hands on her and pray. We should live a life of prayer and faith so that it is not a last-ditch effort when we're in trouble. God gave man the knowledge of medicine but without Him it is completely worthless.

 

[JillLars]

We are told to walk in obedience to what God's Word say's in all areas. That would include the physical. I'm not against doctors, but we are to seek God first not a human doctor. We are to seek Him first and then do what He tells us. Just because one person died does not mean it will happen to another. I've known many who trusted God for healing and were healed w/o the intervention of man.

My doctor is a Spirit filled, tongue talking believer and she lays hands on me and prays. She's also allowed me to lay hands on her and pray. We should live a life of prayer so that it is not a last-ditch effort when we're in trouble. God gave man the knowledge of medicine but without Him it is completely worthless.

I'm not saying we should use prayer as a latch ditch effort, I'm saying we should use it along with common sense, we should use all the outlets God has given us, to exclude the talent of medical science, which God has created, is in my opinion, insane. Your assertion that just because one person died doesn't mean others will is ridiculus, many more people have been cured of cancer and other diseases through medical treatment than have been through the "laying on of hands" and miracles without human intervention. I'm not saying God can't perform miracles through those people, I'm just saying we need to use all the resources he gives us, including physical and spiritual.

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

I'm not saying we should use prayer as a latch ditch effort, I'm saying we should use it along with common sense, we should use all the outlets God has given us, to exclude the talent of medical science, which God has created, is in my opinion, insane. Your assertion that just because one person died doesn't mean others will is ridiculus, many more people have been cured of cancer and other diseases through medical treatment than have been through the "laying on of hands" and miracles without human intervention. I'm not saying God can't perform miracles through those people, I'm just saying we need to use all the resources he gives us, including physical and spiritual.

I'm not disagreeing that we should use what God supplies. Jesus said "according to your faith so be it". I believe that scripture tells us to trust in God for everything. . .to put our trust in the knowledge of man is idolatry. Even when we go to the man and/or woman we must trust God that they don't do something that is even more harmful to us. I know more people who have died due to doctor error than those who died because they stood in faith.

I have done both and until God instructs me differently I will continue to do both. Prayer according to the Bible. . .should be first then doing what He tells us and if that is going to the human doctor then we trust God in that as well.

I did not realize that you were Charasmatic Jill