Are you seriously using the book of Acts as proof of demon possesion in the Old Testament? Seriously bro?
I absolutely am using THE BIBLE to prove there were
Jewish Exorcists at that time. How long they'd been in business is unknown. The scriptures were silent for 400 years before the NT. And you are not proving there weren't with your unsubstantiated opinion, base on scriptural silence. An opinion which you are entitled to, just don't expect me to agree.
Because what I said was there was no demon possession under the Old Testament. And that makes the stories of demon possession in the New Testament (not to mention the Talmud) quite suspicious. Yes, at the time of the New Testament, Jews do seem to have believed in demons. The first book to support the idea, however, is not a canonical Old Testament book by the Jewish or Protestant canons, but one of the books of the Apocrypha, i.e. Tobit. And isn't that suspicious?
I'm going to have to say that my
suspicion leans more on scripture than your
suposition IMO.
Ok, well, "a" book of Jasher is referenced, but its undoubtedly not the one that passes under that name now, which is essentially just a paraphrase of Josephus. Its very clear what happened was some enterprising business man paraphrased Josephus into Hebrew and sold it as the book of Jasher.
I don't see what you're saying as helping your POV as much as it is helping my POV personally.
Was your experience just a creepy feeling, or you actually see a demon and hear it speak?
Not creepy.......down right frightening actually. The night I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at age 22, along with 4 others, the band teacher who had ministered it to us had a parting word, before we left his house that night. He said; "
You are more of a threat to the kingdom of Satan now than you were before, so expect him to try and take this gift away from you." It was such an incredulous statement to mem I never imagined that it was actually a prophetic word for me. I had spoke in tongues fluently for 15 minutes. That supernatural experience was more impacting in my life than my salvation experience (which was also pretty dramatic compared to most testimonies I've ever heard). That night after getting home and going to the bathroom, standing there doing the guy thing I heard/felt the floor as though someone standing right behind me stomped their foot on the floor. It scared me so bad I was in the middle of spinning around in abject fear, expecting to see the devil himself. In a 'flash' as I was starting to wheel around and 'see him' a 'word' from the Holy Spirit was immediately impressed to me. He said; "
FEAR knocked FAITH answered, and nobody was there." I immediately froze, never looking behind me. I took that word serious and turned back to the stool and finished my 'business' all the time saying "no one was there, no one was there if I turn in faith." And when I did, no one was. Now you can say that's not bible. I agree, but that 'spoken word' from the Holy Spirit is 'one' of the first verses in my DIRT translation.
DIRT being...
D's
Inspired
Revelation
Translation.
This proves the point I was initially making, i.e. how the superstitious pagans of the time thought that demons were truth-telling spirits, as this story makes it out like demons can tell the future, AND that demons just love telling the truth. Or, should we question Paul's apostleship since its endorsed by a demon? Because as Christians today, we don't believe demons are truth-tellers but liars, so if a demon said that Paul is a servant of God proclaiming the way of salvation, should we believe that he in fact is not? So these stories don't accomplish any longer the purpose for which they were written, when they were written to impress superstitious pagans of that time.
I believe demons are doing a much better job of impressing religious churchianity that the devil really isn't real. I talked to a Presbyterian pastor during our ticket taking time together at 'Lion's club pancake day'. He share that he didn't even believe in the devil. Spiritual warfare battle LOST to a 'man of God?'. The Baptist pastor of the church languished in for 4 years until last year told me he wasn't worried about his daughter 'cutting' herself, because "all the kids are doing it, and her cuts are so small they won't even leave a scar." SERIOUSLY???? And who does he think motivated the demoniac of the Gerasenes?
MAR 5:5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
Spiritual warfare battle LOST by a 'man of God?'...not even being a
priest unto his own child. Hosea 4:6
There's definitely a theological contradiction here with 1 John 4:2, so how do you deal with that?
1 John 4:2 (KJV) "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:"
Not a problem if one knows what that verse is saying 'spiritually' instead of just taking the orthodox theological view. A view which I believe is carnal minded and not spiritual minded in its transliteration as well as its interpretation.
So, per the stories of demons confessing Jesus in the gospels, and the story of that demon in Acts following Paul and saying that Paul is teaching the truth, it would follow that demons are the Spirit of God; Is that a conclusion you really want to go with?
That isn't the conclusion I start with or come to brother. But then I understand that the word for "
confess" there implies a '
covenant' relationship confession. And if you think 'demons crying out' is a salvation confession then I'm going to say, study more.