Just a quick observation before I head out of town.
I recently wrote about Jesus and healing and as I was reading through Scriptures on the subject matter I thought the below was worth mentioning.
Do you think there is a link between sickness and demon possession? The Scripture seems to suggest it. Below are a few verses to look at.
Matthew 9:32-33 ISV As they were going out, a man who couldn’t talk because he was demon-possessed was brought to him. (33) As soon as the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
Matthew 12:22 ISV Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to talk was brought to him. Jesus healed him so that the man could speak and see.
Matthew 15:22-28 ISV Suddenly a Canaanite woman from that territory came near and began to shout, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed!” … (28) Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you want.” That very hour her daughter was healed.
Matthew 17:15-18 ISV and said, “Sir, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers terribly. Often he falls into fire and often into water. … (18) Then Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed that very hour.
The Scripture has all sorts of verses like this (the above is just very brief sample). Obviously, there is much more to look at on the subject matter, however, I find it interesting that demon possession is rarely, if ever, considered a factor and I find it very interesting that the Scripture shows a strong link with demon possession and all sorts of “illnesses”.
Ephesians 6:12 ISV For our struggle is not against a human opponent, but against rulers, against authorities, against cosmic powers in the darkness around us, against evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm.
As always, I look forward to any comments my Christian brothers and sisters may have on the subject.
P.S.
I wanted to mention that I will be out of town for a while so if there are comments that don’t get a returned response for a while, that is why. 
AMDG
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Just a quick response for now. First of all I do not believe that a believer can be demon possesed (demonized? Yes. Possesed? No.) I John 4:4, from my perspective, provides strong arguement here (amongst other passages I Cor 6, etc.). If this is true, then a believer can never get sick, at least not from a demon.
While indeed it does appear that in general the demonic can be behind sickness (as you noted)–I don’t see any causal connection between all sickness and the demonic (I would even dispute some of the examples you provide above
). One would be hard-pressed to demonstrate that someone’s physical ailment is directly related to a demon, today (although I’m not denying that in fact it is a real possibility). I would think that someone might have a mental or physical predisposition towards a certain sickness which the demonic may be able to exploit and exacerbate (esp. mental ailments).
Just some quick thoughts!
Don’t have much time to reply but I did want to post a quick note that I do not believe a saved person can be demon possessed either.
The two passages you mentioned aren’t the strongest on supporting that but there are others that support the position quite well.
I do think a demon can possess a lost person though and I would be interested in anyone refuting the Scriptures that connect “sickness” with demon possession. Again, I do not see Scripture that states that demons operate differently today than they did in the NT. Demons, demon possession, and casting out demons is mentioned quite a bit in the NT.
AMDG
I,ve been studing thru Mark lately with a few friends and a question about demon possession came up. In Mark it is causal behind some symptoms that would be familiar to us but diagnosed differently but even with these biblical cases there are symptoms completely unfamiliar as far as recognized pathalogies are concerned. Chiefly, the demons speak. I wonder if “demons” normally spoke up during this time or if the speaking incidents were unique to encounters with the Son of God? another point I recall is that there also seems to be a distinction between illness and demon caused illness.
Any suggestions of papers or books that are scholarly in thoroughness and tone which deal with this subject?
I haven’t run across any books yet.
The thing is, today we rarely run across such illnesses where we cannot find a “medical cause” and even some surgical or medical treatments for some of them.
That is what is interesting about it all…we know as Christians that the truth is in the Word and yet we use our own understanding and “medicine” on many of the things we see. So the question becomes, were illnesses related to demon possession only in New Testament times? If so, do we have any Scripture to show that this was the case and that there was a cessation for some reason.
You brought up a good point and that is…did demons only “speak up” in the presence of Jesus? …though that point doesn’t touch on the demons that were cast out without speaking.
In addition, what of the other people who cast out demons? Many will say to Jesus on the last day, didn’t we cast out demons in your name? (see Matthew 7:22). Later in Matthew a command was given to His disciples to cast out demons, raise the dead, etc etc… (see Matthew 10:8). Again, was this only for NT times? How did these demons manifest themselves? How were people to know a person was demon possessed? Is there any link between “illness” and demon possession? I haven’t run across any Scripture that suggests demons operate differently today than they did in NT times.
At any rate, I really don’t have any answers yet but it is an interesting subject.
AMDG
Jeff,
Another question I have is where do we draw the line on our perceptive experience and God’s Sovereignty and spiritual realities?
Is the weather controlled by natural events? Are sickness and disease caused by known agents?
Accumulation of moisture creates a rain cloud, a breakdown in a high pressure causes a hurricane to turn a certain way, this disease is caused by a certain virus, that sickness is caused by a certain bacteria, etc etc…
AMDG
Well if your a “Sovereignist” in the camp represented by folks over at Challies.com or Pyromaniac, to be consistent, if one applies the same logic they use to get to their view on the ordo salutis (order of salvation)–then equally God is totally/causally in control of all weather and sickness (some call this “meticulous providence”). But most of them, I think, would’nt agree with my characterization–Another conclusion, of their kind of logic, makes God the “author of evil” (i.e. to display His redemptive character–so a 5 pt-Calvinist would say).
I believe God “USES” the consequences of a “Fallen” world to accomplish His purposes, i.e. destructive weather patterns, sicknesses, etc. In other words, I think God has given man and all of creation over to the “forces” and consequences of sin (i.e. disorder, chaos, destruction). To me this is what God’s Wisdom is all about in I Corinthians 1:17-25, He is able to “break into” this fallen world, and “use” the destructive forces and consequences of sin (i.e. the death of the cross) to “birth” redemption (resurrection) for man and all of creation (Rom 8).
Of course all of creation is sustained by God’s word (Heb 1:3), but creation at this point is in futility and rebellion towards Him (Rom 8). Your question comes back to the age old debate of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Talk later!
Bobby,
I believe God is 100% Sovereign over everything, including weather.
However, I don’t have a problem with the “author of evil” thing as some do. See my article on judging God. Sin (and “evil” for that matter) are not applicable to God.
I don’t think there is anything in the Scripture that teaches that God is “hands off” of anything. In fact, I think we see quite the opposite. Man has invented this “hands off” theology so that it agrees with their mind in their judgement of God. The problem is they are missing the mark completely in doing so.
Lamentations 3:37-38
Amos 3:6
AMDG
I’m just saying to follow the logic, a 5 point sovereigntist follows, relative to salvation–leads one to conclude that indeed God decreed the “Fall” thus He decreed evil (i.e. supralapsarianism).
To say that evil and sin don’t apply to God, of course, is the scriptural reality–but the logic provided by typical classical theists leads to the conclusion I speak of above.
I don’t think God is “hands off” either. But there is no necessary relationship between God being “sovereign” and His “direct” causal control over every happen-stance that occurs in nature or “super-nature” for that matter. In other words, God can, in His sovereignty, create “space” for events to take place apart from His character (holiness) that He is “NOT” primarily “directing”; rather “free agents” are (i.e. people).(How else does one understand anything that is “anti-thetical” to God and His purposes?). This in no way under-cuts God’s sovereignty nor does it imply that God is not in control or no longer sovereign. After all He uses, instrumentally, what would be meant for evil (anti-thetical to Him) and destruction to undermine that which would seek to oppose and thwart Him–that is an amazing display of sovereignty to me!
I agree with your idea of “judging God”, I also like the terminology, “harnassing God” to express the concept you are getting at. But, given the fact that we are humans, means that we must speak and articulate with the aparatus of language and logic that we have been given. Even you are making judgements about God, when you are arguing against making judgments of God–it seems the issue really becomes, are we making “right” judgments or “wrong” judgments about God.
Off subject, Brian, where are you at in relationship to the oncoming Hurricane Rita? I know you’re located in Texas somewhere, my “stat-counter” over at Mixed BAG shows your server hitting from Corpus Christi–are you located in one of these gulf cities in the Texas area? Be safe!
Bobby
excellent comments, as usual
I definitely need to think about that approach.
I am in Corpus so we are out of the woods on this one for now. I was prepared to leave though and the city had issued mandatory evac on Wed, but lifted it yesterday when Rita started to take a more NW path.
AMDG
Good to hear you will be spared the brunt of the storm, but I’m sure your city will be involved in providing shelter and provisions for those less fortunate. I’ll pray the churches in your area might use this as an opportunity to extend the loving hand of our Savior to those in need of both spiritual (gospel) and physical restoration.
It is good to be able to rest in the fact that God is completely in control of this situation, and that He is able to redemptively bring good out of death and destruction.
Bobby
Evil spirits entice men into sin, so that they can enter the soul and darken (corrupt) it. When the soul undergoes progressive corruption it results in a deterioration of physical health, beginning in the mind, which is spiritual. This eventually alters chemistry in the physical brain. Many mental illness develop as the person ages and often begin in adolescence when young people experimenting with activities which society deems harmless, but which the bible warns us is sinful. Very often the illnesses run in families, as sin is generational and is passed down as an inheritance, operating like a curse in certain family members.
The wages of sin, are disease then death.
The degeneration of the soul is laced with suffering, but God offers us a path of spiritual healing via “the forgiveness of sins”, which slowly regenerates and revives the soul. In order to walk this path, we have to abstain from sinful activities and live a clean life founded upon God’s word. Many people fail to receive this healing because they go back into sin and so their actions counteract the work which God tries to bring about in them.
I can tell you from personal experience that depression is most definitely a sin illness. A better name for it, would be spiritual oppression. Those especially at risk from depression are the spiritually sensitive people who are Satan’s primary targets.
I always recommend that people read this book which is written by a psychiatrist who by the use of clinical hypnotherapy techniques, discovers demons afflicting her chronically ill patients: It is serious wake up call for mental health professionals and patients who are too afraid to confront the truth.
“Remarkable Healings” by Shakuntala Modi
i dont beleive that a christian can be demon possessed. there is not room enough for THE HOLY GHOST and the demon in a persons heart
I have been a Christian for almost 20 years and I attend a very traditional local Baptist church. I discovered that I have demons in me last year in the process of seeking divine healing for cancer . This came about as real surprise one day as my prayer partner and I fasted and prayed and confessed the word of God for healing. I started to growl like an animal, my face was distorted involuntarily, and my whole body twisted and shaked uncontrollably. The demons in me apparently revealed their presence for the first time after “hiding” inside my body for over 10 years. And I believe the fasting, prayers and confession of the word of God made them very “uncomfortable” and they were being forced to leave by the power of the Holy Spirit. I am still in shock as I write because who would ever imagine a devoted 21st century Christian in American has demons in her!
In God’s great mercy, I learned in retrospect that I had opened the door (as a saved person) to demons when I unknowingly accepted treatment (healing energy/heat “injected” into my right forearm) from a Chinese energy healer more than 10 years ago. I simply lacked the knowledge about the spiritual significance of such practice. “My people are destroyed due to lack of knowledge” Hosea 4:6. I actually believe that my cancer (which is on the right side of my body) is directly linked to “demon invasion” through that treatment. I have been delivered once by a team from California. In the deliverance process, we discovered manifestation of more than one demon. Some of them were so “stubborn” that they refused to leave.
I went through chemo (long story) and was announced cancer free when I was only half way throught the treatment. But now the doctors say that the cancer is coming back according to a recent scan done after I completed all the treatments. The doctors are not sure what to do at this point because this is a very unusual situation to have cancer return while on chemo that worked so well initially. I personally believe this is because of the demons left in me. (The Lord actually gave my son a vision in which God showed him that as the demons left, the cancer also disappeared.)
This is my personal experience on this subject and just wanted to share with you. I am still in the process of fasting and praying to become both cancer free AND demon free. I personally believe in these last days, God is revealing more about this subject and the need for deliverance from demons will increase as the days get evil. I know the Lord will use me to help many people in the future through this experience. “And these signs shall follow them who believe: they shall cast out demons in my name.” Mark 16:17.
We must ask the question, why does Satan seek to entice men into sin?
The reason is because once we commit the first sin, evil is permitted entry into the soul. The reason why evil seeks to enter the soul, is to cause the soul to fall spiritually and be separated from the risen life with the father. Sin living in us darkens and defiles the light of our souls, eventually causing disease then death.