The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) announced three days ago that it will hold a week-long conference at the Vatican this April on how to perform exorcisms. The Church has always claimed that evil spirits or demons exist as personal entities, that they can indwell people in the form of demon possession, and that gifted Christians who are properly trained have the power to exorcise them from people in the name of Jesus.
The Church will hold this conference due to an escalating demand to do so from its priests, especially many in Italy. Friar Beningo Palilla of Sicily told Vatican Radio recently that there are about 500,000 citizens of Italy, alone, who need to be exorcised of their demons. (I suspect that Martin Luther would have agreed with that!) He blames this supposed increase in demon possession or influence on the developing obsession with fortune tellers and the use of Tarot cards. Some would add the use of Ouija boards. Yes, some experts distinguish a difference between obsession and the lesser, outside influence of demons which affects even more people.
Bible readers are familiar with Jesus’ activities as an exorcist. The New Testament gospels relate several incidents in which Jesus spoke to a demon or demons indwelling some person and Jesus commanding them to leave the tortured human. Such people were afflicted with various ailments apparently induced by the demon(s). It appears that whenever Jesus did this, he was always successful because the demon(s) departed.
The most dramatic gospel story about Jesus’s exorcism power is about the demoniac of Gadarenes. All three synoptists tell about this incident. It happened on the Gentile (eastern) side of the Sea (Lake) of Galilee. Mark and Luke only mention one demoniac, whereas Matthew accounts for two. Perhaps one was more prominent and the one with whom Jesus conversed.
This poor, tortured fellow lived in a graveyard among tombs, thus isolated from his relatives. He was extremely strong, so that he could break chains if so bound. He gashed himself, went about naked, and would wail aloud at night, indicating his torment induced from the demons (Mark 5.3-6).
When Jesus encountered this man, a multitude of demons cried out, “What do we have to do with You, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Matt. 8.29; cf. Mark 5.7; Luke 8.28 NASB). I think they refer to the yet future Judgment Day. Mark and Luke replace the second sentence with this, “I implore/beg You (by God), do not torment me?” So, Mark and Luke indicate one demon talking to Jesus, whereas Matthew relates that this one demon spoke on behalf of others.
In other gospel recordings about Jesus’ exorcisms, it seems he only had to issue a single command and the demon would leave. Apparently, this case was more difficult, at least according to Mark and Luke, who relate the same. Mark says of Jesus, “For He had been saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!'” (Mark 5.8; cf. Luke 8.29). Jesus then asked, “What is your name?” (Mark 5.9; Luke 8.30). Luke relates, “And he [the demon] said, ‘Legion;’ for many demons had entered him. And they were entreating Him not to command them to depart into the abyss” (Luke 8.31).
So, all three synoptists report that these demons asked Jesus to send them into a large herd of swine nearby. Jesus granted them permission. So, these demons departed the man and entered the swine. It spooked the animals, causing them to stampede down a slope into the sea, drowning them all.
That spooked the nearby residents who witnessed this event, especially the men who owned those pigs. They therefore did as Jesus did to those demons–asking him to depart, that is, from their region because of what had happened. Yet they saw the demoniac relieved of his demons, “sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they became frightened” (Luke 8.35). Against those peoples’ wishes, the man begged Jesus not to leave. But Jesus said to the chap, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.’ And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him” (Luke 8.39).
Are such gospel stories true? I believe they are. When I was in my late twenties, I got interested in this subject and read books about it besides such stories in the New Testament gospels. Since then, I have always been very convinced that demon possession is real. I think some Christian groups have over-emphasized it, leading to its abuse. But more often, some Christians have denied demon possession or question its reality. And I think demon influence is all around us. For the Apostle Paul wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6.12).
Our world has gone through a period called Modernism. It was the result of Enlightenment. Thinkers were rationalists, believing in only what could be proved by science. Therefore, they did not believe in the existence of evil spirits, called demons. This even affected the Protestant Church to some extent. Thus, many distinguished Bible scholars of previous centuries, especially the past two centuries in Protestant Germany–which was the center of the Protestant Movement–denied the existence of angels and demons.
But in the past few decades, scholars have been identifying our world as Post-Modern. This means that several precepts of those earlier thinkers are no longer sacrosanct, such as the denial of the existence of angels, demons, and perhaps even miracles. This change is witnessed by the establishment of the International Association of Exorcists (IAE). It was founded in 1990 by six Roman Catholic priests and approved by the RCC in 2014. These founders included world-famous exorcists Father Gabriele Amorth and Father Jeremy Davies, both of Rome. Its membership is restricted to a few hundred, and those who seek membership must have integrity and be approved by their bishop. Although the RCC has never denied the need for exorcism, the IAE believes that exorcism has been unnecessarily suppressed in some sectors of their Church.
I believe demon possession will be more widespread in the latter days prior to the end of this age and simultaneous return of Jesus to fully establish his worldwide kingdom. For we read in the book of Revelation about the latter days, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit” (Revelation 18.2). I believe Revelation 18 should be interpreted literally. This requires that the site of the ancient city of Babylon, located in the middle of Iraq near the Euphrates River, will be rebuilt to become the greatest city in the world. I have a book manuscript on this subject which I expect to publish in my Still Here series.
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