As an exorcist having done more than 50,000 documented cases of exorcisms, I’m very familiar with how evil spirits respond during a deliverance session. What is it that demons almost always say when confronted: “I’m not leaving!”
You may think that is a logical response from an evil spirit. If a demon has possessed, or otherwise invaded the mind of an individual, of course they are going to put up that defense. It’s the starting salvo in their spiritual artillery. Why wouldn’t they say that? The individual confronting the demon might be new to deliverance and would be intimidated by such insistence. Saying “I’m not leaving” also draws battle lines in the effort to free a person’s soul. But there is more to this demonic logic.
First, Jesus referred to the soul of a person as a house. In Matthew 12:29 He spoke of a “strong man” plundering a house, a word picture of demonic invasion. In Matthew 12:44 Christ spoke of demon referring to the person he possessed as his “house.” Demons inhabiting the soul of a person see that individual’s mind and emotions as his home. In Luke, chapter 11, The Jewish leaders accused Christ of casting out demons by Beelzebub, whom they called “the ruler of the demons.” Christ responded by saying in Luke 11:17-18, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?” Implicit in this statement is the idea that when evil spirits enter an individual, it is like occupying a dwelling, a home. My point is this — when a demon inhabits a person’s soul they see it as their rightful home, not an evil invasion. That too is demonic logic, and that is why they say, “I’m not leaving!”
The second reason a demon usually gives an initial response of defiance is that evil spirits are deluded by their own hubris, their arrogance and pride. Lucifer has deluded his evil companions into thinking that they will finally win, that the Bible isn’t true, that human beings are their pawns, and the resurrection of Christ was bogus. As crazy as that sounds, I’ve actually heard demons say such things. To confront them with their defeat, as John described in his revelation, is unthinkable. It’s like Hitler in his Berlin bunker at the end. Defeat isn’t imaginable to an evil mindset until the final stages of an exorcism.
Those who aren’t familiar with the process of deliverance often argue, “You can’t believe anything a demon says because they always lie.” That’s not accurate. Sometimes they do speak factually. More often they say what they are ordered to declare, parroting the demonic party line. Thus, when a demon says it isn’t leaving, I actually see that as a sign of weakness. It’s a bluff based on the same false pride that caused Lucifer to be cast from heaven. My experience as an exorcist has taught me that when a demon says, “I’m not leaving,” that is a certain sign of false bravado. Demonic insistence that it won’t go is actually a tacit confirmation that it must leave when the power of Christ is firmly declared.
