Demons in the Bible

Demons are in the Bible. Everywhere. Especially in the New Testament: the Gospels; the Book of Acts: the epistles of Paul Peter, James, John; the Revelation. The subject is inescapable. Still Christian critics of deliverance argue such miracles have ceased. Other critics don’t even believe the record of Scripture. Let’s deal with that last criticism. Think back on your own life. How accurate is your memory going back 20-30 years? Probably pretty good. In your 30s you can recall a lot in detail about your childhood. In your 40s and 50s you still have vivid recollections about your adolescent and teenage years. Even into your sixties you can likely remember situations with accuracy (even years and dates and particulars) when you were in your 20s and 30s. My point? This is exactly what the new testament writers were doing, especially Matthew, Mark, and Luke who chronicle the life and deeds of Christ with regards to casting out demons.

Consider this time line. We know that Peter and Paul were martyred in 65 A.D.  The Acts of the Apostles, authored by Luke, was written after his Gospel. (See Acts 1:1 where Luke refers to his Gospel.) Now, if indeed Luke’s Gospel was based in part on the accounts of Mark and Matthew, the three synoptic Gospels, and Acts, had to be written BEFORE 65 A.D. Otherwise, the deaths of Peter and Paul would have been mentioned, at least in Luke and Acts. One more thing. Jesus was crucified in 33 A.D.  Therefore Acts, all Paul’s epistles, and all the Gospels except John were written within a time period of no more than 32 years after the events in the life of Christ. Get my point? How Jesus faced demons and how he exorcised them was a relatively recent memory to these Gospel writers. We all can think back about the content of casual conversations many years ago. How much more our accurate our recollection would be if we were recalling the words, deeds, and miracles of God Incarnate. The synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke contain at least two dozen examples of Christ’s power over Satan’s kingdom. We can trust these accounts to be accurate, reliable, trustworthy, and a genuine display of His authority directed toward demons. Believe the Bible and get on with the job of DOING WHAT JESUS DID!