Did her or didn’t he? That’s the question. Michael D Williams was arraigned this week on murder charges and is being held on $1 million bond in a Michigan jail. While riding an Amtrak train, Williams pulled a knife and stabbed a conductor and three passengers. He later told detectives that the “guy he was talking to on the train turned into a demon and he had to fight him,” according to court documents. A sister told reporters that Williams had been hallucinating and feared for his life. Said the sister, “Whatever he believed in his head was real to him. Nothing I could have said could make him think any different.”
What really happened? Let’s break this down logically. First, Williams was certainly mentally ill and suffering from delusions. How long these psychotic episodes had been going on we may never know. Second, what of the attempted murderer’s claims that he saw a demon? There are a lot of crazy things he might have said, but saying he saw an evil spirit is bit out of the box. The possibilities? It may have been strictly psychosis. Or the man he saw might have really had a demon that manifested and triggered this tragedy. Or the demon may have been in the mind of Williams. That’s at least part of what I’d conclude.
Mental health experts would likely argue that the claim of seeing a demons is due to the cultural construct that envisions demons as the ultimate evil. Maybe. Or perhaps we as a society are so naturalistic in our thinking we’re ready to explain away every supernatural reality. Look at those eyes in the photo above. Unless Williams was deliberately acting out a demonic demeanor, those eyes certainly convey the gaze of the kind of murderous crime that demons would have inspired him to commit.
An encouraging word: DELIVERED FROM DARKNESS
Paul told the Colossians that Christians have been “delivered from power of darkness” (Colossians 1:13). Most Bible readers pass over that with casual recognition, but ponder those words. We are DELIVERED! Satan was once our spiritual ruler because of sin, and now, if we walk by faith in obedience to His word, the mastery of the devil has ended. We now may walk in light. But it’s important to know that, like all promises in the Word of God, we must confess and possess this truth. Too many Christians have permitted Satan to continue an illegitimate control over their lives by faithlessness and spiritual rebellion. Remember, because of the Cross, you are delivered. Take possession of that promise.
Bob Larson has trained healing and deliverance teams all over the world to set the captives free and Do What Jesus Did (Luke 4:18). You can partner with Bob and support this vision to demonstrate God’s power in action by calling 303-980-1511 or clicking here to donate online.
