You finally found someone who does deliverance and also believes that Christians can have demons. You think your long nightmare of being tormented by evil spirits will finally be over. The people praying over you seem to know what they’re doing, are very self-assured, and even claim to know what demons you have because God “revealed” it to them. Demons can’t speak nor are they allowed to manifest. The deliverance minister prays, rebukes Satan, and gets all kinds of words from God declaring that you are set free. He/she pronounces you are delivered, and you go on your way rejoicing. Much of the physical, mental and emotional torment seems to have lifted. Your spiritual life improves. Then, out of nowhere the attacks you previously experienced are back. This time they are worse than ever. You haven’t committed any major sins since your deliverance. It all seems confusing. Is it possible that those spiritually committed people who prayed for you were wrong? My answer may shock you. The demons are NOT back. They NEVER left in the first place.
A MISUNDERSTOOD SCRIPTURE
One of the most misunderstood scriptures in all of the Bible is found in Matthew chapter 12, verses 43-45. This is the passage where Jesus speaks about demons leaving an individual and coming back again to inhabit the same person — only this time with more demons in tow. Before we look at the specifics of what Christ said let’s consider the context. Earlier in this chapter Jesus healed a man in the synagogue, and this angered the Jewish leaders. Then a demon-possessed, blind and mute man was brought to Jesus. The Bible doesn’t explicitly say Jesus cast out the demons but it does say the man was healed and afterwards could see and speak. Then the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub the ruler of demons. Jesus proceeded to talk about what’s known as the unpardonable sin. He rebukes the Pharisees in this chapter for always looking after a sign from God. Finally, we get to verse 43. This is what Jesus said.
“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
AN EXPLANATION OF THIS MATTHEW PASSAGE
Jesus describes a demon leaving a person and wandering through places without water. To the Jews listening this would connote deserts or wilderness. These demons seek rest but find none. So, this demon – note Jesus referenced a single demon – looks for a new person to demonize. It finds none so it returns to the “house” (the person it previously possessed). The demon finds the house is “empty, swept, and put in order,” meaning it is spiritually unoccupied . The person who was delivered did not afterwards fill his soul with good and godly things. The person was vulnerable to possessions. So, the demon who left brings back seven more evil spirits, making the situation worse than before. The story ends there, except that Jesus adds a postscript. This account is a warning about the religious leaders of his day being spiritually empty. They had seen Jesus’ miracles but rejected Him.
What moral lessons can we draw from this teaching?
- KEEPING THE HOUSE CLEAN ISN’T ENOUGH. Morality is good but not sufficient. This accusation was directed toward the Pharisees whose outward righteousness was a sham because they were not filled with God’s Spirit.
- BEING SPIRITUALLY EMPTY IS DANGEROUS. Not sinning is great but it does not replace a relationship with God. A spiritual void makes one vulnerable to even worse spiritual attacks. True transformation comes from the Holy Spirit dwelling within. Outward changes won’t keep demons away.
HERE IS WHAT’S MISSING FROM UNDERSTANDING THIS PASSAGE.
As an exorcist I have more than 5 decades of experience dealing with demons. I can’t think of a single situation where demons returned to an individual if the deliverance process was properly handled. This is why at Bob Larson University, especially our International School of Exorcism, we teach a forensic methodical process of getting rid of demons. We want to be certain that demons which are cast out stay out.
But here is what I do observe. Approximately 50% of the people who come to me for help speak of having gone through some kind of deliverance process during which they were told there are demons left. Why then do these people afterwards come to me after discovering they still have demons that were previously declared banished? Here’s what’s happening. The demons aren’t coming back after having been cast out. They were never cast out in the first place. It’s a common tactic demons use. They may withdraw or leave for a time knowing the legal right was never removed and their means of entry to the host was never resolved. Or perhaps the process of casting out the demon was imprecise. The conclusion that the demon was gone may have been arrived at subjectively. When spiritual impression and vague leadings from the Lord guide the deliverance process there may be room for demons to deceive those doing deliverance. If an exorcism is properly done the demons won’t be back but here’s what might or can happen.
In cases where someone underwent a deliverance process and experienced relief for a time but then later had greater torment there are several explanations which may apply.
1) legal rights were not defined, and doors of entry were not closed. The demon might have left to give the appearance of success only to strike the person later at a more vulnerable time. When casting out demons all legal rights have to be cancelled including the rights of generational curses
- The demons which seemed to have returned never left in the first place. These demons hid and perhaps retreated when under spiritual attack. But they were not completely cast out and thus waited for a moment to strike.
- The demons may have left for a time because the person being ministered to had faith at the moment of their deliverance. However, their house, their soul, was not filled with God. Perhaps they had addictions which they didn’t conquer; lustful thoughts of the flesh which was not crucified; spiritual disciplines were never put in place with prayer and Bible reading.
There were more possibilities which time doesn’t permit us to investigate. But my warning is clear. Don’t just rid your life of the devil. Fill up the territory Satan inhabited with the presence of God and devotion to Christian principles. The same demons cast out may not come back. But an empty house not filled with God’s presence may be the invitation to new demons, perhaps some even with the same name and assignment of the ones who were cast out. As we say often deliverance is a process that includes healing both mentally emotionally and spiritually. By all means clean the House of your life after you’ve had deliverance prayers. Fill it with a focus on learning godly principles of living and healing damaged relationships. By doing this the demons that were cast out will stay out and new ones won’t come looking for a home in you.
