In my many years of ministry, I thought I’d heard every objection to exorcism. Every criticism of deliverance, usually aimed at me. Not so. I was making a quick grocery run a couple of nights ago, and turned on my car’s satellite radio to a Christian channel. It was a call-in show with a preacher answering Bible questions, a prelate I’d never heard of before. A caller asked, “Why all these deliverance ministries today? Are they really casting demons out of possessed people?” It wasn’t this radio preacher’s answer that surprised me. “No,” he said. It was his logic that nonplussed me. He held forth that demons weren’t around anymore. Neither were gifts of the spirit, miracles, or the supernatural. If anyone claimed it, then they were simply wrong. As for 300 million Pentecostal, four percent of the world’s population, plus 1.2 billion Catholics (both groups believe in miracles), they’re all heretics. Deliverance ministries? Deceived by Satan.
While there was nothing particularly unique about the views of this “expert,” it was his biblical justification that was strange: Zechariah 13:2, which says, “I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirits to depart from the land.” The preacher went on to say, “There are no more demons. The don’t exist. God doesn’t allow them anymore. Anything labeled demonic is just a bad thought process.” Ouija boards? No worries. Witchcraft? It has no powers. Psychics? Nothing to be concerned about. And the 40,000 plus cases of exorcism that I’ve documented spanning four decades . . . the thousands of deliverance ministers who have labored tirelessly to free God’s people . . . simply an existential eccentricity.
Not only does this “expert” on demons have the millennium and the end of time confused with the post-apostolic age, he’s horribly uninformed. To hold his position, you have to throw out nearly 2,000 years of church history, and especially early church history as I’ve carefully documented in our online International School of Exorcism. You have to disregard all the commands of Christ to the two, the twelve, and the 70 to cast out demons. And you also have to throw out the Great Commission: “And these signs shall follow those who believe in my name, they will cast out demons.”
Yes, demons will be cast out of the land during the millennial reign of Christ on earth and at the end of all things, but in the meantime, real people are being tormented by real demons. Sadly, this preacher makes matters worse by disallowing tormented souls the opportunity to be free by the power of Christ.
An encouraging word: BE GLAD IN THE LORD
The prevailing idea of secular culture is that God is a killjoy, robbing people of all life’s fun. But Psalm 32:11 says, “Be glad in the Lord.” In other words, have fun. Enjoy yourself. Sinners are wrong when they think that God’s rules are designed to make us miserable, to keep us from having fun. Yes, at times the Lord is a “NO!” God, as with the Ten Commandments. But the reason for the no’s is to lead us to the affirmatives of personal happiness. God’s instructions are there in the Bible to guide us to pleasure, not keep us from it. So, today have fun. Be blessed, Enjoy the fruit of a godly life, and be glad.
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
