“They sacrificed to demons, non-gods …” (Deut. 32:17, CJB)
Before we start discussing the various ways in which the believer can be freed from demonic strongholds in his life, it is very important to firstly provide an overview of the Biblical perspective on power and authority over demons in the life of the believer.
There are broadly speaking two main positions when it comes to Evil – a complete overvaluation, and a complete undervaluation, both factors that benefit Satan’s kingdom.
In the 1940s the important theologian Rudolf Bultman stated that the New Testament must be de-mytholigised, thus we need to rid it of all the animistic beliefs regarding angels, devils, spirits, etc. He believed that in the time of airplanes and nuclear power there was no longer any space for those things. Whether or not Bultman believed in the existence of Evil makes no difference to the reality of the way Evil functions. Even apart from any doctrine or dogma about the role of Evil we can see its power in people and in the world around us – illness, death, terrible abuse, decay, destruction, disasters, accidents, 9/11, the Holocaust, the rape of children, etc. The occult too is a reality, and so is the manifestation of demonic working in people’s lives. Ronald Higgins, in his book The Seventh Enemy, speaks of “man’s inertia and blindness” about this matter, and this is indeed the case.
There is a lot of speculation about who the Evil one is, but for our current purposes it is not necessary to delve into “the depths of Satan” (Rev. 2:24). In her book Warfare on the Saints Jessie Penn-Lewis makes a point which I think is important to remember in this regard: “There is one Satan, but myriads of wicked spirits called ‘demons’: lying spirits, deceiving spirits, foul spirits, unclean spirits, subjectively at work in men. Who they are, and whence their origin, none can positively say.”
Throughout the Bible it speaks of the role of Evil in people’s lives. In this teaching we will firstly look only at a number of examples from the Old Testament, where Evil and its demonic functioning is clearly documented. A few examples as illustration:
- “After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years, God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech …” (Judges 9:22-23)
- “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.” (1 Sam. 16:14)
- “Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.” (1 Chr. 21:1)
- “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.” (Job 2:7)
- “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.” (Zech. 3:1)
- “They sacrificed to demons, non-gods, gods that they had never known, new gods that had come up lately, which your ancestors had not feared.” (Deut. 32:17)
I think might be a very good definition of that which is Satanic – everything that is not God.
- Selah: What role does Satan play in your life?
- Read: 2 Tim. 1-4
- Examine the OT-typology: 2 Tim. 2:16 (Tip: Ezra 10:10; Neh. 3:15)
