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There is a lot of mystery that surrounds the ancient practice of performing an exorcism. Hollywood movies have commercialized the practice until it is no longer believed by many people. While many people in the modern age do not believe in spirits that possess human bodies, it was a widely held belief in the ancient world. There were also many ways that these cultures believed an exorcism could be performed.
- Name of Jesus
- Exorcism
- *Blessed Oil
- *Holy Water
- *Crucifix
- Music
- Fasting
- Prayer
Much of what we know about exorcism comes from Catholic based movies, which usually consist of long exorcism rituals which were not conducted in the Bible. Crucifixes, Blessed Oil, and Holy Water may not be effective against demons in a real life situation, but it sure looks convincing in the movies. However, rebuking in the name of Jesus, fasting, and prayer are known to work if the one doing the casting out is saved. The unsaved may find themselves in the same position as the seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19:16). Exorcism has been part of the human existence since shortly after Noah’s flood. Throughout history, music has been the traditional way of appeasing and driving away unwanted spirits. The first account of this in the Bible is when David plays music for Saul in 1 Samuel 16:23.
“And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.” – 1 Samuel 16:23
The oldest known references to rebuking in the name of the Lord is found in Zechariah 3:2 and Jude 1:9, both in direct reference to opposing Satan. When Jesus comes on the scene He commands demons to come out of people with authority and gives His disciples the authority to cast them out in His name (Luke 10:17). After one occasion of the disciples returning from an unsuccessful exorcism, He reveals that certain kinds of exorcisms require fasting and prayer (Mark 9:29). Unfortunately, the Bible does not give us the details as to what kind of spirits are immune to obeying the name of Jesus and why it is necessary to engage in heavier spiritual warfare with them through fasting and prayer. That fact alone should make us open our eyes and take spiritual warfare very seriously.
Excerpt From: Beyond Flesh and Blood: The Ultimate Guide To Angels and Demons, Pages 144-145
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Minister Fortson says:
Thanks for the reply. You may not know it, but a great deal of stuff on this site is “random”. I may talk about Arnold Murray one day, politics the next, and then post something about angels and demons. Every once in a while I will plan out a series of posts. Right now I’m working on just that and I haven’t posted in a while, so I figured an excerpt from one of my books might be fitting.
As for your question about an “evil spirit from God”, I’ll answer that as a post of its own because it was a question that I had as well before I wrote Beyond Flesh and Blood, and I’m sure a lot of other people have it as well.
8manafter says:
Minister Fortson,
Okay, I admit – I am going to have to plead ignorance here on two accounts of this post.
1 – First of all, what is the reason behind this post anyway? I’ve never known you to just throw something up on your blog for no reason at all. You’ve covered this subject before and very thoroughly I might add, so why spring this topic on us all of a sudden? What’s going on?
2 – And since we are now on this subject, can you please explain the following scripture since I am not sure of its meaning?
“And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul,”
I am writing this reply without yet reading that scripture in its full context, so yes, I am cheating in way because I am asking for clarity without seeking it out myself first – sorry!
“Evil spirit from God”?
What IS that?!
Thank you as always!