David Diga Hernandez - Signs of Demonic Possession - Part 2

Now, as I said, this is the second and final part of my message on signs of demonic possession, and I want to begin by recapping from last week. Last week, we looked at the man who was possessed by a legion of demons; his story, of course, is found in Mark chapter 5. These are the truths concerning signs of demonic possession that we can glean from that context: morbid thinking, supernatural ability, violence or barbaric behavior, mental instability, self-harm, and discomfort in God’s presence. It’s important to note that if someone shows just one of these signs or perhaps even a couple, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the individual is definitely possessed by a demonic spirit. These are just signs that can aid you in your discernment as you seek to minister freedom to different people.

Now, I want to jump to another portion of Scripture found in Acts chapter 16. I’m going to read verses 16 through 19, and this is the story of a fortune-teller who was possessed by an evil spirit. This is what the Scripture says: «One day, as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, 'These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.' This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her, ' and instantly it left her. Her masters' hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace.»

This is an interesting story because we see, first of all, that the demon was cast out instantly. There was no back and forth, no counseling session, no peeling off of layers, and no retracing their steps. In that generation, they simply cast the demon out of her. That’s a side note, but what I want to glean from this portion of Scripture is the fact that this girl was bound and in slavery. When people are under the influence of demonic beings, they find themselves in all sorts of other bondages that are not necessarily spiritual in and of themselves. For example, this girl was in slavery; she was bound in that situation.

Now, does this mean that anyone who has ever been in slavery was demon-possessed? Not at all! This just means that the girl was influenced by her demonic spirit to be found under authority or in slavery. Demonic beings enjoy the fact that people are bound, whether that be what this woman was experiencing—slavery to her gift and therefore slavery to man for financial gain—or when people are addicted or enslaved to substances such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine, or even marijuana. These are all things that can open the door to demonic beings. In fact, the word for witchcraft is «pharmakeia,» which has to do with pharmaceutical drugs. The abuse, not just the use, of drugs can open the door to demonic beings. This shows us that demonic powers will often place those under their influence in other types of bondage.

Now, I want to make a clear point here: I am NOT saying—and please hear me when I say this—I am NOT saying that anyone who has ever been in slavery was demon-possessed. Not at all, that is not my point. My point is quite simple: demonic beings, when they have influence over an individual, will seek to use that influence to enslave them in other ways.

Secondly, we see that this woman was obsessed with the occult. It was her livelihood; it was her gift; it was where she found her identity. This obsession with the occult came from that demonic influence that had power over her mind, over her soul, and to some degree, over her body. Next, we see that she is mocking Paul. She’s declaring that he is a man of God; she’s declaring that he is going to preach the gospel; she’s declaring truth, but she’s doing it in a disdainful and disrespectful manner. She has contempt for God’s authority. This contempt for men of God and women of God, this contempt for authority, is a result of demonic influence.

I was casting a demon out of a man who later told me that, while we were casting the devil out of him, he felt a rage welled up within him. He said that everything in him wanted to hit me; he wanted to reach across and strangle me; he wanted to kill me. He said he was getting thoughts of murdering me, and I remember casting the demon out of this guy who was filled with rage and kept trying to swing at me, but it was as if something was stopping his arms. We know, of course, that this was the power of God that was restraining him. Today, he’s actually in ministry, and we’re great friends. But you see, when he was under that demonic influence, he had contempt for the divine authority that he perceived in my life and in the lives of those who were helping me pray for him. So, this contempt for God’s authority and leadership is indeed a sign of demonic influence.