The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

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2. Inhabiting demons exercise influence episodically, often precipitating epileptic-like
seizures with convulsions and other symptoms like rigidity, screaming, and foaming at the
mouth. For example, when the demonized Gerasene saw Jesus, “he cried out and fell at His feet,
shouting at the top of his voice” (Lk. 8:28). Sometimes the attacks are self-destructive, and they
may last for only a few minutes or go on for several days.
3. Evil spirits may actually reside in a severely demonized person. They take over almost
complete control of the person at will, even blotting out the person’s consciousness. Sometimes
the person may be unable to speak or hear (Mk. 9:25; Lk. 11:14). He becomes a slave, a tool to the
demons.
4. Many demons can inhabit a person simultaneously. Scripture says that “many demons
had gone into him” (Lk. 8:30). The Gerasene demoniac was inhabited by a demon called “legion”
(Lk. 8:30). A Roman legion normally consisted of 6,000 men.
5. Frequently a severely demonized person has unusual physical strength. “Many times it
[the evil spirit] has seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he
had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places” (Lk. 8:29; see also
Acts 19:16).
6. The severely demonized person frequently projects a new personality. The demon
speaks directly to others through the person it inhabits. The demon refers to itself in the first
person, bystanders in the second person, and the person it is inhabiting in the third person. The
man approached Jesus when he first came on shore, then the demon threw him down and begged
Jesus not to torture it (the evil spirit—Lk. 8:27-28).
7. A severely demonized person has a strong resistance and opposition to Jesus.
“What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” (Lk.
8:28).
8. A severely demonized person often has the ability to convey knowledge that the
inhabited person did not have access to in his normal state. The man knew immediately who
Jesus was, even though the man had never met Him before. He also recognized Jesus’ authority to
cast the demon out (Lk. 8:29,31; see also Acts 16:16-18).
9. Severely demonized people often speak with voices and languages other than their
own. The man was described as “shouting at the top of his voice,” an unnatural way to speak (Lk.
8:28). It is common for demonized people to speak with strange voices. At times men will speak
like women, but more commonly, women will speak like men. After a specific demon (the one
speaking in the strange voice, since, typically, there are usually other demons in the person as well)
is cast out of a person, he does not speak with that voice again.