THE BIG PICTURE

THE BIG PICTURE

What exactly are “demons”?

In this essay I will argue that reality is fundamentally spiritual—not materialistic as science would have us believe. I will reason that only a biblical perspective explains the “hard question” of science—how consciousness emerges in a universe of matter. The truth is it doesn’t emerge. Mind, not matter, is fundamental—and, in ways not fully understood, is the very presence of God—in whom, according to the Bible, “We live and move and have our being.” And this is where the evidence, neurological and otherwise, strongly points.

I will claim that “emotion” is a spiritual event that doesn’t arise from the brain but is a term historically referred to as “spirits”; for example, one of the many spirits of the Bible: fear, lust, anger, etc., but which are now believed to be  “emotions.” And we can conclude that the more destructive emotions are the spirits which the Bible calls “demons.” Biblically, there is no distinction between evil or unclean spirits and demons, the proof in Scripture being Luke 4:33. Demons cannot be fallen angels as commonly believed because these fallen angels are bound in chains of darkness until the day of judgment according to 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6. I will also explain why science is wrong when it claims that consciousness is emergent from the complexity of matter. For, then, it would be hard to explain where they come from or how they interact with our physical brains–as contrasted with a world where God, not matter, defines fundamental reality. Readers will understand that the ultimate purpose of demons working through our “emotions” in a world where God—not matter—is fundamental, is to prevent people from trusting in the inerrancy of the Bible and from believing that Jesus is the only way to heaven and God—just as the door of Noah’s Ark was the only way to be saved from a sinful, flood-ravaged world. Moreover, you are about to understand why being “born again” is a necessary condition for entrance into the Kingdom of God—despite the rants of angry liberals who, you will see, are heavily demonized and accordingly reject the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. Indeed, you will see that the political left is intent on destroying America–a delusional system given those on the political left believe they are on the side of truth. Read this post carefully since a lot of ideas must come together with perfection before the “big picture” can be persuasively envisioned.

The Bible, as noted above, says that we “live and move in God.” That, you will see, is the only way to explain the light by which we see ourselves and the world around us—consciousness itself. You will understand why it is impossible—logically, scientifically, and theologically—for either consciousness or emotion to have evolved into being and why, therefore, reality is fundamentally spiritual, putting a very different slant on our understanding of “demons”—and many other biblical claims currently being mocked by liberals and the world at large. To sum up, if you read this essay to its conclusion and agree with the evidence, you will be changed in a good way, forever. And should you currently feel that God is far away, you will realize how close He really is to you.

Healing is biblical and logical 

Acknowledging the identity between “spirits,” “demons” and “emotions,” we can conclude something mind-boggling. When Jesus gave His disciples the authority to cast out demons, he was giving them the authority to remove negative emotions, including those known to cause physical disease, by removing their effects on the brain’s limbic system—that part of the brain widely acknowledged as the “emotional brain” and which, via the vagus and other nerves modulates the metabolism of every cell in the body either toward or away from wholeness and health.

The New Testament gives a very misleading account of demons via translations that have been influenced by a culture steeped in materialistic thinking. For example, the Greek word for “demon-possession,” demonizomai, actually means to have or be oppressed by a demon—a far cry from the ghastly images we typically associate with “demons.” Note, also, the high frequency with which demons were cast out of people–for example, “at sunset”—making it very unlikely that demons are found only in weird, crazy, or violent people.

It helps to see the big picture as fundamentally spiritual and God-centered. Only then can we understand how consciousness is not emergent but the very presence of God–and why the negative emotions are the “demons” of the Bible, sometimes referred to as evil or “unclean” spirits. Anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and so on, have precise physiological parallels in the brain and body—most notably inflammation, a known factor in many diseases, including arthritis. These negative emotions if chronic and coupled with despair in the wake of the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, etc. ) shut down the immune system, giving rise to countless autoimmune diseases. When one loses the will to fight or defend oneself there is a precisely equivalent damping down of one’s biological defense mechanisms. Cancer, known statistically to occur following a personal loss, is just one of these many immune diseases. Emotion and physiology are different perspectives of the same reality. That is why disease can be cured by casting out “spirits.” Their departure restores the physiology of the limbic system toward health.

It doesn’t help that some churches have a ritual of “exorcism,” a grisly and frightening counterfeit to the ministry of deliverance–one-fourth of the ministries of Jesus (salvation, baptism with the Holy Spirit, healing, and deliverance). as recorded in the Bible. In my opinion, this counterfeit “rite” was created by the devil himself to frighten people away from receiving its healing benefits. It’s a matter of knowledge. Believers who know their true worth in Christ won’t need a lot of prodding before mustering up the indignation to cast out the enemy. They won’t need a formal ritual. They need knowledge of the big picture, including the understanding that reality is fundamentally spiritual and God-centered as contrasted with an evolutionary, materialistic worldview in which demons make little sense, not to mention the impossibility of explaining consciousness as the very presence of an infinite, omnipresent God.

We will see that this battle is not at all random with the devil getting lucky from time to time, but that he does his dirty work on a legalistic basis. His right to oppress or destroy is only allowed through the doorway of sin. This means that he can intrude only when some commandment of God is broken or ignored.

How demons enter homes

Demonic intrusion has a precision equal to the laws of physics. Not such a crazy idea when you consider that the God in whom we live and move is righteous and lawful. If there is a crack in our spiritual armor (the breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), and so on, evil will enter. The two realms are in constant competition with Christianity being the only world religion that assures victory by the forgiveness of sin. Nevertheless, sin (defined as anything that is not of faith) is an open door for the enemy if we lack faith and allow him in.

Prepare to have a few sacred cows shattered. Victory over the devil is tied to the family structure and the avoidance of the worldly beliefs that the patriarchal model for the home is a relic of the misogynistic past. The bottom line is this. When a family deviates from the now despised patriarchal model (despised only because its importance is poorly understood), the door is opened wide to the devil—rather obvious when the big picture is acknowledged.

You may also be shocked to discover that the mantra of “equality” between men and women, husbands and wives, is in a related manner also a major point of entry for the devil and his demons—to the measure that the devil has succeeded (through the liberal mindset) in distorting the true meaning of “equality.” This means that problems arise when gender differences are misconstrued as signifying inequality. In truth, it is only when the differences between men and women are applauded, that true equality and the unconditional love of God can be fully experienced—once again underscoring the battle raging behind the scenes between God and the devil for our minds and hearts!

The reasoning is as follows. When the father’s spiritual headship is usurped, he loses his God-given self-esteem as a man and can no longer be an adequate vessel for the unconditional love of God—while in turn his wife and children lose their source of self-esteem, similarly rooted in the unconditional love of God. This kind of love, agape love, must start with the father and flow to the other members of a family. Demons, this means, camouflaged by the modern psychological skewing of “emotion” and “equality” have already entered the home—not if one is a bit unlucky, but with a legalistic precision. As water flows downward, there is a cascading of negative thoughts and emotions throughout the family. The husband will find it all but impossible to love his wife as the Bible instructs—“as Christ loves the Church.” He will resent her and she will resent him for every little misunderstanding that crops up during the day. The tone with which they speak will change—which in itself means that unclean or evil spirits have modified the limbic systems of their brains—that part of the brain which mediates “emotion” and to which there is a direct connection with the brain’s speech center! Not coincidentally, the speech center and the limbic system are directly connected with neurons mediating orgasmic pleasure! It can be reasonably argued that orgasm and an unconditionally loving partner are essential to a truly happy home.

There is more to this reasoning. Brain anatomy takes on special meaning in light of the biblical claim that we are created “in the image of God…male and female.” Why exactly? Because it is the quality of the interaction between husband and wife that is equal to the very presence of God—love itself, diminished only by an intrusion of demons which we experience as destructive “emotions.” Despite the liberal flaunting of equality, this means that in unbiblical (demonized) homes, love ( the very presence of God) is demonically compromised. Wives are not receiving the love they need, as intended by God. And, since everything comes around that goes around, husbands likewise are not receiving the love they need from their wives—as intended by God.

The effect on children is the logical extension of what is happening at the parental level. The result? Demons of low self-esteem, rejection, resentment, and anger reverberate around the home like a ping-pong ball. Woe to the society that blurs the distinction between men and women. This blurring compromises the very presence of God—in whose image we have been created, male and female.

The Trinity and the presence of God

We must think beyond the mere distinction between male and female insofar as God can only be present in a home to the measure that His triune nature parallels the triune structure of the family. That, you are about to see, is the perspective that fits best with the big picture. For, short of adhering to the biblical model of the home, a family can’t experience the love of God. Ungodly emotions (demons) will have intruded—creating a situation where parents demand obedience as an affirmation of their worth. In turn, the child will experience a skewed version of love, something other than unconditional love—will in effect learn that his or her worth is based on performance—the exact opposite of biblical, agape love. In other words, conditional love creates in children the conviction that their worth depends upon meeting parental expectations—as contrasted with parents who (being filled with the agape love of God) delight in their children for who they are and not for their acceptable behavior. This means that the devil already has a hold on the family as the stage is set for rebellion in one or more of the children—one of the many consequences of the absence of God in the home.

Let’s look more closely. The father, the head of the household, represents God the Father. The mother represents the more submissive Jesus who was “in all ways submitted to the Father.” I propose that the children represent the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, through whom the love of God is transmitted from one generation to another. But, now, before my liberal readers go bonkers at the thought of a wife being submissive to her husband, consider the deeper biblical rationale. The biblical Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit defines the threefold nature of the one and only God—much as mind, body, and spirit are the three aspects of one person. As with the triunity of God, there is absolute equality of worth between husband, wife, and children—despite their roles being very different. Let’s look further at what the Bible has to say about this equality.

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” Jesus, according to the Bible, is that word. “Everything that exists was created by and through Jesus.” Complete equality, just different roles. Similarly, the wife is equal to but “in all ways submitted to her husband”—not at all in a demeaning way but, paralleling the relationship between Jesus and God the Father, assuring the full presence of God. And is it a mere coincidence that just as everything “was made by and through Jesus” new life comes through the womb of the mother? Or that the mother is the nurturing center of the home, the glue that holds the family together—similar to the way Jesus “holds everything together by the power of His Word? The Bible further proclaims that “the fullness of the Deity dwells within Jesus.” Likewise, the fullness of the father’s power and authority is transformed in the wife as a more tangible and nurturing expression of the Father’s love—an equality that is compromised if and when she usurps her husband’s God-ordained executive function.

It goes deeper. When asked by His disciples to “show us the Father,” Jesus said, “Do you not understand? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father; you know me, henceforth you have seen Him and know Him.” How’s that for equality? Let’s get it straight, Jesus—despite how religious cults distort the Trinity to the devil’s delight—is the physical manifestation of the invisible Father, “His exact image.” The same God in whose image we too have been made—man and woman.

Inevitably, when the equality of father, mother, and child—paralleling the equality that exists between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit—is not understood or put into practice, a power struggle will arise between the husband, wife, and children—making the home more of a boxing match than a residence for a triune God. There may still be love, and where pride is strong, the home may have the appearance of a godly home; but without exception, when the biblical meaning of equality is distorted, the unconditional love of God will be compromised—however tidily covered up.

It is no coincidence that liberals, raised in unbiblical homes, speak of misogyny and hate anything that smacks of patriarchy—while conveniently scapegoating their demons of guilt, hatred, unworth, and self-rejection onto Bible believers as the purveyors of evil. The devil has a way of tricking liberals into believing they have the higher ground—a deception evident by their intolerance of traditional Christianity and the Bible as written. It’s easy to discern the “spiritual powers” behind this deception. But apart from a trustworthy standard (the Bible) they will, as Isaiah prophesied, “call evil good and good evil” and “put darkness for light and light for darkness”—nicely explaining the intensifying political divide in this country and around the world.

It’s a bit strange that submission and service are universally recognized as virtues that define the very nature of Jesus, yet liberals hate the thought of a woman submitting to her husband. Here might be the reason why. Where love (the presence of God) is absent, hate has already moved in to fill the vacuum. There is no gray zone. While claiming the high ground, it is impossible for liberals, despite their passion for helping the needy, to think of submitting to or serving someone they hate (which is the authority of God), so they devise their own very unbiblical theology to cover their deception. In a nutshell, when the biblical model is rejected, the presence of God is likewise compromised. Demons have succeeded in perverting the foundational virtues of a strong and stable society by turning submission and service into something evil—cleverly under the guise of “women’s rights,” “equality” or other socially accepted mantras. Since their passions go contrary to the knowledge of God, we can be confident they are driven by demons–or, if you prefer, ungodly “emotions”  or “spirits.” A rose is a rose and by any other name remains a rose.

Here’s a further angle. When a husband fails to accept his God-given role or for whatever reason a woman usurps this role, the husband, spiritually speaking, becomes the woman and the woman becomes the man, reversals that with uncanny precision lead to perversions—proportional to the husband losing self-respect and, ironically, the woman losing her true source of power—her feminine allure. We’ll examine some of these perversions in the following section, perversions which are being increasingly considered normal. The big picture exposes these reversals as abominations in the eyes of God. Which, for the record, doesn’t mean that Christians or God hate these individuals. It is just the opposite, we love them enough to tell them the truth, that their deceptions come from the ruler of this world, the “father of lies,” however deeply embedded their ungodly spirits may be in their subconscious minds—the kind Jesus said “come out only with prayer and fasting.” In a world where evil is waiting at the gates to foil the intents and purposes of a triune God who is defined as love itself.

The demonic origin of the LGBT movement 

Let’s look at why gender confusion is a predictable consequence of a “reversed” home—not just because the Bible has a lot to say on the subject, but because a daughter identifies primarily with her mother who, spiritually speaking, has become the father. Likewise, a son identifies with a father who, spiritually speaking, has become the mother. These changes result in children who are biologically one sex but spiritually another—a reversal that sooner or later affects their choice of a mate. With the passing of generations, these conflicting identifications become legitimized as “genetic” and it is not long before the family, triune in design, has become socially redefined. It is also noteworthy that with few if any exceptions, one of the partners in a same-sex relationship is dominant while the other is more submissive—ironically reestablishing the patriarchal “heterosexual” model!

What about demons? Is there any evidence that reversed individuals are demonized? Yes, if we acknowledge that emotions are the “spirits” referred to in the Bible—and recognize, as analyzed above, that it is impossible to explain the emotional realm from the current evolutionary, materialistic point of view. The evidence grows; statistically speaking, gays have more anger and depression as compared with other populations, and their suicide rate is much higher as well. It is also a fact that lesbians make up about 40% of female prison inmates. The actual evidence, then, strongly corroborates that spiritually-reversed persons are demonized. The problem becomes that of overcoming our stereotypical reaction to the word “demon”—a scary term that underscores the devil’s success in disguising his role in the ongoing battle for the souls of men and women.

There is also cultural evidence. Studies show that, as a group, liberals attend church less often than conservatives. Other studies show that while they legislate money for the needy, they donate less of their income to charity—in all likelihood the result of being raised in an atmosphere of conditional love and rejection. They assuage their guilt by their social agendas—to the point of making laws forcing the rest of the population to fall in line. In one form or another, their demons of guilt, anger, and hatred drive them to viciously attack anything that gets in their way— to the point of outlawing politically incorrect speech as if that will change the heart. In truth, such stifling of expression engenders more hatred and violence. Consider what is happening on many college campuses where violence is now justified to shut down free speech, once the hallmark of this country. These protestors, with few or no exceptions, are liberal and if you question them will dismiss the Bible as written by misogynists and hatemongers. Indeed, when all is said and done, one’s perspective on the Bible lies at the root of a widening sociopolitical divide—just as would be expected if the Bible and the big picture were true.

That said, is it possible, with or without the casting-out-of-demons, for one’s acquired biological identity to become realigned with one’s biological identity? There are innumerable examples of such reversions in the Christian literature and there would be many more if local churches and ministries would acknowledge their New Testament authority to demolish strongholds in the mind “going contrary to the knowledge of God.” We need also a better understanding of how demons get increasingly entrenched with the passing of generations, making gender identity transformations appear “natural” when in fact they are grotesque disruptions of God’s plan for the family. As the Bible says, “My people are being destroyed for lack of knowledge.” This much is certain—just as we hate cancer and not the person in its grip, Christians should (and most do) love those who are spiritually reversed and in the grip of the devil—who, hopefully, if their hearts are right toward God, has not stolen their salvation. Any way you slice it, their light has gone out and there will be hidden hatred and other demons just waiting for an opportunity to rob, kill, and destroy.

Is the ministry of deliverance relevant today? 

Above and beyond the counterfeit ritual of exorcism—which in my opinion originated with the devil with the intent of frightening everyone away from the true biblical ministry of deliverance, one’s sins have been forgiven—past, present, and future—and therefore indignation and deliverance from evil remains biblical. Ever since the Temple veil was torn down the middle at the instant of Jesus’ death, believers now have direct access to God, no longer requiring an intermediary priest or saint. Jesus is our High Priest, “The only mediator between God and men.” All believers are “saints”—cleansed with the blood of Jesus.

Bottom line? The deliverance ministry is as relevant as one wants to make it depending upon one’s ability to muster up indignation against the enemy—indignation that should follow from knowing that as believers we have been “clothed with the righteousness of God.” Sadly, liberals and many others have been “blinded by the god of this world” and haven’t a clue as to the availability of such righteousness—by simply inviting Jesus into their hearts as their Redeemer. By contrast, liberals promote a counterfeit religion of political correctness where they claim righteousness by their good works—a delusion driven by pride and good intent but which the Bible calls “filthy rags.” Their unbiblical theology is the result of what I envision to be an incestuous imbalance, where parental reversal and resulting conditional love create a strong need to be loved. And since the opposite-sex parent almost always has a similar need, the stage is set for an unhealthy intimacy between parent and child. More often than not, this imbalance is disguised as uncommon closeness but in homes where egos are weak and the hunger for intimacy is great, actual incest can result—between father and daughter or between the daughter and some other non-nuclear family member. I recall one woman I was ministering to who had regular sex with her father well into her college years, thereby replacing her mother as her father’s mate. Rarely does incest between a mother and son occur; there is a powerful taboo against this in every culture.

The main point for our present purposes is that in today’s culture, most homes have some measure of incestuous imbalance. Big deal? Yes, because this blunts the capacity of that child for experiencing emotional intimacy with God the Father—Abba, “Papa” or “Daddy” in the Greek. And I believe this imbalance is one of, if not the major reason why liberals, whether or not they call themselves Christian, have contempt for the Bible and pick and choose verses supporting their viewpoint—while ridiculing demons as having little or no relevance in today’s culture. This is only logical given that, above all, the devil wants to keep them from repentance and receiving the righteousness that comes only by faith. Indeed, given the reversed, demonic makeup of their personalities, they have little choice but to push liberal doctrines—even to the point of taking legal action against those who disagree with them. They will, this means, do whatever is needed to keep their guilt and unworth repressed.

And it’s a big deal for other reasons or could be if we could just understand the further ramifications of reversal and the resulting hindrance to trusting in God and His Word. It’s hypothetical at this point but given how, at its root, reversal consists of a husband failing to accept his God-given more authoritative role and/or a wife who usurps his authority, there is a real possibility that, as a muscle atrophies for lack of use, neurons and synaptic connections designed for asserting authority may, for lack of use, atrophy— resulting eventually in the man’s inability to act and think on his own. This would in effect mean that a spirit of control in a woman—known in the deliverance ministry as a spirit of “witchcraft control”—together, with a complementary spirit of timidity and submission in the man, could be the root cause of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia (insofar as certain parts of the brain would no longer be functional and would atrophy). That’s how serious any significant deviation from the biblical model of the home could be. We can apply similar reasoning to women with dementia—who during their lives may have been the victims of angry, unfulfilled men who have been unable to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. The possibilities are endless—yet it is unlikely, in light of the big picture, that science will devote any of its wealth to researching these issues.

As for the growing division between liberals and conservatives, it is all about guilt and how it is resolved. Liberals repress and project, while conservatives are more likely to turn to God for forgiveness. It is not coincidental that the suicide rate is soaring among girls who have just experienced their first menstrual period; they instinctively know that they have reached a physiological maturity that rivals their mothers. Some at this point even develop hatred toward their fathers as a defense, not understanding that the real problem is a cluster of demons giving her the conviction that she has betrayed her mother. The deeper truth is that one of the major consequences of spiritual reversal is that its victims learn, unwittingly, to trust more in the devil and his many lies, and less in God and His Word—rigidly commensurate with the father having who lost his spiritual authority and agape love having been thwarted.

The truth about liberal agendas

A leading American liberal proclaimed on national television recently that being a Christian should disqualify someone from public office—a good example of how demons (manifesting as thoughts and emotions) have persuaded the world that tolerance for anything and everything is good and biblical Christianity is evil—thereby evading guilt, not by improving their lives but by eliminating the very concept of sin. Instead of dealing with their sinful nature or working toward the saving of souls, liberals obsess over the planet, whales, climate change or some other seemingly urgent cause—notwithstanding the biblical revelation that the oceans will turn to blood and one-third of the Earth will be burned to a crisp. In other words, their priorities revolve around saving the planet rather than souls while, to the devil’s glee, their guilt remains so deep that they are threatening legal action against anyone who rejects their ideology. Despite its surface merits, their gospel is a counterfeit of the Gospel of Jesus.

The liberal agenda comes into sharper focus in light of the battle raging between God and the devil. The big picture helps define the devil’s strategy the core of which is the disruption of the home and the consequent derailing of Jesus as the only mediator between men and God the Father—and in a parallel manner derailing a child’s intimacy with “Daddy” by way of compromising the flow of agape love through the mother. With few or no exceptions, liberals come from homes where the father was spiritually weak, alcoholic, or otherwise missing—making it very apparent that liberals, especially women, take up the gauntlet and attempt to become the father they never had. Their unresolved guilt drives them to become advocates for women’s rights, the needy, and other disadvantaged groups, seemingly valid objectives but which in balance elude the spiritual rebirth needed for “becoming the righteousness of God.” The devil is pleased as the world gradually comes to accept these “filthy rags” as noble. Only the Word of God, “sharper than any two-edged sword for discerning the intents of the heart” can distinguish between the good and evil of these social trends.

What about other religions?

It is politically incorrect to say, but all other (non-Christian) religions are counterfeits to the real McCoy: forgiveness of sin by faith in the blemish-free shed blood of Jesus. None of these counterfeits offers absolution from guilt and their followers are left with uncertainty regarding their eternal destiny, thereby inviting in demons of anger, fear, and hatred—setting the stage in some religions for horrific acts of violence “in the name of God.” The devil, a master of the martial arts, then implicates all religions as evil—creating a huge population of high-minded liberals who have disdain for the Bible while promoting a more tolerant if wishy-washy god of their own making.

It is a fact that except for Christianity all religions teach that getting right with God is based on some sanctioned behavior—the exact opposite of the biblical claim that “a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” When Jesus was asked“What are the works one must do to be saved?” He answered: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (Himself). It’s that simple—despite liberals proclaiming in their pride (and guilt) that such simplicity is far too easy. This is why other religions do exactly what liberals do, decry the Bible as flawed—emphasizing the Golden Rule while ignoring or denying the centerpiece of Christianity: the Cross. The Pharisees claimed Jesus had a demon and today’s liberals, driven by the same spirits, similarly denounce his divinity as a fraud!

What about evolution? After all, its proponents claim to have explained the origin and meaning of life—making it their religion.  And doesn’t the fossil record and other discoveries offer proof for evolution? In a way, but only to the extent that their “proofs” fit with their presuppositions. In truth, the fossil record is exactly what you would expect following the rapid drainage of a worldwide, biblical flood—fossils laid down in layers, marine fossils on the tops of mountains around the world, and so on. As for the Grand Canyon, touted as evidence for millions of years of evolution, the evidence favors its creation by a lot of water over a little time—as the worldwide flood quickly drained—rather than a little water over a lot of time. If you look at their time charts, the “proofs” for evolution are but a patchy amalgam of bits and pieces of evidence giving the appearance of proof. But that is a subject for another day. Suffice it to say that the history of evolution is riddled with one hoax after another—reflecting the zeal with which its high priests are attempting to prove the irrelevance of God.

Like the angel Lucifer, scientists want to replace God—strong affirmation that the devil is behind the belief that mutation and millions of years are in effect God. In other words, if the devil can’t be worshiped directly, he will settle for second best—setting the stage for the Great Tribulation, when he will present himself to the world as God. Everything fits together perfectly but only if reality is fundamentally spiritual, and God-centered—a God who is gleaning a people for himself, people whose minds and hearts have grasped the need for redemption and who trust more in His Word than the words of men. In other words, people who have by faith and by their own free will choice become “the righteousness of God” by faith—people with whom He can fellowship forever.

Could the big picture be seriously flawed?

Okay, it’s crunch time! What would it mean, hypothetically, if we cast out what we think is a demon and it’s really not a demon? What becomes of the big picture and the claim that everything, including evil, is fundamentally spiritual? To phrase this differently, what is evil if it is not a demon? In other words, is there such a thing as evil which is not spiritual? No, because evil is defined by intent and intent has a spiritual nature. A Christian friend of mine, a psychiatrist, believes that demons in people suffering emotionally are possible but extremely rare and that most of the relief claimed by those who “cast them out” can be explained by the power of suggestion. We could attempt to tweak the difference between faith and the “power of suggestion” but for the sake of argument let’s assume that there are situations in which a presumed demon is not a demon at all. My position is that since the spiritual realm is invisible, only God can know for sure; unless we acknowledge the big picture, in which case we too can know for sure.

Look at it this way. If we take authority over something that can be defined as “going contrary to the knowledge of God,” will He not be pleased with our willingness to stand on Calvary’s victory—which is why I believe that such evil is demonic. If wrong, we have created an action-stifling gray zone of uncertainty and have inched toward the evolutionary premise that emotion is emergent from matter—the “hard question” of science. This would also mean that God has created a world in which believers are caught in endless confusion regarding the presence of demonic evil—a world where we would be paralyzed to act decisively and with authority against evil. And that, it’s not hard to see, is the state of today’s Church.

Let’s look more deeply at this quandary. Should we in a given situation be able, to our satisfaction, to overcome the hurdle of uncertainty when confronting evil? Who is to say at what level the situation is no longer borderline? There will always be that borderline zone where “only God knows,” a dilemma that doesn’t jibe well with logic, neuroscience, or the biblical account—because, then, as the world’s brightest scientists will testify, an emotion becomes a complete mystery. Moreover, if we back off from taking authority over evil at a lower level, afraid we will make a mistake, we will—with the possible exception of someone writhing like a snake or spewing hatred toward God—be hesitant to cast anything out, ever. And that is just not biblical. It is double-mindedness, a state of mind in which one is “tossed to and fro like a wave of the sea”…“unable to receive anything from God.” Furthermore, experience in the trenches of spiritual warfare makes it clear that doubt is itself a demon—a very common demon. Strategically speaking, if there ever was a demon, “doubt” would surely be found in the devil’s quiver of “fiery arrows.”

The question, for me, becomes not whether a demon is present but when to help someone in this manner. Do the victims have an adequate understanding of who they are in Christ? Do they need instruction to muster up enough indignation to assure victory? Without this indignation—despite prayer—a person might not be set free and could end up being even more discouraged. This, conceivably, could work to a person’s advantage assuming their distress continues or intensifies to the point where it becomes pretty obvious the problem is intruding evil. But why wait and go through so much unnecessary turmoil and suffering? And there are other sources of confusion. For example, what happens when someone is told their emotional distress is caused by a “biochemical imbalance.” It certainly is a biochemical imbalance, but one that, according to the big picture, is caused by a dysfunction in their limbic brain—of the kind of Jesus healed by casting out demons. Biblically—with few or no exceptions—healing was associated with demons coming out.

I have many times cast out of myself or a patient what appears to be nothing more than a little resentment or anxiety. The result is invariably the same—all the typical signs of energy being released in the limbic brain, then channeled into an upper respiratory pathway: yawning, sighing, sneezing, nasal discharge, or some other physical sign that the energy holding an evil stronghold together in the brain has found an outlet. Freed energy has to go somewhere or it will cause havoc in the brain.

That said, we don’t know exactly how or where demons impact our brains. Being spiritual—not physical—they cannot in a conventional sense be “here” or “there.” It is enough to know that they are causing a problem and that we have authority over them. We can only know for sure what the Bible says about them—for example, that, upon their departure, they return to “dry places”—likely a metaphor alluding to a demon’s whole intent being that of messing with our “wet” brains—achieving what God cannot do: mediate evil while giving us the free-will to make a choice. In the neuroscience think tank where I worked in the ’70s, scientists referred to the molecular and psychological aspects of the brain as “wet” and “dry” respectively—oblivious there might be a biblical connection.

What about psychotherapy? It can help and sometimes, if the sovereign Spirit of God is moving, quite dramatically. I have often observed (in myself and others) all the typical signs of deliverance without formally casting anything out—more often than not following some victory, however minor. The truth sets us free and Jesus—in ways yet to be more fully fathomed—is that truth! He is always the source of victory over demons, whatever the context. In any event, many therapists, including those who are Christian, have been raised in reversed, agape-compromised homes—giving rise to therapists and their clients getting mired in a game of demonic ping-pong.

Here, in passing, is a question for the ages! How is it possible that our “wet” fleshly brains or bodies can be physiologically impacted by an intangible spirit or demon? Listen carefully as I am about to propose what may be the answer to this great mystery, one that would seem to be beyond our capacity to understand were it not for the fact that “all things are possible with God.” It is an unfathomable mystery—unless the triunity of the home is so essential and intrinsic to the health and functioning of the human brain that any deviation from the biblical model instantly results in, or is equivalent to, what we call demonic intrusion. This, however, would be possible only if God, not matter, is fundamental—all in all. Here’s the logic. Just as every human being who ever existed was initially encoded in Adam’s DNA, so I propose the potential demonization of any human has been encoded in the limbic design of the human brain—if and when he or she breaks God’s law. This would mean that a demon never mysteriously invades from somewhere “out there” in a spiritual domain but, rather, its entry is built into the design of the brain—so that whenever a commandment of God is broken, an aberration of brain function occurs—appearing as demonic “intrusion.”

This assessment boils down to the claim that, unlike evolution, the chancy nature of which is opposed to the Word of God,—there is no room for chance or error when it comes to sin and demonization. When the Bible says “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour,” it doesn’t mean that on a given day he is going down Route 95 and the next day, westward on Route 66 with the hope of finding a victim. God, in my opinion, would not create such a random reality where lucky ones get spared the devil’s clutches, while unlucky others fall victim. It makes more sense, given the legalistic nature of the devil’s intrusions, to believe that we exist in a reality where spiritual events are as predictable and unchangeable as the laws of physics. If we ignore or reject God’s instruction manual, His Word, we will —not may—be impacted by evil.

Be not in any way misled, victory over evil is tied to repentance. Repentance in turn is tied to receiving the Good News—the Gospel of Jesus. Only God knows how many spirits come and go as we read, sing hymns, ponder or talk about the promises of God, and, with seeming irrelevance, yawn, cry, cough, or sneeze. Do we yawn to get more oxygen to our brains? Or is it possible that when we are exhausted at the end of the day our egos ease up to the point where evil spirits can no longer hold on and return to their “dry places”? Introspect the next time you yawn or sneeze and note that very little if any air is exchanged!

I often wonder, too, why my wife and I yawn at precisely the same moment. It’s understood that yawning appears to be contagious, but there are countless times when I have yawned only to look over and notice that my wife began her yawn at the same moment I started mine—far too often for this to be mere coincidence. We have so much to learn. In the meantime, it is apparent to me that at least for husbands and wives, demons come in couplets that depart together. It is also apparent that people get married because they have complementary evil strongholds—tantamount to an unwritten contract that each spouse will tolerate certain idiosyncrasies in the other. For example, a wife may need to “run the show” and will choose a husband who likes to be mothered. The need for premarital counseling is obvious. Marital counseling likewise has great value. I remember a situation when a married couple needed help, but only the husband agreed to the casting-out-of-spirits. After a few sessions, he was praising God for feeling so free and for how much better his business was going—not realizing that he had unintentionally broken his marriage “contract.” His newfound freedom precipitated a threat by his wife to hang herself in their barn. It all worked out but the lesson was learned.

I remember sharing the Gospel of Jesus with a nominal Christian who was a member of a very liberal church. Upon hearing for the first time the Good News, she sneezed—I counted—seven times in a row! The need is obvious. However, even when a full-gospel church is available, its leaders are likely to cast demons out only from those whom they consider to be a little crazy—in contrast to the biblical standard of “many at sunset.” Of course, the best strategy is to explain the Gospel and then, if need be, cast out spirits. That said, it is my long-considered opinion that every born-again believer, with possibly a few exceptions, can benefit from the fourth ministry of Jesus. To believe that “resisting the devil” means only to get one’s thoughts in line with the Word by spending more time in the Bible is naive and will, for the most part, result in experiencing more guilt. It is extremely freeing for those being ministered to hear the person praying for them speak directly to a demon and tell them to stop harassing them. They might do okay without any prayer but would not experience the level of victory available with deliverance prayer–and would be far more likely to end up receiving a psychotropic or some other drug. if they would utilize this ministry, they wouldn’t have to live with so many problems and work so hard at pretending they do not exist. Unfortunately, pastors often refer their more troubled parishioners to a psychiatrist or other professional who will treat them pharmacologically to mask a problem to the devil’s delight, since he now has a legal hold on them–quenching their witness and robbing them of the “the peace that passes all understanding.”

The devil is the “god of this world” and, as such, the world remains tragically duped, yet supremely confident that it has the high road as compared with those narrow-minded, child-like Bible believers who use religion as a crutch. (It’s easy to feel you are right when millions of others agree with you!) Scientists, “gods” in the hallowed halls of materialism, emotionally invested in the material realm are likely to be driven by an unresolved reverence for the mother–reverence that is culturally sanctioned as materialism. I doubt that the name of the terror group, Isis, is coincidental to the ancient Egyptian goddess of the same name, in a world that has forsaken the biblical model—resulting in the stunting of spiritual growth by an unresolved dependence on the mother (mater) as compared to the more biblically-sanctioned authoritative father (pater). In other words, they will not have grown spiritually to the point of trust and reverence for the father in the home and will be unable, to that extent, to depend on God the Father (or His Word) for needed strength or advice. Indeed, there are liberal groups now attempting to change the name of “God the Father” to “God the Mother”–or will one way or another rob Him of His authority. They will, accordingly, be filled with unresolved guilt and rage, repressed or more openly influencing their behavior.

Bible believers, are “in the world, but not of this world.” The devil can only get to them through cracks in their spiritual armor—including unconfessed sin. And since sin is defined as “anything not from faith” the door is open wide for the entry of demons. Indignation against these demons follows from an understanding of the Gospel. Indeed, is there a danger in placing too much emphasis on the enemy? Possibly, but today there is far too little respect for the wiles of the devil. It’s noteworthy that if you read books by those with many years of experience in the deliverance ministry you will see that, while urging caution against placing too much emphasis on the demonic realm, they will in the very next breath identify just about any thought or feeling going “contrary to the knowledge of God” as a demon—in line with the big picture presented here. (Books by Derek Prince, Don Basham, Win Worley, Frank and Ida Mae Hammond, come to mind.) We need to keep an open mind to the possibility that the name of a demon is whatever word or phrase best describes its attack strategy. This means that we need to be creative and appreciate that most demons (hmm…just like “emotions”) work in clusters. In any battle, we need to outflank the enemy.

More in a future post and book, but—assuming you are a born-again believer—you can say something like this directly to a demon: “You demon, causing (———) to feel afraid, depressed, hopeless (or whatever), come out in the name of Jesus. He/she has been washed in the blood of Jesus and has confessed, renounced, and repented of any sin. You are trespassing. Come out now.” Persist with this approach until the Holy Spirit tells you to stop or you have peace that the job is complete, typically requiring a minute or two of focused prayer. That peace is the very presence of the Holy Spirit. On one occasion I persisted for a full fifty minutes with dramatic upper respiratory results (to be explained in a forthcoming book). The patient was schizoid, had been hospitalized, and was reluctant to give up a very deep and troubling spirit. Don’t ever stifle yawning; it can even be helpful to encourage yawning—greasing the skids so to speak, facilitating a pathway by which the freed energy from an evil limbic stronghold can be channeled out of the brain. With faith, patience, and persistence, anyone praying for their own or someone’s deliverance will be thrilled and edified with the results—if they don’t get double-minded and are willing to give God all the glory. Again, one must be a true, born-again believer—for, otherwise, as the Bible so clearly warns, there could be some serious repercussions. Deliverance from demons is the “children’s bread”—for believers only. Despite the many who believe that everyone is a child of God, there is according to the Word only one way to become a “child of God.”

So, in the final analysis, is there any wiggle room for a “big picture” vastly different from the one presented here? I don’t think so, not if we can rise above our knee-jerk reactions to terms such as “evil spirits” or “demons”—as learned in a culture where the devil is the god of this world—and allow the Word of God to be our guide. Jesus came to Earth “to destroy the works of the devil.” This He accomplished when, with his dying breath, He proclaimed “It is finished.” Now, we “have been seated in the heavenly realms” (past tense) and “have been healed by His stripes” (past tense!). We can therefore proceed to take authority over demons—whatever their exact nature—with the utmost confidence that God will work His power through our faith. Just believe and drive ‘em out!

Need a little more encouragement? We have the following New Testament advice:

“Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

Sounds a lot like the big picture!

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Note: I have intentionally left out all scriptural references for the sake of a cleaner text. They are all easily attainable using any Bible concordance or search engine.

Recommended reading

Readers interested in the spiritual origin of gender identity changes will find the Epilogue of my book, Mind, Matter and God: Exploding the Myth of Evolution, to be of interest—titled “Gender Confusion and the Collapse of America.” The rest of the book is highly philosophical and will appeal mainly to those interested in understanding why consciousness and the light of God are one and the same—ruling out evolution as an atheistic theory.

Biblical inerrancy is the key to accepting the big picture. Anyone wanting proof that the Bible is in fact the true, inerrant Word of God can request my essay on Bible mathematics, titled “Theomatics.” The devil will try to persuade some that this is numerology, but proof is presented that it is not.

Another book is now available (as of 10-1-2020): God and the Anatomy of the Brain: Explaining Mind in a Universe of Matter. This book uses the anatomy of the brain to prove the existence of God. And soon another: “Demons and Modern Psychology.”

Lastly, anyone wanting to learn more about what it means to be “born again” and why Jesus is the only way to God and everlasting life, I recommend you call the John Hagee Ministry (210) 491-5100 and order the DVD entitled “That Rips It.” Or, if you want a quick, sure way to get right with God, say the following prayer from your heart:

Hello God, 

I know that I have sinned and fallen short of your glory. Yes, I believe Christ died for me personally and that by acknowledging my wretchedness apart from Jesus and accepting what He accomplished at Calvary He is now my God, Lord and Savior.  I am from this moment on cleansed by faith from all sin and, thanks to Jesus, now have a personal relationship with God. I am born-again. Should I falter and sin, as I’m sure I will, I will remind myself that I have, in the only eyes that really count, been cleansed of all sin by the precious blood of Jesus. And when the devil tries to convince me that I am unworthy and still a sinner, I will realize that I cannot be both a sinner and cleansed by blood at the same time. As St. Paul said, “When I sin, it is no longer I who sins but sin that dwells within me.”  I have been redeemed by the blemish free blood of the Lamb, God in the flesh—who being without sin makes this the only way to be “clothed with the righteousness of God.” 

Going forward I will, by the power of the Holy Spirit, rest in you always, knowing that by my decision to trust in Jesus my sin has been removed from me “as far as the East is from the West.” If I ever have doubts about my worthiness, I will remember that such fear is a deception from the enemy of God, that in looking down upon me God sees only the blood of Jesus which covers and atones for my sin. I will praise God daily and give him all the glory for my success. 

And one last thought, God—I pray that when I get lax and fear the outcome of my own continuing flaws, that you will remind me to keep “looking to Jesus as if in a mirror” so that, as promised in your Word, you will “change me step by step, from glory to glory, into the image of your beloved Son.” I pray that, toward that end, you will move me to study and hide your Word in my heart as a shield against the fiery arrows of the devil. I pray that I will repent as often as needed of any failure to keep looking to you rather than myself for victory, that I will know with a growing conviction that salvation and life itself are gifts from God.

May God bless all who can say the above prayer from their heart. Just keep in mind that it’s not exactly what you say or how you say it, but what’s in your heart. Try not to be obsessed with proving, especially as a new Christian, that you are worthy of God’s love. If such worth could be achieved by your own effort, a sacrificial life or any other way, Jesus would not have had to die on the Cross. Rest instead in His love and forgiveness for your sin—past, present and future. Jesus told the thief on the Cross that He would see him in paradise that very day. There was no time for this man to prove his worth; he somehow just knew that his worth was in Jesus and Jesus alone.

About Glenn Dudley

GLENN DUDLEY became interested in the mind-body problem as a Pre-Med student at the University of Colorado where he emphasized studies in physics, philosophy, and Judeo-Christian theology. He received his M.D. degree from the University of Colorado in 1969. After a mixed Psychiatry/Medicine internship, he worked for two years at MIT's Neurosciences Research Program -- a think tank whose objective was that of understanding how the hard-wiring of the nervous system mediates thought and emotion. Then, he spent a year in the Department of Psychiatry at Tufts Medical School in Boston reviewing the world's literature on psychological and emotional predispositions to cancer. From 1975 to his retirement in 1998 he practiced primary care medicine.
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