CAN A PERSON WHO WAS DELIVERED FROM A DEMONIC UNCLEAN SPIRIT BE POSSESSED AGAIN?

1. A PERSON IS DELIVERED FROM AN UNCLEAN DEMONIC SPIRIT
2. THE PERSON REMAINS EMPTY, CLEAN, SWEPT, AND IN ORDER
3. THE FIRST DEMONIC SPIRIT RETURNS AND SEES THE PERSON’S SPIRITUAL CONDITION AND GOES TO GET 7 DEMONIC SPIRITS MORE WICKED THAN IT IS. ALL 8 COME TO INDWELL THE PERSON
4. THE PERSON’S SPIRITUAL CONDITION AT THE END IS WORSE THAN AT THE BEGINNING

1. JESUS’ MESSAGE: This teaching of Jesus is not a true story neither is it a parable, but a truth regarding the kingdom of darkness that Jesus wanted His disciples to understand and pass it on to the church. The person is just an example of a human reacting to demonic attack. He/she had been possessed by a demon and somehow is delivered and set free from the demonic spirit. Then the person gets his/her life back in order, but the person is not a Christian. Meanwhile the demon that had come out of the person is trying to find a place of rest and has not found anything. The demon decides to check on the person it left and finds that the spiritual condition of the person is empty, swept, and put in order. Therefore, it goes and gets 7 more demons that are even worse than it is and all 8 go into the person and possess him/her. The final stage of this person’s spiritual life is worse than when he/she only had one demon. But what does it mean to be empty, swept, and put in order? And how do we know that the person is not a Christian believer?


2. WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT THE PERSON WHO WAS DELIVERED FROM THE DEMON WAS EMPTY, SWEPT, PUT IN ORDER, AND NOT A CHRISTIAN?
   

• EMPTY:
  
  
  • EMPTY OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD:
    • JESUS SAID: Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
    • JESUS SAID: Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
    • JESUS SAID: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
    • JESUS SAID: He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:3-18
  • If the person who received deliverance from a demon continues his/her life not believing in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God and Savior, then that person is not born again of the Spirit. That person is empty of the Spirit of God. The demons can see that the Spirit of God is not in the person. If the person would have believed and received Jesus as Savior and Lord, the Spirit of God would have come to indwell that person causing him/her to be born again. Then the demonic spirits would not have been able to indwell the person again because where the Spirit of God dwells, demonic spirits cannot go in to possess. This is also why we can tell the person was not a Christian because the demons came to possess him/her again.

• SWEPT & CLEAN OF FAITH:
  
  
  • PAUL SAID: So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Rom. 10:17
  • A CONFESSION OF THAT FAITH: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-17
  • In order to be saved, a person must have FAITH to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior — the only One who can forgive our sins.
  • Being clean of FAITH means the person does not believe in Jesus. In order to be saved you must believe in Jesus. Therefore, the person does not believe and does not confess the Lord Jesus as Savior.
  • The person is still in his/her sins and open for another demonic attack and indwelling.

• LIFE IN ORDER:
  
  
  • After being set free from demonic possession, a person will have his/her life back in order, but if the person does not believe in Jesus, it will be useless. Here are two examples in the Bible of people who were set free from demonic possession, they got their lives in order, but they believed and they followed Jesus:
    
    
    • THE DEMON-POSSESSED MAN [Luke 8:26-38] — And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man
    • AFTER BEING SET FREE FROM THE DEMONS THE MAN BECAME AN EVANGELIST — Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
    • He used his life in order to testify about all that Jesus had done for him. He believed Jesus was the Son of God!
    
    
    • MARY MAGDALENE: Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities — Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons. [Luke 8:2]
    • After her deliverance, she began to follow Jesus — she believed. She listened to His teachings and followed Him [Luke 8:1-4]. She was at the cross when He died. She was the first to see the Lord after the resurrection. She then was ordered by the Lord to go and tell the disciples that He had resurrected — she used her life in order to serve the Lord. She believed Jesus was the Son of God!

• JESUS’ REVELATION: [Mat. 12:43-45]
  • Today, in the world, we don’t have a clear understanding of demonic possession and deliverance because when it occurs, it is usually handled within the walls of a church or within a Christian environment. It is not given publicity and the people of the world don’t care about it or don’t believe it happens. For them, it is all spooky and not for “smart and educated” people to believe. Many Christian denominations don’t even believe it or teach about it.
  • But there are many situations related to demon possessions in the Bible. We don’t read about demon possession and deliverance in the Old Testament because the unclean demonic spirits were not manifesting themselves the way they did during Jesus’ ministry and later with the disciples.
  • The reason they began to manifest themselves during Jesus’ ministry and after is because when Jesus appeared and came to Israel, He did it with God’s power and filled with the Holy Spirit.
  • The demons recognized the power of God in Him, and they kept proclaiming that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah. The demons were greatly afraid because they thought it was the time Jesus was going to send them to everlasting condemnation in the lake of fire and were begging Him not to do it.
  • Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!” Mark 1:21-27
  • When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Luke 8:28-29
  • And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. Mark 3:9-12
  • And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God! Luke 4:40-41
  • The demons recognized that Jesus was the Son of God because they were in heaven with God before they joined Lucifer/the devil/Satan’s rebellion against God and they were all cast down to earth with Satan. They became demonic fallen angels and as evil as their master Satan — they do the devil’s biddings and follow his commands.
    • And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:7-9
  
  * THE PERSON WHO WAS DELIVERED FROM AN UNCLEAN DEMONIC SPIRIT SHOULD HAVE FOLLOWED THE POWER THAT DELIVERED HIM AND COME TO BELIEVE JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOR. THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT KNOWING WHAT WAS NOT IN THE MAN, THE SPIRIT OF GOD, CAME TO INDWELL HIM AGAIN AND BROUGHT 7 MORE WICKED SPIRITS. THOSE SPIRITS CAME TO DESTROY THE PERSON SINCE THE PERSON DECIDED NOT TO BELIEVE IN JESUS. THAT’S WHY THE PERSON WILL BE IN A WORSE SPIRITUAL STATE AT THE END OF HIS LIFE WITH 8 DEMONS INDWELLING HIM/HER.

• JESUS SAID: “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons.” Mark 16:17. Just before Jesus was to return to the Father, He gave the disciples the power and authority to cast out demons. The disciples wrote about it in the Bible where we have the description of what they witnessed and experienced. Their accounts were passed on to the Church to continue with that power and authority throughout the ages.
  • Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed. Acts 8:5-7
  • But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. Acts 16:16-18
  • They brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
  • Today, believers who have received the power to cast out demons are still using that authority to cast out demons from people who are possessed and seeing them set free.

• JESUS SAID: “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” Matthew 12:43-45
  
  2 PETER 2:1-22 — The apostle Peter warned the church of his time about false Christian leaders who come into the church, but were never really born again. At first, they seem to be true believers, but the demons come back and these leaders change. They begin to show the work of darkness that is in them and Peter warned the believers of his time, and our time also, to be careful with these false leaders because they will cause many in the congregation to follow them in their destructive path and demonic doctrines.
  
  
  • But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive , even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2:1 [These “so-called” Christian leaders could be part of the church congregation. But yet, they were bringing heresies or doctrines of demons into the church]
    
    
  • And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words. 2:2-3 [These false leaders will create a following in the church who will believe their demonic doctrines and follow them. These church people will be an easy target for the leaders’ greed and exploitation.]
    
    
  • They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. 2:13-14 [These false leaders fellowship with the congregation and entice weak Christians to participate in their sins—these leaders have eyes full of adultery, cannot cease from sin, are covetous and they are really accursed people.]
  
  
  • They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. 2:15 [These false leaders once walked in the truth of Christ because they might have been attracted by the love and fellowship of the Christian community. When they joined the church, they acted like a Christian, but soon the demons that had controlled the false leaders come back to control them]
  
  
  • They allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption. 2:18-19 [As the demons return, they soon show their work in the person. These leaders are lustful people who allure and tempt those who have escaped from the sin of the world. They talk about liberty, but yet, they are slave of all kinds of sins and corruption]
  
  
  • For by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 2:19b [These false leaders once were set free from demonic control, but they were overcome by the demons again and brought into bondage to follow their ways.]
  
  
  • For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 2:20 [These people learned and had knowledge of the truth of Jesus, but were never converted, regenerated, and born again of the Spirit of God — Jesus was not in their spirit heart. These people are again taken over by the demons they had before and the end of their lives will be worse than before.]
  
  
  • For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 2 Peter 2:21

* All biblical references are from New King James Version