There are several instances in the New
Testament in which it speaks of people being possessed by demons. Such possession was manifested in a variety
of ways. An individual may become blind
(Mt. 12:22), unable to speak (Mt. 9:32), lame, mentally deficient (Mt. 17:15),
possess unusual physical strength (Mk. 5:3-4), dropsy (Lk. 14:2), or even have
epilepsy. Demons are special servants of
the devil who inflicted mental and physical anguish on men during the first
century. They only did harm and never
anything good (Jn. 10:21). During his
ministry the Lord manifested his power over the demonic world by casting them
out of men (Mt. 17:18). The demons knew
who Jesus was, the Son of God (Lk. 4:41).
They even recognized his power over them as evidenced by the fact that
some demons entreated him to cast them into a herd of swine and he granted
their request (Mt. 8:31-32). The
ultimate end of the devil and his angels is the eternal fire of hell (Mt.
25:41) and he wants to take as many as he can with him.
Several years ago the comedian Flip Wilson
coined a phrase that became popular, “The
devil made me do it.” Anytime an
evil deed was done it was attributed to the devil’s influence as if that
absolved man of all responsibility for the wrong committed. The interesting thing is that even during the
period of time in which demons actually possessed man, you never read of their
forcing a person to violate God’s word against their will. Demon possession was always manifested in
some mental or physical malady…never in causing a person to transgress the
Lord’s will. James said, “But each one is tempted when he is carried
away and enticed by his own lust.
Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is
accomplished, it brings forth death” (Jas. 1:14-15, emphasis mine). Thus, if we meet the Lord on the Day of
Judgment in a lost condition, we can only blame ourselves. We can’t even blame the devil.
