Demon Possession

[Gregory Matthews]

Demon Possession:  The link below takes you to a 2018 article by Stephen Furgason published in the official SDA publication Adventist Record that discussed demon possession.  It is of interest.

https://record.adventistchurch.com/2018/11/01/28-fundamentals-the-day-i-attended-an-exorcism-my-own/

In the current article cited below, he updates the subject and develops it more.

https://atoday.org/do-ordinary-christians-need-exorcisms/

 

 

[Basil]

"From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One." DA 161

Through sophistry Satan hijacked this place of indwelling. Is this possession??? Well, for a certainty mankind was held in captivity and was spiritually dead.

When I consider the fall of man and the warning that he would die it became obvious to me that something truly did die on that fateful day. A significant change had occurred in our first parents. In the core of their being, within their soul temple, love died and was replaced by fear and unbridled desires. Scripture declares in so many words that they were at war with God, there was an enmity towards God and according to EGW, Satan had given them his own nature.

"After tempting man to sin, Satan claimed the earth as his, and styled himself the prince of this world. Having conformed to his own nature the father and mother of our race, he thought to establish here his empire.” DA 114

Sister Ellen speaks of the faculties of the mind such as memory and reason and the will she calls the 'kingly faculty' for it takes all the input from the other faculties and makes the decisions of life. I believe that humanity was also created with a spiritual faculty, providing him with a love for his Creator, an ability to hear and follow His moment by moment guidance and a heart longing to seek after Him. I believe that this is what died on that day. At the loss of Adam's spiritual life, Satan had irretrievably corrupted humanity and usurped the dominion of this world. To simply forgive their failing, telling them to do better next time was not possible and would give no assurance that sin would not arise again. 

Since Man was created for habitation the question now would be who would be taking up residence within us?

To your post on possession, sister Ellen has stated that we will inevitably be under the control of one or the other of the two great powers striving for the souls of humanity. 

My views on possession or influence by dark forces has drastically changes as I have looked at this topic in the past few years. On the opposite side of the coin it opens up our understanding of how God influences and controls our souls through the Plan of Redemption.

There is much more to share on this topic and I invite discussion and investigation.

 

[Rahab]

We need to have God take possession of our lives otherwise the enemy of souls will come in and destroy us.

we must ask for God’s forgiveness and guidance continually 

[Gustave]

Interesting, I've not heard of mass demonic possession - the sort requiring actual exorcisms be conducted. In any event, in the SDA Church, does the clergy require the permission of the official denomination to proceed with an exorcism or are clergy in the SDA Church at liberty to just wing it when they believe appropriate? 

 

[Gregory Matthews]

I can only speak for North America:  A so-called exorcism, conducted by SDA clergy, would be a very uncommon event.  Permission from higher level SDA officials would not be required of individual SDA Clergy.  However, any SDA clergy who became known as making this a major part of their pastoral care would likely attract the attention of higher-level SDA officials, who would not favor that focus of ministry, and would advise that the individual to change their focus.

[Gustave]

Does the SDA Church not have a process for exorcism, even if it's extremely rare? I've never witnessed one myself but the Priest who married my wife and I said he witnessed one in Africa that was disturbing to put it mildly. 

[Gregory Matthews]

No.  The SDA Church does not have an identified method of exorcism.  However, I suspect that some would answer that it would say that such should be with much prayer, caution and perhaps (?) only with others involved in the prayer.  The bottom line remains: The SDA Church does not have a proscribed method of exorcism.

Yesl, alleged accounts that I have heard, have been disturbing.

On a personal note:  I agree with the SDA position that Satanic control can occur.  However, I can give a psychiatric diagnosis to most of what I have heard alleged to be demon position.  So, while I believe that such is real, that does not mean that I believe that every alleged occurrence is real. 

[Gregory Matthews]

On one of my assignments to South Kore a SDA Korean family came to me and asked me to perform an exorcism for their son.  I spoke with them and identified a psychiatric issue.  So, in my prayer, I asked that the Lord would lead them to the appropriate clinician and that they would be willing to work with that person to bring relief to their son.  In my thinking, I did not perform an exorcism.

[Gustave]

Your understanding (about mental illness being considered) aligns with CCC-1673 as Jimmy Akin explains.

 

[Joe Knapp]

I think I met Stephen Ferguson at the Rockingham church. He is a good guy.

 

Demon possession is common here in the Philippines.  It is normally a part-time thing. Meaning, they do not behave as demon possessed all the time.  Adventist pastors use prayer to remove the possession. They need no permission.

It is not an inconspicuous thing.  Often the demon will speak or cause involuntary movements. I have never witnessed this, but the family accounts are very disturbing.

Typically, the family is very frightened. They seek the help. The first thing to determine is if it is a real possession. It could be someone seeking attention. It could be someone mentally ill. 

In these cases, following the advice of the late Roger Morneau is important. They must remove from their house and life, all forms of spiritualism. This may be trinkets, idols, behaviors. These things invite the sprits in.

I have been involved in one prayer session for a possessed woman. We prayed, and she removed all spiritualism from her life. It never came back. She is not an Adventist.  More than 10 years now.  I have pastor buddies here who have several success stories.