Overwriting of the NT Corpus (9) Have You Been Called To Be An Exorcist?

[Rebbe]

FUNDAMENTALS: THE OVERWRITING OF THE NT CORPUS [9]

Have You Been Called to be an Exorcist?
 
Copyright © BRI 2014 All Rights Reserved Worldwide by Les Aron Gosling,
Messianic Lecturer (BRI/IMCF)

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Will YOU accept the PLAIN WORD of Almighty God or the opinions of men?

The fact is, as I have taken pains to point out in previous lectures on this subject, the NT Codex was overwritten by monks, priests, and others over many centuries to give us fables instead of God's TRUTH.

There is also evidence that some Gentile scribes (be they priests or monks) even tried to improve on the holy Spirit's inspiration, by expanding the Word where they thought the Spirit had been to some degree circumspect.

In Acts 8.26-39 we read about Philip and the baptism of an Ethiopian eunuch. But verse 37 has been added to the Word of God. It does not appear in the ancient mss, and has no right to exist. So please delete it from your version of the Bible if it there appears.

At the start of this lecture I wish to make it as plain as I can that none of us who are the called and chosen and elect of God as His "Firstfruits" should ever be in terror of the Dark Lord. Rather, all who are found to be "in Mashiach" ought to walk in a celebration of life, in the joyous freedom and fullness of a child of God the Father. Yeshua said,

"You shall know the truth, and [knowing] the truth shall make you free... If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed"
 (Jn 8.32,36).

Thoreau wrote:

"Most people with whom I talk, men and women even of some originality and genius, have their scheme of the universe all cut and dried -- very dry, I assure you, to hear, dry enough to burn, dry-rotted and powder-post, methinks -- which they set up between you and them in the shortest intercourse; an ancient and tottering frame with all its boards blown off... The wisest man preaches no doctrines; he has no scheme; he sees no rafter, not even a cobweb against the heavens. It is a clear sky... [Yet your] scheme must be the framework of the universe; all other schemes will soon be ruins. The perfect God in his revelation of himself has never got to the length of one such proposition as you, his prophets, state. Have you learned the alphabet of heaven and can count [to] three? Do you know the number of God's family? Can you put mysteries into words? Do you presume to fable the ineffable? Pray, what geographers are you, that speak of heaven's topography? Whose friend are you, that speak of God's personality? -- Tell me of the height of the mountains of the moon, or of the diameter of space, and I may believe you; but of the secret history of the Almighty, and I shall pronounce you mad" (Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, 1849 [reprint 1975], 55,56).

Out of a thousand books that donned his library, Thoreau a philosopher and cynic (among many other things) had written seven hundred of them. Yet in his lifetime only two of his books were ever published -- the above volume and Walden.

It is clearly the case from what we have just read from Thoreau that he was somewhat dismissive of overt dogmatism and fundamentalism (and rightly so) but in my own opinion to reject certainty outright about anything is in itself utter stupidity. But we would all be in agreement with this philosopher that when it comes to mad prophets who are absolutely certain of everything that comes out of their mouths they ought to be rejected outright! Really, when it comes to honest ignorance Moses had the balance right:

"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children for ever" (Deut 29.29).

The "secret things" belong to God. Take for instance the topic of exorcism. Look up a concordance under "exorcism," "exorcist," "demons" etc., and see what you can learn about the subject. Let me save you some valuable time: You will find very little. So, let's talk about what we actually know about exorcism. And not that which we do not know.

There are three facts we need to consider before we make judgments about acts of exorcism in releasing human beings obsessed by (apparent) demonic powers.

Firstly, demonic possession (really, obsession) is nowhere treated as a doctrinal subject anywhere in the biblical revelation. Various incidents relating to the demon-obsessed are mentioned but not as a manual of discipline or guideline of attack against the demonic realm. This may surprise some who are engaged in demon exorcism for anyone can purchase a book on deliverance ministry in any Christian bookshop. But what they read within the pages of such a volume will be nothing less than sheer speculation.

Secondly, demonic obsession reveals itself in the pages of the Bible only as an event. There is no attempt made by any writer of the sacred text to explain the origin of the event of obsession nor yet to describe the underlying nature of such an horrendous event.

Thirdly, no instruction is included in the Bible about the act of exorcism, i.e., instructions on how to proceed in casting out demons are entirely absent.

Fourthly, the NT epistles are silent about the need for exorcism. The power of direct demonic influence and agitation on the human mind is non-existent after the completion of the book of Acts.

Fifthly, by the time John wrote his Gospel, exorcism in the case of someone in subjection to demonic obsession is ignored altogether. Clearly, John was no longer interested in the subject and it held no relevance to his theology.

Sixth, most Christians engaged in so-called "Deliverance Ministry" would run away in horror leaving an easy-to-follow trail if ever confronted by the materialisation of a real demon.

QUESTION: Where do demons originate? Consider these theories:

(1) The Platonists believed that the spirits of the wicked were condemned to roam the earth after their bodies had begun to decay in their graves (Augustine, City of God, Bk. IX. 11). Modern paranormal research hints that a very mentally/emotionally traumatised individual may leave behind an energised spectre of his or her distorted personality -- an extremely negative energy -- but such is not demonic (cf., item [6]).

(2) Demons are the spirits of uncreated and incomplete human beings that God discarded on the sixth day of Creation Week for the Sabbath had begun to dawn and so God left them unclothed as far as flesh was concerned. Friday (the sixth day of creation) has thus become a day that carries with it doom and misfortune... Black Friday.

(3) Demons are the spirits that a certain Mr. Lucifer drew with him from heaven in his rebellion as the Great Heavenly Choir-master millions of years ago. His tail threw them to earth, some of us are led to believe, where they have been imprisoned in a place of darkness and fire called Tartarus.

(4) Demons may be the ancient spirits of aliens who were on the receiving end of a dreadful war in the heavens in which a surviving minority came to our planet and presently find their location in underground desert cities and beneath the oceans. UFO reports by ocean liners and aircraft which have reported seeing such saucer-like metallic objects emerge from the oceans seem to validate this belief. The Rebbe is of this opinion.

(5) These spirits were believed by some in the early church to have been those of the giants who died after their birth by Earth-women (the Jews were also fond of this belief).

(6) There is evidence that they may be the departed spirits of people who have died and refused, for whatever reason, to travel into and through the light into the next level of existence. By choosing to stay in this earthly environment they have become demented and volatile. It's a frightening possibility.

(7) It is also held by some that demons are the spirits of fallen angels that desire to attach themselves to human beings in order to partake in this fashion of the salvation which is to be afforded those whom (they perceive) God will choose to be saved.

These seven categories do not exhaust the possibilities contained in this subject. But they are among the most popular.

WHAT THE CHURCH FATHERS CONSIDERED

Origen (c. 200), speculating on what went on in other realms of God prior to the creation: "Before the ages minds were all pure, both demons and souls and angels, offering service to God and keeping his commandments. But the devil, who was one of them, since he possessed free-will, desired to resist God, and God drove him away. With him revolted all the other powers. Some sinned deeply, and became demons; others less, and became angels; others still less, and became archangels; and thus each in turn received the reward of his individual sin. But there remained some souls who had not sinned so greatly as to become demons, nor on the other hand so lightly as to become angels. God therefore made the present world, and bound the soul to the body as a punishment" (Origen, De Principiis, 1.8.i).

Tatian (c. 150) had taken an opposite view: "The demons who rule over men are not the souls of men, for how should these be capable of such action after death? Unless man, who while living was void of understanding and power, should be believed when dead to be endowed with more active power... It is difficult to conceive that the immortal soul, which is impeded by the members of the body, should become more intelligent when it has migrated from it... That first-begotten one, Satan, through his transgression and ignorance became a demon; and they who imitated him... are become a host of demons" (ANF, 2. To the Greeks, 16,17).

Augustine (b. 354): In his City of God, the bishop of Hippo doubts that spirit beings could have sexual relations with human beings and he is inclined to accept that "the sons of God" who figure dramatically in Gen 6 were in some sense "flesh." Certainly in Augustine's opinion they were not angels, fallen or otherwise (City of God, XV. 23). This lecturer (for once) is in agreement with him.

Irenaeus (c. 150): "Enoch... pleasing God without circumcision, discharged the office of God's legate to the angels although he was a man, and was translated, and is preserved until now as a witness of the just judgment of God, because the angels when they had transgressed fell to the earth for judgment, but the man who pleased God was translated for salvation" (Against Heresies, XVI.2).

The Septuagint (LXX) held the same view that the sons of God were fallen angels.

Justin Martyr (c. 120): "The angels transgressed God's appointment, and were captivated by love of women, and begat children who are those that are called demons; and besides, they afterwards subdued the human race to themselves, partly by magical writings, and partly by fears and the punishments they occasioned, and partly by teaching them to offer sacrifices, and incense, and libations, of which things they stood in need after they were enslaved by lustful passions..." (Apology, II.5).

In a debate with Trypho the Jew, it should be mentioned, Justin was combated with a different perspective from the (then) synagogue point of view that demons could not possibly be produced from fallen angels. Not only did Trypho object, but he was probably joined by myriads of Gentile Christians who would have also considered the very idea as nothing less than blasphemy. The Christian world was obviously very divided on this delicate issue. Nevertheless...

Athenagoras (c. 180): "What need is there, in speaking to you who have searched into every department of knowledge, to mention the poets, or to examine opinions of another kind? Let it suffice to say this much. If the poets and philosophers did not acknowledge that there is one God, and concerning these gods were not of opinion, some that they are demons, others that they are matter, and others that they once were men, -- there might be some show of reason for our being harassed as we are, since we employ language which makes a distinction between God and matter, and the natures of the two. For, as we acknowledge a God, and a Son his Logos, and a Holy Spirit, united in essence, -- the Father, the Son, the Spirit, because the Son is the Intelligence, Reason, Wisdom of the Father, and the Spirit an effluence, as light from fire; so also do we apprehend the existence of other powers, which exercise dominion about matter, and by means of it, and one in particular, which is hostile to God: not that anything is really opposed to God, like strife to friendship, according to Empedocles, and night to day, according to the appearing and disappearing of the stars (for even if anything had placed itself in opposition to God, it would have ceased to exist, its structure being destroyed by the power and might of God), but that to the good that is in God, which belongs of necessity to Him, and co-exists with Him, as colour with body, without which it has no existence (not as being part of it, but as an attendant property co-existing with it, united and blended, just as it is natural for fire to be yellow and the ether dark blue),-- to the good that is in God, I say, the spirit which is about matter, who was created by God, just as the other angels were created by Him, and entrusted with the control of matter and the forms of matter, is opposed. For this is the office of the angels, -- to exercise providence for God over the things created and ordered by Him; so that God may have the universal and general providence of the whole, while the particular parts are provided for by the angels appointed over them. Just as with men, who have freedom of choice as to both virtue and vice (for you would not either honour the good or punish the bad, unless vice and virtue were in their own power; and some are diligent in the matters entrusted to them by you, and others faithless), so is it among the angels. Some, free agents, you will observe, such as they were created by God, continued in those things for which God had made and over which He had ordained them; but some outraged both the constitution of their nature and the government entrusted to them: namely, this ruler of matter and its various forms, and others of those who were placed about this first firmament (you know that we say nothing without witnesses, but state the things which have been declared by the prophets); these fell into impure love of virgins, and were subjugated by the flesh, and he became negligent and wicked in the management of the things entrusted to him. Of these lovers of virgins, therefore, were begotten those who are called giants. And if something has been said by the poets, too, about the giants, be not surprised at this: worldly wisdom and divine differ as much from each other as truth and plausibility: the one is of heaven and the other of earth; and indeed, according to the prince of matter,

"We know we oft speak lies that look like truths."

"These angels, then, who have fallen from heaven, and haunt the air and the earth, and are no longer able to rise to heavenly things, and the souls of the giants, which are the demons who wander about the world, perform actions similar, the one (that is, the demons) to the natures they have received, the other (that is, the angels) to the appetites they have indulged. But the prince of matter, as may be seen merely from what transpires, exercises a control and management contrary to the good that is in God: --

"Ofttimes this anxious thought has crossed my mind,
Whether 'tis chance or deity that rules
The small affairs of men; and, spite of hope
As well as justice, drives to exile some
Stripped of all means of life, while others still
Continue to enjoy prosperity."

Prosperity and adversity, contrary to hope and justice, made it impossible for Euripides to say to whom belongs the administration of earthly affairs, which is of such a kind that one might say of it:

"How then, while seeing these things, can we say There is a race of gods, or yield to laws?"

The same thing led Aristotle to say that the things below the heaven are not under the care of Providence, although the eternal providence of God concerns itself equally with us below, --

"The earth, let willingness move her or not,
Must herbs produce, and thus sustain my flocks," --

and addresses itself to the deserving individually, according to truth and not according to opinion; and all other things, according to the general constitution of nature, are provided for by the law of reason. But because the demoniac movements and operations proceeding from the adverse spirit produce these disorderly sallies, and moreover move men, some in one way and some in another, as individuals and as nations, separately and in common, in accordance with the tendency of matter on the one hand, and of the affinity for divine things on the other, from within and from without, -- some who are of no mean reputation have therefore thought that this universe is constituted without any definite order, and is driven hither and thither by an irrational chance. But they do not understand, that of those things which belong to the constitution of the whole world there is nothing out of order or neglected, but that each one of them has been produced by reason, and that, therefore, they do not transgress the order prescribed to them; and that man himself, too, so far as He that made him is concerned, is well ordered, both by his original nature, which has one common character for all, and by the constitution of his body, which does not transgress the law imposed upon it, and by the termination of his life, which remains equal and common to all alike; but that, according to the character peculiar to himself and the operation of the ruling prince and of the demons his followers, he is impelled and moved in this direction or in that, notwithstanding that all possess in common the same original constitution of mind" (Athenagoras, A Plea For Christians, 24,25).

I have quoted Athenagoras at length because of his grasp of detailed reality. In short, however, the great teacher describes fallen angels as producing a race of giants from human women. Their souls upon death became what we know today to be demons. These demons afflict humankind on earth, while the fallen angels continue to haunt the earthly atmosphere existing between our planet and the heavens. I have held to the belief for many years, and I see no reason as yet to change it, that Christians will meet the descending Yeshua in the cloudy atmosphere above the planet purely as a symbolic gesture to the angelic kingdom that we have taken their positions of authority over the Earth, and have occupied their elevated positions of estate in the Messianic Kingdom which has absorbed their negative realm (1 Thes 4.17).

One of my mentors, Dr Ken Chant, has made a bold assertion concerning two impossible things in connection to people of Christian faith. He writes, correctly,

"Whatever ability the devil may have either to perform, or to simulate, miraculous deeds, never forget that there are two inescapable limitations placed on any demonic activity or satanic power (Jn 8:44). Satan cannot sustain truth, because he is a liar from the beginning. Satan cannot sustain life, because he is a murderer from the beginning" (Ken Chant, Demonology: The Kingdom of Darkness, 1994, 57).

Chant continues, "Many so-called cases of exorcism are spurious, being rather a result of:

"fascination with the drama of exorcism, which leads people to clamour for the exorcist and often unconsciously to fabricate the expected signs of demonic attack. -- The exorcist too, may be equally charmed by the excitement of his role, the sense of power it gives him, and the elation of spirit a seeming victory brings. So (perhaps unwittingly) he encourages the people to produce the required manifestations -- the cries and convulsions, the retching, the naming of demons, and the like. Such things are wrong.

"people seeking an opportunity for emotional release within an uninhibited environment. Under the spell of exorcism they can do or say anything without incurring any personal blame or accountability. For some people, that provides a deep release, even a needed therapy. But there are better and safer ways to achieve the same result.

"demonic deception, where a person is not actually possessed, but a demon scornfully absorbs for hours the energies of both the exorcist and his clients, thus keeping them from wiser service in the church.

"sexual frustration, where a woman may secretly yearn for the sound of a strong male voice speaking at her with great authority. The exorcist, barking commands at the demon, meets an emotional hunger in her that would otherwise remain unfulfilled. The same can occur when a woman ministers to a man, or when exorcist and client are both of the same sex. You should place a high premium in this ministry on wisdom and caution" (Chant., 60,61).

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS

Known to many of my students is the fact that for some untold length of time my wife and I worshiped in an AOG church, and after an interval I shared the pulpit with the AOG pastor. He and I had become very close friends and shared a great deal in common.

During that period we were exposed to something known as "Deliverance Ministry." It was headed up by two young people, ex-members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. In my view, if anybody really had a need of such a ministry themselves it was this young couple who were fervent in their distorted notion that Christians were plagued with demons and had to be subjected to their ministry.

Almost weekly we would see a young aboriginal man harangued against a wall of the church by these two twits acting with immense authority demanding demons of alcoholism to flee from his "tormented mind." And then, one Sunday morning, we made a decision that soured our relationship with them and the pastor. We came up against them.

We had come to know a young woman who was a true believer in God and who was the daughter of a counter-culture couple with a young family. I believe "S----r" was the eldest child. We both got on tremendously well with her. Certainly, like ourselves, she did not wear a "Christian" uniform, and had her own form of worship in dance. Unfortunately for her, the "church" (and especially the "hung-up" wife of the pastor) saw only fleshly sensuality in her movements and she was required to dance at the back of the building where men could not see her and old religious women would not be prone to faint. This disappointed her greatly, and we too shared her dissatisfaction with such a requirement. If it was indeed a worship service Christians were engaged in during that time period (which was prior to the activation of the actual service and the sermon) then the men of that congregation should have had their lustful eyes averted if she gave them that much trouble keeping their minds on God! Perhaps their wives were failing in their own "duties" at home!

Then one Sunday morning, when we arrived at the church, we entered to hear S----r weeping and sobbing uncontrollably in a room that was near to the stage. The door of that office was open and other believers could hear all that was going on in that room. Because of her distress which was apparent to all in attendance, we ventured in to be confronted by this self-appointed "minister of deliverance" railing at her "demon." He seemed to us to have immense difficulty differentiating S----r from the supposed demon. Again, it appeared to us that it was S----r who was getting the full brunt of his fiery throttle rather than some demon.

While this was going on I forthrightly asked his wife what she thought was occurring. She responded that this young woman needed to be delivered from a terrible demonic power which was destroying her. S----r was close to losing her emotional stability. I brought his ranting to an end by quickly registering my objection. He would have shot me dead on the spot had he a revolver! I am not kidding. His face was distorted and inflamed. I had intervened and usurped his God-given authority.

I calmly took S----r aside with the Rebbetzin and quietly asked what was troubling her. She responded by sharing a whole list of strange symptoms which had troubled her greatly over a two or three week period... sudden loss of vision, crawling sensations over her body, black spots dancing before her eyes, sudden coldness in her hands and feet, trembling extremities, a sense of being frantic, bizarre mood swings, etc. She had felt it her duty to seek ministerial counsel as she was afraid of demons. I asked her if she also was experiencing other symptoms, such as feelings of being smothered, gasping for breath, abdominal spasms, burning dryness in the mouth, ringing in the ears and a general sense of being crazy. She answered in the affirmative.

I suggested in front of the two volatile "crazies" that she needed a medical specialist and not a deliverance ministry. In my opinion she was suffering from severe hypoglycaemia and needed a 6-hour glucose tolerance test to establish her medical condition once and for all. She departed the office with us and it took only minutes before the pastor came angrily toward us demanding that we apologise for causing the disruption of the deliverance by these two "very special agents of God's Grace." We refused to do so explaining that S----r was in need of a medical doctor not two idiots who would kill believers thinking they were doing God a service. He saw how angry I was and backed down immediately and went away to talk this fanatical couple "down" and into a more mellow mood.

We have no idea what became of S----r or of that couple who saw themselves as "special agents of God's Grace" because we departed shortly after that into a new direction and "a new thing" that God the Father was about to ignite.

PROOF OF THE LUKAN "ACTS" AS AN AUTHENTIC DOCUMENT

The physician Luke wrote a Gospel which was in two parts. We know those documents today as the Gospel of Luke and the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. The latter is called by that name in many versions of the Bible but it really is a misnomer. Only the acts of a few apostles are mentioned and covered in skeletal form and the document mainly revolves around the exploits of Paul the apostle (emissary) to the Gentiles. If anything it ought to be termed The Acts of the Holy Spirit or the Acts of Paul.

I want us all to examine an account of deliverance ministry in the Lukan Acts.

"Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Yeshua over those who had evil spirits, saying, We exorcise you by the Yeshua whom Paul preaches. Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Yeshua I know, and Paul I know; but who are you? Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Yeshua was magnified. Many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practised magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totalled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed" (Ac 19.13-20).

Were we to know the Hebrew name of this high priest Sceva (Gk. Skevas) he could be identified, but alas we do not. Still, this narrative has been used to good advantage by certain deliverance ministries to prove their cause, but the interesting fact is that in no way did Luke record Paul as being successful in exorcising this poor madman. If the book is to be accepted as authentic, Paul's victory is crushed by the silence regarding it. If this book is a forgery, whoever forged it missed a perfect opportunity to show Paul as a strong contender for the exercise of his spiritual gift of exorcism (if indeed he possessed one). Where is Paul's single command of power in the name of Yeshua over this demoniac? It's not there! The demons rejected the authority of the seven sons of Sceva and left them incoherent and as damaged goods. The demons knew Yeshua. They knew Paul. But the insane man in question ran away and remained tormented. The authenticity of this book is beyond question.

Again, Yeshua said "the truth [right knowledge] shall set you free."

Augustine suggested that the word daimon (from which we derive our word demon) had its origin in the word for knowledge (Augustine, City of God, 9.20,21). According to Augustine the demons distort knowledge and utilise it for evil. Intriguingly, if he is right in this matter, any positive manner of exorcism (be it actual rituals of exorcism or, better, by the medical expertise channeled by professional psychiatrists in today's world) -- begins with countermanding that corrupted knowledge, replacing it with the truth, and holding to that truth in love (cp. Ge 2:17; 3:1-7; Jn 8:31-32,36). This should also remind you that possession is neither the worst nor the cleverest work of Satan. He is far more dangerous when he comes in pleasant dress, with fair lies, enticing wiles, and charming baubles.

"The worst ignorance is false knowledge. Better not to know at all than to know wrongly. Who is so deceived as the man who, thinking it to be the truth, believes a lie? No delusion is more profound. The man who knows he does not know is open to learn; but folly imprisons him who thinks he does know. So beware of accretions that cling to what the Bible teaches about the devil and demons. Those superfluous speculations cage people inside a fixed pattern of behaviour. This added "knowledge" imposes on them a set of rigid assumptions. They become locked into certain standard expectations. They build formulae, and rituals, and routines, heedlessly copying the incantations of the ancients. They prevent the free moving of the Holy Spirit..." (Chant., op.cit., 48).

YET ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE ORIGINAL MS

Now let's turn to Mt 17.14-21 for here we come across yet another need for mere mortals to overwrite the inspired text in relation to exorcism. "And when they had come to the crowd, a man came to him, falling down upon his knees and saying, Sir, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic [lit. moonstruck] and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him. Then Yeshua responded saying, O you faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me. And Yeshua rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was healed from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Yeshua privately and said, Why could we not eject it? So Yeshua said to them, Because of the smallness of your thinking -- your littleness of faith; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting" (Mt 17.14-21).

The very first point I wish to make about this narrative is the use of a certain phrase from the lips of Yeshua about his disciples. He calls them "a faithless and perverse generation." The Greek actually has, "unbelieving breed of men, and men who have been morally distorted and twisted" (see Kenneth Wuest's notes for confirmation on this matter). Yeshua seems to be implying that their lack of character, which comes as a result of disobedience to God and to the things of God, are not in the forefront of their Mindscape. They are still living accidentally, and with little or no purpose, and their hearts are yet clinging to their previous world lived in sensuous misery. Under those circumstances how could demons possibly obey them?

But there is a further issue here with the imposition of verse 21 which does not exist in the early Greek mss of Matthew! "However, this kind [of demon] does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

It doesn't exist in this form in the Greek mss. Indeed, it seems that whoever inculcated it into Matthew did so based on another entry in the Gospel of Mark.

In Mark we read: "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer" (Mk 9.29). The imposition into Matthew of this verse from Mark's Gospel, with the added qualification "and by fasting," virtually made it impossible for any Christian devotee (who thought himself or herself appointed to exercise the gifts of the Spirit in reference to exorcism) capable of proceeding into that arena. Why? Because FASTING is the last thing anyone really desires to do. NONE of us, unless we happen to be masochists, ENJOY fasting. We do not naturally like to fast, to go without a meal or two or three, or even to fast on Yom Kippurim (the day of bad breaths) for over 24 hours.

So priests were able to distance themselves from the laity in the "calling" of God to be exorcists. For well over 1300 years exorcism has been exercised entirely and exclusively in the hands of the priesthood (as opposed to the so-called laity). That little word "fasting" excluded the entire church and reinforced, in Roman Catholicism, that Paul's view of the church as the "priesthood of all believers" was anathema to the Majesty of the Church Universal! It elevated priests way above others because a public display of their fasting involved in exorcism showed immense strength of character for them to fulfill their duties to God. They then received the admiration -- and the fear -- of all. Demons were subject to the priest, not the ordinary church member.

I might also add, that any authority we have over the demonic realm comes ever, only and always from our UNITY and UNION with Yeshua -- and that by faith -- not from some pious work such as "fasting."

I have taken an interest in certain evangelists who claim to have the authority to "cast out demons in Jesus' name."

But what I see is showmanship -- or better, shaman-ship: screams, loud revolting displays of egocentric behaviour (from both evangelists and clients), cries, grunts, and evangelists shaking people by the arms and thrusting their heads back over their shoulders in a lewd display of exhibitionism. "In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jeeesssuuuussss! Come out, come out. In the name of..."

Nowhere do we read of Christ actually touching a demoniac. He simply quietly spoke to the crisis-saturated mind of a demon obsessed individual and the demon departed... rapidly. No other person had ever shown such power and authority. Those bystanders who watched got the surprise of their life because of the simplicity of Yeshua's sharp command and the immediacy of the demon's departure (Mk 1.27).

It was that power which Yeshua shared with his disciples.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father. And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments. I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you" (Jn 14.12-17).

Paul tells us, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from from the love of God in Messiah Yeshua, our Lord" (Rom 8.37-39).

God we love and serve.
Angels may be revered.
Satan we both respect and resist.
Demons we merely scorn.
Their defeat was total at the cross.
And our victory is in the resurrection of Christ.

Our next and final lecture in this series THE OVERWRITING OF THE NT CODEX is entitled "Let's Hear It For Christian Women!" We shall discard one of the most horrendous texts ever implanted in the entire NT Codex.