The Role of Demons and Disease
by Tom Brown
(Edited excerpt
from Tom's book, Healing Through Deliverance.)
 On
a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there
who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.
She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When
Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set
free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she
straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the
Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for
work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The Lord
answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his
ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should
not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for
eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
(Luke 13:10-16).
On another
occasion, a man knelt before Jesus, saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son,”
he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the
fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not
heal him.” “O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long
shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here
to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was
healed from that moment (Matt 17:15-18).
What is the Cause?
There is
definitely a relationship between healing and the need for deliverance. In
my travels around the world I have discovered that many are never healed
because they have not received deliverance from the spirits that made them
sick. I am not saying that every disease is caused by a demon. There is a
need for both natural healing and demonic healing.
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the
sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus
healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he
would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was (Mark 1:32-34).
Notice that
Jesus accomplished two things: Jesus healed many who had various diseases
and He also drove out many demons.
Some people
simply need healing from the diseases that have made them sick;
others need deliverance from the spirits that have made them sick.
Just the thought that demons could be behind sickness sounds radical. If
that is the case, then perhaps we need a radical approach to healing.
Some people
might caution me at this point and say, “Pastor Tom, we need balance.”
I agree, I
believe in balance, however, to some people the word means middle of the
road compromise. Yet that is not how Jesus achieved balance. Jesus achieved
balance by being extreme in all points. Jesus taught:
- Extreme love—“Turn the
other cheek.”
- Extreme holiness—“If
your right eye sins, gouge it out.”
- Extreme faith—“If you
have faith as a mustard seed you can speak to this mountain.”
- Extreme evangelism—“Go
into all the world and preach the gospel.”
- Extreme deliverance—“In
my name you shall drive out demons.”
Balance is not
achieved by watering down the fundamentals of the Christian faith. If we do
that we will have a lukewarm Christianity, and I think people are tired of
tepid faith.
The Bible
provides a radical approach to healing as far as modern thinking is
concerned—including the modern thinking of born again believers.
Many
Christians quote C.S. Lewis, “Don’t ignore the devil or give him too much
attention.” I agree. But does this mean we ignore the role demons may play
regarding sickness? I don’t think so.
During the 1960’s, when the deliverance movement was at its peek, many
Christians saw demons behind every bush. It seemed that any problem someone
had was attributed to a demon—from the flu to overeating. Now, with such a
de-emphasis on the devil and demons by the Church, you no longer have to
look behind shrubbery for demons; you can find them parading down the
streets almost unnoticed.
When was the
last time you went to a Christian conference where they had a seminar
speaker devoted to the teaching of deliverance?
Today
pastors, evangelists, and prophets teach on church growth, friendly
evangelism, prosperity, and a host of other important subjects. Rarely do
they mention deliverance.
Don’t
misunderstand me. I believe in teaching all those needed subjects, but how
about devoting a portion of those seminars to the scriptural principles of
setting people free. The problem with this de-emphasis of demons is not just
found in ecclesiastical and denominational churches, it can be encountered
in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches as well.
The
Spirit-filled movement seems to be afraid to tackle this subject, perhaps
because they don’t want to be viewed as unscientific or they are afraid that
Christians will give disproportionate time to demons. Whatever the case, I
believe there is needed a new and greater emphasis on the need for
deliverance, with a stress on biblical accuracy.
Is it the Devil?
I am
often asked, “How can you tell if a demon is the source of the sickness or
if it is just a natural cause?” This is a great question, and I have
diligently searched the scriptures to come up with some answers.
Here
are a few of the ways I have been able to know whether or not demons are
behind a sickness. (The,
Healing Through Deliverance, book covers ten ways.)
1.
It is demonic if the discernings of spirits is in operation.
But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to
profit withal. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom;
and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit: to
another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, in the
one Spirit; and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy;
and to another discernings of spirits; to another (divers) kinds of tongues;
and to another the interpretation of tongues
(1 Cor 12:7-10, ASV).
Notice the
seventh gift on the list: discernings of spirits. God gives at times
the ability to see and perceive the operation of good and evil spirits.
The word
discernings comes from the word “judge.” It is hard at times to
judge whether a spirit is the cause of a sickness, but through the gifting
of the Holy Spirit you will be able to correctly decide.
The word
discernings is actually in the plural, and this is how it is in
the original Greek. This means that discernment can come in various forms.
First it can arrive in the form of a vision, in which you actually
see the demon with your eyes.
One of
the most influential charismatic leaders, Kenneth Hagin, tells the story of
when he was preaching in a country church and a man came forward for prayer.
From every outward appearance the man looked normal, except his face showed
pain. As he came closer to the preacher, Hagin said that he had a vision in
which he saw a monkey-looking creature wrapping his arms around the man’s
head, as in a headlock. Immediately, brother Hagin exclaimed to the spirit,
“In the name of Jesus, you foul spirit, leave this man at once!”
The
spirit looked startled and taken back that Hagin had seen him. Next, the
spirit eyed him for a moment, so Hagin told him again, looking him in the
eyes, “I told you to leave this man!”
Knowing
that the spirit had been uncovered, it replied, “Well, I don’t want to
leave, but if you tell me I have to, then I’ll go.”
With
boldness, Hagin commanded, “You will have to go.” The spirit released the
man’s head and jumped off his shoulders, landing on the floor. It just
looked at Hagin for a moment.
Hagin
persisted, “You will have to leave the premises now!” The spirit whimpered
like a beaten dog, and stumbled out of the church.
This
story is a dramatic account of the discernings of spirits coming in the form
of a vision. I personally have not experienced any visions of demons, but I
have had the discernings of spirits work in different ways.
The
word “discern” means to perceive by the sight or some other sense
or by the intellect. As you can tell from this definition,
discernment is not perception by sight only, it can come through
other senses, such as hearing, smelling or feeling.
Oral Roberts, the renown healing evangelists, says that oftentimes he can
smell the demon in a person. Perhaps no one else can smell it at the time,
but he can. This is another form of discernment.
Many feel the presence of a demon. They may start to sweat, get
clammy, or have a tingling sensation.
I have heard some say they feel fire when they get near a demon. Hagin was
told by the Lord that when he lays both hands on the sick, if he feels fire
going back and forth to his hands then there is a presence of a demon in the
sick person he is praying for. Others may feel cold, a chill or some
physical sensation. God is sovereign, so He will work with you in His way to
help you discern a demon.
The more common way that discernment works, however, is through a “knowing”
that something is there. You may call it your intellect or gut
feeling. You just “know that you know” that a spirit is behind a sickness.
This is another form of discernment and this is the typical way God uses
speaks to me in these situations.
2.
It is demonic if the sickness affects the spiritual life of the sick.
Demons, when
they are present, do not just affect the body but also the spiritual life of
the individual.
Do the infirm
have peace even though they are sick? If they feel at ease, even when
afflicted, then most likely the disease is natural. There is probably no
demon involved.
I often look
to find evidence of spiritual growth. If it is occurring in the sick person,
then their disease seems to be of natural causes. On the other hand, if the
sick are being hurt spiritually, then the disease could have some demonic
roots.
Demons are not
interested in simply bringing physical infirmities, but they desire to hurt
the spiritual life of the person.
Once I was
speaking in a little church in the suburbs of Dallas. I preached my heart
out, and yet there was very little enthusiastic response from the
congregation, except for one dear elderly woman who kept shouting, “Praise
the Lord. That’s right! Keep preaching!” She was so exuberant.
After the
service, while I was signing my books, a rather large gentleman walked up to
me and said, “I want to apologize for my mother. She was the one who kept
shouting ‘Praise the Lord.’”
I told him not
to worry, that I enjoyed her enthusiastic response. Then he told me,
“You see, she shouts praises because she has Alzheimer’s.” The only person
who seemed to enjoy my message was a lady with Alzheimer’s.
Here is my
point: this dear woman did not have a demon. A demon would not be shouting,
“Praise the Lord!” Her disease was just physical. She was still intact
spiritually even if her mind was diseased.
On the other
hand, I have physically ill people get furious at my preaching. Who
would get furious over the ministry of the Word? The only ones would be the
devil and his demons.
If you are physically sick give yourself a check up. For example, if you
find yourself becoming angry over reading this article or listening to the gospel being
preached could it be you are not only sick in body, but there is also
something else wrong?
Many
Christians grow more spiritually during their sickness, and that is an
indication they don’t have a demon. However, in cases where the sick are not
experiencing spiritual growth but getting bitter, angry, and more sinful,
then I believe that their sickness has a demonic root. They need more than
healing; they need deliverance.
3.
It is demonic if there are strange occurrences taking place with the
disease.
A danger sign
there are demons causing the infirmity is when there are unusual happenings
taking place with the person who is sick.
When MSNBC
featured my ministry they showed a woman in my church with depression. How
was she convinced it was a spirit that caused her condition? She knew it
because she also had strange, unexplained marks on her body.
She did not
just suffer from clinical depression; there was something else tormenting
her. Those marks on her body testified that there were supernatural agents
involved in her depression.
Here is a
scripture to consider: “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has
seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the
water… Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was
healed from that moment (Matt 17:15, 18).
How can
we tell that the boy’s problem wasn’t simply epileptic seizures? In this
case, we know by the fact that the attacks took place at very inopportune
times, especially at moments that endangered the boy’s life. He would have
the seizures near fire or water, and he would often fall into
them. That was a sign of demons.
This also
happens today. Some people become ill at the most inopportune times, such as
when they go to church or attend a very important meeting. I have
successfully prayed deliverance for people who seem to get sick only on
Sunday mornings and at no other time. It is clear that the devil is causing
the infirmity to occur at certain times in order to prevent the person from
hearing the Word. Others become sick when they start to read the Bible,
while some fall ill when they begin to share their faith.
In the case
with epilepsy, we need to ask: does the person have seizures at very
dangerous times or at ordinary times? If the attacks come during unsafe
times, it appears that demons may be the cause. However, if the seizures
take place at normal times then it is likely to be a physical problem only.
Someone might
say, “If the disease is diagnosed by doctors, doesn’t that disprove that
demons are causing the sickness?”
Not really,
because there is a false assumption that diseases have life in themselves,
and that no spirit is causing the disease to live. For example, the Bible
says, “The body without the spirit is dead.” Although you cannot see the
human spirit, it is the force that keeps the body alive. Doctors might think
it is the heart that sustains life. Yet the Bible says it is the spirit that
gives us breath.
Just as an
invisible force keeps our bodies functioning, the same is true of diseases.
A disease may
have some life beyond the germ that keeps it alive. The condition is real
and can be seen; yet the evil spirit behind the disease may keep it alive,
just as our human spirit keeps our bodies alive.
Once the
offending spirit is cast out of the body, then the disease—without its life
source—must die. This is why an illness may have both physical and demonic
roots.
 This
article is based on Tom Brown's book, Healing through Deliverance.
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