“Casting Out Evil Spirits”
Many questions are often asked about casting out evil spirits and how we can do that and whether we need to know its name. This may be elementary to those mature in the Truth yet it is always good that these important things be brought to our remembrance because as I will show, we must ACT on what we know to do the work of God.
Let’s first remember that all those examples of demons being cast out were written to us as PARABLES of the spiritual reality of how it will work within us in the kingdom of God. The events in the Bible are done in parables to hide the true meaning from the world as we are told (Mat 13:9-10).
Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done (not just spoken) in parables:
Our battle is within. The war we are fighting is first and foremost in our heaven. This is where the lying spirits and Christ in us are waging warfare.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heaven (Strong’s G2032 – heaven, not high places)
Rev 12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
We also need to remember that casting out of an evil spirit is the same thing as casting out a false doctrine out of our heavens (mind). Spirits are doctrines, what we believe or follow. As the Body of Christ, we most definitely are to be doing EVERYTHING in the name of Jesus including casting out evil spirits.
Mar 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
However, doing things “in the name of Jesus Christ” has nothing to do with how we correctly say or pronounce the Lord’s name but instead speaks of our speaking THE TRUTH, the sum of thy word (Psa 119:160). The truth will set us free of evil spirits when we truly believe. Doing things according to sound doctrine, the truth is how evil spirits are cast out when we trust in those words with our whole heart.
The Word of God is spirit which is the Truth but so are the lies, they are spirits also.
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
1Jn 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
The Lord is the father of all spirits (Heb 12:9), the light and the darkness (Psa 139:12).
Heb 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits (EVEN EVIL ONES), and live?
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
We are not given the ability to cast out evil spirits and are instead bound by the lies of the wicked one who deceives the entire world, all of mankind who are carnally minded.
Rev 12:9 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.
Only when Christ has come and the Spirit of God is given, then we can begin to cast out the lies.
Mat 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
It is THE Lord who is the one sending all the spirits to us even giving us our every thought (Amo 4:13). Very many witnesses to this truth that only add to what we know is in the box of “All Things” that the Lord is working and causing.
Psa 78:49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
1Sa 19:9 And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.
The Lord sends evil spirits to us to try our faith to see if we will obey Him and trust in Him or not. At first, we all will not obey and will give heed to these lying spirits in our mind and not stand on the WORD of God alone. These are doctrines of devils.
1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Evil spirits teach us to act in disobedience to the commands and not to obey the Lord. Here are some examples of evil spirits leading us astray while we are in the “Church” and holding onto false doctrines, following these lying spirits.
Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Rev 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
The Word of God (Jesus Christ in us) is powerful and when spoken/believed in faith, it speaks with authority and the demons and lies within us cower and in the Lord’s timing are cast out.
Mar 1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.
Mat 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
It is the truth of the Word that shall set you free of evil spirits. Continuing in the Word is continuing in our suffering and afflictions and not turning back. These are the same sufferings and torment we in the Body of Christ experience daily and which we all partake of as one. If we endure, we are set free and are being set free more and more each day.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Yes we will all struggle to be free but we must continue and learn to wait on the Lord and believe that He will free us. This is our struggle and all of our struggle in learning to wait.
Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Being set free speaks primarily to our sins, but those sins are done away with (salvation) only by the Word and our belief, our faith in that Word. Our coming to know Christ in the whirlwind of judgment we are in right now, is what will shut the mouth of the evil spirits who will no longer be allowed to speak.
Luk 4:35 NKJV But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.
Mar 1:25 NKJV But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”
These lying demons cannot speak against the truth. The truth will shut them up the day we hear it with God given ears to hear.
Mar 1:34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
Luk 4:41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.
Demons, the messengers of Satan who is the Father of Lies leave when they hear the truth spoken against their lies.
Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Mat 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
The Babylonian tradition of exercising demons by asking questions and engaging in ongoing dialog with demons, even yelling at them, is a deception and the Lord turning them over to the idols of their heart.
Eze 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
Both the deceived and the deceiver are the Lord’s work (Job 12:16) and He sends us strong delusion and has created this false ministry that snares so many in the orthodox churches of Christianity.
Jesus Christ who is the Word cast out demons by His word and in almost all cases the demons were not allowed to speak nor were they addressed by name.
Why some need prayer and fasting and others do not.
Some lies are easily refuted and cast out of our heavens when we speak the word in truth. The disciples (the Body) can readily cast those demons out just by speaking the truth to those the Lord has prepared to hear the word.
Luk 10:17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
Think of lies such as eternal hellfire, these are spirits that are cast out quite readily by the disciples of Jesus Christ speaking truth to us. Once we see the truth of the Word with eyes to see, it instantly vaporizes many of the lies of Babylon. Still there are much deeper lies linked into the very essence of our being that hide out the rocks and crevices in the mountains within us. These are lies that keep us in bondage to our besetting sins (Heb 12:1). These are the ones that require our prayer and fasting to cast out.
Mar 9:28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
Mar 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
The fast the Lord is speaking about is the one given us in Isaiah 58.
Isa 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isa 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
To cast out the deep seated lies that keep us in bondage to our besetting sins we must be in service to the Body of Christ (better to give than to receive) and not hide ourselves from our own flesh (the Body of Christ is One).
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
1Co 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
Our love, our obedience to the Lord (1Jo 5:3) which includes being a living sacrifice and in service to our brethren; is what covers a multitude of sins, including our own. This sends the demons packing from our heavens.
I personally think of the strong emotions and desires or lusts and the related sins when I think of what takes prayer and fasting. Bondages to things like the love of money, sexual gratification, envy, shame, a fault finding critical spirit, etc. require prayer and fasting to be cast out. We remain in bondage to these sins in part because we are still believing in lies and not walking in faith. The lies of the harlot are said to be 200 Million strong (Rev 9:16) and as long as we allow these demons to speak to us we will be unable to find repentance from those besetting sins.
Rev 9:19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
Rev 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Rev 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Christ telling us “this kind comes out only by prayer and fasting” (Mat 17:21) was said in the context of remembering how we are to pray and what we are praying for which is the will of God (our sanctification).
Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Praying this prayer without ceasing, in faith, combined with our fast is how they come out. Our fast is our labor to strive and resist the temptations to give in to evil (starving the old man – Isa 58) and is how we will get the victory and in the Lord’s due time,the spirit that binds us in a sin will leave. Our faith without our action (works) is dead so we have to show our faith is true faith, by obeying the Lord and doing the works which include acting on our faith and doing the fast that He desires.
Jas 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Jas 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
Jas 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We always apply these verses outwardly but they also apply inwardly. Our fasting in faith is a good work that we are to walk in. Our fasting and striving against sin is believing in the Lord which is doing the work of God in the earth.
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.
Our torment is the waiting on the Lord to deliver us from our sin and the lies that keep us in that bondage. Christ will come and set the captives free right on schedule. We are always going to be at war with lying spirits and demons that operate in our heavens. The Lord has a purpose in frustrating us and not bringing deliverance when we want it. We need to trust Him but keep pressing onward, knowing we truly are His work.
Php 3:14 I press (prayer and fasting without ceasing) toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
We are learning to walk by faith and not by sight by taking captive the carnal thoughts that come to us which exalt themselves against the truth. Lastly, we must learn from our failings to not have to repeat the lesson. When these spirits are cast out, we must fill the house, which house we are with truth and stand on that truth otherwise the lies come back and we are worse than before.
Mat 12:43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
Mat 12:44 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.
Mat 12:45 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. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
The war in our heavens (in our mind) is won when we stand on the truth and there is no room for the lies to stay.
Rev 12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
Rev 12:8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
We (that wicked generation first to be judged) eventually in the Lord’s timing will be given the faith to stand and the house will be filled and there will be no more room for the liars.
Your fellow warrior in the good FIGHT of faith, Lord willing all the way to the end,
Pete @ peterjwilson56@gmail.com