September 16, 2024 • 13 mins
In today’s Weird Darkness episode - “PSYCHIATRIST SAYS DEMONIC POSSESSION IS REAL” (https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5rhcz4pr) we covered the eating of sins and demonic possession in this episode. So this might be a good time to touch on evil spirits in general, and how they are addressed in the bible. Evil spirits are often presented as entertainment for spooky thrills in movies and TV shows. But it’s important to take them seriously. Not only are evil spirits real, but they can significantly harm you if you’re not careful. It’s vital to be aware of how evil spirits work, and to rely on God’s help to overcome their power. What does the Bible say about evil spirits? This biblical wisdom about how to deal with evil spirits can help you protect yourself and others in even the most dangerous situations.
MENTIONS, SOURCES, AND LINKS…
“What Does The Bible Say About Evil Spirits?” by Whitney Hopler: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4svmjb7j
(Over time links can and may become invalid, disappear, or have different content.)
===
Darren Marlar is a licensed minister through the Universal Life Church: https://www.themonastery.org. Find his other podcast, Weird Darkness, in your favorite podcast app at https://weirddarkness.com/listen. “Church Of The Undead” theme music by Epidemic Sound.
===
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
===
Find out how to escape eternal darkness at https://weirddarkness.com/eternaldarkness
===
Weird Darkness® and Church Of The Undead™ are trademarked. Copyright © 2024.
MENTIONS, SOURCES, AND LINKS…
“What Does The Bible Say About Evil Spirits?” by Whitney Hopler: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4svmjb7j
(Over time links can and may become invalid, disappear, or have different content.)
===
Darren Marlar is a licensed minister through the Universal Life Church: https://www.themonastery.org. Find his other podcast, Weird Darkness, in your favorite podcast app at https://weirddarkness.com/listen. “Church Of The Undead” theme music by Epidemic Sound.
===
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
===
Find out how to escape eternal darkness at https://weirddarkness.com/eternaldarkness
===
Weird Darkness® and Church Of The Undead™ are trademarked. Copyright © 2024.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Help you're still listening great.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
In today's Weird Darkness episode, psychiatrist says demonic possession is real.
We covered the eating of sins and demonic possession, so
this might be a good time to touch on evil
spirits in general and how they are dressed in the Bible.
You can consider this a post show Church of the
Undead if you will. Evil spirits are often presented as
(00:38):
entertainment for spooky thrills in movies, TV shows, podcasts, but
it's important to take them seriously. Not only are evil
spirits real, they can significantly harm you if you're not careful.
It's vital to be aware of how evil spirits work
and to rely on God's help to overcome their power.
(01:00):
What does the Bible say about evil spirits? This biblical
wisdom about how to deal with evil spirits can help
you protect yourself and others and even the most dangerous
of situations. The Bible discusses evil spirits in many passages.
Both the Old and New Testaments mention evil spirits, using
a variety of terms for them, such as demons, demonic spirits,
(01:24):
impure spirits, on clean spirits, lying spirits, or deceiving spirits.
While the Bible doesn't reveal the origin of evil spirits,
it does make it clear that fallen angels are among them,
not necessarily one hundred percent of them, but among them
that make up the whole of evil spirits. Fallen angels,
(01:46):
also known as demons, were originally created by God to
be Holy angels, but they fell away from their relationship
with God after one angel, you know him as Lucifer,
led them in a rebellion to try and grab God
Godd's power for themselves. You could read about that yourself
and Isaiah fourteen, verses twelve through fourteen. Most of the
(02:07):
Holy angels remained faithful to God, though, according to Revelation
chapter five, but those angels who fell in rebellion became
corrupted by sin, so their natures are no longer good
because they are disconnected from God, who is the only
true source of goodness. Humans need to watch out for
evil spirits in our world today. One Peter five, verse
(02:30):
eight cautions us be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy,
the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for
someone to devour. The devil is just another name for satan.
Satan is just another name for Lucifer, who leads the
evil spirits and demons. Don't discount the power of evil spirits.
(02:52):
They can deceive you, tempt you to sin, harm you spiritually, mentally, emotionally,
and even physically. Ephesians six, verse twelve makes it clear
that evil spirits are the main source of our human
struggles in this fallen world. That verse says, for our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
(03:15):
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world,
and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
In his earthly ministry, Jesus helped many people break free
of evil spirits and sin. Eating, as we discussed earlier
in this episode, had absolutely nothing to do with it.
That is a false teaching. Jesus cast out evil spirits
(03:38):
who had possessed the souls of humans, and healed those
who had been made sick because of oppression from evil spirits.
Examples include Jesus helping a large group of people Matthew
Chapter four and Matthew Chapter eight, a girl whose mother
asked for help in Mark seven, a man who lived
among the tombs Mark five, Jesus gave his disciples the
(04:00):
spiritual authority to drive spirits out of people's lives as well.
Matthew Chapter ten records Jesus called his twelve disciples to
him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits
and to heal every disease and sickness. So while you
need to be aware of evil spirits in our world today,
you never need to be defeated by them, Especially if
(04:24):
you are a born again believer who believes that Jesus
rose from the dead, that he is your Lord and savior.
You can defend yourself against evil spirits by relying on
God's power working through you as long as you're connected
to God through Jesus, Colasians two fifteen says, and having
disarmed the powers and authorities evil spirits, he being Jesus,
(04:45):
made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by
the cross. Evil spirits are aware of Jesus power. They
know that they will be judged by him at God's
appointed time. Check out Matthew eight, verse twenty nine when
the demons say, what do you want with us, son
of God? Have you come here to torture us before
the appointed time? Thankfully, if you are in a saving
(05:09):
relationship with Jesus Christ, you have the power to overcome
any type of dangerous situation involving evil spirits. Even though
evil spirits are extremely powerful, their power is no match
for God's power. As a Christian, you can always rely
on God's power working through you. Because the Holy Spirit
lives in your soul vers Corinthians six nineteen. It empowers
(05:34):
you at one eight. There is no greater power than
God's power, which will flow through your life and make
sure that you are victorious in the fight against evil spirits.
James four to seven says, submit yourselves then to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Ephesians six,
verses ten through thirteen reveals that spiritual warfare is happening
(05:57):
around you, and it calls you to fight with the
power of God gives you to win those battles. Finally,
be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put
on the full armour of God so that you can
take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle
is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world,
and against the spiritual forces. Of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore,
(06:21):
put on the full armor of God, so that when
the day of evil comes, you may be able to
stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand.
Ephesians six, verses thirteen through seventeen describes the armour that
you should put on for the strength to win the
unseen yet spiritual battles around you. The belt of truth,
the breastplate of righteousness, the Gospel of peace, the shield
(06:44):
of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the spirit. You can do all of that by asking
God to help you. Day by day. You'll be prepared
to defend yourself and your loved ones against evil spirits
when you are wearing your spiritual armour, communicating with God
and trusting Him in faith every day. Wearing that spiritual armor,
(07:06):
you can follow the advice in Romans twelve twenty one
that says, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good. You can be confident that Jesus will
help you do so. He promises in Luke ten, verse
nineteen that he has given believers the authority to overcome
all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.
(07:27):
There are three ways that you can defend yourself against
evil spirits. First, don't contact any spirits apart from God.
Deuteronomy eighteen, verses ten through twelve forbids practices that involve
contacting spirits that souls or angels on your own. Stay
away from dangerous practices such as visiting mediums, going on
(07:50):
ghost hunts, using wish aboards, channeling, holding seances, and any
other practice that involves reaching out to spirits apart from God.
I know stepping on a few toes here, especially for
those of you who love the dark and mysterious that
you hear in weird darkness. I'm just giving you a
warning of things that you need to be aware of.
(08:10):
It's your decision whether or not you pursue them. The
only way that you should ever communicate spiritually, though, is
directly with God through prayer and meditation. If you contact
spirits like souls, saints, departed loved ones, even angels without
going through God, you are opening a door for evil
(08:30):
spirits to manipulate you while they disguise themselves as good spirits.
Tewod Corinthians eleven, verse fourteen says that Satan who leads
the fallen angels, masquerades as an angel of light, and
the angels who serve him, that would be the demons
masquerade as servants of righteousness. Only God has the ability
(08:52):
to direct your communication properly. You can trust God to
respond to your prayers with ultimate wisdom and to help
you in any situation. Also, you need to test the
spirits when you do receive spiritual messages. Don't just accept
them without evaluating them. According to the Bible's criteria for
testing them. First John four, verse one urges us, dear friends,
(09:16):
do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to
see whether they are from God. Because many false prophets
have gone out into the world. Evil spirits may give
you false prophecies. John eight forty four calls Satan a
liar and the father of lies. So beware of false messages.
(09:36):
Test the spirits by evaluating their messages in light of
First John four to two, which says, this is how
you can recognize the spirit of God. Every spirit that
acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is
from God, and fear God alone. Fearing evil spirits won't
help you defend yourself against them. It'll only lead you
(09:59):
to worry instead fear God in the biblical sense of
the word, where fear means reverence that comes from a
sense of awe, not actually being afraid of God. You
never have to be afraid of God. Fearing God in
this manner means paying attention to the wonder of His
work in your life, letting the awe that you feel
(10:20):
as a result give you a sense of reverence for God,
and then you'll be able to discern spiritual wisdom. Proverbs
nine ten says the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Fearing God gives you the wisdom that you need to
overcome temptations from evil spirits to pull you into sin.
(10:42):
Fearing God pulls you in the opposite direction, closer to God.
As you're inspired by awe, center your life around your
relationship with God, making decisions as God leads you that
will strengthen you spiritually, so you don't need to fear
evil spirit. You'll discover that with God's help, you can
win every spiritual battle. First John four, verse four promises
(11:07):
that you can overcome evil spirit's power with God's power,
which is greater. It says, you, dear children, are from
God and have overcome them because the one who is
in you is greater than the one who is in
the world. Evil spirits are a reality that you have
to deal with in this fallen world. They are not
(11:28):
to be taken lightly seen as only entertainment. You should
take them seriously. Evil spirits can harm you and your
loved ones significantly if you're not careful. However, you never
need to be afraid of evil spirits when you were
connected to God and his son Jesus Christ, whose power
(11:49):
is far greater than any type of evil. Jesus has
given those who trust him the power to overcome evil.
In a relationship with Jesus can defend yourself and others
successfully against evil spirits. You'll stay spiritually safe if you
stay close to God day by day. If you're still
(12:11):
listening to me right now and you're not a Christian,
I implore you to surrender to Christ now. Jesus is He's
as close by as a prayer. You can call out
to him right now for salvation and He will respond
and receive you. If you're not sure how to go
about doing that, I'll just lead you in a prayer
(12:31):
right now that you can pray out loud or silently
with me. Dear God, I come before you today with
a humble heart and surrender my life to you. I
believe that Jesus Christ was born free of sin, died
on the cross as a payment for my own sin,
and rose three days later. I believe in your gift
(12:52):
of salvation and eternal life. Because of the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ. God, today I repent and turn away from
my old way of life. Because of your mercy and grace,
I can have childlike faith. Today. I ask for new
life through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
(13:14):
Thank you God for forgiving me and making me brand
new at this very moment. In Jesus' name. Amen, if
you prayed that prayer, Welcome to the Family of God
and welcome to being a weirdo in Christ. I would
highly encourage you now to find a church in your
(13:36):
local area that you can feel comfortable in, that you
can worship in every Sunday, get plugged into with small
groups and just have some accountability and some fellowship with
others who believe the same way that you do. Now,
Jesus loves you and so do I, God bless
Help you're still listening great.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
In today's Weird Darkness episode, psychiatrist says demonic possession is real.
We covered the eating of sins and demonic possession, so
this might be a good time to touch on evil
spirits in general and how they are dressed in the Bible.
You can consider this a post show Church of the
Undead if you will. Evil spirits are often presented as
(00:38):
entertainment for spooky thrills in movies, TV shows, podcasts, but
it's important to take them seriously. Not only are evil
spirits real, they can significantly harm you if you're not careful.
It's vital to be aware of how evil spirits work
and to rely on God's help to overcome their power.
(01:00):
What does the Bible say about evil spirits? This biblical
wisdom about how to deal with evil spirits can help
you protect yourself and others and even the most dangerous
of situations. The Bible discusses evil spirits in many passages.
Both the Old and New Testaments mention evil spirits, using
a variety of terms for them, such as demons, demonic spirits,
(01:24):
impure spirits, on clean spirits, lying spirits, or deceiving spirits.
While the Bible doesn't reveal the origin of evil spirits,
it does make it clear that fallen angels are among them,
not necessarily one hundred percent of them, but among them
that make up the whole of evil spirits. Fallen angels,
(01:46):
also known as demons, were originally created by God to
be Holy angels, but they fell away from their relationship
with God after one angel, you know him as Lucifer,
led them in a rebellion to try and grab God
Godd's power for themselves. You could read about that yourself
and Isaiah fourteen, verses twelve through fourteen. Most of the
(02:07):
Holy angels remained faithful to God, though, according to Revelation
chapter five, but those angels who fell in rebellion became
corrupted by sin, so their natures are no longer good
because they are disconnected from God, who is the only
true source of goodness. Humans need to watch out for
evil spirits in our world today. One Peter five, verse
(02:30):
eight cautions us be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy,
the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for
someone to devour. The devil is just another name for satan.
Satan is just another name for Lucifer, who leads the
evil spirits and demons. Don't discount the power of evil spirits.
(02:52):
They can deceive you, tempt you to sin, harm you spiritually, mentally, emotionally,
and even physically. Ephesians six, verse twelve makes it clear
that evil spirits are the main source of our human
struggles in this fallen world. That verse says, for our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
(03:15):
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world,
and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
In his earthly ministry, Jesus helped many people break free
of evil spirits and sin. Eating, as we discussed earlier
in this episode, had absolutely nothing to do with it.
That is a false teaching. Jesus cast out evil spirits
(03:38):
who had possessed the souls of humans, and healed those
who had been made sick because of oppression from evil spirits.
Examples include Jesus helping a large group of people Matthew
Chapter four and Matthew Chapter eight, a girl whose mother
asked for help in Mark seven, a man who lived
among the tombs Mark five, Jesus gave his disciples the
(04:00):
spiritual authority to drive spirits out of people's lives as well.
Matthew Chapter ten records Jesus called his twelve disciples to
him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits
and to heal every disease and sickness. So while you
need to be aware of evil spirits in our world today,
you never need to be defeated by them, Especially if
(04:24):
you are a born again believer who believes that Jesus
rose from the dead, that he is your Lord and savior.
You can defend yourself against evil spirits by relying on
God's power working through you as long as you're connected
to God through Jesus, Colasians two fifteen says, and having
disarmed the powers and authorities evil spirits, he being Jesus,
(04:45):
made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by
the cross. Evil spirits are aware of Jesus power. They
know that they will be judged by him at God's
appointed time. Check out Matthew eight, verse twenty nine when
the demons say, what do you want with us, son
of God? Have you come here to torture us before
the appointed time? Thankfully, if you are in a saving
(05:09):
relationship with Jesus Christ, you have the power to overcome
any type of dangerous situation involving evil spirits. Even though
evil spirits are extremely powerful, their power is no match
for God's power. As a Christian, you can always rely
on God's power working through you. Because the Holy Spirit
lives in your soul vers Corinthians six nineteen. It empowers
(05:34):
you at one eight. There is no greater power than
God's power, which will flow through your life and make
sure that you are victorious in the fight against evil spirits.
James four to seven says, submit yourselves then to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Ephesians six,
verses ten through thirteen reveals that spiritual warfare is happening
(05:57):
around you, and it calls you to fight with the
power of God gives you to win those battles. Finally,
be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put
on the full armour of God so that you can
take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle
is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world,
and against the spiritual forces. Of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore,
(06:21):
put on the full armor of God, so that when
the day of evil comes, you may be able to
stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand.
Ephesians six, verses thirteen through seventeen describes the armour that
you should put on for the strength to win the
unseen yet spiritual battles around you. The belt of truth,
the breastplate of righteousness, the Gospel of peace, the shield
(06:44):
of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the spirit. You can do all of that by asking
God to help you. Day by day. You'll be prepared
to defend yourself and your loved ones against evil spirits
when you are wearing your spiritual armour, communicating with God
and trusting Him in faith every day. Wearing that spiritual armor,
(07:06):
you can follow the advice in Romans twelve twenty one
that says, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good. You can be confident that Jesus will
help you do so. He promises in Luke ten, verse
nineteen that he has given believers the authority to overcome
all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.
(07:27):
There are three ways that you can defend yourself against
evil spirits. First, don't contact any spirits apart from God.
Deuteronomy eighteen, verses ten through twelve forbids practices that involve
contacting spirits that souls or angels on your own. Stay
away from dangerous practices such as visiting mediums, going on
(07:50):
ghost hunts, using wish aboards, channeling, holding seances, and any
other practice that involves reaching out to spirits apart from God.
I know stepping on a few toes here, especially for
those of you who love the dark and mysterious that
you hear in weird darkness. I'm just giving you a
warning of things that you need to be aware of.
(08:10):
It's your decision whether or not you pursue them. The
only way that you should ever communicate spiritually, though, is
directly with God through prayer and meditation. If you contact
spirits like souls, saints, departed loved ones, even angels without
going through God, you are opening a door for evil
(08:30):
spirits to manipulate you while they disguise themselves as good spirits.
Tewod Corinthians eleven, verse fourteen says that Satan who leads
the fallen angels, masquerades as an angel of light, and
the angels who serve him, that would be the demons
masquerade as servants of righteousness. Only God has the ability
(08:52):
to direct your communication properly. You can trust God to
respond to your prayers with ultimate wisdom and to help
you in any situation. Also, you need to test the
spirits when you do receive spiritual messages. Don't just accept
them without evaluating them. According to the Bible's criteria for
testing them. First John four, verse one urges us, dear friends,
(09:16):
do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to
see whether they are from God. Because many false prophets
have gone out into the world. Evil spirits may give
you false prophecies. John eight forty four calls Satan a
liar and the father of lies. So beware of false messages.
(09:36):
Test the spirits by evaluating their messages in light of
First John four to two, which says, this is how
you can recognize the spirit of God. Every spirit that
acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is
from God, and fear God alone. Fearing evil spirits won't
help you defend yourself against them. It'll only lead you
(09:59):
to worry instead fear God in the biblical sense of
the word, where fear means reverence that comes from a
sense of awe, not actually being afraid of God. You
never have to be afraid of God. Fearing God in
this manner means paying attention to the wonder of His
work in your life, letting the awe that you feel
(10:20):
as a result give you a sense of reverence for God,
and then you'll be able to discern spiritual wisdom. Proverbs
nine ten says the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Fearing God gives you the wisdom that you need to
overcome temptations from evil spirits to pull you into sin.
(10:42):
Fearing God pulls you in the opposite direction, closer to God.
As you're inspired by awe, center your life around your
relationship with God, making decisions as God leads you that
will strengthen you spiritually, so you don't need to fear
evil spirit. You'll discover that with God's help, you can
win every spiritual battle. First John four, verse four promises
(11:07):
that you can overcome evil spirit's power with God's power,
which is greater. It says, you, dear children, are from
God and have overcome them because the one who is
in you is greater than the one who is in
the world. Evil spirits are a reality that you have
to deal with in this fallen world. They are not
(11:28):
to be taken lightly seen as only entertainment. You should
take them seriously. Evil spirits can harm you and your
loved ones significantly if you're not careful. However, you never
need to be afraid of evil spirits when you were
connected to God and his son Jesus Christ, whose power
(11:49):
is far greater than any type of evil. Jesus has
given those who trust him the power to overcome evil.
In a relationship with Jesus can defend yourself and others
successfully against evil spirits. You'll stay spiritually safe if you
stay close to God day by day. If you're still
(12:11):
listening to me right now and you're not a Christian,
I implore you to surrender to Christ now. Jesus is He's
as close by as a prayer. You can call out
to him right now for salvation and He will respond
and receive you. If you're not sure how to go
about doing that, I'll just lead you in a prayer
(12:31):
right now that you can pray out loud or silently
with me. Dear God, I come before you today with
a humble heart and surrender my life to you. I
believe that Jesus Christ was born free of sin, died
on the cross as a payment for my own sin,
and rose three days later. I believe in your gift
(12:52):
of salvation and eternal life. Because of the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ. God, today I repent and turn away from
my old way of life. Because of your mercy and grace,
I can have childlike faith. Today. I ask for new
life through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
(13:14):
Thank you God for forgiving me and making me brand
new at this very moment. In Jesus' name. Amen, if
you prayed that prayer, Welcome to the Family of God
and welcome to being a weirdo in Christ. I would
highly encourage you now to find a church in your
(13:36):
local area that you can feel comfortable in, that you
can worship in every Sunday, get plugged into with small
groups and just have some accountability and some fellowship with
others who believe the same way that you do. Now,
Jesus loves you and so do I, God bless
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!