| Author | Message | ||
| Gregkleinig Registered user Username: Gregkleinig Post Number: 25 Registered: 12-2010 |
G'day all. About six weeks ago a couple who I am very good friends with (sdas both in their 50s, she a Principal of a school) received a call that their elder daughter,about 30, married happily, both practising SDAs but not hard core, was demon possesed and to get themselves to her. (an all night drive). On their return I listened to their story about her daughter. Although we were all initially very sceptical (they had rung me for pray support on the drive to their daughter) and thought maybe it was onset of some type of mental illness, there is no doubt in my mind or theirs that it was indeed demon possession. About 11 different demons were cast out by the intervention of different family, friends and Pastors. The mother had a couple of months before given her daughter a severe talking to about eating unclean food. At that time I showed them some texts from the NT on the subject. The mother could not accept them. Now to my question. 1Tim 4:1-4 talks about forbidding certain foods to be eaten is a doctrine of demons. This a very scary admonition. I never shared this text at the time. I take this text at face value. It is a very severe admonition against those who go down this path. My question. To what extent could this be a factor in their daughters demon possession? The daughter has been completely free of any demonic influence since. Greg. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 12476 Registered: 12-2003  |
Wow, Greg. I know many Adventists (or people who used to be Adventists) who rigorously refused meat but did not suffer demon possession. I don't know exactly how to assess this person's situation; I've no idea of her life and pursuits. But this is how I understand Adventism: the entire belief system of Adventism is "doctrines of demons". Let's just start with EGW. She was/is a false prophet; her visions and teachings contradicted Scripture throughout her entire life. People like to say she straightened out her view of Jesus after writing The Desire of Ages, but into the 1900's she continued to write overtly non-trinitarian statements and made references to Jesus that were clearly about someone other than our Lord Jesus revealed in Scripture. When our younger son was 11, he and I were having a conversation about his transferring from an Adventist to a Christian school. I asked him why he thought we no longer wanted him to be in an Adventist school, and he answered that Ellen White was a false prophet. "If she was a false prophet," I asked, "where did her visions come from?" I assure you, I had never even had that thought before! "From Satan," he said,and I felt myself go sorta numb. I was praying as I talked, and I remember asking God to give me words to say to him. I was pretty overwhelmed right then. As I answered him, I heard my answer coming out of my mouth, and I went from numb to horrified. "Because her visions came from Satan, Satan has a claim on Adventism." Greg, I had never had that thought before. I told Richard, and very thoughtfully he agreed. We realized we had to repent and renounce that deep attachment we had; it was not just a collection of ideas we were leaving, nor even simply false information. In other words, Adventism wasn't "wrong" the way believing the earth is flat is wrong. Adventism is doctrines of demons; it's deliberately and deceitfully wrong. We prayed as a family, and Richard asked God to remove the spirit of Adventism from our hearts and to put His Spirit in the place where Adventism had resided. Now, I assure you that we were not demon-possessed, but we had been blinded by doctrines of demons. Even when we intellectually realized those doctrines were not the gospel, we still had emotional and personal attachments to Adventism that were making it really hard for us to leave. When we prayed, however, Richard said that was when he knew he was born again. He experienced being completely new and free. I already knew I had been reborn, but from that moment on, all my regret and backwards glances ceased. I simply had no more regret or sense of wondering what people thought, how I would respond if I met them, etc. So, here's what I believe: Even without knowing it, as Adventists we were under the influence of demons through the doctrines. We were blinded, and we had no ability to "see" truth until we began asking God to show us what was real. Adventism gives Satan a lot of "air time". They talk about him a lot; they fear spirits—hence their rationale for "soul sleep" as a "protection" against being deceived by evil spirits. They believe he's in an ongoing battle with Jesus. They believe we have to overcome him in our own lives...not realizing Jesus overcame him, and when we are in Him, He has no claim on us—and if we are not in Him, we are already in his domain (Col 1:13). Adventists believe Satan will finally carry their sins out of heaven and be punished for causing them. They believe that Satan is responsible for human sin, not humans. The Sabbath School lesson this week is entirely about Lucifer. Think of that--a whole week of "Bible study" focusing on Satan/Lucifer. They believe elaborate stories about his past and his supposed accusations against God and His law..stories that are NOT in the Bible but are in EGW. Satan is actually a major player in Adventism. Adventists are generally both fascinated by and fearful of demons. Adventists are vulnerable to them in many ways, and Adventism actually makes people vulnerable to demons because of the fact that demonic doctrines continue to be the foundation that supports the elaborate public structure of the organization. Back to your question. For sure Adventists are not generally "demon possessed", but when one is, I do believe Adventism paved the way toward activities or practices or even desperation that led them into deep spiritual bondage. Remember the parable of the man whose house was cleansed of a demon, but because his house was left empty, that demon came back and brought seven more, thus causing the man's end to be worse than the beginning? I believe this parable is extremely important for people who have been Adventists or members of any other cult. One can't just decide to leave Adventism and think then he'll be OK. Unless we receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior and Lord, our hearts remain empty when we leave Adventism, and we open ourselves to many new deceptions and compromises. Moreover, when we look at the truth about Adventism but refuse to embrace it, we harden ourselves to reality and become more entrenched in a culture of deception. I have known Adventists who have made it their work to exorcise demons from people. The whole premise of this is deceptive. Even those who are well-meaning cannot exert God's power over the powers of darkness without endangering themselves or those over whom they pray if they are entangled with darkness. Finally, the Bible is very clear that when God convicts us of something in our lives that we must give up, we are to repent. That day our family prayed for the Holy Spirit to replace Adventism was our day of repentance, of turning away and of asking the Lord Jesus to fill and define our lives. I don't know what to say about your friend's daughter, but I would say that something in her life caused her to be spiritually compromised, and I certainly believe Adventism provided the nurturing medium for the compromise. Colleen | ||
| Honestwitness Registered user Username: Honestwitness Post Number: 1157 Registered: 7-2005  |
I believe demon possession does not always look like mental illness. If Satan can appear as an angel of light, then being posessed by a demon can also look very spiritual or religious. In 1 Tim 1:1-4, in the English Standard Version (ESV), the first sentence says "...some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons..." If one *devotes* oneself to something, one could be said to be posessed by it. Therefore, just the fact that one devotes oneself to teachings of demons is enough, in my book, to say one is demon posessed. In my humble opinion, the more dangerous the demon, the more sophisticated and refined and subtle the manifestations are. Adventist doctrine is arguably the most dangerous doctrine in existence in our culture today, because it is so close to genuine Christianity that it's very difficult to see the differences between the counterfeit and the real. The demon possession you describe as happening to the daughter is most likely a smoke screen designed to distract from the deeper, more subtle possession. For an Adventist to be casting out demons is, in my opinion, an oxymoron. | ||
| Asurprise Registered user Username: Asurprise Post Number: 1848 Registered: 7-2007 |
The devil left me strictly alone when I was an Adventist. He had me precisely where he wanted me, so he sure wasn't going to "rock the boat" and risk me questioning Adventism! He didn't "tip his hand" until I was in the process of leaving Adventism and then as a short-lived act of desperation! (He blocked my understanding of the Bible as I was studying about the covenants. It was SO obvious because I couldn't even understand the words I was reading those few minutes. Then as soon as a Christian friend prayed for me the "fog" immediately cleared up!) I was wondering if perhaps she might have gotten possessed some other way then. Perhaps through a "doorway" such as going to a fortune teller or playing with an Ouija board or playing "Dungeons and Dragons" or something. Something like that would certainly "open a door." (Message edited by Asurprise on April 13, 2011) | ||
| Asurprise Registered user Username: Asurprise Post Number: 1849 Registered: 7-2007 |
Now that she's been "cleansed" of demons, her "house" has been swept clean. Since she's an Adventist, it's unlikely that she has the Holy Spirit. I say "unlikely" because if a person believes the way that Adventism teaches, they cannot "put their weight down" on Jesus' finished work in their behalf. If they aren't completely "putting their weight down" on His finished work, then they aren't accepting Jesus as their Savior! It's that serious and dangerous! If that's the case with her, then those demons could easily come back and bring more with them! | ||
| River Registered user Username: River Post Number: 7199 Registered: 9-2006  |
11 year olds have a way of just telling the truth while adults learn to dodge it and play around with it. 11 year olds don't have so much baggage to carry around. ha! |
