Exorcism - A Christian Manual

Exorcism

A Christian Manual

By

Dr. Carson Michael

Most of the Scriptures used in this book are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® , copyright 1973,1978,1984 by Biblica, Inc. ™ All rights reserved worldwide.

Other verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Introduction

This book was written as a practical manual to help those that are called to the exorcism ministry.  It has many bullet points to make the information easy to find and use. I have been involved with over 200 exorcisms and at the beginning I could find few resources to give me guidance.  There were very few documents that actually discussed how to do an exorcism and there were very few people that believed in the reality of demon possession.

Once I started doing exorcisms it became an exhausting process because people starting calling day and night.  No one was doing exorcisms in my town and when people heard that this ministry existed they came out of the woodwork.  I was working full time and I had only Saturday mornings and an occasional evening to do them.  Within months I had a waiting list.  I had to enlist help so I talked to several men in the church and they agreed to assist. 

We did the best we could and developed ways to manage these situations.  We made mistakes; we were pressured by the disbelieving, and harassed by cults that attacked what we did.  It was not an easy process.  Yet, many were set free and lives were changed for the good.  I only wished I had a manual to guide me through these many difficult times.

I wrote this manual to help so that others do not have to go through what I did.  I hope that this manual will bless you and make a difficult ministry somewhat easier. Be blessed as you continue to fight the good fight.

Dr. Carson Michael

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1:
A Profile of Demons

Chapter 2
: How Demons Enter

Chapter 3
: Assessment and Preparation

Chapter 4
: A List of Demons

Chapter 5
: The Exorcism

Chapter 6
: Why Exorcisms Fail

Chapter 7
: House Cleansings

Chapter 8
: Other Demons

References

Chapter 1

A Profile Of Demons

Demons are believed to exist in every major religion.  However, beliefs about what they are and what they can do differ greatly.  For example, in the Islamic religion demons are called Jinn and they were believed to be created by Allah out of fire.  They followed Iblis (like satan) after rebelling against God and they are not considered entirely evil.  They are invisible and they can travel great distances very quickly.  They can be male or female and can marry and have children.   They are more powerful than humans and are shape-shifters.  The Jinn do try to possess humans, animals, and objects, and they are thought to give false visions to draw people into other religions (Jawaid, 2006). 

Demons are also mentioned in the Hindu religion.  There are demons that were created by the gods and there are demons that were believed to come from the souls of the dead.  The human origin of demons was thought to come from cases where an evil person died accidentally or was not given a proper burial ceremony after death. There are many types of demons in the Hindu religion, such as Vetala (vampires), Vinayakas (demons that create obstacles) and Rakshasas (soul-eaters), to name a few (Jansen, 1993; Klostermaier, 2000).

The Jewish religion believed that demons were dangerous but not all of them were completely evil.  They believed that some demons could be conjured up to cure an illness, compel people to fall in love, and find missing objects.  Most were not to be trusted unless specific spells and protections were in place. 

The ancient Rabbi’s believed that demons were intelligent and were both male and female.  They were considered to be more powerful than humans but less powerful than God. They believed that they came out at night and dwelt in solitary places, such as abandoned houses, trees, and vineyards.  It was considered dangerous to go out at night alone on the eve of Wednesday or the Sabbath because demons were considered to be out and on the prowl to attack humans. 

Exorcisms were done, but mostly by rituals and incantations.  For example, Josephus was a Jewish historian around the time of Christ.  He records that for an exorcism a magic root was placed in the nostrils of the one possessed.  An incantation was then performed in the name of Solomon and the demon was then drawn out through the nose.  In the book of Tobit, an exorcism consisted of burning the liver and heart of a fish that was miraculously caught, and the smell would drive the demon away.

Magic was even used by Jewish leaders (though it was forbidden).  For example, to cure night blindness extensive rituals had to be followed.  First, the patient and a dog had their legs tied together by animal hair.  Next, children were to break pottery behind the dog and recite an incantation.  Then 7 pieces of meat were to be taken to 7 homes and hung on the doorposts.  Later the dog was to eat the meat, and the cord would be untied and the Jewish leader would command the night blindness to enter the dog.

Amulets and talismans were also used to ward off evil or to provide good luck.  For example, one could wear an amulet inscribed with the names of angels that were the enemies of the demon Lilith to protect you.  You also had to avoid certain things, like leaving food or drinks under the bed because demons could be attracted to them. For some demons you could say their name, and then subtract a letter each time you say it until there was nothing left.  This was supposed to make the demon gradually disappear (Trachtenberg, 1939).         

There was literally no power of command behind a single name.  If you wanted a demon to come out you had to perform extensive rituals and provide incantations (magic words) to exorcise the demon.  In some cases you had to summon a friendlier demon to help expel the current harmful demon.  You had to use special herbs or flesh to prevent demons from causing the exorcist harm and you had to have magic circles to keep the demon away from you if you conjured one up (Bohak, 2008).

I have never quite understood how a circle drawn on the ground with symbols drawn inside would frighten a demon or protect a conjuror, or that herbs, metals, or smells could repel demons (Lewis-Highcorrell, 2013; Ravenwolf, 2012).   For example, Conway (2001) states that holly repels negative spells, thistle breaks curses, and St. John’s wort repels ghosts!  Also, there is a belief that demons are afraid of iron (Cavendish, 1968).  Demons could care less about any of these things.  They are supernatural beings and they are not bound to anything on this earth.  If they follow the orders of a witch or a warlock it is only to give the conjuror the illusion that they are controllable.  In other words, demons will obey the conjuror and silently work on their destruction by appearing to be tamed.  Demons cannot be controlled by anything but the name of Jesus.  

Christian Viewpoint

Jesus changed everything.  He did not use magic, incantations or rituals.  He simply commanded them to come out and the demons obeyed Him.  “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,” (Luke 13:10-13); “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God!’ ‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’ The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek, (Mark 1:23-26).”   

When He dealt with demons He placed a clear line in the sand: Demons are evil and we are to have nothing to do with them.  Jesus cast out demons and He considered it an important aspect of advancing the Kingdom of God.  He knew there was a major need for exorcisms to heal His children and to reveal to the people that He was more powerful than demons.  When He went to Gethsemane at night He did everything the Jews were afraid of: He went out at night to solitary places where there were trees and vineyards.  He went to the very places the religious leaders would not go.  This is why they accused Him of being in partnership with satan…”And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons He is driving out demons,’” (Mark 3:22).

The ancient Rabbi’s believed that demon were everywhere.  As an example of how prevalent demons are, the devil and his demons are recorded in the Scriptures as being in many places throughout the ministry of Jesus.  For example, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, satan visited Jesus in the desert where He went for 40 days to fast and pray (Matthew 4:1).  Also, Jesus was confronted by a demon possessed man in a graveyard (Luke 8:26-27), He healed a demon possessed man in a synagogue early in His ministry (Luke 4:33-35) and a demon possessed woman in synagogue later in His ministry (Luke 13: 10-16).  Further, Jesus cast out demons in public crowds wherever He went (Mark 3:7-12).  In the days leading to the crucifixion, the devil was present at the Last Supper (John 13: 26-27), he entered Judas (John 13:26-27), and he asked Jesus if he could destroy Peter (Luke 22:31).

Jesus believed that exorcisms were essential and empowered His disciples to cast out demons to kick satan out of any territory and establish the kingdom of God wherever they went.  For example, Matthew 10:1 states…”He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.”  In addition, Matthew 10:7-8 states…”’As you go, preach this message: ‘the Kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.’”

We are to do the work that Jesus did and we do not need anything but His name to drive them out…”I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you,” (Luke 10:19).  This power is given to us, by God, to drive out all evil.  All that Christians need is the name of Jesus.  

We need this authority and power over demons as demons are entirely evil.  They are servants of satan and they are called evil and unclean, “When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, He rebuked the evil spirit,” (Mark 9:25).  The mission of demons is to destroy everything they can and keep as many people as possible from entering heaven.  They have no goodness in them at all.  They are not to be contacted to converse with or contracted with-they will only bring suffering and misery.  They may do good things for you in order to trap you and keep you coming back for more.  Once you begin to think that you are safe with them, they will slowly turn your life into bondage.

Demons desire to create fear and misery in families that surround the possessed.  They want families to see the power of satan and fear him more than God.  But demons also have selfish reasons for possessing humans.  Demons are afraid of the Abyss and the torment waiting for them…”Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Legion,’ he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss,” (Luke 8:30-31).   The fear of demons is also reflected in Matthew 8:29…” ‘What do you want with us, Son of God?’ they shouted. ‘Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?’”

Demons know that their future consists of eternal torment and they are afraid of that time.  When demons possess a human they at least have a temporary home.  They know that if they can possess a human then their time is not up yet.  The devil is a cruel, wicked master that they must serve while facing a hopeless future.  By possessing humans they can carry out their master’s will and find a place to dwell away from him for a brief time.