So You Have a Haunted House

The first question might be, how can demonic influence be manifest in the home of Christians? On subjects such as this, the extent of biblical nescience across the body of Christ is astounding, it reminds me of a statement I made many years ago when I realised that I knew very little about why I believed, and what I did know was not my own. For some, the need to grow spiritually does not extend far beyond the denominational opinion of a Sunday service where the scope of biblical interpretation is selectively controlled. Gathering together should be a training facility, where God’s word itself moderates the contesting of ideas. It should be a place of learning to think, not a place to camp. Remaining ignorant is not a biblical response to God’s call to maturity. If we camp our opinions become isolated and demonstrate the immaturity alluded to by the Apostle Paul in his discourse to the Church in Heb5:12. This ignorance often underscores the dialogue about such things as demonic possession, haunted houses and demons under the bed. These terms are bantered around like the dread of all fears but the truth is so far removed it astounds me that we claim the Bible as the plumbline of authority. So my challenge is, where in the biblical corpus does the possession or influence of evil suggest anything other than living beings?

Claims of demonic influence, or worse possession are serious at the best of times, and not something we should assume without specific evidence. Accusing a town of being a demonic stronghold might be easier to get away with but this also misrepresents the biblical account. Some people are prone to exaggerate feelings and emotions that overstate the evidence out of all proportions. We should keep in mind that the entire world is Satan's playground of influence, but being possessed and being tempted by evil are entirely different propositions. If we don't draw the distinction and remain within a biblical context, mere suggestion can take on proportions that say more about those suggesting it than the subject of concern. In reality, everyone lives in the presence of evil, and everyone can be tempted through human weaknesses. We have flaws in our character, talents, and strengths. Even Peter, when Jesus recognized the spirit emanating from the Apostle’s mouth, rebuked the spirit behind it. Peter wasn’t possessed but allowed his humanity to be a mouthpiece for evil.

God gave Satan the authority to extend his influence on humanity for a time. However, there are limitations to this authority where it concerns those whom God has justified, sealed, and covered in Christ. It’s concerning when Satan is given a higher platform of influence than he deserves, and the Church is beguiled into praying against the perception of strongholds that occupy their towns, lands, or homes. In this regard, the Bible should be the plumbline, but this is not always clear in the language many Christians use, or statements inferring that Satan must be driven out. The rationale seems to suggest that Satan possesses the spiritual high ground and God cannot succeed in winning the spiritual battle for humanity until these demonic principalities are first removed. Because strongholds do exist this subtle deviation from the biblical plumbline deceives many into exaggerating what demons can and can't do, thus failing to acknowledge that the vessel of strongholds is not buildings and towns, it's people. Satan’s ability to possess (make into a stronghold) is always manifested in living beings, not things.

So why do many Christians continue to entertain the idea they can remove Satan from the very places God has given him the authority to be? Fundamentally, teaching on this subject is inadequate. This is interesting insomuch as most Christians would claim the covering of Christ, yet some remain open to the fear of demonic influence. This is seen in the language used to suggest their homes might be possessed or haunted, as if houses towns and even Churches should be sanctuaries that Satan cannot visit. In my experience, nothing of any miraculous significance has ever resulted from prayer over claimed strongholds and no demonic spirit has ever been glaringly obvious. Praying on the high ground and exorcising demons from every nook and cranny has never achieved anything other than a short-term hyper-spiritual frenzy, but never spiritual growth or maturity. It’s done more to create an atmosphere of fear and an unhealthy view of demonic authority. By preaching spiritual warfare in this manner, we're absolving ourselves from the issue, because we don’t understand that if there is demonic influence or possession, we are the problem. Every time I hear of Christians wanting their homes prayed over to remove some perceived evil spirit, it’s always the house or some object of concern that has the problem. Personal responsibility is transferred to the house itself, and Satan is implicated as the indiscriminate cause. Christians should never entertain this sort of fear about places, buildings, or towns. None of these threaten God’s power and authority and all born-again believers are covered by the blood of Christ.

This is not dissimilar to suggesting that alcohol addiction is the result of a demonic stronghold in alcohol. To address the problem, we pray that the alcohol is released from demonic possession, rather than pray for the person afflicted with personal addiction.

The following is an extract from a letter sent to a Church. From my experience, it typifies the attitude of many Christians today. The tone of this letter was conveyed as a prophetic word from God and headed up as “a foreshadowing of God’s plan for the transformation of the town”. The prophecy stated, “We can’t possibly hope to see this town transformed with the truth and love of Jesus Christ unless we do two things; we must work together to see his plan come to pass, and secondly, we must lay a strong foundation of prayer, worship, and spiritual warfare to overthrow hells domination of our town”.

While the statement might schmooze the feelings of some, it’s little more than religious posturing that unravels under the weight of its presumption. Firstly, it presumes authority over the sovereign plan of God. Not a good place to begin. It is correct to say that God wants us to work together, but frankly, God is not in the business of transforming towns, cities, and places, nor does he need us to bring about his sovereign plan, which is why it isn’t prophetic. Like Church buildings, they're all irrelevant to God’s sovereign plan. God is in the business of building a spiritual kingdom, by transforming people’s lives, and this is not deterred by suggesting towns, cities or countries, need strong foundations of prayer and spiritual warfare. That some think these conditions must be met before God can act is audacious, and originates in placing a good story ahead of biblical truth. Put simply it assumes a self-righteous authority that imagines we determine growth in the Church. The two most common passages of scripture generally used to defend this practice are 2Cor10:5 and Lk11:24. However, the context of both passages refers to the exorcising of demonic spirits “from people”. In scripture, the context is always the exorcism of evil from living beings.

I've witnessed the results of spiritual warfare over many years and seen its abuses and excesses. I’ve seen churches come together, surrounding towns and cities, praying on the high ground, and binding principalities and powers, all in the name of Jesus. I’ve seen people earnestly pray against present and historical strongholds, whatever that means, casting out demons from numerous locations and objects. I’ve seen leaders hunt down, strip, and burn their own Church property, in the name of exorcising a demonic stronghold. In reality, nothing of any spiritual change occurs, and within weeks people forget the incident and move on. Like the previous example, it’s often preached in a manner that assumes a prophetic tone of authority and many are taken in. Some years ago, I heard Christians blaming the Christchurch earthquakes on the presence of a king demon, and how this principality needs to be cast out before the quakes will stop. In recent years a Fijian Pastor blamed the devastating effects of a hurricane on the sin of the people of Fiji. Again, this is serious on many levels and expresses an attitude of religious immaturity that seems all too prevalent.  A few years back a Christian couple sought an exorcism of their home because they believed in the presence of a demonic spirit that had possessed their home sometime in the past. It’s not easy to accept that demonic influence is caused by believers opening the door of evil, to begin with.

Scripture does not detail that Jesus commanded demons to come out of objects or towns, only living beings who manifested a grotesque display of demonic possession. Scripture provides no evidence to suggest that Satan can be cast out of houses, objects, lands, towns, cities, or light bulbs for that matter. I would suggest he cannot be removed from the place God has given him authority to roam, which includes the Church.