A few days back we were ministering in a family and the husband and the head of the family asked us are demons for real? He stated plainly that he did not believe in such things as witchcraft and demonic attacks. What was surprising was that this family was saved and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and even attended our own church. Even more surprisingly his wife did believe in demonic activity and even shared with us instances of demonic activity she had personally come across but which was always dismissed by her husband as a figment of her imagination. To me personally it was an eye opener that anyone can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ but not believe in demons that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself personally cast out. Our Lord Jesus Christ in fact even gave all of his followers the ministry of casting out demons along with healing the sick and never separated or made a distinction between the two.
The Word of God clearly explains they exist and even forbids such practices as seen in Deuteronomy 18:9-14 “When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you.
The Lord even states in 1 Samuel 15:23 to King Saul, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.” Plain and simple rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ is equated to the sin of witchcraft.
The devil does exist as do demons and demonic activity. It is certainly not wise to dismiss their existence and/or their activity. On the other hand neither is it wise to make the devil all powerful and an equal and opposing force to God which the devil certainly is not. A balanced view in the middle is in keeping with the Word of God.
