"Oh, come on now. Demons are not real. Such ideas belong to Middle Ages. This is the 21st century, and we know better," one might say.
Let us not fool ourselves. Jesus Christ Himself recognized the existence of demons and other Satanic influence. Before you think that demons were only a problem in the Lord's time, think again. By the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul warned all in 1 Timothy 4:1, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." Note that he said "in the latter times." A careful analysis of pertinent passages will indicate we are in the latter times.
As we examine the Holy Bible more closely, we will see that there are four levels of Satanic influence.
Temptation
Most common is temptation, with Christ Himself being tempted -- many times, and not just in the wilderness. The Word of God groups temptation into three categories: The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These three appear to correspond to our composite being: body, soul and spirit.
The basal needs of the flesh, apart from our natural sin nature, are not sinful in themselves. For example, eating is not a sin. However, eating too much, too little, or improperly is sin.
Chinese Christian church leader and author Watchmen Nee has described the soul as the place of our affections. We desire certain things whether material or immaterial. Some are good for us and some are detrimental. Even the good can be bad when we care for those things more than we care for God Himself.
The pride of life corresponds to our personal spirit, for it is with our spirit we make decisions. Notice that the Word of God uses the term "pride." Satan, as far as we know, was the first one to commit sin, and his sin was that of pride (see Ezekiel 28:14-17).
Repeatedly yielding to sin causes us to be more in tune with the kingdom of darkness than the Kingdom of God. After awhile, the forces of darkness have a grip on us that becomes stronger unless we get relief. His sinister hold increases, and may develop into other levels of demonic activity.
Oppression
Whether it is sickness or sin, Satan's forces will try to make matters worse.
While not every sickness is influenced by demonic activity, there are cases where Satan makes matters worse.
We read this account in Luke 13:11-13: "And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God."
If we continue to read, we see that ruler of the synagogue complained about Jesus healing on the Sabbath. Jesus responded by noting the passage in the Mosaic law that permitted one to rescue their stranded animal on the Sabbath. Christ then said (verse 16), "And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" We see He attributed her malady to the hand of Satan.
Satan will also oppress by either instilling or amplifying any negative emotion we might have or are open to receive, such as, but certainly not limited to, depression, hatred, lust, worry and fear. Hebrews 12:15 gives us an example: "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;"
Obsession
Often more powerful and more binding than oppression is obsession, where one feels compelled to do something. From experience, I remember as a child and years before I became a true Christian, thoughts would "pop into" my mind, along with a sense of something urging me to do that thing. All of the actions were sinful and often destructive. I soon found myself getting into trouble quite often.
Saul, the first King of Israel, is a classic example of this. He started his reign in humility, but began to sin little by little. If you read the account in 1 Samuel, you will see an element of pride gain control of his life. This festered to the point where he became jealous of David and attempted a number of times to kill him. Prior to his death, he secretly went to a witch so she could "contact" Samuel. Saul's end was a bitter one -- slow and suicidal during a battle with the Philistines.
