Short Answer
Yes, demonic activity still exists today, but it does not appear with the same intensity or frequency as during the time of Christ. The Gospels show a unique period where demonic activity was especially visible due to Jesus’ earthly ministry. Today, spiritual influence may still occur, but it is often less dramatic and more subtle.
The Overview
The Gospels record a significant amount of demonic activity during Jesus’ ministry, with frequent encounters involving possession and exorcism. This concentrated presence of demonic opposition appears to be unique in biblical history. The arrival of Christ—God in the flesh—marked a decisive moment in spiritual history, which likely explains the heightened level of visible conflict between Christ and demonic forces.
When comparing other periods of Scripture, such as the Old Testament or even the book of Acts, the same intensity of demonic activity is not consistently seen. While there are instances of spiritual opposition, they are less frequent and often connected to occult practices, such as sorcery or attempts to communicate with the dead. This suggests that while demonic activity continues, it may not always manifest in obvious or dramatic ways.
In the present day, demonic influence may still be real but is often observed through destructive behaviors such as violence, self-harm, addiction, or deep moral corruption. These may reflect spiritual influence, even if they do not resemble the dramatic possession accounts found in the Gospels. The focus for believers is not to seek out such encounters but to respond with the truth of the gospel and reliance on God.
Ultimately, the Bible emphasizes that victory over evil comes through Christ. Rather than engaging directly with demonic forces, believers are encouraged to trust God, proclaim the gospel, and seek His protection. The power of transformation is seen not in dramatic confrontations but in changed lives through faith in Christ.
Key Takeaways
- Demonic Activity Still Exists
Spiritual opposition continues, though often less visibly than in the Gospels. - The Time of Christ Was Unique
There was an unusual concentration of demonic encounters during Jesus’ ministry. - Modern Manifestations May Be Subtle
Destructive behaviors can reflect spiritual influence without dramatic possession. - Occult Practices Are Often Connected
Scripture links demonic activity with practices like sorcery or spiritism. - The Gospel Is the Primary Response
Believers are called to trust God, preach truth, and rely on His protection.
Read Full Raw Transcript
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Hi, Pastor Mike. U of course I’m Dion. I called uh about the the Santa Claus question at one point. I hope I didn’t get you in too much trouble. >> Well, yeah. I always get in trouble when I start talking about Santa Claus, but uh that’s okay. I can take it. >> All right. My my question today is, you know, when Jesus was here, u he casted out a lot of demons and things. And I was just wondering, is is that something that is still happening today? Are are people still being possessed by demons
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today like they were back then? It seemed like every other time he went to a city, somebody was possessed, but is that something that still happens? And have you ever been a part of anything like that? >> Yeah. >> Or witnessed it? >> Well, I have seen Well, let’s go to the first question. I do think there’s something very unique about the time of Christ. As a matter of fact, we look back at a lot of things that were going on in Moses’s day, Joshua’s day, Elijah,
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Elisha. We don’t see the flurry of demonic activity like we saw with the coming of Christ. And if you think about how heaven is there uh cheering on and singing at his birth, I mean, all of the spirits of all all all of heaven and certainly all those that had been um rebellious with with Satan. Um this is a big deal. So, I do think the coming of Christ, I mean, that’s an understatement of of the century to say Christ’s coming was a big deal. Huge deal. I mean, it’s the we still date our checks by his
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arrival. But the point is that I do think there was a flurry of demonic activity within uh the ministry realm where Christ was trying to do and successfully did. He didn’t just try, but succeeded in fulfilling all righteousness. And I just think that’s why we probably look at all of biblical history and find that uh there’s a whole lot more of that going on in the Gospels than there are even in the book of Acts. Even though we do see a couple of situations where it goes on and one of
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them is in the realm of the occult. Now we had occultic activity back in the Old Testament particularly in Canaan. And thankfully that whole culture was driven out of existence uh most of it at least almost all of it with the conquest of Joshua and the next generation that followed. But when it came to uh the book of Acts, even you saw this connection to the occult and and when you saw people that were fortune tellers or you saw people that were engaged in in trying to uh connect with the dead or
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be mediums, that’s where you find that some of this uh seems to be um the place where you can find continuing demonic activity. Now, in my life, uh I well, let me just go on. I was going to say in church history again, I I think you you can’t match the kind of demonic activity that you had in the gospel period. And that’s why I’ve got to think, okay, that’s because Christ was here fighting for our redemption. But uh plenty of things are still going on in this world that I think um you know are are pretty
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hairy when it comes to demons actually having a kind of success in an individual life that there’s passivity in the person and activity of Satan. And um you know I I can watch some of the crime shows and read the headlines and and see some things that um at least show me a little bit of what I’ve seen in a person. nothing to the extent of course of like the demoniac of the garrison living among the tombs but the times that I’ve been called in whether it’s a kid trying to kill his mother or
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uh you know someone trying to kill themselves uh you know in dealing with all of those things I I I think okay I’m not here seeing the same kind of um of relief often well I shouldn’t say that in preaching the gospel where my focus is when I have someone that is either trying to kill themselves or someone’s trying to kill someone else which I think is the ultimate example of the enemy’s work. He’s a murderer, John 8, and he wants to he wants to destroy people. Drugs certainly do that. Uh self
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harm does that. People that want to kill themselves. I’ve been there in many instances in pastoral ministry where that is going on. My response to that is to preach the gospel. My response to that is to get people to bow the knee to Christ and to say, “What you need uh is not self-destruction, but you need redemption.” And so, I’ve watched some lives turn around pretty dramatically. Um, I mean, I had one guy so hooked on drugs, I finally moved him into my own house and he detoxed for a couple of
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weeks and later went on to become a pastor. So, I’ve watched the dramatic turn of events. But since I think in scripture, my focus as a follower of Christ is to trust in Christ, to deal with the spiritual side of things, I’m going to deal with the human side of things by preaching to people about whatever I can in their free choice to say. And I say that you know obviously from a human perspective but as they are able to converse with me uh I am able to at least preach the gospel in such a way
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as either I have success or failure in that. So I can’t say I’ve had the same kind of uh demonic showdowns that I’ve seen in the gospels. Uh but I’ve watched God do some amazing things with people that were self-destructive or so tied up in drugs that their life was going completely down the tubes. But um yeah, I I haven’t called out to have Le Legion talk to me. That that hasn’t been my experience. Uh but I’ve seen a lot of stuff living in downtown Chicago for 3 years and doing ministry in Southern
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California. I’ve seen seen a lot, but nothing quite like um like in the pages of the Gospels, >> Dion, does that that help? >> Yes, it does. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. And I don’t go looking for it, and I don’t think anybody should. I mean, I see a lot of bad things going on, and I don’t want to deal with it. If I watch, you know, the text of Jude for instance, and Michael, the the high ranking archangel is is not willing to directly u say boisterous or or brash things to
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Satan, but says, “The Lord rebuke you.” Well, that’s going to be my pattern. Michael’s a whole lot stronger than than I am, and I’m just going to pray to God to protect me from spiritual forces of evil, and I’m going to say, “God, please deliver these people.” And I know that in scripture, uh, it’s all about the truth of God’s word and the preaching of the gospel that can do that. So, I stay with that. I stick with that. I often have prayed for protection in the midst
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of some really harid counseling appointments, but um haven’t seen um, you know, any demons talking through people.
