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Date Posted: 23:58:55 07/02/04 Fri
Author: Eladio
Subject: Exorcisms, & The Teachings of the Roman Catholic Church

Exorcisms, & The Teachings of the Roman Catholic Church



Holy Blessing or Hidden Peril ?

Source:http://www.exorthodoxforchrist.com/exorcism_&_catholic_priests.htm



How real is the exorcism scene with the Priest in the movie "the Exorcist" ?



A long, drawn-out exorcism you see in "The Exorcist" is not what the Bible teaches. In other words, it is plainly unscriptural. When the Apostle Paul was confronted with a fortune teller he simply said,"I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!"

There is no proscribed "ritual" to get a demon to come out of a person, except a) prayer and fasting b) prayer and fasting by others - prior to and during the confrontation and c) directly confronting the demon.

This does not mean that "time" is not a factor. To have a demon come out of a person can take anywhere from minutes to many days (or longer). But the time and the result would certainly not be dependent on any of the processes or rituals or incense or magical words or crosses...that many Catholic priests bring to their "ceremonies" of "Exorcisms".

There are ceremonies that Catholic Priests have used to conduct exorcisms. What the priests fail to disclose is that those rituals are entirely man-made and have no effectiveness whatsoever.

IN the book of Acts in the New Testament (Bible), Luke explained the story of what happens when a person who is not a christian - a person who does not believe in Him personally and totally, tried to exorcise someone who is demon-possessed:

Acts 19:13

13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.

15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?

16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.



In that situation, the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ was magnified, because others who heard this story being told - understood that it takes more than the name of "Jesus" to combat demonic forces: It takes knowing Jesus Christ personally and having accepted him into one's life.

In the Book of Matthew, Jesus explained what happens when a demon leaves a person temporarily, and then comes back with many other demons. (This can only happen to persons who remain unsaved and who reject the message of salvation of Jesus Christ). This is what Jesus said - about such a situation :

Matthew 12:43

43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.



The Christian author and true minister - to those in the Occult - Kurt Koch has written more than 20 books on the subject of the works of spiritual darkness. In his books, he explains and gives details of many of this encounters with the demonic realm. He is one of the few who seems to be 100% scriptural and sound in his sole reliance on Jesus Christ and other Christians in prayer - about the situations he deals with.

---

The Catholic Church has made it a practice to "externalize" most of the spiritual elements in Christianity. This is necessary because those who cannot discern spiritually must have visible external signs of the supposed internal predisposition of people. The priests perform the rituals as a sign of external emotional confirmation that those priests know what they are doing. But although those priests are sincere, the ceremonies and rituals are not authentic and carry no power whatsoever.

Unfortunately, external signs are not a spiritual guarantee of anything. Nor is sincerity. The Catholic Church has several rituals to "make" the demon supposedly go out of a person. But those rituals rely on the claimed strength of the Catholic Priest who denies that Jesus is the The Christ, that is...the Christ who can save us by having faith in Him alone PLUS NOTHING. People who use the priests to perform rituals are putting their own personal faith in those priests and in those rituals, but not in Jesus Christ himself.

Demons are not influenced by Catholic Rituals in the least. We have heard of stories of priests becoming affected for having tried the Catholic Rituals because they contain actually NO spiritual power, if those priests really do not know Jesus Christ (and the vast majority - according to the Bible) do Not seem to.

In most of the exorcism rituals, the Demons merely pretend to leave, and this makes the priest happy, and the people temporarily happy...because they think something has truly happened. The the same kind of thing that Jesus described often occurs - in the person being exorcised :

Matthew 12:43

43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.



The bottom line is that according to the Bible and the words of Jesus, Catholic exorcism rituals only appear to be effective and are themselves un-scriptural and counterfeit. Demons do not respond to them, and if they do - it is only a trick to induce people into Not getting saved...since the Catholic Church "must have" been succesfull.



When we do not hear elements in exorcisms where the priest or pastor 1) has a definite & personal relationship with Jesus Christ based on faith ALONE in Christ's work on the Cross (death & Resurrection), AND 2) is using scripture verses and Biblically based commands such as "in the name of Jesus Christ" or "through the Blood of Jesus Christ", then we should know that the exorcisms have Zero effect, regardless of the external appearance.

Many of those Catholic Priests do have "faith", but it is Faith in the Catholic Church and Not Faith in Jesus Christ.

The movie "the exorcist" may be based on a real story, but in real life, spiritual problems require knowledge of the Bible and acceptance of the message of Jesus Christ and his words.

We remember the story in the Bible where the demon left the person, but then came back several times stronger. I think in many cases with false exorcisms (which look real), this is the result.



However, thankfully, there are stories with happier endings. Contrast the story in "the Exorcist" with the real stories found in

a) works of Kurt Koch

b) Child of Satan, Child of God

(by one of the members of the manson gang)

c) the Beautiful side of Evil by J. Michaelson

Their experiences and outcomes of occult and demonic interference in their own lives...are very different from the exorcisms and results of The Exorcist. Today many people who used to be possessed by demonic forces, and who used to have curses and very miserable lives, have found true joy through the freedom and deliverance which is available through Jesus Christ.





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