Demon possession and exorcism have long been subjects of fascination and skepticism. Every culture and historic era—from ancient Egypt to modern America—has produced accounts of demonic activity. Yet, demons remain a confusing, even divisive, topic. Procedures for exorcisms and their effectiveness also stir debate.
What does the Bible say about demons and exorcisms? Is there evidence for demonic activity? What happens during an exorcism? This article aims to help answer these questions. Let’s dive in!
Do Demons Exist?
According to the Bible, yes, demons are real. Like angels, demons are spiritual beings, created by God and able to interact with the natural realm (Romans 8:37–39).
Unlike angels, demonic spirits followed Satan in rebellion against God. Jude 6 describes demons as “angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling” (see also 2 Peter 2:4).
Satan
Also called the “adversary,” Satan leads the fallen angels (Revelation 12) in direct opposition to God and his people. Scripture calls Satan a “roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8) and the “father of lies” (John 8:44) who “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:12–14).
Satan’s tactics—rooted in deception, temptation, and accusation—aim to hinder humanity’s response to the gospel (Matthew 13:19) and undermine Christians’ ministry and spiritual growth.
He perpetuates false teachings, fosters jealousy and disorder (1 Timothy 4:1–5), and blurs the lines between sorcery and the power of God (Acts 8:9–25; 16:16–24) with misleading signs and wonders (Revelation 16:12–16).
Culture Shapes Views of Demons
Attitudes toward evil spirits vary significantly across the globe. In some nations, a rational and skeptical approach often relegates demons to mythology and explains demonic possession through psychology. In other parts of the world, people believe that angels and demons are tangible and formidable entities that shape the course of human affairs and can inhabit people, animals, plants, objects, and natural phenomena.
RTB founder Hugh Ross found this cultural divide to be true through firsthand observations. Some places—such as rural Africa and the Soviet Union—reported high levels of belief in and encounters with spirits; others—such as western Europe and the US—reported much lower levels of belief and few encounters.
The mixed messaging about demons, Hugh says, should not be surprising. Satan is a master strategist and manipulator. It is no mistake that accounts and beliefs about demons conflict. Deception is Satan’s goal. Thus, confusion and mystery are to his advantage. C. S. Lewis perhaps best describes this dichotomy in the introduction to his classic story of demonic mischief, The Screwtape Letters:
There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.
In other words, Satan and his minions employ tactics based on whatever is most effective in each region or to individual people.
Proof of Demons’ Existence
Evidence for evil spirits comes chiefly from recorded observations, rather than scientific experiments. In the book Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men, Hugh notes that topics like demons and their activities “lie beyond the reach of direct scientific confirmation.” Science publications tend to focus on natural phenomena, and so are unlikely to accept articles about demons.
Accounts of demonic activity are plentiful. It requires both discernment and an open mind to sort through the data. To explain away all paranormal activity as natural phenomena is as equally unhelpful as it is to see demons everywhere.
Fortunately, there is serious scholarship dedicated to documenting and examining reports of demonic activity.
Psychiatrist Richard Gallagher, a devout Catholic and respected authority on demon possession, has spent decades consulting for priests trained in exorcism. In a 2008 article for New Oxford Review, Gallagher sought to “document a contemporary and clear-cut case of demonic possession.”
His goal was to both persuade the skeptics with credible, reasoned testimony and to equip believers (clerics in particular) “to recognize the many and infinitely more common ‘counterfeits.’” James Patterson, a psychiatrist and member of RTB’s Scholar Community, notes that Gallagher’s report is “detailed, specific, and exacting,” making it a helpful case study.
Is Demonic Possession Real?
Yes, eyewitness testimony and biblical accounts say that demonic possession really does happen—albeit rarely. The Bible’s accounts of possession and exorcism appear exclusively in the New Testament, mostly in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. (The Old Testament says very little about demons and nothing about exorcism.)
Symptoms of Demonic Possession
Gallagher identifies three types of “extraordinary attacks”: infestation, oppression, and possession. Infestation pertains to disturbances in a location or object. Oppression, which can mimic psychosis, involves attacks and manipulation without full control.
Possession is typically thought of as a demon (or demons) indwelling and controlling a human host from within. The symptoms tend to be “more flamboyant,” as Gallagher puts it. These can include:
- profanity and blasphemy,
- speaking in unusual or unknown languages,
- exhibiting psychic knowledge,
- experiencing trances with no recollection afterward,
- radical fluctuations in body temperature,
- unnatural strength,
- contortions of the face and limbs,
- foaming at the mouth,
- and strong reactions to holy water and sacred objects.
Some exorcists also report seeing telekinesis and levitation.
Demonic Possessions in the Bible
Several of these symptoms appear in the biblical accounts. For example, all the demons that encounter Christ show awareness of his identity, which their human victims would not have known otherwise.
The demoniacs at the Gadarenes tombs were violent and superhumanly strong—to the point that they could not be restrained.
A desperate father describes a demon attempting to throw his son into fire or water, indicating forcible control over the boy’s body. A Canaanite woman describes her possessed daughter as “suffering terribly.”
Paul and Silas meet a slave girl possessed by a spirit of divination that she uses for fortune telling, implying psychic knowledge. And Acts 19:1–22 describes a lone demoniac with enough strength to soundly thrash seven men who attempt an exorcism.
Modern-Day Examples of Demonic Possession
Demonic possession still occurs, and exorcisms are still practiced today. Men such as the California-based Father Gary Thomas and the late renowned Father Gabriele Amorth are among the increasing number of Vatican-trained exorcists at work in recent decades. Both have written or spoken extensively about their experiences and have been the subjects of Hollywood films (Thomas of The Rite in 2011, and Amorth of The Pope’s Exorcist in 2023).
While the film adaptations favor the sensational, both Thomas and Amorth, as well as consulting psychiatrists like Gallagher, provide helpful insights into real demonic activity.
- Father Gary Thomas – The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist, biography by Matt Baglio (2010)
- Father Gabriele Amorth – An Exorcist Tells His Story, autobiography (1999)
- Dr. Richard Gallagher – Demonic Foes: My Twenty-Five Years as a Psychiatrist Investigating Possessions, Diabolic Attacks, and the Paranormal, autobiography (2022)
Gallagher had his first experience with demonic possession in the 1980s, when a Catholic priest asked the psychiatrist for help assessing a woman for potential possession. The woman’s symptoms—secret psychic knowledge and speaking languages she had no practice in—defied psychological explanation.
RTB’s Hugh Ross also reports encountering demoniacs several times during his years of ministry. On a lecture tour in the Soviet Union, Hugh met a group of Russian philosophers who brought with them an oppressive atmosphere and exhibited behavior indicative of possession, such as wild shouting and obscenities directed at Christ.
However, not all demonic attacks are obvious.
Psychosis vs. Possession
Confusing psychosis, trauma response, or drug addictions for demonic possession is a very common occurrence. In fact, Father Amorth estimated that 98% of the people he assessed in his career were suffering mental illness, not possession.
This factor highlights the need to differentiate between possession and psychological conditions. The Catholic Church, in their official rules governing exorcisms, emphasizes the need for collaboration with medical professionals like Gallagher, whom Thomas cites as his go-to expert. United States law actually requires physical exams and psychological assessments prior to an exorcism.
Misdiagnosis can have devastating consequences. In 1976, Anneliese Michel, a young German woman, died as a result of intense exorcism treatments. Michel’s parents and the attending priests were convicted of negligent homicide. Catholic officials retracted the original claims of possession and others have since argued that Michel should have been treated for mental illness instead.
When people ask Hugh about identifying real demon possession, he also advises thorough medical and psychiatric assessment before concluding that demonic activity is at play. Likewise, RTB philosopher-theologian Kenneth Samples advises that teamwork between professionals (clergy, therapists, doctors, etc.) is essential for proper assessment.
How Can Someone Become Demon Possessed?
Possession occurs “by invitation only,” as Hugh puts it. Certain behaviors and activities open the door for demonic influence. Sometimes the door is opened knowingly; sometimes it is opened in ignorance.
What are the keys to this door?
Occultic Practices
Remember the woman in Gallagher’s first encounter? She was a self-proclaimed Satanic priestess. Those Russian philosophers who interrupted Hugh’s lecture—they were professors of occult research. In most cases of demonic possession, occult practices are a factor.
Thomas refers to occultic activities collectively as “paganism.” The list includes use of tarot cards and Ouija boards, consulting palm readers, mediums, and witches, and certain meditation practices like Reiki and yoga. Mind-altering practices—like channeling and drug use—also open doors for demonic activity. Basically, it’s anything that attempts to, as Hugh explains, “seek knowledge—and power—apart from God’s intended and freely given revelation of truth.”
Many of these practices are seen as harmless. And many are gaining popularity. The results, Thomas explains, are serious:
It looks benign, but it’s not. The vast majority of people who come to me do not get involved in this stuff in order to connect to Satan but you’re creating an impression of a desire for a relationship. That’s what a possession is—it’s a relationship. And it’s not equal.
Hugh has observed that occultic behaviors can invite demonic influence over a person’s close relatives and sexual partners, too.
Abuse can motivate a person to experiment with the occult. “That’s a soul wound,” Thomas explains. “In an attempt to get well, people sometimes turn to these pagan ways.”
What Does the Bible Say About Occult Participation?
In short, God forbids it. Human sacrifice to demons, divination, sorcery, witchcraft and spell casting, interpreting omens, and attempting to contact spirits or the dead are all emphatically prohibited.
Deuteronomy 18:10–12 lays it all out and says, “Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.”
Unrepentant Sin
Unwillingness to repent and turn from sin also leaves people vulnerable to demonic influence. Examples include occult practices, idolatry, sexual perversion, pride, and wrath.
Romans 1 warns that God will give over the unrepentant to futile thinking, darkened hearts, shameful lusts, and depraved minds—all fertile ground for demons.
Can Christians Be Demon Possessed?
While the Bible does not say directly that demons cannot possess a Christian, the overall teaching of Scripture supports the conclusion that Christians can rest secure knowing that they belong to God and no one else.
- Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who will not share space with demons (1 Corinthians 6:19).
- The Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Trinity, is greater than Satan or any demon (1 John 4:4).
- Demons cannot separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38–39).
- A person without the Holy Spirit is like a house left unguarded against intruders (Luke 11:24–26).
Now, Christians can experience demonic harassment. Missionaries often report encountering demonic resistance to their presence or their ministry. Christians must also be on guard against temptation to sin. The apostle Paul warns believers against trying to play both sides of the field (1 Corinthians 10:18–21).
Are Exorcisms Real?
History and the Bible say, yes. People have been attempting to repel demons since history began. In fact, according to Father Thomas, requests for exorcism are steadily increasing.
What Does the Bible Say About Exorcism?
The New Testament provides numerous examples of Jesus and his apostles performing exorcisms.
Jesus regularly exorcised demons (Matthew 8:16). His authority to cast out demons via direct command was a sign of his messiahship (Matthew 12, Mark 3, and Luke 11). Jesus explained that his power came from the Spirit of God, not by collusion with the demons. Rather, demons recognized and feared Jesus (Matthew 8:29, Mark 1:24, and Luke 8:28).
Jesus also empowered his disciples to cast out demons in his name (Matthew 10:1–8, Mark 6:7–13, and Luke 9:1–7, 10:1–17). The apostles regularly performed exorcisms, and the early church continued this practice. Many Christians believe this authority is still granted to believers today (Mark 16:17).
However, there are limitations on Christians’ authority that were not on Christ’s. The disciples failed to drive the demon out of the boy brought to them by his father. Jesus explained that the efficacy of exorcisms sometimes requires prayer and fasting (Mark 9:14–29).
Jesus is the only one with total, unquestioned authority over demons.
What Happens During an Exorcism?
The answer to this question depends on the branch of Christianity involved. Calling on the name and power of Jesus Christ, as well as prayer and fasting, is standard practice.
| APPROACHES TO EXORCISM |
|---|
| The Catholic Church requires that exorcisms be performed only by trained priests with authorization from their bishop. A typical Catholic exorcism includes specific prayers and rites conducted in Latin. |
| Eastern Orthodox churches rely on sacramental and liturgical practices for exorcisms. Priests and spiritual fathers receive training, but there is no specialized office of exorcist. |
| Protestant and evangelical churches take a nonritualistic approach to exorcism. Rather, they rely on Scripture, guidance from the Holy Spirit, and spontaneous prayer. Pastoral office is not necessarily required. Some charismatic denominations include deliverance ministries specializing in driving out demons, though these groups can be controversial. |
What to Do If You Encounter a Demon-Possessed Person
If you encounter a person you believe to be possessed, be prayerful and cautious. Seek trustworthy pastoral counsel and do not confront the demon alone. While the power of Christ is certainly greater than Satan’s, the strength and malevolence of demonic forces should not be treated lightly.
Hugh advises Christians never to seek out such situations deliberately. It’s also vital to address any root problems, such as involvement in occult practices or substance abuse, and to ensure that the possessed person genuinely desires to be healed.
Hope in Christ
Exorcism and demon possession are heavy topics. So, let’s conclude by turning our attention to the hope, security, and confidence we have in Christ.
At the end of the day, Christ guarantees victory over Satan and his demons. Jesus himself secured that victory through his sinless life, his atoning death on the cross, and his triumphant resurrection from the grave. And he’ll deal the final blow at the Second Coming.
In the meantime, as Christians await that final day, we can follow the apostle Paul’s instructions in Ephesians 6:
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Dig Deeper
If you are not yet a Christian but would like to partake in the hope and security Jesus freely offers, please see our article “How to Become a Christian.” God bless you!
To learn more about demon possession and exorcism, Kenneth Samples recommends these resources:
- Sense and Nonsense About Angels and Demons by Kenneth D. Boa and Robert M. Bowman Jr.
- Principalities and Powers by John Warwick Montgomery
