War on Earth - Part 1 — Derek Prince

Spiritual Warfare Against Demons

Tonight we're going to go further and we're going to deal with spiritual warfare on earth. Primarily, the persons with whom we make warfare on earth are demons or evil spirits. That's what we're going to talk about in a basic and practical way tonight.

Deliverance Testimony from Cancer

But I think it would be appropriate for me to begin with a brief up-to-date personal testimony. In September of last year I was living with one of my married daughters, my only Arab daughter, in the UK.

I went for a medical check-up and was referred to what they call in England a consultant, the top medical rank, and I was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder. This was a very thorough diagnosis with a cystoscopy and internal inspection.

Furthermore, they told me it was a dangerous form of cancer because it was liable to spread to other parts of the body. Well, I was not afraid. I felt somehow that God was in control. I was living with one of my married daughters, as I said, and she had a friend, the family had a friend, who was a curate.

Now I don't think most Americans know what a curate is. A curate is about the lowest rung of the officialdom of the Anglican Church, what do you call it here? Episcopal Church, thank you. So I was in my daughter's house and we had a phone call from a young man, a curate in the Anglican Church, young enough to be my grandson.

He said, I would like to come and pray for you. May I come? So of course I said, yes, you're welcome. He was a little timid, he sat at the opposite end of the living room, and after a while I said to him, now I want you to understand, I'm not necessarily expecting that if you pray for me I'll instantly be totally healed of cancer.

But come and pray anyhow. So he came, I was sitting in a chair, he stood beside me, put his hand on my shoulder, and began to pray. And it was like, I can only say like cats fighting inside my chest. I have never experienced such intense conflict within me.

And I let out a loud, prolonged, sustained roar. Not just a shout, it was a roar. And at that moment I knew that I had been delivered from a demon of cancer. Now about six months later, as far as I know, there is no evidence of cancer anywhere in my body.

So I want to encourage you, it pays to get delivered from demons. Don't be embarrassed. Don't be fearful. Just accept what God has for you. Now I want to turn to the pattern of the ministry of Jesus in this particular aspect of deliverance from evil spirits.

Jesus’ Authority over the Unclean Spirit in Mark 1

And I want to read from Mark chapter 1, a description of the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. Beginning at verse 21. Mark 1, 21. Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.

And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit. The Greek says, in an unclean spirit.

And I want to suggest to you that that man had probably been attending the synagogue like a good religious Jew for many, many years. But it says, and he, and if you read it carefully it's not the man, it's the spirit.

He cried out saying, let us alone. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. Now it's a remarkable fact that the demon in the man immediately knew who Jesus was.

It took his disciples about 12 months to discover what the demon already knew. So we're dealing with people with supernatural knowledge. But Jesus rebuked him saying, be quiet. The Greek says, be muzzled and come out of him.

Now Jesus was not speaking to the man. He was speaking to the demon in the man. It's very important to see that. There comes a point when we don't deal with people, we deal with the demons in people. Whether they're in us or in other people.

And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. You see you have two persons. He, the demon, came out of him, the man. So there was more than one person there.

There was the man and there was the person of the demon or the evil spirit in the man. And Jesus did not deal with the man. He dealt with the demon in the man. And he was not embarrassed. Now that kind of behavior took place in some churches, including Pentecostal churches.

You know what they'd do? They'd lead the man out and put him in the basement. And make one of the deacons take care of him. And I'm not theorizing, I've seen that happen. Thank God we don't have to take the man out of the church.

We have to take the demon out of the man. And let the man stay in the church. Then it says, they were all amazed so that they questioned among themselves, saying, what is this, a new doctrine? For with authority he commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.

And immediately his fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee. I want to point out to you that Jesus was not first acknowledged as the son of God or the Messiah. What first attracted people to him was he had power to deal with demons.

And that caused his reputation to go all around that whole area. And then we read a little further on. In verse 32 to 34. Now at evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.

Now demon-possessed is a bad translation. And I'm really upset with the NIV, which in many ways has modernized English, that they've gone back to this old-fashioned religious language, demon-possessed.

And I'll tell you why I object to it. Because the word possessed suggests ownership. If you're demon-possessed, then you're owned by a demon. Now I don't believe that any born-again sincere Christian can be owned by a demon.

I do not believe any sincere born-again Christian can be demon-possessed. But the Greek word that's used can easily be and should be translated demonized. And I do believe that many born-again Christians are still demonized.

That is, there are areas in their personality where the Holy Spirit is not yet in complete control. There's a demon that has to be dealt with. And Jesus did it. They brought to him all who were sick and those who were demonized.

And notice, they didn't really come for deliverance, they came for healing. But in receiving healing, many of them needed deliverance from demons. And then it goes on. When he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons.

And he did not allow the demons to speak or to say that they knew him. You see, the demons all knew who Jesus was. And he cast out many demons. How many of you have cast out many demons? I don't ask for a demonstration, I just want to...

Casting Out Demons as a Normal Christian Ministry

How far are we up to the standard of Jesus? How far are we below the standard and the pattern of Jesus? You say, well, they were not Christians. That's true, they were Jews. But actually they were living basically by the law of Moses.

And in most cases they were living much more righteous lives than most of the people in the United States today. The penalty for adultery was death. If that penalty were imposed on the American population today, we'd lose about a quarter of our people immediately.

Is that right? I'm not exaggerating, am I? So don't say, well, those were people that didn't know righteousness. Many people say, well, I'm sure there are people who need to be delivered from demons but they're in prisons or they're in lunatic asylums.

That's not true. Demons actually can be very comfortable in many churches. Then we go on in Mark chapter 1 verse 39. And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out demons.

He did two things. He preached and He cast out demons. He didn't just preach. He preached and He dealt with the people's problems. Now when God brought me into this ministry for quite a while, for two or three years at least, I was doing exactly that all around America.

I was preaching and casting out demons. And I was not embarrassed because I can't improve on Jesus. The best I can do is to do as much as He did. So I want you to understand, this is a regular part of the Christian ministry.

It's a regular part of the ministry of Jesus. It's not something extreme or fanatical. It's just doing what Jesus did the way He did it. Let's look also in Luke 13 for a moment. Verses 31 and 32. On that very day some Pharisees came to Jesus saying, Get out and depart from here for Herod wants to kill you.

And He, Jesus, said to them, Go tell that fox, that's Herod. He was not really too polite in some respects. Go tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

In other words, Jesus said, All through my earthly ministry I'm going to do two things. I'm going to cast out demons and I'm going to heal the sick. He started that way, He continued that way, and He concluded that way.

The Kingdom of God and the Defeat of Satan’s Kingdom

That is the pattern of the earthly ministry of Jesus. I personally have no ambition to improve on it. If I can do even a small part of what He did, I'll be satisfied. Now, there's a very important significance about this particular ministry of casting out demons.

If you read the Old Testament, I think you'll find that almost all the miracles that were performed in the new, were performed in the old. They raised the dead, they healed the sick, they fed multitudes.

But there's one thing they never did. They never cast out demons. You cannot find an example of it anywhere in the Old Testament. And in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 28, Jesus said, And if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.

So His casting out of demons was a distinctive sign that the kingdom of God had come. It was a miracle that was not performed as far as we know in the Old Testament. It's a distinctive declaration. The kingdom of God has come.

And really the casting out of demons is war between two kingdoms. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. And Jesus demonstrated the victory of the kingdom of God by casting out demons. Now, let's read the instructions that Jesus gave to His disciples.

Jesus’ Commission to Heal, Raise the Dead, and Cast Out Demons

In Matthew chapter 10, verses 7 and 8. We can't go into the background, we don't have time. But He said this, As you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.

Freely you have received, freely gave. So Jesus said you've got to do four things. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. That was part of their total ministry. Everywhere they went.

Now you say, Brother Prince, have you seen the dead raised? The answer is yes, I have. In East Africa, when I was principal of a college for training African teachers, two of my students died and were raised from the dead.

And they each gave a very interesting testimony of what happened to their spirit when it was out of their body and what happened when the spirit returned to their body. I just say that because some people say, well, people don't raise the dead.

The answer is, people do raise the dead. They don't raise all the dead, but they raise the dead when it's God's purpose that the dead should be raised. All right, so let's take those instructions once more.

Verses 7 and 8. As you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. However, it is not enough to preach. You have to demonstrate the validity of what you're preaching. So Jesus says, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.

Four things. One of them is casting out demons. And then in Mark 16, at the end of the gospel record, Jesus gave final instructions after his resurrection to all who were to go out and preach the gospel.

Mark 16, beginning at verse 15. He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.

And these signs will follow or accompany those who have believed. In my name, they will cast out demons. They will speak with new tongues. Let's stop there. How many have heard about speaking with new tongues?

Everybody here. It's a very popular subject. But how many have heard about casting out demons? How many have seen it practiced? Praise God, you're a rather exceptional congregation. But I want to point out, the first supernatural sign was not speaking with tongues.

It was casting out demons. You see, we have kind of gaps in our theology and our practice. We do some of the things and not others. But the way Jesus told us to do it is the right way. Now let's consider how they obeyed.

The Seventy and Authority in Jesus’ Name

During the earthly ministry of Jesus, in Luke chapter 10, verses 17 through 20, he had sent out 70 or 72 to prepare the way before him. Then they returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.

That was the thing that excited them most. You see, that was the new thing. Healing was not new. Miraculous provision was not new. But to have authority over demons in the name of Jesus, that was exciting.

And Jesus said to them, Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Now I want to emphasize that here tonight because we're going to go into action later on.

Nothing shall by any means hurt you. Do not get frightened. Demons have no power against a true believer who understands his rights. And then one of the most interesting examples is in Acts chapter 8.

Philip’s Evangelistic Ministry in Samaria

How many of you know that there's only one person in the New Testament who's actually called an evangelist? Do you know that? Do you know who he is? Philip, that's right. He's the only person who is actually designated an evangelist.

And his ministry is described in Acts chapter 8. Therefore you can say his ministry is the pattern ministry of the evangelist. And it says in Acts 8 verse 5,. Then Philip went down to a city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.

I'm so glad he didn't have concrete theology. He preached Christ. An evangelist's message is very simple. In Samaria he preached Christ. When he met the eunuch later on the road to Gaza he preached Jesus.

That's an evangelist's message. Christ and Jesus. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. Now Philip didn't have a committee.

He didn't have a sponsoring church. He didn't have an auditorium. He didn't have a trained choir. I mean all those things are good but they're not essential. What's essential is preach the gospel with signs following.

And you will always get a crowd. You don't have to invest in all the expense of an auditorium or a choir or all that. I had a young friend, an African friend in East Africa who was an evangelist. And he said, Brother Prince, there's no problem about getting a crowd in Africa.

He said, I walk into a village and ask how many sick people are in the village. They bring them, I pray for them, they're healed and I get my crowd. He said, I don't have to do anything more. That is New Testament evangelism.

I'm not criticizing other ways of doing it but they're more elaborate and they're more expensive. All right, we're going on then. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ or the Messiah to them.

And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. What attracted the crowd? In one word, miracles. That's right. Miracles are not optional.

They're not accessories. They're an essential part of the ministry of evangelism. I emphasize again, there's only one person actually titled an evangelist in the whole New Testament. It's Philip. If he isn't a pattern, we don't have a pattern.

Now what kind of miracles happened? Unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many who were, it says possessed but that's wrong, who were demonized. And many who were paralyzed and lame were healed and there was great joy in that city.

So that is the ministry of the evangelist. It's to preach Christ, the Messiah. It's to preach Jesus. A message attested by supernatural signs, healing the sick and casting out demons. And you'll get your crowd.

Religious Dignity and the Neglect of Deliverance

I mean, it never fails. You may get opposition too. But that's part of the whole package deal. But I want you to notice that they did not maintain an atmosphere of solemn dignity in their meetings. I grew up in the Anglican church and there are many things I respect in the Anglican church.

But you kind of tiptoed into church. You sat down quietly. You didn't raise your voice. Nobody did anything very unusual. It was all very sedate and nicely ordered. And all those people that came in, in their nice Sunday costumes, they said these beautiful words.

I mean, the Anglican prayer book has got some of the most beautiful spiritual words. But as a boy watching them and listening to what they said, as they walked out of church, I asked myself, did they really believe what they were saying?

I couldn't answer the question. I remember thinking to myself, you know, this dignified lady here, if she dropped her lace handkerchief and I ran after her and picked it up, she'd be more excited about getting her handkerchief back than she was about all the things she said in the liturgy.

So, I just wanted to find out, there's dignity and dignity. There's religious dignity, which is often a cover-up for demons. I mean, I was in a meeting, and this grieves me tremendously, I was in a meeting of a very well-known American evangelist.

If I gave you her name, everybody would know it. She was, to some extent, a little while a friend of mine. But in one of her meetings, a black woman began to demonstrate very clearly demon activity. And you know what they did?

Two men came, caught her by the arms and carried her out. And that's all they did. That's a tragedy. She desperately needed the ministry of the evangelist. But the evangelist was afraid it would upset her reputation.

People wouldn't come to her meetings. I think she was wrong. I think more people would have come, actually. I respect her. She's with the Lord now. But it always remained in my memory, this desperate black woman crying out for help, couldn't contain herself, and was dumped.

That's all they did with her. They just put her out. When I dealt with a demon in one woman in a church, one of the church ladies came up to me and said, Brother Prince, you know what they would have done in most churches?

They would have said, Our sister needs help. Will one of the deacons take her down to the basement? That's not the biblical solution. She needs help, but not in the basement. Now, I want to just give you a brief description of what demons are as I understand it.

Demons as Disembodied Persons Seeking Bodies

My understanding is limited, but I'll give you the best I have. I think the best thing to say is that they are persons without bodies. Demons have real personality. They have distinctive personalities.

One demon is not exactly like another. I remember something so vivid. I was dealing with a man. His wife had come to me and said, Brother Prince, my husband needs deliverance. And I made a mistake. I prayed for him on the basis of what his wife asked.

I'll never have done that again. If he needs deliverance, let him tell me he needs deliverance. Well, I started to pray for the man and he started to get violent. And his wife drew me aside and said, Brother Prince, at home he throws chairs at me.

So I said, Well, why didn't you tell me that before we started? Anyhow, the demons were speaking out of the man and one of them said, I'm unclean. And I thought, Now, I don't want to embarrass the man in front of his wife.

I could think of all sorts of unclean things that might be the problem. But I said, You spirit of unclean thoughts, come out of the man. He said, That's not my name. I said, Come out anyhow. He said, That's not my name.

I mean, you can't easily understand how much of an individual a demon is. It wanted to be recognized by the right name. Well, eventually it came out. But the last thing it said before it came out was, That's not my name.

I'm trying to impress upon you the fact we're dealing with real persons with characteristic attributes. I've already pointed out, and I'll say again, two things. First of all, the word is not devil. The word devil comes from the Greek word diabolos, which means a slanderer, and is a title of Satan himself.

The things we are dealing with are daimonions, demons, and they are not devils. They are another kind of being. Where do they come from? Well, I don't believe anybody has an absolutely authoritative answer.

In my thinking, the most probable explanation is they are disembodied spirits of a pre-Adamic race that perished under the judgment of God between Genesis 1 .1 and Genesis 1 .2. I'm glad to discover that our pastor more or less thinks the same.

Am I right? Good, thank you. That's encouraging. We may be wrong, but that's the best that I can come up with. But the most distinctive fact about demons is they desperately crave to occupy a body.