The evil spirits were subject only to Jesus and His appointed apostles! Brother Kenneth Jones, writing on this subject stated, “God allowed people to be possessed by demons to demonstrate Christ’s complete power over all the forces of evil.” The casting out of demons identify what this was. Matthew 4:23-24 show that evil spirit or demon possession was something distinguished from medical or psychiatric conditions in the New Testament. Further close studies of the Scriptures reveal some startling facts! Demon possession came on the scene suddenly in the time of Christ, but it is nowhere again mentioned after the Book of Acts, and it is only mentioned twice in Acts – and both times confirming the Word and establishing the divine power in the apostles.
In Acts 16:16-18, a certain damsel was possessed with the spirit of divination and was being used by her masters. The apostle Paul commanded the spirit to come out. It did, and the masters were so upset that Paul and Silas were sent to prison where they converted the jailer to Christ.
The second passage is Acts 19:13-16. In that account, certain Jews ordered an evil spirit out of a man. It is noteworthy that the spirit spoke and stated, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?” The evil spirit did not leave, but influenced the man to attack those Jews, and they fled from the house naked and wounded.
According to brother Jones, “The day in which a fountain would be opened for sin and uncleaness can only refer to the Christian dispensation of time. Therefore God said that in the Christian dispensation of time He would cause the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.”
First Corinthians 13:8-13 helps to confirm this. It states that all manner of spiritual gifts (miracles) would cease when “that which is perfect is come.” James 1:25 speaks of this “perfect law of liberty” that people could look into. This is the New Testament in written form. Since we are to accept Paul’s statement about the miracles ceasing when the Scriptures were completed, and since even the evil spirits themselves recognized that Christ and His apostles had the divine authority to drive them out of persons, and since the purpose was to establish that divine authority and confirm the Word of those apostles, it follows that those spirits are not present in our world today.
That was a situation which occurred during Jesus’ ministry on earth and during the activity of the apostles only. It is not something about which we need to be concerned today.
