I know a man who did not like the heavy portent of this statement. It truly disturbed him that spirits might enter the human mind. He solved his perplexity by interpreting the text differently. He stated that there was no comma after the phrase "corrupt them." Thus the last phrases were isolated from the former. He separated the thoughts. He then had the devil limited to drawing near to our souls to tempt and corrupt. Thus he reverted to the traditional and time-honored view of the actions of this apostate Prince.
 

I had developed a close personal relationship with this man, or thought I had, but my insistence on the literal significance of the statement caused him to deny that relationship. He drew cool and distant. Often since, I have wanted to ask if he ever heard of jots and tittles. He followed that old worn path of refusing truth by the smallest graphical notation, a habit practiced from long before Jesus.
 

Another man asked me if I could draw out biblical parallels for this statement. I replied that I could not do it with any one passage, but that several biblical passages showed the same revelation, as in John 14:30. Historically, we do not have a similar revelation stated so clearly and succinctly.

Our ability to recognize truth is not dependent on the source of the revelation. It matters not how we may hang clauses and phrases, dependent or independent, associated or unassociated. What we recognize as truth depends on that Spirit which dwells within us, the Spirit of the Father, and on our response to his Spirit. And it depends on the Spirit of Truth working with us.  Throughout our lives we may have learned to listen or we may have learned to reject. Or we may have learned to twist recognition into intellectually convenient forms.
 

The difficulty for that man was his dilemma between the recognition of truth and his fleshly fears. He was an intelligent man. He understood fully what the statement meant. He felt within himself the significance of the revelation. But he could not deal with the possibility that a spirit personality--a real, living being--might be able to enter our minds to tempt and corrupt. It scared him. He knew if such entry were taking place on a wide scale we were destined for true tribulation. He was intelligent but he lacked courage. It was easier to reject the truth.
 

If this rebel can enter our minds, can other spirit entities enter our minds? Is this a power possessed by all spirit beings or entities?

Consider statements by the New Testament writers.
 

The one who raised Jesus from the dead was the Father. His Spirit dwells in us. Is this the Holy Spirit, recognized as a separate personality, a person of the Trinity, whom the Father sends? Or is this a spirit unique to the Father, his Spirit? Few Christians have made this distinction because spirit entities and beings are lumped together indistinguishably.
 

Paul's remark shows that God, the Father, has a distinct Spirit which actually dwells within us. It is not a "force" that imposes a spirit attitude or feeling upon us, nor merely a "spiritual" influence. It is a spirit entity, a gift portion from the Father. He comes to live with us, and be with us. He actually dwells within us.
 

This verse illustrates the confusion in our historic record. Here we could believe that the Holy Spirit, with personality distinct from the Father, but ultimately originating within the Father, comes to dwell within us.
 

I do not wish to engage in debate of this possible difference, something we could never ultimately prove or disprove. Here I wish to develop thoughts which can lead us into better understanding of the actual entry of spirit entities into human mind. I shall break down some of the elements of this problem.

If the Spirit of the Father actually dwells within us does he dwell in our kidneys, liver, stomach or physical heart? I Cor 6:19 states that he dwells within our bodies. Paul was not intending that the Spirit dwelt within the physical mechanism. He meant that God's Spirit dwells within our minds. He lives where we have cognitive ability. This is really where the "heart" is, but "heart" means purpose and will according to God's purpose and will. It means a desire to know more of what God wants of us. It means a love for God. It is all those things which are centered around that Spirit which dwells within us.
 

Did God ask our permission to come into us? Would he ask an immature and primitive creature if he could come in? His Spirit is a free gift, bestowed upon us for the mere fact that we exist,

that he created us. It is his way of drawing near to the lowly material beings of time and space.
 

The Father is not a respecter of persons.
 

Would God deny us his spirit merely because we are less intelligent than another person? Or that we were born into one family and not another? Or that we are of a different race?

Therefore, we can conclude that he invaded us; he did not ask our permission. He came in without us knowing it. He did not invade to take advantage of us, but that he might help in our earthly struggles. If he speaks to us, and we obey, we draw closer to him and to his purpose. He does not violate our will, nor our thoughts. He is resident quiescently, fully compliant to our choices. His gift of life includes the privilege to do our own choosing. This he respects because his Spirit is a gift. And then, when we become more fully attuned to his presence, as we learn to adjust our thoughts to his thoughts, we begin to develop a closer relationship with God.
 

When we keep his commandments we bring our hearts and our minds in line with his will and his purpose. We want to do what God wants. It is our will to do his will. If we have this purpose he works with us to bring our thinking around to his thinking. We can oppose or we can attune. That is our choice.
 

Here Paul distinguishes between the Spirit of the Father who dwells within us, and that spirit of Jesus, one mind and one purpose with him, through an attitude of faith in our hearts, which gives us love for him and for our fellows.

The Bible evidence demonstrates that the Spirit of the Father invades the human mind, a Spirit entity of high holy origin, the highest possible in existence.

Demon possession has a specific mechanism. The New Testament record testifies to that phenomenon.

• Demons recognized Jesus as a divine Son of God, Luke 4:33-35. In one case he rebuked them; he did not want them to reveal who he was, Luke 4:41. They understood his status in the heavenly realms, and acknowledged his power and authority, James 2:19.

 

• They knew he could judge them, and asked why he was here now, ahead of "the time," Matt 8:29. They did not want Jesus to send them "out of the country," meaning to celestial internment, Mark 5:10.


 

• Jesus had the power to order them about, Matt 8:16, 9:32, Mark 1:27.


 

• The New Testament writers believed they had degrees of wickedness, Matt 12:45.


 

• Demons could control all mechanisms of the human body, including hearing and vision, Matt 12:22. In another case, after the demon had been cast out, a person who was held dumb could speak, Matt 9:32-33. Sometimes they were fierce in their possession, Matt 8:28, Mark 5:2-10.

• An explicit remark shows that demons possessed human mind, Mark 5:15. The human mortals who were subject to them expressed the mind and thought of the demon, Luke 8:28. The demon took over the mind of the human.

From this evidence we can deduce several important characteristics of the rebel spirits:

• They had personality, cognitive thought, purpose, objectives, and ability to exercise their power, even if evil.


 

• They seized control of human mortals; they used methods which permitted them to usurp the personal volition of their human victims.


 

• The New Testament reports show the demons actually took up residence within their human victims.


 

• Their possession of human beings was recognized as sordid. They engaged in activity which violated the integrity and will of human mortals. They did not respect human kind. They fell prey to a depraved temptation to subvert the minds and bodies of those persons.

This behavior can be brought into better grasp by picturing human power to enter into animals, and to control their behavior. If we had such power, what human mortal would engage in such activities, except the most debased?  

• The demons were limited in the type of human mortals they could possess. Since they were not inhibited in behavior they would have randomly entered all persons if everyone had been subject to their entry.


 

• They entered only mortals who were weak. This weakness was not physical; it was mental. Either the persons were mentally retarded, or had weak wills.


 

• If their entry was strictly physical they could have controlled all humans, since that control would have bypassed human mind. This shows they entered human mortals through the mind. They assumed body control by control of mental currents.

All biblical evidence shows they possessed human mortals through entry into mind. They controlled mind to engage in their sordid activities.
 

No true child of God was ever subject to fallen spirits. There is no danger even today of such invasion of human mind for those who are truly dedicated to God, and born of the Father. Only those who are not born of the Father stand in such danger.
 

This was the heart of the dire warning given by Jesus, John 16:2. Indeed, the hour would come when those who did not know him or the Father would offer a service to God by killing his people--a service to their "God."

An important question before us is the functional status of these rebel demon spirits. What role did they serve in creation?

• The evidence shows that they did not travel to and fro between the celestial realms and this world, as do the angels. One of those rebels specifically asked Jesus not to be taken "out of this country." They were bound to this planet.

(The word translated as "country" is from Greek chora with the idea of empty expanse or large open region. The word is a feminine derivative of Greek chasma, from whence English chasm. Chasma in Greek meant a vacancy, gulf, or impassable interval, hence space in modern terminology. The Greeks used chora to denote the world, or the planet. This word is contrasted with Greek topos which we know in English topography.)  

• If the demons did not travel to and fro between heaven and earth, and if they did not wish to be taken out of this "earth," at "the time," i.e. the Judgment, the implication is that they were residents of this world. If they were residents of this world they had origin on this world. They did not have origin in the celestial realms. But the transactions giving "birth" to the demon personalities are lost to our planetary record. We have hints of such transactions when the Sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, Gen 6:1-4, but the significance of those transactions is now viewed only in mythological terms.


 

• They were not confused with angels by the ancients; those olden people recognized them as different. Neither did the ancients describe these episodes as "angelic possession."


 

• If the demons were from this world, not the celestial realms, and if the ancients recognized them as less than angels, we could say they were designed by God for service in creation somewhere between human mortals and angels. We might designate them as "midway" creatures.

We should remember that at one time they were respected beings; before the rebellion they were assigned responsible tasks on this world.
 

This revelation has several crucial components.  

• "Demons" no longer are on our world. Activities of fallen spirits is now limited to the Devil--our fallen Prince. He is still free on our world to prosecute his nefarious designs.


 

• Disloyal spirits could and did invade the minds of some human mortals prior to the pouring out of the Spirit of Truth upon all flesh at the time of Pentecost.


 

• The pouring out of the Spirit of Truth upon all flesh made it forever impossible for disloyal spirits to invade even the most feeble of human minds.


 

• This is the definition of demoniacal possession: invasion of human mind without permission of the human host. No longer can any fallen spirit take involuntary possession of human mind. All spirit entry into human mind can now be done only through invitation and permission of the human mortal. If all "demons" have been interred, and only the fallen Prince remains, his entry into human mind is only through conscious invitation, not through involuntary possession.


 

• The life of Jesus upon this world altered the conditions of spirit operation. When he poured out his Spirit of Truth he made it impossible for a true faith son or daughter to ever again be invaded by rebel spirit beings.

I have now offered discussion on three types of spirit beings or entities: the fallen Prince, the Spirit of the Father, and "midwayers," known in our historic record as "demons." The Spirit of the Father is the highest form of spirit entity in creation. The "midwayers" are the lowest, since they are next to human mortals in status. Both could invade the human mind. Therefore, it seems natural to infer that all other intervening orders of spirit beings or entities could also invade the human mind.

Angels do not invade the sanctity of the human mind; they do not manipulate the will of mortals; neither do they directly contact with the indwelling Spirit of the Father. The guardian of destiny influences you in every possible manner consistent with the dignity of your personality; under no circumstances do these angels interfere with the free action of the human will. Neither angels nor any other order of universe personality have power or authority to curtail or abridge the prerogatives of human choosing. The Urantia Papers, Page 756.

The human mind has sanctity to all orders of loyal celestial personalities. It is respected. Only disloyal spirit beings would invade the sanctity of human mind. And only disloyal spirit beings would enter human mind at invitation. Angels would not engage in such sordid performances.
 

However, angels influence us in every possible manner consistent with the dignity of our personality. They are subject to the free action of human will. Nevertheless,
 

"The urge to pray so often experienced by God-conscious mortals very often arises as a result of seraphic influence."

Another crucial question now looms before us. If angels would invade our minds, or enter with our invitation, would there be a conflict between the personality-will of the mortal and the personality-will of the angel? The same question applies to any other celestial personality who might come into human mind. When the fallen Prince enters does his personality-will interfere with the personality-will of the human mortal?
 

It is the personality-will of the human mortal which gives sanctity to the human mind, and dignity to the human mortal. God gave us personality as distinct beings in his vast creation, and he gave us will. That is what we are. That is the way God created us. That is what he wants us to exercise and to be. Our personality molds our will. Thus we determine for ourselves our future eternal potentials. That is the dignity the Father gave to us as a free gift.
 

The technical question is this: Can spirit entities enter human mind without interfering with the personality-will of the human mortal? In order to enter human mind they must, in some manner, exercise power which makes their presence known. If they would come in and not act it would not be entry into human mind. They do not merely come in to passively page through the book of mind; the Devil already knows what is in our mind. He wants to go beyond that; he wants to control our minds. He wants to manipulate. He wants to use human mind for his evil purposes.

The many spirit communications going on about our world today depend upon "channeling" through human mind. The Devil can offer those communications only by manipulating the neural currents of the human mortal. Thus he takes over the tongue and the expression of that person. The content of the human mind becomes subject to his control. He alters the mind currents. When he produces these changes within the human mortal he violates their dignity. He imposes his personality-will over theirs.
 

Scott Foerster, one of those individuals I personally know, postulated that the phenomena he experienced in his mind were "projections" from the "spirit" who was his personal "guide." He recognized that if the "spirit" was manipulating his mental currents he had submitted himself to the personality-will of that "spirit." He fully understood that condition and did not want to admit that he might have submitted himself to it.

With this explanation an undefined "spirit" force is causing the projections. But this is not adequate to avoid the fact that the human mind is being manipulated from the spirit realms. Whether we see it as a "projection" of the spirit, or as an actual spirit presence, the effect is the same. Furthermore, for the "spirit" it may be merely a projection of his mind into the human mind.
 

But he can do so only if his human servants "stand aside," if they make their personality-will subservient to his. Note the remarks by Mark Farley that he had to resign his will in order to let the spirit produce effects through him--to let the spirit "through."  (Refer to my paper on A Warning From Jesus.)
 

I personally know several persons who have subjected themselves to this spirit entry into their minds. At the time of this writing they would deny that the Devil has assumed control in their minds, just as Scott Foerster devised an explanation to remove the sting of the reality. They believe they have full control. They would vigorously deny it is the Devil. The phenomena they experience in their minds is viewed as strictly benevolent. They believe the phenomena come from benign spirit beings who have only their interests at heart. The Devil has conditioned them to believe they are the pioneers of a new world era, and that they serve important roles in the accomplishment of that new world.
 

In the present form of the phenomenon the fallen Prince is exceedingly subtle. He does not forcibly push his way around; he is much too careful for that. If he did so he would lose the voluntary contribution of the human subject; he would then enter upon the level of spirit possession. Many of the individuals who have invited him in today are highly intelligent, well educated, middle class professionals. They are much too smart to be forced into actions. If he tried to force them they would reject him. Therefore, he deceives them. He gives them attractive reasons why they should continue in their acceptance of his presence within their minds. Only after he has well established himself, and knows their minds thoroughly, does he assert such control that they become totally subservient to his master commands. He then will truly take possession of them. He will engage such power when his hour comes to strike.
 

For the moment, at the writing of this paper, he is preparing his cadre.
 

In order to permit the reader to obtain a better understanding of the operations of this evil spirit I shall offer detailed examples gathered from "spiritualist" performances. I shall then go on to an examination of the more recent techniques he employs to accomplish his truly diabolical, and devastating scheme.  Refer to papers continuing this series.

Ernest P. Moyer
October 6, 1995