Spiritual Warfare –

Confronting the Devil

Engaging In the Spiritual Combat Against the
Forces of Evil

Confrontation
Take care not to fall into the pride of thinking you
can insult the demons. Quite plainly, we need to
remember that, although they rebelled, the demons are
fallen angels, who retain their angelic nature that is far
superior to us human beings.

Rebuking, binding and restraining these entities in

the name of the Lord (and NEVER in our own name) is
enough to torment them.

In official texts of the Ritual of Exorcism, the devil

or demon is referred to in terms such as “unclean beast”,
“dragon”, “serpent”.  What is important to note that

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these terms are not insults, but rather descriptions of the
ancient Enemy.

Demonic Activity

First of all, we need to note that there is no need of

fear of the devil or demonic forces if you are spiritually
grounded in your faith.  For us Christians, the gift of
God’s grace given us through Christ is a mighty shield to
protect us.

For those who are spiritual warriors or those who

will work in any area that will touch upon evil forces, it is
a good strategy to understand the enemy so as to be
better equipped should you have to face unseen evil
forces.  Here is valuable information that every spiritual
warrior should know.  We give credit for this information
to another expert in the field of demonology and
exorcism – Father Jose’ Fortea and his valuable work:
Interview With An Exorcist.

A demon can sometimes cause mental illness (such

as obsessions, phobias, depression, etc.).

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 Demons can be the cause of bad dreams or
nightmares, although it is not so easy to determine if this
is of natural or spiritual origin.

Demons cannot read our minds.  But note that they

are angelic in nature and so possess an intelligence and
intuition that is far superior to us humans.  With this
they may be able speculate our actions.

Demonic Possession

What are the signs of demonic possession?  Fr.

Fortea outlines in his book, “Interview With An
Exorcist”, the typical characteristics of possession:

1. Repugnance of things of a religious or sacred

nature.

2. Insults and blasphemy in response to religious

objects in the room.

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3. Periodic loss of consciousness after furied
behavior.

4. The other personality is seen as evil in character

and peculiar body motions such as rolling of the eyes,
pupils turned upwards or downwards as well as body
rigidity and twitching of facial muscles or hands can
be seen.

5. After the demonic episodes the person returns to

the normal state much like a persons returns to the
normal state after hypnosis.

6. Apart from the periods of outburst done by the

demonic second personality, the person otherwise
lives a normal life.

7. Sometimes the possessed will say that they

experience such things as sensory hallucinations,
observing shadows, hearing creaking noises or voices.

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Exorcism vs. Deliverance

Exorcism is the ministry to a person who is fully

possessed by an evil spirit. The ministry consists of the
use of a centuries-old Catholic ritual. On the other hand,
deliverance is a ministry of private prayers over people
who have some sort of demonic influence. Although
Fortea explains that in the early Church, there was no
permission needed of the priest from the bishop to
perform an exorcism, permission has been necessary since
the fifth century. The priest explains that the Church
“came to see that this field requires a special prudence.
Also, the issue is delicate enough that an imprudent act of
a clergyman could especially harm the supposed
possessed person and cause harm to the prestige of the
Church in general.