Demonology

10. I would like to know the difference between a demon possessed person and a person who is in the bond of iniquity?

Here is the difference. A person who is demon-possessed has in his own body some evil spirits that cause him to lose control of his body which is at the mercy of the evil spirits. So this person can all of a sudden begin to shout, to strip off, to smash chairs and tables, to fall to the ground, to roll on the ground, to foam at the mouth, to gnash his teeth: he can even throw himself into fire or water, or he can cut himself with stones or other objects, and can be driven by the demons into solitary places. That’s what we learn from the biblical description of the behaviour of several demon possessed men who were then delivered by Jesus Christ. Mark says about the demon possessed man in the region of the Gadarenes that he “had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones” (Mark 5:3-5 - NKJV); and Luke adds that he “was driven by the demon into the wilderness” (Luke 8:29 – NKJV). As you can see, that demon-possessed man had also a superhuman power, for the Scripture says that he pulled the chains apart and broke in pieces the shackles. Mark says also that when the father of that body who had a mute spirit brought his son to Jesus, he said to Jesus: “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid …. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him” (Mark 9:17-18, 22 - NKJV).

On the contrary, a person who is in the bond of iniquity (it does not matter if he is a believer or an unbeliever) behaves sinfully and in a perverse way, but he does not have any demon in his own body. In other words, the demons act on him influencing his conduct from the outside. For instance, Simon (who had believed the Gospel preached by Philip and had been baptized) was in the bond of iniquity, for when he offered Peter and John some money asking them to give him the power to lay hands on believers so that they might receive the Holy Spirit, the apostle Peter rebuked him saying: “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:20-23). As you can see, Simon acted badly because he was in the bond of iniquity, but he was not demon-possessed.

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