Doctrine of Demons: How Yahshua Taught Against The Superstition of Demonic Possession.
“Prove all things, hold fast that which is good.” (I Thes 5:21)
It is demonstrably acknowledged that Jesus, Yahshua the Messiah, was the wisdom of Yahweh (1Cor 1:24). It is also settled that He had an understanding of the Holy Scriptures that could not be compared with any other individual before or after Him. For modern theologians to presume that the Messiah could err in scriptural doctrine is a faulty assertion, one that has been promulgated, codified and believed in by almost all. Claiming that Yahshua Jesus had an eschewed knowledge on the actual nature of what many modern believers agree to be disembodied living human spirits, or disordered angels, is a great oversight in the theologian’s tradition-motivated diligence to substantiate radical demonology and literal demoniac possession. Because of misunderstandings regarding the Messiah’s culture and the Holy Scriptures, many have run head first into superstitious conclusions about doctrines concerned with demons, and this is due to the New Testaments simple and clear matter of fact-ness regarding demonism. A great problem that exists is that the superficial treatment of demons in the New Testament is, when read outside of and apart from its natural context, incorrectly understood in almost every one of its treatments on the matter. Meaning that in order for any to correctly understand what’s truthfully stated, a certain amount of work is required, and this work is the reader’s responsibility. In order for the Messiah to have believed in the existence of literal beings whom possessed the bodies of living people, He would have to have been receptive to pagan ruminations and their vain philosophies. Furthermore, for the Messiah to believe in literal demons He would have to have been acting in a way latently antagonistic towards the various and plainly stated truths discussed in the only scriptures He had as foundationally sure, those being they found in the Tanakh. If it were true that He did ignore the words in the Tanakh, this would have brought multifarious problems into His ministry, problems that scripturally could not exist if He was to remain the promised Messiah. With acknowledgement of this, it is our responsibility to re-align the actions and teachings of the One Holy Messiah with the truths found in His Tanakh, and then understand the sure road of explanation for why Yahshua would seem to both teach and substantiate the existence of disembodied spirits who afflict, disease and possess the living in a Gentle influenced Israel, while the Scriptures He lived upon clearly stated exactly the opposite.
The Messiah was a law giver. It could be argued that He was also the very Word that spoke to the Prophets. In the flesh He was demonstrated to be the wisdom of Yahweh Himself. To suggest that the Messiah had erred in one of the most fundamental and clearly defined Old Testament doctrines (regarding posthumous spiritual existence before the judgment), would be first on behalf of the educated a gross oversight, and secondly, a reading into, or more properly stated eisegesis of the scriptures. By inspiration, the Messiah told Paul that men were appointed once to die than after this the judgment (Heb 9:27), and the Spirit of Holiness also told Solomon that when men died they could no longer think or act (Ecc 9:10), yet the superstitious Hellenized Pharisee would have all people believe that after death those who passed away in an angry state of mind could spiritually leave their graves and seek new lodgings in the abodes of the sinful or somehow susceptible persons. Teachings on the spirits of the dead have not come from 1st Samuel verse 28, nor had it come from the Messiahs parable about Lazerous and the rich man, which I mention arose much later than the belief of the spiritual life of evil spirits, but was one attained from historical heathendom, either Greek, Roman, Babylonian, Indian or Persian; this idea came fully prepared with a complete demonology as well. Such beliefs were so well feared by the people of the first century, that the apostles on no less than two occasions believed Jesus to be a wayward spirit, and this was after they had been educated by Him during His ministry. The notion of demonic possession was a superstition that was very firmly rooted in the cultural consciousness of their time – as it remains so concreted everywhere today.
For brevities sake here are the Old Testament scriptures that confirm the impossibility of posthumous thoughts and existence before the judgement.
Ecc 8:8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death
Ecc 9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Psa 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
Psa 146:3-4 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
One of the first Old Testament examples of an individual expressing the belief in spiritual possession comes from the King of Babylon. This is fitting, seeing that spirit possession is an belief taken from Babylonian mysteries.
Dan 4:9 “O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. (KJV)
The Aramaic source says the “Spirit of the Holy God” singular. This still promotes belief in the notion of spiritual possession.This scripture has many different translations, but all hold to the idea that a spirit inhabits the body of Daniel.
What Jesus actually taught about Demonic Possession
Many people believe that Jesus never corrected the unashamed errors contained in the beliefs of demonic possession existing all over the 1st century world, but such conjecture is incomplete and because of its incompleteness absolutely erroneous. In actuality, Yahshua Jesus openly condemned the heathenized Pharisee belief that demons could ever enter the body and control one’s mind or will. The rebuke of this notion took place while He taught in Galilee which was a section of Israel that had been utterly steeped in demonic superstitions.
Evil spirits and hand washing: Jesus’ public rebuke against the belief of demonic possession.
The account of Jesus’ public rebuke of demonic possession is as such:
(Mar 7:1-3) “Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. (2) And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. (3) For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.”
The Judean Pharisees warned against eating with unwashed hands for various ritual reasons, each of these finding authority in post Tanakh texts (most finding allusion for authority from the Tanakh). One example of such a decree is found in the Talmud Bavli Hullin 106a-b.
The account continues:
(Mar 7:14-23) “14 And when [Yahshua] had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. 16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. 18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; 19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? 20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the [mind] of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
Explanation
A very important element of this public rebuke was that the Pharisees from Jerusalem did not in any way disagree with the Messiahs words about the affects of eating with unclean hands. Since the Pharisees from Jerusalem did not believe in demonic possession, Yahshua had used their beliefs as supports through their lack of denial, making them witnesses for what He now publicly taught the people as incorrect.
To elaborate on the reason for why Messiah said the words that He did, a book titled Demons and Jewish Magic highlights the significance of the purposes of hand washing, and why the Pharisees took it so seriously. “The connection between demons and uncleanness was made to serve important hygienic ends. Evil spirits, sometimes called "spirits of uncleanness," and once identified by the name bat melech, rest upon unwashed hands, contaminate foods handled with them, and endanger the lives of those who eat such food. Seven occasions which require a ritual washing of the hands (which destroys or dislodges the demons) were enumerated; most important among these was upon arising in the morning, for the night creates a special susceptibility to spirit contamination. Even on Yom Kippur when no ablutions might be performed, the hands must be washed in the morning. Touching the eyes, ears, nose and mouth with unwashed hands spells trouble; no doubt it was feared that the evil spirits would enter the body through these orifices. (… if, in speaking of infection, our vocabulary is more "scientific," the sense remains the same.) The demon of uncleanness, entering the eyes, could cause one’s glance to have a devastating effect upon the innocent passer-by; it might even be responsible for the loss of one’s memory, and ultimately complete loss of mind.” (p.33 Demons and disease Jewish magic)
It can be fairly presumed that the Pharisees from Jerusalem were more concerned with the breaking of tradition then the negative effects of catching a demon from eating food with unclean hands. This perspective will be emphasized further in following passages. I must highlight that when speaking to the Apostles in the house the Messiah focused on food, and how it could not contaminate, but in doing so He completely disregarded the existence of evil spirits and taught a valuable lesson that showed his followers that evil comes from the mind.
A side note and point of interest is how the evil spirits of hand washing could cause a person to develop the Evil eye[1]. In the above passage Jesus mentioned the evil eye, and it is clear that He surly did not believe in its existence, but he mentioned this superstition intentionally because He knew about the traditional teachings surrounding unclean hands and demonic possession which caused the evil eye. Through its mention, He wished to prove that the evil eye was nothing more than human envy if anything at all. I would also like to note that the evil spirits who entered the body as mention in the book on demons above, are by admission of the author equated with sicknesses caused by touching susceptible parts of the body with contaminated hands.
Not washing hands causes demonic possession continued:
“The custom of washing the hands after a funeral is very widespread … Efforts were made to find a Biblical precedent for this act, but … there was a general admission that it was done ‘to dispel the spirits of uncleanness’ which cling to one’s person, these being ‘the demons that follow them home.’” (page 179).
In the above scripture we notice that Yahshua Jesus told the people that they lacked understanding. Belief in demon possession to Yahshua was without question both folly and ignorance. By understanding that Jesus had corrected the erroneous beliefs about demonic infiltration and possession, we must further evaluate the attitudes regarding demonic possession held by the people in both Galilee and Judea.
Jesus educated the people in Galilee (Important):
Belief in demons in Galilee and Judea
“Based on his studies of the relevant Talmudic literature, Cambridge rabbinical scholar Herbert Loewe concluded that during the first century AD rabbis in Galilee and Mesopotamia generally believed in the literal existence of demons, while those in Judea did not. … Loewe next summarizes the results of his findings: "In investigating Talmudic evidence as to spirits, the reader will notice, at the outset, different attitudes adopted by the Rabbis in dealing with this question. In some cases the reality of demons seems to be taken for granted absolutely; in others it seems, with no less certainty, to be denied. Stories occur in which both these attitudes may be traced simultaneously. The reason for this may be found if the nationality of the respective teachers be sought. It has already been stated that Galilee was the centre of Palestinian demonology, and it will almost invariably be found that Galilaean teachers accepted, while Judaean teachers rejected, the existence of spirits. The numerous instances which the NT furnishes would have been impossible save in Galilee; there is a strong similarity between these and those adduced by Galilaean Rabbis. The same must be said of those Rabbis who came from Mesopotamia. And they were brought up in surroundings in which superstition was rife, their teaching was tinged by a belief in spirits, and in comparison with them the clarity of Palestinian teaching stands out in bold relief.‟ Loewe, “Demons and Spirits (Jewish),” Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, ed. 4, James Hastings (Edinburgh, 1911), p. 612-13.
"This background information opens a window on demonic activity during the ministry of Christ. Belief in demons was taught and fostered in the north by the local rabbis; conversely, those in the south were encouraged by a sceptical outlook by the Judaean teachers. Since belief in demons was rampant in the north, many people attributed sickness to demons. Because demon belief was much less common in the south [the above-cited scholarly source implies that it was virtually nonexistent among Judaean rabbis], then the demons did not exist either." (The Geographical Distribution of Demon-Possession: Mapping demon belief in the new testament pg 6)
Demon possession was not Geographically uniform – evidence against the belief
“Demon-possession in the Gospel accounts is not a geographically-uniform phenomenon. Specific cases of demon-possession in the synoptics occur in regional clusters, always in northern environs such as Galilee, rather than occurring throughout every location through which Christ travelled and performed healings. Conversely, not a single case of demon-possession in Judea or Jerusalem is recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Moreover, the Synoptics include several quantitative summaries of demon-possession that imply that demon-possession was a common and even characteristic phenomenon in Galilee and the northern regions. No comparable statements for Judean areas are found in the Gospel records. Finally, certain ostensibly physical pathological conditions, such as blindness, deafness and muteness, which are sometimes attributed to demon-possession in the north, are never so characterized in the south, even though descriptions of these conditions do occur in texts commenting on the Judean ministry.” (The Geographical Distribution pg.1)
Summery
It has been made clear that Yahshua Jesus did in fact correct the beliefs about demonic possession during His ministry. Through teaching that evil came from within out of a corrupt mindset agrees with many New Testament epistles (James 1:14-15 &c), and clearly states that nothing can enter into a man or women to defile them spiritually. This is to say that sin is the fruit of the human will. Yahshua clearly told all of the people who were present that demons were not able to enter into them and take possession of their minds and will, and that this notion is impossible (for even Yahweh Himself doesn’t do this, even Yahshua Jesus the embodiment of Yahweh had a free will). The fact that Jesus made reference to the evil eye shows that He was concerned with the numerous superstitions that currently ensnared the people. For Yahshua to command the people to understand shows that they as a whole held onto incorrect ideas that needed correcting. The fact that He rebuked His apostles shows that the practice of hand washing was not the chief focus of His reprove, but it was the belief in demonic possession (which the apostles (most coming from Galilee or surrounding area did also believe in)) that was the object of his scrutiny, nothing less. Since Jesus knew that the Judean Pharisees would not contradict His rebuke, He purposely taught this lesson in their presence using them as an aid. Jesus not only corrected the Pharisees flawed reasoning about hand washing obtained from the Talmud, but He also used their perspective on the demon doctrine to the advantage of the people. This topic of possession, and how Jesus treated it, is in absolute perfect agreement with the Tanakh; and it also shows that even though the Messiah used the term Demon at other times when speaking about those suffering from mental or otherwise un-diagnosable ailments, He not only understood the actual cause of their true diseases, but He used this popular term so the people of His time would understand, and relate with Him. Yahshua Jesus had in no way justified the existence of actual demons human or angelic nor demonic possession.
2. The following treatments will go through the history of the word demon, demoniac, and all other terms directly connected to demon possession, and will show how these terms were historically derived from outside of Israel. It will continue to show that when said terms were used in Israel they represented nothing more than names for people suffering from various difficult illnesses, or parable based mythical beings for stories.



