It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment. Acts 16:16-18

Does demon possession happen in our day? Some folks dismiss demon possession altogether, while others blame demons for far more than we should. Demon possession is real. Why was it so much more prevalent in Jesus’ day, and in the first century? Because demonic powers were doing everything they could to thwart Christ, the gospel, and the establishment of the young Church. But as their diabolical efforts were intensified, Christ, the gospel and the church prevailed, fulfilling Jesus’ words: “I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it!” (Mathew 16:18b) Hallelujah!

Why is it so much less prevalent on our day? It is still quite prevalent in other parts of the world where false (satanic) religion is widespread. There are also far more cases of demon possession around us than we might recognize. There is no way to know just how many, but it is probable that some people who are diagnosed with mental illness may actually be demon possessed. This may be especially true when mental illness is the result of drug or alcohol abuse.

There are some Christians who blame all sorts of sins of the flesh on demons. This is a mistake. While the tempter does tempt us to indulge ourselves in sins of the flesh, we cannot blame the “demon of this-or-that sin” for our failures. This error gives too much credit to demonic powers, and attempts to relieve us of our responsibilities to resist temptation.