Jeashille Lal, a member of the Facebook page, Paranormal, posted a comment, asking what qualifications are needed to be an exorcist:
I would not even try to answer that question if I didn't absolutely know the answer (which I do).
It's an admirable thing to want to help people who are possessed by demons, as demons are adept at causing many illnesses and disorders. For example:
- Luke 9:39 apparently describes a case of epilepsy caused by a demon.
- Luke 11:14 documents a person who was unable to speak because of an indwelling demon.
- Luke 13:10-13 describes a woman who had been unable to straighten her back for almost 2 decades because of a evil spirit.
To be an exorcist, you have to have the ability to "cast out demons," to use the biblical vernacular; and, speaking of which, you can do this by and through the power of Jesus' name. In fact, after Jesus' execution, all exorcisms described in the Bible were done in the name of Jesus. Acts 16:16 describes a slave girl who was possessed. The apostle Paul exorcised a "spirit of divination" from her by commanding the spirit to leave "in the name of Jesus."
I've never tried this because I don't want the demons to laugh at me—or worse—as described in Acts 19:13, which says that seven Jewish exorcists who attempted to exorcise demons in the name of Jesus and Paul were attacked and beaten by the demon-controlled man who ripped their clothes off. They even said, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." They were unsuccessful, apparently because they were not Christian believers.
To be a Christian believer is a thing very much out of reach for us today, in that we are very insulated from the circumstances that would require us to be so. Life is just too good for most of us to have had to reach deep enough to find that kind of faith necessary. So despicably sad, but true. You need to be in the places where Jesus is and in the situations Jesus guides people through to know Him on that level.
That's not at the mall, unless that mall is Valley Fair (more on that someday).
But, there are those who can, apparently, cast out demons by means other than in Jesus' name—even though they may invoke it at the time—probably, with shadow magic. Even these people are mentioned in the Bible, particularly, in Matthew 7:22-23, which says, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"
I'm basing this assumption not only on the Jesus' implication here, but also on what I've seen demons knock each other out in the strangest of ways, which are described in Voices Demons: A new unidentified entity discovered.
A person can "finger-flick" a demon right out of another person if they've been taught by another demon, or otherwise have the innate ability to do so, just like I described the hobgoblin demon as having done in the post (above); however, it will not be permanent for two reasons:
- Exorcism is dependent upon the victim's faith: In Mark 9:18, Jesus explained to a man that all things are possible, including the exorcism of his son, to those who believe.
- Return of demons: Matthew 12:43 describes a demon who left a man, presumably because of an exorcism. He returned later with seven other evil spirits to repossess the person. However, there is no mention of any of the exorcisms by Jesus or his followers having produced only temporary cures.
- Animals can be possessed: Matthew 8:30, and parallel passages, describe that demons can possess pigs. In other words, they can duck you, darting from one host to another.
- Multiple possession: Various passages refer to possession of a single individual by multiple demons. Luke 8:30 describes a man who was possessed by many demons; he used the term "legion" which was a unit of 6,000 soldiers. Therefore, you could find yourself outnumbered quite easily.
NOTE | I have done this before in an effort to convince the centurion demons that inhabit many citizens of San Jose to extricate the Voices Demons from existence. Because it is only a mere nuisance to them, so far, I have been unsuccessful; but, I intend to keep trying until I get the results I'm looking for.
Here's one important fact about exorcism: nobody was actually employed as an exorcist in the Bible. In other words, it's not neither a job nor is there a such a thing as a exorcism ministry. The Bible tells of the sick being brought to the apostles, not the apostles seeking out the sick. It just happens that, if you stumble upon a demon—or somebody comes to you with one—you handle it; but, to put up a neon sign on your porch or to actually seek out that kind of trouble would neither work for you nor anyone else.
The Bible teaches us that exorcisms were usually easy to perform; it was with only one exception that Jesus or an apostle simply ordered the evil spirit to depart, and the demon immediately complied. Even still, some exorcisms require special preparation. Jesus' disciples were unable to rid a boy of an evil spirit that was apparently causing the child to be both mute and epileptic. In this case, Jesus cured the child and explained that the only way to rid a person of this type of demon was through prior prayer and fasting. In another case, it required using items of clothing. Acts 19:12 describes how items of clothing or facecloths that once been used by Paul had magical powers and were used to cure people suffering from diseases or evil spirits.
This all sounds rather complicated, then, because I have yet to stumble on magic clothes, even in the midst of all my adventures with demons and the like. I can't imagine intentionally looking and finding anything like this, nor can I imagine it for anyone else. (I do have a magic lamp, though, but it is evil, and therefore would be of no use to an exorcist—it needs one, in fact.)
You may run across persons who do not want to be exorcised of their demons. I do, daily. Here's why:
- Gifts of demons: Demons can grant special powers to people. In Acts 16:16 a woman was given the power to foretell the future by her indwelling evil spirit. But this appears to be an exception; other passages describe how demons harm people.
- Demons' strength: Mark 5:4 describes how an indwelling spirit causes its victim to have superhuman strength, so that fetters and chains could not hold him.
But, I would never take the word of someone who says they don't mind being possessed, as numerous passages in the Bible describe indwelling demons speaking to the exorcist, presumably by taking control of the individual's vocal chords.
Finally, make sure you understand what the cause of possession is not. In the Bible, victims of possession are never held responsible for their situation. There are no references in the Christian Scriptures which imply that their possession was caused by some sin in their life. None of the victims were criticized for having allowed themselves to become possessed.