Conquering Spiritual Evil

Doug Tales 110: Evil Entities, Part Ten

This is the last of the ten characteristics of evil entities described by Doug Mendenhall in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012), with this one on page 72. Later, in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume Two (2020) on pp. 400-402, Doug quotes Denver Snuffer (and then Paul in Ephesians) to emphasize the importance of our truly knowing how to “tell the difference between someone that is in the employ of the adversary and someone that is not.”

Characteristic #10: Devils, demons, and earthbound spirits can inhabit a host anytime during a person’s life, from the womb until late in life. They can even be attached to you as a spirit in the spirit world after your body is laid in the grave.

The scriptures show us that Christ cast entities out of children. (Mark 9:17-29) Just because a person can’t “sin” doesn’t mean they can’t be taken over by an entity. This can be from actions of their parents, generational issues or curses, or even environment.

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May all of us have many encounters with Light. Don’t worry, it probably will be messy at the start trying to figure out who you are encountering, light or dark. That is just the way it is and it isn’t wrong to make mistakes. When He asked if I’d do His work, I told Him that I had heard He didn’t pay very well. I think about that comment now and want to hide. He forgave me. He always will forgive. All of us.

Snuffer talked about encounters and evil at a conference in Hurricane, Utah during the question and answer section with his wife Stephanie on March 22, 2020:

“But then, very often, if you’re gonna have to deal with the adversary on any substantial matters, you’re usually going to be exposed in a way—

“Joseph was exposed in a way that gave him the capacity to detect the adversary in a dramatic way, that cued him in and put him on guard, because that would have prevented a whole lot of mischief from later ensuing [see Joseph Smith History 1:15–17]. Moses on the mount had an encounter with the adversary that, again, gave him a capacity that helped him to detect the adversary thereafter and prevent a lot of mischief [see Moses 1:12–23]. And Christ, after His baptism, in the wilderness was confronted by the adversary in a way that equipped Him on an ongoing basis to deal with that [see Matthew 4:1–11].

“The Lord’s educational process sometimes requires that you get exposed to the enemy of your soul in order to know how to avoid falling prey to the enemy of your soul. And I know there are people out there that are so befuddled and so concerned about this very issue (about the devil misleading) that they cannot tell the difference between someone that is in the employ of the adversary (and deceived and preaching a false message) and someone that is not (and has not been deceived and knows how to detect and rebuke and has not fallen prey to him).” (emphasis in original)

That is the reason these books were written, all four of them. The two Conquering books along with the two I See… books. They are an effort to help others “tell the difference between someone that is in the employ of the adversary and someone that is not.” But just not that, it will hopefully give the person some tools to use in defense against the adversary in the war that is being waged here in mortality. From protections to healing, it is all helpful in the fight.

It is our hope that you will become engaged in the fight, learn much to be able to help your family and yourself. Yes, it does take work, effort, and time. We call that spiritual currency. This war is spiritual. As it states in Ephesians, the war is not against flesh and blood, it is spiritual.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

“And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” (Ephesians 6:10–18)

Doug Tales 109: Evil Entities, Part Nine

There are different levels of dark spirits, and therefore different levels of what is required to cast them out of an individual. Doug Mendenhall shares two experiences about casting out evil entities, one by Joseph Smith and the other by Jesus Christ in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012), pp. 70-72. He explains a little more about Joseph and Hyrum’s experience casting out in Possibilities: Lessons From the Spirit (2002), pp. 163-164:

Characteristic #9: Some demons and devils are so powerful that they require fasting and prayer to cast them out.

Philo Dibble wrote about his experiences: “I saw Joseph Smith the Prophet when he first came to Kirtland, and was with him in the first conference held in that place, which was in a small schoolhouse. When he arose in our midst he said that before the conference closed there were those present who should see the heavens open and bear record of the coming of the Son of Man, and that the man of sin should be revealed.

“While he talked…Lyman Wight stepped into the middle of the room and bore record of the coming of the Son of Man. Then Harvey Whitlock stepped into the middle of the room with his arms crossed, bound by the power of Satan, and his mouth twisted unshapely. Hyrum Smith arose and declared that there was an evil spirit in the room. Joseph said, ‘Don’t be too hasty,’ and Hyrum sat down. Shortly Hyrum rose the second time, saying, ‘I know my duty and will do it,’ and stepping to Harvey, commanded the evil spirits to leave him, but the spirits did not obey.

“Joseph then approached Harvey and asked him if he believed in God. Then we saw a change in Harvey. He [Harvey] also bore record of the opening of the heavens and of the coming of the Son of Man, precisely as Lyman Wight had done. Next a man by the name of Harvey Green was thrown upon his back on the floor by an unseen power. Some of the brethren wanted to administer to him by laying on of hands, but Joseph forbade it. Harvey looked to me like a man in a fit. He groaned and frothed at the mouth. Finally he got upon his knees and came out of it.” “Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” The Juvenile Instructor (1892)

Remember the story about the man whose son was possessed and Christ‘s disciples could not cast the demons out? The rest of that story is this:

“And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:21-29)

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I related a recent story [about voicing a blessing] to a good friend. She made the comment that Christ had said that some kind of devils will only come out by fasting and prayer. I agreed with her; I do feel that some may require great prayer and fasting, but I wanted to also add a little different perspective. I had always thought the fasting and prayer were to be done by the person trying to get rid of the darkness. Though that may be true in most instances, another possibility came to my mind.

“Could it possibly be,” I asked, “that sometimes the prayer might have to be done by the one who has let the demon come into him? Using their own agency they have invited darkness in and therefore they need to be willing to let it go. I have learned from my own experience and that of others, that one way of letting darkness in might be when we give up our agency to someone or we invite them in with negative thoughts, emotions, or actions.”

“We also can let a servant of evil or darkness in” I continued, “by desiring power by bargaining with the dark one. Sometimes the individual is deceived by (instructed by) and chooses to believe the dark one or they place their trust in or give pity to a dark one. That might mean that the person giving the blessing or trying to cast out the demon can’t do it, casting it out would go against our agency if we are the one that had ‘invited’ the dark one in. Satan’s plan is to take our agency away. Until my friend wanted it gone, there was nothing that could be done, otherwise I would have been going against his agency, something in my opinion that the Lord does not condone. That might be one possibility why Joseph Smith wouldn’t allow Hyrum to bless the possessed man? Interesting things to think about.”

“Another possibility,” I added, “is that Hyrum might not have had the same understanding as Joseph. He might not have been able to see and know, as Joseph did, the power of the darkness in the man. Joseph may also have known of Hyrum’s weakness and knew that he could not withstand this particular darkness. By doing what he did, Joseph taught that all power comes through our Savior and His atonement. It is to Christ that we must look for our salvation.”

“What about the fasting part?” my female friend asked.

“I had a harder time with what that might possibly mean,” I answered. “We know that fasting represents a sacrifice of going without food. What if on the spiritual level it meant that the individual that was possessed had to sacrifice his will to the will of Christ? To do that, my friend needed to ask Christ to come and ask Christ to take the darkness away. Just like the woman that had the five devils attached to her had to do.”

Interesting possibilities.

I know I am grateful for the small understanding I have been given in regards to how Satan works. With that knowledge I can better help protect my family from his darkness by giving them understanding about darkness and how it works. I know I have much yet to learn. It is my hope and prayer that we all may let Christ into our lives so that Satan will not have any influence over us. Then Satan would be bound and we could all live in peace, even a millennial peace.

Doug Tales 108: Evil Entities, Part Eight

Once a person invites evil spirits into their life, the entities push any boundaries possible. Doug Mendenhall talks about such traits in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012), p. 70, and Possibilities: Lessons From the Spirit (2002), pp. 141-143:

Characteristic #8: Dark entities can cause us to do unthinkable things we would never do otherwise, even cause physical harm to others.

This is easily demonstrated in the phenomenon of “mob mentality.” People talk about there being something that overtakes them, and they do horrible acts that otherwise they might never consider.

I know of a wonderful mother who has tried to kill herself several times because the “voices” in her have convinced her that it is required to kill herself in order to atone for her sins. This came on suddenly after she learned a healing modality that teaches to send dark entities to the light. She was taught to invite them into her home to teach them the gospel and send them to the light. She became possessed and they convinced her to kill herself. Luckily she was not successful and finally received the help she needed.

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During our book review meetings we would mention these stories when the Spirit told us to. As a result, people would come up afterward and tell us their dad, mom, son, grandchild or whomever was “possessed.”

I really had no answer for them, but it started me searching for a greater understanding of Satan and how he works. I prayed many times to know what to tell these people or how they could be helped.

It seemed to me that Jesus went about his mortal ministry casting out devils and healing. The “casting out” seemed so pervasive that I wondered if everyone “back then” was plagued by them. It was not something I had heard much about in our “enlightened” times. I read where He would cast them out of people and they would be healed. He did this many times.

I decided one day I wanted to see what “depression” would do to me, if it was caused by allowing “devils” in. one morning before Church I was in my room and one of my daughters came in. We were talking and joking around. After I teased her about something, she made a comment that I “wasn’t very cute.”

In that moment I took that comment and put it inside my heart. I decided that I wasn’t very cute, or good, or anything nice. Determination took over, as I decided to see how depressed I could get over “dwelling” on one comment that I perceived and internalized as negative (which really wasn’t, we were just goofing around).

Soon I found myself sitting on the edge of the bed not wanting anyone around me. Several of my children came into the room and took one look at me, then left quickly. Church was not an option that day, I didn’t care if I ever went back. Dianne told me that I should get ready as she headed off to the shower. I did not move the whole time she was in the bathroom. Finally, about forty minutes before church started, I stirred and got off the bed. A song played on the radio, something about “letting it go.” I felt a tiny bit better.

I went in and got my electric razor and started shaving. I was almost done when the charge gave out and it went dead. I took a look at it and just about put it through the wall with my fist. The “thought” had come in my mind to shove it and my fist right through the wall. I stopped myself, realizing that this wasn’t like me, I don’t have those kind of feelings or thoughts. I went in and dry shaved the rest of my beard.

Denise and I usually walk to Church about thirty minutes early. So I hurried and finished getting ready. We took off for Church. I didn’t say much. Obviously she could see I was full of “devils,” but didn’t say a thing about it…Apparently it was for me to experience devils this day.

We arrived at Church and sat in our favorite spot in the middle of the chapel. Sitting there, my mind seemed confused. I remembered feeling really depressed, wanting to throw the razor through the wall, not wanting to go to Church or do anything for that matter, and the kids not wanting to be around me. I then turned to Denise and asked, “Do I have devils in me?

“Not as many as you had at home,” she said. “After you listened to that song, some of them left.”

I sat there not remembering how to get rid of them. “Dad,” Denise whispered, “you can cast them out if you want to.” Oh yeah, I forgot! I was stunned how they could make my mind so confused or cloudy. So I acknowledged them firmly, with no hostility or anger, and cast them out in the name of Christ. The feeling was so incredible. I was back. My mind was clear, and I felt great. I had no idea that “devils” could fuel depression. Though I knew they would try to influence me to do things I normally would not do…

I realized at that moment that dwelling on our “problems” or pitying ourselves can let in darkness or evil. With this new understanding I sat and thoroughly enjoyed the Sunday services.

Doug Tales 107: Evil Entities, Part Seven

Doug Mendenhall continues his list of ten characteristics of evil spirits in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012), pp. 60-70, and adds additional related experiences on pp. 219-222:

Characteristic #7: Devils and demons can cause addictions or facilitate our propensity for certain addictions.

They have been at their “work” for so long that they know the human body so well that they know what hormone or area to tweak to cause a “desire” for things, often called a “craving.” When the dark entities are cast off, the cravings go away.

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I had never in my life contemplated that a mortal might have an earthbound spirit attached to them, which was addicted to something, and that addiction in turn could cause the mortal to have the same problem. Also I never imagined that earthbound spirits might also have demons or any other dark things attached to them.

The man later shared a part of his journal with me:

“…I have had repeat visits from my longtime spirit-friends, those demons who were part of my life for so many years. Because of the time that they haven‘t been with me, I am now better able to discern their promptings and implanted thoughts. Before, I thought those implants were my own thoughts. Now, I recognize when I am being tempted. I am much more quick to successfully request the Lord‘s aid at those times.”

I often marvel how the Lord helps us along His paths, how He helps us understand how He works, how unseen things work, and how He allows us to help our brothers and sisters on this earth.

Ron Poulton in his paper describes a similar incident of a man who traveled a lot in his work and who eventually conquered pornography by not only reading scriptures and praying, but also by always “cleansing” his hotel room of any evil entities whenever he was “on the road.” Poulton concludes with these comments:

“[The man] said that the thoughts and the urges to watch improper programs simply ceased, without any effort on his part, other than his faith in God‘s willingness to honor the priesthood and the name of his Son. He said that sometimes a single rebuke was sufficient for an entire business trip. On other occasions he was required to rebuke more often, not to control his thoughts, but to maintain what he came to understand as a clear space. He had experimented on the witness and promise of Paul:

“‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ (I Corinthians 10:13).

“His battle against pornography had irreversibly changed. It was no longer a battle of one part of him against another part; it was simply a matter of his discerning and rebuking the influence of unwanted evil around him. . . [This man] was not overcoming or conquering anything; he was not learning and applying new insight to change his thoughts or behavior; he simply vanquished a present enemy. . . He could have struggled, and perhaps eventually overcome this problem, many persons have done so. What [he] did was to recognize the true nature of the trouble he faced and the personal enemy that brought it to him. He discerned that his enemy was imminent. He won, not by fighting the good fight, but by exercising his faith and priesthood to refuse the contest.” (Ron Poulton, “Understanding Spiritual Evil in the Context of Psychotherapy” self-published paper, pp. 23-24)

As Brigham Young said, evil entities are all around us, wanting to destroy us, make us sick, try and tempt us. These are not dull-witted thugs. They have been practicing their art for millennia and are quite good at what they do. The more light we have the harder they will work to entrap or entice us. It is always dangerous to underestimate the power and appeal of evil. If we don’t have an understanding of how they operate or recognize their operations in this creation, it could be catastrophic. Addictions to alcohol, drugs and pornography are no small things to consider. It is imperative for us to realize how evil operates and how we can stop it.

In my own life I have had more than a few experiences with earthbound spirits. Just recently in the last several years I have put on much weight. I knew it was related to my heart problems, but it seemed to be so much more. The past several months I felt there was more to it than just gaining weight because of a bad heart. I was severely addicted to sugar.

Finally I started focusing on the idea that I might have an earthbound spirit attached to me causing these desires. They were intense and constant. It seemed a bit much, even for me.

My daughter, Denise, happened to be over one night, and I asked her if I had an earthbound spirit attached to me.

“Yes, you do,” she answered. “He is making you have cravings for food and sugar.”

“How long has he been with me,” I asked.

“Several years,” was her reply.

Later that night I knelt and expressed my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the experience of having had this earthbound man with me for these past years. I told Him of my strong desire to be free of this man. I focused intently on this desire. Then in the name of Jesus Christ I commanded the earthbound man to leave. I then shielded myself from him. The cravings were gone.

Ten days later I still didn’t have those cravings for sugar. In my mind I kept wondering if it really could be this simple. The answer has come that it can be this simple if you are focused with true intent, asking Father for His help in the name of the Son, while expressing gratitude for the experience and then casting out the problem.

But about two weeks later I was on the road and had an experience where something didn’t go my way and I judged the person. I thought nothing of it. While driving home I started to tell other drivers how stupid they were. I kind of chuckled at my good driving ability that they didn’t have. This should have been a huge red flag for me! When we start expressing and thinking things or doing things that we normally don’t do, it is a warning that we are being influenced by an evil entity. After arriving home one of my granddaughters brought us a cupcake for St. Patrick’s Day. I started to crave the cupcake. I realized then that the earthbound was back, and he had brought friends with him. I started the repentance process all over again in order to cast them off.

Some days I feel like I take one step forward and two steps backward. After some time on my knees and feeling better about everything, I cast them off again. Will they be back? If I don’t mend my way, they most assuredly will come back. Earthbound spirits can cause us problems that we might attribute to our childhood or earthly pressures.

Doug Tales 106: Evil Entities, Part Six

Not just injury, but disease and similar physical problems may be caused by evil spirits. Doug Mendenhall talks about such issues in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012), pp. 68-69:

Characteristic #6: Dark entities can cause disease and infirmities through possession.

In a talk at Jedediah Grant’s funeral Brigham Young said this:

“You never felt a pain and ache, or felt disagreeable, or uncomfortable in your bodies and minds, but what an evil spirit was present causing it. Do you realize that the ague, the fever, the chills, the severe pain in the head, the pleurisy, or any pain in the system, from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, is put there by the devil? You do not realize this, do you?…The spirits that afflict us and plant disease in our bodies, pain in the system, and finally death, have control over us so far as the flesh is concerned.” (Dec. 4, 1856, Journal of Discourses 4:133)

If this is true then what are we to do about our many aches and pains? Many of the miracles the Lord did in the New Testament were proceeded by Him first casting out devils and demons which is an interesting order of healing.

“As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.” (Matthew 9:32-33)

Several years ago a young woman who was very allergic to sunflowers seeds accidently ate something with either sunflowers seeds or the residual of sunflower seeds and went into anaphylactic shock and couldn’t breathe. A man placed his hands on her head and immediately after calling her by name, declaring priesthood, he cast out the demons that had been on the food and were causing this problem. He then commanded her muscles to relax.

She immediately relaxed and started to breathe. She got up a few minutes later and resumed her day, none the worse for wear.

Even in the scriptures we find evidence of Satan causing illnesses:

“So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.” (Job 2:7)

“And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.” (Luke 9:38-42)

Here is a modern day example. When two missionaries in Brazil visited a family, the family informed them that their six-year-old daughter was possessed. They thought she just had some sort of mental disability as she just stood in the room with a bland expression on her face and didn’t speak. What was interesting is when they said a prayer before leaving the home, she started to act up and really created a disturbance. Could she have had a possessing spirit in her causing these things? This is something to consider.

Doug Tales 105: Evil Entities, Part Five

The effects of sin or repentance (or both) can take place over a long period of time. Alma explained to his son Corianton that this life has a “space for repentance” and that “there [is] a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.” (Alma 42:4-5) For some, their probation here includes many years of being possessed by evil entities (before they are cast out). Doug Mendenhall shares scriptures on this topic on page 67 of Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012):

Characteristic #5: Possession can be long term and even generational.

The previous scriptural reference from Mark 5 showed a man that was “dwelling among the tombs” who had “been often bound with fetters and chains.” This seems to indicate that he had been possessed for quite some time before the Savior cast the demons out.

On another occasion in Mark 9 this happened:

“And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.” (Mark 9:17-21)

We need to realize that some possessions go on for a long time, some are even generational. This will be discussed in chapter 15 “Little Children and Possession.”

Doug Tales 104: Evil Entities, Part Four

Doug Mendenhall shares scriptures about the extreme strength of evil spirits in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012), pp. 66-67, and then personal experiences about such strength in I See…Awake! (2015), pp. 184-185:

Characteristic #4: Possessed individuals are capable of extreme strength and violence.

The Gospel of Mark tells us of a man “Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.” (Mark 5:3-4)

In the book of Acts it talks of a man that was possessed by evil spirits: “And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” (Acts 19:16)

It is also possible to be physically overcome by people possessed with evil spirits. This will be discussed in the chapters in this book dealing with possession.

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Evil has been doing this for millennia and know exactly what they are doing. It isn’t fairy dust they are spreading around to accomplish what they do. For example, people over the centuries have found that when a person is possessed, they seem to have super-human strength. How? They know how to “trigger” the adrenal glands to send adrenaline through the body—the same “stuff” that allows a woman to lift a car off the body of her injured child. If she thought about it, she would not be able to lift the car.

My daughter worked at a girl’s home. About every two days they had to restrain one of the girls. She would tell me how it took four to five staff members, grown women, to get a tiny fourteen year old girl restrained. The headquarters sent a man out to teach how to do restraints. One of the women staff could do a restraint on him and put him down in pain. They told him that there is something paranormal about it, the girls have superhuman strength, and they don’t feel any of the pain that the restraining holds are designed to produce.

Typically it takes a dark entity with a body, i.e. a dark translated being, to do heavy physical paranormal activity. An example of this is an incident in Brazil with the LDS missionaries in which a man floated to the ceiling, and the missionaries couldn’t get him down. Another example in early LDS history is when Brother Knight floated to the ceiling. There are several ways “floating” can be accomplished. If enough demons get into a person, meaning thousands, that can cause them to float, like filling up a balloon with helium. Another way is to have a dark translated being lift them up. They can also toss them about a room, drag them on a floor, etc.

Doug Tales 103: Evil Entities, Part Three

The winds and waves and all things are subject to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His power is greater than all evil spirits and entities, and they know and will acknowledge Him. Doug Mendenhall includes this trait of evil entities in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012) on pages 65-66:

Characteristic #3: Demons and devils know the Savior and recognize His power over them.

Demons and devils recognize the Savior and His authority.

“And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29)

“And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.” (Luke 4:33-35)

Other scriptures show that dark entities know Him:

“Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.” (Luke 4:40-41)

“And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.” (Mark 1:34)

“And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.” (Mark 3:11-12)

Doug Tales 102: Evil Entities, Part Two

Because evil spirits cannot generate energy on their own, they act like parasites and seek out people to take energy from through possession. Doug Mendenhall includes this trait of evil entities in Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012) on page 65:

Characteristic #2: Devils, demons, and some earth-bound spirits desire to inhabit and control a human host.

“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.” (Matthew 12:43)

Apparently these dark entities desire to inhabit human hosts. The Gospel of Matthew also talks about the two men who were possessed with devils and lived in the tombs (Matthew 8:28) and were so fierce that no man dared go near them. The Gospel of Mark tells us it is just one man. (Mark 5:2) But that doesn‘t matter. When he/they saw the Lord and knew He would cast them out, they asked to go into a herd of swine. (Matthew 8:31)

Doug Tales 101: Evil Entities, Part One

Doug Mendenhall shares ten “characteristics of evil entities” as chapter seven of his book, Conquering Spiritual Evil, Volume One (2012), pp. 64-72. The first characteristic he mentions on pages 64-65 shows the spiritual coming into the physical, with dark entities able to literally hurt and cause physical problems for people. Doug adds a few comments on the same topic in I See…Awake! (2015) on page 184.

The scriptures teach us several characteristics which describe the type and symptoms of evil spirits and spiritual attacks. When we pay close attention to these scriptures, we can gain a protective awareness so that we might recognize what we are fighting against or what is at war with us.

Characteristic #1: Devils, demons and unclean spirits can cause injury to occur to their victims.

“Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water…And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.” (Matthew 17:15, 18)

This young boy was possessed by a devil for a long period of time because the man said he would “oftimes” fall into the fire and water. We have found that it takes demons and devils a while to integrate into a physical body when they have taken over or possessed it. That is why you will see many people with possession problems that don’t seem very coordinated. Relatively speaking it takes a normal human a few years to develop the motor skills of an adult. But even though demons have had eons of time to figure out how to fully take over the complex neural-muscular coordination of a human body, it may take some time for it to fully integrate itself. But if this demon/devil does have full mastery over this boy and causes him to fall into the fire and water, it is most likely that it wants to cause physical injury to the boy. Yes, they are that evil and more.

The lack of coordination is also evident when a spirit enters into those who claim to be spiritualists or receive spirits. Many of them tend to thrash about, stagger, fall down, shake, or some other strange movement. Some will contort the victim’s face and limbs into weird shapes. I have seen this on a few occasions. A man possessed with an unclean spirit in the gospel of Mark shows how they can cause us harm.

“And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.” (Mark 5:5)

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Many of these dark beings have the ability to inflict physical pain on us. In our second book, Possibilities: Lessons from the Spirit (pp. 140-141), I talked about when I had judged someone else, a small little demon would stab my thigh with his knife. He was a spiritual entity, but still had the ability to cause me physical pain. Some people believe that they can’t do this. From experience I can confirm that they indeed do have the ability to cause us physical pain.

They can also afflict us mentally—it is psychological, but we feel a physical reaction to it. For example, a mind can be so tormented by depression or psychosis because of possession of evil spirits that the physical body reacts as if it has been assaulted.