UNDERSTANDING EXORCISM. Part one.

In ancient Mesopotamia, it was believed that all forms of sickness came from spirits entering a person's body and attaching to a person.
Assyrian tablets make reference to the use of incantations and prayers to their gods, as well as direct challenges to demons, which were believed to inflict every type of disease, both physical and psychological. Ancient Babylonian priests performed rituals by destroying a clay or wax image of a demon.
In the Hindu religion, the ancient texts known as the Vedas, which were composed around 1000BC, refer to evil beings that interfere in the work of Hindu gods and harm the living.
Accounts from ancient Persia, dating back to around 600BC, offer evidence of exorcism using prayer, ritual, and holy water by the religious leader Zoroaster, who was considered the first magician, and who founded the religion Zoroastrianism.
The Middle Ages (500-1500CE) saw a revival of ancient superstition and demonology and mental illness was seen to be the result of evil possession. The brutal treatment of mental illness was primarily left to the clergy who exorcised patients through a variety of techniques which caused physical pain.
In Christianity, the Gospels, with the exception of John, contain numerous references to demon possession and exorcism and to Jesus performing most of the exorcisms. The ability to cast out evil spirits was very well understood as a sign of a true and genuine disciple, because an attempt to control and cast out evil spirits required an enormous amount of divine spiritual power. Jesus exorcised demons by His commanding Word with no apparent appeal to authority beyond himself. Early Christians received the power and authority from Jesus through the Holy Spirit to do supernatural things.
- Acts 19:1-10 "Paul was visiting some places on his way to Ephesus. In Ephesus he found some other followers of the Lord. Paul asked them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' These followers said to Jesus, 'We have never even heard of a Holy Spirit!' Paul asked them, "What kind of baptism did you have?' They said, 'It was the baptism that John taught.' Paul said, "John told people to be baptized to show they genuinely wanted to change their lives. John told people to believe in the One who would come after him, and that One is Jesus. When these followers heard this, they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus. .. There were about 12 men in this group. Paul went into the synagogue and spoke very boldly.. for 3 months. He was trying to persuade the Jews to accept what he was telling them about God's kingdom. But some of them became stubborn and refused to believe. In front of everyone, they said bad things about the Way. So Paul left these Jews and took the Lord's followers with him."
- Acts 5:12-16 "The apostles were given the power to do miraculous signs and wonders .. and they all had the same purpose. None of the other people dared to stand with the apostles, but everyone was saying wonderful things about them .. so the people brought those who were sick or troubled by evil spirits .. hoping that Peter's shadow might fall on them as he walked by.. and all of them were healed."
- Acts 19:11-17"God used Paul to do some very special miracles. Some people carried away clothes and handkerchiefs that Paul had used and put them on those who were sick. The sick people were healed, and evil spirits left them. Some Jews also were traveling around forcing evil spirits out of people. The 7 sons of Sceva, one of the leading priests, were doing this. These Jews tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to make the evil spirits go out of people. They all said, 'By the same Jesus that Paul talks about, I order you to come out!' But one time an evil spirit said to these 7 Jews, 'I know Jesus and I know Paul, but who are you?' Then the man who had the evil spirit inside him jumped on this Jews. He was much stronger than all of them. He beat them up and tore their clothes off. They all ran away from that house. All the people in Ephesus, Jews and Greeks, learned about this."