Do Jehovah's Witnesses believe in exorcisms?

[Frank Goad]

Do Jehovah's Witnesses believe in exorcisms?

 

[Redemptionsong]

Do Jehovah's Witnesses believe in exorcisms?

It's a good question.

I have my doubts because the teaching l've heard is that the power of the Holy Spirit was not necessary after the time of the apostles. The scriptures are said to replace the need for tongues, miracles, healings etc. This does not include the fruits of the Spirit, only the manifestations mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12.

Let's see!

 

[Mister Emu]

From what I understand, (@Deeje, welcome to correct me), Jehova's witnesses do believe in both spiritual possession/attacks and relief granted through the prayers of the faithful. However, they don't believe in having specific rituals or specialized exorcists.

 

[Deeje]

From what I understand, (@Deeje, welcome to correct me), Jehova's witnesses do believe in both spiritual possession/attacks and relief granted through the prayers of the faithful. However, they don't believe in having specific rituals or specialized exorcists.

Jehovah's Witnesses acknowledge the activities of the demons who are more active than ever in their attempts to subvert the faith of Christians today as they face their eviction, along with their leader, satan the devil. (Revelation 12:7-12; Revelation 20:1-3)

Exorcisms, as performed by some of the charismatic churches are sometimes just a bit of dramatic showmanship IMO. Expelling demons was something performed by Jesus himself through the power of God's spirit...a power that is still 100% operative today, only not in association with these kinds of demonstrations. The healing of the sick that we see practiced in some of these churches in relatively recent times, have a very large failure rate, which did not happen in the first century. Every single person brought to Christ and his apostles were all 100% cured.
Most of the recent "cures" can be put down to the placebo effect....a phenomenon that science is yet to understand.

Matthew 4:23-24...after choosing the twelve......
"Then he [Jesus] went throughout the whole of Galʹi·lee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the Kingdom and curing every sort of disease and every sort of infirmity among the people. 24 And the report about him spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all those who were suffering with various diseases and torments, those who were demon-possessed and epileptic and paralyzed, and he cured them."

Luke 6:18-19...
"Even those troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd were seeking to touch him, because power was going out of him and healing them all."

The raising of the dead is not something we see today or it would be front page news and a healer would be located in every hospital and morgue around the world for people to benefit from those services. They took place for a time and for a reason.

And the expelling of demons still takes place today as the demons seek to gain their victims more so than ever because they know that their time is short.....we find that prayer is very powerful, as is the use of Jehovah's name......but its not just by possession that the demons are successful....in these times they are more subtle and entice people through graphically violent or sexually explicit entertainment that feeds bad attitudes and conduct in the privacy of one's own home. Supernatural themes are also prevalent in entertainment.

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that there are ways to avoid demon possession in the first place by not engaging in activities that invite them....namely spiritistic practices. All of the things that God warned his people about in Deuteronomy 18:9-12.

But if a demon possessed person wants to become a worshipper of Jehovah and the demons are harassing them, only prayer and a complete divorce from the aforementioned practices will allow God's spirit to do what it has always done for his people. There is no greater power. I can vouch for this through personal experience.

Other ways to avoid their influence is to refuse to watch or to be entertained by the violence or immorality that permeate our screens large and small. We cannot give them a foot in the door.