["Satan Hides in Paradise," Gustave Doré, in Paradise Lost ]
Satan's first and best tactic is to hide. He is most effective when he makes us believe that his awful and sickening influence comes from inside us. He wants us to think that his anger, torment, and hatred are part of who we are and to make us feel that we are beyond love and redemption.
Based on our experience with those who suffer demonic afflictions, we might identify seven common signs of the Evil One's hidden presence. They are:
*lethargy & fatigue
*nausea and headaches
*awful, sick feeling in the entire body
*exaggerated anger and bursts of rage
*evil spirit of division, distrust and conflict
*negative mental self-messages (e.g. "I am an awful person)
*exaggerated sexual temptations & intrusive blasphemous thoughts
Obviously, these seven symptoms often have natural causes. For example, most headaches and nausea have a bio-psychological cause. But when the Evil One is present, it is very common that people will have headaches, stomachaches, nausea, and a general sick feeling.
Similarly, during our online deliverance sessions, more than a few comment that after the prayers start, they are overcome with feelings of lethargy and fatigue. However, when I explicitly cast out demons of fatigue and lethargy, their symptoms often dissipate. And, of course, a hallmark of the presence of evil is a spirit of distrust, division and conflict.
Moreover, Satan often exploits our natural human weaknesses and exaggerates them, which makes them even more difficult to spot. For example, a person with a penchant for sexual temptations will be bombarded by the Evil One with intense sexual images and impulses, not realizing that Satan is fueling the person's normal weakness into a raging fire.
What to do? Whenever these ugly symptoms surface, people should first look for a natural cause and deal with it on the human level. However, if the evil symptoms might have a preternatural cause, especially if they come on suddenly and fiercely, then people might identify them as possibly coming from the Evil One and reject them. They might use the three R’s: "I reject them; I rebuke them; I renounce them, and in Jesus' holy name I cast them out.”
Once Satan’s presence is unmasked, it is much easier to deal with his ugly presence and demonic symptoms in a direct and effective way. When Satan is unmasked and can no longer hide, he is already well on the way to being defeated and cast out.
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