No Room for Dark Powers

Have a scriptural question? Write to Ben Witherington III at columnists@staff.Beliefnet.com.

In this column, Ben Witherington answers questions about the Bible and:

Demonic possession
The number 144,000
Ghosts
Women wearing pants
Severe weather

Q: I have a nephew who is 14. He has been told by other Christians that he has a demon in him. My question is can he have a demon in him as he declares he knows Jesus as his savior? I have searched the scriptures and cannot locate my answer. --Sherri

According to Christian theology, if a person is truly a Christian, then the Holy Spirit dwells within them and Christ is the Lord of their life. If this is the case, there is no room for demons. The powers of darkness can pester or bother Christians, but not dwell in them. Demonic possession is a form of lordship over the human soul, and there is no room for two lords in one soul. Thus if you are in Christ and Christ is in you, there can be no demonic possession, for greater is He who is in us than any of those dark powers.

Q: Is the number 144,000--used when speaking of the people that will come to Heaven--a specific number, or a number that symbolizes many people? --Anita

The number is clearly symbolic, as are other numbers in apocalyptic literature like Revelation. 144,000 is a multiple of 12, as in the twelve tribes or the twelve apostles. As such it symbolizes the whole people of God, however many actual numbers of them there may be.

Q: As Christians, should we believe in ghosts? Can they actually harm Christians if God is with them?

If by ghosts one means spirits of the dead, they do exist, as the story about Saul visiting the medium of Endor shows. But whether it is possible for them to haunt us or inhabit material spaces is another question. Nothing in the Bible suggests that such things can happen.

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