Must a person give permission to an evil spirit before the evil spirit could possess them?

Question

Dear Gramps,

My niece watched the movie “The Exorcism of Rose Lee” (Hope i have the title right.) She’s concerned about being possessed or how that happens. A friend told her there was a scripture in the Bible about a person having to give permission to an evil spirit before it could possess them. Any helps or ideas for her?

LuAnn

Answer

Dear LuAnn,

Imagine the powerful effect our current entertainment has on the minds of our young people. It used to be that if you read it in a book it had to be true. Now if those who are not fully mature see it in a movie or on the television screen they believe it to be a representation of the world around them. But those representations are all two-dimensional depictions of fantasy. In earlier times we would have called them fairy tales. The stuff we see today on the screen is in the same category as Santa Claus, with this exception, that Santa Claus is a moral character.

I can only imagine where your niece’s friend got the notion that evil spirits can’t possess a person without that person’s permission. Who would give permission for such a thing as that??

Encourage your niece to go the source of all truth–the words of the Prophets and the holy scriptures. Have her ask her friend to show her the Bible verses that would say that permission for possession must be given. Then encourage her to spend her time in the scriptures rather than in the movies.

Gramps