Fixing Christianity (Exorcist growl) One dose at a time---Que the intro:
MUSIC INTRO
Welcome to Christian capsules Season 2 Capsule #4
All scripture is read from NASB 95 Edition.
Please subscribe to Christian Capsules via your favorite podcast players.
We are on all of them; Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart etc.
Today we are talking about Demon Possession,
I know I did a Demonology and Witchcraft Capsule last season, but that was meant as a mini capsule. That was by no means the end all/ be all. In fact, there is much, much more to cover. So today I am revisiting the demonology topic/ kinda; as it relates in particular to the Ethan Crumbley Case.
The shooter, Ethan Crumbley is doing life in prison for a mass school shooting in Michigan. The shooter, Ethan, also plead guilty and said and I quote “I’m a bad person.”
Now I have followed his case for a bit, and I have reasoned that Ethan was a victim of demonic possession. Trust me, I do not say this lightly. But I do believe Ethan, the Michigan school shooter was possessed by unclean spirit/s.
Now how do I arrive at that? Well, like I mentioned in the Demonology Capsule, I have studied this for years, read many books, had a few experiences; plus combined with the Holy Spirit and unclean activity becomes apparent.
--------
Ethan had common traits of being possessed. Now forget what you have seen in movies, there have only been 3 or so movies that I have seen that even come close to getting it right.
Possession isn’t about heads spinning, pea soup vomit, beds jumping around or only little girls getting inhabited.
Possession is far more sinister; its deliberate and horrifying.
---------
Demonic possession is often times under the radar or mistaken for a mental health crisis.
Its designed to isolate the potential host and make them seem like they are going crazy.
This has happened to Ethan Crumbley.
------------------
Ethan wrote in his personal journal the words “help me” right alongside words like kill them all or “I’m seeing demons”.
Personal feelings:
Ethan was experiencing a crisis and he tried to ask for help.
I feel bad for him.
Because as a youth, does he even really know what was going on with himself? Where was his parents in all of this? How does a person so young handle temptation that strong with Christian roots?
Demonic activity
Let’s move to his text messages. Ethan texted anyone who would listen that he was having a spiritual crisis. He texted his mother that he was sure he was having demonic encounters.
Once he texted his mother and said he thought it was her walking around the house and going in and out the bathroom, while in fact it was the demon. In another instance, he saw supernatural activities such as dishes being tossed about the kitchen.
Ethan told his parents that he was having spiritual encounters. He also shared much of that with his friend. So much so, that his best friend, his only friend, developed mental health issues and had to be sent out of state to a facility to deal with it, just days before the shooting.
Ethan at times was not in control of his actions. He was like a person looking out from behind a mirror, watching himself do, say and write terrible things.
Mental Health angle
Now I know that the courts and maybe most people would say its mental health and I can see how would come to this conclusion. It’s logical, reasonable, and likely; especially if you don’t understand the spiritual realm; if you don’t understand that there is another layer to this world; and that there are forces, powers that are battling to eradicate humans. Without that knowledge or understanding then what other conclusion could one come to?
Warning Signs
Let’s talk about the things Ethan was suffering from. I have already mentioned that he was seeing demonic activity play out in front of him by way of dishes moving, manifestations moving about the home. But those were things that he experienced later, closer to the shooting. Earlier, Ethan was suffering from many bouts of depression, hearing voices, extreme loneliness. Ethan documented all of this in his journal, text messages and drawings on school assignments.
However, the biggest question is. What led up to this? What led Ethan to be possessed? Now we can point to low points in his life, like his mother becoming more and more absent in his life because she was preoccupied with her affair and horses, or we can point to his grandmother’s death or perhaps we can say maybe the friend being shipped away led to it.
Those things are factors worth considering, but the major thing was his parents buying him that Ouija board for Christmas. Now, some would say it’s a toy or whatever. And while it’s definitely not on the level of a spell book, it is not a toy. In fact, here is my public announcement; please leave the tarot cards, Ouija boards, spell books and the grimoires alone. Nothing good can come from those things; only evil.
A Ouija Board can still initiate contact and provoke demons to answer your invitation. We can invite demons upon ourselves by doing stupid things like playing with Ouija boards and reading grimoires out loud. Certain curiosities such as dealing with fortune tellers, tarot cards, the kabbalah and occult materials are all invitational tools. But also, things like residing in habitual sin or hitting low lows in life without spiritual assistance can be a magnet for celestial beings. Let me also be clear, demons don’t really need intricate reasons to jump you. Sometimes they just enjoy infecting the curious, weak.
Christians
I should mention as a side note that True Christians, the ones that gave their life to Christ and made Him their Lord have the Holy Spirit residing in them and therefore cannot be possessed, we can be harassed, but not occupied by demons.
Back to Ethan
Now, Ethans possession was incredibly rapid, and no amount of mental health help would have helped him. The Ouija board opened the door. Then came the death of a loved one, the absentee parents, the friend leaving, depression and loneliness which left Ethan open and available. Once attacked, Ethan was then subjected to temptation and obsession. We know this from his temptation to kill and his fascination with guns.
Why Ethan
So, the next big question is why? What did the unclean spirit/s want from Ethan? In this case, those powers wanted to destroy the lives of as many people as it could. Then they leave throw away Ethan, leaving his life destroyed in the process.
And that is what those principalities want, they want to see Jesus cry. And that is accomplished by destroying the things that God loves, which is us.
This one possession utterly demolished the lives of dozens of people; the victims, the family of the victims, the parents of the shooter, the first responders, the school staff, other students, the lawyers, the judge and the jury, to name only a few. And I didn’t even mention the fact that some individuals may not have gotten saved before death.
And this is only one way a possession can wreck the lives of many. There are countless other ways that demons can obliterate human lives. While there are many factors in other shooting cases that make the case for mental health challenges, this case was not those cases. Please if you are experiencing any of the issues that Ethan suffered from or know somebody that is, get a person you know is a true Christian and put them in their lives.
My name is Jermaine and Ill take to you later.
Outro Music