Are We Commanded To Cast Out Demons?

The examples that we see in the Bible of some casting out demons are the disciples / apostles and Jesus Himself.

Two questionable passages that are often used are these:

Mark 16:15-18 - 5 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. 18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

However, this particular ending in Mark appears to end at verse 8. Verses 9-20 do not appear in two of the most trustworthy manuscripts of the New Testament -- Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. These two oldest manuscripts are known to be the most accurate because there were fewer generations of copies from the original autographs (i.e., they are much closer in time to the originals), so then, since the oldest manuscripts do not contain vv. 9-20, we can conclude that these verses were added later by scribes. The King James Version of the Bible, as well as the New King James, contains vv. 9-20 because the King James used medieval manuscripts as the basis of its translation. Since 1611, however, older and more accurate manuscripts have been discovered and they affirm that vv. 9-20 were not in the original Gospel of Mark. Therefore, it is not wise to build a theology based on the spurious ending of the Gospel of Mark.

Next often used passage comes from Luke 10:19: “Look, I (Jesus) have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.”

A closer look at this passage shows that Jesus gave this authority to the seventy (10:1, 17 – a specifically chosen group of disciples of Jesus). This is not a promise for all believers especially in our present generation.

Furthermore, if you do take this to be a present day promise for all believers, then you have to also embrace the “authority to tread upon snakes” as well as the promise – “and nothing shall injure you” (v. 19). There is no cherry picking.

Rather, for the church, we are told to –

Submit to God and resist the devil – James 4:7

Put on the whole armor of God and stand against the schemes of the devil – Eph. 6:10-18

Be sober-minded and watchful – 1 Pet. 5:8

Test the spirits – 1 John 4:1-3

Set your mind on the things of the Spirit and not the flesh – Rom. 8:5-8

Crucify the flesh with its passion and desires – Gal. 5:24.

These are the promises and responsibilities the church needs to spend more time teaching believers about.

One more thing. In the Book of Revelation, when all hell breaks loose, you have an enormous amount of demonic activity taking place. Yet, you cannot find one instance where anyone on earth is performing an exorcism. The only exorcism that occurs takes place in heaven when Michael and his angels cast down to the earth the devil and his demons (Rev. 12:7-12).

This tells me that during the Tribulation Period of seven horrendous years, the only escape from the devil will be by, the Rapture of the Church, or death.