Where Have All the Impure Spirits Gone?

Last week I wrote an article about the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives if Christians today, particularly in the context of spiritual gifts. So naturally that got people thinking about demons or impure spirits. Here is an evangelical reflection on demons, deliverance, and some of our modern blind spots

One of the striking features of the New Testament—especially the Gospels and Acts—is how often Jesus and his apostles confront impure spirits (or demons, depending on what translation of the Bible you use). Whether in the synagogue, in the streets, or in the wilderness, demonic forces are shown to be active, vocal, and violently opposed to the kingdom of God. Yet many Christians today look at their own experience and wonder:

Where is all that now?
Have the demons disappeared?
Are we simply blind?
Or were these accounts really describing what we would now call mental or physical illnesses?

These are fair and important questions that can have significant pastoral implications for the lives of many people. As Christians I think we can have confidence and offer a biblically faithful and pastorally grounded way of addressing such questions.

1. Scripture Is Clear: The Spirits Back Then Were Real

First, we must not evade the obvious: the New Testament speaks of demons not as metaphors or cultural misunderstandings, but as real personal beings.

Jesus spoke to them and they spoke back. He gave authority to his disciples to cast out demons which you see continued in the book of Acts (e.g., Acts 8:7; 16:16–18; 19:11–16).

The Bible never suggests that Jesus confused epilepsy with demonisation or that the apostles misdiagnosed schizophrenia. Instead, the Gospels deliberately distinguish between ordinary illnesses and demonic activity (e.g., Matt. 4:24; Mark 1:32–34).

That must be the foundation that we start with as we approach this topic – demonic spirits were real then, and they remain real now.

2. Why Doesn’t the Western Church See the Same Manifestations Today?

But then the question must be, why don’t we see much of that same activity today in the West? This is where the question becomes more complicated—not because Scripture is unclear, but because human experience is varied. There are a few things we must bear in mind;

– Satan’s Tactics Are Contextual

I would say, from my evangelical perspective and a big fan of Reformed theology, that it is understandable that the enemy adjusts his strategies. Calvin noted that Satan varies his methods according to time and place. C. S. Lewis (not Reformed, but helpful in some things) observed that the devil is just as pleased with superstition as with secular disbelief.

In a secular, materialistic culture like the modern West, I don’t think that overt demonisation would be Satan’s most effective weapon. Instead, he works more subtly – through unbelief, ideological captivity, addictions, distortions of identity, and cultural darkness.

In cultures where the supernatural worldview is already dominant, overt spiritual manifestations are far more common. Modern missionaries affirm this consistently.

– Western Blindness and Reductionism

We must also admit: we may simply be blind.

For two centuries the West has been discipled in large not by the early church but by the Enlightenment. Generally speaking, we have in part banished the supernatural from our categories of diagnosis. Everything becomes medicalised, psychologised, or dismissed as a mythic worldview.

This does not mean all mental illness is demonic—far from it. But I would argue that it does mean Christians can become too quick to assume nothing spiritual is ever involved.

– The Church’s Retreat From the Ministry of Deliverance

Throughout much of evangelical history, the church has been cautious—sometimes rightly, sometimes excessively. Fears of charismatic extremes sometimes led to the opposite error: ignoring the entire category of spiritual oppression altogether. Conservative Christians can be especially wary of anything that feels like spiritual spectacle. Yet the same Jesus who teaches justification by faith also commands his followers to “resist the devil” and equips his church with spiritual authority.

So how do we confront our blind spots? I would argue that we need to see a balanced, biblical, and sober ‘ministry of spiritual discernment’ as part of ordinary Christian discipleship, not a fringe activity. We need teach people the reality of Satan’s schemes, whilst not looking for them behind everything that happens in our lives or in the world. We need the Holy Spirit’s help and discernment from God.

3. Were Biblical Demonic Encounters Really Mental Illness?

This is one of those questions that most Christians have asked, or been asked at one time or another. Some modern scholars would argue this to be the case, but the biblical text does not permit it.

The New Testament distinguishes the two categories:
Jesus heals diseases
Jesus casts out demons.
Sometimes both occur in the same person—but they are treated differently.

An evangelical view of this must acknowledge:
Mental illness is real.
Physical illness is real.
Demonic influence is also real.
And the categories can overlap without being identical.

The Bible does not collapse all suffering into demonisation, but neither does it reduce everything to biology. The church must avoid both extremes.

4. So What Should Christians Believe and Do Today?

Well if you’re looking for all the answers, I’m afraid I don’t have them, but I can give you some tips and hopefully some encouragement.

– Expect the Reality of Spiritual Warfare

Ephesians 6 doesn’t assume a first-century world that vanished. Paul anchors spiritual warfare in the unchanging reality of the church’s life “in the evil day” (Eph. 6:13). Nothing in the text suggests this would cease before Christ returns. We shouldn’t be so afraid of Satan and his works that we hide away scared, but we also shouldn’t be naive to the spiritual battle that the Lord’s people face every day.

– Maintain a Biblical Balance

Christians must try to avoid going to extremes. We shouldn’t be so sceptical that we deny any possibility of demonic activity, but also not so ‘inventive’ to make everything an ‘attack from satan’.

Not every illness, bad outcome or bad situation is demonic.
Not every sin, or consequence of sin is demonic.
But some oppression is real, and Scripture prepares us for it.

– Recover the Practice of Discernment and Prayer

The ordinary means of grace—preaching, prayer, sacraments, fellowship, repentance, and the Word—are the main tools God has given his people to resist the enemy. Demons flee where Christ is exalted, truth is proclaimed, and holiness is pursued. Deliverance is not a special “power” ministry, or the main focus of God’s people gathering together, but it is part of normal pastoral care when genuinely needed.

– Keep Christ at the Centre

The main point of Jesus’ encounters with demons is not the demons, It is Christ’s authority. He has already bound the strong man. He has disarmed the powers. He leads His people in triumph. If our focus is taken off of Christ and instead is on demonic activity, then we’re distracted from the very one we claim to serve. Our focus is never on the darkness but on the light that has already overcome it.

So, where does this leave us? Well, I would say, the spirits haven’t disappeared—but neither has Christ.

Yes, impure spirits were a significant part of Jesus’ and the apostles’ ministry. No, they have not vanished. But the shape of spiritual conflict may look different today, especially in the secular West.

To have a truly Biblically informed view of the demonic activity in the world, we must hold a robust belief in the reality of spiritual evil, a sober avoidance of emotionalism and hyperbolic stories, and an unshakable confidence in Christ’s supremacy.

Demons are real—but Jesus is Lord. That was true in Galilee, in Acts, and remains true in the world today.