The Return of the Unseen War

Why Martyn Lloyd-Jones Said We Must Learn About Demon Possession

In our modern age, it may seem strange—even unnecessary—to study the subject of demon possession. Some dismiss it as outdated or irrelevant to contemporary Christian life. But as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argued powerfully in Not Against Flesh and Blood, this subject is not only important—it’s essential.

1. Because It’s in the Bible

“Anything that is in the Scriptures is important for us. If you feel that any part of the Scriptures has nothing to say to you, then there is something seriously wrong with you.”

Lloyd-Jones warns us: if we pick and choose the parts of Scripture we prefer, we may not only be immature—we may be spiritually unawakened. The subject of demon possession appears in the Gospels, the book of Acts, and even the Old Testament. Paul addresses it directly in Ephesians 6, placing it in his final and climactic section on spiritual warfare.

To ignore this topic is to ignore part of God’s revealed Word. And to do that, Lloyd-Jones says, is to remain “a babe, an infant.”

2. Because It Helps Us Read the Bible Correctly

“Nobody can really read the Bible—the four Gospels particularly—in an intelligent manner who does not know something about this vital subject.”

The life and ministry of Jesus were saturated with direct confrontations with demonic forces. Without a biblical understanding of the unseen realm, many of Christ’s actions seem confusing or merely symbolic. But Jesus wasn’t just healing the body—He was conquering spiritual powers.

And this isn’t limited to the Gospels. The Bible’s entire storyline, from Genesis to Revelation, unfolds within the context of a cosmic conflict between God’s kingdom and the powers of darkness.

To miss that is to misread the Bible.

3. Because It’s Historical, Not Just Biblical

“Devil possession had great prominence in the Middle Ages and was a very real problem at that time.”

Lloyd-Jones urges us to consider history. For centuries, Christians in Europe and beyond encountered demonic activity as a serious issue. He even notes that “some of the most terrible abuses of the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages came in directly as the result of devil possession.”

Even if modern minds scoff at such claims, the record of history says otherwise.

4. The Danger Today

“In an age like this, there is the awful and terrible danger of a recurrence of devil possession.”

We might assume that science, psychology, and education have shielded us from demonic activity. But Lloyd-Jones flips that assumption on its head.

He writes:

“When education becomes purely secular and denies the Bible entirely and denies God and becomes atheistical… it is not sufficient to withstand the onslaught of these evil powers.”

Our culture may appear sophisticated, but it is also deeply godless—morally bankrupt, spiritually experimental, and increasingly hostile to Scripture. People are dabbling with witchcraft, flirting with spiritism, and openly mocking the sacred.

And that, Lloyd-Jones warns, is the kind of environment where demonic forces thrive.

A Call to Wake Up

The Church must not sleep. This is not a remote or theoretical issue. This is our issue.

We are living in a time of increasing darkness. But our response is not fear—it is faith and readiness. We must reclaim a biblical worldview of the spiritual realm and stand firm in the authority of Christ.

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.”(Ephesians 6:12)

Let us not be unaware. Let us not be unarmed. Let us stand.

Share this if you believe the Church needs to recover biblical clarity about spiritual warfare.

All quotes from Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Not Against Flesh and Blood (Function Press)

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