“When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ “And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. “Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

Based on these words of Jesus Himself, we are forced to the conclusion that, yes, a man once delivered from demons can be re-possessed, as it were, and even to a greater degree.

I think of the man to whom Jesus said, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come to you,” and the woman, “Go… and sin no more.”

The spirit world is very real, though we do not like to talk about it, lest we be labeled “charismatic” or even “charismaniac.” It is arguable, this thing of the gifts of the Spirit, and I will not take up that argument at present except to agree that so much of what is going on “out there” is pretty whacko, un-Biblical, unspiritual.

But I think I am in common company when I say that demons still exist in our world. We think of them as “tempters” as in C.S. Lewis’ classic Screwtape Letters. But for some, they are more. The stories emerge constantly of manifestations of demons in places where the Gospel has never been, and where the territory is still being held by Satan at his darkest.

The question then. If Jesus is the deliverer from such, and He is, and showed Himself to be when He walked among us, how is it possible for a demon, once exorcised, to be emboldened to return when Jesus said “Go”?

We take it that demons are literalists. They interpret words exactly. Jesus said “Go.” But when did He say, “Don’t return” ?

The incident above seems to tell us that the return depends on the one delivered.

I think it is fair to say that those who are mentioned in Scripture as having been set free from demonic possession are, none of them, Christian. Saved. Bound for Heaven. Like a mosquito trying to get near a person covered with repellant, the Enemy cannot penetrate the aroma of Heaven that exudes from the man full of the Holy Spirit.

And that, I believe, is the point of this story. And I take it, that this is not just a “parable.” It sounds like a very realistic occurrence of repeatable fact in the spirit world. Demons look for good places to live. Their real home is the pit of Hell, the “abyss”. They are glad to be anywhere but there. However, when they can move up a notch, they will.

And so the episode begins with a cast-out devil looking for a place to rest. His ego tells him that the body in which he had lived before was actually his own house, by right. The one who cast him out, perhaps a disciple of Jesus, did not give him clear direction. So, why not attempt to go where he had been?

When he arrives at the scene, perhaps days or weeks later, a welcome sight: A sign hanging on the door of this “house” that says “space available.”

Here is the tragedy of those experimenting with exorcism who know nothing of salvation and the filling of the Spirit, and yes that is possible! Jesus will say “I never knew you” to a whole host of people who dabbled in the miraculous but had no ongoing relationship with Jesus (Matthew 7).

The man had been delivered. What a happy day! Satanic bondage is so awful. A disease. A condition. A habit. Sin. The word was spoken in power, and the controlling demon had to go. The happy man put his life in order. Did what he saw other “good” people doing. Dressed well. Showed up in church. Joined the choir (yes, some churches still have choirs!). Treated people better. Became a model citizen. All on his own.

But he never filled the vacancy left by the demon. He was headed for disaster and did not know it. The demon sees the empty heart, the cleaned up life and says, Hey! Now there’s room for me and all my friends too. He has entered into self-respect, self-sufficiency, ingratitude, and a host of other “good” sins. He has become “respectable.” What a nice house this will be to ravage.

We draw the curtain there. The ending is not a happy one. The warning is clear.