© 2023 Claude Flibotte
© 2023 Urantia Association of Quebec
Claude Flibotte
Sainte-Julie
During a recent meeting of the “Découverte” study group led by Line StPierre and Gaétan Charland, we discussed the power that Jesus had to cast out demons from the unstable minds of certain individuals. This discussion originated from reading the following quote where it is said that even the seventy messengers trained by Jesus had succeeded in doing the same during their first preaching tour from Magadan.
When the seventy related how “even the devils were subject” to them, they referred to the wonderful cures they had wrought in the cases of victims of nervous disorders. Nevertheless, there had been a few cases of real spirit possession relieved by these ministers, and referring to these, Jesus said: “It is not strange that these disobedient minor spirits should be subject to you, seeing that I beheld Satan falling as lightning from heaven. But rejoice not so much over this, for I declare to you that, as soon as I return to my Father, we will send forth our spirits into the very minds of men so that no more can these few lost spirits enter the minds of unfortunate mortals. I rejoice with you that you have power with men, but be not lifted up because of this experience but the rather rejoice that your names are written on the rolls of heaven, and that you are thus to go forward in an endless career of spiritual conquest.” (UB 163:6.2)
When reading this text, the first thought that comes to mind is to say that we too could have this power to drive out demons if it were still possible today! Because we know that since the outpouring of the Spirit of Truth and the withdrawal of rebellious spirits from our planet, these events are no longer possible except for the cases concerning Caligastia and his acolyte Daligastia still present on Urantia. However, I believe that this first impression needs more reflection in order to put the thread of events into context and find a valid explanation.
¶ Jesus has this power by his nature and function!
It is evident that Jesus, a divine creator Son, holds by his nature and function in his own universe certain powers and an indisputable authority inherited from his divine parents, the Universal Father and the Eternal Son. The beings described as demons whose presence he cast out in certain individuals were, as we could say, his own children since the indigenous beings of the universe of Nebadon are descended from the creation of this Creator Son and the Creative Daughter. When Jesus spoke to them, these evil beings clearly recognized in him the authority of their own creator. This is undoubtedly the case with the boy from whom he cast out a demon as related in the quote UB 153:4.1.
“You know who I am; get out of him; I will assign one of your loyal companions to see that you do not return.”
¶ The apostles fail in their attempt!
We know from the story given to us in booklet UB 158:4.6 and 7 that the apostles Simon Zealots, Judas Iscariot and Andrew failed in their attempt to cast out a demon from the son of James of Safed. How is it that Jesus was able to cast out demons and his apostles failed miserably? The answer is found in the speech he addressed to them that same evening in the garden of Celsus:
“…nor can you do spiritual work in the absence of spiritual power. And you can do neither of these, even when their potential is present, without the existence of that third and essential human factor, the personal experience of the possession of living faith…” (UB 158:6.4)
The words in bold are mine, and they are of capital importance to understand the skills necessary for the accomplishment of this mission and the reasons for the failure of the apostles. It is obvious that Simon, Judas and Andrew are not divine Creator Sons like Jesus. On the other hand, their master tells them that in man resides a certain potential spiritual power that could have accomplished this work. However, there is an extremely difficult condition to achieve, one must have a living faith, a faith motivated by a pure heart without ulterior motives of personal glory totally dedicated to doing the will of the Father who is in heaven. Obviously, these poor apostles did not have the necessary conditions to accomplish such a miracle and the result could only be a resounding failure.
¶ An event that must be taken into account!
In order to understand how certain messengers had succeeded in casting out demons, we must go back in time to understand the missing piece of this puzzle. We know that Jesus defeated Caligastia on Mount Hermon during his forty-day stay just before his baptism by John the Baptist (UB 134:8.6). This means that our Planetary Prince, the leader of the rebellion on our planet, had practically lost his status as Prince of this world. It was in these words that Jesus addressed Caligastia to tell him what would happen next and the consequences that would follow:
“May the will of my Paradise Father prevail, and you, my rebellious son, may the Ancients of Days judge you divinely. I am your Creator-father; I can hardly judge you justly, and my mercy you have already spurned. I commit you to the adjudication of the Judges of a greater universe.” (UB 134:8.7)
This is precisely what happened in high places, for it is recorded that Satan, Lucifer’s associate, shortly before Jesus’ death, attempted to participate in a conclave on Edentia and found no place to stand UB 43:4.9… He was unanimously rejected by the assembled System Sovereigns, and it was then that the Son of Man “saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
Two other quotes relate this fall of Satan as well as, without a doubt, the disgrace of Caligastia and Lucifer see UB 53:8.3 and UB 163:6.2
¶ So how did the messengers succeed where the apostles failed?
Considering the decision of the high judges to remove Caligastia, all the rebellious beings still present on Urantia knew that they were no longer bound to obey the orders of the fallen Prince, their cause being lost in advance. Without a doubt, the motives of unlicensed freedom advocated by the Lucifer Manifesto and implemented by Caligastia on Urantia were no longer valid to supposedly liberate men and angels. The authority of their leader having been flouted, these evil spirits were now free to do as they pleased on the surface of the earth.
Jesus’ acknowledgment of Caligastia’s sin on Mount Hermon had now been four years in the making. Between the time the apostles attempted to cast out a demon and the time the messengers did so, approximately five months elapsed. Could it be that the judgment on high was received and known on Urantia between these two events? If so, it may make a great difference in the motivation of the rebellious spirits to continue their misdeeds. It is well known that an army deprived of the orders and presence of its general-in-chief becomes disorganized and uncontrollable. Therefore, without a leader of any authority, apart from the sick pleasure of controlling a defenseless human being, what is the use of continuing these foolish activities if a human being invested with some authority, motivated by a sufficient degree of faith, claiming to be a worthy representative of the sovereign power of the Creator of the local universe, commands the demon to release the victim immediately? This could explain the success of the messengers and the earlier failure of the apostles.
Finally, would we have the power to cast out a demon?
To answer this question, we must take into consideration the three requirements mentioned by Jesus! First, we must have spiritual power, second, this power must be potential in the exorcist, and finally, we must have the experience of true living faith. It is up to you to judge whether you possess these three conditions!