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"And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? " (Matthew 12:25-26).

Today, there are many "men of God" who perform miracles, including healing. (Healing here means those that have been scientifically and physically proven). Where I come from, women are more fond of these and often demand outright healings and miracles, and they do get what they want from these people who sometimes say and do things that seem questionable from a biblical respective.. Children are also healed of leprosy, blindness, name it.

Others also call themselves as spiritualists (not from God) who also interpret dreams and heal people. Please I know that these are not much heard of in the west although they may exist in different forms.

Question is, how do we apply the quotation above today as these "men of God" healers often cite it to buttress their claims?

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Your question has a simple answer if you change the definition of healing. By example, healing is when somebody finds own soul. – Iulian Nov 17 '12 at 9:50

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In context, the Pharisees are talking about Christ casting out a devil, not a healing.

Matt 12:22,24 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 24) But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub [Satan] the prince of the devils. (emphisis mine)

So the people at the time understood this man to be blind and dumb because of the devil and he was healed of that by casting out the devil. Hence why Christ talked about a divided house against itself since He was accused of casting the devil out by the power of Satan.

Satan has real power, and can counterfeit the works of Christ, especially when it comes to healing and the like. Which is why the context of being healed by the casting out of the devil is so important here. So just be aware of anyone that claims to heal and watch their fruits. Not just the big public displays like healing. Do they heal to bring people to Christ? Or for financial gain, or fame or something else? Do they preach of Christ and urge all to come unto Him? Do they claim to heal in Christs name or their own? These are some important questions to ask about anyone who claims to have any spiritual gift.

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I thought the man was afflicted because he was possessed with demons, hence healing him in this sense means casting out the demons. Could Jesus have done one thing and left the other? Are you saying that in this context, healing is different from casting out demons? – Nok Apr 27 '12 at 16:54
The man was afflicted because of possession. From what the Pharisees said and later what Christ said casting out the devil healed him of the blindness and of being dumb. So the one led to the other. – ryan Apr 27 '12 at 16:59
That is my point. So therefore we could say those who heal today with powers from questionable sources do cast out something, couldn't we? But anyway, +1 for your answer so far. – Nok Apr 27 '12 at 17:21
Oh now I see what your saying. My point is the opposite actually. I am saying that they could be using the power of the devil to heal. Where as Christ in this instance used His power to cast out and that resulted in a healing. If a person was possessed the possession could not be ended by someone without Christs power. That's what Christ is saying in the scripture you quoted – ryan Apr 27 '12 at 17:26
Does that mean my question isn't clear enough? – Nok Apr 27 '12 at 18:19
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Analogical place in Luke (11:14-28) have this context:

24 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”

That's the fruit of casting demons out without Jesus, or without accepting Jesus by the exorcised person. They may leave, but they will return and everything will be even worse. And often they will go even to the would-be exorcist. It is possible to cast out a demon without Jesus, but not for long.

My testimony should demonstrate the trickyness of fighting demons without Jesus Christ. Before my conversion, I used to be an occultist. Near the end of my occult period, I met a group that was cursed - several people felt strangling, without any apparent reason. One qirl among them broke this curse several times, but always someone else was cursed soon - the demons of the curse were just moving from one person to another, not really leaving. I become a target of this curse too, and tried to protect myself against it. I thought for a long time that I have been succesfull - only sometimes a weak sensation of touch on my neck appeared. Later, when I became Christian and realized my former "ways to God" like reiki were bad, this strangling curse awakened to full strengh. Thanks be to God - all demons are out now, after two years of infrequent exorcisms, and some are too far away to try to return. And what's best - I grow stronger and stronger in Holy Spirit, so the demons have no chance to return, despite temptation and haunting :-)

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