The Exorcist's Bestiary

“Demon, in the name of Jesus tell us your name,” I commanded.

My participant stared at the wall with confusion.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“There’s a name being written on the wall,” they responded.

I glanced at the wall but saw nothing, realizing the demon was revealing its name in an open vision. Its name was a transliterated Greek word used once in the New Testament. As often happens, we could trace the themes in the person’s life to the demon’s name and the Bible passage the word was used in.

This demon was different from most of the others I’ve encountered. It never really spoke when it was addressed (or at least never spoke directly), nor did it ever really reveal itself directly in the participant’s imagination (or at least reveal itself directly).

Different demons have different capabilities, just like humans do. Some like to believe that if you use the right phrase and have faith, you’ll get whatever information you want out of a demon without struggle—as though exorcism is magic or spellcasting. But that has not been my experience. While phrasing and faith are important to exorcism, we can end up in some very dangerous situations if we do not account for demonic variations. Demons have hierarchies, and some are much stronger than others. We do not overcome them with words alone.

We must remember that the disciples were not always able to cast demons out with the same tactics they had used on others. Jesus had to teach them a different way at least once. We must be wise and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. He will help us get rid of anything we come across.