A DOUBLE PERSONALITY
A double personality means that there are two personalities or two masters within a man. This is different from the new man and the old man that we usually speak of. In a person who is seriously possessed by demons, we can clearly see the characteristic of a "double personality." When a person is possessed to the uttermost, others will sense that another brain is controlling him. He will do things that are contrary to his nature. His body will seem to be taken over by an external force. His nerves and muscles will stress, contract, and tremble involuntarily. His mouth will speak words that he does not know or scarcely knows, and his voice will seem to belong to another person. We can observe that the manifestation of demons comes and goes in many heathens who are demon-possessed. Before the demons "come," the person is quiet and normal, but when the demons "come," he immediately changes from his normal posture and acts like a madman. From this we can see one thing: when a man is possessed by demons, he has a double personality. In addition to his own person, there is another person within him who employs the various faculties of his soul and body. When demons are manifested, they nearly take over everything; all the activities belong to them, and man’s own personality is not active. Consequently, after the demons depart, many do not know what they did, spoke, or expressed when the demons were there. The reason for this is that the demons’ personality was acting; man’s own personality was not functioning. As a result, man’s personality does not know or is completely ignorant of what previously transpired.
However, the "manifestation" of demons is sometimes very refined. Quite often, demons make a man speak and behave like a normal human being. Actually, the demons’ personality is operating; man’s personality is left dormant. In this kind of manifestation, we are often misled to think that this is man’s work; we have difficulty realizing that it is the activity of demons. Only when demons behave abnormally can we discover a double personality in a person.
When believers are possessed by demons, there is also a double personality. Since the degrees to which they are possessed differ, the manifestations of a double personality also differ. Evil spirits surprisingly control every part of the being of those who are seriously deceived. They make believers tremble and burn, and they give them all kinds of strange feelings, casting them down to the floor, causing them to speak in unknown tongues, and putting voices in their ears that others have never heard and visions in their eyes that others have never seen. At the same time, these believers still can be very peaceful in their spirit and have fellowship with God. They are not discerning and assume that since they can contact God these manifestations must be from the Holy Spirit.
Little do they know that: (1) the Holy Spirit never takes over any part of man’s body and uses it on His behalf. When Paul saw the vision, he could still control himself and still speak on his own (Acts 9:5). When Peter saw the vision, his mind was also clear, and he was able to control himself (10:9-17). Even when John saw the vision, he was able to control himself. This is why he could write the book of Revelation. At first he fell on the ground because he could not withstand the Lord’s light of glory. After the Lord strengthened him, however, he rose up. He could remember what he had seen. This is unlike many today who claim that they have been knocked down to the ground by the Holy Spirit without knowing what they were doing and what they experienced while they were down.
(Spiritual Man, The (3 volume set), Chapter 36, by Watchman Nee)
