"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." Luke 11:24-26Here is a passage that many people do not understand. The reason for their lack of understanding? Failure to pay attention to the context surrounding it. In verse 14, Jesus was casting out a mute demon. After the mute man had spoke, some of the Jews accused Him of casting out the demon by the power of Satan. Jesus responds to them, "If I cast out demons by Satan, by whom do your sons cast them out?" The context of this passage is exorcism. So what is Jesus saying about the unclean spirit?
Jesus was exposing the work of phony exorcists, such as we read about in Acts 19:13-15. If such exorcisms could be accomplished via satanic power, then the pharisaical exorcists must be suspect as well. Clearly the sons of Sceva were charlatans and frauds. Jesus explains that what appears to be a true exorcism is nothing more than a temporary respite. Eventually the demon returns with seven others.
Here is a fact for our cultish Charismatic friends to learn: Christians cannot be possessed by demons! That is what Jesus' discussion of a strong man being plundered by a stronger man is teaching. The strong man is Satan. The stronger man is Jesus. When a demon is defeated by the power of Jesus, the soul is taken over by Jesus' spirit. When the Holy Spirit indwells a person, demons cannot indwell that person. The Holy Spirit is God Himself. Do Charismatics honestly think demons could reside and dwell in the same place as the thrice holy God?
This is why context is so important, and why you need a Bible that does not have the distractions of chapters and verses. Bibles with chapters and verses should only be used for reference tools, since that is why they were originally added in the first place. The Bible was originally intended to be read and did not contain chapters and verses. In order to understand it correctly, you should be reading and studying from a Bible without chapters and verses.