"Three American friends hospitalised after becoming 'possessed' following Ouija board game in Mexican village" Updated

Updated to include new Answers in Genesis link at bottom

UK Daily Mail reporting today

Three American friends have been taken to hospital after reportedly becoming 'possessed' by evil spirits while playing with a Ouija board. Alexandra Huerta, 22, was playing the game with her brother Sergio, 23, and 18-year-old cousin Fernando Cuevas at a house in the village of San Juan Tlacotenco in south-west Mexico. But minutes into it, she apparently started 'growling' and thrashing around in a 'trance-like' state. Meanwhile, Sergio and Fernando also reportedly started showing signs of 'possession', including feelings of blindness, deafness and hallucinations. Paramedics were called to the house and took the trio to hospital, according to Alexandra's parents.

'They had involuntary movements and it was difficult to transfer them to the nearest hospital because they were so erratic. 'It appeared as if they were in a trance-like state, apparently after playing with the Ouija board. 'They spoke of feeling numbness, double vision, blindness, deafness, hallucinations, muscle spasm and difficulty swallowing.'

Alexandra's parents said they had called paramedics after a local Catholic priest refused to perform an exorcism on the three because they were not regular churchgoers.

Screen shot from Daily Mail video. Note her clenched hand
and severe restraints. She was alternately growling and laughing

As for the priest refusing to help, it reminded me of this,

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ... Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” (Luke 10:29-31; 36-37)

Demon possession was frequent in the day of Jesus' incarnation. He cleansed the land by healing and performing miracles and by freeing people of demons. The people of that day knew demons were real and they were all around. (Matthew 4:24, Matthew 8:16, Matthew 15:22, Mark 1:23, Mark 5:16) & etc.).

Undoubtedly they were more frequent during that time because satan opposes Jesus and during the time of His incarnation they would want to oppose him strongly. They knew what was what. (Matthew 8:29).

But demons are real and so is the spirit world. In the Old Testament we read of the magicians who could match miracle for miracle the ones Moses did, to a point. (Exodus 7:9-13).

The very fact that demons can enter human or animal bodies shows they can pass through barriers that would restrict human beings. . . . Demons are not humans; neither are they God. But they are superhuman with superior intelligence and experience and powers. To deny the existence of demons is not skepticism; it only displays ignorance. To be unrealistic about their power is foolhardy. ~ Charles Ryrie,  Basic Theology (Chicago: Moody, 1999), p. 186

In the New Testament we read of a demon possessed slave girl who could read fortunes and in so doing had made a lot of money for her masters. (Acts 16:16).

But there the demon possession stops. Right?

Not so fast.

It happened in the Old Testament. It happened in the New Testament. Does it actually happen today? It is my belief that it does. After reading the account of the legion of demons being sent into the pigs of Gadara, S. Lewis Johnson said in his sermon The Present Activity of the Great Dragon and His Demons

And this calls, I think, for a separate consideration of the question of the demons and demon possession. And so, tonight we are going to devote our time of study to the question of demons and demon possession. That such a thing exists is clear to all who accept the Bible. And I began tonight by reading these passages so that you would have no question in your mind but that the Bible speaks of demons and demon possession. Now, regardless of what we may think about it, we will have to agree that the Bible speaks of demons and it speaks of demon possession. And it speaks of demon possession as something different from insanity. It is not just an ancient way of referring to a modern phenomenon as some have attempted to say. It is a very real thing, apparently, and it is something different from insanity. So, the Bible speaks about demon possession.

Now, does it exist in modern times? Capitol D – In modern times. Now, there is no question but that some restraint exists over the activities of the demons outwardly in Christian lands. I would rather think that this is an expression of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2 in verse 7 in which the Apostle Paul refers to the fact that there is a “restrainer” in the present time who is restraining the manifestation of the man of sin. And so, there is restraint of sin today. And it is done, apparently, in order that the work of God may be carried out to its certain conclusion.

But, even though there is restraint, I personally feel that on the basis of the evidence that we possess that it can be said that demonic activity, demonic possession does exist today. It exists, often, as it is manifested in spiritualistic phenomena. We only have to think of Bishop Pike and his beliefs and practices with regard to the spirit world to see a manifestation of it, in my opinion.

I have the same opinion. I believe actual demon possession occurs today. I would venture to guess that because of Jesus' triumph of the cross, and having made a spectacle of the demons and of satan, (Colossians 2:15) they are MORE intent than ever on grabbing as many souls as possible.

In the book "War on the Saints", the authors speak of possession this way, as having three possibilities.

"The needed degree for ground given to an evil spirit in order to possess, cannot be clearly defined, but that there is-
1. sin without evil possession
2. sin which opens the door to possession
3. sin which is unmistakably the result of possession

The bible is extremely clear that active involvement of any of the supernatural divination such as fortune telling, seeking to speak with the dead, summoning spirits, spell casting, astrology, or any other type of such activity, is strictly banned. Do not do it.

Planchette from 1920s-1930s

Ouija (wee-gee) is a 'game'; where people place their fingertips on a heart shaped piece called a planchette  that hovers on short legs over a game board. The board has letters, numbers, a few words, like 'yes' or 'no' and also some symbols. The seekers prepare the space, say an incantation, and ask a question to the spirits, and supposedly the heart shaped piece moves of its own accord over each letter, spelling out an answer.

The practice of it has been going on for a long time. In Hosea 4:12 we read that the pagans and even the Israelites used to ask questions of a piece of wood, a divining rod as it were (much like today when supernatural people use a diving rod to find water. The rod is held over the land and the piece of wood supposedly leads them to water and then quivers over the spot when it finds it.) Divination simply means seeking knowledge or attempting to gain insight by asking it of the divine realms. Diviners are trying to gain knowledge that is purposely hidden,

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Attempting to gain information by going around God instead of to God is a disobedience of the highest order. In addition, everything He wants to be revealed to us is already revealed, in the bible.

There is only one way to seek supernatural knowledge safely, and that is to read the bible, where the only true information from the Divine and about the Divine comes from. Anyway, here is Hosea 4:12,

My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner's wand informs them; For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, And they have played the harlot, departing from their God.

And there is the main point- when one is involved in any of the above-forbidden activities such as divination, one is NOT seeking God, but seeking satan, the one who opposes God. You are making a choice to depart from God. Therefore, adhering to only the knowledge God gave us is mandatory. Entering the realms of the demons means a person will be deceived, or worse. The demons could possess.

John MacArthur preached on Demons and Magic. He spent a good deal of time laying out examples from the then-culture (1973), including the origins of the massively successful best seller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach. Bach said many times that he was delivered the book by a force that took him over and whispered it to him. (Exactly like Sarah Young in Jesus Calling and Beth Moore in When Godly People Do Ungodly Things). MacArthur said,

Now, all of that I'm only saying so that you understand that this whole thing of the demonic activity is not something to laugh off, and it's not something to poopah. It's something very real, very active...Demons are active in what they're communicating on paper. They're active in what they're doing through black magic, through white magic. They're working in religion. They're working everywhere. Why? Because in the universe, there's a basic conflict. God is supernatural, but so is Satan. Satan is not as powerful as God, but he is nevertheless supernatural. He is beyond our senses, and he is doing everything he can to capture men, and if he can work supernatural wonders to hold men captive, he'll do it.

Engaging in such a forbidden sin as divination is a sin that opens the door to possession. When one engages in it if they are not a Christian, things go from bad to worse pretty quickly.

The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. ~Matthew HenryReturn of an Unclean Spirit
"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 11:24-26)

Salvation is the only protection from possession! Become the Lord Jesus Christ's treasured possession today.

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; (Exodus 19:5)

We Christians are grafted in to that treasure held so dear by our God.

It breaks my heart to read of children and young adults such as the three Americans in Mexico overcome by such deep evil. It is a cold and dark and lonely place to be, drowning in the depths of sins, with no future ahead unless they become saved by the grace of Jesus. The salvation by the grace of Jesus IS the universe's mightiest rescue!


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Further reading


Believers cannot be possessed (Q&A Joihn MacArthur)

The Dangers of Divination, by Bob Dewway

Can drug use cause demonic possession?(Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry)

Can a Christian use an Ouija board? (Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry)

What are Ouija boards? Should a Christian play with Ouija boards?" (GotQuestions)

Toys'R'Us promoting new ouija board for girls (2010) (The End Time)

Do You Believe in Ghosts (Answers in Genesis)