Question from a reader:

I know a true follower of Jesus Christ, who passed away and shared with me a few days before passing that she saw demons by her hospital bed. She wasn’t afraid but looked confused. I told her to pray to Jesus, and I rebuked them in His name. This has always bothered me because she was a believer and knew Jesus. Can you shed some light and truth from God’s Word on this?

Answer from Stephanie Anderson, EPM staff:

It’s so difficult to say. Could medication have been involved? Or perhaps in her weakened state she experienced some hallucinations? Or might she have been given some glimpse of a spiritual reality? Certainty, if you’ve read Randy’s books Lord Foulgrin’s Letters, The Ishbane Conspiracy, Edge of Eternity, or The Chasm, you know that Randy believes there is a biblical basis for understanding that spiritual warfare exists all around us: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). (See What Role Can Satan and Demons Have in the Life of a Believer?)

It seems a comfort, though, to know that your friend didn’t appear afraid. I’m sure that was a gift to both of you that you were able to pray with her and remember that Jesus is more powerful than anything or anyone else in the universe. “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them [spirits who do not confess Jesus], because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4, NIV).