Demons vs Strongholds

Here’s the quick-and-dirty lesson on demons and strongholds—and you need both categories clean, or you’ll keep treating the wrong problem.

An open door is how the demon gets in. That part is usually visible—a clear entry point, a known compromise, a choice, or a place that stayed unguarded.

A stronghold is how he stays in. And here’s the part people miss: sometimes that stronghold isn’t a “thing you did.” It’s a way you think.

That’s why Romans 12:2 doesn’t say, “Try harder.” It says: “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The battlefield isn’t only behavior. Its beliefs, patterns, assumptions, and mental ruts*.

Secondly:
Demons must be cast out.
Strongholds must be cast down.
Those are not the same verb, and Scripture doesn’t treat them like the same job.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says to “cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” That’s stronghold language: ideas, arguments, lies, mental structures—things that posture themselves against what God says.

Thirdly:
Demons are cast out quickly.
Strongholds usually break over time.
That’s why Jesus ties freedom to continuing in His word.

John 8:31 says, “If ye continue in my word… ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Notice the sequence: continue → know → free. Strongholds don’t usually collapse because you had one intense moment. They collapse because the Word keeps applying pressure until the lie can’t hold shape anymore.

Fourth:
The name of Jesus casts out demons.
The Word of God breaks strongholds.
Jeremiah 23:29 puts teeth on it: “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?”
Fire and hammer. Not vibes. Not wishful thinking. Impact.

So yes—unclean spirits may need to be dealt with directly. But after that, the person has to change how they think and get real understanding, or they’re walking back into the same mental architecture that made the place livable for darkness in the first place.

And if nothing changes? The “house” gets swept, but not guarded. The thing can come back—and the Bible warns it can be seven times worse (Matthew 12:43–45^[1] / Luke 11:24–26^[2]).

FOOTNOTES: