Demonology--Part 1

There are various unclean spirits and spiritual defilements. Some are base and filthy, and others are refined and moral. Unclean spirits sometimes work unsuspectedly with the cultured, refined, and religious. On the other hand, demons may be fierce and make their victims a terror (Matt. 8:28). Demons can perceive, understand, hate, rage, speak, act, and tremble. They are seducing spirits of error (I Tim. 4:1). They oppress and torment (Matt. 15:22), tempt men with unclean thoughts and afflict them with bodily diseases (Mark 9:17; Luke 13:11-13, 16), and seek their ruin and hurt (Rev. 16:14). They have their own teachings (I Tim. 4:1). They are worshipped (I Cor. 10:20, 21; Rev. 9:20). Demons are filled with dread of the abyss because they believe in eternal punishment (Mark 5:12).

Both of the Greek words for demon—daimon and daimonion—can be translated demon, evil spirit, or a god. Fallen angels are called demons. They followed Lucifer in his rebellion against God. They became Satan’s angels, the vassals (persons owing homage to a superior) of his regime (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:9). Satan is king over the realm of the fallen spirits (Mark 5:9; Luke 8:30) and of the world order (kosmos) (Eph. 2:2; 6:12; II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 2:13). These fallen angels form part of a vast, organized realm of evil, governed by the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2). The angel over them is the strong man (Satan) of Matthew 12:29, who will be bound; and his whole following will be destroyed.

Demons, like their monarch, adapt the manner of their activity to the enlightenment of the age and locality. They are not acting in America as they are in the jungles. They did not act in Athens, the seat of culture (Acts 17:16-21), as they did in Corinth (I Cor. 6:5-11). In some places, they inspire a moral and exemplary life; thus, they appear as angels of light (II Cor. 11:14, 15; Gal. 1:6-9). Their influence is prompted by two major motives: (1) to hinder the purpose of God and (2) to extend the authority of Satan.

Demons can imitate the dead; therefore, the characteristics of people who have lived in the past can be brought into the twenty-first century through unclean spirits. Demons do not die, but demon-possessed people in time die. When they are forced to leave a human body, either because they have been exorcised by the power of God or the individual dies, they may enter another living person. They neither decrease nor increase in population, because they neither procreate nor die. The demons had a beginning, but they do not have an ending (Mark 5:2-13). They will spend eternity in hell, because they have already been consigned there.

The question of demonization covers a wider area than mere possession. Pharisaism, hypocrisy, and pride cause people to come under attack from Satanic forces. One should not read evil spirits into everything he does not understand, like depression, a breakdown, etc. The opposite extreme is to deny the existence of demon activity. One is just as despicable as the other. A person can take one of many attitudes toward demonical powers. The following is a listing of a few of those attitudes: (1) The intellectual attitude will lead one to deny the existence of demons. (2) There are those who say that since Christ was victorious over Satan and the demons, Christians have nothing about which to worry. (3) Once a person is a Christian all problems are solved. (4) The truth of Scripture states that the closer we come to the second coming of Jesus Christ the more difficult the struggle against demon influence will become.

The following are some things about which Christians are demanded not to be deceived: (1) the being and perfection of God; (2) our own character; (3) man’s evil nature and the conclusion of a life of sin; (4) the nature and excellency of life, the life of holiness that is the fruit of grace; and (5) the distinction between fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecies. Deception proceeds from a perversion of truth. It cannot escape punishment. The unsparing exposure and condemnation of deception is imperative.

Christians can be influenced by, but not possessed with, demons. Demon-possession and demonic influence are distinguished in the consideration of the demons’ service to Satan. Any deliberate false teaching is demonically inspired. The false teacher is either demon-possessed or he is strongly influenced. This evil world feeds the imagination. Many people today live in a dream world of fortune, fame, romance, etc.; but these things are demonically motivated.

In the case of demon-possession, the body is entered and dominating control is gained (Matt. 8:16; 9:32; 12:43, 45; Mark 5:12; Acts 8:7; 16:16). The Bible differentiates degrees of demon-possession: (1) Ordinarily it is “a” demon (Luke 11:26). (2) Seven demons are worse (Mark 16:9). (3) One demon is expelled, but he returns with seven comrades more wicked than himself: “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, I will return to my house from which I came; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation” (Matt. 12:43-45 NASB). Christ began and concluded His discourse in Matthew 12 by calling the religious Jews who were looking for a sign a wicked generation (vv. 39, 45). Religion is form without power (II Tim. 3:5). It covers sin (Prov. 28:13). It is fruitless in the eyes of God (Matt. 21:19).

The unclean spirit went out of the man, and the house was empty (Matt. 12:44). A person without Christ is empty of spiritual life. Where there is no Divine quickening, no grace, and no desire for spiritual things, that one becomes an open target for demon-possession. The demon of Pharisaic legalism went out of the man. Since he had no grace, this demon came back with seven more wicked than himself; and the last state of that man was worse than at the beginning. The Pharisees hated Jesus Christ. They went from Pharisaic legalism to murder. Seven is the number of completion and totality. There are varying degrees of control by demons who possess the nonelect, as there are varying degrees of control by the Holy Spirit in the life of Christians—the elect.

The Lord pronounced woe on the wicked scribes and Pharisees of Matthew 12. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves” (Matt. 23:15 NASB). An apostate from truth is the most evil sinner: “For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, a dog returns to its own vomit, and, a sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire” (II Pet. 2:20-22 NASB).

The cruelty, power, and malice of Satan working through demons are revealed in Mark 5:1-17. This same event concerning the Gadarene is also recorded in Luke 8:26-36. A number of traits of a person demonically-possessed are given in this portion of Scripture:

1. The phenomenon of demons actually dwelling in a lost person (Luke 8:27, 30; Mark 5:8) is the counterpart of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer. However, in the first, we have destruction; and in the second, we have preservation.

2. Demons have unusual strength (Luke 8:29; Mark 5:3).

3. There is conflict within a demoniac (Luke 8:27, 28). The conflict in the Gadarene was demonstrated by his coming to Christ and begging Him not to torment him.

4. Possession of evil spirits was evidenced in the man’s vociferous opposition to God (Luke 8:28; Mark 5:7).

5. The man’s clairvoyance (intuitive knowledge of things and people, discernment) exhibited his possession by demons (Luke 8:28; Mark 5:7). Although he had never before met Jesus Christ, his intuitive knowledge of who Christ is, caused him to come to Christ and call Him, “Son of the Most High God.” A person possessed by demons can speak with voices not his own (Luke 8:30-32; Mark 5:9, 10, 12). Satan spoke through the man in his plea for the demons. Delusional behavior resulting from intellectual and emotional deterioration could easily go further than that. Sometimes a demoniac may accuse Christians who state the truth of God’s word of being mad. Jesus Christ, Rhoda who opened the gate to admit Peter who had been released from prison, and the apostle Paul were all accused of being mad (John 10:20; Acts 12:15; 26:24).

6. Sudden deliverance from demonization proved the man had been demonically possessed (Mark 5:13; Luke 8:33). They went out of the man because Christ is the only One who can set one free. Psychiatrists say the treatment of a deranged person takes a long time for recovery. However, the Lord simply spoke, and the man was set free.

7. Demons were transferred from the Gadarene to the hogs (Mark 5:11-13; Luke 8:33). These spirit beings were not drowned; the pigs were drowned. Events like this do not occur under treatment by a psychiatrist or a psychologist.

Every sinner, like the Gadarene, is under the power of Satan and in a sense, not in his right mind: “And they came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they became frightened” (Mark 5:15 NASB). This was the man who dwelt unclothed among the tombs in the cemetery. His being unclothed is another sign of demon-possession. In contrast, he was in his right mind and clothed after the Lord healed him. Satan’s cruelty is displayed in the miserable condition of the man who dwelt among the tombs and could be neither chained nor tamed by man. Satan can stir men’s minds to evil deeds, but he cannot control them. He is not omnipotent. The power of Satan appears in the words spoken by the unclean spirit in answer to the Lord’s question: “What is your name? And he said to Him, My name is Legion; for we are many” (Mark 5:9 NASB). Man cannot determine the number, subtlety, and activity of Satan’s agents. The malice of the Devil appears in the strange petition by the demons to be sent into the swine (v. 12). Unable to further injure the soul of the man in whom they had dwelt, they desired leave to do injury to the dumb beasts feeding nearby. Such is the true character of Satan and his angels.

Demon-possession was such a serious crime under the law that it merited capital punishment: “Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their bloodguiltiness is upon them” (Lev. 20:27 NASB). Let us beware of giving way to the senseless habit of jesting about demons. We should be more concerned about the activities of man’s greatest enemies. The methods of demon-possession become more sophisticated, but they do not change. Jesus Christ alone can deliver from demon-possession: “If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36 NASB).

Caution should be exercised in dealing with people who show signs of demonization. Beware of persons who use fetishes, idols, or occult literature. The occult is beyond the range of ordinary knowledge, secret to the uninitiated, magic, or astrological. Sin must be confessed. No one knows the extent of his sins: “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults” (Ps. 19:12 NASB). However, those who have been regenerated by the power of God have “...renounced the things hidden because of shame...” (II Cor. 4:2 NASB).

Christians can be influenced by demons. In the case of demon influence, warfare from without is carried on by suggestion, trial, and influence (Matt. 26:41). A demon can come in and cause grief. However, the Christian cannot be demon-possessed, as one who is devoid of eternal life. The conflict Christians have is spiritual. It is not warfare where people are being slain. Those from the line of Seth, the spiritual line, failed to separate from the line of Cain (Gen. 6:1-4), and they suffered defeat. There is no record of their conflict with flesh and blood. Their conflict, like that of Christians today, was spiritual. Positionally, we are victorious in Christ. Conditionally, we suffer defeats when we fail to clothe ourselves with God’s provision. Conditional victory is won by fighting for it. It is never won by negotiation.