The Spiritual Realm is Real and Active - Demons

 

 In our study of the spiritual realm, we have discussed the fact that the spiritual realm is real, we have engaged in a preliminary examination of the dual natures of the spiritual realm, we have examined the theology of the triune Godhead, and most recently we have taken a quick look at angels and how they are used by God. I think that means that we are due to look at demons more closely. In the same way that I did not want to present the information about angels in such a way as to draw undue interest, and potentially worship, towards them, I want to approach the topic of demons in the same way. I would like to keep this article short as I did with the article on angels, but I think that will be difficult because I want to include information on how we can take authority over demons, not to cause them to serve us but to battle against their orders and desires. We are part of God's army standing against Satan and his demons, but many if not most Christians are AWOL (absent without leave).

The origin of demons is a matter of fascination to too many people. It is not necessarily important to the study of demons, but in order to satisfy that curiousity I will cover it briefly to the best of my own understanding. Scripture appears to support the theory that the demons came to be through the rebellion of Satan when he sought to become equal with God (Isaiah 14:12-15, a dual fulfillment word) and managed to convince a third of the angels to join with him (Revelation 12:3-4,9). If you recall, I mentioned in a previous article that Satan was an angel of high station in Heaven (Ezekiel 28:11-17, another dual fulfillment word). It is believed that he was the chief of the angels and had regular access to God. This could explain why he was able to approach God and complain about the protection and prosperity that God had given to Job in the book of the Bible of the same name. In Job 1:6 we see that "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them." Scripture indicates that only a select number of created beings are capable of entering the presence of God, and we understand that the phrase "the sons of God" is used to refer to high ranking angelic beings; princes of regions of the earth might be a simple explanation of their position, though it may not be entirely accurate or all encompassing.

So Satan was a high ranking angel of God who sought to overthrow God and he took a third of the angels of God with him in his rebellion. It is these fallen angels and Satan himself that make up the hordes of demons that actively work to hurt humans and to thwart the plans of God. As angels, they were endowed with powers that humans find impressive and significant. They are eternal beings, they are able to travel quickly, they are strong, they can appear to humans in physical form and I believe that they can also appear in their natural form, and they can manipulate humans to do their bidding, though I think that they are able to act on physical matter to some degree themselves as well.

But they are created beings, and as such, they cannot read our thoughts, they are not omniscient (all-knowing) or omnipresent (in all places at all times), nor are they omnipotent (all powerful); only God is all of these things. Because of these attributes of God, all created beings are confined to the limits that God placed on them at creation. As such, as much as demons or angels may want to accomplish more than they are currently able to, they will never achieve that goal. This is important to remember as we continue to examine the abilities and the limitations of the demons in their dealings with mankind.

Demons have been known to portray themselves as 'gods' to mankind throughout all of history. In doing so, they have diverted the honour and praise and worship that are rightly directed to God towards themselves. There is a train of thought that states that this praise adds to the power that the demons may have in any given situation, but I don't believe that there is a Biblical foundation for that belief. If that were the case, then it logically follows that as the world turns away from God, His own angels would have less power to act on His behalf, which does not fit with the theology that God is all-powerful and able to accomplish His will regardless of the desires of men or demons.

I will interject here and state that Frank Peretti's fictional books "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" have played a significant role in the ways that my understanding of the spiritual realm have developed from a young age. These are fictional works; I cannot express that too much, but I enjoy the way that he wrote the interactions between the angels of God, the demons and the interactions of both sides with mankind and their affects on mankind in the natural realm. I also like the way that he describes the angels and the demons, visually separating the two, though there is again no Biblical basis for this. Mr. Peretti's stories includes the notion that demon worship adds to their power to act, and that a lack of Christian worship undermines the abilities of God's angels to act in power, which I will re-state has no Biblical merit, but adds an interesting aspect of Christian prayer to consider.

What demon worship largely does is to steer mankind away from God and His love for us, while simultaneously making those who worship the demons more susceptible to their manipulations. When we read the Bible we come across the different gods that the enemies of the Israelites worshipped. Entities such as Moloch, Asherah, Ashtoreth and Baal are commonly presented as false gods to whom the Israelites repeatedly turned, but there are so many more, some of whom receive little mention and some who receive no mention, but whom we are aware of through the study of world religions. This includes modern religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Confuscianism and Islam. (I actually hesitate to even grant these belief systems respect by capitalizing them, but since they are proper names, I will do so.) Any religion that does not point to the One True God and His Son are false religions. This includes modern day Judaism since they reject Jesus. Jesus tells us that He is "the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Judaism was established by God to point to Jesus; Jesus points to and is the only way to God.

To be clear, these false gods are demons and/or are created by demons in order to turn mankind away from God. Deuteronomy 32:17 tells us that," “They sacrificed to demons who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread."

I believe that the story of the golden calf in the desert is commonly known even to those who do not read or believe the Bible. What is not commonly understood is that this golden calf was not just a statue that the people worshipped; I believe that idea is a sanitized version for the kids. This was an idol to Moloch, one of the most detestable 'gods' that Satan and his minions have ever devised. We learn this in the witness of Stephen the martyr as we read in Acts 7:39-41, 43; "Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’ 41 At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 43You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will remove you beyond Babylon.’" The nature of worshipping this 'god' was to make a fire in the belly of the hollow, metal idol, and once the outstretched arms were sufficiently heated up, to place an infant on those arms to be cooked alive. Part of the ceremony included the use of drums and chanting in order to drown out the screams of the child! This is barbarism and it was viewed as worshipping a god! What is worse is that it is my belief that the worship of Moloch has not gone away so much as it has morphed; it is more common today and even practised by christians today in the form of abortion. We are sacrificing our God-formed children on the altar of convenience and choice. 

But that is getting more specific than I had planned to for today, so I must move on.

As children of God, we are not to be fearful of demons; Jesus has sent His Holy Spirit to give us authority over them. I mentioned earlier that this is not so that we can use them to our own devices. We are warned by Paul in Ephesians 5:11-12, "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret." No, our authority over evil spirits is given to us in order that we will stand against them and protect ourselves and our loved ones from them.

 In Matthew 10:1 we read that "Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." I believe that only the priests of the Temple likely had authority to cast demons out of people since they were the religious leaders of Israel. Of course we also know that Jesus came with the authority over demons that He possessed already in Heaven, but what we are seeing in Matthew 10 is likely the first time that someone who was not a priest had the authority to cast out demons. Later on, Jesus sent out 72 to preach and to minister to the towns around them, and these 72 were said to have returned to Jesus with excitement, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” (Luke 10:17) These are precursors to the authority that every child of God has through the Holy Spirit ever since the Day of Pentecost. But Jesus gives us a warning along with this authority, which we read in Luke 10:20, "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”" Our own status and standing with God is of much more importance than our ability to command demons to leave.

And this should be a warning to you, that you should not engage in spiritual warfare unless you are a child of God and are baptized in the Holy Spirit. If you are not washed in the blood of Jesus and anointed with His Spirit, you leave yourself open to retaliation of either a physical or a spiritual nature and possibly both. We see the story of the seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19, who had been casting out demons in Jesus' name, but they were not doing so under His authority. They were usurping Jesus' authority and the authority granted to the disciples by Jesus. Their very words betrayed them as we read in verses 13 and 14, "But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. 14 Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this." By their very proclamation they betrayed that they had no relationship with Jesus. As sons of a Jewish chief priest, they wanted to exercise authority over demons, but attempted to do so without a relationship with the One who empowers us to do it. But verses 15 and 16 warn us of the consequences of claiming someone else's authority when they have not extended their authority to you. "And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." They paid the price for their arrogance; take this as a warning.

In my first article on the spiritual realm, I touched on the aspect of demon possession as opposed to demonic influence in regards to Christians. As I stated then, it is my understanding that a Christian, that is someone who is in right standing with God and is walking in relationship with Him, cannot be possessed by a demon. If we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, we are protected from that type of demonic attack. They cannot possess the same space as the Holy Spirit. As 1 Corinthians 10:21 says, "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons."

That being said, it is also my understanding that our choices can open us up to being influenced by demons. It begins when we fail to spend sufficient time with God in prayer and Bible study. By doing so we weaken our own faith shield. Consider Ephesians 6 where Paul tells us about the Armour of God. Verse 11 exhorts us to " Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil." Those schemes may include undermining your faith, or more likely, undermining your righteousness, or your right standing with God. I wrote an article about righteousness which you can read here. If Satan can cause us to submit to sinful desires and to not confess and repent of them, he can undermine our standing with God without directly opposing our faith beliefs. Remember, I said that demons cannot know our thoughts, that does not mean that they cannot whisper to our minds and influence our thoughts, and thereby our actions. Be warned that Jesus states that there will be some who believe that they have a relationship with Him as demonstrated by their works, including casting out demons, but He will have to reject them because He does not know them, He does not have a relationship with them (Matthew 7:21-23).

So what are some ways in which Christians can undermine their own righteousness without having forsaken their beliefs? You may be surprised at some of them, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that some of my readers are engaging in some of these things on a regular basis, not understanding what they are opening themselves up to.

Anything that causes you to engage in any type of mysticism is spiritually dangerous and should not be engaged with in any way. Things such as using horoscopes (astrology) to plan and make decisions, tarot cards, palm readers, ouija boards; these are all ways to contact and seek direction from spiritual forces that are contrary to God. If you seek direction and guidance, ask God. Pray to Him and await an answer from the Holy Spirit within you. And if you do not get an answer right away, wait. Sometimes God teaches us to listen by not speaking to us right away.

There are others who will try to contact the dead through seances. The Bible calls this necromancy and speaks aggressively against it's practise. Isaiah 8:19 says, "When they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?" The dead have nothing to offer us, but they can be contacted through demonic means. This is not just someone pretending to have this ability, although I am sure there are frauds out there. There are people who have given themselves over to the demons who now use them to influence and deceive others. We even see in 1 Samuel 28 where Saul seeks out the witch of Endor to summon Samuel for guidance, and Samuel appears, though he is extremely unhappy with Saul for having done so. As a result of Saul's actions, the very next day he and his sons were killed on the battlefield. God does not take this lightly, as I have stated before, you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

This leads me to what I think may be the most nefarious and sneaky way that the devil has fooled unwitting western Christians. The practice of yoga is presented to westerners as a low impact exercise regime as well as a way to relax and release the tensions of life. In reality, it is eastern mysticism and is something that Christians are specifically called to avoid, even though yoga itself is not named in the Bible. The different poses and even facial expressions required in the practice of yoga mimic and channel ancient gods, which I have already told you are actually demons. When you assume those poses and expressions, you are inviting those demons to have a hold on you. If you don't believe me, then just look it up. Search up "yoga is eastern mysticism" and read. When you listen to long time practitioners and teachers of yoga, they will admit openly that it is spiritual in nature and has it's roots in eastern mysticism; this is no secret, but many christians refuse to acknowledge this. This is part of what Paul warns Timothy about in his first letter to Timothy; 1 Timothy 4:1 "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,".

The last few paragraphs lay out just some of the ways that Satan and his demons will trick professing Christians into doing things that God has specifically told His people not to do. Part of the problem is that people are too lazy or too lacking in wisdom and knowledge to look into the things that they are engaging in.

When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land to take possession of it, Moses gave them some last words of warning and rebuke, which is what the entire book of Deuteronomy is. In Deuteronomy 18:9-13 Moses tells the Israelites, “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God." I believe that passing your child through the fire is a reference to the worship of Moloch and potentially other gods who demand human sacrifice (abortion); divination and interpreting omens both fall under things such as tarot cards, horoscopes, oiuja boards and the like; witchcraft, sorcery and necromancy (mediums, spiritists) all revolve around the use of special words and incantations to summon spirits or otherwise involve the spirit realm in our lives. The people who engage in these things are "detestable to the Lord."

After the warning from Deuteronomy 18 above, God speaks to Moses and tells Him the following, "The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?’ 18 But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods." (Deuteronomy 31:16-18). If God forsook the people that were the apple of His eye due to their disobedience of Him in these things, do not think that He will overlook it when you engage in these same things. And if anyone tells you that you are not angering God when you practice these things, then see what Paul says of such men in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds."

I will have to educate you on how to engage in battle against the spiritual realm. I can't have initiated you into this line of understanding and then leave you all defenceless. If these articles up to this point have been tricky to write, that one will be even more so, so your continued prayers in this are desired.

One last word of warning that I feel I need to share, even though I don't have the time or space left to dedicate to fleshing it out. John warns us in 1 John 4:1 that, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." If you have been reading these articles and you believe that you have been experiencing spiritual interactions in your life, test the spirit. Verses 2-3a tell us how to test the spirits; "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist". If what you are listening to does not acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and the Saviour of the world, you need to disengage from it. Remember that "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light", but if John gave us this test, then it seems that even Satan will not admit to people that Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be.

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You can find the next article in this series by clicking here.