 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Exposing the Enemy pt.2
Some of us Christians get squeamish whenever demons are discussed. This fear is not only unreasonable, it is not biblical. God has given all Christians power over all the enemy’s power. It’s that simple.
Generally, Christians hold to one of three beliefs concerning Satan and demons:
- There are no such things
- Ignore them and they will ignore you
- They are real and they are continually active in their mission of evil
The first belief above is very dangerous and is exactly what Satan and his demons prefer because it allows them to work undetected and without restraint.
The second belief is very common. Although it acknowledges the existence of evil spirits, people that hold this belief are in as much danger as those that do not believe that Satan and demons are real. Evil spirits do not ignore anyone and are drawn to those that do not resist them.
The third belief is biblical. The Christian who is not ignorant of the enemy and their devices is able to recognize them, fight them, and live far more victoriously than those who believe either of the other two categories. Equally important is the fact that these Christians can recognize the presence and activity of demons in other people and can help them break free.
Faster than a Speeding Bullet
Before God created Adam, He had an anointed cherub named Lucifer that was most beautiful. He was an angelic being that flanked God’s throne. At some point, Lucifer decided that he should be God. When this perverseness was discovered in him, God changed his name to Satan and cast him out of Heaven with the speed of lightning. Satan was able to deceive one-third of all of God’s angels to follow him. (Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28)
Satan is not present everywhere nor is he all-knowing. He cannot read anyone’s mind, nor can he do all that he wants to do—otherwise he would have destroyed all of mankind thousands of years ago.
We tend to give Satan way too much credit. Whenever we have problems, we like to blame it on him. But we often have problems simply because we’ve made some bad decisions or sown some bad seed and we’re merely reaping what we have sown.
Angels that have Fallen and Can’t Get Up
These are the angels that once served God but by their own free will, chose to follow Satan. There are very few direct references in the Bible to the fallen angels. Jude 1:6 contains perhaps the most information, stating that they did not care for, guard, or hold on to their proper place and that God has them in custody, bound with chains under darkness until the great judgment day.
This verse does not imply that they are held in a specific location, but rather that they are captive and they will remain in their current evil state.
The number of fallen angels is enormous. In Revelation 5:11, John sees the throne of God and a multitude of angels that he described as “thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand”. The number of good angels that John saw was at least 101,000,000. From that number, we can conclude that there are more than 50,500,000 fallen angels.
The number of fallen angels is the same today as when they fell with Satan. There is no scriptural indication that they can procreate.
Can a fallen angel possess a human? The Greek text in the New Testament does not use “fallen angel”, “angel”, or any other similar term to describe the spirit that possessed a person. But, there is one exception that clearly indicates that a fallen angel possessed a man: “As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.” (John 13:27) The Amplified Bible says, “Then after [he had taken] the bit of food, Satan entered into and took possession of [Judas].” So, if Satan can possess a human, so can any of his fallen angels.
Evil Spirits, Unclean Spirits, and Devils…or Demons
These are the New Testament classification names given to spirits that actually possess a person and they are generally used interchangeably. Depending on the version of the Bible’s translation, the names given to these spirits can vary. For simplicity sake, we will use the term, “demon” because it is our English version of the Greek word “daimon” and it seems to be the most familiar among today’s Christians.
What are Demons?
The Bible does give us a clear understanding of what demons are.
- They have a will. After they are cast out of a person, they will try to return (Matthew
- They experience emotions. Demons believe in God and they are struck with extreme fear and horror of Him (James
- They have intellect. Demons have knowledge of things that men do not know (Mark
- They are self-aware. Demons know who they are and are aware of other demons around them. When Jesus encountered the man who was possessed by many demons, one of them said, “Our name is legion, for we are many.” (Mark 5:9)
- They can speak. As evidenced by Legion, as well as many other examples in the first three gospels and in Acts, demons can speak and they can speak through those that they possess.
Where Demons Came From
The origin of demons is not clearly revealed in the Bible. Over the years, two of the most popular theories are:
- Demons are some of the fallen angels
- Demons are disembodied spirits of a pre-Adamic race that perished
With no clear scriptural explanation, it would be unwise to create a doctrine from either of those theories. Suffice to say, they exist and are consumed with controlling and destroying people.
What do Demons Look Like?
There is one reference in the New Testament that describes the appearance of three specific demons: “Then I [John] saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs;” (Revelation 16:13a)
Frogs!
God has allowed many of His people to see demons. Before 1982, a man saw a demon in a vision and described it as having a large head, big eyes, a long skinny neck and fingers, and was very short. In 1982, the movie E.T. came out and the alien was identical to the demon that the man saw in his vision. It should not be surprising that with the high level of talent, imagination, and evil in Hollywood, that some of those guys can get very accurate inspiration directly from demons.
Others have described demons as appearing very similar to monkeys, yet with very evil and hideous looks and behaviors. A pastor reflected on a time that his church wasn't growing and seemed deader than a door nail. He became upset enough to fast. One day while alone and praying in the sanctuary, he looked up and noticed that he could see through the ceiling. Sitting on a rafter was a hideous, demon that looked similar to a monkey. The pastor commanded the demon to come down. After it dropped down to the floor, the pastor commanded it to leave. As the demon walked out, the pastor followed it. He watched the demon leave, walk down the street, and then enter into a bar. Sitting on top of the bar were two other demons, much larger and even more evil looking.
My own experience of seeing demons has been mostly limited to seeing them eye-to-eye when they have surfaced in a person and when I see them in dreams or visions. Their appearance in the dreams and visions is usually as snakes or black, shadowy creatures. My first experience seeing a demon in someone’s eyes made the hair on my neck stand up—it was that scary to me. Now, when I see demons that have surfaced, most often I immediately know what kind it is, I’m not fearful, and am better equipped for helping the individual.
But any desire to see a demon or know what they look like should never exceed our desire to behold our Lord.
Are There Different Kinds of Demons?
The New Testament records seven specific types of demons: mute, deaf and dumb, infirmity, divination, deceiving, fear, and error.
A word of wisdom is needed here. Not all physical ailments are caused by demons. If a person cannot speak, we should never automatically assume that he is possessed by a mute spirit. There are physical problems that are simply physical problems.
There have been ministers in the past several decades that have encountered demons with a great frequency (for example, Wynn Worley, Derek Prince, and Bob Larson).
A common experience among these distinctly different approaches to ministry is that they encounter demons that are associated with specific ungodly behaviors in people. For example, one person who constantly used foul language had a demon that identified itself as “Profanity”. Someone who hated getting orders from their supervisor and hated godly counsel had a demon named “Rebellion”.
When dealing with demons, two gifts of the Holy Spirit, discerning of spirits and the word of knowledge, are extremely valuable in delivering anyone who is having problems with demons.
For instance, the word of knowledge could reveal to you that a person’s illness is not from the presence of a demon and that he simply needs a healing.
Discerning of spirits could reveal to you that the person you have been ministering to has a deceiving spirit. That the entire time that you have been ministering to that person and he has been agreeing with you, he has been lying and has no intention of following your counsel.
The next ears-2-hear Teaching on this topc focuses on how demons enter, how we can recognize their presence, and the controversial topic: can a Christian be possessed?
It is my prayer for you that Father will continue to help you to hear His voice, and more and more frequently.
With God’s grace and in His peace,
Gary
Permission is granted to forward this e-newsletter without alteration to others as well as reprint it in hard copy form. We ask only that you keep the Ears-2-Hear website, email contact info, and author contact information intact. Thank you and may God be revealed more and more to you and through you.
Gary (gary@ears-2-hear.com), Author, Web Designer, www.ears-2-hear.com.
If you wish to subscribe, click here and be sure that “SUBSCRIBE” is in the Subject field of your e-mail (or send an email with "Subscribe" in the subject field to: subscribe@ears-2-hear.com ). If you wish to unsubscribe, click here and be sure that "UNSUBCRIBE" in the the Subject field.
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
