Do They Exist? -- Are They Real?
If Demons "Are" Indeed Real -- Do They Attack Christians?
Here's A Variety Of Thoughts On The Subject
In folklore, mythology, and religion, a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit, but is also depicted as a force that may be conjured and insecurely controlled. The "good" demon is largely a literary device.The Greek conception of a daemon appears in the works of Plato and many other ancient authors, without the evil connotations apparent in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible and in the Greek originals of the New Testament.
The medieval and neo-medieval conception of a demon in Western civilization derives from the ambient popular culture of Late (Roman) Antiquity. The Hellenistic Demon eventually came to include many Semitic and Near Eastern gods as seen by Christianity.Greco-Roman concepts of daemons that passed into Christian culture are discussed in the entry Daemon.
In some cultures demons are still feared in popular superstition, largely due to their power to 'possess' humans, and they are an important concept in many modern religions and occultist traditions.
In the contemporary Western mystical tradition epitomized by the work of Aleister Crowley, a demon, such as the "Demon of the Abyss", Choronzon, is a useful metaphor for certain inner psychological processes, one which is nonetheless, in a sense, "real" in that many experience it as a separate being. (wikipedia)
The Hebrew terms for demons in the Old Testament.
Spirit-u- Heb. Ruwach, roo-akh
This is the primary word for demon in the Old Testament. When it is used for a demon, the adjective (evil or unclean)is placed in front of the word to reveal the character of the spirit.Familiar spirit Heb. Owb, obe.
This word is used for spirits that impersonate the dead. People who are mediums for these spirits are called necromancers.
Devils- u- Heb. Shed -- shade also Sa-iyr -- saw-eer.
The Greek terms for demons and their vexing in the New Testament.
Spirit - pneuma -- new-mah.
This word is used for every kind of spirit, such as angels, demons, and the Holy Spirit. When used for demons, adjectives are placed before it to reveal the character of the spirit.Demon -- daimonion -- dahee-mon-ee-on.
This word is only used for evil spirits.Demon-possessed -- daimonizomai - dahee-mon-id-zom-ahee.
This word is the verb noun form of daimonion that describes their vexation in people’s lives.Possessed -- echo -- ek-oh
This word is a verb meaning to have or to hold.
The word Demon comes from the Greek word daimon which means intelligent. According to passages in the New Testament, Satan has a personal army of demons to assist him in attacking humans and accomplishing evil tasks. They roam the world looking for people that they may destroy.
The Gospels and the book of Acts describe many exorcisms where Jesus and his disciples release people from demonic possession. The Bible implies that demons are the same fallen angels that once joined Satan in a heavenly revolt. By the 1st century CE in Palestine, many mental disorders were believed to be caused by indwelling demons.
Other demons were responsible for bad happenings such as accidents, evil people, hatred and so on.
The Greek language in the New Testament talks about people being demonised or about people having a demon (Gk.daimonion)The expression to be possessed by a devil or to have a devil which some English translations use, is incorrect.
The word used in these cases is not devil, which in the Greek is diabolos, but demon, which is the word daimonion or in a few cases daimon. From a study of the passages concerned, you will notice that the words demon, unclean spirit and evil spirit seem to be interchangeable.
So in the Gospels and Acts we read of people who were demonised or had demons or unclean spirits. The ministry of Jesus and His followers in evangelisation involved the casting out of these demons from people.
In no case did this happen to Christians nor is any Christian characterised as having a demon or as being demonised in all the New Testament.
We can be physically vulnerable to demonic activity is because our physical bodies still await redemption. That is why disease can enter our bodies and even bring death to us. If we understand that God can do whatever He pleases, even to using the enemy's activities for His purposes, then we will not have such difficulty with this issue.
Demons are powerless against us unless we surrender to them out of fear or lack of faith. When spirits of temptation, deceit, or other demons attack us, we only have to call on Christ to defend us.
In His name we have all authority over demons; they have to leave us alone when we demand it in the name of Jesus.
Demons are negative spiritual entities. They hate human beings, and they try to harm us in many ways. They try to control, harass, torment us, or drive us to do things we ought not to do or wish we didn't do.
Temper, depression, fear, sickness, to mention a few, are demons.
A young man who was epileptic suffered grievously, frequently falling into the fire or into water Matthew 17:15
He was dashed to the ground and bruised badly Mark 9:18 + Luke 9:39 He foamed at the mouth, ground his teeth, and pineth away Mark 9:18
Some people say that this meant he was demon possessed
Demonism is directly related to idolatry and thus to human sacrifice. Ps. 136:37,39
Sacrifices to demons were prohibited by law in Lev. 17:7, And they shall no longer sacrifice to the goat demon (or satyr) with which they shall play the harlot. This will be a permanent law in every generation.
Or in Deut. 32:17, They sacrifice to demons, not gods, new things which came lately which your ancestors did not fear.
Heathen nations worship demons Ps. 96:5, For all the gods of the peoples are idols. It was thoroughly understood that idolatry meant demons.
Capital punishment by stoning was the penalty for witchcraft, demonism, etc.
Jesus never said demons will cause us to spend eternity in hell. Failure to repent on the other hand, will cause us to spend eternity in hell. Jesus did not say, unless you repent and keep casting demons out of yourself, you will surely die.
Luke 13:3
No doubt a Christian cannot be possessed by a demon because Christians belong to God through the blood of Jesus Christ.Whether a real Christian can have a demon is a controversial question to some but for those of us who have been set free from demons after we gave our lives to Jesus it is not so hard to determine.
There are demons that can be at work in Christians, fixing themselves as it were in the flesh and fortifying the flesh.These demons, unlike the flesh cant be crucified. We cant kill demons either. They must be cast out.
A general rule is if despite self discipline and meditation on the Word a spiritual problem of some sort fails to be resolved, it is almost certainly a case requiring deliverance from evil spirits.
Many times sincere Christians are using a lot of energy suppressing tendencies that are due to demons which could be cast out and should be cast out.
Don't think that Satan is behind every bad thing that happens to people, or that every bad thought comes from the devil. The devil and all his demons are looking for people that they can affect with their spears and look for the weakness in that person and send their spears precisely at that point.
He is successful many times. Over and over again you'll hear or see good people failing sexually and becoming involved in immoral situations. Relatives or friends are affected. Some tell about it to others and in doing so are asking for help in the situation.
Others do not tell and let themselves get further and further into trouble. Before they know it, they have committed sin and they have their lives in a mess and in turmoil.
Some Christians, particularly those who subscribe to an millennial view of eschatology, believe that even though demonic activity was widespread before and during the time of Jesus' ministry here on earth, Satan and his demons were bound at the time of Christ's death and resurrection.
In the counselling field many nouthetic counsellors have said that Satan and his demons were bound, bruised, curtailed and restrained at the time of Christ's death and resurrection.
They assert that human beings today primarily struggle with their own sin natures rather than directly with Satan and his emissaries.
Many Christians believe that Jesus, his disciples and the general public during the time of Christ's ministry as being ill informed, having deriving their beliefs about demons from their pre-scientific culture. Many suspect that people's faith in Jesus' healing powers and personal charisma were so great than many of them were cured.
The same thing can be seen at today's Christian healing crusades. Some believe that the gospel accounts of healings are not of real events, but were fictional accounts, added to increase Jesus' credibility among Christians.
When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, I will return to My House from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
Then he goes out and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Matthew 12:43 - 45
Many Christians find it disconcerting to think that some of their fellow Christians may need deliverance from demons but really, this should not surprise us, for Christ encountered a man with an unclean spirit in the temple who must have been worshipping alongside everyone else
Mk 1:23.
Who knows how long this person may have been attending and worshipping, before his encounter with the Saviour caused the spirits within him to cry out.
Many, who have had ministry in church settings, have testified and written how, when the Holy Spirit comes in power, people who have been Christians for many years all of a sudden experience a welling up inside them of demonic power (which they had not realized was there).
The reason it had gone undetected for so long was that it had never been confronted by the power of Jesus in any meaningful way.
Since early Christianity demonology has evolved from an almost simple belief in some demons to a complex study that has abandoned the original idea taken from Jewish demonology and Christian scriptures to become an imaginative subject.
Christian demonology is mainly Roman Catholic, but other Christian churches do not deny the existence of demons or their nature, although concepts can vary depending on the church. Some concepts have changed in modern times, but the basis is the same.
Demons have knowledge and are able to come up with things to say. The knowledge that demons have explains the source of knowledge at work with psychics and other occultists.
It explains the knowledge of past events and places that supposedly confirms the false doctrine of reincarnation.
When a person is being tempted by a demonic spirit, often the temptation will be to sins originating within our sin nature, but the intensity of the temptation may be increased by the involvement of a demonic spirit.
The recommended Scriptural response is to resist the devil and he will flee from you, even as Christ did when tempted by Satan in the desert.
Demons have the power to afflict us. So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. Job 2:7
They will use whatever means they have to try and turn us from the love that God has for us.
We must be wary and keep our eyes focused firmly on God, just as Job did when he was afflicted. When we are weak and in pain, we must cry out to God for protection and comfort.
There are very few people who are totally owned or possessed by demons. Many Bible translations talk about people being possessed by demons when in reality that is not the meaning of the Greek word translated possessed in the Bible.
The Greek word in these cases is daimonizomai which would be better translated demonized. It means to be affected by demons, to be under the influence of demons or to have demons.
No doubt a Christian cannot be possessed by a demon because Christians belong to God through the blood of Jesus Christ.Whether a real Christian can have a demon is a controversial question to some but for those of us who have been set free from demons after we gave our lives to Jesus it is not so hard to determine.
The expression such as to have a demon or to have an unclean spirit or evil spirit demonised are only used in the Gospel and Acts and only in the context of evangelisation and relate exclusively to people who are not Christians.
A man wrestles with many demons; and often the demon, whom many men could not master with iron bands, has been mastered by the man himself with words of prayer which is in him of the Holy Spirit; and the mere breathing of the Exorcist becomes as fire to that unseen foe.
A mighty ally and protector, therefore, have we from God; a great Teacher of the Church, a mighty Champion on our behalf. Let us not be afraid of the demons, nor of the devil; for mightier is He who fights for us.
Sudden and major changes of events can cause some demons to change their function or activity. Most of the time, however, they continue with what they have been able to do successfully in the lives of people.
Jesus gave the disciples their marching orders to cast out demons in Mark 16:17 and also in John 20:21 where He said, As the Father sent me, so I send you.
The disciples, in turn, were instructed to teach us to obey all things that Jesus commanded them
Matthew 28:20. which obviously includes the command to train up more disciples who would cast out demons. It is quite logical then that we have authority in Jesus' name over demons to cast them out.
We should cast them out by the Spirit of God and then keep them out.
When a demon possesses a Christian, it does not own the person. A Spirit-filled Christian is owned by God alone because he/she has been purchased with the Blood of Jesus.
The expression to be possessed by a demon is not an accurate translation of the Greek. It is an attempt at translating a single Greek word. This expression is derived from the Greek verb, daimonizo, which is transliterated into English, to demonise, but in the New Testament it is used as a passive, to be demonised (daimonizomai).
The New Testament refers to people who are demonised and it does not literally use the expression, to be possessed by a demon. Modern authors seize on this fact and want to make it very clear that a demon cannot possess a Christian, since he has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and therefore belongs to the Lord.
They say a demon can inhabit a Christian, trouble him, depress him, torment him,inhibit him and compel him to sin and to do the most foul things, but a demon cannot possess him this would be theologically totally unacceptable they say.
But this distinction is simply a matter of playing with words.
God permits a Christian to experience demonic problems for a reason. Probably because there is a sin that needs to be addressed. God often used Israel's enemies to chastise them. Paul was speaking to Christians in Eph. 4:26-27 when he said,
Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
The Greek word for foothold means a place of influence in one's life. Sin provides the enemy with an opportunity, even with Christians, if they persist in sin.
Christians can have demons remaining in them from their pre-conversion days because of not having heard the Gospel preached in its fullness and power and they weren’t told about the reality of demonic powers and the need to be free of them.
True Christians cannot be possessed by a demon because when a person is saved they are filled with Holy Spirit. So they have a defence mechanism (God's Spirit) that wards of Satan or a demon from entering their body.
You must believe that just as Jesus displayed His marvellous power in all these realms (Demons), it likewise was appropriate that He be able to demonstrate His authority in the spirit sphere as well. Satan is not in full control.
Belief in demonic spirits is particularly common among conservative Christians, both Roman Catholics and Protestants. Generally speaking, these groups believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. The Christian Scriptures contain so many references to exorcisms by Jesus and the Apostles, that believers who interpret the Bible literally are almost compelled to believe in demons, demonic possession, and exorcism.
Essentially all liberal Christians have long abandoned belief in demons. They regard Biblical passages about demons as quaint literature from ancient times, which are unrelated to reality.
They are valuable only as myths, and as explanations of schizophrenia, epilepsy and other disorders by a pre-scientific society in first century CE Palestine.
Essentially all Atheists, Agnostics and other secularists have also abandoned belief in Satan, demons, as well as God and other supernatural entities.
1 Corinthians 5:1-8
According to some people, these verses are meant to show us that a Christian can be demonised. But there is no mention of demonic responsibility at all in this passage.
Whatever demonic activity there may have been, it wasn’t relevant either to the diagnosis of, or the remedy to, the problem in terms of any casting out. There is no suggestion that the person was compelled to sin because of a demon or that they now need deliverance from a demon because of gross sin.
It simply does not feature. On the contrary, according to the language used and the advice given by the apostle Paul, the person is held wholly responsible for his sin and unrepentant condition. Paul exhorts that he should be excluded from the church.
This, together with his comments about committing the man to Satan so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus, indicates that this was a believer, but a believer who was responsible for his own behaviour.
In the Gospels we read about unclean spirits that were cast out of people, but there is no indication that this was the nature of the problem or the required remedy in this situation.
The bible teaches that the temple of God has three sections, the Holy of Holies, the Holy place and the outer court. Satan has constant access into the very throne room presence of God. Rev. 1:10; Job 1:6.
The scriptures teach say that Christians are the temple of the Living God and that the Holy Spirit dwells in all true believers. So if Satan can roam freely before the very Throne of God in heaven why is it that many presuppose that he can’t enter into the temple of God called a Christian.
The enemy loves to tread his filth on holy ground. Satan goes boldly before the Throne everyday to accuse the saints before God.
It is unthinkable to me that God would allow one of His children, whom He purchased with the blood of Christ (1Peter 1:18-19) and made into a new creation (2Cor 5:17) to be possessed and controlled by a demon.
We all have to realize and accept that Satan has a plan for our lives just as God has a plan. Both are going to fight for each and every one of us.
God is the stronger of the two, we know that, but He also tells us what we need to do and how to do it and what will happen if we do what He tells us to do.
But if Satan can interfere with that advice and get the person off track and keep them off track, he'll probably win the battle.
Demons are fallen angels under the command of Satan, those who are still free after the Gen. 6 affair.
Satan is called the Prince, or Ruler, of all demons in Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15.
Demons are also called the ministers, or ambassadors of Satan, Luke 4:35; 9:1,42; John 10:21.
Satan is brilliant, an administrative genius. He has an excellent organization, mentioned in Eph. 6:10-12.
The Bible also makes a distinction between demon possession and demon influence.
Demons usually operate in groups. They know who they are and they know their names and functions. Sometimes demons change their functions.
The Spirit said, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. 2 Chronicles 18:21.
Christian Possession is a teaching of devils. It attempts to convince Christians they are powerless to keep demons from possessing them. We are expected to believe evil demons easily sneak in the door where Jesus stands and knocks.
Rev 3:23.
Demons are at work in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2). People who are disobeying God are giving evil spirits a right to work not only around them but also in them.
This applies also to church members. Peter declared that Satan had filled the heart of Ananias. All Ananias did was pretend that he was giving to God more than he really was.
Therefore, anyone who is lying could have their heart filled by Satan.
1st century pre-scientific beliefs continued through the Middle Ages in to the Renaissance. Medical, mental and physical sciences have since provided better and simpler explanations to phenomena once believed to be caused by demons.
Today, with the exception of many religious conservatives, very few mental health professionals attribute mental illness to indwelling demons.
When a Christian receives Christ as their personal Lord and Savoir, the Holy Spirit enters that Christian's body, soul and spirit.
God has claimed that person for His own and as a result, demons cannot occupy the same place as the Holy Spirit.
Satan knows this and that is why he tries so hard to get to people first and have his demons or demonic influence control or affect that person.
Christian demons were taken from ancient near eastern sources. The main difference is that Christian demons are innately evil.
This is a concept that the Christians adopted from the Zoroastrians. Sumerian demons are primarily destructive, but all demons had a glimmer of a good side. Lilith for example was a wind demon and was associated with taking/consuming babies.
This indicates that the Sumerians associated her with the death of babies. On the other hand she was probably also one that you would beseech for protection from respiratory ailments as any demon can protect against something that they are the demon of.
In Summer the demon wasn't the same as the disease by the way. The demons caused you to get an ailment, but banishing the demon wouldn’t heal the patient on its own.
Although the spirit of a born again Christian is regenerated, recreated and not possessable by evil spirits, the salvation of the soul is a process which is not automatic and requires firstly persistent faith in God, and secondly, knowledge of the truth.It is clear that evil spirits do have access to our minds to inject thoughts of all kinds from time to time. We must be watchful so that we do not accept these thoughts so as to let the evil one build strongholds in our mind that are not pleasing to God.
There is a battle for the mind of every Christian. In order to keep demons out of our minds, we must fill our minds with something else.
We must be full of the Holy Spirit and full of the Word.
It could be argued that for the most part, symptoms that result from demonic temptation or demonic oppression are not qualitatively different from symptoms that result from our sin natures and the temptation of the world system.
It appears that the role of demons in these situations is to intensify the temptations or symptoms coming from those sources rather than produce symptoms that are unique.
It is primarily in the case of demon possession that unique symptoms are produced.
There are very few people who are totally owned or possessed by demons.
Many Bible translations talk about people being possessed. There is absolutely no doubt that a Christian cannot be possessed by a demon because Christians belong to God through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Whether a real Christian can have a demon is a controversial question to some but for those who have been set free from demons after we gave our lives to Jesus it is not so hard to determine.
Because we cannot see demons any more than we can angels the average Christian, to his peril, gives them little if any thought, and opinions on how active demons are range from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Some extremists hold that the view that Devil was so completely defeated at the Cross that he now has no power whatever, while extremists on the other side of the issue blame demons for their cars being in an accident etc.
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