Demons - The Enemies of God

Demons Are Fallen Angels.

2 Peter 2:4 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;”

Jude 6 “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—”

This means, that like angels, demons are created beings.

Satan is the Leader of the Demons.

Isaiah 14:12-15 ““How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.”

When Did Demons Fall?

Genesis 1:31 “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?””

Demons Share Many of the Same Characteristics as Angels.

They are spirit beings.

Typically do not have physical form, but can take on physical form.

They are not omnipresent.

They are very powerful.

The Goal of Demons:

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Steal

Kill

Destroy

The Methods of Demons:

Lie

John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Tempting Christians

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

Posses

Demons can posses animals, but they prefer people.

Matthew 8:28-32 “And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters.”

Lost people have no defense against possession.

Matthew 12:43-45 ““When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.””

Some demons are more wicked than others.

Questions About Demons:

Can a Christian be possessed?

No

1 John 4:4 “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

Christians can be oppressed.

Should we go looking for demons to fight?

No - we are not to be afraid of demons, but we are not to seek them out.

Jesus and the Apostles did not shy away from confronting demons, but they did not have a ministry of looking for them.

How do I avoid from having demons influence my life?

Trust Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Walk with Jesus.

Know the Word of God.

Seek to live a holy life.

Starve the “flesh.”

Feed the Spirit through the Spiritual Disciplines.