Demons (2)

Don’t Close Your Eyes!

Like children, the temptation to close our eyes and hope bad things will disappear seems like an attractive option. Maybe that is exactly what the respondents to a Barna Survey Group poll in 2009. The survey group asked Christians to respond to these statements:

#1 - Satan is not a living being but is a symbol of evil

- 40% of Christians strongly agreed

- 19% of Christians “agree somewhat”

#2 – A person can be under the influence of spiritual forces such as demons or evil spirits

- 39% agreed strongly

- 25% agreed somewhat

- 18% disagreed strongly

- 10% disagreed somewhat

This message made me do a lot of thinking. After all, this subject this not an especially uplifting message. I asked myself, “Is it necessary?” I believe the Holy Spirit answered me with 2 reasons for the necessity of this message: (1) as the result of demonic forces, people all around us are hurting and in need; and (2) Jesus cared about those who were affected by the demonic.

Jesus Ministers to the Demoniac

In the Gospel of Mark there is an interesting story about Jesus giving relief to a man who was afflicted by an unclean spirit. He was notoriously strong and tormented.

Let’s begin by reaching back to the previous evening:

Mark 4:35 NIV

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”

I find this interesting because nothing else happens on the other side of the lake than Jesus dealing with this demon possessed man. Right after the intervention, Jesus returns to the original side of the lake. My simple point is Jesus went with the intention of dealing with this demonic activity.

Now let’s look at the interaction.

Mark 5:1–5 NIV

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

Just as quickly as the boat reached the shore, they encountered this man with an impure spirit. Often in the NT the terms “evil spirits” or “unclean spirits” is used with or instead of demons but, make no mistake, it is the same influence. This man had extraordinary strength, but he also had extraordinary torment, “he would cry out and cut himself with stones”. This brings up the second point, real people have real problems that are caused by real demonic influences in their lives.

Fortunately, Jesus did not leave this man in such a hopeless situation.

Mark 5:6–8 NIV

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

There was no question about whether the demons would continue to harass this man or not. They would leave and they did in a bizarre fashion (by going in a herd of pigs and plunging into the lake). But this man was changed. He was freed. When the people heard what was going on, they came out to see for themselves.

This man was just hours ago uncontrolled. He was frightening and self-destructive. He needed a touch from Jesus. This is what Jesus does. He did it then, and He can do it now.

Unmasking Evil

Is a discussion about Satan and demons appropriate in modern congregations? G. Campbell Morgan wrote in 1937, “I cannot personally read my newspaper to-day without believing that there are still demon-possessed men in the world.”[1]There are things in this world that I cannot explain except for the power of darkness that blinds, confuses, and tempts mankind. There is a thirst for dark things. “For Gen Z [people in their 20’s and 30’s], comedy is still a strong first (48%), action is second (29%), but horror is a very close third (28%).[2] Cindy and I haven’t watched a horror film since we caught a few minutes of Children of the Corn in 1988. I hate to admit that I have to close my eyes when I am forced to endure the current horror movie trailers.

I think that a discussion about the demonic is worthwhile. We have to deal with the fact that Jesus acknowledged the fact that there were some men and women who were tormented by demons. We also have to acknowledge the fact that it is by the Spirit of God that these demons can be defeated.

I must admit that I feel rather unqualified for this topic this morning, so I will be leaning on the work of Dr. Gary Luther Royer in his book Out of Darkness Into His Wonderful Light. Dr. Royer served as a missionary to Brazil for 20 years and has since taught the course “Understanding the Spirit World” for another 20 years at SAGU.

Understanding the Demonic

Fallen Angels or Demons

“All angels were created good because God creates no evil; however, one-third of the angels followed Lucifer in his rebellion. Satan is a created being who chose to do evil and was cast out of heaven.

Revelation 12:3–4 NIV

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.

Dr. Royer suggests that this passage is a flashback to a time before Adam. “Since stars so often represent angels in Bible literature, many Bible scholars believe this is where the realm of angels was divided between ministering angels and demonic spirits, and one-third of the angels conspired to follow a very convincing and deceitful archangel [Lucifer].”

The Origin or Satan and Demons

“The history of Satan is not a major theme in scripture since the Bible is the story of God’s redemption of the human race. However, insights into the origin of Satan and evil are given in such scriptures as Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-16.”

Isaiah 14:12–15 NIV

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

Notice the pride of Satan in what are known as the 5 “I wills” of pride:

“I will ascend into Heaven”

“I will raise my throne above the stars (angels) of God”

“I will sit enthroned upon the Mount of Assembly”

“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds”

“I will make myself like the Most High”

“Ever since Lucifer’s fall, he has been committed to deceiving the human race and sabotaging God’s plan for each person…The two sins of Lucifer which stand out are the sins of pride and rebellion. It is in these areas that each of us are greatly tempted.

The Names of Satan Reveal His Character and Demonic Activities

The Accuser

Revelation 12:10 NIV

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

The Devil is constantly trying to bring up the past that has been forgiven. We have to remember that “there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.

A Roaring Lion

1 Peter 5:8–9 (NIV)

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, ...

The Tempter

1 Thessalonians 3:5 NIV

For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain.

It may seem like an over simplified statement, but we need to be careful that we don’t put ourselves in situations where we know we will be tempted. If you are dieting, don’t leave the German chocolate cake out on the counter! Don’t take the bait and begin to gossip or slander others. Find an accountability partner to check up on you if you’ve struggled in the past with pornography. Replace negative thoughts with powerful statements from the Word of God to keep the Tempter away!

Present Activity from the Demonic Realm

It’s possible that you would have some apprehension about the topic of the demonic. I shared the statistics that showed only about 40% of Christians strongly believed in the Devil. Nearly 100 years ago G. Campbell Morgan faced the same disbelief:

Some allegorize the demons, making them the evil inclinations and habits of men, and refer to demons of anger, lust, alcohol, and the like. Others suppose the demons to have been bodily ailments, such as epilepsy or insanity, arising from physical causes. Others, again, think then were evil personalities, devoid of physical bodies, which housed inside their victims and cause them to be deaf, dumb, insane and the like. Thus in common lay thinking there are at least these three suppositions: (1) that the demons referred to in the Gospels were merely bad habits; (2) that they were diseases, having physical causes; (3) that they were evil personalities, subject to Satan, and stirred into unwonted activity by the presence of Jesus on earth in his incarnate form.”[4]

If you’re in the 3rd category, you would be in agreement with Jesus. Jesus gave us authority over demons and included casting out demons as a part of our commission:

Mark 16:15–17 NIV

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

It is included in the commission we have received to tell the world about the Gospel – but the world is not just what we see. It is also spiritual and we need to be fully aware.

Destiny of Satan and Demons

Hebrews 2:14–15 NIV

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

“When Jesus cried out on the Cross ‘It is finished’, Satan’s fate was sealed for eternity. When Christ died, he conquered the power of death for the believer.” The Bible tells us that ultimately the Devil and his demons will be expelled to the lake of fire.

We have been provided His Spirit and the armor of God. There is nothing to fear! I want to close with a short story:

Bobby was 12 years old when his farmer father decided to let him accompany his older brothers to the neighboring farmer’s field to assist in “bucking bales.” This was a common summer job for the young boys of the farming community to throw bales of hay up to the flatbed wagon behind a tractor driven through the fiels to collect the hay harvest. The youth were paid by the hour and saved their money for new school clothes in the fall. As the siblings arrived at the neighbor’s farm, they began assembling on the empty flatbed wagon for the trip to the fields. Immediately, upon disembarking from the pickup truck, the boys were greeted with the ferocious barking of the farmer’s dog. Bobby ran as quickly as he could to jump up on the wagon, while his older brothers seemed to ignore the dog. Even while Bobby was on the wagon, the dog seemed intent on terrifying him, baring his teeth and growling.

To Bobby’s dismay, the dog followed them to the hayfield where his brothers descended and began lining up beside the bales of hay. However, when Bobby would get near the edge of the wagon, the mean dog would begin barking and snarling. “Don’t pay any attention to him,” his brothers told him. “He’s just showing off. He’s never bitten anyone!” Bobby, however, was not convinced and stayed on the wagon all day, not participating in the work.

That evening, his father asked, “Well, Bobby, how much money did you make today?”

Looking down at the ground, Bobby responded, “There was a mean ole dog there that would not let me off the wagon!” Bobby’s father already knew about the dog, and responded, “Son, that dog has only as much power over you as you allow it to have!”

And the next day, with the encouragement of his family, Bobby told the dog in a stern voice, “Go back home and leave me alone!” To his amazement the dog obeyed! It is just as true that Satan’s roaring has only as much power as we allow it to have!

[1]Excerpt From: G. Campbell Morgan. “The Great Physician.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-great-physician/id1624127162 [2]Arkenberg, Chris. “Halloween horror: Feeding audiences appetites for cheap and bloody thrills”. Accessed October 11, 2023. https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/industry/technology/horror-movie-audience-statistics.html [3]Royer, Dr. Gary Luther. Out of Darkness Into His Wonderful Light. Amazon Books. 2020. [4]Slaten, A. Wakefield, Ph. D. “Did Jesus Believe in Demons?” Accessed October 11, 2023.https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/476419