Invisible War: Demons
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This week we are discussing the topic of evil, impure spirits - which include Satan and his followers called demons.
Definition:
DEMON (δαιμόνιον, daimonion). A supernatural being: a spirit, a divine force, a semi-divine being, an evil spirit, or a malevolent force.
Demons, like the angels we studied last week, are created beings. We read in...
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
God created all things - so these impure spirits are created beings - but they were did not start out as impure. They were angels, messengers - created by God to give Him glory and to obey his commands.
Catholic exorcist, Father Gabrielle Amorth:
“God created the angels as extremely intelligent beings, with knowledge immensely superior to men’s...The sin of the fallen angels was one of pride and disobedience. Satan, the most beautiful of all the angels, being aware of his extreme intelligence, rebelled at the idea of being subjected to anyone. He forgot that he was a creature made by God. Many angels followed him in his folly of omnipotence and never turned back from their choice.”
We read of the fall of Satan in Isaiah 14:12-15
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
Discuss:
What does Isaiah tell us Satan does to the nations?
What did he tell himself that led to His fall?
Why do you think God permits Satan and demons to continue to exist?
The name Lucifer means “bearer of light” or morning star. He was an impressive angel of light. But his pride led to rebellion - we read of this rebellion in Revelation...
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
How do you think Satan deceives the whole world?
What would he accuse us of before God?
How do the accused conquer the accuser?
Why does the passage say “woe to you”?
Their time is short because Jesus is returning and when he does, He will cast all demonic forces into their eternal place of punishment while he ushers in the fullness of God’s Kingdom.
Father Amorth said that the sin of fallen angels was one of pride and disobedience - we should recognize it to be the same sin of humanity.
Even today, just as there were angels who followed Satan, there are humans who willingly, but in many cases, unwillingly, chose to follow him as well.
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 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. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
Again, quoting Father Amorth, “Angels and humans who follow Satan base their existence on three principles and practical rules of life:
you can do what you wish (without subjugation to God’s laws)
you obey no one
you are the god of yourself
Sounds like the Frank Sinatra song, I Did It My Way.
In our rebellious state, our fate was sealed with that of the impure spirits. Cut off from God. Destined for death and damnation. Yet by God’s great mercy, He sent Jesus, His Son, to rescue humanity and establish God’s Kingdom - one where the citizens live in accordance to God’s design and were the effects of the fall are reversed.
Now you have a hard time getting through the gospels without encountering demons. It is interesting how they respond to Jesus when he approaches...
And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
Have you come to destroy us? They recognize Jesus’ authority and they know the sentence that awaits them. No wonder they wreck so much havoc.
Study the Text:
What negative/harmful effect do demons have on human beings?:
And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw.
“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.”
And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.
And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.”
Demons torment those they oppress or possess, they can manifest with great strength, they cause the host to self harm, they can make one mute, blind, cause disease, make someone have seizures.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Where Jesus brings life, Satan - and his demons - bring death. They want to undo, pervert, destroy all of God’s good works.
They can possess an unbelievers body, where they take over control - but that does not seem to be the norm. We look closer at that in a minute.
They can’t possess a believer because we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But they can oppress a believer - not possess. To be spiritually oppressed to be burdened, overwhelmed, overpowered. And it can happen when we continue to commit the same sin and by doing so, we have given demons a foothold. They can use our sin to shame us, to continue to tempt us, and to keep us from being a strong witness for Christ.
Demons can be territorial:
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Demons in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles
In the Gospels, the term “spirit” is often employed to designate demonic or unclean spirits (Mark 3:22, 30; 7:25–26). This is due in part to their habitation. Demons are associated with specific locations such as deserts, tombs, and desolate places (Mark 5:2; Luke 8:27; 11:24). These places were thought to make a person ritually unclean.
This means there are certain areas that tend to be under strong spiritual oppression - where demons seem to have a stronger hold and influence. Possibly because there was some great atrocity that took place in a certain location - evil or sin committed that allowed them to claim ground. There tends to be a legal jurisdictional aspect to their behavior. They cannot act without God’s permission and they cannot force themselves on someone who hasn’t opened themselves up to their presence.
Hierarchy of Demons:
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke refer to the ruler of the demons as Beelzebul (e.g., Matt 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22) and Satan (e.g., Matt 12:26; Mark 3:26; Luke 13:11, 16).
Final Judgement
The book of Matthew mentions the future judgment of demons (e.g., Matt 25:41).
Later in this series, we will talk in more detail on how to overcome the enemy of our souls, but I do want to spend the rest of this time today discussing the freedom and victory that we have over impure spirits and Satan.
Walking in Victory
In the movies, whenever we see an exorcism, it is some crazy, neck twisting, green vomit kind of encounter. But that is far from the norm of casting out demons. The typical was we cast out or protect ourselves from the demonic is simply receiving the Word of God followed by confession and repentance. Victory over Satan was attained at the cross. When Jesus said “it is finished” and breathed his last breath - he meant that His work was complete. The cost of sin had been paid for. Men and women could now walk in freedom.
We simply need to hear the gospel, receive it in our hearts as true and believe it. Then our loyalties switch from the world to the Lord, and Satan and his minions have no hold on us.
This is why when we are baptized, there is an exorcism rite built in:
On behalf of the whole Church, I ask you:
Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,
reject the evil powers of this world,
and repent of your sin?
I do.
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves?
I do.
Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior,
put your whole trust in his grace,
and promise to serve him as your Lord,
in union with the Church which Christ has opened
to people of all ages, nations, and races?
I do.
The church has been setting people free from demonic influence from the beginning.
John Wesley (article in Firebrand titled Thunderstruck by Dr. Peter Bellini )
Striking demonic manifestations would accompany Wesley’s deliverance ministry. Frequently unbelievers under conviction were thunderstruck and dropped to the ground in spiritual combat by the power of the Spirit. These encounters were attended by all sorts of peculiar manifestations, such as howling, groaning, roaring, convulsing, speaking in strange voices, and other eerie expressions. However, the end result in most cases was repentance, deliverance, and peace with God.
In an April 17, 1739, journal entry, Wesley described preaching from Acts chapter 4 when he asked the Lord to “confirm” his Word. At that very moment, an individual cried out aloud in “the agonies of death” (Works 1:187). Wesley and the others present continued fervently in prayer. Two others then joined in “roaring for the disquietness of their heart” (1:187). Not long after, all three found rest. The latter two broke out in praise and the former was “overwhelmed with joy and love, knowing that God had healed his backslidings” (1:187). At Newgate, Wesley described people as being “thunderstuck,” which is a quite a graphic description for a man not prone to hyperbole. He frequently used this striking image to capture the explosive nature of the experience.
While Wesley was preaching at Newgate, several persons:
…dropped on every side as thunderstruck. One of them cried aloud. We besought God in herbehalf, and he turned her heaviness into joy. A second being in the same agony, we called upon God for her also; and he spoke peace into her soul. In the evening I was again pressed in spirit to declare, that “Christ gave himself a ransom for all.” And almost before we called upon him to set to his seal, he answered. One was so wounded by the sword of the Spirit, that you would have imagined she could not live a moment. But immediately his abundant kindness was showed, and she sang of his righteousness (Works 1:188-89).
Wesley understood these occurrences as primarily a work of the Holy Spirit, battling against the enemy. Through the preached word, the sword of the Spirit exposes and penetrates the shackled heart. The blow to the stronghold of darkness causes the person to fall to the ground. The shuddering enemy refuses to release the soul from its clutches. After much convulsing and supplicating, the individual finds repentance and relief. Wesley identified these struggles as the “chief times at which Satan is cast out” (Works 2:502). Wesley often used an image of the sword of the Spirit “wounding and healing” the sinner. One was “struck through, as with a sword, and fell trembling to the ground” (1:213). As Wesley would preach, “God was present, both to wound and to heal” (3:490).
Deliverance Ministry
There is always a need for deliverance ministry - especially today. There are many people in our community who are tormented and need help. They need to hear the gospel and find freedom. There are even those who will tell you they have demons - and again, today we quickly write it off as “personal demons” or mental health or addiction issues. Not real demons. While many cases may indeed be chemical imbalances or mental health problems - to think there is no demonic activity today like there was in Jesus’ day says more about your world view than reality.
Exorcist Father Carlos Martin on Pints with Aquinas podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnA_I7Yc3wg&t=1884s
20:08-33:30
C.S. Lewis
Screwtape Letters
Screwtape is a highly placed assistant to “Our Father Below” and he is writing letters of instruction to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man.
“Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s (God’s) ground…He [God] made the pleasure: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy [God] has produced, at at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He [God] has forbidden. ”
