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WHAT ABOUT DEMONS?
Many people, when caught doing something wrong, say
the devil made me do it. We often refer to a child
getting into mischief as a demon or little devil.
Most people picture evil in a red suit with horns
and a tail carrying a pitch fork. Very few people
can describe the devil and his works. Does the devil
have helpers, and if so, who and what are they?
The devil (Lucifer, Satan) has under his control the
demons, like an army who serve him. Demons are
fallen angels. They were not evil from the
beginning. The tract "What About Angels" showed that
angels do exist. This is further verified by
mythologies. Nearly every ancient nation speaks of
the characteristics of beings similar to what we
call angels. Babylonian mythology pictures them as
messengers from gods to men. Roman and Greek
mythology use terms such as semi-gods, fauns, and
naiads, who visited the earth. Mythologies are the
faint and distorted echoes of a common primeval
knowledge possessed by the culture. If such beings
as angels did not exist, we would not find them in
the traditional beliefs of the nations of old.
To understand the role of the fallen angels, we
first must review their fall. Many Bible scholars
believe that Isaiah 14 gives a description of the
fall of Lucifer, the son of the morning, also called
Satan or the devil. Some feel that this angel-prince
may well have been an archangel or chief of the
angels. Ezek. 28:12-15 refers to him as the anointed
cherub that covereth. Isaiah tells of his pride and
desire to ascend above the heights of the clouds and
be like the most High (Isaiah 14:13,14). In his
struggle for power, he apparently convinced and
converted one third of the angels to follow him.
These angels are what we now call demons.
Unlike God, Satan is not omnipresent, omnipotent, or
omniscient. While that is true, we must remember
that he has literally millions of demons available
to do his bidding. Most people think of Satan
residing in hell. However, Scripture teaches that he
resides in both heaven and here on earth (Job 1:6,7;
Zechariah 3:1,2; Rev. 12:7-12). Satan designs his
activities to separate man from God.
Satan works in very clever ways. One of the special
ways is that he imitates what he is trying to
defeat. Consider a counterfeit twenty dollar bill.
To pass, it must look like the real bill or we
immediately reject it. Look at some of the names in
the Scriptures that refer to Satan; god of this
world (II Cor. 4:4), the deceiver (Rev. 20:10), the
tempter (1 Thes 3:5), a liar (John 8:44), and the
price of demons (Beelzebub) (Matt. 12:24). His
strategy has always been the same. He bases his lies
on perverting the word of God. Satan is a Bible
reader, but not a Bible lover. He reads the
Scriptures to try to change God's word.
As a master of deception, he loves to take God's
words out of context. This is demonstrated at the
fall of man (Gen. 3:1-5). Here Satan promised Eve
that she would not die, but become like God. These
same promises are still being used against man
today. Today there are many groups following Satan's
deceptions. Many of these groups claim to be
following the Scriptures, yet their teachings are
different. They have added to, or changed the words
of God. Interestingly, some actually teach that man
will evolve to godhood. Others deny the deity of
Jesus, and His resurrection.
The fallen angels or demons are divided into two
groups. One group is the chained or bound fallen
angels (II Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6; Luke 8:31; Rev.
9:14). These angels have no freedom. The second
group is the unchained fallen angels. It is these
demons under Satan's control that we must be
concerned about. For these demons are described in
Scripture as capable of possessing man. The New
Testament records 12 cases of people possessed by
demons. In seven of these cases Jesus personally
freed them. It is interesting that in one case, the
Geresene demoniac (Matt. 8:32; Mark 5:8; Luke 8:33),
many demons controlled the victim. Seven demons
possessed Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2).
Besides the 12 cases listed by name, the apostles
delivered many unnamed, possessed people (Acts 5:16;
8:7; 19:22).
In Addition to their roles in possessing people,
demons are active in many other ways. Scriptures
reveal their roles as familiar spirits (Deut. 18:11;
Isa 8:10; 19:3), seducing spirits (1 Tim 4:1) and
wicked spirits (Luke 11:26). The most common of
these today is the familiar spirit used by
channelers, Silva Mind Control and other occult
groups. These are also most likely the spirits used
by the psychics and fortune tellers. Acts 16:16-19
gives a clear example of this type of demon
possession. Here, when Paul delivered the spirit
from the woman, she lost her ability to tell
fortunes.
Scripture records angels both holy and fallen from
Genesis through Revelations. Thus we can be sure
they exist and are active today. Much of the New Age
movement is under the guidance of Satan. He uses
this movement to help deceive man to become
receptive to possession by his demons. This is done
in a variety of ways. The various programs that use
blank meditation, such as Yoga, open the mind to
receiving these demons. The occult practices such as
channeling, psychic readings, tarot cards, the ouija
board, invite demons to control the body. Many cases
of those using ouija boards or tarot cards report
that after mastering the techniques the boards or
cards are no longer needed.
As for the psychic readings, remember it is possible
for the demons to have the information available
that one believes no other living human could know.
It is these temptations that Satan uses to lead man
from God.
It is important to point out that not every evil act
involves Satan or his demons. Since man by nature is
a sinner, most acts although applauded by Satan, are
not caused by him. Some acts are a result of Satan's
role as a tempter. He will use every device in his
power to lead man away from God. Unfortunately,
man's nature often makes him susceptible to these
temptations. The human nature of man such as pride
and lust, is in a constant battle. This human nature
is called the "flesh" in the Bible.
Christians have an advantage over Satan and his
demons. Paul tells us that Satan cannot tempt a
believer except by God's permission (2 Cor. 10:13).
He also tells us to put on the whole Armour of God
so we may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil (Ephesians 6). John teaches that Satan cannot
stand the blood of Christ, nor the Christian's
testimony (Rev. 12:1). Finally Christians are under
the protection of the Holy angels (see tract on
angels).
Christians should not only be aware of the
temptations of Satan, but when seen point them out
to others. Often simply showing why psychic
readings, horoscopes, tarot cards, or channeling is
wrong will help keep someone from falling prey to
Satan.
For Additional Information Contact
True Light Educational Ministry
P.O. Box 310
Shirley, NY 11967
Telephone (631) 395-4646
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TLEM