Episode 126 – But What About … Demons

Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.

Script:  

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 

Isaiah, chapter 14, verse 12, King James Version

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VK: Hello. I’m Victoria K and today on Anchored by Truth we are continuing our latest study series brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. We’ve labeled this series “But what about” because a lot of time you hear questions like “but what about angels and demons” or “what about heaven and hell?” As we’ve noted before, the Christian faith has not only a natural dimension but also a supernatural one. This can be confusing to people who have not studied Christianity carefully. A lot of people believe in only what they can see and hear and they discount the supernatural entirely. Others embrace the supernatural so fervently they actually fall for demonic deceptions. So, we’re doing episodes on several of these subjects that create confusion to see what the Bible actually has to say about them. I’m in the studio today with RD Fierro, author and Founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, last time we did our second episode on angels. Are we going to continue that today?

RD: Greetings to all the Anchored by Truth listeners. Thank you for joining us here today. And yes we are going to continue our discussion about the angelic order but whereas in the first two episodes we focused on the holy angels, today we are moving over to talk about the other side.

VK: By the other side, you mean demons. Demons are also members of the angelic order. But the demons are the ones who chose to disobey God rather remain obedient as the holy angels did. Classically, it was said that Christians faced three opponents in their attempts to live a holy life: the world, the flesh, and the devil. The devil is the leader of the demonic order.

RD: Yes. The words “demon” and “devil” are actually just different translations of the same Greek word “daimon.” (D-A-I-M-O-N) So, demons or devils are often termed “fallen angels” because when they chose to rebel against God they were cast out of heaven. We’re not told in scripture what specific crime the demons committed but it involved some kind of rebellion against God. Because angels and demons are not corporeal beings they were fully mature upon creation. There was no need for them to grow up or develop in the same way people do. And we’re not sure how long a period of time elapsed between the creation of the angelic order and the actions that resulted in their separation between being fallen or unfallen.

VK: What we are sure of is that the entire angelic order was created in a state of probation just as man was in the Garden of Eden. But, unlike man, once the holy angels exhibited obedience they were confirmed in a state of perpetual holiness. Similarly, after their rebellion the demons were confirmed in their rebellious state – meaning there is no possibility for their redemption. The New Geneva Study Bible puts it this way: “[The demons’] minds are permanently opposed to God, goodness, truth, the kingdom of Christ, and the welfare of human beings. They have real, but limited, power and freedom of movement, though [as Calvin said] they ‘drag their chains wherever they go and can never hope to overcome God.’”

RD: Yes. That’s a great overall summary of the demons. They rebelled. They fell. And at least some group of them now has some freedom to trouble and afflict mankind. They have both knowledge and strength and they are reported in the gospels to have inflicted or exploited both physical and mental maladies. In Mark 9:17 – 18 the Bible says, “A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.  Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid.” This verse is interesting, not only because it gives an illustration of the physical harm the demon was inflicting but also because the father had recognized that his son’s ailment was caused or exacerbated by a demon.

VK: Of course, the good news for the father is that Jesus is the master over all of the created order and he immediately cast the demon out. In fact, there is no recorded instance in the Bible of Jesus encountering a demon, or demons, where he did not cast the demons out. That’s a 100% success record. And, interestingly enough, the demons knew Jesus had the power to cast them out. Or order them to do whatever He wanted them to. In Luke, chapter 8, verses 30 and 31 there’s an account of Jesus encountering a man who has been possessed by a number of demons. The Bible says, “Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” [the man] replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.” In many of the instances that Jesus cast out demons the Bible does not tell us where the demons went. But from these verses it is clear that Jesus had the power to send them wherever He decided.

RD: Yes. And the demons reference to begging not to be sent to the abyss is particularly interesting.

 VK: How so?

RD: There are some commentators who believe that not all the demons are currently free roaming the earth so to speak. In 2 Peter 2:4, Peter says, “For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment.” And Jude says in Jude, verse 6 “And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment.” Notice that Peter and Jude are essentially saying the same thing – that there are certain of the demons (fallen angels) who sinned in such a way that God immediately cast them into some kind of dark prison or abyss. Note that both writers say those demons are being held in their prison until the day of judgment. So, that puts a slightly different perspective on what we heard the demons say to Jesus in the verses we heard from Luke. The demons were well aware that Jesus could immediately consign them into the abyss – apparently a place so fearful that even the demons dread to go there. 

VK: That makes sense. And in a sense it points out that God’s mercy was active very early in the history of the created universe. Knowing how bad the demons who are free are, it’s hard to imagine how much worse the demons who were immediately confined to the abyss must be. So, where do you want to go from here?

RD: Well, there are a couple of different points that I want to get to today. But before we go too much further I want to reiterate the last thing that we talked about in our last episode of Anchored by Truth.

VK: So, the final point we made in our last show was that, while demons may influence a believer’s behavior, a demon cannot occupy or take possession of an authentic believer. 1 John 4:4 says, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” The “one who is in the world” is generally thought to be a reference to Satan. “The one who is in you” – if you are a believer – is the Holy Spirit. So, what the Apostle John is assuring his readers is that authentic believers in Christ, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can’t be overcome by Satan. After all, the Holy Spirit is not about to share His domain with demons. And since the Holy Spirit is omnipotent there is nothing that could compel Him to.

RD: Exactly. So, as we go through our discussion listening believers need to be assured that they cannot be taken over by Satan or any of his minions. That doesn’t mean the demons can’t participate in tempting us or creating trouble for us. But it does mean that when we trust in the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit we will be given the victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil.

VK: Well, another point I think that we should make is that sometimes people get confused about Satan and who exactly he is. Some people think that Satan and Jesus are the opposites of one another. They’re not. Jesus is both fully human and fully God. Colossians 1:16 says, “For in [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” Satan is a created being. Jesus is the Creator Being. Jesus and Satan are not equal in stature or power. Jesus is immeasurably greater than Satan. The counterpart to Satan would more likely be Michael, the archangel.

RD: That’s a great point. So, since we’re talking about Satan let’s move on to another point about him. Satan is the leader of the fallen angels, but the name Satan is as much of a title as a name. When Satan is used as a proper name, the Hebrew word that’s translated as Satan has an article and it means "the adversary" (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). In the New Testament the term Satan is used as interchangeably with Diabolos, or the devil. 

VK: Other titles that the Bible uses for Satan include: 

"the dragon," in Revelation 12:9

"the old serpent" in Revelation 20:2); 

"the prince of this world" in John 12:31and  14:30; 

"the prince of the power of the air" in Ephesians 2:2; 

"the god of this world" in 2 Corinthians 4:4; and 

"the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience" in Ephesians 2:2 

RD: He is also called "Beelzebub, the prince of the devils" (Matthew 12:24). He is also described as a "roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). People are said to be "taken captive by him" (2 Timothy 2:26). Christians are warned against his "devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11), and called on to "resist" him (James 4:7). All of these references tell us Satan is a dangerous adversary to Christians. But the good news is that Christ has redeemed his people from "him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14).

VK: So, again, this points to something very important for believers to understand. We need to be aware of Satan and his tactics and schemes because we can’t guard against them if we’re not aware of them. But we also need to be aware that Satan is a defeated foe. Christ has triumphed over Satan (Matthew 12:29) and Christians will triumph over him as well. Satan is a creature. He is superhuman but he is not divine. He most certainly is not Jesus’ counterpart. In fact Martin Luther famously said that the devil is God’s devil. As long as we are aware of Satan’s tactics we can be confident in God’s providential care for us in preserving us from Satan’s plans. We know that Jesus is willing to intercede for His children in protecting them from the devil. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22, verses 31 and 32 Jesus told Simon Peter, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.  But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail.”

RD: That’s why it is incumbent on all of us to not neglect the spiritual disciplines that keep us close to the Lord. Prayer, regular Bible study, appropriate worship are all important for our spiritual growth and development but they are also instrumental for ensuring that we are alert to Satan’s desires to thwart God’s plans for us. We also need to remember that Satan’s attempts to interfere with God’s plan of redemption do not start and end with us. To the contrary, Satan began to try to block God’s plan to save His people as soon as God pronounced a curse on him in the Garden of Eden. A lot of Christians don’t think about the fact that the fight we’re engaged in isn’t a new fight. We’re just fighting the latest battles in a struggle that’s been going on for thousands of years.

VK: And that actually leads us to something else you wanted to discuss today – the Bible’s descriptions of demonic activity are primarily contained within the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It seems that during the period of Jesus’ earthly ministry demonic activity was particularly pronounced.

RD: Right. It’s almost as if we could say that somehow Satan thought that somehow he could stop Jesus from completing his mission, that Satan thought that the curse that had been pronounced by God over 4,000 years earlier could be set aside.

VK: Well, let’s be sure that everybody is aware of what we’re talking about. In book of Genesis we’re told Satan disguised as a serpent tempted Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Crystal Sea is producing a dramatized, poetic version of that moment in the garden so we’re going to listen to a brief excerpt. We think it will help listeners imagine what might have been going on at that pivotal moment. 

---- THE GENESIS SAGA (EXCERPT FROM PART 3)(start with stanza before “Ah the woman, ah the man – go through 3 stanzas where Satan speaks)

Later in the day after Eve fell for Satan’s temptation God arrived in the Garden when the cool evening breezes are blowing. Apparently Satan was still there with Adam and Eve because God confronts all three. Then in Genesis, chapter 3, verses 14 and 15 God curses Satan. This is verse 15 and God is speaking to Satan: “And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” So, Genesis 3:15 sets the stage for the rest of the Bible. In the rest of the Bible we hear the story of the hostility between demons and man. We hear the unfolding story of God’s plan to redeem a portion of mankind. And we hear the story of Satan attempts to thwart God’s plan and purpose.

RD: Exactly. So, it took about 4,500 years between the time God pronounced the curse and Jesus’ birth on earth to finish the plan – the plan that would culminate with Satan striking Jesus’ heel (which a serious but not fatal injury) and Jesus crushing Satan’s head (which is fatal to Satan’s aspirations). So, in Jesus’ life the first attempt Satan made to derail the plan was to inspire Herod to order the murder of all the children under the age of 2 in and around Bethlehem.

VK: Scripture doesn’t report that specific inspiration but it seems reasonable because demons are frequently said to inspire human beings to take actions that rebel against God or God’s purposes. This can sometimes happen with even people who live generally commendable lives. For instance, in 1 Chronicles, chapter 21, verse 1 says, “Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel.”

RD: Yes. That’s why the Apostle Paul warned the Corinthians, and us, that we must be on guard against Satan’s devices. If Satan could tempt David to sin all of us need to be that much more careful to be on our guard. At any rate, the next attempt that we’re told about in the Gospels of Satan attempting to stop Jesus from completing his mission was when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. One of the temptations was for Jesus to simply worship Satan and in return Satan would give Jesus all the kingdoms he could see standing on the top of a high mountain. This temptation was for Jesus to receive dominion without having to endure the cross. Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to Him for Him to become the Savior. Jesus knew completing his mission was going to be costly – he would have to endure the “injury to his heel.” But, of course, Jesus used scripture to rebel Satan, not once but 3 times.

VK: So, what you’re saying is that Satan, aided by the other demons, tried their best to stop Jesus. And the intensity of their actions on earth apparently increased dramatically during Jesus life and ministry. That’s the conclusion we would reach by just checking the number of references to demonic activity the Bible contains. And, obviously, the final attempt Satan made to derail God’s plan to bring salvation to his elect was to kill Jesus. You have to believe that Friday evening after the crucifixion Satan and his demons were celebrating because as far as they knew they had brought about the death of God’s anointed Messiah. And because Satan is not omniscient he did not know what was going to happen next.

RD: I think that’s right – even though Satan should have known because Jesus had clearly told his disciples that he would rise from the dead after 3 days. That’s in Matthew 12:40. “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”  And, of course, Jesus fulfilled this prophecy exactly. This also fulfilled the prophecy made in Genesis 3:15. In dying on the cross Jesus fulfilled His mission of redeeming all who would put their trust in Him for salvation. In rising from the dead Jesus showed that his sacrifice was acceptable to the father.

VK: Jesus’ resurrection defeated both death and Satan. In 1 Corinthians, chapter 15 the Apostle Paul points out that Jesus' resurrection from the dead guarantees that all those who place their trust in Jesus will also be raised to eternal life. This will deny both the grave and Satan their victory and take away the sting of death.

RD: So, there was a high degree of demonic activity during Jesus’ life. There was another striking period of demonic activity just before the worldwide flood that’s recorded in Genesis chapters 6 through 9 – the one which Noah survived by building the ark as God had instructed. 

VK: Where do you see the demonic activity in that part of scripture?

RD: Genesis, chapter 6, verse 2 says, “The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives.” While there are variations in how commentators view the term “sons of God,” many commentators point out that the Hebrew words that are translated as “sons of God” are used consistently in both the Old Testament and the New Testament to refer to angels. Dr. Jonathan Sarfati in his 800 page commentary on the first 11 chapters of Genesis goes through an extensive discussion about how this is the correct translation. We don’t have time today to go through all of Dr. Sarfati’s points but he notes the fact that “sons of God” means angels was the oldest Jewish commentaries on Genesis 6 always understood the term that way and that the Septuagint actually used the phrase “angels of God” for that verse. The Septuagint was the Greek translation of the Old Testament and was the most widely used version of the Old Testament in Jesus’ day. So, Dr. Sarfati actually sees the illicit relations between fallen angels and human women as the reason for the extreme wickedness that resulted in the destruction of the entire human race except for Noah and his family.

VK: Dr. Sarfati’s view is not universally accepted but it has the virtue of being consistent with what we know about Satan and his intent to thwart God’s plan for one of Eve’s descendants to crush Satan’s head. Dr. Sarfati writes, “If womankind was corrupted by their angelic mates, then the Seed could not arrive. By “Seed” Dr. Sarfati is referring to the promised descendant of Eve that would defeat Satan.

RD:  Right. So, the final place in the Bible where demonic activity is prominent is in the book of Revelation which in large measure describes the period immediately before Jesus’ return and the period immediately after. So, speaking broadly there are three parts of scripture where we see prominent demonic activity and each part is associated with a particularly important event in redemptive history. During the time of Noah the entire human race was reduced to the family of one man and that man enabled the continuation of the line that would ultimately produce the promised Messiah. There was an unparalleled amount of demonic activity when the Messiah was actually on the earth and who completed the tasks necessary to crush Satan’s head. And there will be an escalation in demonic activity just before the final judgment and imposition of the ultimate penalty for the demons’ rebellion.

VK: In other words, the demons display a clear awareness of the fact that their rebellion has consequences for them – eternal consequences. And they have done their best through the course of human history to avoid those consequences.

RD:  Right. But, of course, they can’t avoid the consequences of their rebellion against an infinitely holy God any more than human beings can. The only reason we can have hope is that the perfect man, Jesus, bore the consequences of our sin when he sacrificed himself on the cross. So, unlike demons there is no need for any person to suffer eternally for their rebellion. All we have to do is place our trust in Jesus’ atoning death. As it has been said, “We can stand before God as if we were Jesus because Jesus stood before God as if He were us.”

VK: Well, next time we’ll turn our attention to one particular angel that appears in various places in scripture – the so-called Angel of the Lord. There are various opinions as to who the Angel of the Lord is so we want to take a little time to probe this question more deeply. This sounds like a good time for a prayer. Since our kids are back in school today lets listen to a prayer for the school boards that guide our educational system. Let’s also remember to not only to pray for the school boards but also to be active in providing input and feedback to them especially on issues that can be so important to the future of our kids. 

---- PRAYER FOR SCHOOL BOARDS (RANNI).

We hope you’ll be with us next time and we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show.

If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!”

 (Bible Quote from the New International Version)

Revelation, chapter 14, verses 17 and 18, New International Version

Topical Bible: Angel (biblehub.com)

Topical Bible: Satan (biblehub.com)

Topical Bible: Lucifer (biblehub.com)