As in
previous studies, we will look at
definitions,
scriptures, lexical, and commentary evidence
and confessional support for the
purpose to glorify God in how we live.
Definitions:
Demon:
A fallen angel that assists Satan in the
opposition of God. Demons are evil
(Luke 10:17-18), powerful (Luke 8:29), and
under the power of Satan (Matthew
12:24-30). They recognized Christ (Mark
1:23-24) and can possess non-Christians
(Matthew 8:29). *
Demons: What
does the Bible say about demons?
Demons
are fallen angels, as Revelation 12:9
indicates: “The great dragon was hurled
down—that ancient serpent called the
devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world
astray. He was hurled to the earth,
and his angels with him.” Satan’s fall from
heaven is symbolically described in
Isaiah 14:12–15 and Ezekiel 28:12–15. When
he fell, Satan took some of the
angels with him—one third of them, according
to Revelation 12:4. Jude 6 also
mentions angels who sinned. So, biblically,
demons are fallen angels who, along
with Satan, chose to rebel against God. **
From
the Scriptures about demons:
“Yea,
they
sacrificed their sons and their daughters
unto devils (demons).” (Psalm 106:37)
From
Strong’s
Lexicon on the Hebrew:
To demons
לַשֵּֽׁדִים׃
(laš·šê·ḏîm)
Preposition-l,
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's
Hebrew 7700: 1) demon
“So
the devils (demons)
besought him, saying, if thou cast us out,
suffer us to go away into the herd
of swine.” (Matthew 8:31)
From
Strong’s
Lexicon on the Greek:
daimón:
a demon Original Word: δαίμων,
ονος, ὁ
Part of
Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: daimón
Phonetic
Spelling: (dah'-ee-mown)
Definition:
a demon Usage: an evil-spirit, demon.
“Then
certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists,
took
upon them to call over them which had evil
spirits the name of the Lord Jesus,
saying, we adjure you by Jesus whom Paul
preacheth.” (Acts 19:13)
“But I
say that the things which the Gentiles
sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils
(demons), and not to God: and I would not
that ye should have fellowship with devils
(demons).” (1Corinthians
10:20)
“For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places.” (Ephesians
6:12)
From
Matthew
Poole's Commentary on
Ephesian 6:12 we read:
“We
wrestle not, not only, or not principally.
Against
flesh and blood, men, consisting of flesh
and
blood, Matthew 16:17 Galatians 1:16.
But
against principalities, against powers;
devils,
Colossians 2:15: see Ephesians 1:21.
Against
the rulers of the darkness of this world;
either that rule in the dark air, where God
permits them to be for the
punishment of men; see Ephesians 2:2: or
rather, that rule in the dark places
of the earth, the dark minds of men, and
have their rule over them by reason of
the darkness that is in them; in which
respect the devil is called the god of
this world, 2 Corinthians 4:4, and the
prince of it, John 14:30. So that the
dark world here seems to be opposed to
children of light, Ephesians 5:8.
Against
spiritual wickedness; either wicked spirits,
or, emphatically, spiritual wickednesses,
for wickedncsses of the highest kind;
implying the intenseness of wickedness in
those angelical substances, which are
so much the more wicked, by how much the
more excellent in themselves their
natures are.
In high
places; or heavenly, taking heaven for the
whole expansum, or spreading out of the air,
between the earth and the stars,
the air being the place from whence the
devils assault us, as Ephesians 2:2. Or
rather, in for about heavenly places or
things, in the same sense as the word
rendered heavenly is taken four times before
in this Epistle, Ephesians 1:3,20
2:6 3:10; being in none of them taken for
the air; and then the sense must be,
that we wrestle about heavenly places or
things, not with flesh and blood, but
with principalities, with powers, &c.
Objection.
The Greek preposition will not bear this
construction.
Answer.
Let Chrysostom and other Greeks answer for
that. They understood their language best,
and they give this interpretation.”
(1)
“Now the
Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter
times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils (demons).” (1Timothy
4:1)
From
The
Pulpit Commentary on 1Timothy
4:1:
“Verse 1.
- But for now, A.V.; saith for speaketh,
A.V.; later for the latter, A.V.; fall away
for depart, A.V. The Spirit saith
expressly (ῤητῶς),
only here in the
New Testament, and very rare in classical
Greek. But the adjective ῤητός,
in the sense of something “laid
down,” “definite... expressly mentioned,” is
common. It was, doubtless, on
account of these prophetic warnings of a
falling away from the faith, that the
apostle gave the preceding heads of
Christian doctrine in such a terse and
tangible form, and laid such a solemn charge
upon Timothy. (For examples of
these prophetic utterances, see Acts 11:28;
Acts 13:2; Acts 20:23; Acts 21:11;
1Corinthians 12:8; 1Corinthians 14. '30, 32,
etc.) Shall fall away (ἀποστησονται).
So St. Paul says
(2Thessalonians 2:3) that the day of Christ
will not be, “except the falling
away (ἡ
ἀποστασία) come first” (comp.
Hebrews 3:12). The faith, objective (see
1Timothy 3:9 and 16, note). This “falling
away” is to take place ἐν
ὑστέροις καιροῖς,
not, as in the R.V., in “later times,” but
as in the A.V., “the latter times.”
The adjective ὕστερος
is only found
here in the New Testament. But in the LXX.
(e.g., 1Chronicles 29:29; Jeremiah
1:19; Jeremiah 27:17, LXX.), ὕστερος
means “the last”" as opposed to “the first.”
And so the adverb ὕστερον
always in the New Testament (see
Matthew 4:2; Matthew 21:37; Matthew 26:60;
or more fully ὕστερον πάντεν, 22:27). Here,
therefore, ἐν ὑστεροις καιροῖς is
equivalent to ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις (Acts
2:17) and ἐν ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις (2Timothy
3:1; comp. James 5:3; 1 Peter 1:5; 2
Peter 3:3; Jude 1:18). It should be observed
that in all these passages there
is no article. Giving heed (προσέχοντες);
as
in ver. 13; in 1Timothy 1:4; Titus 1:14;
Acts 8:6, and elsewhere. Seducing
spirits (πνεύμασι
πλάνοις). Such were
the "lying spirits" who deceived (ἠπάτησαν)
Ahab to his destruction (2Kings 22:22). Πλάνος,
seducing, is not elsewhere found in the New
Testament as an adjective (see
Matthew 27:63; 2Corinthians 6:8 2John 7, in
all which places, however, it is
almost an adjective). The idea is "causing
to wander," or “go astray.”
St. John warns his people against such
deceiving spirits (John 4:1-6). He calls
them generically πνεύμα
τῆς πλάνης, “the
spirit of error.” Doctrines of devils; i.e.
teachings suggested by devils. So
the unbelieving Jews suggested that John the
Baptist had a devil (Luke 7:33),
and that our Lord himself had a devil (John
7:20; John 8:48, 52; John 10:19).”
(2)
“Thou
believest that there is one God; thou doest
well: the devils (demons) also believe, and
tremble.” (James 2:19)
From
Vine's
Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words:
A-1 Noun
Strong's Number: g1142 Greek: daimon
Demon,
Demoniac:
“A
demon,” signified, among pagan Greeks, an
inferior
deity, whether good or bad. In the NT, it
denotes “an evil spirit.” It is used
in Mat 8:31 mistranslated "devils."
Some
would derive the word from a root da--,
meaning, “to
distribute.” More probably it is from a
similar root da--, meaning, “to know,”
and hence means “a knowing one.”
A-2 Noun
Strong's Number: g1140 Greek: daimonion
Demon,
Demoniac:
Not a
diminutive of daimon, No. 1, but the neuter
of the adjective daimonios, pertaining to a
demon, is also mistranslated “devil,”
“devils.”
In Act 17:18, it denotes an inferior pagan
deity. “Demons” are the spiritual
agents acting in all idolatry. The idol
itself is nothing, but every idol has a
“demon” associated with it who induces
idolatry, with its worship and
sacrifices, 1Cr 10:20, 21; Rev 9:20; cp.
Deuteronomy 32:17; Isa 13:21; 34:14;
65:3, 11. They disseminate errors among men,
and seek to seduce believers, 1Ti
4:1. As seducing spirits they deceive men
into the supposition that through
mediums (those who have “familiar spirits,”
Lev 20:6, 27, e.g.) they can
converse with deceased human beings. Hence
the destructive deception of
Spiritism, forbidden in Scripture, Lev
19:31; Deuteronomy 18:11; Isa 8:19. “Demons”
tremble before God, Jam 2:19; they
recognized Christ as Lord and as their
future Judge, Mat 8:29; Luke 4:41. Christ
cast them out of human beings by His
own power. His disciples did so in His Name,
and by exercising faith, e.g., Mat
17:20.
Acting
under Satan (cp. Rev 16:13, 14), “demons”
are
permitted to afflict with bodily disease,
Luke 13:16. Being unclean they tempt
human beings with unclean thoughts, Mat
10:1; Mar 5:2; 7:25; Luke 8:27-29; Rev
16:13; 18:2, e.g. They differ in degrees of
wickedness, Mat 12:45. They will
instigate the rulers of the nations at the
end of this age to make war against
God and His Christ, Rev 16:14.
Signifies
“to be possessed of a demon, to act under
the control of a demon.” Those who were thus
afflicted expressed the mind and
consciousness of the “demon” or “demons”
indwelling them, e.g., Luke 8:28. The
verb is found chiefly in Matt. and Mark; Mat
4:24; 8:16, 28, 33; 9:32; 12:22;
15:22; Mark 1:32; 5:15, 16, 18; elsewhere in
Luke 8:36; and John 10:21, “him
that hath a devil (demon).”
Signifies
proceeding from, or resembling, a demon,
“demoniacal;”
see marg. of Jam 3:15, RV (text,
“devilish”). (3)
Can
a Christian be demon possessed? See below for link.
Not
to fear:
“Ye are
of God, little children, and have overcome
them: because greater is he that is in you,
than he that is in the world.”
(1John 4:4)
Notes:
1.Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible,
Ephesians, Vol. 3. (Peabody,
Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers, 1985)
p. 679.
2.H. D. M. Spence and
Joseph S. Exell, The
Pulpit Commentary, 1Timothy,
Vol.21., (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eerdmans
Publishing Company reprint 1978), p.
68.
3.W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words, (Iowa Falls, Iowa,
Riverside Book and Bible House), p. 283-284.
“To God,
only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ
forever. Amen.” (Romans 16:27) and “heirs
according to the promise.” (Galatians
3:28, 29)
Mr.
Kettler has previously published articles in
the Chalcedon
Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea
attend the Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church.He is the author of the book
defending the Reformed Faith against
attacks,
titled: The
Religion That Started in a
Hat. Available at:
www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com