What is a Demon?

In the movies demons have been portrayed as entities with supernatural, limitless power who because of the mistakes of men are able to invade our realm and reek havoc on those unsuspecting individuals who cross certain barriers or wander into their path. Is this the case? The movie "the Exorcism" brought the subject into the lime light in the 70's. It was spirit against man. Evil vs. Good. In the end Good some how won out but at the sacrifice of a selfless priest. Is this reality? Do demons have unimaginable power? Do they have free reign when they are disturbed? These are good questions in which will be answered in this section. The first issue that we must address will be what exactly is a demon.

To first look at demons we must go back in time. Every culture across every continent has recorded history which includes demonic spirits. The Indians in North America, the Aztecs in Mexico, the Mayans in Central and South America, the Aborigines in Australia, the Chinese in China, the Celtics in Scotland and Ireland, the various African nations in Africa, the Nations of the Middle East, and the Israelites of Israel. Even today in most second and third world cultures there is a "spiritualism" which predominates most peoples which is based on demonology and appeasing the "spirits" of the wilderness, nature, and animal kingdom. Mankind has recorded the existence of "demons / spirits" since mankind has recorded history.

In the bible we find the first mention of demons, unclean spirits, and evil spirits in the book of Judges. Judges 9:23. From this point on we find references to demonic spirits. However the bible does not state where demons come from or exactly what they are. It is assumed in the scriptures that we already know or that it is not important. Because of the scriptures silence as to the source of demons we cannot really with accuracy state the source of their beginning.

Greek legend tells us that demons were once beings that populated the earth before mankind was created. In the Judgement of God upon the earth they were destroyed because they rebelled against God. We cannot know the validity of this nor will I comment on it.

It is a fact that demon spirits do not have a body. They are disembodied spirits. It is implied that demons once did have a body. How they lost their body we do not know. The important fact that affects us is that they do not have a body. They are disembodied. This would seem to be similar to the common belief with ghosts. It is my opinion that Ghosts are not ghosts but actually demons. Go to the site linked and review the page to read more concerning this.

Demons do not have bodies. It is this lack of a body that seems to drive demons to desire to dwell within ours. The bible states in Luke 11:23-25 that demons seek to live in people. They do not like to wander in the wilderness or dry places. They receive comfort when they are in people. We don't know how they lost their body. We don't know how they came into existence. We do know that they desire to dwell within us.

Demons in their core function only seek to harm those that they touch. Some would disagree and state that they can enable individuals to do and perform certain acts beyond what is normal. With demons and Satan everything comes at a price. Nothing is given. Everything comes with interest. The price that is paid for their presence is more than the benefits of their service. Demons seek the destruction of those that are touched by them. They are as the bible describes; unclean, lying, deceitful, and evil. God has made it very difficult for demons to "possess" an individual. Unfortunately we can be influenced by them if we are rebellious against God.

Our knowledge of demons is far less than that which we don't know. What is known is that demons come in different strengths, ranks, position, abilities, and traits. I do not have the knowledge, insight, or space to detail the all of the various types. I will try only to touch upon a few general areas.

Satan's kingdom is ordered much like a military hierarchy. We know this from Ephesians 6.I will receive much criticism from those within the Church of Jesus for this statement but I cannot deviate from it. I don't believe demons are angels. I don't believe fallen angels are demons. I believe that demons are a separate lower class of beings in Satan's kingdom. I may be wrong. I don't hold the only say so on truth. I am open to arguments to the contrary but until I am convinced otherwise I believe that fallen angels and demons are different. Demons do not have a body. Fallen Angels do. It would seem that fallen angels are higher up in Satan's kingdom.

Demons seem to be lower in rank and authority. Demons seem to deal directly with man while fallen angels deal with the rule of nations, states, cities, and regions. Demons seem to rule and occupy positions of power over cities, institutions (churches, schools, etc.), households, families, and individuals. Again I state that I may be wrong on the two but this reasoning is not crucial to the point of impacting the handling of those who are demonized.

Demons can specialize in certain tasks and sins. I have encountered demons who promote rape, adultery, immorality, false teachings, fear, rejection, murder, and manipulation. Some demons will just take on the name of the event or sin that allowed them to enter a person. I had a friend who was raped when he was younger. A demon who manifested in his deliverance called himself "rape". He entered my friend when he was raped and thus he took on the name.

Demons are limited in their power. In impacting man they can only interact when they have permission. It is very similar to the wives tales of vampires. A vampire in the legend cannot enter your house unless you invite him in. His invitation only must be given for him to enter. It doesn't matter if you don't know he is a vampire in order for the invitation to be valid. It only matters that he received permission. With demons permission comes in a variety of ways. First and foremost we invite them into our lives by sin. When we sin we are agreeing with Satan. In doing so we give demons access to our lives. The degree of access depends on our circumstances and the sin.

Second, family ties & history. Unfortunately a spiritual law that was set by God in Number 14:18 is that the sins of the father will affect the sons & daughters to 4 generations. In the bible and creation the father is the head over the house. What he does or allows affects his children. Satan can use Family Idolatry to access descendants. If your family in the past has worshipped other gods, Satan, Witchcraft, demons, or been involved in the occult then you are unfortunately exposed to demonic entities. We discuss this in detail in our Inheritance Section.

Third, abuse or incest. Sin affects the innocent. Physical contact such as sex/rape can allow demons to transfer to the victim. Physical and satanic ritualistic abuse is a doorway to demonization of the victims. It is not fair. I know. Life is not fair. God created a perfect world of peace and harmony. Man screwed it up. God is going to restore it again in the future when Jesus comes back but until then we have to deal with this imperfect world of sin and pain.

Come quickly Lord Jesus, come. I cover this more in detail in the incest section & SRA section.

Fourth, Idolatry or worship of other gods. If you are involved in Idolatry or the worship of other gods then you have an open door to demonization. There is no wider door for them than to those who worship false gods. Witchcraft, Satanism, paganism, new age, Hinduism, Buddhism, the occult, or cults will open the door for demonization.

In the Old Testament the Judgement for this was death by stoning. Why? God did not want those involved in this type of sin to influence those who were not. The bible clearly states that these religions are nothing more than demon worship. You who are involved in these will disagree but it doesn't change the facts. Come out of these and seek your redemption.

Demons can impact the natural world. In order to do so they have to have a person who is willing to invoke them to do so or give them the "permission" to cross over into the physical realm temporarily. I have heard reports of demons lifting objects, bending objects, starting fires, bringing instant death to people and animals. Eye witnesses have stated that they have seen them change weather and cause calamities. People filled with demons have been given great strength and speed.

I have a friend who was a missionary in the deep Amazon Jungle. There in the village he visited there was a man who was chained in a hut. The villagers told him that the man was possessed with spirits. The man would break the chains and run wild through the jungle. No man could catch him or stop him. It would take five to six men to subdue him. My friend went into the hut and immediately the man started screaming. The man did not know English. He only spoke Portuguese.

The demonized man immediately started to address my friend in English. The villagers were shocked. My friend did not know that this man didn't know English. It was a demon who was speaking through the man. The demon spoke with a perfect British Accent. He cried, "What are you doing here man of God? You can't have him. He belongs to us.". My friend took control of the situation and began to cast the demons out of the man. God was gracious to the man. God delivered the man that day.

Demons can perform what would seem to be supernatural feats. Their ability is directly limited to the legal ground they are given to do so by people. Whether this be through witchcraft, sin, or covenants of the past they can only affect this world to the portion that man invites them to.

Demons do not need permission as you and I see permission. Nature abhors a vacuum. Passive permission is all they need to cross over into the physical realm. If we refuse to stand with God in an area of our life then we can expect Satan to stand with us in that area. The same is true for government, education, recreation, institutions, church, and etc. To disagree with God is to align yourself with Satan and the world. The degree of demonic participation will vary according to the circumstances and sin.

Demons are not all powerful creatures as Hollywood would portray them. The do exist. They do impact and affect all men and women. They operate in the invisible spiritual realm. They primarily influence mankind through his/her thoughts. The battle is for the mind. He/She who controls the mind controls the world.

To sum it up we know that demons are spiritual entities that do not have a body. They serve Satan in His kingdom. They primarily affect and influence men and women on earth. Their goal is to gain access to the body, mind, and spirit of men and women so that they will have a body to dwell in and so that they may influence the person to perform evil through that person.

Demons can enable people to perform certain supernatural acts. Their primary goal is the destruction of the person and the prevention of the person from receiving Jesus Christ as their personal savior. There are limits to what a demon can do. Most of their limits is based on permission from God and the victim.