THE REALITY OF DEMONS!

Today we want to consider “The Reality of Demons.” Are demons actually real? Let us see what the Scriptures say about this:

In Mark 1:21-28 the Bible says, “Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. 22 And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God!" 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" 26 And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27 Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him." 28 And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.”

One of the strategies of the devil is to convince you that he does not exist. Whether you realize it or not, there is a demonic world out there.

The fact that demons are evil spirits, and therefore invisible to the human eye, causes many to question the very reality of their existence. That is no less absurd than questioning the reality of electricity or gravity since they are also invisible.

In Ephesians 6:12 the Bible says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Let us now explore some facts about demons:

1. What are demons? These are spirit beings. They are without a physical body. They have an intense desire to live in a physical body.

Why do demons have an intense desire to live in a body? We have two realms that exist together: (1) The physical realm (the world), and (2) The spiritual realm (the non-physical realm).

The physical realm is the one we see with our natural eyes. It is the visible realm. The spiritual realm is the realm we cannot see with our natural eyes. It is the invisible realm.

To exist and function in this physical world, you MUST be in that material vessel called the body (the earth suit). And this is why the demons have an intense desire to live in a physical body so that they can carry out their own evil desires and use that body for their own purposes in this world.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 the Bible says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In Colossians 1:22, the Bible says, “But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”

See 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 also.

2. Demons are fallen angels.

“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” (Rev. 12:9).

The great red dragon is Satan. With his tail, the dragon swept one third of the stars and they fell to the ground. Those stars were angelic creatures that fell when Lucifer rebelled against God.

When Lucifer rebelled against God he became Satan and seduced millions of angels to rebel against God with him.

2 Peter 2:4 says, “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.”

Satan’s fall from heaven is symbolically described in the Scriptures.

“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! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isa. 14:12-15).

Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God, “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee” (Ezek. 28:12-17).

When Lucifer  fell, he took one third of the angels with him.

“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born” (Rev. 12:3-4).

The Book of Jude also mentioned angels who sinned.

Jude 5-7 says, “But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

So, biblically, demons are fallen angels who, along with Satan, chose to rebel against God.

Some hold the view that demons are disembodied spirits of a pre-Adamic race that perished under the judgment of God not recorded in details in the Scripture.

Some others say that demons are the result of the carnal relationship between the “sons of God” referred to in Genesis 6:2, and the daughters of men.

In Genesis 6:1-4 the Scriptures say, “Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. 3 And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." 4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.”

Therefore, among these fallen angels, we have: (1) Demonic spirits – free (Eph. 6:12), and (2) Those bound in hell (Gen. 6:1-4, Jude 5-7; 2 Pet. 2:4).

Some of the demons are already locked “in darkness, bound with everlasting chains” for their sin.

Jude 6 says, “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.  

Others are free to roam and are referred to as “the powers of this dark world and . . . the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”

“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” (Eph. 6:12).

“And having spoiled principalities and powers, Jesus made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15).

The demons still follow Satan as their leader and do battle with the holy angels in an attempt to thwart God’s plan and hinder God’s people.

Then said Archangel Gabriel unto me, “Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia” (Dan. 10:12-13).

3. Demons, as spirit beings, have the ability to take possession of a physical body. They prefer to live in a human being (a human body), but when this is not available, instead of remaining in a disembodied form, they are willing to enter even the body of animals like cats, dogs, pigs, Wall geckos, cockroaches etc. That is to say that demons are not confined to human bodies but can live in animals as well.

In Matthew 12:43-45 Jesus said, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.”

 Demonic possession occurs when a person’s body is completely controlled by a demon. This cannot happen to a child of God, since the Holy Spirit resides in the spirit man of the believer in Christ (1 John 4:4).

4. Demons can pass from the body of a possessed man to that of innocent animals.

Mark 5:11-13 says, “Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. 12 And all the devils besought Him (Jesus), saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand ;) and were choked in the sea.”

5. Jesus, during His earthly ministry, encountered many demons. Of course, none of them were a match for the power of Christ.

“Many who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus, and He drove out the spirits with a Word” (Matt. 8:16).

“But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the Kingdom of God is come upon you” (Lk. 11:20).

Jesus’ authority over the demons was one of the proofs that He was indeed the Son of God.

The demons who encountered Jesus knew who He was, and they feared Him: “What do you want with us, Son of God?’ [the demons] shouted. ‘Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?’” (Matt. 8:29).

The demons know their end will be one of torment.

6. The faith of demons is sealed. No matter what the demons are doing in the lives of people today, the good news is that their faith is sealed.

Revelations 20:10 says, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

7. Jesus always instructed His disciples to cast out demons whenever He sent them to preach the Gospel.

Matthew 10:1 says, “And when He Jesus had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sicknesses and all manner of diseases.”

Luke 10:17 says, “And the seventy (disciples of Jesus) returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.”

Mark 3:14-15 says, “And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, 15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils.”

Mark 6:12-13 says, “And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.”

In Mark 16:15-18 Jesus said unto them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. 16 He that (1) believeth and (b) is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; IN MY NAME shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

Whatever be the case, be it known to you that demons are real. They are not your friends. They are here to steal from you, kill you and destroy you (Jn. 10:10). Therefore, be careful and don’t welcome them into your life because they are deadly.

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit.

·         Your friend, I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor)                                               Nov. 17^th, 2016 @ the HQ’s

Promise from God: “This day God has rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you” (Josh 5:9).