This is the sixth in a brief series of posts on angels.

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Who are demons? Where did they come from? What are they like? And what do they do? Scripture clearly affirms the reality of demons. In the New Testament alone, all of the writers except for the writer of Hebrews mention demons — for a total of more than 100 references. Jesus often casts out demons and authorizes His disciples to do the same. Never does the Lord correct anyone for his or her belief in demons.

References to demons are far less frequent in the Old Testament. The shedhim of Deut. 32:17 and Ps. 106:37 are lord-idols whom the Hebrews regard as visible symbols of demons. The seirim of Lev. 17:7; 2 Chron. 11:15; Isa. 13:21 and 34:14 also are demonic conceptions, according to Charles Ryrie in Basic Theology.

Demons in Scripture exercise great power and knowledge; they clearly recognize Jesus as God and fear Him; they work actively against Jesus; and they promote false teachings known as “doctrines of demons.” 

Demons defined

Demons may be defined as angelic beings who followed Satan in his revolt against God. They are Satan’s subjects and helpers in his program of opposition to God and human beings. 

Rev. 12:3-4 suggests that Satan and his demons make up one-third of the angelic host.

There are five Hebrew words translated “demon” in the Old Testament. Shedhim, always used in the plural, carries the idea of rulers or lords; it speaks of idols as lords, since the ancient Israelites regard graven images as visible symbols of invisible demons. Seirim refers to the goat-like demon-satyrs worshipped by some Israelites. Elilim connects demons with idols. The plural word conveys the emptiness of idols, yet the demons behind them are real. Gad speaks of the Babylonian demon-god Fortune, worshipped by those who have forsaken Yahweh. Qeter, or destruction, is regarded as an evil spirit.

In the New Testament, there are four key words that describe demons. Daimon is the word from which the English word demon is derived; its emphasis is on evil power or bad influence. Daimonion designates idols and pagan gods; this is the most frequently used term for demons in the New Testament (63 times). Pneumata is used 43 times and refers to evil spirits. Angels is a term also referring to demons, as in “the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). The King James term “devils” is an incorrect rendering of the Greek words daimonion and pneumata; “demons” is the proper translation.

The origin of demons

Where did demons come from? The Bible doesn’t specifically settle the issue, and several theories have been advanced.

View #1: Demons are disembodied spirits of a lost civilization. Some believe demons are the spirits of a pre-Adamic race. That is, some Bible scholars have speculated that human beings existed before the creation of Adam and Eve. This is based on a view that the creation account of Genesis 1 is actually a recreation, following some cataclysmic event – the fall of Satan perhaps – that causes the earth to become “formless and void.”

View #2: Demons are the offspring of the “sons of God.” Some interpret Genesis 6 to mean that the “sons of God” are evil angels who engage in sexual relations with certain women before the flood. The results of this unnatural union are mongrel creatures, part human and part angelic. The flood destroys them, although their seed remains in one of Noah’s daughters-in-law, according to this theory, but their spirits become the demons who today seek to inhabit bodies and continue in sensuality.

View #3: Demons are spirits of the dead. Some believe that demons are the disembodied spirits of the wicked dead – “the damned sent back to haunt the living,” as one writer puts it.

View #4: Demons are fallen angels. This view, best supported by Scripture, states that demons are legions of fallen angels. The Bible says all angels were created perfect, as was Lucifer (Job 38:7; Eze. 28:15). In Satan’s rebellion, he drew with him a great number of lesser angels, perhaps a third of the angelic host. Expelled from heaven, Satan and his demons reside in a spiritual realm between heaven and earth. Here, they wage warfare against God and his people.

Of the angels that followed Satan, there are two general classes: bound and free. There are two places of confinement for those bound. Some are in tartarus (translated “hell” in the KJV, 2 Pet. 2:4). These seem permanently confined until the final judgment of angels, not because of their original rebellion with Satan, but because of some other terrible sin. These are thought by some scholars to be the “sons of God” of Genesis 6:1-4. Other evil angels are bound in the abyss (Luke 8:31; Rev. 9:1-3, 11). Some demons cast out of people are sent there by Christ, but possibly not all. In addition, some demons are now bound at the River Euphrates and will be released to afflict wicked men and women during the Tribulation (Rev. 9:13-19). 

The unconfined demons seem free to roam the earth – as Satan is – and carry on their master’s work.

The nature of demons

Demons, like elect angels, are spirit beings created by God. They possess minds, emotions, and wills, and have moral responsibility. Having exercised their wills against God, they fell with Satan and have no hope of salvation They are bound for everlasting separation from their Creator in hell (Matt. 25:41).

Demons are called spirits and are contrasted with flesh and blood. As creatures, they are finite and limited in space, time, and powers. As angelic beings, they never cease to exist.

Demons are unclean. Since rebelling with Satan against God, they are morally and spiritually unclean. Everything about them is twisted – mind, emotion, and will – and they use their wicked powers against God, whom they hope to unthrone. Though they abide in darkness, they can masquerade as angels of light (2 Cor. 11:13-15). They are termed “unclean spirits,” “evil spirits,” and “spiritual forces of wickedness.”

Demons normally are invisible. Just as elect angels have power to appear on some occasions, evil spirits appear to possess a similar power. When Scripture records their appearances, they assume hideous and fearsome forms like animals (Rev. 9:7-10, 17; 16:13-16). Although, it should be remembered that just as Satan disguises himself as “an angel of light,” demons also seek to present themselves in alluring ways to entice people to sin

Demons have supernatural power, beginning with great intelligence. Demons are in league with Satan, who has vast intelligence (Eze. 28:12), and they have intelligence of their own. They have supernatural insight into the identity of Christ as the Son of God (Mark 1:34), and they know of his great power (Mark 5:6-7). They know their place of confinement and future judgment (Matt. 8:28-29; Luke 8:31). They cleverly deceive men by withholding necessary information for salvation (1 John 4:1-4), and by masquerading as messengers of light (2 Cor. 11:13-15). They know how to corrupt sound doctrine (1 Tim. 4:1-3), and how to distinguish between believers and unbelievers (Rev. 9:4).

Demons also possess great strength. They may control men and women viciously and violently, as witnessed in the stories of the Gadarene demoniac (Mark 5), the seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19), and the epileptic child (Matt. 17). And they may interfere in the laws of nature by working supernatural feats, as they did through the magicians in Pharoah’s court.

Last, demons possess the strength to move swiftly in space (Dan. 10:10-14). Normal physical barriers do not limit the presence of demons; a “legion” of demons – perhaps 3,000 to 6,000 – inhabit the body of the Gadarene demoniac. Yet a demon, like Satan and elect angels, can only be one place at a time.

A final word on demons

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis cautions: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist and a magician with the same delight.”

This concludes our brief study of angels and demons.