What is demonology?

According to Webster 1828, demonology is a discourse/study of demons; a treatise on evil spirits.

Theories on the Origins of Demon – History of Demonology

There are three theories about the origin of demons in Christian literature, the Bible. They are fallen angels, descendants of the cohabitations of fallen angels with women in Genesis 6 as well as spirits of a pre-Adamite race.

  1. Fallen angels
    They teach that the demons/devils used to be angels in heaven and that they were a third of the angels in heaven. When they rebelled against God, He kicked them out of heaven along with Satan.
    The flaw with this theory is with Revelation 12, where it talks about the dragon and his angels. They came and rebelled against God and got kicked out. The problem with that is it will happen in Revelation (future) not long before Genesis.
  2. They were descendants of the cohabitations of angels with women.

    Genesis 6:1-6: “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”

    Based on Job 1, sons of God = angels.
    Angels mingled with human women, and they produced giants/superhuman creatures. It is just a theory, and it is uncertain.

  3. They are the spirits of a pre-Adamite race.
    Before Adam, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water. They believe that the water was a universal flood. Before Adam was created, there used to be another earth. He drowned out the whole earth and universe. The people who used to live on the pre-Adamite earth were the sons of God/angels. When God sends the universal flood in Genesis 1:2 and the angels died in that universal flood, their spirits became demons. The existence of demons is therefore before the Adamic tradition.

    Genesis 1:1-2: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

Devils Are Not Angels

Connected to theory 1, the false beliefs about demons coming from fallen angels is based on Revelation 12:9. Some in Christian traditions think that the fallen angel transforms into a devil, but the problem is that the Bible said Satan and his angels, not Satan and his devils.

Whenever the Bible says angel, it means angel. Whenever the Bible says devil, it means devil. It is not just limited to Satan and his devils. It can be Satan, his devils, and his fallen angels, a whole group.

Whenever an angel is mentioned in the Bible, it was always referred to as a man.

Notice that Lot mentions washing the angel’s feet. They are men. They ate. Also, the homosexuals in Sodom wanted to rape the angels.

Genesis 19:1-5: “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”

Mary sees a person and refers to the angel as he.

Luke 1:26-29: “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.”

Devils, on the other hand, are not men. They are unclean spirits and do not have physical bodies. This is debunking popular belief systems in Christian demonology.

Unclean Spirits

In Christian demonology, unclean spirits or demonic spirits are never likened to men. More and more in the Bible, one will find out that devils are likened to animals, never to men.

Revelation 16:13: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.”

Unclean and hateful birds are in line with foul spirits and devils.

Revelation 18:2: “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”

Devils are spirits likened to animals, whereas angels are likened to spirits or man.

A thousand demons possessed a man. If demons are angels (man), how do you fit 1,000 men into a person?

Mark 5:1-9: “And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.”

Description of Devils

There are some doctrines about demons that we can learn from Christian scriptures and the Bible.

  1. They can be small in size.
    How are you going to fit 1,000 devils in a man unless they are small in size?

    Mark 5:1-9: “And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.”

    Here we have seven devils inside a woman. The devil is smaller than a human.

    Mark 16:9: “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.”

    Beelzebub is the prince of the devils. Beelzebub is not an English word but a Greek word that is transliterated. If translated, the word means lord of the flies. The devil can be small in size like a fly.

    Matthew 12:24: “But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”

  2. They can have wings.
    Bird is in the same line as devils as they have wings.

    Revelation 18:2: “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”

    Devils are likened to fowls that have wings.

    Luke 8:5: “A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.”
    Luke 8:12: “Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.”

    Beelzebub means lord of the flies. Since flies have wings, then devils have wings too.

    Matthew 12:24: “But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”

Nature of Demons

What is the identity of demons?

  1. They are spirit beings.
    Both angels and devils are spirits, but angels are likened to men, whereas devils are likened to animals. Devils are spirits.

    Matthew 8:16: “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:”

    They are unclean spirits.

    Mark 1:23: “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,”

    Men wrestle not against material things but immaterial things. Devils are connected to immaterial or spiritual things. They are not materialized like humans.

    Ephesians 6:12: “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.”

  2. They are known to having personality and intelligence.

    Mark 5:10: “And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.”
    Luke 4:34: “Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.”
    Genesis 3:1: “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
    2 Corinthians 11:4: “For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”

Organization of Demons

Devils have a headquarter. In v14, it shows Satan’s headquarters, i.e. false doctrine, fornication, worshipping idols. Satan is the prince of demons.

Revelation 2:13: “I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.”

They have a well-organized multitude group of demons.
In the tribulation, Satan has all his demonic forces spread out doing jobs for him. There is a variety of demons.

Daniel 7:19-20: “Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.”

Devils are not uncoordinated mobs and are not sporadic. The devil controls them and gives them specific tasks.

Matthew 12:26: “And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?”
Revelation 12:4: “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.”
Revelation 12:7: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,”

Satan rules over fallen men today with his government of pride, ambitions, selfishness, force, greed, and pleasure.

John 14:30: “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”
John 18:36: “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.”
Ephesians 2:2: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”
Ephesians 6:12: “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.”
1 John 2:15-17: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Doom of Demons

They end up in the lake of fire, burning forever.

The devils are afraid that Jesus is coming to torment them before the expected time. When will it occur? It happens at the end.

Matthew 8:29: “And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?”

At the final judgment, He throws the lost people into the lake of fire. It all happens at the end because when He casts these people into the lake of fire, He says ‘into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels’. The devils will be cast into the lake of fire at the end.

Matthew 25:41: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”

The original audio file can be found here. It is part of Beginner Discipleship 32.

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