WHO ARE THE DEMONS? John A. MacMillan I AM REVEALED B. Childress Feb 05 2012 Who are these demons, which are everywhere distributed among mankind? Our knowledge of the unseen world does not permit us to state with assurance their origin. Scripture, while it speaks frequently of them, gives no definite information regarding whence they come. It details various orders of the angelic beings but tells little of their functions. That all are of God's creation goes without saying, for everything has come from His hand and was perfect when it was made. But we find now disorder prevailing in creation: there is but one source to which to trace it - the rebellion of Satan. One-third of the heavenly angels seem to have followed the devil in his revolt against God (Revelation 12:4). Their number may be roughly estimated by comparison with those which remained faithful, who are spoken of as myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands (5:11). The passage reads literally, "Ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands," which gives an incalculable host; one-third of this total gives the number which are rebellious among the angels. There seem, however, to be others than angels who were involved in the mighty conspiracy of the devil and who have shared in his ruin: these are the demons. In the enumeration given by the apostle of the malign forces with whom the Christian has to wrestle, four classes are mentioned (Ephesians 6:12). The first of these are called "principalities," mighty satanic princes, who have been appointed by their dread master to rule over the nations. Two of such princes are indicated, the "prince of the kingdom of Persia" (Daniel 10:13) and the "prince of Grecia" (10:20). It would seem from this that earth's kingdoms are each presided over by one of these evil beings and that their councils of the nations are really dominated by unseen beings. It is a sad thought that Michael, the prince of Israel (12:1), is the only one among these principalities who remained faithful to God (10:21). We wonder sometimes at the confusion and lack of unity among the kings and rulers of the nations, but it is easily accounted for as we remember that these great unseen princes exercise the deciding influence among them. The second class is named "powers" (exousias, authorities). We find them joined with "principalities" frequently (Romans 8:38; Ephesians 3:10; 6:12; Colossians 1:16; 2:15) but always in a secondary place, from which we judge that they are inferior in positions, probably as cabinet ministers associated in government. The third class is called "the world rulers of this darkness" (RV). The name suggests a ministry of deception, the keeping in darkness of the minds of men, especially of the leaders of thought. To them is probably due the introduction into our educational systems of such heresies as evolution, to which men hold with strange tenacity, seeing there is no shred of evidence as to its correctness. The fourth class consists of "hosts of wicked spirits in the heavenlies." The term "spirits" is used in the Gospels as synonymous with "demons" (Matthew 8:16; Luke 9:42; and other places). That the Jews recognized the difference between the classes of unseen beings is clear from Acts 23:8-9, where the controversy between Pharisees and Sadducees over Paul is mentioned. To these beings are due the gross sins and deceptions, the stirring up of the animal passions and the incitement to all sorts of sensuous and sensual passions. These are the beings that are present in spiritist seances, impersonating and deceiving people of keen intelligence, as the well-known leaders of the cults today. These beings are also to the fore at religious meetings and are a source of peculiar danger, especially when the emotions are deeply stirred. Many earnest souls, who have been urged to entirely surrender to God, open their beings with utmost abandon to whatever spiritual power approached them, unaware of the peril of so doing. Such yielding frequently provides a channel for entrance of demons, who thus gain control of the will. To dislodge them and once more to free the victim is usually a most difficult task. Their Probable Origin As mentioned above, the Holy Scriptures refer frequently to demons without suggesting in any manner who they are. Let us be quite clear at the beginning of our study that they are not the spirits of the departed. Spiritists would have us believe that they are and that they can be recalled to communication with us almost any time desired. The demons themselves seek to emphasize this theory, that they may the more readily gain access to those who are anxious to come into touch with their departed loved ones. We recall a well-known Methodist minister in Toronto who claimed that he could communicate with his deceased wife, who would come to him in his study and with whom he would have at such times full freedom of communication. But the invariable end of such contact is the entangling of the seeker in the toils of demonism. The demons who are contacted in the seance are wholly untrustworthy. They are described by such writers as Dr. A. Conan Doyle as malicious, liars, mischievous, unclean. Another writer, Dr. Hereward Carrington, connected with the Society for Psychical Research says, "I gained the distinct impression throughout the sitting that, instead of the spirit of the personage who claimed to be present, I was dealing with an exceedingly sly, cunning, tricky and deceitful intelligence, which threw out chance remarks, fishing guesses and shrewd inference, leaving the sitter to pick these up and elaborate them, if he would. If anything could make me believe in the doctrine of evil and lying spirits, it would be the sitting with Mrs. Piper (the medium). I do not for one moment implicate the normal Mrs. Piper in this criticism." These spirits have no conception of truth, or desire for it. The writer, in casting out a demon, said in answer to some statement which it had made, "You are a liar, aren't you?" to which it replied cheerfully, "Oh, yes." Lying appeared to be its nature. Demons must be carefully differentiated from the angels, whether the holy or the fallen. The demons, as stated above, are disembodied spirits, while the angels are clothed with spiritual bodies similar to those which the saints shall have after the resurrection. For we are told by our Lord (Luke 20:36) that the "children of the resurrection" are equal unto the angels (that is, those believers who are partakers of the first resurrection, Revelation 20:5). The inference is of course clear - that the angels are also equal to the children of the resurrection, having spiritual bodies. Heathen mythology recognizes these demons and traces them to a previous golden age. But, if we realize that the ancient writers were under the inspiration of the "prince of this world" (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), it will be easy to understand that their words are what he would dictate. They are benefactors of mortal men, roving the earth and dispensing blessings and favors to them. If we recall that the heathen gods are demons who uttered oracles and received worship, we shall see how this doctrine of Satan spread widely over the earth, and how men were deceived into believing that these creatures were revealers of divine benefits. Source: THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER, by John A. MacMillan, Copyright 2007, WingSpread Publishers. |
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