| SPIRITUAL WARFARE: Unique Demon Personalities HIS GLORY REIGNS B. Childress Aug 15 2008 08:00AM Unique Demon Personalities Demons have distinct and unique personalities just like human beings. No two demons are the same. People have witnessed very peculiar demonic personalities manifesting themselves through people. Satan, their undisputed overlord, exercises absolute control over his invisible hordes. His names reveal his variable characteristics:
Intelligent Beings Remember that neither Satan nor his demon spirits are things. Neither should they be taken lightly. Demons are beings who have all the normally accepted marks of personality: they possess will, intelligence, emotion, self- awareness, and the ability to speak. 1) Will The demon who has gone out of a man says, "I will return to my house from which I came" (Matthew 12:44). The demon here exercises its will to make a decision, and then follows it up with the corresponding action. 2) Emotion "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!" (James 2:19). Trembling is an outward mark of strong emotion. [Derek Prince] writes that at times he has seen a demonized person, who when confronted with the authority of Christ, began to tremble violently. This may be an outward manifestation of fear of the demon inside. 3) Intellect Demons have knowledge not derived from natural sources. The first time Jesus confronted a demonized man in the synagogue in Capernaum, the demon spoke out of the man and said, "I know who You are - the Holy One of God!" (Mark 1:24). It was more than a year before Jesus' own disciples began to realize what this demon had discerned immediately. 4) Self-Awareness When Jesus asked the demonized man in the country of the Gadarenes, "What is your name?" a demon answered on behalf of itself and the other demons, "My name is Legion; for we are many" (Mark 5:9). The demon was aware of both its own identity and that of the other demons occupying this man. 5) Ability to Speak In the first three gospels and also in Acts, we see several examples of demons able to speak through the vocal organs of the persons they are occupying. They could answer questions and carry on a conversation. Normally we regard the ability to speak as a distinctive mark of personality. Demons display a wide range of character traits. Some are vicious, violent, supernaturally strong. Others are weak, cowering, even ridiculous - characteristics one would not expect to find in angels, even when they are fallen. In addition, each one desires to express himself through a body. A demon is not happy unless he has a body. Because they do not possess physical bodies of their own, demons seek to inhabit or use the bodies of humans or animals. Many sicknesses are actually caused by demons, and they should be treated as such. Let's look at a scriptural example where this actually happened.
a great fever; and they besought him for her. And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them." Luke 4:38-39 If this fever was only a physical problem, then how foolish to rebuke it! It makes no sense whatsoever to rebuke an inanimate thing. One can only rebuke something having intelligence, and Jesus knew that a spirit caused this fever. The fever left Peter's mother-in-law because it had to obey Jesus' authoritative command. Calling the Enemy by Name When you are engaged in spiritual warfare, it is important to know your enemy. Demons manifest themselves through humanity under many different names. The following evil spirits, demons, or devils are mentioned in the Scriptures. Each one is a personality, and the word used expresses their nature: In the Old Testament 1) Jealousy/feelings of jealousy (Numbers 5:14,30) 2) Ill will/evil (Judges 9:23) 3) Distressing/evil (I Samuel 16:14-23; 18:10; 19:9) 4) Lying/deceiving (I Kings 22:22; II Chronicles 18:20-22) 5) Perverse/distortion/dizziness (Isaiah 19:14) 6) Deep sleep (Isaiah 29:10) 7) Heaviness/fainting/despair (Isaiah 61:3) 8) Harlotry/prostitution (Hosea 4:12; 5:4) 9) Unclean/unclean/impurity (Zechariah 13:2) 10) Familiar (Deuteronomy 18:11) 11) Sorrowful (I Samuel 1:15) In the New Testament 1) Mute/robbed of speech/Deaf and dumb/ deaf and mute (Mark 9:17; 9:25) 2) Infirmity/causing sickness/ crippling (Luke 13:11) 3) Divination/predicting the future (Acts 16:16) 4) Deceiving/deceitful (I Timothy 4:1) 5) Fear/timidity (II Timothy 1:7) 6) Error/Falsehood (I John 4:6) 7) Unclean (Matthew 10:1) 8) Divination (Acts 16:16) 9) Bondage (I John 4:6) 10) Deceiving (I Timothy 4:1) 11) Error (I John 4:6) 12) Death (Hebrews 2:14-15) General Areas Adultery, Criticism, Envy, Gossip, Hopelessness, Murder, Rebellion, Religion, Stress, Violence, Claustrophobia, Disappointment, Fantasy, Hatred, Masturbation, Perversion, Rejection, Self-pity, Suicide, and Witchcraft. In the Area of Physical Infirmity Arthritis, Asthma, Cancer, Crippling, Epilepsy, Head pain, Migraine, Sinusitis, Thrombosis, and almost every other physical ailment imaginable. These lists are by no means exhaustive, but indicate the diversity of demonic activity. Is it any wonder that we are continually afflicted, frustrated, oppressed, perplexed, worried, and tormented by these disembodied beings? They swarm around us like mosquitoes. Once we are filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered to tear down the enemy's kingdom, we become special targets for their evil intentions. Flesh or Demons? From the beginning, ever since man turned from God in rebellion, he has been subjected to two main spiritual evils: sin and demons. The effect of sin is universal and total, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23). Sin has defiled the human race as a whole and every area of each personality individually. The personality thus corrupted by sin is called in the New Testament "our old man" (Romans 6:6) or "the flesh" (Galatians 5:24). The old man describes the rebellious nature each of us has inherited from our first parent, Adam. Adam did not beget any children until he was in a state of rebellion against God. Therefore, in every descendant of Adam there is the nature of a rebel. The term the flesh does not refer, in this context, to our physical bodies, but to the corrupt nature that is part of the inheritance each of us received at birth. Two different adjectives are used in English translations to describe this corrupt nature: fleshly or carnal. These are merely two different ways of translating the same Greek word. For practical purposes, these two expressions - the old man and the flesh - may be used interchangeably. Each describes our corrupt, fallen, sinful nature. Although the problem of sin is universal, the problem with demons is not. Many members of our fallen human race have come under the power of demons, but not all. There is a close connection, however, between sin, and demons. If mankind had never sinned, we would never have been vulnerable to demons. A biochemist once explained to me (Derek Prince), "A human body is attacked regularly by cancerous cells. When that body is healthy, its immune system identifies and attacks the cancerous cells, and they are unable to harm the body. But when the body has been weakened by illness or some kind of emotional shock, the immune system is unable to do its job effectively, and some form of cancer can develop somewhere in the body." Immediately I (Derek Prince) said to myself, That's just how it is with demons! Demons continually seek to invade a person, but when the person is healthy spiritually, the spiritual "immune system" within the person identifies and attacks the demons, and they are not able to move in and take control. Any kind of unhealthiness or emotional weakness on the other hand, makes a person vulnerable to demonic attack. The Remedy for Each In the spiritual realm, as in the physical, correct diagnosis is essential. So it is important to know, in confronting our own problems or those of other people, what we are dealing with. Is it the flesh? Or is it demons? The question is of vital importance because the remedies are quite different. The remedy for the flesh is crucifixion. By Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross, He canceled the claim sin has on our fleshly nature. Paul states this as historical fact: "Our old man was crucified with [Jesus]" (Romans 6:6). But each of us must make a personal application of the cross to our fleshly nature. Paul says, therefore, in Galatians 5: 24, "And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Once we have made this personal application of the cross, we can echo Paul's words in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..." Crucifixion, then, is the remedy for our fleshly nature. It is a remedy each of us needs to apply personally. The remedy for demons, on the other hand - as often demonstrated in the ministry of Jesus - is to cast them out. These two remedies are not interchangeable. It is not possible to cast out the flesh, and it is not possible to crucify a demon. Looking back over my own (Derek Prince's) struggle with depression, I realized that was precisely the mistake I was making. I was trying to apply crucifixion - the remedy for the flesh - while I was actually dealing with a demon, and the remedy was to expel it. As soon as I understood my problem and applied the right remedy, I was delivered. I have also confronted the problem in reverse when a person tries to apply to the flesh the remedy appropriate only for demons. A man came to me (Derek Prince) once and said, "Brother Prince, I want you to cast a demon out of me." "How does the demon affect you?" I asked. "I just can't get on with my wife," he replied. "There's no harmony between us." I listened carefully as he described how the disharmony between them affected both their lives. Eventually I said, "I don't believe you have a demon that needs to be cast out. What you need is to apply the cross to your fleshly nature." It was obvious, however, that he was not satisfied. He had viewed deliverance from a demon as a "quick fix" that would substitute for the painful task of crucifying his own flesh. Crucifixion is the distinguishing mark of those who truly belong to Christ. God is not interested in our church membership or denominational labels. He looks to see if our old, fleshly way of life has come to an end at the foot of the cross. Crucifixion is always painful, but it is the gateway to a new life. The Old Man and the New Even after the life-transforming application of the cross in our lives, we still have to maintain personal discipline to keep the "old man" in subjection. In Colossians 3:3 Paul says to believers, "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." But in verse 5 he says, "Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry." We each have the continuing responsibility to keep the "old man" dead. But even the death of the "old man" is not the final state in the process. After that occurs, we must "put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross made possible an exchange. Our "old man" was crucified in Him so that the "new man" might come to life in us. Just as a completely healthy human body is immune to cancerous cells, so the "new man" in Christ is immune to demonic activity. Most Christians, however, have not yet arrived at this state of complete spiritual health. In my limited personal experience, I have to say I have encountered comparatively few Christians who did not seem vulnerable to demonic activity. Once again, we may borrow an example from the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Since most people are not in the state of physical health in which they are immune to cancerous cells, it is necessary for scientists to do research and for doctors to acquire all the information available. This enables them to diagnose the presence of cancer and to prescribe appropriate treatment. Likewise, there is an urgent need for Christians to learn all we can about the nature and activity of demons. This knowledge is important for all believers, since none of us can claim immunity from the attacks of demons. It is especially important, however, for pastors, evangelists, and other Christian workers to whom people look for help. Without this knowledge, as I said before, we will often be unable to make a correct diagnosis or to apply the appropriate remedy, and therefore we will not really help people. Without the probe of discernment, we cannot effectively use the forceps of deliverance. Source: Demons and Deliverance, by H.A. Maxwell Whyte, Copyright 1989, Whitaker House. They Shall Expel Demons, by Derek Prince, Copyright 1998, Chosen Books. |
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