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Evil spirits are supernatural spirit beings. The Bible calls them demons. Demons can influence humans by evil means. The word demon originated from the Greek word daimon. It references beings with special powers, placing them between humanity and God.
Most of what we hear about evil spirits is far from factual. But demons are real, and we have distorted their legitimacy. We have adopted the perception that demons are grotesque-looking creatures. People imagine them with long tails and reddish-brown colored skin. Some people think of demons as having goat or ram-like horns protruding from their foreheads. But the truth is, demons do not look like that. Mythology has tricked us. We believe that the devil carries a pitchfork and lives in hell. People think he rules a fiery kingdom in the underworld. They believe he tortures people who once lived bad lives on Earth. However, the devil does not have a tail or horns. He does not carry a pitchfork. Nor does he live in hell. So, what does the Bible teach about demon spirits?
Did God Create Evil Spirits?
The Bible tells us that when time began, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). God created the heavens, which include galaxies, stars, solar systems, and planets. He also created spirit beings. These beings were meant to set up His kingdom and government throughout the universe. God called these spirit beings angels (Psalm 104:4).
Angels are intelligent beings who can choose like us. When God created angels, they were perfect, sinless beings. They reflected God’s power, glory, love, and character without error. Angels also loved each other and their Creator. When they served God, they served Him out of sheer admiration. All the angels found great pleasure in doing the work God had assigned them.
Everything God created was good, including angels. Among the angels of heaven, Lucifer ranked third in God’s chain of command. First was the Creator, God the Father. Second was the Son of God, the Word (John 1:1). Then, there was Lucifer, the ruler of God’s angels (Ezekiel 28:14). Lucifer convinced many angels to follow him in a coup. Lucifer was committed to overthrowing God’s Throne.
1. Demons Have Supernatural Ability
As a result of Lucifer’s corruption, there was a war in heaven. Lucifer and his demons fought against the Archangel Michael and his holy angels, but Lucifer lost. So, God cast them out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-9). These rebellious angels would forever be known as demons, and their leader, Lucifer, would be known as Satan, the devil. Now that we know what evil spirits are, here are eight biblical facts about demons you should know.
Demons are on an evil mission to destroy humanity in any way they can. They are responsible for strange behavior, blindness, sickness, and disease (Mark 1:34). Demon spirits can take over a physical body. As a result, this possession can cause physical disorders like blindness, seizures, and the inability to speak and hear. A legion of demons possessed the Gadarene man, causing him to live as a wild man in the tombs. They also enabled him to have superhuman strength (Mark 5:1-20).
2. Evil Spirits Are Loyal to Satan
Demons are faithful to Satan, the prince of darkness and humanity’s worst enemy. Lucifer was the most beautiful and wisest of God’s created beings. His beauty and wisdom made him puffed up with pride. Ultimately, Lucifer persuaded a third of the angels of heaven to join him in an uprising against God. They were cast out of heaven and then confined to the earth for their act of rebellion.
Satan means “adversary.” He is God’s enemy. Satan is also known as the “devil.” The term “devil” means “accuser.” He accuses God’s people day and night before the throne of God (Revelation 12:7-11). In Matthew 4:3, he is called the “tempter.” In John 8:44, he is a “murderer” and a “liar.” He is compared to a “lion” in 1 Peter 5:8, a “serpent” in Genesis 3:1 and Revelation 12:9. Satan is called an “angel of light” in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. He is the “god of this age” in 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV).
3. Demons Disguise Themselves As Holy Angels
Satan and his demons can disguise themselves as angels of light, giving them the appearance of doing good. Still, their motives are evil (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). What’s more, they aim to lead people astray. One of the ways demons do this is by deception. Evil spirits instigate false doctrine. They distort the gospel. They also create new and false doctrines to lure people away from God.
4. Spiritual Forces in High Places
We are in a spiritual warfare against demons. In the Book of Daniel, we learn that Satan’s angels fight God’s angels. They battled for control of the affairs of nations (Daniel 10:13-20). Thus, our fight is not against each other, as we war against spiritual forces in high places of authority. The Scripture says,
We are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood. Instead, we battle persons without bodies. They are evil rulers of the unseen world. These entities include mighty satanic beings. They are also great evil princes of darkness who rule this world. We also fight against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.
Ephesians 6:12 TLB
Moreover, their goal is to trouble God’s people and prompt them to display wickedness, pride, envy, strife, and malice in any way they can.
5. Fallen Angels Are Unclean Spirits
Do not be deceived. Evil spirits are real. These unclean spirits oppose everything that God does and all that He stands for. God is holy, righteous, and good (Isaiah 45:21 NIV). God’s grace, mercy, and love define Him. Demon spirits hate grace, faith, compassion, and love, for these are all of the things that make God righteous.
6. Lying Spirits
Lying spirits encourage delusion and error that lead people astray from the truth of God’s word. In 1 Kings 22:22-23, God allowed a lying spirit to influence the prophets of Israel. This was to mislead and direct the hostile king Ahab to disaster in battle.
Satan is the force behind lying spirits. He is the first liar and the father of lies. His deceiving spirits carry out their seductions through lies. Satan calls evil good and good evil. His lying spirits only intend to deceive, kill, and destroy.
God is the source of truth (2 Corinthians 4:4), while the devil is the enemy of truth. Through a lie, he brought spiritual and physical death to humankind (Genesis 3:4,13; 1 John 3:8,10-15). Satan is still distorting the truth, for he has no truth in him. He is a liar and only seeks to lead people away from God.
7. Deceiving Spirits
The Scripture says that in the last days, some people will depart from the faith, give heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, and speak lies in hypocrisy. Consequently, these lying spirits will only lead you astray. Their primary goal is to seduce you and convince you to abandon your faith in God. (1 Timothy 4:1-2).
8. Christ Disarmed Satan and His Demons
Although demons are our enemies, we must understand that they have been defeated. Christ disarmed the devil and his demons and made a public spectacle of them through His sacrifice at the cross.
“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”
Colossians 2:15
Jesus defeated sin and fulfilled the Law when He went to the cross. At first, it appeared that the powers of darkness had won. But on Resurrection Sunday, Jesus got up from the grave. When Jesus got up, He delivered a blow to Satan and his demons. They would never recover from this blow. Moreover, Jesus exposed the deceit and vileness of Satan and his troop of demons. Christ vindicated God and vanquished the devil in His death, resurrection, and ascension.
As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit of God living in our hearts. Satan and his evil spirits are not more excellent than Jesus. You and I share in Christ’s victory over the demonic forces of the devil. What a fantastic position and provision we have in Christ! It is now up to us to live up to it by faith.
