What are demons? Most people agree that demons are fallen angels. Satan, in his prideful, selfish ways turned from God and according to Revelation 12:4, one third of the angels God created went with him to earth. Some people believe that demons are not fallen angels at all, at least not in the sense that most think. They believe Satan was created to represent evil. John 8:44 says “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” They believe because he was a murderer from the beginning, he was made that way on purpose.
Regardless of if Satan was originally created for good and then chose his own path of rebellion against God, or if he was created to test our loyalty to God, the fact remains that God lets Satan and his dark army roam free on the earth. Satan was allowed in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and Satan is allowed to tempt us today.
The confusing and disturbing question for some is why would God allow Satan to mess with us? Why would He not just send him to hell and be done with it? To answer this question we must look at why God created us. We were created to worship Him. God could have created us like puppy dogs that no matter what you do to them; they always come back licking your face. God could have created a being that just bowed at His feet and praised His name for all of eternity without even choosing to do so, but God knew that wouldn’t be real worship. Real worship must be chosen by a free being and given out of love. So God gave us a choice to worship him by sending down some of His fallen angels to earth to serve as the opposition.
Not only does God allow demons to roam the earth so we consciously choose Him, He also allows them here to increase our character and our faith. In James 1:2-4, Jesus’ half-brother states, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” From God’s perspective, having Satan and his demons constantly testing and tempting us is a good thing because it causes us to produce a better fruit. Remember our God is a perfect God and He knows what He is doing. A perfect example of this is Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The scripture does not say in some things or in most things but in all things. In all things God is at work for the good of us that believe.
DEMONS IN YOUR LIFE
It is creepy to think about but demons are everywhere. They are watching you all the time. You cannot see them unless they want to be seen but that does not mean they are not there. They are the definition of evil and they are good at what they do. Their art is deception and they are skilled like Picasso and van Gogh.
Demons are constantly telling lies. That is all they know to do. The lies are often times unrecognizable. Demons are wiser than man. They will take a truth and twist it just a little bit. Once you buy a little lie, you get tempted to buy another. And then another. Before you know what happened, you are further from God than ever before, doing things you never thought you would do.
A perfect biblical example of this is the story of Lot in the Old Testament. Lot was blessed by God because of his father Abraham. Even though God had blessed Lot, he packed up his belongings and pitched his tent just outside Sodom, the wickedest place of the time. Soon after, Lot moved into Sodom and years later he became a leader in the sinful city. By the end of his time in Sodom, he freely offered up his daughters to the angry mob outside his house to have their way with them. How did Lot get so far from where he started? Lot fell, through the progressive nature of sin that Satan uses on all of us.
Satan’s strategy reminds me of the story of the frog that most all of us have heard. If you put a frog in boiling water, it will instantly jump out. If you put that same frog in cool, pleasant water, and then slowly raise the temperature on the frog until it is boiling, it will never jump out and it will die. Sin is the same way. It usually starts out small and innocent but eventually, it will lead to death. (Romans 6:23)
It is important to know that our mind, the connection between our consciousness and our spirit, is like the door that keeps Satan and his demons from entering us. Any time we freely give up this mind/spirit connection, we are at risk of demonic influence. The mind without the spirit is like a house with nobody home. If a thief walks by a house and sees no one is home, he will quickly enter the home to take its possessions. Demons are the same way. They will seize an opportunity. Many things can cause the door to be opened including meditation, hypnosis, alcohol, and drugs. Once we are no longer in control, a demon will gladly step into our place. 1 Peter 5:8 says "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may DEVOUR."
Whether you are a believer or a non-believer, demons can still affect and influence you. But being a believer actually causes you to be under a more watchful eye from demons because of their hatred for God. A non-believer represents a sole that they have already won. They will fight day and night to destroy and win the soul of a believer. They despise a Christian’s worship of God. This fight between good and evil, known as spiritual warfare, is anything that takes the believers eyes off Jesus. Find a church where great things are happening for God and you can rest assured that Satan is working overtime to cause strife. Many times, a great controversy develops, causing the great momentum of the church to crumble. Pastors get fired for wrongdoing and longtime church members leave, leaving empty seats in a once crowded place of worship. This is not by coincidence or by accident. It is demons at work.
Not only can demons mess with you mentally, they can also cause physical harm. In Luke 13:10-17, we learn of a lady that was a believer in God that had been crippled for 18 years, was healed by Jesus. The synagogue leader tried to condemn Jesus for healing her on the Sabbath and Jesus answered him, “Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” Satan’s powers are not infinite but he is capable of causing us physical harm and sickness. This is not to say that all causes of sickness and disease are from demons but they do have the power to inflict them upon you if God allows it.
NEXT UP CHAPTER 4...NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES
Regardless of if Satan was originally created for good and then chose his own path of rebellion against God, or if he was created to test our loyalty to God, the fact remains that God lets Satan and his dark army roam free on the earth. Satan was allowed in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and Satan is allowed to tempt us today.
The confusing and disturbing question for some is why would God allow Satan to mess with us? Why would He not just send him to hell and be done with it? To answer this question we must look at why God created us. We were created to worship Him. God could have created us like puppy dogs that no matter what you do to them; they always come back licking your face. God could have created a being that just bowed at His feet and praised His name for all of eternity without even choosing to do so, but God knew that wouldn’t be real worship. Real worship must be chosen by a free being and given out of love. So God gave us a choice to worship him by sending down some of His fallen angels to earth to serve as the opposition.
Not only does God allow demons to roam the earth so we consciously choose Him, He also allows them here to increase our character and our faith. In James 1:2-4, Jesus’ half-brother states, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” From God’s perspective, having Satan and his demons constantly testing and tempting us is a good thing because it causes us to produce a better fruit. Remember our God is a perfect God and He knows what He is doing. A perfect example of this is Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The scripture does not say in some things or in most things but in all things. In all things God is at work for the good of us that believe.
DEMONS IN YOUR LIFE
It is creepy to think about but demons are everywhere. They are watching you all the time. You cannot see them unless they want to be seen but that does not mean they are not there. They are the definition of evil and they are good at what they do. Their art is deception and they are skilled like Picasso and van Gogh.
Demons are constantly telling lies. That is all they know to do. The lies are often times unrecognizable. Demons are wiser than man. They will take a truth and twist it just a little bit. Once you buy a little lie, you get tempted to buy another. And then another. Before you know what happened, you are further from God than ever before, doing things you never thought you would do.
A perfect biblical example of this is the story of Lot in the Old Testament. Lot was blessed by God because of his father Abraham. Even though God had blessed Lot, he packed up his belongings and pitched his tent just outside Sodom, the wickedest place of the time. Soon after, Lot moved into Sodom and years later he became a leader in the sinful city. By the end of his time in Sodom, he freely offered up his daughters to the angry mob outside his house to have their way with them. How did Lot get so far from where he started? Lot fell, through the progressive nature of sin that Satan uses on all of us.
Satan’s strategy reminds me of the story of the frog that most all of us have heard. If you put a frog in boiling water, it will instantly jump out. If you put that same frog in cool, pleasant water, and then slowly raise the temperature on the frog until it is boiling, it will never jump out and it will die. Sin is the same way. It usually starts out small and innocent but eventually, it will lead to death. (Romans 6:23)
It is important to know that our mind, the connection between our consciousness and our spirit, is like the door that keeps Satan and his demons from entering us. Any time we freely give up this mind/spirit connection, we are at risk of demonic influence. The mind without the spirit is like a house with nobody home. If a thief walks by a house and sees no one is home, he will quickly enter the home to take its possessions. Demons are the same way. They will seize an opportunity. Many things can cause the door to be opened including meditation, hypnosis, alcohol, and drugs. Once we are no longer in control, a demon will gladly step into our place. 1 Peter 5:8 says "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may DEVOUR."
Whether you are a believer or a non-believer, demons can still affect and influence you. But being a believer actually causes you to be under a more watchful eye from demons because of their hatred for God. A non-believer represents a sole that they have already won. They will fight day and night to destroy and win the soul of a believer. They despise a Christian’s worship of God. This fight between good and evil, known as spiritual warfare, is anything that takes the believers eyes off Jesus. Find a church where great things are happening for God and you can rest assured that Satan is working overtime to cause strife. Many times, a great controversy develops, causing the great momentum of the church to crumble. Pastors get fired for wrongdoing and longtime church members leave, leaving empty seats in a once crowded place of worship. This is not by coincidence or by accident. It is demons at work.
Not only can demons mess with you mentally, they can also cause physical harm. In Luke 13:10-17, we learn of a lady that was a believer in God that had been crippled for 18 years, was healed by Jesus. The synagogue leader tried to condemn Jesus for healing her on the Sabbath and Jesus answered him, “Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” Satan’s powers are not infinite but he is capable of causing us physical harm and sickness. This is not to say that all causes of sickness and disease are from demons but they do have the power to inflict them upon you if God allows it.
NEXT UP CHAPTER 4...NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES
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