Demonology

10 Pages 2485 Words

mons have a counterfeit system of doctrine (I Tim. 4:1-3); and, sixth, demons have the ability to communicate by speech (Lk. 4:34, 35, 41; 8:28-31).

Second, do demons have emotions? Yes, and this can be seen in two ways: first, they have the emotion of fierceness and anger (Mt. 8:28); and, second, they have the emotion of fear (Mt. 8:29; Ja. 2:19).

Third, do demons have will? Again, yes, and this can be seen in three ways: first, they have the will to make requests (Mt. 8:31; Lk. 8:32); second, they have the will to obey commands and orders (Mk. 1:27; Lk. 4:35-36); and, third, they have the will to leave a person, seek a new place to live, or return to the place where they formerly lived (Mt. 12:43-45).

There is one other way in which we can know that demons have personality: When the New Testament speaks of demons, it uses the personal pronoun. It never refers to a demon as an “it,” which would be fitting if demons were mere emanations. Instead, the text uses the pronouns “we,” “us,” “they,” “your,” “I,” and “me” to refer to demons (Mk. 5:6-13; Lk. 8:28-30).

THE ORIGIN OF DEMONS

This is a lengthy topic in and of itself. In the interest of space, we will summarize by noting that all demons originated when they fell with Satan at the time of his fall. However, sometime after that, some of Satan’s fallen angels (fallen angels and demons are one and the same) married human women to try to corrupt the Seed of the Woman in an attempt to thwart the first messianic prophecy of Genesis 3:15. These particular angels – who like all other demons were initially free – are now permanently confined in Tartarus (a section of Sheol or Hades). The others are free, though periodically many of them are temporarily confined in the Abyss (another section of Sheol or Hades) before eventually being released to roam free again. In the future, all demons will be eternally confined in the Lake of Fire following t...