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Which Rendering Is Correct Devils or Demons?
Satan and Other Devils (Not Demons)
The term demon, commonly used by scholars in rendering the Greek transliteration daimon to refer to an evil spirit in scripture is improper. The transliteration creates mythology, producing an unknown category of creatures. In various cultures, the term can apply to obvious mythological figures like vampires & werewolfs. Evil spirits are real powers that wreak real havoc on mankind. The Greek term must be properly translated if we’re to understand what, evil spirits are, and contrary to many scholars, the correct English translation is devil [also diabolos (slanderer) in Greek], as rendered in the KJV. The word devil tells the reader who evil spirits are and what they are all about, for devils are clearly the fallen angels who followed the archangel & chief devil lucifer in his revolt against God. This is clear from Luke 10: 17,18 where the disciples rejoice unto Christ that devils they encounter on earth are subject to them through the name of Jesus Christ; in 10:18 this statement is followed by Christ speaking of His seeing satan fall from heaven, thus linking the devils on earth to satan the chief devil cast out of heaven (to earth). From this we understand that evil spirits, or devils, are they who were created with the power and knowledge of angels, and came to hate God. And they hate mankind made in the image of God, especially those that have God’s Spirit within, which are honors no angel, holy or fallen, has ever enjoyed.
Many scholars seem to doubt that evil spirits are fallen angels, as discussed below.
The Sin of Satan
The fall of satan into sin occurred sometime between God’s pronouncements of His creation as very good (Gen.1:31) and satan’s temptation of Eve by the serpent (Gen. 3:1). This fall is noted in Ezek.28:13-16 that says of satan, Thou hast been in Eden (in the serpent that tempted Eve, or even earlier)…Thou art the anointed cherub… thou wast upon the holy mountain of God (high heaven)…Thou wast perfect in thy ways, from the day that thou wast created, til iniquity was found in thee…Casting- out of satan from heaven is seen in 28:16 that says, I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God. The fall and casting out are also noted in Isaiah 14:12-14 that says, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning (morning of creation)! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars (other angels) of God…I will be like the most High. Thus the angel Lucifer is Satan, and he appears to have been the greatest of the archangels.
The title like the most High is reserved for the Son of God exclusively, and unlike the only begotten Son, the created lucifer is far from infinite. It appears to be his jealousy of Christ and the desire to take the place of the Son of God in a position of equality with the Father that moved lucifer to his worst acts. It’s undoubtedly true that the slaughter of innocent children in Herod’s effort to kill Jesus as a babe and the evil treatment of Christ on the Cross were acts motivated by satan moving in the hearts of men. Doubtless, the wilderness temptation was a more subtle attack aimed at eliminating Christ from his position as prince of heaven by trying to get Him to fall into sin. All such acts are indicative of insanity, which is evidently characteristic of one who rebels against God, and should know better.
Lucifer’s superiority over other angels would be obvious to him so that he would entertain the notion that he should be exalted. Other angels would know they were inferior to lucifer, but we wonder why a third of the entire angelic host followed him in rebellion against God (Rev.12:4,7-9). The main one would likely be that lucifer was so great that he had sufficient persuasive power to tempt a third of the entire free-willed heavenly host to follow him in rebellion against God. That his power to tempt is immense cannot be denied, considering that temptation to sin is powerful in so many people, even in Christians who have the Spirit of God. We need the filling of the Spirit for full protection from the temptation power of satan.
The Work of Satan and Other Devils (Not Demons)
A variety of activities
Satan is the head of a host
of fallen angels, or devils, and leads them in a perpetual effort to
incite mankind to sin, and oppose God’s will and work. As seen in
Luke 22: 31, he interferes in the spiritual progress of God’s people,
and tries to destroy them. Evidently he does not believe they have
eternal security, for he knows he doesn’t have it, and knows he is
far greater than they in power and cunning. In this verse in Luke,
Christ says to Peter, Satan hath desired to
have you that he may sift you as wheat, which
means he desired to possess Peter as a plaything and ultimately to
destroy him. In 1 Chronicles 21:1, satan provokes God’s wrath
against the nation of Israel. In Job 1:6-12 & Job 2:1-7, satan is
the accuser & slanderer of God’s people who accuses them to God.
In his effort to kill the Christ child through Herod, satan showed
the traits of insanity in trying to kill God’s Messiah, whom he
would know to be divine and thus indestructible (Mt.2:4-8). Herod killed all innocent children of the appropriate age & locale since satan hoped to
kill the Christ Child in competing for the throne of Israel, all in accord with satan’s desire to replace Christ as the Son of God and
prince of heaven. And satan is a brazen blasphemer who, failing to
kill Messiah, tried to tempt Him to sin (Mt.4:1-11), likely
in a vain hope of disqualify- ing Him from the position of
Son of God and prince of heaven. Satan deceives
the whole world (Rev.12:9), and is the prince, or ruler, of the world
(Jn.1: 30).
It is wise for believers to be aware of the presence of Satan and his devils in the spiritual realm so they may know what opposes them in the world. Liberal scholars pretend that the devil isn’t real, which only proves that the devil rules them. Satan doesn’t want the world to be aware of his existence so that his work will be more effective. Even so, we should not dwell on devils and their power, but on the power and grace of God that delivers us from evil. Job chapters 1,2 make it clear that satan can't do anything other than what God permits, so we have the assurance that, even in those trials of life that can take us to the limit of endurance, God is ultimately in control. He will work all things for our ultimate good, as Romans 8:29 tells us.
Controlling our sin nature is crucial to ensure that Satan can’t use it against us, and scripture emphasizes this, as in Ephesians 5:3-8. This control is the main way we deal with the devil, as scripture tells us, saying, Resist the devil and he will flee from you (Jas.4:7). Resisting means not giving in to temptations of the world that give Satan opportunity to work in our lives by taking advantage of our sin nature. That is what Jesus tells us in saying that looking at a woman with lust in the heart violates God’s law against adultery, for it’s the very thing leading to adultery (Mt.5:27,28). And anger with a brother violates God’s law against killing, for it’s the very thing leading to violence & killing (Mt.5:21, 22). Jesus said satan was a murderer from the begin- ning (Jn.8:44), so his goal will be to use anger in man to incite murder. As we’ll see, he would have been the chief instigator of fornication in the pre-flood world (Gen.6:1-2). The ultimate importance of controlling our sin nature is evident since, even in the Millennium when satan and likely his servant devils are bound, sin will still lurk in the hearts of many. It will erupt in rebellion against Christ after satan is loosed from his prison at the end of the Millennium.
Anger is likely the easiest tool by which Satan accesses our sin nature, for anger easily gets out of control, becoming disproportionate, and it isn’t difficult for an act of violence to lead to murder. This is taught in Eph.4:26 that says, Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. This tells us anger is normal, but must be controlled so it doesn’t get out of hand. Anger is normal since we should be angry at sin in ourselves and angry enough at unjust treatment of others to react to it, but we can't let anger reach the point of violence. This is most likely to happen if it smolders within us so that it carries beyond the day in which it was manifested, for latent anger can erupt in violence at any time. Philippians 4:8 shows us how to dissipate things like anger or lust in the inner man, by making our minds dwell on good wholesome things that push hurtful thoughts out of our minds.
Satan’s influence on our sin nature can be subtle, and defeating it requires a mind stayed on God’s Word. Subtlety is seen in Mt.16:23 as Peter tells Jesus not to go to the Cross. Jesus rebukes Peter, telling us satan spoke through the apostle. Jesus tells satan, through Peter, Get thee behind me satan: thou art an offence* unto me. This was a brazen effort of satan to move the Son of God to avoid death, and disobey the Father in the mission to save mankind.
*In Matthew 16:23, the NIV and NASV render stumbling block in place of offense, and the RSV has hindrance. These modern renderings are totally unacceptable, for it is wrong to say that satan is a stumbling block or a hindrance to Christ. This suggests satan can actually cause Christ to stumble, or can hinder Him in His way, when no creature has that kind of power. The correct meaning is that satan is a foul presence, or an offense, in the sight of our Savior due to his brazen attempt to do what no creature can do, or has any right trying to do. The Greek, skandalon, has more than one sense, and often means stumbling block, but that is improper in this context referring to Christ. The word can mean stumbling block or hindrance when the weakness of men is in view, and translators must reason from context to get the right sense (context seems to be a stumbling block to translators since they seem unable to master it). Concerning men, Satan is a stumbling block, hindrance, offense, or a combination of these. Rom.5:19,20 says…by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners…Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. Here man’s sin is disobedience, and thus a stumbling block and hindrance to him, and the sin of breaking God’s law is an offense to God. But in Matthew 16:23, Jesus speaks only of Himself as One to whom satan is an offense, so the sense is that of a foul being whose behavior is an offense to God, and never a stumbling block or hindrance, and get thee behind me satan means only putting the foul offense out of sight. Concerning men, get thee behind me Satan would mean that men need to avoid stumbling over, or being hindered by, obstacles that Satan puts in their path.
The degree of earthly freedom among devils
Scholars doubt that evil spirits are fallen angels, likely because scripture says fallen angels were in captive bondage after rebellion in heaven, while evil spirits are free to harass people.
What freedoms do fallen angels have in their earthly estate? The Jude epistle says of fallen angels, they…kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation and are …reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. The angels are reserved unto judgment, so, while the chains are present-tense, the judgment is future-tense. Thus there is no need to interpret everlasting chains under darkness as a binding that prevents any earthly activity. More likely, it refers to a spiritual binding unto darkness without redemption, the final end of which is the judgment of eternal torment, which would be why devils in the soul of the maniac of the country of the Gadarenes asked of Jesus, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? (Mt.8:29 – also Lk.8:31).
Revelation 9:14,15 speaks of four angels bound literally in some fashion in the river Euphrates, but loosed to unleash destruction upon the earth in the days of God’s judgment of the earth. The passage reads…Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. This passage suggests temporal literal binding of four certain fallen angels for one of the tasks of God’s judgment of the earth. Thus reserving unto future judgment noted in Jude seems to include a role of certain fallen angels in bringing judgment on earth before they’re judged. Clearly the passage indicates harassing of mankind as a primary role of fallen angels, although in this case it is future tense.
Now everlasting chains under darkness in Jude suggests spiritual darkness befalling rebels against God. The word everlasting indicates something more profound and infinitely greater in duration than earthly confinement. Thus the Jude & Revelation verses tell us a few fallen angels are literally bound on earth for God’s purposes, and all are bound in a state of eternal spiritual darkness, a bondage eventually including eternal torment. Spiritual binding seems to apply to all fallen angels since the Jude verse notes them as reserved unto future judgment, but the four special cases seem to be angels suffering additional literal binding that restrains their earthly activities temporarily.
Fallen angels are consigned to hell in 2 Peter 2:4 that says, For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment…Here the Greek for hell is Tartaros, a fiery place of torment, the lake of fire, which can suggest fallen angels are presently in torment there. But the judgment is future tense, for the verse says angels in chains of darkness are reserved unto judgment, as is the case in Jude 6 that says of them that God hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. This defines the language cast to hell as indicating the vicinity of tartaros in hades, higher up in the abyss (Ps.86:13 speaks of a lowest hell, so there is a hell higher up in the pit), which would be preliminary to tartaros, not yet invoking the eternal torment of angels. Thus into hell (tartaros) used in some modern versions is wrong (at times the angels leave hades to torment earthly men for God’s purposes, as in Rev.9:1-11). Calvin saw fallen angels this way, saying they drag around their chains). The four literally bound ones are a special case, their pent-up fury being unleashed for global damage.
Thus 2 Peter & Jude teach that fallen angels are chained to a dark evil spiritual estate that enslaves them, and they will be tormented later in a final hell, the lake of fire. 2 Peter 2:4 indicates they’re now in hades, in a lesser hell where they are not yet tormented, and other verses tell us they leave there at times. In Revelation 11:7 the beast rising out of the bottomless pit to kill two witnesses of God in the Tribulation is the angel of the bottomless pit (abussos), the destroyer Apollyon (name of satan). In Revelation 9:3-11 he directs devils of the pit that drive locusts to torment earthly men. Revelation 20:1,2 has Satan imprisoned in the pit (abussos), ending his activity for 1000 years. In Luke 8:31 devils that Jesus is about to cast out of a man beg Him not to cast them into the deep (abussos, or tartaros deeper in the pit than hades) for torment before the time (Mt.8:29), so their torment is in a hell later than their current one. Their current hell is hades on the side of the pit that is a gateway to tartaros, or gehenna, lower down (the lowest hell of Psalm 86:13 and Deuteronomy 32:22). Hades is not a place for torment of fallen angels, but is that for souls of condemned men, as seen by fiery torment of the rich man in hades in Luke 16. In Romans 10:7 the realm of the dead where Christ descended (abussos) is called hades in Acts 2:27, so Christ went to hades higher up in the pit and serving as the gateway of the lake of fire, a gateway where men endure torments of a lesser hell, and fallen angels will tremble about their ultimate destiny.
The present writer suggests enslavement of devils in hades is a death-state type of impounding (paralleling man’s physical death), from which they are revived at times to harass mankind. Matthew 8:29 tells us they were afraid Jesus would torment them before the time, or cast them into tartaros before the judgment time.
That hell as hades is a temporary dwelling for fallen angels before their destruction is further seen in that satan’s final condemnation is invoked by the Cross of Christ. Genesis 3:15. tells of the seed of the woman, the virgin-born Savior, bruising the head of the serpent (satan), this bruising being fatal in the sense of crushing. The verse also speaks of the Savior as bruised in His heel, a reference to the Cross that was non-fatal in the sense of being temporal in effect because of the Resurrection. The Cross occurred after satan was cast out of heaven (Lk.10:18) and sent to hell for rebellion (2 Pet.2:4), so satan now dwells in hades, the gateway to the lake of fire, and Gen.3:15 speaks of his final punishment, destruction in the final hell (tartaros or gehenna).
Interaction of devils with holy angels
In their work, devils will come into conflict with holy angels who do the will and work of God. This is indicated in scripture, as in Daniel 10:13 where, Gabriel, a holy angel sent to speak to God’s prophet Daniel, was hindered by a powerful dark angel called the prince of Persia. Of course, the most potent angelic interaction was the war in which Michael and his angels defeated Lucifer and his angels.
Interaction of devils with people
That devils work in the lives of mortals is seen in examples of devil-possession in the New Testament. That people can recognize the influence of devils in their lives is suggested in the fact that some have worshiped satan and other devils. This latter is seen in Deuteronomy 32:17 that says of Israel in apostate acts, They sacrificed unto devils, not to God and in 1 Corinthians 10:20 that says of heathen Gentiles, regarding their sacrifices, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God.
That the heathen have tried to communicate with devils is indicated in 1 Samuel 28: 3-14 where a woman of Endor summoned-up devilish apparitions imitating people. Ezekiel 21:21 tells of a heathen attempt to predict the future through devils, saying …the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.
Adler * speaks of fallen angels, or devils, as spirit beings having no bodies any more than holy angels do, but active in inciting men to sins of the body. This suggests they are desirous of experiencing such sins in their fallen state, something quite out of character in their previous holy state. It might be that possession of human bodies by devils, that seems rather common in the New Testament, might be the result of a desire to experience various carnal sins, which of course results in defilement of the human bodies & souls that they possess. Or it might be the result of a desire to physically rule and to possess the earth to which they're now confined (in hades generally). At any rate the New Testament seems to indicate an extreme desire for bodily possession by devils. In the case of the maniac of Gadara (Mk.5:1-20), the devils cast out of him preferred to inhabit pigs rather than be separated from all bodily habitation.
*Adler, M.J. 1982. The Angels and Us. N.Y. MacMillan. p68-79.
As another note on interaction of devils with mankind, the present writer suggests that in Genesis 6:1-7, sons of God who saw that, the daughters of men…were fair; and…took them wives, are fallen angels. Indeed sons of God is used in reference to angels in Job 1:6. In the Genesis passage, the subject beings are likely fallen angels desiring to experience sexual intimacy. Taking of wives in this passage is language indicative of fornication since the sexual act constituted and consummated marriage in early Old Testament times. Angels have no right to take human wives, meaning no right to commit the sexual act with them. But people are open to devils if they experiment in evil, so they become guilty of the most gross of sins.
Now as noted earlier, Christ tells us angels neither marry nor are given in marriage, such marriage including the early Old Testament method of taking wives. But this refers to angels in their holy first estate, and doesn’t preclude their involvement in taking wives in their fallen estate. Marriage that is just consummation in the sexual act is something fallen angels might have the power of.
This interpretation making angels the sons of God in this matter is affirmed by 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. This says of women in the church on wearing a head covering, For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. The passage teaches that covering of a woman’s head is a sign that her glory, or fairness, is not open to angels, but is for the man alone, and she is to be the mate of the man, not angels. Thus the covering is a hands-off sign to the angels, reflecting the attitude of the women, as would be most appropriate for Christian women in churches. This is given in a context where the man is told not to cover his head since his spiritual head is God, he being created directly in the image and glory of God. But the woman was created from the glory imparted by God to the man, signifying her glory as coming from the man, and thus as meant only for the man.
The Genesis 6 passage is indicative of consensual fornication by the daughters of men in an ultimate satanic act causing the judgment of the great flood. A consensual evil in this matter seems to have been the major cause of God’s destruction of man in the flood, judging by the announcement of imminent destruction immediately after the fornication account in Genesis 6. The likely reason the offense is so great is that the real significance of bodily intimacy between a man and a woman is the spiritual union at the heart of the intimacy. At the earthly level, intimacy is to be confined to one proper spouse in life-long commitment, and proper earthly marriage is a life-long preparation for ultimate eternal spiritual union with Christ. To consent to allowing devils to assume the spiritual role in intimacy is to give one’s soul to spiritual mastery by satan, and is to reject God’s claim of spiritual union. This would be an ultimate kind of offense by man against his holy Creator.
But men and women were both destroyed in the flood, and men must also have been guilty in this fashion. As we consider how fallen angels of incorporeal nature could cohabit with earthly women in the flesh, by scripture we know they have power to appear in bodies of some type. But these would not be human bodies, and the possession of bodies of men is more likely. Again this would happen by consent and would be an extreme satanic act conducive to God’s judgment. The result of the cohabitation was production of an unusual race of evil giants, proving that the devils did enter into the sexual union in some fashion. This was a notable physical example of the satanic impulses in fallen mankind that were a great offense to God.
Of course, production of a race of giants in this fashion indicates spiritual beings have an influence on physical matters, which is what is indicated in bible passages where angels help determine the course of physical human events. This is noted regarding Genesis 19:1-22 where angels physically moved Lot and his family out of Sodom, and destroyed the town with fire and brimstone. Genesis 9:16 says, And while he (Lot) lingered, the men (angels) laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. Verse 22 shows us that, while God destroyed Sodom, He did so by the hand of His angels, for in this verse an angel says to Lot concerning destruction of Sodom, I cannot do anything till thou be come thither (to a city outside the zone of destruction).
To further validate this idea of devil-produced giants, we must also address the fact that we read of no evidence of giants resulting from bodily possession by devils in the New Testament era. The likely answer is that this sort of sin brought the flood and world destruction at the first, robbing the devils of their opportunity for any sin indulgence. They would not wish to unnecessarily risk the extreme offense to God that might bring another world judgment that would deprive them of all opportunity for bodily possession. No angel, holy or fallen, is omniscient and thus doesn’t know God’s judgment plans.
The Attack of satan on God’s Plan: Religion of a New Age
When Satan acted through the serpent in the garden, questioning Eve on the truth of God’s word, and suggesting she and Adam could be as gods, he planted in Eve’s mind the same sin he was guilty of, trying to elevate himself to equality with God. Since that fateful day, satan’s plan has been to elevate man’s view of himself to a god-like status with power of self-choice. Thus, when man is faced with temptation he can’t resist, and finds himself less than god-like, human pride energized by the sin nature leads him to choose another god, one approving of sin. This necessarily lowers man’s esteem of the true God so that people might feel free to choose their own god, which can't fail to lead them to choose satan ultimately. The devil seeks to lower man’s esteem for God mainly by attacking the deity of Christ, whose office and kingship he desires, and by suggesting that faith in Christ denies to man most of the “good” things life has to offer, meaning the “pleasures” of sin that lead people to eternal torment.
Man-made religion and secular government ruled by such religion are long-standing main features of satan’s plan, as seen by Dark-Ages history of the Roman church throughout Europe. Today the plan is evident in the rise of evolution, the secular religion of atheists, and in the rise of New Age theology, a modern substitute for Christianity. These two features are prominent in the modern technically-oriented society. Today people are tempted to think they themselves are advanced enough to be completely self-sufficient, even determining their own ultimate destiny, or they think that secular government can enable them to achieve all that they desire. But that’s just part of a deception aimed at removing man’s concept of the true God. Uncontrollable problems that cannot fail to arise when man abandons the true God, and human limits in the face of such problems, will usher in the all-pervasive and all-perverse religious government of the final earthly antichrist through whom satan will totally control the world order for a short time.
People need to be aware of the delusions of an "enlightened" world that scoffs at the reality of satanic power, if they are not to be deceived unto destruction.
