The enemy knows that mankind is subject to the infestation of inherited sin brought on by the first parents, Adam and Eve (See Gen 3:1-7). He understands that the “heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer 17:9 NIV) He will do everything he can to get a Christian to focus on their own failures rather than the victory over sin found in Jesus alone.
Sin permeates the nature of every person from infancy to adulthood because the very nature of sin belongs to them through inheritance. Oswald Chambers wrote in “My Utmost For His Highest,”
“The nature of sin is not immorality and wrongdoing, but the nature of self-realization, which leads us to say, ‘I am my own god.’ This nature may exhibit itself in proper morality or in improper immorality, but it always has a common basis—my claim to my right to myself. When our Lord faced either people with all the forces of evil in them or people who were clean-living, moral, and upright, He paid no attention to the moral degradation of one, nor any attention to the moral attainment of the other. He looked at something we do not see, namely, the nature of man.
Sin is something I am born with and cannot touch—only God touches sin through redemption. It is through the Cross of Christ that God redeemed the entire human race from the possibility of damnation through the heredity of sin. God nowhere holds a person responsible for having the heredity of sin and does not condemn anyone because of it. Condemnation comes when I realize that Jesus Christ came to deliver me from this heredity of sin, and yet I refuse to let Him do so. From that moment, I begin to get the seal of damnation. “This is the condemnation [and the critical moment], that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.”
A. Sin Defined
All sin is defined as disobedience of the direct and indirect commands of God.
“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Ex 20:5-6 NIV)
God “repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face.” (Deut 7:9, 10 NIV)
Inherited sin is the sin that is present in all women and men, which places every human in rebellion and damnation before God. No one is free from the responsibility of sin. Their sin is their sin. No human was ever born sin-free, except Jesus Christ, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:22-23 NIV)
Sinful behavior is the product, manifestation, and proof of inherited sin. It is the actual working out of the sin nature within. Jesus said;
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19 NIV)
However, the Born-Again Christian is forgiven and cleansed. All actual sins have been removed, and they are given eternal life by Jesus Christ at the moment of salvation. No past sins, no current sins, and no future sins will be counted against them if they confess and forsake them through repentance (See Rom 8:1; 1 John 1:9).
As long as a person lives on this planet, the corrupt sin nature still remains within and produces the “desire” to sin. The Born-Again Christian, saved by the grace of God through Christ Jesus, battles to turn from that desire and to live their lives in obedience to God. The Christian’s life is a struggle, a battle, and a conflict that will never end until the day they stand before God. Jesus has already won the victory over sin. The eternal consequences of sin were taken away on the Cross and are no longer applied against them. When a Christian begins living forgiven, the enemy cannot win.
B. Family Ties
It is important to understand the nature of fallen humanity in order to wage successful spiritual warfare. The Bible reveals that every unbeliever is actually a spiritual child of satan (See 1 John 3:10). Those that don’t do what is right and don’t love others prove this. Spiritual children of God are just the opposite in position and in practice. Christians do what is right, and love their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Jesus told His religious opponents that if God had been their Father, they would have loved Him because He came from God;
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. 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.” (John 8:42-44 NIV)
Like begets like. If the enemy is a person’s spiritual father, they will be just like him. If God is their Father, they will be just like Him.
The evil enemy governs the unsaved because he is the ruler of the “dominion of darkness” (Col. 1:13) and the “kingdom of the air.” (Eph 2:2) Christians are now placed into the spiritual kingdom of Jesus. Yet, they were once under satan’s rule. As mentioned previously, Jesus called the enemy the prince of this world. The Bible also calls him “the prince of the powers of the air” and “the god of this world.” (See Matt 4:8-9)
When satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of this world while He was in the wilderness, Jesus did not doubt his ability to give them. The enemy rules over a world of fallen angels and men. They are his kingdom, and they not only obey him - they worship him.
C. The Puppet Master
According to the Bible, non-believers are also under the devil's control and are his captives, doing his will. (See 2 Tim 2:25-26; 1 John 5:19; Acts 1:38)
The Bible reveals that the unsaved person walks in the ways of the world and according to the prince of the power of the air. The enemy is a “spirit” that now works in “those who are disobedient” (Eph 2:2 NIV).
The Greek idea of work is energy. The enemy energizes the unsaved to do his will. That is why the whole world lies in wickedness.
“We know that we are children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19 NIV)
The impression conveyed is that satan is in control of the world systems, and the world can’t do anything about it.
D. Dispelling Darkness
The enemy blinds the minds and spiritual perception of people.
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Gen. 1:3 NIV)
Just as God created light to dispel darkness, so God today must create spiritual light to dispel man’s moral blindness. (See also 2 Cor 4:6 3; John 1:4-5, 9:41; Eph 4:17-18)
When a person’s physical eyes are blinded, they cannot see the light from the Sun.
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (1 Cor 4:4 NIV)
When people admit that they are spiritually blind, they will have taken the first step to truth. When a person comes to Jesus, they walk in the light because He is the Light.
The enemy, in his arrogance, thinks he has his authority. He is a master of lies and deceptions with untold centuries of experience. He will use every cunning trick to deceive. He will twist Scripture for his ends. He knows human weakness, and he knows what it takes to tempt people to sin - but he cannot deceive, tempt, or control Jesus.
The enemy’s influence is restricted to the parameters God has set for him (See Ps. 74:17). The enemy actively seeks to undermine the plan of God in this world.
“And the LORD said to Satan, ‘From where do you come’ So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” (Job 1:7 NIV; See also 1 Pet. 5:8)
The great deceiver controls a network of angelic and human followers. (See Dan 10:13; Eph 2:2; 6:12; Rev 12:4, 7, 9) He manipulates and orchestrates a vast kingdom, which the Bible calls the “world.”
The worlds of good and evil have collided, but the war of the worlds was won at the Cross. The enemy and his minions know that they have already been defeated for all eternity. (See Matt 8:29, 25:41; Mark 1:24, 5:7; Luke 4:34, 8; 28; John 16:11, James 2:19) Still, there are battles yet to be fought. The enemy will never give up, and neither should the Christian!
E. Unmasking Supernatural Terrorists
Supernatural Terrorists are fallen Angels - the minions of Hell. The Bible calls them evil spirits or “demons.” The idea of “evil spirits” truly existing is difficult for many people to accept. Some people believe they are “ghosts” - both good and bad. Still, others believe that demons mentioned in the Bible are just symbolic of the personification of evil. To battle these demonic terrorists and overcome the havoc they cause, the Christian must first acknowledge their existence.
Some say that when Jesus cast them out of people, it merely represented His conquest over evil by His personal beliefs and life. Others believe that people who think they - or another - are possessed by an evil spirit are merely delusional.
Much of the ancient world was filled with detailed stories and theories about demons that ruled the world from a different dimension. They were the “gods,” which pagan religions feared and tried to appease through horrible rituals such as child sacrifice. (See Lev 18:21)
Demons have been active throughout human history. The Old Testament used no term equivalent to “demon,” but there was a general acceptance among the Jews of Jesus day that demons existed and were personal spirit creatures and enemies who afflicted men with various illnesses (See Deut 32:17; Lev 17:7; Ps 106:37; Lk 4:36).
In the Greek LXX translation of Deut 32:17, “daimonia” is used for “foreign gods.” (See also Ps 106:37). In Hebrew, the phrase “hairy ones” refers to pagan demon spirits (Lev 17:7). The Gentiles viewed demons as both good and bad, to be feared and worshipped (See Acts 17:16-23).
God chose not to reveal much about demons until the time of Jesus' ministry on Earth. Jesus tells us that demons are the spirit messengers who do the bidding of satan. (See Mat 12:26-29) He confirmed their existence.
Demons - or, to be more specific, evil/unclean spirits - are angelic spirit beings that were created by God to worship Him and “serve those who will inherit salvation.” (Heb 1:14) But there was a war in Heaven:
“Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” (Rev 12:7-9 NIV)
They are now dedicated to pure, vicious terrorism, which is why the Bible refers to them as “evil spirits.”
Most would agree that demons are intelligent, powerful spirit beings that are Angels who sinned. They are called “princes” who are both good and bad. They can reason. They know of the coming judgment against them. They recognize and acknowledge Jesus as God, the Son. They believe in God and tremble in His presence. They can exert supernatural power to break chains and shackles. (See Dan 10:13, 21-11:1, 12:1; Matt 8:29, 12:43-45; Mark 1:23-24, 3:11, 5:4,7; Lk 4:34,41; 8:28,31, 12:24; 29; -24; 3:11; 5:7; Acts 19:15; Jas 2:19; 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6; Rev 12:7-9)
The Bible says that the spiritual forces of evil include rulers, authorities, and powers actively working in a demonic dominion, or kingdom, with a specific chain of command. (See Matt 12:26, 29, Eph 2:1-2, Col 1:13, Rev 2:12-13)
Certain demons have control over kingdoms and territories here on earth. (See Dan 10:12-13, 20) However - remember this important point - the devil has limited control of the whole world! (See 1 John 5:19).
Some believe that there are three distinct groups: demons, unclean spirits, and fallen angels that make up the devil’s minions. Throughout the Bible, the terms used to describe devils, demons, spirits, unclean spirits, evil spirits, and unclean demons are used interchangeably. (See Matt 12:43-45; Mk 3:22-23, 39, 7:25-30; Luke 8:27-29, 9:42, 11:24)
F. The Duties Of Demons
The enemy’s main battle strategy is to create doubt and cause deception in people’s minds, as well as twist what God says in order to deceive people and tempt them to sin. Demons can possess humans and animals. They can affect people by seducing them in various ways, tormenting and holding them spiritually captive, deceiving, accusing, and tempting them. (See Gen 3:1-5; Matt 12:43-45, 15:22; Mark 5:13; Luke 11:24-26; 1 Th 3:51; Tim 4:1-2; 2 Tim 2:26; Rev 12:10, 20:10)
These terrorists can masquerade as Angels of light, followers of Christ, and servants of righteousness. They lead people to believe they can “predict” the future and perform all kinds of counterfeit miracles, using every sort of evil to accomplish their plans (See Matt 24:24; Acts 16:16; 2 Cor 11:13-15; 2 Thess 2; Rev 16:13-14).
Demons are shown in the Bible to cause sickness and disease in those who are not a Christian. What would be classified today as mental illness or deranged behavior was considered to be caused by demons. One example of this in the Bible was when some people ran around naked, constantly crying out and screaming. Some had foaming at the mouth, convulsions, and they tried to hurt themselves, such as cutting with stones or falling into fire and water (See Matt 12:22, 17:14-18; Mark 5:1-20, 9:17-18, 25; Luke11:14, 13:1).
Jesus was accused of having a demon because the religious leaders perceived that He was paranoid that others were going to kill Him. According to the leaders, Jesus made irrational statements. He cast out other demons.
They said that Jesus had the ability to predict the future through fortunetelling and that He was able to perform false signs and also preached false doctrine (See Matt 12:22-25; John 7:20, 8:48-52; 10:19-20; Acts 16:18; Gal 1:8; 1 Tim 4:1-2; 2 Thess 2:8-12; Rev 16:14).
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (See 1 John 3:8). He gave His followers “authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Matt 10:1, 6-8, 12:27-28 NIV). It must be made very clear that the shed blood of Jesus totally and completely “disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col 2:15 NIV). Jesus has complete control over them! (See Ps 72:9; Matt 12:29; Isa 53:10) Jesus bound satan and plundered his house by exorcising demons (See Matt 12:29).
Christians have already been delivered from the enemy and given the victory! Demons are NOT more powerful than Jesus, who indwells every Christian (See John 8:36, Eph 3:7; 1 Col 1:13).
The Christian is only tempted when they are: “...drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” (James 1:14 NIV) The forces of darkness have always been severely restricted. Demons can enslave and oppress fallen people only to the degree that they willingly violate God’s law.
There are many demons because one-third of the Angels rebelled against God and chose to follow satan. They function in a highly organized kingdom. Some are more powerful and/or intelligent than others (See Dan 10:13; Matt 12:45; Mark 5:9,9:29,16:9; Luke 8:2,27; Eph 6:12; Rev 12:4-11).
They do the bidding of their leader, the devil because he cannot be in two places at the same time. The devil must depend upon their help to tempt, manipulate, and orchestrate the pain and suffering in the world (See Matt 25:41).
The devil and his demons don’t currently live in the “heavenly realms” (Eph 3:10, 6:12; see also Isa 24:21). Their fate has been predetermined. They will ultimately be cast into the place of “eternal fire” (Matt 25:41, Jude 1:6, 7), also called the “lake of fire.” (Rev 20:15) This is a place of eternal punishment that has been “prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matt 25:41 NIV)
Demons In Chains
"The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6 ESV).
"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." (2 Peter 2:4 ESV)
There were fallen angels who left their habitation in Heaven and went "after strange flesh" (Jude 7). They possessed (not angel/human co-habitation) the bodies of ungodly men and women to "corrupt" all flesh on earth in an attempt to defeat God's redemptive purpose for humanity (Gen 6:12-14). Some believe that the offspring of those people called the "Nephilim" in the Bible means a bully or giant (see Gen 6:4). This happened just before God's great Flood to cleanse the earth (see Gen 7).
As previously stated, all fallen angels are known in Scripture as demons. The Bible says that all angels are spirit beings without a physical body, so they could not have sexual relations with human beings without inhabiting them. The actions of these specific angels sealed their doom, and they have been locked in Hell (Gk: 'Tartarus') "ever since into everlasting chains under darkness" to be reserved for judgment" (Jude 6). The word "chains" (Gk: "desmos' [des-mon']) means a band or chain; a shackle. They were confined in a dark prison-house as if by chains. The Greek word translated "into chains of darkness" is "seira" [si-rah] which means a pit; darkness as if to chains (2 Peter 2:4).
The angel, known as satan, is still permitted to roam the earth "like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Pet 5:8 ESV). The 'chained' angels are not the same angels as the principalities and powers of darkness, which are still in "high places" and under the direction of the enemy because those demons also continue to roam freely over the earth, oppressing and even possessing people (Eph 6:12; also Matt 12:22; 17:14–17; Acts 16:16–18; Rev 16:14). These spirits are not in chains and have their habitation in the air (1 Peter 5:8; Eph 2:2, 6:11-12).
Neither human beings nor spirit beings can ever destroy God's purpose in Creation. God has sentenced all fallen angels/demons to eternal damnation, but the angels that are not currently in chains have not yet started serving their term. However, they know their time is coming (Matt 8:29; Rev 12:12). Hell was prepared for satan and his angels (Rev 12:7-9).
"Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'” (Matt 25:41 ESV)
There is no indication in Scripture that the disembodied souls of the Nephilim became the demons roaming today. That is pure speculation. God did not destroy the Nephilim in the Flood but then allowed their souls/spirits to cause even greater evil as demons in the world today.
