Sunday, February 6, 2011

Why Demons Are Bad

“A servant of Christ can no more avoid demons than a gardener can avoid weeds.” –Clinton Arnold

Further Reading

CS Lewis: Screwtape Letters

BJ Oropeza: 99 Questions to Answers about Angels, Demons & Spiritual Warfare

Miscellaneous References

· Satan is not equal to God

o There is not “good God, bad God”

o Satan is not omnipotent, omniscience, nor omnipresent

o There is only God the Creator and the created (1 Cor 8.1-6)

o For a side study of demons, see: Isa 14; Ezek 28; Gen 3; Eph 6

· Satan is not our only enemy

o He has demons (fallen angels) who work for him

§ Demons are not the souls of bad dead people; angels are not the souls of good dead people.

§ Humans do not turn into angels when we die; humans “outrank” angels (Heb 1.14).

o He can only tempt one person at a time and can only send a fixed amount of demons to any one person at any point in time

· Demons are spiritual beings

o When they leave one body/possession, they look for another (Lk 11.24-26)

o Any “spiritual” teaching is demonic when it’s not based solely on Jesus (1 Jn 4.1-6; 1 Thess 5.21; Acts 17.11)

§ i.e.: Buddhism, Yoga, Islam, Spiritualism, Avatar, Necromancy, etc.

§ Don’t be spiritual; love Jesus; be filled with the one Holy Spirit.

· Demons are personal beings

o With intellect, emotion, and will

o They know who Jesus is (Mk 1.24); they can influence people (1 Tim 4.1-6); they have fear (Lk 8.28); they rebel (Jude 6)

· Demons are extremely powerful (Mk 5.1-4; Acts 19.16),

o but their power is limited (Job 1-2; Col 1.16; 1 Jn 4.4)

· Demons are not the souls of the deal; they are fallen angels serving Satan

o Necromancy is a sin (Dt 18.9-12; 1 Chron 10.13-14)

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