John Lawrence: Demonology Part 1 of 5

DEMONOLOGY Part I
OUTLINE:
I. Introduction 9 pgs
Importance
Definition.
Problems.
Origin.
Bible as Standard.
II. The Existence of Demons. 10 pgs - Part 2
I. Introduction.
A. The Importance of Demonology
It isn’t enough in warfare to know all about the commander-in-chief of the opposition. It is equally if not more important to know about the enemy troops that you personally will be facing on the front lines of battle. In the study of demonology, we are engaged in just such a study. These are the myriads of workers Satan uses in every land, from paganism to culturism, to blind men's eyes to the truth and
hold them in fear and superstition.
The importance of this subject is seen if one considers the amount of space devoted to it in both Testaments, and particularly the Gospels. These many accounts come to be clearly understood only as we completely see the total picture of demon activity. Much of Israel's contact with her surrounding nations can only be understood through an under- standing of the whole realm of evil supernaturalism. Cf. Deut. 18:9-14.
Demonlogical phenomena has been recorded from the very earliest of recorded antiquity down to the present, and it is impossible to interpret accurately the religious phenomena and practices of paganism, false religions, and Christian cults apart from a thorough grasp of this complete doctrine.
B. Definition of Demon
1. The Greek language
"Demon" = daimonion (daimonion), in the earlier Greek, ‘daimon’ (daimon). Plato derives it from daemon, an adjective formed from ‘dao’ and signifying "knowing" or "intelligent". We survey the historical development of the term’s meaning in order to see its preparation for NT usage. Four principle meanings of the term demon are used from the period of Homer to the time of the Septuagint (LXX).
a. In the early history of the Greek language, as in Homer,
daimon was synonymous with "god" (theos). Homer and the earlier poets used both terms for the same beings.
b. After Homer, the term was used of beings who were inter-mediaries between the gods and men.
In Hesiod these mediators are the spirits of the good men of the Golden Age. Plato states: "The deity has no intercourse with man; but all the intercourse and conversation between gods and men are carried on by the mediation of demons," Symposium, pp. 202-3.
The view was held at that time that everyone from his birth on had a special demon of his own (an opposite view from the fact that every believer has a guardian angel from the time of his new birth). This demon of the individual was regarded as separate from the man himself
and not the same as his soul or spirit.
c. A third stage came when the early Greeks began to view demons as morally imperfect beings. Some of these were good and some were evil. Posidonius, a Stoic philosopher of the first century before Christ, developed an elaborate theory of demons as good and evil with the purer inhabiting the higher regions, and the impure remaining nearer the earth.
The Koran, or Qu’ran, maintains this definition of demons, viewing
some demons as good and some as bad.
d. The final stages of history viewed all demons as evil in varying degrees and all active members of Satan's kingdom. This is the usage in the Septuagint and the New Testament. Early Christian writers abound with this same usage.
2. The Old Testament
Mention is made frequently by the term "familiar spirits,"
i.e., spirits who know something or are familiar with someone and imitate them. Much more will be stated about this below.
The work of demons in the 0T is seen in the magicians of Egypt and the sorcerers of Babylon, as well as others. The Septuagint uses the Greek word demon for five different Hebrew words.
a. "Lords"; Shedhim = always plural.
Deut. 32:17, Ps. 106:37.
The word comes from the root shudh = "to rule, to be lord." The underlying significance is idols or lords; the Hebrews realized idolatrous images were mere visible symbols of invisible demons.
Ps. 96:5 (LXX 95:5), 1 Cor. 10:20.
b. "He-goats", hairy ones = Seirim (also plural)
Lev. 17:1-7.
The Israelites were commanded to slay their sacrificial animals only at the entrance of the Tabernacle lest they might go into the desert to "sacrifice their sacrifices unto the he-goats" (seirim, LXX gives ‘daimonia’).
This very form of demon worship persisted outside Israel until the days of Jeroboam I (929-909 B.C.), who brought it into the very heart of the Northern Kingdom. Rejecting the Priests of Aaron, he "appointed him priests for the high places, and for the he-goats (seirim, LXX, daimonia), and for the calves which he had made". 2 Chron. 11:15.
Josiah (636-608) "broke down the high places of the gates" (shearim) which Kittel states is to be read seirim "the high places of the he-goats" (2 Kings 23:8).'
c. "Idols", 'elilim’.
Ps. 96:5 (LXX 95:5), "For all the gods of the people are idols ('elilim, LXX: diamonia), but Jehovah made the heavens".
The Hebrew 'elilim, is the plural of the adjective meaning, "of nought, empty, vain." Thus the name itself shows that the outward idols are "mere nothings", "non-realities". The demons behind them are the real entities.
d. "Fortune" = gad. See Isa. 65:11.
It has been suggested that the god of Fortune (Gad) was worshipped by the Babylonians. He is elsewhere called Bel, or Baal.
The Septuagint translators render him as "the demon."
e. "Destruction"; geter.
Ps. 91:6 (LXX 90:6), "For the pestilence that walketh
in darkness, nor for the destruction (geter) that wasteth at noonday."
This shows that the translators of the Septuagint considered that demons were responsible for much that occurred. This may not be the best translation, but it clearly shows the concept of the word and the thinking of that day.
3. The New Testament (daimon and daimonion).
From Homer to the New Testament period, the words decreased in position and increased in evil. Their positions definitely were always inferior beings and those who communicated as intermediates between the gods and men; and they obtained more and more the evil connotation until finally at least by the New Testament period, the term by itself meant "evil spirit" or "unclean spirit."
The King James version unfortunately translated two different Greek words by "devil": ‘diabolos’ = devil, also translated ‘diamonion’ or ‘diamon’(demon) as devil. There is only one devil, but many demons.
There are some 80 references to demons in the New Testament, and in every case they are recognized as "evil".
The Scriptural Concept: An evil spirit being who has a certain relationship to Satan.
Names used in Scripture include:
Demon, Evil spirit, Familiar spirit, Unclean spirit.
C. Problems in the Study of Demonology
1. The Problem of the silence of Scripture on certain phases
of the doctrine.
While Scripture is silent on certain phases of this doctrine, there is much that is revealed, and where Scripture is silent we can know that it is silent for a purpose and that this is beyond that legitimate realm for our knowledge at present. Where Scripture stops we need to stop also, and not be guilty of trying to supply the quest of our own curiosity. This assertion contradicts much of what is said about demons! In addition, do not let your curiosity lead you into demonic practice!
2. The Problem of the Accuracy of Interpretation
This is a genuine problem area for the child of God. Very few theologies treat this subject, and those who do are extremely sketchy. Many writers deal with this subject only as an evolution of religious beliefs and superstitions. Some writers have gone to the other extreme and have used their imagination and superstitions. This was the path that Jewish demonology developed.
3. The Problem of the Prevalence of Superstition.
Very few individuals today are completely free of concepts and ideas handed down to them. Many have "private" superstitions even if they are not voiced. There is no subject in all of the world where superstition has received more fantastic distortion. Consider this: in the ancient world
Jewish demonology became very superstitious in spite of clear OT revelation
The Middle Ages developed superstition piled on superstition in spite of clear NT revelation.
The practice of lighting sacred candles, as Rome does, harks back to ancient modes for keeping evil spirits in check by fire.
In Modern times: people have been guilty of burning witches
at the stake, and many are very superstitious today.
Mission fields of the world today and over the last century or so are simply filled with superstition, demon possession, etc.
4. The Problem of the Predominance of Doubt
This is the opposite problem of superstition. We are living today in the space age. It is the age of science and enlightenment. Such things as belief in demons belong to another age of darkness and superstition. We reject completely today, they say, the supernatural. Therefore, we reject belief in demons and Scripture that testifies of demons. Bible believers, beware!
However, to rule out the entire realm of supernaturalism; (good and evil) is not really scientific. We will see this clearly when we look at the existence of demons. There is much evidence as to their existence by many peoples over a long and extended period of time.
Knowledge of the supernatural, however, can only come through supernatural revelation, since it is above and beyond natural law. Further, revealed truth can only be accepted and understood through faith in the revelation and hence in the Revealer. Many have cut themselves off completely from even attempting to understand "scientifically" this doctrine.
Since we are dealing with "evil" supernaturalism, the problem is even more precarious. The powers to be dealt with are not only above the natural realm, and hence wiser and more powerful than man in the natural realm, but they are "evil". They are able to deceive and lead astray. They resent truth and stay in darkness. The natural man has a two-fold problem. He cannot know the things pertaining to the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14), i.e. the supernatural. And he is actually subject to the deception and perversion of real truth because he is a prey to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons who deceive him without his knowledge! (1 Tim, 4:1).
Note: Whether one takes the route of superstition or rationalism, the same end result is achieved: The true facts are violated and the understanding of the subject is obscured.
D. The Origin of Demons (M. Unger)
How is the widespread and deeply ingrained belief in demons among all the ancients to be explained? This is a part of the larger problem concerning the origin of religion in general.
1. The Humanistic Theory,
This view connects the origin of the demons with the rise of "gods". It says that religion sprang from fear of ghosts. The gods are but the spirits of departed men, whom men worship mainly out of fear. At first the terms god and demon were interchangeable. Then when the gods became more exalted, demons became intermediate beings or messengers for the gods to men. Later they were looked upon not only as good but as evil. As time progressed the wicked demons were regarded as authors not only of physical, but of moral evil.
This explanation clashes with the Word of God and with the facts of secular history. Most tribes from the earliest times clearly distinguish between those deities who had once been men, and the gods proper, who had never been men, and consequently had never died.
2. The Animistic Theory.
This is an evolutionary theory stating that demonism can be traced from its original source in primitive animism, upward through polytheism, finally into monotheism. The theory states that in animism, primitive man looked upon nature about him as being alive, and imagined that natural phenomena was due to the operation of living wills. Looking for causes, he considered every object in nature to have a personality like his own. Thus man considered himself surrounded by a "society of superhuman agencies, some of which ministered to his well-being, others to his injury", up the evolutionary scale.
The objections to this theory:
(a) It is at variance with the truth of the Word which shows
religious faith and practice generally to be a degradation rather then an evolution. Rom. 1:21-23,
(b) It clashes with the witness of comparative religion, which also notes a downward rather than an upward tendency in ethnic faiths.
(c) The genetic connection between animism and polytheism is far from clear. Many have researched this field to show that animism and polytheism have coexisted without actual combination or assimilation for long periods of history.
3. The Astral Theory
This theory accounts for demons under the superstition that religion began with the worship of the heavenly bodies, to which the primitive religious mind attached personality. The most important bodies (sun, moon, planets) were assigned the status of full deities. The lesser bodies, as the innumerable fixed stars, were given the position of lesser deities or demons.
The objections to this theory:
(a) It is at variance with the Word of God
(b) It lacks historical corroboration as the evidence of
ancient inscriptions do not support it.
(c) It is destitute of scientific astronomical support.
Note: Each one of these theories are at variance with each other as well as with the Word of God. Moreover, each one of these human explanations makes an attempt to account for the belief but without believing in their existence.
4. The Biblical Account
Divine revelation alone is adequate to explain anything beyond history and beyond visible reality. Scripture speaks of Satan, and of his fall from heaven to earth (Isa. 14; Ezek. 28), of his being a king with a kingdom (Matt 12:26), and a portion of that consists of demons (Matt. 12:24).
As to the origin of demons, man is divided as to what Scripture teaches:
a. Some feel they are fallen angels.
b. Some feel that they represent inhabitants of the pre-Adamic
earth that was destroyed with the fall of Satan.
c. Some taught that they are the wicked souls of wicked men.
d. Others feel that they come from the progeny of the Sons of
God with the daughters of men in Genesis 6.
Whatever their origin (we will delve into this), Scripture shows that the basis and belief in demons is factual rather than fancy. Further-more, there is a basic similarity between primitive demonological traditions recorded in Genesis and those preserved in the archaeological records of the earliest nations of the earth. Even though the later has extravagance and error, the similarities point to a common source for both and supplies evidence that they are due to a common 1nheritance of traditions concerning the early history of the race, upon which both have drawn.
This same similarity is observed in other primitive traditions of the human race as (1) the creation of the earth, (2) the origin of man, (3) the story of the fall (original sin), and (4) the account of the flood. How are we able to account for this similarity?
The only feasible explanation that meets all the facts is that their likeness is due to common inheritance possessed by all the civilized nations of antiquity and drawing from the same original source of primitive tradition.
Biblical demonology is the source and basis of all demonology: ethnic, Jewish and Christian. In the book of Genesis, the author assumes the existence of demons just as plainly as he assumes the existence of God and the fall of Satan and his angels.
E. The Bible as a Standard for Demonology
In the study of any subject, one must obtain source material that will be used as a basis of actual fact. The person who studies the subject of Demonology has three sources to which he may go for information:
Ethnic demonology found in the polytheistic systems of thought throughout the world,
Rabbinic demonology found in Judaism,
Biblical demonology found in Scripture of both the Old and New Testament.
Let us briefly look at each.
1. The Character of Ethnic Demonology.
The whole realm of polytheism is morally corrupt. The character of heathen deities are always degraded and they degrade those who worship them. Behind the whole system of worship are demons who are evil spirits and strive to have individuals do that which is vile and immoral.
Ethnic demonology is full of extravagance and superstition. This is true whether considering religious thought either ancient or modern. Ancient Babylonians pictured every nook and corner as swarming with mischievous and evil-working spirits. The modern Arab sees demons everywhere: in the desert, in trees, springs, and rocks.
Many forms and actions are employed in ethnic demonology as protection against demons, which are nothing but enslaving rituals fostered by the demons themselves.
Charms.
Magical incantations.
Body mutilations.
Curious amulets.
Odd articles of dress.
Fire.
Devil dances.
Blood sacrifices.
Human sacrifice.
Orgiastic rites.
Self (body) punishments
The more one is involved in such practices the more he becomes enslaved by them. His fear of demons increases and his chances of deliverance from the clutches of such spirits decreases as he becomes hopelessly bound to the powers of evil. All of this and much more shows that ethnic demonology can be no true standard for a correct study of demonology.
2. The Character of Rabbinic Demonology.
While ethnic demonology is completely unacceptable as a standard for truth concerning demonology since it is but the deception of demons themselves, Rabbinic demonology having the Old Testament as a background might be expected to be quite different. Such, however, is not the case.
Rabbinic Demonology contains many distortions of Biblical truth: The fall of Satan and his angels is said to be after the creation of man and was occasioned by their jealousy and envy of him. Various ideas as to the origin of demons is entertained:
(l) They were created on the eve of the first Sabbath before their bodies could be finished, thus supposedly accounting for their being only spirits.
(2) They are the offspring of Eve with male spirits, or of Adam and female spirits, or with Lilith, queen of the female spirits.
(3) They are a transformation of vipers (serpents), or the offspring from the backbone of him who did not bow in worship.
Their nature and character is equally exaggerated. Fully sexed, they multiply rapidly, and are innumerable, a thousand at your right hand, ten thousand at your left. No one could survive the shock of seeing their actual number. In ancient Jewish literature, the right hand was often associated with righteousness, and the left with evil. Cf. Jonah 4:11.
They are arranged in four classes, according to the divisions of the day--morning, midday, evening, and night spirits. The night spirits are the most dangerous and wicked.
Rabbinic demonology is unmistakably mixed with heathen superstitions.
Their methods of managing demons included:
Torchlight by night.
Ablutions (i.e. a washing or cleansing specifically as a religious rite),
Phylacteries (Scriptures worn on arm or forehead).
Amulets (an ornament worn as a chain against evil spirits and often inscribed with a magic incantation)
Magic formulae.
Their modes of expelling demons:
They felt that demons could be reached through the avenues of the senses even as paganism:
Sense of taste was by "hell-broths" and vile mixtures,
Sense of hearing was by curses or withering abuse,
Sense of smell was by fumigations, pleasant or odious,
Sense of sight was by shocking or terrific exhibition,
Sense of touch was by the infliction of manifold tortures.
For these and many other reasons, Rabbinic demonology must be completely rejected as a standard for truth in the realm of demonology. There is little in Jewish thought concerning demons that is unaffected by error or excess.
3. The Character of Biblical Demonology.
Scripture in every realm presents a vivid and true picture of whatever it depicts without exaggeration or superstition. Everything is presented as it is in truth. This includes both good and evil, which are seen in their true color. Nowhere is this presentation of truth, without distortion or extravagance, so clearly seen as in the realm of evil supernaturalism.
Unger lists seven characteristics of Biblical demonology:
(1) Lofty in its tone.
(2) Free from exaggeration and superstition.
(3) Accurate and reliable in its sphere.
(4) Vast in its sweep.
(5) Practical in its purpose.
(6) Sound in its theology.
(7) Relieved by effectual deliverance.
Unger then draws this conclusion: "Perfection and inerrancy may rightly he expected from anything of divine origin, and from whatever is a product of infinite wisdom. The character of Biblical demonology not only proves that it is what it claims to be, a revelation from God, but also, as such, demonstrates that it is true and thoroughly reliable as a criterion of appraisal. It furnishes the model of truth to test error. It constitutes the pattern of reality to try all imagination and unreality. In its light we see light, as well as darkness, crookedness, and unreality. It alone can furnish an infallible norm to differentiate between truth and falsity, fact and fancy. Measured by its sure and trustworthy standards, demonology, whether ethnic or Rabbinic, is seen in its true light." Biblical Demonology, p. 29.