Are demons real?

By Alex Shianda

When I was 12 years old I watched an episode of Turning Point – a CBN production – that I will never forget. The show had three segments and in one they featured a compelling testimony. To capture viewers’ attention, the producers used actors to dramatise the testimonies and VFX effects as the interviewee was narrating his story. On this particular day, they had a person delivered from the occult.

The guest talked about leaving his body at night and seeing his physical body lying on the bed. He also spoke of demonic possession.

This episode almost gave me nightmares. I went to bed that night and replayed the astral projection scene that was vividly dramatised and my lips became dry. I tossed and turned in my bed. I felt I needed to take a pee but my knees were too weak to leave my bed.

What made my fears worse was there were stories in school about a book by Rebecca Brown which had a running title “Delivered from the Power of Darkness”. In that book, my schoolmates claimed demons could get in you when they left a person who was delivered. I wondered if they had left the person on the Turning Point episode and were now in me. I had a long, sweaty night with no peace. This was my first exposure to conversations about occults and the demonic. Up to this point I had never watched a horror movie and anything that would spook me out.

Three years after this experience I was in boarding school and a few days after schools opened, I heard there was a fellow Form One student who was demon-possessed. It was said if you looked at his eyes you felt weird. We used to sleep on decker beds. Reports were made that this boy would wake up at night and lift two-decker beds with four teenage boys sleeping on them. The boy was expelled from school.

Stories about spirits from the lake (nyawawa) were rife in school. Apparently when this particular spirit left the lake, to prevent it settling in your house, you were required to hit a saucepan (sufuria) as you yelled. You would only stop hitting the sufuria when your neighbour started hitting theirs. I had witnessed this in our village as a child. So hearing of it in high school didn’t bother me much. 

I remember a gentleman who came to our Christian Union fellowship and told us about occultic oaths made when our school was built, around a tree that was used for libation and oath-taking between two communities. These “altars” he said, needed to be broken.

I got born again in my second year in high school – four years after my first exposure to the demonic conversation — and got baptised with the spirit a couple of months later. After this infilling experience, I remember getting shocked when I prayed for a friend and he began manifesting those things I had seen on Christian TV. My friend fell and rolled on the floor making crazy noises. It didn’t happen once but a couple dozen times. I eventually asked God to help me understand this very unfamiliar world.

What scripture says

Scripture teaches us about the spiritual realm. Some verses are difficult to understand but they all point us to the reality that the supernatural world exists. Take verses about rebellion towards God. 

God’s word teaches us at least three rebellions in the spiritual world. The idea that there was one great rebellion where Satan fell with a third of the angels is popular among some Christians but is not supported by the rest of the scripture or the Revelation text itself. In Revelation 12 we read about the birth of Christ written in apocalyptic language. The battle in the heavens by the dragon trying to kill the expected child is the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophesy according to Matthew in his gospel (Matthew 2:13-18)

‘This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” ‘

Jeremiah 31:15

The first rebellion is recorded in Genesis 3. Here we see the serpent deceiving Adam and Eve. Many people today hear this story and have zoology in mind. They can’t fathom a talking snake. But people in the Ancient Near East who were the initial hearers of the story, did not have zoology in mind when they heard this story. They understood this Genesis account in the literary sense. For example, Greece which was in the periphery of Ancient Near East, viewed snakes as sacred beings of wisdom, healing and resurrection. So Asclepius, a Greek and Roman god, was depicted as having a rod wreathed with a snake for protection, which he used to extend human life by healing ailments. He was a hero guardian. This rod is what is used as a symbol for medical practice.

The prophet Ezekiel describes the heavenly agent who rebelled against God in the Genesis account as a guardian cherub. As mentioned these guardians were depicted as or with snakes in ancient near east and its surroundings.

‘You were an anointed guardian cherub, for I had appointed you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones. ‘

Ezekiel 28:14

Isaiah notes this cherub raised himself against the Most High giving the back story to the literary story of the Genesis 3 account.

‘You said to yourself, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly, in the remotest parts of the North. I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit. ‘

Isaiah 14:13-15

This first rebellion was the birth of Satan. 

Satan is called so because he is adversarial (1 Timothy 5:15). He is also called the father of lies because he perverts the truth (John 8:44) and the accuser because he opposes believers before God (Revelation 12:10). Other names include Belial meaning worthless (2 Corinthians 6:15), Beelzebul meaning Lord of the fly (Matthew 12:24), Dragon meaning destructive (Revelation 12:3, 7,9), Enemy as he is an opponent (Matthew 13:28), the god of this world as he influences the thinking of the world (2 Corinthians 4:4), among other names.

Satan was cunningly leading humans away from the worship of God to himself by tempting Adam and Eve in the garden. But Satan did not birth or create demons.

The second rebellion in the spiritual realm is recorded in Genesis 6. It is said that members of the heavenly council came and slept with beautiful women and these women gave birth to giants also known as Nephilims. These children were raised in rebellion to God.

‘More and more people were born, until finally they spread all over the earth. Some of their daughters were so beautiful that supernatural beings came down and married the ones they wanted.

Genesis 6:1-2

1 Peter 3:19-20 says these spirits who rebelled were held in captivity; as does Jude 1:6. According to the extra biblical Book of Enoch, demons came from the bodies of these giants when they died.

1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto 2 them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men 3 and beget us children.’

Enoch 6:1-3

1 And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms 2 and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they 3 became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed 4 all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against 5 them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and 6 fish, and to devour one another’s flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.

Enoch 7:1

 8 And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon 9 the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; 10 they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. [As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling.] And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless 12 hunger and thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them.

Enoch 15:8-12

According to this extra biblical account and another extra biblical book called the Book of Giants, this is how demons came to be. They were the souls of the dead giants who were offspring of humans and spiritual beings.

The third spiritual rebellion we read about is in Genesis 11. The text says God confused the languages of the people and in Deuteronomy 32:8, we are given a back story that God allocated members of the heavenly council to govern these nations with different languages.

These beings, however, rebelled against God. This could explain why different nations worshiped different gods and why God in Psalms 82 is angered with them for not ruling justly. He announces their demise there. This third rebellion is significant for it is from this that the elect people of God (Israel who God chooses as his people and gives them land) that God redeems the whole world/all the nations for himself by coming down in the flesh.

Let me conclude by commenting about the second rebellion. This understanding (which is not new but has been around in rabbinical circles even before Jesus) has helped me read the book of Joshua differently. The book of Joshua has a lot of killings. Joshua was one of the 12 spies sent by Moses to check out the promised land when the Israelites were rescued from captivity in Egypt. After exploring the Promised Land, 10 spies said the land had giants and the Israelites couldn’t therefore take it over.

These giants were descendants of Anak who were relatives of Nephilims. Deuteronomy 2:10-12 (You can see why God was so angry with that generation that all died and didn’t enter the Promised Land. When these children of the rebellion died, demons were birthed).

If we read Deuteronomy 2:10-12 we see these giants had spread everywhere. Remember where they came from in Genesis 6. The flood was “worldwide” in view of the author just as the “whole world” came to Joseph for food during the famine to mean Israel came – compare “whole world” references in the New Testament referring to Roman Empire as in Luke 2:1-5).

Joshua’s task was to eliminate these giants’ descendants and those who supported them for they were in rebellion towards God. He was then to settle God’s people in this land. God had further told Moses not to destroy/fight tribes which had driven out the giants from their land.

‘During this period Joshua destroyed all the descendants of Anak, who lived in the hill country of Hebron, Debir, Anab, and the entire hill country of Judah and Israel. He killed them all and completely destroyed their towns. None of the descendants of Anak were left in all the land of Israel, though some still remained in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. So Joshua took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally had rest from war.’

Joshua 11:21-23

We read in Joshua 11:21-23 that Joshua destroyed all the descendants of Anak in the areas mentioned. The ones who remained were in the area of Gath and two other places (Gaza and Ashdod). Goliath the Philistine giant was from Gath and we see David killing him continuing God’s work of fighting those in rebellion towards God. Goliath had five other brothers.

These passages in the bible show us the spiritual realm is real.

The good news is Christ has triumphed over the works of the devil and demons. Colossians 2:15 talking about Christ says ‘In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. ‘ For this reason, we who are his children have “overwhelming victory through Christ, who loved us.’ (Romans 8:37).

Seeing Christ free people from demonic possession in the scriptures is good news to all who are not yet believers and who seek freedom (Luke 13:16, Acts 10:38). They can be set free (Galatians 1:4, Colossians 1:13). Believers are to continue the work of Christ preaching his good news, healing the sick, and casting out demons in his name (Matthew 10:8). We are able to do this because we have the victory in Christ. 1 John 3:8 tells us “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ‘ Satan is already judged (John 16:11). In the end the devil and demons and rebellious sons of god will be destroyed.

God did not spare [the] angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment. (2 Pet. 2:4)

The angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. (Jude 6)

‘And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. ‘

Revelation 20:10

Alex Shianda is the author of ‘Celebrating Christ’.