Q7. Answer
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The Bible teaches that demons are fallen angels: those that sided with Lucifer, when he rebelled against God (Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:14-15, 2 Peter 2:4); but he was defeated and together with his rebellious angels was cast out of heaven to earth, where now we know him as Satan and the Devil. Satan means “Adversary”.
Angels are real, and demons are real. They are spirit-beings. In their wickedness, demons long to inhabit and influence or control human beings, even to kill them. Scientists and doctors may scoff, but many incurable diseases and mental illnesses are thought to have demons behind them. Many of the foulest murders have no doubt been committed by demon-possessed individuals. Hitler was undoubtedly one of those! Jesus called Satan a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies (John 8:44). He is also called in Revelation 12:9 “the deceiver of the whole world.”
Clearly, both good and evil operate in the spirit-realm. Paul wrote: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) Satan is real and presides over these wicked hosts who are very organized and have a hierarchy as this verse implies. The powers of the occult, i.e. of witchcraft, voodoo, and the like are very real.
Christians who minister in places like Africa or India, know how real demons are, and cast them out of sick and needy people through the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. Such people recover instantly and are restored to their right minds, just as they were through the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles as recorded in the Bible.
Demons are just as real in the West, but westerners assume they are far more civilized than to believe in what they dismiss as the superstitions of the uneducated and simple.
God, however, confounds the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians 1:20). In His wisdom, God has given to Christian believers both the gift of discerning of evil spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10) and the power to cast them out (Mark 16:17). This gift and this power are very necessary for they are used in the West in exorcisms and deliverance just as they are in other parts of the world as above described.
The angels of God are ministering spirits sent to Christian believers (Hebrews 1:14). They are also sent with messages and revelations from God. They also fight against demonic hosts and these battles influence the affairs of nations (Daniel 10:13).
Spiritualists, mediums, tarot card readers, psychics, clairvoyants and the like are tapping into the “dark side.” No, not Star Wars, but the very real evil side of the spirit-realm inhabited by demons. They may give accurate forecasts and predictions but their source is not of God and it leads to demonic infiltration into their lives and the lives of the participants.
God, for very good and sound reasons, as with everything God does, commands us through the Bible absolutely not to consult with mediums, spirits, or the dead, on behalf of the living (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
Why? Because it opens us up to the demonic realm and to “the deceiver.” Many lovely people believe that they have talked to or heard from their favourite aunt or uncle or departed spouse in séances, but these are simply deceiving spirits, known as “familiar spirits,” who mimic their beloved relatives, and who also convince many that reincarnation is real.
Reincarnation is a false doctrine because it totally negates the necessity of Christ’s death and resurrection. The Bible proclaims it is appointed for men to die once and then comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27).