Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

DEMON

In classical Greek a god or a small divinity (Gk. daímōn). In later Greek thought, demons were conceived as intermediary spiritual beings which might move either up or down (i.e., they may be either good or bad). Because of this inconsistent nature, demons became a convenient explanation for bad things that happen in this world. Jewish and early Christian writers coalesced daimónion with Heb. malʾāḵ; Gk. ángelos (“messenger spirit”) and created a new division of good spirits (angels) and evil spirits (demons). In the NT and contemporary literature the term daimṓnion becomes more than pejorative, referring not only to malevolent spirits but also and more precisely to beings who in their true nature are agents of Satan and whose mission is to oppose the work of God and his people.

Jewish tradition depicts demons to be fallen angels who had joined Satan in his revolt against God (1 En. 16:1; 19:1). Gen. 6:1-4 was interpreted as narrating the fall of angels who descended on earth to mate with women, whose children became evil spirits on earth (1 En. 69:4; Jub. 4:15-22; 2 Bar. 56:12). Philo of Alexandria identified the angels of Gen. 6:1-4 with “demons” (De gigantibus 6). In the OT, however, good and evil spirits were thought to come from Yahweh. Thus, the “lying spirit” sent to King Zedekiah did not act on its own, but as directed by God (1 Kgs. 22:21-23), as also the evil spirit that tormented Saul (1 Sam. 16:15-16). Satan himself operates under divine authority (Job 1:12). In the book of Tobit, which contains elaborate accounts of demonic activities, the evil demon Asmodaeus afflicts the seven successive fiancés of Sarah (daughter of Raguel) with death at her wedding night, but he is later exorcised by the angel Raphael (Tob. 8:2-3).

Demons feature prominently as adversaries in the ministry of Jesus, and as agents of Satan they must be overcome if Jesus’ ministry is to be successful. Jesus himself speaks of having come to plunder Satan’s goods (Luke 11:21-22); expulsion of demons from people is one means by which Jesus does so in the Gospel accounts (Matt. 12:27-28). Early Judaism taught that when the Messiah comes, he will overthrow the kingdom of Satan.

According to early Christian literature, demons do not operate in a vacuum. They “oppress,” attacking people from without, or “possess,” entering an individual’s body and attacking it from within. They cause diseases and sicknesses of all kind, although not all sicknesses may be attributed to them (Mark 1:32; 2:10-12). For people in antiquity, certain kinds of sickness were caused by demons even if the symptoms can be explained by modern medicine. The presence of a demon in a person might sometimes not be obvious to a third party unless confronted by an exorcist (Mark 1:21-28). Most of the time, however, a demonic activity in a person’s life would be obvious (Mark 5:1-19 par.; 9:14-29 par.).

Bibliography. E. Ferguson, Demonology of the Early Christian World (New York, 1984); E. Langston, Essentials of Demonology (1949, repr. New York, 1981); W. Wink, Naming the Powers (Philadelphia, 1986).

Charles Yeboah

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

DEMON

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)