Satan and His Demons

Satan and His Demons
Roderick C. Meredith

Is there a real Devil? Does he actually have millions of spirit beings at his command? Can they affect you? You need to know!

It is fashionable nowadays to deny the existence of an actual spirit being called Satan the Devil. We are supposedly so "advanced" in our education and understanding of things, that even many otherwise intelligent people deny the very existence of the Creator Himself—and they certainly think that the idea of a real Satan is an ignorant relic from the Dark Ages.

But what is the truth of the matter?

Leaving aside all sentimentality and intellectual pride, can we prove—from the inspired word of God and from documented human experience—that there is a real Devil? Of course, even using the Bible as a reliable reference is anathema to some. But if you, personally, have an open mind, you had better read on! For the effect of Satan and his demons is awesome—and Satan's actions are right now affecting the world around you more than you may even begin to imagine!

This civilization, this "age"—the 6,000-year period from Adam until the return of Jesus Christ—has been, and still is, a society dominated by Satan the Devil and millions of fallen angels or "demons" who followed him in rebellion against the Creator God.

Satan is not just a generalized term for evil. Satan is not a blind force. Satan the Devil is a powerful spiritual personality—originally created by God as a cherub—who rebelled against his Creator. His original name "Lucifer" means "light bringer," but since his rebellion he has been called "Satan"—which means "adversary."

Notice how the mighty Lucifer plotted to overthrow God! His great capacity and his vanity made him decide to compete with his very Creator. "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit" (Isaiah 14:12–15).

Satan Has a KINGDOM

After maneuvering to gain followers, Satan was cast out of the "mountain" or Kingdom of God. As Revelation 12:3–4 indicates, Satan was able to draw after himself one-third of the angelic host in his rebellion against God! In the Bible, these fallen angels are called "demons." So, Satan now has literally myriads of fallen angels who are his followers—and, in that sense, he has a "kingdom" over which he rules in the spirit world.

He also holds power on the earth. In Ezekiel 28:10, we first read a description of the human prince of Tyre, a powerful man who—in the human sphere—was the absolute leader over this "New York" of the ancient world. But Ezekiel then shifts his focus to the real "power behind the throne"—the behind-the-scenes king of this pagan city-state. Notice, "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord God: "You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created'" (vv. 12–13). Here we find a personality who existed millennia before Tyre—in the "Garden of Eden"! Yet this personality was a created being (v. 15), not a member of the God Family.

In this way, Ezekiel reveals that Satan was the ultimate ruler of this Gentile city-state.

Satan is also revealed as an extremely conniving personality. When Matthew describes Jesus' experience of being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, we see that this evil being is even willing to quote Scripture, twisted to his own purposes. Satan even had the audacity to quote Scripture to the author of Scripture, Jesus Christ! "Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: "He shall give His angels charge over you," and, "In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone"'" (Matthew 4:5–6).

Then, Satan again tempted Jesus, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me" (v. 9). Notice how Christ acknowledged that the worldly kingdoms were under Satan's control. He did not dispute Satan's rule over the world's governments!

Rather, Jesus knew the spiritual principles involved, and correctly applied the appropriate scripture, saying: "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve'" (v. 10). Jesus chose to obey His Father, and to receive His reward in God's time and in God's way.

Later, when Jesus' enemies accused Him of using Beelzebub to cast out demons, He replied, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his [Satan's] kingdom stand?" (Matthew 12:25–26).

Satan does have a kingdom! As we have seen, he is the invisible "god" of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is the prime deceiver of individuals and nations. "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:9).

Satan Wields Influence

Satan is the spirit being who, in the very near future, will powerfully influence—and, finally, perhaps even possess—a charismatic political dictator who will lead a mighty world superpower arising in a revived and militant united Europe. Amazing! Satan will be the "god" who animates and empowers the false religious system that will undergird this world-dominating economic and military power! Please do not just believe me or take my word for this—look at the Bible for yourself!

God's word foretells that this coming oppressive system will literally be energized by demons. "After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, 'Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.' And I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues'" (Revelation 18:1–4).

Satan will motivate these coming world rulers to fight against Christ Himself at His return as King of kings and Lord of lords! But Christ will depose Satan, and the wicked rule of this evil being will come to a sure end. "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful" (Revelation 17:14).

Can we even begin to imagine the depth of a deception so massive that literally millions of human beings will be seduced into fighting Christ Himself at the Second Coming? Surely this can help us recognize the reality of what it means when the Bible so clearly indicates that Satan the Devil massively deceives the "whole world"—far beyond what most people have realized!

The inspired book of Daniel gives us an amazing insight into the spiritual dimension—often picturing Satan and his demons as in direct control of pagan nations, as we see throughout the Bible. When Daniel set about to humble himself and seek God, an angel assured him that his "words were heard" and that God would soon intervene (Daniel 10:12). Then, the angel told Daniel, "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia" (v. 13). Later, the angel confided in Daniel, "Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come" (v. 20).

Here we have a clear description of "spirit warfare" occurring—usually behind the scenes—as a powerful influence on the rise and fall of nations and leaders, and on which nations win and lose wars. These events are real. And similar events in the near future will also be influenced dramatically by spirit beings under the influence of Satan the Devil!

That is why the Apostle Paul warned the Gentiles at Ephesus that they had "once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2). Later in that epistle, he returns to that same theme, "For 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).

So Satan the Devil truly is the "god" of this world! He is a genuine spirit being who greatly influences the actions of human beings. Subject to God's overruling power, he is allowed to strike at nations, influence the behavior of demented dictators and rulers—and cause this world to be heading for disaster!

Satan's Religious Deceptions

In the religious sphere, the Bible makes very clear that Satan has his own churches and his own ministers. For Satan has certainly been shown to be the actual power behind the "throne" of the great false church described in Revelation 17. And the Apostle Paul was inspired to give us this warning about Satan's false ministers: "If he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!" (2 Corinthians 11:4).

Paul warned, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works" (vv. 13–15).

Over the centuries, Satan has tried to ensure that most people would not recognize the true Church of God and the true Gospel it preached. To encourage religious confusion, Satan has inspired hundreds of sects, churches and religious groups each to have their own special brand of religious thought—each church with a certain "personality," as it were—to appeal to just about any thought or feeling a person could have. In fact, there are real demonic personalities from the spirit world guiding many false churches.

A number of churches make claims to be the "true Church" Jesus established. Yet when the real truth is found, very few recognize the true Church for what it is, even though most churches claiming to be the "true Church" teach a message totally different from the true Gospel that Jesus Christ and the early apostles preached. If you would like to know more about how and why this came to be, please call us or write us immediately, or go to our www.tomorrowsworld.org Web site, and request a free copy of our very informative booklet, Restoring Apostolic Christianity.

In our day, Satan has used radio, television, film and the Internet to pander to the lusts of mankind, break up homes and otherwise influence human beings—such that billions are unable to recognize the Creator God or acknowledge that His word is truly inspired. Yes, most of mankind remains blinded and deceived (Revelation 12:9).

Satan Has Demons

God clearly shows that fallen spirit beings are set by Satan over various worldly governments—often having great influence and power over their activities (Daniel 10). Also, many New Testament scriptures clearly indicate that Jesus Christ was totally aware of Satan's demons and their activity, as we see in Mark's account of Jesus casting out a demon when His disciples could not do so (Mark 9:17–29).

In Mark's account, a demon had made a man's son unable to speak. This demon caused its victim to have epileptic-like seizures, in which he was at times thrown down to wallow on the ground and made to foam at the mouth. Jesus' disciples were unable to cast this demon out. Finally, Christ came and rebuked the unclean spirit: "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more" (v. 25).

Here, it is obvious that Christ did not speak to the person, but rather to the demon! For such evil spirits may be responsible for a large number of cases of so-called "mental illness."

Even though most mental illnesses may have come upon people because of birth defects, accidents or sickness, as the end of this age approaches it may become increasingly obvious that demon spirits are involved in some of the horrifying and outrageous behavior labeled as "mental illness" by God-rejecting observers!

Yes, we need to be fully aware of the spirit world—and of Satan and his demons!

What Should You Do?

Throughout the Bible, Christ shows us that we need to be proactive in preventing Satan from deceiving us, taking us away from the Truth or even influencing or possessing us or our children or loved ones! God instructs us through the Apostle James, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:7–10).

Each of us needs to do everything we can to "draw near" to the true God of the Bible. As the end of this age approaches, we need to recognize that a genuine "spirit war" will soon occur in heaven and that Satan will come roaring down to earth—backed, probably, by millions of perverted spirit beings who will assist him in deceiving and disorienting a God-rejecting mankind (Revelation 12:10–12). Scripture warns us—again and again—that we are in a "spiritual warfare" against Satan and his demons (Ephesians 6:10–17).

God inspired the Apostle Peter to remind us, "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins.' Be hospitable to one another without grumbling" (1 Peter 4:8–9). You and I need to go all out in seeking the God of the Bible! Frankly, it is time to quit "playing church," often "toying" with religion as a relatively unimportant side issue in our lives. For, as the end of this age swiftly approaches, we really do need to be close to the God of the Bible, and to have His divine protection—from human forces as well as from the spirit forces of Satan the Devil. We do not need to fear. But we must do our part to draw close to God, and then believe in His promises of absolute protection during the difficult times ahead.

As the Apostle Paul instructs: "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:13–18).

Do you, personally, really go all out "praying always"—truly seeking God, and trying to do what He says? Do you genuinely study the Bible and ask God for the understanding and strength to obey His inspired word? Do you do all you can to "walk with God" as have His true servants through the ages?

Each of us needs to ask, and to truthfully answer—these vital questions. For Satan does have a "kingdom." God has allowed His adversary to be the "god" of this world during the first 6,000 years of human existence—years that are now drawing swiftly to a close. At the very end of his influence, in desperation, this evil being will even influence millions to fight against Christ (Revelation 17:14) before he is finally bound and cast into the "lake of fire"—never again to trouble humanity (Revelation 20:10).

Dear reader, you need to recognize the awesome power of Satan and his demons, and your need for the protection of the Creator God who has total power over Satan. Be sure to "seek" the true God, and He will deliver you and bring you into His everlasting Kingdom—if you do your part.

Adapted from “Satan and His Demons” from www.TomorrowsWorld.org.