This topic is an important one and not a topic to leave to speculation, especially today when spiritual and evil forces are often being discussed in significant ways by public figures, even high-profile ones like Jordan Peterson and Tucker Carlson. It is also a heavy topic that requires seriousness and concentration in what you are about to read. Let’s examine the Word of God to discover 10 principles that can guide us as we seek to understand how demons operate.
In approaching the topic of demons and how they function, I’d like to clarify upfront that I personally take a posture often described as “seeking, but discerning” (for how this works on topics like miraculous spiritual gifts, click here). I arrived at this approach after many years of seeking a fair-minded exploration of this topic, especially as it relates to how we as Christians should respond to spiritual warfare and demonic influence.
I was trained in both undergraduate and graduate theological environments to believe that miraculous gifts became less and less prominent throughout the history of the church, after the apostles. A case can be made for that general belief, but, the more I researched, the more I realized one cannot make a valid historical argument that once the apostles died, exorcisms and dealing with the demonic subsided. As we will see below, exorcism was a common practice in the early church after the apostles.
“I personally take a posture often described as ‘seeking, but discerning.'”
In the early- to mid-1990s, when I was a minister/pastor in Canada, I joined with an expert in the demonic who ministered on an Indian reservation just outside Calgary. He was an older, godly Baptist minister named Ken Lobdell. In a gentle and biblical way, he demonstrated how a mature Christian leader could deal directly with demons when they were harassing people. I then did personal research at Asbury Seminary, under the scholar of ancient church history Thomas Oden, where I explored the history of exorcisms following the death of the apostles up through the time of Augustine around 430 A.D./C.E. As Ramsay MacMullen, the respected Yale historian argued, Christianity grew as fast as it did because the earliest Christians, after the apostles, were uniquely capable at casting out demons. For example, church historian Eusebius, writing in the early 300s, tells us that in the mid 200s, the church in Rome had over 50 full-time exorcists.[1]
Between 2010 and 2012, I sought out and spent a lot of time with the spiritual warfare expert Neil Anderson when he moved to where I live now in Franklin, Tennessee. He gave me permission to edit his Steps to Freedom for Harpeth Christian Church, the church where I serve as lead minister/pastor.
We use the framework in the following chart to delineate our posture which is in the middle (the “seeking, but discerning” approach) regarding the demonic—between the “cessationist” approach and the “continuationist” approach.
In 2022, after an extended period of praying for revival, our church started to have an increase in the number of people finding freedom from the demonic using steps similar to Neil Anderson’s Steps to Freedom, so the elders spent considerable time studying this topic at a deeper level. I am grateful that our team did this research—covering every passage in the Bible on the demonic—and I am convinced that moving into the future, there is wisdom for churches to explore what the Bible teaches on this topic.
“I am convinced that moving into the future, there is wisdom for churches to explore what the Bible teaches on this topic.”
The following diagram is a helpful summary of the influence of both the Holy Spirit and the demonic, especially as they are at work within creation and are at the root of spiritual warfare in our world. Like all diagrams of spiritual things, this one has limitations, but it should help make the point about what is happening in our world, according to God’s Word.
So, what are my conclusions? What does the Bible teach about the demonic and the Christian? What follows are 10 principles that I recommend for your consideration.
1. Demons are real, and we still battle against their influence in the spiritual realm daily.
We know that Jesus created the angels when he created the world. Colossians 1:16 tells us about their creation. Demons are angels who rejected God. Not only are demons part of “all things” that Jesus created, but they are part of things in the “heavenly realms” (see Ephesians 6:12), and the expressions “thrones,” “powers,” “rulers,” and “authorities” was a way of referring to spiritual and demonic forces. Note what the verse says:
“For in him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16, NIV)
In Genesis 3, we are introduced to Satan in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-6), so we know that prior to the creation of humans, he had already fallen away from God. We also know from Revelation 12:4 that Satan led one third of the angels to turn away from God sometime prior to the birth of Jesus.
King Saul may be the earliest prominent person in Scripture to have an evil spirit come upon him and torment him, according to 1 Samuel 16:14-23. Throughout the book of 1 Samuel, we see Saul struggling with evil spirits, even as he also prophesied with a group of prophets that included the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 19:20-24).
What does the Bible teach about demons? “Demons are angels who rejected God.”
By the time of Jesus in the First Century, according to the Gospels, we see that many people had problems with demons. Jesus (Luke 8:30-38), his disciples (Luke 9:1), the “seventy-two” (Luke 10:17) and even non-disciples (Luke 9:49-50) regularly cast out demons. Secular sources also tell us that this kind of thing was known in the Roman world, although we find diverse statements and beliefs about it.[2]
The apostle Paul describes the spiritual world and spiritual warfare as the common experience for Christians in Ephesus (see Ephesians 6:10-18). Indeed, the New Testament demonstrates an ongoing awareness of Satan, demons, and spiritual conflict, with no apparent expectation that it will end until God’s final judgment at the end of history (Revelation 20:7-10).
When it comes to passages like the following, it is very rare to find Christian leaders or churches who hold that the spiritual warfare described there doesn’t continue through this day and until Jesus returns:
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:11-12, NIV)
Even still, some Christian leaders believe that Satan and many of the demons have been limited or “bound,” so they have less impact than they did in the First Century. Those who believe this, like myself, believe that we can still be tempted and led astray daily by demons, but that many demons have been sent to the abyss, where they have been bound. Satan too has been restrained (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7), where he cannot stop the church’s expansion (see Revelation 20:1-6).
What does the Bible teach about demons? “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Many, including myself, also believe that in the last days Satan will be unleashed and cause terrible conflict and evil on the earth (see Revelation 20:7-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; etc.; see below for more on this). But I also hold that these are personal, “third-bucket” beliefs about which we can develop personal convictions without jeopardizing the unity within a local church.
2. Spiritual warfare is most fundamentally a battle for the mind—it is manifest in how we think and what we believe.
As Genesis 3:1-7 teaches us, when Satan tempted Eve, he influenced what she believed, leading her to violate God’s command in some type of prideful attempt to be “like God” herself. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we discover that Satan and the demons focus on inspiring human pride, hatred, and disobedience to God.
Spiritual warfare, we consequently learn, at a fundamental level, is focused on what we believe. Will we believe what God teaches us and hold to it—even when we are tempted to believe something else by Satan?
Spiritual warfare is also about dislodging false beliefs in the mind, things that we came to believe about life, ourselves, and God that were not based on truth. The apostle Paul describes the basics of spiritual warfare in the following verses:
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NIV)
What does the Bible teach about demons? “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
These verses help us to understand why doctrine is so important in the Christian life. A careful reading of the epistles makes it very clear that a central key to living a godly life is to first know and believe God’s truths. Discipleship of the mind is very, very important (see Romans 12:1-2: 2 Peter 1:3-11).
3. Scripture teaches that demons can have varying degrees of influence on a person, including Christians.
A careful reading of Scripture indicates that there are a lot of ways that demons and evil spirits work on people. The range moves from influencing how someone, like the apostle Peter, thinks, to demonic footholds, to even oppression and possession.
- Satan led the human race to turn from God in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3).
- King Saul had a demon that tormented him (1 Samuel 16:14).
- Satan incited King David to pridefully count the number in Israel (1 Chronicles 21:1).
- In the Gospels, various people had demons; the demons were attached to them, almost akin to leeches (Luke 13:11; Acts 16:16).
- The apostle Peter was rebuked because he accepted Satan’s thoughts in his mind (Matthew 16:23).
- Satan so influenced Ananias that Peter said Satan had filled his heart with lies (Acts 5:3).
- Paul warned that Satan can masquerade as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
- The apostle Paul warned people not to give Satan a foothold, a place to stand in their lives (Ephesians 4:27).
- Paul told Christians that, if they are not careful, they can find themselves participating with demons by partaking of sacrifices to demons (1 Corinthians 10:20-22).
- Paul rebuked the Corinthians for receiving a different spirit than the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 11:4).
- In Acts 19:18-19, a large number of Christians in Ephesus practiced sorcery, as Christians, and they repented and turned from it.
As we can see, demons can influence people in a variety of destructive ways.
What does the Bible teach about demons? “Demons can influence people in a variety of destructive ways.”
4. Demons can attach themselves to people.
When it comes to the question of a demon indwelling a human, a number of questions arise. It’s worth noting that there is a language/translation debate about the meaning of a word at the heart of this topic. Does the expression δαιμονίζομαι mean “demonized,” or does it mean “possessed”? Different Greek scholars land in different places on this question. And what does it mean to say that someone is “demon possessed” if we adopt that translation?
Scripture often says that someone is tormented by an evil spirit (like Saul in 1 Samuel 16) or that someone has a demon. Again, it seems best to envision it like an unwanted attachment, when a foreign and evil spirit exerts unwanted influence on to a person (see the crippled woman in Luke 13:11). Notice the description and language used in Luke 7:21 (NIV): “At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.” As a person is afflicted with disease and sickness, they are also afflicted by evil spirits.
When an evil spirit clings to a person, it can dominate that person, but that does not mean that the spirit possesses the person, in the sense of “owning a person” (that is a concept we see more in the movies than in Scripture). And clearly, when the Holy Spirit has sealed a Christian, an evil spirit cannot own them (Ephesians 1:13-14), as I will describe below.
“When the Holy Spirit has sealed a Christian, an evil spirit cannot own them.”
In the Bible, descriptions of demonization or demon possession might be best understood as “oppression by one or more indwelling demons.” They attach themselves to a person – like a leech – and that person cannot get rid of them without Jesus’ help. Notice the interchangeable way the expressions “with an impure spirit” and “demon-possessed” are used in Mark 5:
- “When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him…” (Mark 5:2, NIV)
- “Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well.” (Mark 5:16, NIV)
Consider also the description of the woman who prophesied by a demon in Acts 16:
“Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.” (Acts 16:16, NIV)
Scripture teaches us that this female slave “had a spirit,” and it was a spirit by which “she predicted the future.” Apparently, through the demon, she had access to special knowledge of what God was doing through Paul:
“She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.’” (Acts 16:17, NIV)
“Apparently, through the demon, she had access to special knowledge of what God was doing through Paul.”
We notice that “the spirit” accurately told people that Paul taught the way of salvation. The spirit even prompted the woman to commend, at least at some level, what Paul and the others were saying. It might be hard for us to imagine that this was an “evil spirit,” but Acts 16:18 tells us that Paul casts the spirit out by the authority of Jesus.
“She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!’ At that moment the spirit left her.” (Acts 16:18, NIV)
Was this woman possessed by the spirit in such a way that it owned her? That is not likely. It seems better to understand that a spirit was in her, attached to her, giving her special, even accurate insight—without actually taking possession of her in the sense of owning her.
Studying these texts teaches us that the world of demons sometimes defies easy categorization. Here is a list of different demonic spirits doing different things throughout Scripture:
- There are deaf and mute Spirits (Mark 9:25;33).
- There are back-crippling spirits (Luke 11).
- There are seizure-inducing spirits (Matthew 17:15; Luke 9:49).
- There are strength-inducing and tomb-oriented spirits (Mark 5).
- There are spirits of divination who can tell the future (Acts 16:16).
- There are spirits that are more evil than others (Matthew 12:45).
What does the Bible say about demons? “There are spirits that are more evil than others.”
Some kinds of evil spirits were hard for Jesus’ followers to expel:
- “After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’He replied, ‘This kind can come out only by prayer.’” (Mark 9:28-29, NIV; some manuscripts say “by prayer and fasting”)
- “Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith…’” (Matthew 17:19-20, NIV)
And what about Christians? Demons cannot possess a Christian, in the sense of owning them, for Christians are already “owned by Jesus” (1 Corinthians 6:20). We were ransomed by Jesus, and we are his possession (Hebrews 9:15).
But short of possession and given the diversity of descriptions of how demons and evil spirits work on people in the Bible, we are wise not to understate the ways in which demons can oppress and afflict Christians. Christians are told, “do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:27). And Paul told the Corinthians that they had to be careful not to participate with demons (1 Corinthians 10:20-22). So, we should not be surprised if Christians need special help in dealing with the demonic in their lives.
What does the Bible say about demons? “Christians are told, ‘do not give the devil a foothold.'”
The key thing, we know, is that Jesus has all authority over demons (see more below).
5. Jesus, the apostles, the “seventy-two,” and others cast demons out of people.
In Scripture, we find a focus on the authority of Jesus and of his name when dealing with the demonic. People often associate exorcism exclusively with the twelve disciples/apostles, but that is likely too restrictive. Here are four examples:
- The 12 Apostles: “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases” (Luke 9:1, NIV).
- The “Seventy-Two”: “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name’” (Luke 10:17, NIV).
- An anonymous non-disciple: “‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said . . .” (Mark 9:38-39, NIV).
- The seven sons of Sceva: “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, ‘In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.’ . . . One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’ . . . When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor” (Acts 19:13-17, NIV).
“People often associate exorcism exclusively with the twelve disciples/apostles, but that is likely too restrictive.”
It seems appropriate to conclude that exorcisms happened beyond the 12 disciples/apostles, although we do not know the details. The anonymous non-disciple in Mark 9 and the attempt by the seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19 suggest that exorcism in Jesus’ name was likely practiced by others in biblical times. We do not have a lot of information, but it appears that the basics for an exorcism to be effective centered on two principles: 1) exorcism was to be “in Jesus’ name,” and 2) it was to be performed “by true disciples.”
6. Casting out of demons did not end with the apostles.
Those who are “cessationists” when it comes to delivering people from demonic influence make an argument that restricts miracles, sign gifts, and exorcisms to the apostles and to those on whom the apostles laid their hands. For example, they point to a link between the miraculous gifts and the unique First-Century ministry of the apostles and those people upon whom the apostles laid their hands.
In Romans 15:18-19, Paul speaks of “the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God” by which he has “fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ,” thus connecting his miracles to his ministry which uniquely pioneered the gospel among the Gentiles. And indeed, when we consider the eras throughout the Bible in which miracles were most prevalent, they do seem to cluster around when new revelation from God is given (consider especially the miracles surrounding the ministries of both Moses and the apostles). Further, in 2 Corinthians 12:12, Paul describes demonstrating “the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders, and miracles.”[3]
Yet it is possible to see a uniqueness in the apostolic era, for example, with regard to the Holy Spirit manifest in signs, miracles, and wonders which demonstrate the arrival of the new covenant age and the truth about Jesus, without going so far as to rule out deliverance from the demonic in our own time. It is going beyond the text to say that the scriptures which attach a specialness to the apostolic era argue that demon possession ended.
What does the Bible say about demons? “It is going beyond the text to say that the scriptures which attach a specialness to the apostolic era argue that demon possession ended.”
Some Christians argue that the expression “the completeness” or “the perfect” in 1 Corinthians 13:10 was referring somehow to “the Bible.” “That is a reference to how, when the Bible is complete, miraculous gifts and exorcisms will cease,” they say. But the completed New Testament, as a set canon, was not formally acknowledged until about three hundred years after the apostles (367 A.D./C.E.). It is also hard to see “completeness/perfect,” in the context of 1 Corinthians 13, as referring to the canon of Scripture. The expression “completeness/perfect,” in context, most likely refers to the second coming of Jesus or a state of maturity, when miraculous gifts are no longer necessary. There is no clear biblical basis by which church leaders can rule out exorcism or categorically deny the practice or experience in our time.
Yes, it is true that, factually, often times miraculous gifts were associated with non-orthodox teaching and personalities in early church history. And yes, claims about miraculous gifts and exorcisms have too often been proven to be false, and sometimes even associated with heresy.
Yet the prevalence of exorcisms in early church history (even after the apostles and their immediate successors had died) tells a different story. It is so prominent and pervasive that in the early church they made it a standard procedure that candidates for baptism underwent ritual exorcisms and renounced Satan and his work before their baptisms.
7. History shows that the early church (100-300 A.D./C.E.), after the apostles, excelled at exorcisms.
Eusebius, the church historian from the 300s, writing in Church History, refers to a casual letter sent by bishop Cornelius of Rome to another bishop, Fabius of Antioch around 250 A.D./C.E., mentioning “fifty-two exorcists,” working full-time on the payroll of the church in Rome at that time.[4] Ramsay MacMullen, professor of classics and history at Yale University, noted repeated accounts of “exorcisms” in the early church. He stated that exorcisms, more than to any one other item, influenced the conversion of Emperor Constantine in the early 300s. Put simply, Christians could cast out demons better than Pagans.[5]
Larry Hurtado, a widely respected scholar of ancient Christianity, summarized the early Christian practice after the apostles.[6]
1) The exclusivity of Jesus’ name, i.e., earliest texts portray Jesus’ followers as invoking his name alone, in contrast to the use of various and even multiple names/figures in non-Christian practice.
(2) The early Christian ritual use of Jesus’ name was one facet of a wider devotional pattern in which Jesus figured centrally. But in early Christian circles, Jesus was invoked at baptism (the initiation rite), and in the collective worship gathering
3) The simplicity of method in earliest Christian ritual practice. Unlike the more elaborate practices portrayed in pagan and other Jewish circles . . . the reports of earliest Christian practice typically involve a simple command (e.g., to the demonic spirit).
“…a casual letter sent by bishop Cornelius of Rome . . . mentioning “fifty-two exorcists,” working full-time on the payroll of the church in Rome at that time…”
8. In exorcisms it is 1) Jesus, 2) Jesus’ cross, and 3) the believer’s position with Jesus in the heavenly realms that provide authority over the demons.
If you want to understand what can happen today when dealing with demonic oppression, these principles are the ones that I have observed to be the bedrock scriptural ones that the most helpful Christian guides have adopted. Please note, Scripture provides no basis for a special class of priests, special formulas, etc. Instead, Scripture points to Jesus and his gospel.
First, we verbally and positionally rely on Jesus Christ’s authority, and no other, when we are dealing with demons.
“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’” (Luke 10:17, NIV)
“Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!’ At that moment the spirit left her.” (Acts 16:18, NIV)
“They triumphed over him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” (Revelation 12:11, NIV)
“They triumphed over him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
Second, Jesus Christ defeated all demons and invalidated their charges against any person who calls upon Jesus and his work on the cross. Carefully read the following passage because it points to a legal indebtedness of some kind associated with the demonic powers that is caused by our sins. Jesus’ cross defeats the demons and cancels this legal indebtedness in the spiritual world.
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-15, NIV)
Third, Christ gives Christians authority over demons because we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies.
That power he [God] . . . exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:19b-21, NIV)
“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6, NIV)
I believe these three principles are the key scriptural principles we need to keep front and center when dealing with evil spirits and demons today.
What does the Bible say about demons? “I believe these three principles are the key scriptural principles we need to keep front and center when dealing with evil spirits and demons today.”
This simple summary cannot be emphasized enough: Jesus’ name, Jesus’ work on the cross, and the spiritual authority given to believers in the heavenly realms.
Some naturally wonder, what specific application or methods that rely on these principles should people use if they deal with the demonic? There are several authors who have written on step-by-step methods for dealing with the demonic. It can be a complicated and disputable topic. But I recommend two authors for those who want to dig deeper into these topics and to adopt a particular methodology.
First, see Neil Anderson, The Bondage Breaker: Overcoming *Negative Thoughts, *Irrational Feelings, *Habitual Sins, Revised and Updated Edition (Eugene: Harvest House, 2019).
Second, see Sam Storms, Understanding Spiritual Warfare: A Comprehensive Guide (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021).
9. Many Christian leaders believe there will be a significant increase in demonic influence and evil before Jesus returns.
There may be more going on in our world regarding the demonic than we naturally can see today. The book of Revelation describes how Satan (as the dragon) gives power and authority to a government system (Revelation 13:2). There is lots of debate about which government system the passage is describing, but it makes it clear that it is operating by Satanic power. I often ask people about what happened in World War II. Was not Satan behind what happened in Nazi Germany, especially with what they did to the Jews? Why could that not happen again?
There are some key passages that cause many Christians (including myself) to believe that there will be an increase in evil influences, false teachers, and the demonic before Jesus returns. It is true that some of these passages may have had their fulfillment in the past (e.g., surrounding the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem), and I want to acknowledge that possibility.[7]
“There may be more going on in our world regarding the demonic than we naturally can see today.”
But I believe it is best to read these specific passages as predicting what is still to come. Taken together, I believe these verses point to a rise in evil influence that will accompany Jesus’ second coming:
“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:10-13, NIV)
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1, NIV)
Intelligent, godly scholars take different views on the 1,000-year reign (the “Millennium”) described in Revelation 20. However, most scholars regardless of their millennial perspective believe that it describes an unleashing of Satan at the end of the 1,000 years.
Again, most Christian scholars believe, at some level, there will be an unleashing of Satan, whether they believe the Millennium is an undefined period where the church cannot be thwarted (a-millennialism), a period of increasing goodness that leads us to the end (post-millennialism), or a literal thousand years (pre-millennialism).
“When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.” (Revelation 20:7-8, NIV)
“Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth.”
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 presents a particular difficulty in terms of interpretation (is this describing a lawless person in the past or future?). But, at some level, it also describes an unleashing of the demonic:
“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10a, NIV)
The following quote from the Christian writing the Didache (written approximately A.D. 125) resonates with this view as well:
“The whole time of your faith will not profit you unless you are made complete in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and sheep shall be turned into wolves . . . and then shall the deceiver of the world appear, pretending to be the Son of God, and [he] shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands.” (Didache 16:3-4)
10. When it comes to disputable, non-essential, or secondary teachings on how Scripture is understood (such as dealing with the demonic), it is important to accommodate different perspectives within a local church.
With an increasing number of people talking about Satan and the demonic today, it seemed important to me to try to offer my perspective. On topics like this, I have found that it is better to make a good-faith effort at trying to understand and explain what I believe the Word of God teaches, than to just ignore the topic. Too many people have too many questions for Christians to ignore the topic. If we do not address such questions from a biblical point of view, people will often just adopt the most popular perspective they hear on YouTube or read through a Google search.
At the same time, within Renew.org Network and within my local church, there are leaders with a different perspective than mine. We have chosen to respect each other and our different points of view, according to some of the key principles the apostle Paul describes in Romans 14:3-12:
“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. . . . Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. . . . You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ‘”As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.”’ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” (Romans 14:4, 5b, 10-12, NIV)
“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall.”
In closing, if your church wants to embrace a “seeking, but discerning” approach in helping people struggling with demonic influence, I want to recommend that you encourage your people to study this topic for themselves. I also encourage you to view their convictions in this area in terms of third-bucket, “personal” beliefs. Please strive for unity amid disagreements in this area, as it is possible and preferable for Christians to cultivate personal convictions on these questions without jeopardizing the unity within a local church.
[1] There is a good, easy-to-access summary of much of this documentation online; see Jonathan Carl, Spiritual Warfare in the Early Church, https://www.spiritualwarfare.blog/eusebius, accessed November 2022.
[2] See Everett Ferguson, Demonology of the Early Christian World (Edwin Mellen Press, 1985).
[3] D.A. Carson, “The Purpose of Signs and Wonders in the New Testament,” in Power Religion, edited by Michael Scott Horton (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), pp. 89 -118.
[4] CRISTIAN DUMITRESCU, A Historical Survey of Healing and Exorcism, Journal of Adventist Mission Studies, Vol. 11 [2015], p. 6.
[5] Ramsay MacMullen, Christianizing the Roman Empire: A.D. 100–400. (London: Yale University Press, 1984.).
[6] Larry Hurtado, “Exorcism and Healing in Early Christians,” March 13, 2018, https://larryhurtado.wordpress.com/2018/03/13/exorcism-and-healing-in-early-christianity/.
[7] See Bobby Harrington and Antony Walker, What the Bible Says About End Times – https://renew.org/product/what-the-bible-says-about-end-times/
