7 things to know about demonic powers

In the last Back to Basics post, we talked about what the Bible says about angels. In this one, we will discuss several things the Scriptures teach about demonic powers and entities.

1. We find the origin of demons written in Isaiah 14:12-15. They are angels who fell from heaven with Satan. These demons continually work evil in the world.
2. Satan is the head of the demons and is called the devil only in the New Testament (Matthew 4:1). Satan is called the serpent (Genesis 3:1, 14), the dragon (Revelation 12:3-4), Beelzebul (Matthew 10:25), the evil one (Matthew 13:19), the destroyer (Revelation 9:11), the ruler of the world (John 12:31), and the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).
3. Satan is the originator of sin (Genesis 3:1-6; 2 Corinthians 11:3).
4. He and his demons oppose and try to destroy the work of God (Genesis 3:11-20; Matthew 4:1-11).  Demons are limited by God (Job 1:12, 2:6; Jude 6; James 4:7).
5. Demons are active in the world today. Not all evil and sin come from them, but some do. In that vein, some suffering is the direct result of the work of demons.
6. Demons cannot possess Christians (1 John 4:4; 2 Timothy 1:7), but they can oppress us. We have authority over them, and we never need to have long, drawn-out battles with them. Through Christ, we may cast them out in Jesus’ name. In some instances, we may pray to Christ for them to be cast out. The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, came to destroy the work of the devil (1 John 3:8) and because of this, He has given us authority over them through the power of God. We do not have power in and of ourselves. But the power of the gospel triumphs over the devil and demonic forces.
7. Satan is not deific. He does not know your thoughts or mind, and he is only able to be in one place at one time. He is not a god — only a created being. God alone is deific and, as such, only He is all-knowing, present everywhere etc. In the same way, no other angels or created beings have the nature of deity.

Demonic activity is real, but it is not more powerful than our God. We need to trust God in the face of demonic oppression, but we also need to be aware of the spiritual warfare that surrounds us. Instead of focusing on the evil, we focus on God and trust that He is in control.