Underground Halloween Bible Study

Introduction

The purpose of this Bible study is to learn from Scripture an accurate description of what a demon is, what it is not, what it can and cannot do, and finally learn a biblically accurate definition of what is demonic and what is not. This study is by no means an ultimate, comprehensive, final authority on the subject. Consider it a work in progress. Let’s dive in.

What is a demon?

To begin, the word “demon” never appears in the frequently referenced King James Version of the Bible. In that translation, demons are referred to as “unclean spirits”. The word “demon” is a Greek word that means “knowing” or “intelligent”, which suggests that they are smarter than humans. (1a)

The Bible first confirms demons’ existence in Matthew 8:28-32.

Demons acknowledge Jesus’ existence and they shudder (James 2:19).

Origins

The origin of demons is up for debate. While this debate is not the focus of this study, I will take the opportunity to briefly describe the two schools of thought on their origins.

The more orthodox position on demonic origin is that they are angels who aligned themselves with Satan when God cast him out of Heaven. These “fallen angels” followed Satan and do his bidding for him, even though they are still all subject to God’s authority.

The second position is that of the Nephilim. In summary, the Nephilim were a race of people who were conceived between rebellious angels and mortal women. These offspring grew into a race of giants with immense physical strength. When the Nephilim died, their displaced spirits roamed the earth wreaking havoc. According to this belief, they are still roaming the earth committing evil acts to this day.

Due to inconsistencies with Scripture, the Nephilim origin story will not serve as the basis for this study as we go forward. We will take the orthodox position that demons are spiritual beings created by God who have rebelled against God and now claim allegiance to His adversary.

What is not a demon?

As I mentioned above, a demon is not the spirit of an evil deceased person walking the earth scaring people and haunting houses. The spirits of physical beings like us do not float around the world aimlessly once they are released from the physical body. (2). This is one reason that the Nephilim position doesn’t hold up against scripture.

A demon is also not some ugly, reptilian-looking monster with wings, claws, and fangs. These are just artistic interpretations of evil and should be looked at as such. There is no biblical basis for this description. In fact, the Bible gives no detailed description of what demons look like, only that they are spiritual beings with no form (2).

Are there specific types of demons/names of demons? If so, what are they?

Again, this is another area in which false doctrine has crept in. Oftentimes, especially on social media, you’ll hear someone (particularly a pastor or influencer) say that a person is dealing with a “spirit of rejection” or a “demon of anger, depression, addiction, rejection, etc”. A more popular belief in recent years has been giving spirits names such as “the Jezebel spirit” or the “spirit of Python.” This is not confirmed in scripture. Queen Jezebel was a human being like the rest of us. Her spirit, evil as it was, is not wandering the earth today aimlessly tempting women to live like her. Again, this is not biblical. Yet, it is an idea that has caught on in certain Christian circles (4).

While this idea has roots in extra-biblical sources, many of them from the Middle Ages, the Bible only specifically names two demons in scripture: Legion, which was a multitude of demons (“we are many” – Mark 5:2-10) working together to torment a man whom Jesus set free, and Abaddon, the demon in charge of torturing people in Hell (3).

What does a demon do?

A demon can inflict illness and disease, deceive entire nations (government and leadership), attack a believer’s faith, spread false doctrine, encourage the worship of idols, and lead people into temptation (3). In Job, demons were responsible for Job’s health problems (1b). In Luke, Jesus healed a crippled woman whose condition had a demonic and oppressive origin (1b).

It should be noted, however, that while demons can inflict illness upon a person, not all disease has a demonic origin. “Most times, it is as simple as being exposed to some virus or bacteria, or the simple breaking down of the human body.”(1b) Demonic illness – physical or mental – has other components to it rather than just physical symptoms.

Demons also have the capability to enter and control people and animals, also known as possession. This can be found in Mark 5:8-13. This passage and Luke 8:2 also reveal that demons often work in groups. (1b) Possession is the opposite of being filled with the Holy Spirit and is not something that happens to a person on a casual, random basis (3). “Demon possession is the culmination of a volitional rejection of God and a volitional acceptance of Satan and his demons.”(3)

Demons can also attack a believer’s faith (Book of Job again), escalate their attacks (especially when working in groups – Matthew 12:43-45), encourage the worship of idols, spread false doctrine or “deceitful spirits” (1Timothy 4:1), and lead everyone – believer and non-believer alike – into immorality through temptation. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that the enemy “disguises himself as an angel of light, or a servant of righteousness.” It should be no stretch to accept that demons disguise themselves in the same way as well (3).

What can demons not do?

“Though demons are powerful, wicked creatures, they do have their limitations.” A demon is not omnipresent (Matthew 8:28-34), not all-knowing (meaning it cannot read a person’s mind, nor does it possess the infinite wisdom and intelligence of God), not autonomous in its actions, and is incapable of doing good works (John 10:21)(1c).

What is truly demonic, according to Scripture?

The word “demonic” gets tossed around very casually these days, especially on social media. Again, we are going to take a close look at Scripture and see what it says is explicitly demonic.

The Bible clearly calls out the practice of witchcraft and sorcery of any kind demonic (Deuteronomy 18:10-12), as is bitter jealousy and selfish ambition (James 3:14-16). False teachings, false doctrines, especially ones that sound righteous and holy on the surface, but have an erroneous root (1Timothy 4:1). Anything that incites violence and murder is also demonic according to John 8:44.

What is not demonic, according to Scripture?

With those scriptures as our guide, we can more easily discern what is truly evil and what is not. Some Christians tend to label anything that disagrees with their own personal convictions and preferences as “demonic”, as if somehow their likes and dislikes automatically line up with God’s preferences. Prime examples of this include, but certainly are not limited to, genres of music or styles of clothing that one does not like, asking hard questions about faith, activities such as working out, celebrating holidays that are not mentioned in Scripture, talking to someone about your problems, moves of the Spirit that one does not understand, and natural occurrences such as flies and cold spots in a building. None of these line up with the Biblical definition of demonic and demonic activity.

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis famously wrote:

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

The latter is where a lot of teachings and beliefs about demons fall. This misinformation, which is prevalent in today’s social media world, is quite problematic for a couple of reasons. First, it cheapens the power of the word “demonic”. If we, as a group of believers, are so quick to label something as demonic, then the word loses its impact whenever something is truly labeled as such. The message that is unintentionally sent is “They think everything is ‘demonic’, so why should we listen to them?”

Second, it fosters a sense of Christian paranoia (which is something that shouldn’t be in the first place). Most social media videos and posts that condemn something as demonic are fear-based and sensationalized. It is almost as if the posters have a spiritually unhealthy fascination with demons and evil. This is a sharp contrast to the straightforward approach that Scripture takes to describe demons and demonic activity (2). If one were to consume too many of these videos and posts, it could lead to uncertainty about one’s faith, as that person may feel he or she has to “walk on eggshells” to keep a right relationship with God. And yet, Romans 8:1 says, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Let’s see these social media “pastors” take on that scripture, or, better yet…

Romans 14, whenever Paul explicitly discusses personal convictions and beliefs that are not covered elsewhere. The entire chapter is worth reading, but the essence of this chapter is that Paul clearly establishes a line between laws and commands that we as believers are called to obey and personal rules that we individually believe will help us not fall into temptation. In other words, some activities and practices may be considered a sin to one believer, but be completely benign to another one. The one who adheres to the conclusion that the activity is a sin must live that out, according to Paul, while the other should not feel condemnation for doing so. The problem occurs whenever a believer passes off his or her own personal convictions as a universal command that all Christ followers must obey or else. This mindset is the attitude that breeds legalism. Instead of becoming a tool to help another struggling believer, it becomes a weapon that causes division.

Matthew 12:22-32 also speaks against being quick to call something or someone demonic, especially if a move of God is involved. In this passage (which I also recommend reading in context), Jesus warns about the danger of calling good evil. He says that “a house divided against itself cannot stand”, and that “Satan cannot drive out Satan.” Finally, He drives home the point by saying that calling a work of the Holy Spirit evil or demonic is an unforgivable sin in God’s eyes. That said, I am not declaring that everything condemned as demonic or satanic is instantly a work of the Holy Spirit by any means. What I am saying is that this passage applies to the misunderstanding some people have when they see a move of God that doesn’t line up with their own religious upbringing or traditions, as I briefly mentioned in the first paragraph of this section.

2 Timothy 2:23 warns against getting “involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.” Sadly, many pastors do not preach on this significant passage of Scripture, let alone the countless Christians who have failed to study it. I often quote this verse and Titus 3:9 on the air as the Scripture of the Week at this time of the year for a reason. The reason is that some believers cannot resist digging up the annual controversy over Halloween by calling it demonic. And yet, when put under the microscope of these verses, this argument is not worth having or engaging in. The Halloween controversy never resolves itself. It is unprovoked. It encourages attacks. Most importantly, it causes division. One cannot even address the conflict itself without acknowledging that division within the church exists on this topic. Thus, when placed up against Scripture, this controversy (brouhaha, really) starts fights (particularly over obedience to the law), wastes time because it never resolves itself, and ultimately causes division within the body of Christ. Titus 3:10-11 says that people who cause division within the church must be warned and ultimately shunned for their behavior. Romans 14 (mentioned above) addresses this and other gray area topics very well and therefore must be the position that believers should take. Full stop.

Which brings me back to 1 Timothy 4:1-3. Earlier, we established that false teachings and false doctrines are biblically demonic. Examples listed in the passage are made-up rules about marriage and eating certain foods. But it’s the greater principle that teaches the real lesson. The act of making rules that forbid or condemn something that God himself has not condemned is the issue. By doing so, people add to the word of God, which is indeed expressly prohibited (Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32, Proverbs 30:6). Perhaps the true presence of demonic activity is not in the mundane activities that people do, but ironically in the false teachings driven by legalism in a desperate attempt to obey the law.

In summary, we have established that demons (or unclean spirits) are indeed real; they are spiritual beings without a descriptive form who followed Satan out of Heaven; only a few of them are infamous enough to have names; they attack people – believers and non-believers alike – and spread corruption and immorality, but they are not all-knowing and all-powerful. Scripture calls out witchcraft, bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, inciting violence, and false teachings as direct examples of demonic activity. Anything else labeled as such by man is a matter of personal conviction, nothing more.

At this time of year, people are naturally focused on darkness, evil, fear, etc. Before we celebrate God’s gift of salvation and redemption, perhaps we should pause and consider just what that gift has delivered us from.

Sources and further reading

Don Stewart, blueletterbible.org

1a. “What’s the Difference Between Demons and Devils?”

1b. “What Power Do Demons Have?”

1c. “Where Are The Limitations of Demons?”

2. “What the Bible Actually Says About Demons” Hananiah, crossmap.com

3. “Demons in the Bible – Different Types of Demons” Dr. Elmer Towns, biblesprout.com

4. “Are there different types of demons?” Author Unknown, gotquestions.org