In the previous episode, I exposed 12 Satanic lies that create a lot of confusion in the world about how much Satanic influence there is in the world. Jesus plainly stated that Satan was the “Father of Lies.” Why is it so hard for us to accept that almost everything the world ascribes to Satan – the power, the influence, the strength, and the authority – is a lie? Satan is the father of deception and deceivers. Therefore, the only place we’ll get the truth about Satan is God’s word. God is truth, and His Son, Jesus Christ, brings the light of God’s truth into our lives.
At times, I’ve questioned why I do these videos. There are lots of biblical teachers out there who are smarter than me, with more degrees, extraordinary speaking abilities, and charisma. Sometimes, I question my motives. Do I need others to acknowledge me? If you know me, then you know how much I don’t need recognition or validation from others. I also don’t need a project or something to do with my time. If I could choose, I’d live a quiet life with my family outside of any attention. But I don’t have a choice. I can’t not study the Bible, pray, or speak and teach God’s word. I can’t hold inside what God puts there. The only way to describe my impulse to speak and teach God’s word is by the prophet Jeremiah describing similar feelings in Jeremiah 20:9.
I’m not comparing myself to Jeremiah or any biblical character. I’m just trying to explain why I do this. The bottom line is I can’t not do it. Why can’t I not do it? Because when I hear people teaching something that could tear down a believer’s faith in Jesus Christ, my mind and my heart go into overdrive. That’s the only way I can explain what happens to me. I recently saw a YouTube short of a Christian teacher saying that people get possessed by satan and demons when they open a door for them to come in. The door is opened, they said, by accepting some deviant or sinful behavior. It could even happen by accepting abuse of some kind that someone else is doing to you—violence against you, sexual abuse, deviant indulgences in drugs and alcohol. As a victim of such abuse, you can have an abusive demon possess you. This is a lie. There’s absolutely nothing in the Bible that says any such thing. This motivates me to continue what I do because there are such destructive lies and false theology out there that it drives me to know the truth and speak out against theologies of deception.
So, let’s get to The Truth About the Power of Demons. To start with, where does our knowledge of demons come from? When did the concept of disembodied spirits roaming the earth searching for human bodies to possess first appear? The first mention of a demon in the Scripture is found in Deuteronomy 32:17. When you read this, you could think in the wilderness, the Hebrews ran into a bunch of demons and, through their desperate circumstances, were convinced these influences over their lives were “new gods” so they honored them with sacrifices – which is idolatry. But from Young’s Literal translation of the Hebrew, the verse says; They sacrificed to demons – no god! Gods they have not known – new ones – from the vicinity they came; Not feared them have their fathers!
Before we move on, let’s define some words in this passage: Demons – only used twice in the OT – shed/shedim, which comes from the Hebrew word shud, meaning to waste or bring devastation—some translations use “devil” rather than demon. gods – elohiym – different from God and is sometimes translated as angels, judges, authorities, of great influence. New gods – fresh things – gods they hadn’t known – fresh ones – from where they came from, meaning Egypt and the peoples they associated with in Egypt. These “demons” are not God, meaning they don’t have the power of God or even the reality of God; these are fresh or even refreshed gods. These are influential powers or ideas of powerful authorities that have been newly embraced or refreshed from older influences and accepted as deities or idols.
This brings us to the second and last time the Hebrew word “shed” is used for demons in the OT in Psalm 106:36-37. The psalmist uses “shed” as a demon, similar to the writer of Deuteronomy. These demons are associated with idols, and the people are so dedicated to these idols that they’re worshipping them by sacrificing their children to them. Does this mean that disembodied spirits possessed these Hebrews and caused them to sacrifice their children? Today, we would say yes, but that isn’t said anywhere in the passages we read.
This is where theology (the study of God) comes to a crossroads. We can go one of two ways theologically when we read these passages. We can take the Systematic Theology approach, or we can take the Biblical theology approach. Systematic theology takes bits and pieces of passages that discuss something like demons, no matter the context, culture, genre, or author, and creates a theology based on their systematic study. In the case of demons, they would call it demonology.
This is the same conclusion that Paul tells the Corinthian believers in 1 Corinthians 10. Corinth was at the center of pagan idol worship. The Greeks worshipped many gods/demons – not gods. He uses the example of Israel in the wilderness and their idol worship we just read about to warn the Corinthian believers not to be tempted like them (1 Corinthians 10:18-22). Paul directly connects pagan idolatry to demons, showing that idolatry is the source of the demonic conception and, therefore, the influence of demon ideology. He’s also showing that demons are not gods. They have no power except the power we ascribe to them.
Idolatry is the worship or excessive devotion to something or someone other than God. Putting faith in something that isn’t God and is powerless to do anything for you is to put God – the true God – below empty demons. Participants with demons here means to be joined to them just like being a participant with Christ. We can’t be joined to something with no power as if it did while simultaneously being joined to the one with all power. Demons have no power except the power given to their concept through superstition. But faith in Jesus Christ isn’t superstition. It is only the power of the entirety of creation. What is the power of a demon? It is the same power as an idol. It is only the power you give it in your life. Have faith in the power of Jesus Christ alone, and you’ll see everything else is not god.
