Satan, Demons, ‘Ghosts’… OhMy!
Let’s talk about the spooky stuff! Why not?
Everyone falls into 3 categories on this topic: 1) Don’t believe at all & probably don’t want to hear about it, 2) Believe it but don’t know much… but have lot’s of their own theories, or 3) Believe it & know the truth. If you are in another category, sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you out.
{This topic is one of my pet peeves. It bothers me that there are so many that don’t know the truth about “ghosts”. People want to believe that these ‘ghosts’ are long lost loved ones that will watch over them like angels. Or they believe that their house is haunted by a ‘nice ghost’… so it’s ok. This drives me NUTS! The bible is very clear: When we take our last breath here on earth, we close our eyes & die & open our eyes in eternity. This is a fact. The bible is also very clear on the fact that once we wake up in eternity (whether heaven or hell) we STAY PUT & do NOT COME BACK for any reason! (Luke 16) UNDERSTAND THIS PEOPLE!!! Ghosts are NOT dead people that come back to earth for any reason!!!}
Ready? Let’s get started!
The Greek words daimonion and daimon means “evil spirits” or “devils”. These words are used 77 times referring to demon spirits (‘ghosts’). There is also the Greek word diamonizomai which means “to have or be possessed by a demon”
The Greek word diabolos means “Satan” (The Devil), which means adversary, false accuser, slanderer. It is used 34 times regarding Satan.
There is a HUGE difference between these two different things: Satan & demon spirits. There is only one prince of devils but many demons.
Satan in an angel. He has an angelic body & can NOT enter bodily into anyone. Demons are DISembodied spirits & are not able to operate in the material world except through possession of the bodies of men & animals.
Other words used in the bible meaning “demon” (same Greek word, just different translation): familiar spirits, unclean spirits, evil spirits, seducing spirits.
Some general information about demons: They are subject to Christ and made subject to believers by the atonement, the name of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 8:16-17; 12:28; Mk. 16:17; Lk. 10:17; Acts 19:15; 1Pet. 3:22) This means that IN THE NAME OF JESUS demons have to flee. Now don’t misunderstand – YOU MUST BE A CHRISTIAN in order to use the name of Jesus. The demons KNOW if you are saved or not!! {Acts 19:13-16 - 13Some 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 Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15(One day) the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.} You don’t mess with demons unless you are covered in the blood of Christ because the demons KNOW who belongs to Him!
Here’s the kicker: Demons have been roaming this earth since BEFORE Adam & Eve! Yes, yes… Adam & Eve were NOT the first beings on the face of the earth. Before Adam & Eve there was a whole kingdom here on earth! Lucifer (aka Satan) was created by Christ along with other beings, principalities and powers in heaven and earth (Job 38:4-7; Ez. 28:11-17; Col. 1:15-18) Lucifer fell through pride over his own beauty (Ez. 28:11-17; 1Tim 3:6) and trying to exalt himself above God (Isa. 14:12-14). Anyway… Lucifer had a kingdom on earth long before the 6 days of Gen. (1:3-2:25) and the creation of Adam. These passages reveal that he fell, led an invasion into heaven and was defeated. At that time the earth was cursed and all life destroyed by the first flood, (as in Gen. 1:2… whole other story), NOT Noah’s flood.
Soooo…. demons were roaming around before Adam & Eve between earth & hell… they know everything that has ever happened here on earth! They have seen every person who has ever lived. They have seen every person die.
Above I mentioned one of the names of demons is “familiar spirit”. This is what we call “ghosts”. We may see a ‘ghost’ that resembles our long lost great-grandpa that died in the attic. This ‘ghost’ looks like great-grandpa…it MUST be great-grandpa! NOT!! This is a “familiar spirit”!! These demons are so devious, they can make themselves look like any person who has ever been on this earth. People fall for this in other ways too. They see this ‘ghost’ that looks like some person who has lived back in the 1800’s or some other far away time period… and they look it up in history & find out this ‘ghost’ was a real person! Yes, demons CAN do this.
What WE need to do… is NOT BE IGNORANT to this! Don’t think these evil things are innocent ‘ghosts’ of dead nice people. The dead nice people are either in heaven or hell… and can NOT come back!!! Regardless if these things are scaring us or not – harming us or not – THESE THINGS ARE DEMON SPIRITS! No matter HOW you want to look at it – THEY ARE EVIL!! You do not want these things around! I think one reason for this is people want to hold on to some kind of hope that their loved one is coming back to visit or something. But this is impossible. It is impossible that our loved one comes back from eternity. This is the Word of God in scripture!
I really want people to understand how powerful the name of Jesus is. Demons know their destiny! In James 2:19 it says the demons know God and TREMBLE! They know that Christ has ALL POWER over them. They know their fate… that at the end of time they will be cast into hell for all eternity!
Demons also know who belongs to Christ. Us believers have the power over demons THROUGH CHRIST! Jesus gave us His permission to use His name to cast out demons, to heal the sick!
Hollywood (and a lot of regular people) think you need to call in a priest or minister to pray over your haunted house or to do an exorcism… NOT TRUE! Jesus gave us His permission to use His name to do His work!! You just have to be a Christian. A believer. A born again, washed in the blood, child of God!
Luke 9
1Then He called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
2And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
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Are YOU a child of God? A believer? Are YOU washed in His blood?
You have to believe that Jesus is God’s only son who died on the cross for your sins… and He was raised from the dead on the 3rd day. (Romans 10:9)
If you believe this, then talk to God. Tell him you are sorry for your sins & you want to be saved. Tell Him you believe in His Son Jesus, that He died for your sins & you believe He has risen!
After you have done this…
YOU ARE SAVED!
You are a child of God!
You are washed in the blood of Christ!
