Demonology may conjure stark images in people's minds. Many picture a demon as a being with red tights, a red face, and horns. Demonology is the biblical study of demons—the subject deals with categorizing the demons and how they function in the lives of believers.
What Is Demonology?
Demonology considers what demons are, how they are organized, and how they affect us today. According to Michael S. Heiser, demons are the "sons of God" mentioned in Genesis 6, and the divine council abuses its rule over nations and causes people to worship them instead of YHWH. Demonology deals with the supernatural realm, and as a result, many Christians have overlooked it, neglecting to consider the unseen world around us.
Much of demonology developed outside of Scripture, so every statement should be evaluated in light of Scripture. Demonology first developed in the period between the Old and the New Testament. During this time, many books were written that explored the demonic realm in new ways. The book of Enoch, for example, developed the idea that the demons were Nephilim—giants who existed before the flood and had children with human women.
Meanwhile, the Christian view of demons typically claims their origin is Satan's fall from the heavenly council. Some Christian demonologists believe Satan and a third of the angelic force attempted a coup on God. The idea of fallen angels finds its support in Revelation 12:4.
Many pop culture demon names find their roots in Hebrew Demonology. Azazel, for example, is a name given to the head demon in 1 Enoch. Lilith, another name associated with the forces of darkness, comes from the Sumerian goddess of the same name. In Jewish tradition, she became associated with demonic forces.
How Does Demonology Deal With Demons' Power in Believers' Lives?
Demons cannot possess believers in the same way they can nonbelievers because "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." Most Christians believe that people with the Holy Spirit cannot be possessed. The argument calls to mind Jesus' teaching on demons in Matthew, where he says that when a demon leaves someone, but the person stays empty, it will bring back its friends, and the person will be worse off in the end. However, believers are filled with the Spirit and, therefore, cannot be possessed because the demons have no place to go within the believer.
That means the demons have to find new ways to attack believers. Instead of filling us from within (inside us), they test us from without (outside us) and attack the parts of us where we are weakest to their assaults. This may be lust, greed, pride, or various other sins.
C.S. Lewis' classic work The Screwtape Letters points to how demons attack us. His insights are helpful when considering how demons influence believers' lives. In this work, the older demon, Screwtape, tells his nephew Wormwood, "It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."
Lewis' passage highlights the complacency we believers can easily be lulled into. Demons would rather have us happy in our current circumstances than reliant on God. Our passion for video games can just as easily lull us away from God as murder or pornography if they keep us from seeking God.
As Christians, we have more cause for Satan to attack us because we can have more of an impact on God's kingdom, but we also have the power to resist his advances through the Spirit within us. God will always give us a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13), but it's up to us to take it. The consequences of not taking the way to escape earlier can be devastating.
How Does Demonology Categorize The Demonic Realm?
Demonologists categorize demons into several different categories. These include principalities and powers, unclean spirits, and several other categories.
Principalities and powers are demons who are considered to have territorial authority. Demonologists have different theories on what this looks like. Some believe they are beings that other religions worship. Others think they may be fallen angels who have chosen to be worshipped by men. The second claim seems to be supported by Ephesians 3:9-11. Our job as the church is to proclaim him to these beings who have rebelled. In the Ancient Near East, deities were considered regional and territorial, so God destroying and putting them to shame would demonstrate his ultimate power over them.
Unclean spirits appear frequently in the New Testament and are responsible for several ailments in the Gospels. Jesus has authority over them and casts them out of those afflicted.
Other categories of demons include seducing spirits, which are mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:1 when people go after false teachers.
What Does the Bible Say About Demonology?
Demons are mentioned throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, we get the best glimpse into the demonic realm in the book of Job. Job begins with Satan attacking Job's possessions and his family. Satan means Accuser or adversary in Hebrew. God allows Satan to torment Job and strip him of all he has to see what Job's faith is made of.
Satan's role in Job raises several questions about how demons are organized. Satan appears before the divine council and seems to persuade God to allow him to test Job's faith and trust in God. God already knew the content of Job's faith. Still, he allows Satan to torment Job so God can proclaim his multifaceted wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Matthew 8:29 is foundational to a healthy demonology. "Have you come to torment us before the time?" This verse gives us hope that the forces of good will someday win over the demons. We need to remember that demons are working on borrowed time. They only have the power God has allowed them to have for a certain time.
1 Samuel contains several stories that give us a glimpse into the demonic realm. First, the book shows God's control over the Philistine god Dagon. God repeatedly knocks Dagon's idol over to bow down to him.
One of the more challenging passages about demons is 1 Samuel 16:14-15, where Saul received an evil spirit from the LORD. The passage implies that God can still command the demons when he wants them to serve his purposes. The most challenging part of this passage is that the evil spirit is described as being sent 'from the LORD,' as opposed to Satan. It appears that, as in Job, God permitted them to do this to Saul to fulfill his greater purpose in raising David as king.
Colossians 2:15 speaks of Jesus' death in our place as putting to shame the rulers and disarming them with his death and resurrection. The truth that Jesus has already won the decisive victory should give us hope as we face spiritual challenges. We can rest assured that the demons are working on borrowed time and will be destroyed when Jesus comes again.
What Are Some Good Resources For Demonology?
Arguably, the best resource for practical demonology is Heiser's book The Unseen Realm. This book goes deeply into what the demonic realm looks like and how different ideas in demonology developed.
The Screwtape Letters is a more popular work that sheds light on how demons interact with our modern age.
The following articles are great short resources to learn about the topic:
What Does the Bible Say about Demons?
How Can I 'Resist the Devil' and Cause Him to Flee?
What Are the Signs of Demonic Possession?
How Do We Know That the Devil Is a Liar?
What Is a Succubus? Definition and Bible Meaning
Can Satan Really Read Our Minds?
What Does it Mean Even Demons Believe?
Do We Give Demons Too Much Credit for Our Sin?
Who Was Beelzebub in the Bible? The Prince of Demons
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/Natalya Bosyak
Ben Reichert works with college students in New Zealand. He graduated from Iowa State in 2019 with degrees in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, and agronomy. He is passionate about church history, theology, and having people walk with Jesus. When not working or writing you can find him running or hiking in the beautiful New Zealand Bush.
