Demonology
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22. Are there different kinds of demons? |
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Yes, there
are different kinds of demons. |
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There are
evil spirits which cause dumbness and deafness like that evil spirit which
Jesus cast out of a boy, as it is written in the Gospel according to Mark:
“And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and
the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they
beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked
the scribes, What question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered
and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth
with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they
should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O
faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer
you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him,
straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed
foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto
him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire,
and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have
compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe,
all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of
the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine
unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked
the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee,
come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent
him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many
said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he
arose” (Mark |
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There are
evil spirits which are called ‘seducing spirits’ because their job is to
deceive people into accepting all kinds of false doctrines. Paul mentions
them when he says to Timothy: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils [demons]; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having
their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding
to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with
thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of
God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:1-5). These
evil spirits help the false prophets and false christs spread their damnable
heresies among the people of this world, as well as the false ministers of
the Gospel who are among the Church of the living God spread doctrines of
demons, which unfortunately many believers have accepted. I remind you that
the father of lies is Satan (the devil), so every false doctrine does not
come from God, but from Satan. In order not to be deceived by these spirits
it is necessary to watch and pray, and to search the Scriptures continually
to see if what is taught is true. |
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There are
evil spirits which perform signs and wonders. The apostle John saw some of
them in a vision, for he says in the Book of Revelation: “And I saw three
unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of
the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they
are the spirits of devils [demons], working miracles, which go forth unto the
kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of
that great day of God Almighty” (Revelation |
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There are
evil spirits called spirits of divination, by which some people predict (or
foretell) the future, for in the Scripture we read that while Paul and his
fellow workers were at Philippi they met a slave girl with a spirit of
divination and Paul one day discerned that evil spirit and cast it out. Here
is the biblical account of that deliverance: “And it came to pass, as we went
to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us,
which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul
and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God,
which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But
Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the
name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour” (Acts
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There are
evil spirits which induce people to kill other people; for instance, one day
one of these demons came upon king Saul, while David was playing the harp,
and Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him
as Saul drove the spear into the wall (1 Samuel 19:9-10). These demons are
behind many murders. |
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There are
evil spirits which rule over large areas of the earth as lords or leaders and
governors in the evil spirit world; in the book of the prophet Daniel we read
that the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted the messenger of the Lord
sent by God to Daniel (Daniel 10:1-20) 21 days, that prince was an evil
spirit. |
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There are
evil spirits which are stronger than others, for Jesus said that the spirits
which cause dumbness and deafness can be cast out only by prayer and fasting
(Mark 9:29); and there are evil spirits which are more wicked than others
(Matthew 12:43-45). |