Are we inclined to shrug off the thought of demons and spirits today, ignoring the great number of references to these evil beings to be found in both Old and New Testaments? The very thought of unseen agents of Satan involves a bizarre concept to which we are unwilling to subscribe. Such things have no place in this age of science and reason—or do they?
The Apostle Paul, writing to the church in Ephesus, speaks of the warfare of the Christian and describes the situation in these words: “We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil” (Eph. 6:12, Phillips). If we are confronted with an “unseen power,” if that power “controls” this world in which we live and sends out “spiritual agents,” are we not being utterly foolish to ignore their reality and the means of defeating them?
Of subjects often mentioned in the Bible, demonology is one of the most infrequently mentioned in sermon or article. Some dismiss the matter of evil spirits as, at the most, a phenomenon of our Lord’s time. Some think the biblical description of these beings is a primitive diagnosis of mental illness. Still others apparently think the subject is too nebulous for serious consideration. And finally, there are some who consider the entire matter ridiculous evidence of childish credulity.
I once received a letter from a minister in a distant state asking whether I thought there might be evil spirits abroad in America today. He cited two cases of blasphemous rejection of Christ in deathbed scenes. Whether there are many people in this country who are possessed of devils in the biblical sense I cannot say for sure, but I think it is highly probable. I am ready to believe that demon possession is a reality in the twentieth century, for I have seen a number of cases in China.
Unquestionably one will find in any land people affected with every type of mental disorder, from the disturbed patient with paranoid tendencies to the wild maniac who has to be restrained for the protection of himself and those around him, often his own loved ones.
But in China I saw many people who presented a syndrome recognized as a definite entity by the people of that country. These unfortunate people were always inveterate idolators, offering incense and prayers to spirits. They always had two names, one of which they attributed to the spirit within them. This spirit always demanded worship.
Moreover, these people could have the spirit exorcised through prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. I saw many such cases and knew several earnest Christian women who were used in a special way to exorcise demons. If any of these people reverted to demon worship, usually in the form of incense burning, the evil spirit always returned upon them.
Fantastic? A conclusion of childish credulity? No more so than the fact that I saw thousands of people with malaria and saw the chills and fever regress under quinine, the anti-malarial drug at that time. Demon possession was as demonstrable an entity as malaria.
However, my basic concern here is not in the phenomenon of demon possession but in the fact that we live in a world currently dominated by Satan, and that he has his evil spirits, myriads of them, out to do his will and to wreak havoc in the world. To deny the existence of Satan and the reality of evil spirits is to be more foolish than a soldier reconnoitering enemy territory without admitting that there is an enemy out to do him harm.
Is it by chance that the gospel message is snatched from the hearts and minds of many who hear it preached? Are the combinations of evil events in the world simply the work of macabre chance?
The Apostle Paul speaks of Satan as the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). The Apostle John says, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). A more literal translation is, “The whole world nests in the wicked one.”
That there are two forces in this world, the forces of evil and good, of unrighteousness and righteousness, seems undeniable. That God is the source and arbiter of all that is good we all agree. Why then do we so often ignore that sinister one, Satan, that malignant personality who is out to debase and destroy, and who, the Apostle Peter says, “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”?
As God has his angels, his agents for good—clearly affirmed in the Scriptures but lightly regarded—so Satan has his demonic adversaries. Those “spiritual agents [are] from the very headquarters of evil,” and they are a reality with which we have to contend.
The very idea of demons in our day, out to work our undoing, can be dismissed only at fantastic cost. But that they should give the Christian a feeling of either fear or frustration is unthinkable. We know that he who is for us is greater than all the forces of hell arrayed against us. We know that the armor he provides is effective against all the “fiery darts of the wicked.” We know that Satan and his minions cannot stand against the Word of God, for it is the Sword of the Spirit and by it the Devil is put to flight.
Electricity is mysterious, but we do not question its existence or its power. So too the entire subject of Satan and his evil hosts is shrouded in deep mystery. Television, space flight, atomic fission, Telstar seemed fantastic a few years ago, but we believe them now.
We should not go beyond what the Bible teaches about evil spirits, nor should we reject what is so clearly taught in the Scriptures. A study of what the Bible teaches about our adversary and his evil spirits can draw us closer to the One who has overcome him and his works.
