What Can We Know About Demons?
1) Direct Answer
Demons are real, personal, unclean spirits. They are under Satan’s rule, they seek embodiment, they deceive, torment, and oppress, and they war against the Word of God. They fear the Lord Jesus Christ and are subject to His Name. A born‑again believer, sealed with the Holy Spirit, cannot be demon‑possessed, though he can be attacked or oppressed. Their end is judgment, and they cannot cross the Blood of Jesus Christ.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- What they are:
- The Bible calls them “unclean spirits” and “devils” (demons): Mark 1:23–27; Matthew 10:1.
- They are many and have ranks: “We wrestle… against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness, spiritual wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12). A “legion” spoke from one man (Mark 5:1–13).
- They are persons without bodies, they speak, reason, and beg (Mark 5:7–12). They seek rest and embodiment; when cast out, they wander and try to return to an empty life (Matthew 12:43–45). They can even enter animals (Mark 5:13).
- What they do:
- Deceive and teach error: “doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). A lying spirit can influence prophets (1 Kings 22:21–23).
- Imitate the supernatural: a spirit of divination operated in a girl until the Name of Jesus drove it out (Acts 16:16–18).
- Afflict bodies and minds: Jesus rebuked a “spirit of infirmity” (Luke 13:11–16), a deaf and dumb spirit with seizures (Mark 9:17–27), and even rebuked a fever (Luke 4:39). The Scripture says people were “oppressed of the devil” and healed by Jesus (Acts 10:38).
- Their limits and defeat:
- They know Jesus and tremble (Mark 1:24; James 2:19). They begged not to be tormented “before the time” (Matthew 8:29).
- Authority is given to believers: “In My Name shall they cast out devils” (Mark 16:17). “I give you power… over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19).
- The devil is one being, not omnipresent; demons are many (1 Peter 5:8; Mark 5:9). They are driven back by the Word and the Blood (Matthew 4:1–11; Revelation 12:11).
- A believer sealed by the Holy Spirit belongs to God; the wicked one cannot lay hold of him to possess his soul (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; 1 John 5:18; John 10:28–29).
- Open doors and resistance:
- Sin, bitterness, and occult involvement give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:26–27; 2 Corinthians 2:10–11; Deuteronomy 18:10–12; 1 Corinthians 10:20).
- We overcome by repentance and renouncing darkness (Acts 19:18–19), submitting to God and resisting the devil (James 4:7), standing in the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10–18). Some cases require prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29).
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- Demons are not imaginations; they are real spirits because they speak, know, fear, choose, and obey when commanded in Jesus’ Name.
- They crave bodies; an “empty house” is a target. Therefore deliverance without being filled with the Holy Spirit and the Word invites a worse return (Matthew 12:44–45).
- Not every sickness means possession, but all oppression and bondage trace back to Satan’s kingdom. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, so healing and deliverance are part of His victory (1 John 3:8; Acts 10:38).
- A Christian can be tempted or oppressed, but cannot be demon‑possessed in the soul when sealed by the Holy Spirit. Keep the door shut by walking clean, keeping the Word, and staying filled with the Spirit.
4) Reinforcing Counsel
- Expose and renounce all hidden works of darkness.
- Do not argue with demons; command them in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Keep your “house” filled—daily Word, prayer, worship, and obedience. The devil cannot cross the Blood line. Stay under the Blood, and stand on the Word, and the enemy must flee.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
We would see Jesus
58-0612 §45
And she said, "I perceive that You are a prophet. We Samaritans, we know; we're taught; we believe; it's been revealed to us; we know that when the Messiah cometh, He will tell us these things, but who are You?" He said, "I am He that speaks to you." She dropped her water pot. Into the city she went and said, "Come, see a man who told me the things that I've done. Isn't this the Messiah?" She knowed more about God than (I say again) the preachers know. She knew that was the sign of the Messiah. The educated scholar...
Believe ye that I am able to do this?
50-0820E §8
But the Bible plainly states that they are demons. And they bind people. Look at the woman, the daughter of Israel. She was all bound over, bent over. And Jesus said, "Which one of you, having a..." [Gap in the audio] Said, "How much more is this daughter of Israel, who's been bound by the devil?" Stooped over, perhaps arthritis. Today, the medical doctors would say she had arthritis. That's the medical name. But Jesus would've declared it to be a devil. Today, cancer, cancer is a medical name, comes from the word...
Demonology
53-1112 §20
...blished magazine in the world. And isn't it strange that those two articles run side by side--just a little bit apart? Now, talk about preachers over the country who didn't know their Bible, they wrote to me by the hundreds. "All right, Brother Branham. We exactly see where you stand, now." There you are. There's that Scripture. She's still living--over a hundred years old--in New York. Now, says the Reader's Digest, perfectly deaf, and sitting back in there. But, the scientific world takes care of her, because the...
Demonology, physical realm, part 1
53-0608A §45
...like a human being after its nature. It's just out of a spirit; it just grows any way. And it begins cell on top of cell, cell on top of cell. And now, the first thing you know, you begin to get weak and feel sick. You go to the doctor and he'll examine you. Maybe he can't find it. If he does, maybe he'll cut it. If he can cut it clear, all right, he's got it. But if he can't cut it clear, then (if it's in the throat or somewhere where it can't be cut clear) one little speck of it will live right on. See, because...
Demonology, religious realm, part 2
53-0609A §14
Now, let's go to our subject right quick. Yesterday we studied the technique of demons. I've been thinking today, as God dealing... You don't know what a liberty it is to get out... Now, I'm not a teacher, I'm a long ways from being a Bible expositor. And my education is limited to a seventh grade, so that's... And I come out of school about twenty-five years ago, so that's a long time off. And I don't have very much of an education, but all that I know is what I receive through inspiration. And if that inspiration...