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.
Demonology, religious realm, part 2
53-0609A §101
And today, my dear Christian friends, demons are working on every hand. And God's Spirit's moving right out, on the other hand, to counteract it every time. Hallelujah! There you are. Newspapers and digests and everything else is declaring it, they're watching it, they can't see what it is. What is it? It's the foreshadow of the great showdown that's coming pretty soon between God and Devil. Get on God's side and be right in your heart. Amen.
Demonology, religious realm, part 2
53-0609A §52
...f no spiritual gift." Telling them what they was, positionally, in Christ. Then he begin to let the hammer down on them, tell them about their women preachers, and how they were doing, and how they were eating at the Lord's Table. And even one man living with his stepmother, and he said to this man in Christ, "Turn him over to the devil, for the destruction of the flesh, that the soul might be saved." See, that's it, turn him over. The Bible said, "For this cause many are sick and weakly among you, and many are asl...
Witnesses
54-0303 §35
Every man, today, knows that he can take the name of Jesus Christ and meet any foe at any place, any time and he will be defeated! I've met witchdoctors. I've met demons of all sorts and never seen a time but what they'd bow to the name of Jesus Christ. Tell you, friends: When the church lost the name and the power of the name of Jesus Christ, they lost it! When they went down... When Moses went down to Egypt, if they could ever got that stick out of his hand, they had him whipped. But in that stick was where the p...
God's provided way of healing
54-0719A §52
...er's standing. He's watching the patient as he comes. His heart must be for the patient. He must love the patient. He must be willing to do anything to see that patient get well. His whole human soul has to go to that patient in divine love, because he's knowing he's standing in the stead of the Lord Jesus Christ. And knowing at the day of judgment, he'll have to answer for every word. You must realize what you're doing. The patient walks up. The first thing you know, that cancer in that patient begins to move. Wha...
The Queen of Sheba
58-0503 §14
...revious meeting, like as in the days of Jonah, the prophet. And He was concerned, because they had called the Spirit that was in Him, Beelzebub. That means He was a demon power. And if you will notice, because He had discerned their thoughts and knowed what they were thinking... They never called Him Beelzebub to His face; they wasn't even gentlemen enough to do that. They thought in their heart, and Jesus said He perceived their thoughts. They thought He was Beelzebub, and they were all upset because He didn't agr...