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.
Only one true living Church
51-0727 §58
Look at two boys in the Bible, or some vagabonds, a minister priest's sons who went down to cast out a devil, an epileptic spell out of a man. Acts 19. And they seen Paul casting out devils, and they seen Jesus, so they said to this devil that was in the man, "We adjure you by Jesus, who Paul preacheth, come out." The devil said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?" And the devil overcome the man, and stripped their clothes off of them, and they run through the street, naked. Is that right? Now, them d...
Demonology, religious realm, part 2
53-0609A §94
...And on this side going this way, there's a trinity. Now, the first place, on this side, is souls of the unjust; when a man dies he goes into a place waiting judgment. Jesus went and preached to them souls that were in prison there. The next is demons. The next is the devil and hell. Going up, the first now, them in there is ghosts, spirits of dead men that never repented. They're waiting for the judgment. The only thing they know is folly and what they did. Now, up here, these Christians are influenced from above....
A Greater Witness
53-1115E §55
...You have stomach trouble. All you with stomach trouble, stand to your feet, right now. See that, what I told you? There they are. Let's bow our heads. Oh Lord Jesus, these demons screaming, pulling, they know their time's come. They know they can't get by with these things. They know that their end is here, because people is now beginning to believe. Now, I rebuke every demon that's suffering ... making these people to suffer with this stomach trouble. Come out of them! In the name of Jesus Christ, leave them. God...
Expectations
51-0714 §58
Those are demon powers, not demon of your soul, demon of your body. Brother Baxter's explained all that to you. And when they come against that, I just... They fear, and if you notice, one here will be healed of something, and then a kindred spirit of sympathy out there, will be scared and take out of the person. Have you seen that take place? Sure, they know when they're whipped. You can't fool them. Someone... The other night I was at a place where they said they had a healing meeting, and some man was standing t...
Questions and Answers, part 1
54-0103M §59
QUESTION: Does the "sons of God" mean angels or spirits from heaven? That was the person's question. All right. I believe that they wasn't angels. See, they were beings, "sons of God," like the Scripture says. Not angels, they were sons of God. And they come from Heaven to the earth, and was put into flesh; not "pressed themselves into flesh." I believe all flesh is born sexual outside of Jesus Christ. I believe He's the only virgin-born being that ever was---Jesus Christ. And I don't agree with Josephus on that, o...