Tag: The Exorcist

Angels and Demons

The text explores the nature of angels and demons, clarifying misconceptions about their existence and origins. It discusses how demons may be corrupted angels, influenced by Satan, while angels are distinct beings not derived from deceased humans. Both entities impact human life, with scripture referencing their roles in spiritual warfare and personal experiences of possession and intervention.

Most people, even if they are biblically illiterate, have heard of angels and Demons. They are known in other world religions as well, which is interesting. They are encountered by humans both in modern times, New Testament times, and ancient times. Are they real? And if so, what are they?

First, let’s say what they are not. Demons are not an ignorant understanding of mental illness. Mental illness is dysfunction of the brain. It can happen for a variety of reasons from genetics to trauma. I would not doubt that some trauma could be inflicted from spiritual (i.e. demonic) source, however. Angels, on the other hand, are not dead people. You do not die and become an Angel. Though the term, “angelus”, just means messenger, it is a term that is usually used to describe a certain species of being normally resident in Heaven. Angels are also not “Seraphim or Cherubim (in English: “burning ones” or “living ones”). These are synonyms for something of even higher capability than Angels.

It would appear that Demons are/were Angels. The information that we have is cryptic, but it appears that Satan (a Cherubim) managed to corrupt a large minority of Angels and turn them against God. Unlike humans where Satan was able to genetically corrupt the first set (Adam and Eve) and therefore corrupt every one of us, only a portion of Angels are corrupted. Perhaps this is because they don’t replicate, or that there were many Angels before Satan got to them.

What happened to Demons? This is very sketchy. Satan seems to have been able to hang on to residence in Heaven until Jesus’ victory on the cross. Nothing is said about Demons in this regard, except in Jude it says this:

6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—

Jude 6 (ESV)

From this passage we learn that Judgment Day isn’t just for people. Angels and Satan will receive their final disposition on that day as well. This passage can’t be about all fallen Angels, because many are shown creating problems on Earth. How is the timing of Jude 6 connected to this passage?

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in Heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the Earth, and his Angels were thrown down with him.

Revelation 12:7-9 (ESV)

Maybe these events are disconnected, maybe not. In the end, it would appear that we have both Angels and Demons among us. How do they contribute to our situations both positively and negatively?

On a personal level, the Bible records instances of demonic possession. There could also be lesser ways that a demon could affect a person. The most famous being the possession that inspired the book, “The Exorcist”. The Washington Post just happened to document this story back in the 1950’s. In that story the window that allowed the Demon to take hold was the dabbling in occultic practices by a “spiritualist” aunt and a boy’s use of a Ouija board to try to communicate to her after she died. I am not certain why and what occultic practices make this possible. They were also behind the scenes in all of the possessions encountered by Jesus. Pagan people lived very near or in Israel. People dabbled in these things and paid a price.

On a positive note, both the Bible and personal experiences account for angelic intervention. The most common being a helper that should not be there who assists someone in desperate need and then disappears.

There is also some interesting stuff about Angels and Demons at the national level, but I would like to briefly address our interaction with them after our death. First, Angels do not have wings and neither will you. My piece of art above in generated by AI. I cannot convince the “AI” that Angels do not have wings since there is so much garbage on the internet that shows that they do. This idea is an addition mostly from Renaissance artists. Cherubim do have wings. Angels will be a regular part of our existence in Heaven. Much like humans, they will seem like neighbors.

Demons will not be in Sheol, they will either remain on Earth or be contained in someplace called “the Abyss” until Judgment Day. After Judgment Day they will not be tormenting people in Hell. They will be suffering as well.

Honoring the Elders

When I am bored sometimes, I scroll through Instagram to find an interesting video. One caught my eye yesterday. It showed a man bringing out a mummified human from a grass hut in central New Guinea. Having a mummified descendent in their home was a way for this tribe to “honor their elders.”

I clearly come from a different culture. I wasn’t that thrilled about having my parents over for a long time when they were alive. 

Honoring elders is a large part of many cultures. It is understandable why that would be. Death often creates a great sense of loss. Incorporating communication and other ritual that involves the deceased keeps them emotionally close. If you depended on the knowledge of an older generation, you might seek to have a knowledge stream continue after death. Finally, if your sense of having a relationship with God is very vague, continuing a relationship with dead ancestors might be a substitute.

Certain cultures may have stumbled or were presented with ways to communicate with the dead. Seances and Ouija are more contemporary methods of communication with the dead. The Bible also records efforts of the Canaanites to do this and there is the story of the Witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28).

Whether out of grief, need, or a sense of responsibility, honoring your deceased elders needs to have definite limits. Great danger lies in crossing the line. God warned the Israelites not to copy the practices of the people of Canaan.

9 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 (ESV)

Many people today would scoff at the suggestion that these things are even possible. But think about the following:

  1. The dead are not non-existent. Even the damned are somewhere.
  2. Creating communication with any of the dead before Jesus, or those who are still in Sheol today, is a matter of bridging the separation between Sheol and Earth.
  3. While there are no natural ways of doing this, it appears that a form of “spiritual gift” can do this.
  4. Since God forbids it, this spiritual gift comes from the power of Satan. (Pharoah’s “magicians” were able to copy Moses’ sign of turning a staff into a snake and also the plague of frogs)

Many so-called mediums are just clever con-artists. That doesn’t negate the possibility that darker means are not legitimate. But one has to consider whether attempting to exercise such a power “honors” or “dishonors” our elders. 

Disobeying God is never honorable. Why would God forbid a connection that would ease our grief? We are not privy to this answer, but several theories come to mind. First, are we treating elders like God? God will act on our behalf, dead elders can’t. God hears our prayers, dead elders can’t. Death is a consequence of sin. It is a temporary or permanent separation we must accept. God is the source of information about life after death. Information sought from dead elders may be misinformation from the evil one. 

Playing around with or seriously using purported means of communicating with the dead also seems to expose people to more serious control of the demonic.

The most famous case in the U.S. was the source of the book and movie, The Exorcist. The event happening in 1949 in Maryland and was documented by the Washington Post. A boy and his spiritist aunt played around with a Ouija board to attempt communication with the dead. When the aunt died, the grieving boy attempted the use of the same method. What happened instead was a terrifying case of supernatural events and possession that finally ended in a hospital in St. Louis. The location of their home in Cottage City, MD continued to be surrounded by horrifying phenomena. A woman was found decaying in a plastic bag nearby. A man went crazy and decapitated his mother a few doors away. Also nearby, children were arrested for hacking off the limbs of their parents. The forces of Satan are not our friends.

There is one other reason to temper communication attempts with our dead. We may not wish to hear it. Heaven is awesome. When we die in Christ, we are swept away in joy and love and probably think very little about the life we have left. Nor do we have to. God is on the job to help those still on Earth.

What would be appropriate honoring of the dead? Speak well of them. Imagine them in their new glorious state. Flowers and visiting the grave is good. Talking to them might be therapeutic for you. Don’t imagine that they are birds at your feeder (I don’t know where that idea comes from). More importantly, honor your elders while they are here with you. Make sure they know and believe that eternal life comes from Jesus’ life and death. Then honor God with your life. Over-dependency on people both in life and especially in death is a bad thing.