Biblical Demonology: Part 1

In this series on biblical demonology, we’re going right to the meat of what the original writers and readers of the Bible understood by the terms fallen angel, evil spirit, demon (daimon) in their various times and places, by exploring their various ontologies (their natures) revealed within the Judeo-Christian scriptures.

The word demonology itself conjures up various images, brought about from the likes of Hammer Horror films and those medieval grimoires of various demons and goetia that can be summoned to perform spiritual ‘room service’ for their alleged master and summoner. This has unfortunately given the impression to Christians that it’s a dark place where Christians should not tread. However, we cannot begin to understand scriptures that mention these beings without realising that we have 2000+ years of human ideas regarding these beings. Many of these are unbiblical and have coloured our imaginations and understandings to produce the aforementioned images of demonology.

Over this time, Church Tradition too has added to what the Scriptures teach about this particular realm of study, divorced from their original contexts and further clouding our understanding. What we may think is biblical about these beings may not necessarily be what the original writers were attempting to convey. Therefore, a contextual analysis is important in order to deepen our biblical understanding in these matters [1].

When we think of demon today, we’re often confused by teachings that have flattened the spiritual topology to such an extent that we think demons are either the product of medical psychosis, fantasy characters that appear in Buffy (all horned and ugly looking), or fallen angels. This is incorrect and the result of the aforementioned amalgamation of confused teachings, much of which is not in the Bible, nor was ever believed by the Mesopotamian, Syro-Phonecian, Greco-Romano, Judeo-Christian cultures during the 1400 years over which the Bible was written and compiled.

Avoiding Two Errors

As part of the ground work for exploring the paranormal in the Bible, one has to be able to sensibly and intelligently handle an exploration of the forces of darkness described within it. At this point, lots of Christians will have already run a mile from this, as we’re often told not to investigate such stuff, to be wary of it, and not to explore it as a subject lest we become “infected” in some manner. Certainly there are genuine reasons why people say these things, as C. S. Lewis points out:

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, foreword.

Whilst rationalism and demythologizing of Scripture has pushed some into the first error, the second is often fallen into by more “spirit filled” styles of Christianity can tend to perceive demons around every corner and in everything spiritual (or otherwise) they do not currently understand, thus labelling everything demonic as a result. We should attempt to steer a middle ground, recognising that some accounts of hauntings will have scientific explanations, whilst others may be by particular types of spirit beings.

I submit that appropriate study of these beings is an important part of a Christian’s growth as follows:

• Knowing what we’re up against is part of our duty to be aware of what’s happening around us, not just in the physical but as part of our spiritual sensitivity, in tune with the Holy Spirit. If these beings are real, they will be having an impact upon humanity and we should be aware of such involvement.
• These beings are described in detail in Scripture for a reason.
• We’re told to study to show ourselves approved of God (2 Tim 2:15)
• Every piece of Scripture is inspired by God, there for teaching, reproof, correction, and for training in righteousness so that we may be proficient and equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

As such, biblical demonology is a legitimate study if we keep within the parameters that were the Scriptures and cultures in those times.

Initial Baseline Check

Various abbreviations used in this series are as follows:

2TP – Second Temple Period (536 BCE to 70 CE)
ANE – Ancient Near East
ABD – Anchor Bible Dictionary
BW – Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1-36)
DDD – Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (see Bibliography)
DSS – Dead Sea Scrolls
NT – New Testament

Within 2TP Judaism, the NT writings, and early Christian writings, it is shown that an understanding of these beings and their differences evolved up to and beyond the time of Jesus. Through this cultural lens we can see that the mission of Jesus and the early Church, and its elements of deliverance ministry may be properly understood. As Reese states, ‘an understanding of the demonic is absolutely essential to a proper interpretation of the life and ministry of Jesus.’ [2] and Green et al [3] affirm, ‘For Jesus his ministry of exorcism was not preparatory to the kingdom … but actually the kingdom of God itself in operation.’ This, having an understanding, limited as it may be, of these beings, is important for missionally revealing the Kingdom of God into our respective contexts.

Important Caveats

Two caveats need to be issued before engaging further in this series:

1) The evolution of biblical demonology from its earliest roots has utilised a range of sources, from the Hebrew Bible, NT, as well as material from the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, the DSS, ancient authors such as Josephus and Philo, as well as early Church Fathers such as Tertullian. Whilst material outside the Western Protestant Canon of Scripture will be used, the reader should understand that this extra-Biblical material, whilst not being inspired, nor canonical, may be useful to inform theological understanding by opening windows into the original contexts of the cultures and perceptions of the original recipients of the now regarded canonical material. Justification for the usage of such material, in particular the book of 1 Enoch, will be made. However, to keep the series brief, I will point you to various cited works for further elaboration on the validity of the use of these materials for biblical studies.

2) The development of biblical demonology throughout its history is fairly chaotic due to the nature of the Judeo-Christian sources used and how they were perceived by certain theologians of the time [4]. We’re only going to explore this development up to the first few centuries AD, and will not include any medieval literature due to it being so far removed from the original context of the cultures of the Bible, and not actually biblical demonology.

So, It is with these things in mind that we proceed to tread where angels have already trod as we explore fallen angels, evil spirits and demons in their original contexts of the Scriptures…

Next time – We shall look at Fallen Angels, where they are mentioned, their identity, and the various ‘falls’ which took place involving them.

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Bibliography

Green, J.B., McKnight S., and Marshall I. H. (1992) Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press.

Heiser, M. S. (2020), Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness, Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Reese D. G. (1992) ‘Demons: New Testament’ in Freedman, D. The Anchor Bible Dictionary – Volume 2. New York, NY: Doubleday, pp. 140-142.

Van der Toorn, K., Van der Horst, P. W., et al (1998), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Lieden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Wright, A. T. (2015). The Origin of Evil Spirits: The Reception of Genesis 6:1-4 in Early Jewish Literature. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

Footnotes

[1] Heiser, xv – xvii.

[2] Reece, 142.

[3] Green, McKnight and Marshall, 407.

[4] Wright, 3.