Demons are Neither Funny or Phony

I heard a preacher say Sunday morning on a television sermon, (I didn’t know the preacher) but he spoke words that really caught my attention, and halted my steps. “Demons are neither funny nor phony,” he said. That’s a good word.

I thought about my own alma Mater, Calhoun High School, whose mascot has always been the Devil. That is the image that most people think of when a demon or devil is mentioned. A cartoon character in a red suit with a pointed tail and a pitchfork. It’s no where close the image that the Bible describes Satan to be. In the book of Ezekiel 28:14-15, it said of Satan,
“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. [15] Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”

He was a most beautiful creation. He is not omnipresent – he cannot be everywhere. He is not omniscient – all knowing. All angels are not demons, but all demons were once an angel. So what Satan has is the countless demonic forces that fell with him and are in the world among us. But most people in the world are oblivious to that reality. So when the preacher said that demons were neither funny nor phony, I determined I would bring up the subject in hopes of helping my readers to understand what it is we should know about the demonic world.

That evil world is heavy on my heart because I have witnessed it in recent weeks within my community. And I am righteously angry that leadership in the area take evil so lightly. They cover the sins of people in positions of authority, refuse to warn the citizens of the exposure of those sins to their children, churches are defending the sinner as not to offend them and casting the victims to the side as nothing more than collateral damage. And good Christian people sit silent in defeat trying their best to keep their world together.

It’s a Fact They’re Not Phony

Demons in the Old Testament were false gods. So if it’s a false god, why should we worry, right? It’s not real. But, behind every false god and false religion is a very real demonic force that desires to escort the souls of your family to Hell for eternal separation. That’s why God takes pagan worship so serious in the Old Testament that those who dabbled in it were killed.

Deuteronomy 13:5 KJV – And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

Thank God for grace! We no longer do that because if we did there would be far less people in our neighborhoods. God didn’t want to lose one of His precious souls to the demonic world. So He made laws to deter people from following after false idols. But they didn’t listen.

It’s a Fact They’re Not Feared

If people understood the power of demonic forces they’d not be taking them so lightly. One angel went out and killed in the camp of the Assyrians 185,000 soldiers in 2 Kings 19:35. That is the power of one angel, and yet people mock God.

Yesterday as I left the courtroom in the case of an accused child molester, the defendant’s attorney mocked protestors who had been possible victims by yelling, “Hang him, hang him.” I heard his sneers in the courtroom during the preliminary hearing as he defended his client and worked at tearing apart the State’s case by belittling the people involved. Yes, I know the defendant is innocent until proven guilty and has the right to an attorney. I believe that. But why does the accused receive more respect than those who have been through Hell on earth? When scripture says in Galatians 6:7, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” It will happen. No word spoken on this earth goes unnoticed by God. Scripture says that too. Matthew 12:36 – But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

I have my own share that I will no doubt answer for. But it’s not because I take God lightly. It’s because I let the flesh get the best of me sometimes and speak without thinking. I’m trying to do better. Every person on earth was created to glorify God. He made them with purpose, just like He made me with purpose. We should not mock people for things they cannot help: disabilities, appearances, etc. Nor should I ignore when people who are downright evil. Jesus forgives, He doesn’t justify the sinner. He called the religious Pharisees out. He turned over tables and ran crooks out of the temple with whips and so far as demons in the New Testament; Jesus cast out demons and sent them into a herd of swine that ran into the ocean. Demons are very real, and that’s how God deals with evil. I don’t have that power, but I have the power to speak out against people who believe it’s their right to mock children and allow evil to mess with their lives.

Can you tell I got up with frustration in my heart this morning? The Lord tells us to be angry and sin not. I’m working on that.

As children of God we need to start seeing the demonic forces in the world for what they are. Not what media portrays them to be. We need to understand the power of demonic forces, but more importantly we need to understand the power of God. If He can take someone like me, who has felt unworthy my entire life, and give me the confidence to write and speak out in my community about the evils that abound, He can and will use you if you step out in faith and say like Isaiah, “Here am I, send me!”

I should probably note that not everything evil is necessarily a demon. Some people are just plain mean. But as children of God, when we see children, and people unable to defend themselves being treated poorly, should we not protect them?