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These are a third of God's Angels [refer to "Angels"] that, through selfish pride, followed Lucifer (Satan) [refer to "Satan"] into rebellion against God. There are three schools of thought regarding the "fall".
These are spiritual beings that do the will of Satan (Lucifer) [refer to "Satan"], but only as God will allow.
In Ephesians 6:12 we learn that God has provided Satan and his demons with a lot of power "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." [refer to "Evil"]
The word "evil" is used in God's Word to primarily describe the force that opposes God and His work of righteousness in the world (Romans 7:8-19) [refer to "Evil"]. This "force" is not limited to Satan and/or his demons, but also from our own selfish desires [refer to "Sin"]. As God's created humans, God wants us to be able to freely make our own choices. In order to have total freedom of choice, one must have both the negative (evil) and the positive (good) to choose from. God hates evil, but must allow it in order for us to freely choose.
Before the creation of the world, all of the Angels were created by God, lived with God and were actively doing His will. With only God's absolute good in the universe, then how is it that Satan (Lucifer) [refer to "Satan"] and 1/3 of His Angels, would even think about rebelling against God? That is a good question and one that we may not fully understand until we are with God in His presence. But, God's Word provides us with some clues that have led to speculation. What ever it was, it is obvious that their selfish pride was at the forefront.
One possible school of thought was the possibility that God would create a human race that would be lifted above the Angels [refer to "Humans"]. In 1 Corinthians 6:3 Paul is describing a future aspect of our relationship with Angels: "Do you not know that we will judge angels?..." It is thought that since us humans, unlike the Angels, were given "the sin nature" [refer to "Sin Nature"] at birth, but more importantly given the ability to freely choose to rebel against God utilizing an adversary, God holds us humans in higher esteem above the Angels. This might be the reason that Satan (Lucifer) [refer to "Satan"] and his fallen angels rebelled against God.
Demon possession is the ability of Demons to actually indwell and take over the mind and body of a human. There are only two prerequisites for this to even happen:
As a Born again Christian you are a personal part of God's family with the Holy Spirit indwelling within you [refer to "Salvation"]. That means that you are protected from demon possession. Demons cannot exist where God already exists. Plus, you have a guardian Angel always at your side [refer to "Angels"]. But, that does not give you permission to let your guard down, both Satan and/or demons can tempt you. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that we need to "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, ...". Plus, the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 6:12-13 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything,
to stand." As an additional side note, remember also that God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can handle and if tempted, He will always give you a way out [refer to "Sin"]. (1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.")
2 Peter 2:4 seems to open the door stating that the fallen angels, other than Lucifer (Satan), were placed into hell. That being the case, then Demons, rather than being fallen angels, would be a spiritual entity reflecting Satan's demonic power. Others believe that Peter is referring to the Giants [refer to "Giants"] described in Genesis 6:1-6. They also use Jude 6 "... abandoned their own home... ", or lived on earth as humans, to emphasize this line of thinking. In either case, fallen angels will eventually spend eternity in hell.
There are only two verses in the Old Testament that actually use the word "Demon" Deuteronomy 32:17 and Psalm 106:37. Otherwise it is the word "evil" that is used through out the Old Testament.
Like Angels, demons are spiritual beings. They seem to be earth bound or more correctly, anywhere humans happen to live. God's Word seems to portray them as either tempting someone to sin or possessing some non-believer. Other than the fallen angels in Genesis 6:1-4 [refer to "Giants"] they do not take on human form. Plus, in Job we learn that they are restricted by God's will. Also, it might be noted that demons will do perceived good as long as it will achieve their evil goal.
The different religions seem to have their own demons or evil spirits. The secular world, on the other hand, seem to greatly diminish the seriousness of their threat. There are numerous television programs and movies that portray them as vampires, ghosts [refer to "Ghosts"], or some sort of entity with an almost fascinating ability. The fact that they are evil and hate us humans and hate God, usually seems to elude the story line.
Lucifer, originally God's highest Angel, was the first to rebel and was the one that convinced 1/3 of God's Angels to follow him in this rebellion against God. The fact that God's created beings, living with Him and in His company, would rebel against Him is sometimes hard to believe. Satan (Lucifer) and his demons (some believe are the fallen angels), while on this earth, have made it their goal to hurt God and to destroy all of God's created humans. They are smarter and more powerful than us, but only can do those things that God allows. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1Corinthians 10:13 that every human also has the assurance from God that "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it". Plus, as Born again Christians, we also have God in us [refer to "Salvation"] and we have an Angel that keeps watch over us
s"[]. With that said, though, we are also told, by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:11, to be on guard and to "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Or, that Jesus is our armor.
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