Word of the Week
October 26, 2024
Daimonion: The Other Kind of Angel
No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
1 Corinthians 10:20 NASB95
I was seated in the doctor’s waiting room when a man entered. He plopped down beside me and proved to be talkative. Before long, he said, “I want to show you something.”
He pulled a photograph out of his wallet and held it where I could see a small image of a face that looked like a Native American chief, complete with feathered headdress.
“I took this picture by holding undeveloped film against my abdomen. This is my spirit guide. He tells me what to do.”
I thought, I know what I should do – move to a different seat!
Popular culture is filled with links to the spirit world. Wicca appeals to devotees of the environment, while crystals are the method of choice for others who want a gateway to power. Others get their ideas of the supernatural from films like The Exorcist.
How do you know what to think about all this?
Fortunately, the Bible brings clarity to the topic of occult and paranormal activities. It provides a glimpse of the unseen world that we can trust. This week we will look at a Greek word that describes one of the underlying forces at play – the world of demons.
Our English word demon comes from daimonion [die-MOH-nee-ahn] which occurs over60 times in the New Testament, almost always translated as “demon.”
The pagan culture of Greece and Rome believed in a world filled with supernatural beings of all kinds. Zeus and the other major gods lived on Mount Olympus and busied themselves with manipulating the world on a grand scale. But below them were innumerable low-level beings who existed between the gods and humans. This is the realm of the daimonion.
Originally, a daimonion might be a ghost or the spirit of a dead person. The idea later expanded to cover all kinds of spirits who could help you or make your life miserable. The Greeks believed that you could influence them by magic spells or sacrifices. Even the philosophers had a place for these spirits in their approach to life. The famed thinker Socrates talked about the good daimonion that influenced his life in a positive way. For the Greeks, a daimonion might be good or bad.
We see this broad-minded view in Acts 17:18. Paul started a verbal joust with the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers who loitered around Mars Hill in Athens. Their response? “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities” [daimonion]. Thinking that his arguments for the gospel were just an ad for another spirit being, they were merely curious.
As you might expect, the Old Testament took a totally different approach. For the devout Jew, dabbling with any deity besides Jehovah was idolatry. God gave specific warnings against “offering their sacrifices to the goat demons” (Leviticus 17:7). A daimonion was evil, not good.
Demons are prominent in the Gospels, which include most of the uses of the word. Jesus added greatly to our understanding of these evil beings.
What do we learn from Him about demons?
- They are angels who joined Satan’s rebellion against God. Matthew 25:41 mentions “the devil and his angels.”
- They are spirit beings without their own bodies (Luke 8:2; Mark 1:26).
- Like their master Satan, demons are stronger than humans but not omnipotent.
- They are smarter than humans but not omniscient.
- They are swifter than humans but not omnipresent.
- Some are more wicked than others (Matthew 12:45).
Christ’s power over demons was one of the basic activities of His ministry (Mark 1:34, 39). He shared this authority with His disciples. His twelve disciples returned from a preaching tour excited by their ability to cast out demons (Luke 9:1), and the same thing occurred when He sent out seventy followers (Luke 10:17).
We also learn from the apostle Paul that demons were behind the many gods and goddesses of the Roman religion. As he pointed out, “the things which the Gentiles sacrifice [to their gods], they sacrifice to demons and not to God” (1 Corinthians 10:20). Dabbling in the occult may seem like a harmless way to manipulate nature, Scripture makes it clear that it involves compromise with forces of evil.
As James tells us, the proper response is to “submit to God. Resist the devil. And draw near to God” (James 4:7). God’s holy angels are dedicated to helping us, but Satan’s angels aim to destroy us. Don’t toy with them!
Study Hint:
We cannot separate the topic of demons from the study of Satan, so we will want to look at the many passages that mention that evil being. I have found it helpful to remember the summary of satanic tactics developed by Max Anders. Satan and his angels like to use these tools:
- Dirty tricks (1 Thessalonians 2:18) – hindrances
- Deception (2 Corinthians 11:14) – angel of light
- Direct attack (1 Peter 5:8) – persecution
This is only a start on a full understanding of the enemy and his wiles.
Coming Up
We use the word “church” to describe a building or a scheduled meeting. But is that how the New Testament defines the church? Next week we will look for answers as we study the Greek word for church.
©Ezra Project 2024
6 Responses
As Christians, we must be careful to not dabble in the occult and evil spirits. They’re powerful and smarter than we are are. However, as we look to the Scriptures, we will see God’s word and His providence. Resist and rebuke doctrines that are contrary to His Word.
Recently I met a woman who claims to campaign for constitutional rights & liberties, but is heavy into spiritism. She is very outspoken. Others are much quieter but are undermining a very worthwhile cause. I sense that this symbiosis will 1) draw nominal Christians farther away from Christ, 2) weaken real Christians who are not solidly grounded in the Word of God, and 3) wear down those Christians who are standing firmly in our Lord, ultimately resulting in overt persecution. How should we handle this, we who are clearly in the spiritual battle?
We must pray for wisdom in dealing with this kind of situation. I am reminded of the controversy in Corinth about meat offered to idols. Paul dealt with it at some length in 1 Corinthians 8-10. He told the Corinthians that there was nothing wrong with the meat, even if it had come from a pagan temple. However, he also told them to abstain from eating the meat if someone raised the question of its source. In other words, he didn’t want to do anything that would give others the impression that it was all right to participate in idolatrous worship, which involved demonic activity. I think you’ll want to look for ways to encourage political activities that you favor, without throwing your influence behind occult connections. There’s no reason why you can’t speak up at the same city council meeting as this woman, but you wouldn’t want to do anything that made it sound as if you approved of her spiritism. It can be a tough call!
My position is that many Christians don’t understand what the word sanctify means. The atoning sacrifice of Yeshua, separated us exclusively for the worship of God alone. Sanctification requires our uncompromising allegiance to Christ alone… unto the end. But some “nominal” and even “real Christians” have bought into what I call a hybrid faith, which is a mixture of demon inspired philosophies and teachings about God, Christ, and man, with the gospel. I feel that’s what Paul was warning the church about in 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4. Sound preaching and teaching of the gospel of God’s rule and the person of His Son, Yeshua. is the way to breach the net which Satan has used to capture men (2 Timothy 4:2; 2:24-26.
Direct Attack should be 1 Peter 5:8 not 5:7
Good catch, Naveen!
1 Peter 5:7 has a very different msg.