The Schemes of the Devil (2 Cor 2:11, Eph. 6:11)
2 Corinthians 2:11 - 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Ephesians 6:10-12 - 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
1 Corinthians 12:10 – “to another the ability to distinguish between spirits”
“He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit.”
“…the ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not”
A Vision for Freedom
Luke 6:17-18 - 17 When Jesus had come down from the hill with the apostles, he stood on a level place with a large number of his disciples. A large crowd of people was there from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon; 18 they had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those who were troubled by evil spirits also came and were healed.
Origin of Demonic Realm - Satan
Satan’s Fall – Who? When? What?
Ezekiel 28:13-15 – 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God… 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.
Isaiah 14:12-14 - “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star/shining one/O Lucifer, son of Dawn!
“...When he saw man made in the image of God, he [Satan] broke forth into jealous and malevolent envy. ...How great an evil it was, beloved brethren, that caused an angel to fall!” Cyprian (AD250)
The devil was one of those angels who are placed over the spirit of the air. ...However, becoming envious of man, he was rendered an apostate from the divine law. Irenaeus (AD180)
Origin of Demonic Realm - Fallen Angels & Demons
Fallen Angelic Beings – “Sons of God”/ “Watchers” / “elohim” - embodied
Nephilim - LXX –γίγαντες (gigantes) = Demons (disembodied spirits)
Genesis 6:1-4 - When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
Psalm 82:1, 6-7 – 1 God [elohim] has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods [elohim] He holds judgment…6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; 7 nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.”
Origin and Schemes of the Demonic Realm
The angels transgressed this appointment and were captivated by love of women. And they begat children [the nephilim], who are those who are called demons. Justin Martyr (AD 160)
These angels, then, who have fallen from heaven, and haunt the air and the earth, and are no longer able to rise to heavenly things, and the souls of the giants [nephilim], who are the demons who wander about the world, perform similar actions. Athenagoras (AD 175)
Furthermore, we are instructed by our sacred books how from certain angels, who fell of their own free will, there sprang a more wicked demon brood, condemned of God along with the authors of their race. ...Their great business is the ruin of mankind. So, from the start, spiritual wickedness sought our destruction. Accordingly, they inflict upon our bodies diseases and other grievous calamities. And by violent assaults, they hurry the soul into sudden and extraordinary excesses. ...By an influence equally obscure, demons and angels breathe into the soul, and rouse up its corruptions with furious passions and vile excesses. Tertullian (AD 197)
“…the demons…No doubt, they are very kind, too, in regard to the healing of diseases! For, first of all, they make you ill. Then, to get a miracle out of it,...they withdraw their hurtful influence. Supposedly, then, they have wrought a cure!” Tertullian (AD197)
The angels transgressed this appointment and were captivated by love of women. And they begat…certain wicked demons (so to speak, of the race of Titans or giants [nephilim]) who have been guilty of impiety towards the true God and towards the angels in heaven. They have fallen from it, and they haunt the denser parts of bodies. They also frequent unclean places on the earth. Since they are without bodies of earthly material, they possess some power of foretelling future events. So, they engage in works of this kind, desiring to lead the human race away from the true God. They also secretly enter the bodies of the more predatory, savage, and wicked of animals and stir them up to do whatever they choose, whenever they choose. They can turn the fancies of these animals to make flights and movements of various kinds, in order to entrap men by such power of divination. Origen (AD 248)
Among angels, some are angels of God, and others are angels of the devil. But among demons, there is no such distinction. For they are all said to be wicked. Origen (AD 248)
From the seed [of the fallen angels and women], giants [nephilim] are said to have been born. By them, arts were made known in the earth. They taught the dyeing of wool and everything that is done. When they died, men erected images to them. Yet, because they were of an evil seed, the Almighty did not approve of their being brought back from death when they had died. For that reason, they wander and they now subvert many bodies. And it is these whom you [pagans] presently worship and pray to as gods. Commodianus (AD 240)
However, those who were born from [the relations of angels with women]—because they were neither angels nor men, but had a mixed nature—were not admitted into Hades [when they died]. Similarly, their fathers had not been admitted into heaven, either. Thus, there came to be two kinds of demons: one of heaven, the other of the earth. The latter are the wicked spirits, who are the authors of all the evils that are done. This same devil is their prince. ...However, grammarians say that the reason they are called demons...is because they are skilled and acquainted with matters. For the grammarians think they are gods. In truth, the demons are acquainted with some future events, but not with all. For He has not permitted them to know entirely the counsel of God. ...As I was saying, these contaminated and abandoned spirits wander over the whole earth. They console their own ruin by destroying others. Therefore, they fill every place with snares, deceits, frauds, and errors. For they cling to individuals and even occupy whole houses, from door to door. ...And since spirits are without physical substance and cannot be held, they slink into the bodies of men. Secretly working in their inward parts, they corrupt the health of these persons, bring on diseases, terrify their souls with dreams, and harass their minds with frenzies. They do this so that by these evils, they may cause men to come to them for aid. Lactantius (AD 304-313)
Summary of the Schemes of the Demonic Realm
Seduction & secret knowledge (fallen angels)
Haunt the air and the earth (both)
Business = ruin of humanity (demons)
Inflict bodily disease (demons) – ‘calamities’?
Soul into sudden & extraordinary excesses (demons)
Rouse corruptions, passions, vile excesses (both)
Illness & then demonic healing (demons)
Haunt denser parts of human bodies (demons)
Hang around “unclean places” (demons)
Disembodied (demons)
“Some power” of foretelling future (demons)
Lead humanity away from God/deception (demons)
Possess animals, affect behavior to entrap us (demons)
All wicked (demons)
Arts revealed (demons? fallen angels)
Source of idolatry & false religions (demons)
Wander & subvert bodies (demons)
Worshipped as false gods (demons)
Authors of ALL evils (demons)
Devil = their prince (both)
Sow snares, deceits, frauds, and errors (demons)
Nightmares (demons)
Work secretly in our inward parts (demons)
Harrass minds (demons)
MODERN APPLICATIONS
Mental Health issues – anxiety, paranoia
Addictions
Sexual perversions, abominations
Channeling – Sex Magick, spirit guides
Reincarnation
Yoga (false religious ideas/practices)
Fortune Telling
New Age ideas
Horoscope (Astrology)
SUMMARY OF DEMONIC SCHEMES - "THE WATCHERS"
“those angels—the deserters from God, the lovers of women—were likewise the discoverers of this curious art [of astrology]...For we know the mutual alliance of magic and astrology. Tertullian (AD200)
Secret Knowledge (forbidden)
Art of seduction (make-up, jewelry)
Advanced Technology
Astrology
Magic
pharmakeia (herbs)
Future Deception??
Alien agenda? “as in the days of Noah”
Medical? – Rev. 18:23 - …your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery (Gk. pharmakeia).
RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY
Demons – documentary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H41Lw2YEY74
Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness – Michael Heiser
The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible – Michael Heiser
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