A Brief Study of Angels
What are demons like?
Since we have concluded that demons are actually angels which have fallen from their holy state by rebelling against God, it stands to reason that angels and demons share many of the same attributes. This seems to be be borne out in the Bible. The following is an examination of the passages which give us insight into the nature and characteristics of these beings.
First, as with the holy angels, demons are personal or perhaps a better way of putting it is that they are individual creatures each with its own personality. They are not just cosmic forces or some sort of raw power such as an electromagnetic field or gravity or wind. We can see this plainly in the scriptures. For one thing, we can see that they have intelligence. This is revealed by the fact that Jesus and others conversed with them on different occasions (Matt. 8:28-32; Mark 9:25-26; Acts 19:13-15). Also we are told that demons have a belief system and doctrine that they hold to and propagate (I Tim. 4:1-3). As with the angels, their knowledge is no doubt greater than man’s for they have access to information that we do not.
For instance, the demons possessing the man in Mark 1:23-24 knew exactly who Jesus really was while the other people in the synagogue at that point had no clue.
However we must reiterate that although demons may know more than we do, they are not omniscient--they do not know everything. This is because they are created by God and therefore limited. Only God Himself has all knowledge.
The Bible also discloses that demons have emotions. Some of the passages we have seen show that they had a great fear of what Jesus was capable of doing to them and James 2:19 clearly affirms this fact. Although we have no clear Bible statement to confirm this, it seems that just as angels take great joy in the salvation of humans (Luke 15:7,10) demons likely take great and perverse joy in the destruction of humans. This can be deduced by the fact that in almost every instance of demon possession we see in the Bible the person possessed is being hurt
and systematically taken to his ruin. Their usual response to Jesus casting them out
(“cried out”) as well as the actions seen in Acts 19:16 probably reflects anger and hatred.
Demons also have the ability of self-determination, or in other words, a will. If we are right about their fall being the result of following Satan in rebellion against God, then obviously that was a choice that some of them made. Jude 6 also indicates that they possess this trait.
Finally, they have a sense of self or a personal identity. We have already seen examples of how they use personal pronouns (“I, we, us”) to refer to themselves. They also have (or take) names according to Mark 5:6-9. These four things (intelligence, emotions, volition and sense of self) are the hallmarks of personality.
The other major characteristic of demons is that, again like the holy angels, they are spirits. That this is true according to the Bible is undeniable (Matt. 8:16; Luke 10:17, 20; also compare Matt. 17:18 with Mark 9:25.) What does it mean to be a spirit? Since we have already discussed this in the Holy Angels section we will not dwell on it except to quote Merrill Unger who says, “The specific attribute of ‘spirit’ is incorporeity or immateriality. ‘A spirit has not flesh and bones’ (Luke 24:39); that is, demons do not possess a material body.” (Demons in the World Today, p. 22.)
As we saw with the angels, however, this does not mean that demons are weak and ineffective. On the contrary they have great power. This is revealed in the tremendous strength they imbue to the people they possess (Mark 5:2-4; Acts 19:16). In Revelation we see that demons will be unrestrained for a time and will wreak much destruction by the fact that they will control certain terrible beings (9:10-11; 14-16). Jesus Himself implied that demons are inherenty powerful in Matthew 12:28-29 and Mark 9:28-29. But again we must understand that as powerful as they may be in relation to us, they are no match for the Lord and they know it. As we have seen in many of our passages, any authority they have or activity they pursue is limited to what the God allows (cf. Rev. 9:4-5; 14-15). They are neither omnipresent (everywhere at once) nor omnipotent (all powerful). Only God Himself has those characteristics.
The final attribute, which almost goes without mentioning, is that demons are absolutely and irrevocably opposed to God. They have become utterly evil. In this they are the opposite of the holy angels. They have given their allegiance to Satan and even though they know it is a losing proposition there is no going back. They have an undying hatred for God and the things of God. Their only solace is perhaps that they can hurt God by bringing about the destruction of the most beloved part of His creation--men and women, boys and girls. This may explain their elaborate, energetic and endless efforts toward this goal. We will see more of this later as we consider what demons do in relation to mankind.