Demonolgy 101

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

This teaching will give you a basic look into the world of demons according to the Bible. As you know, the Bible is the safest and most reliable book to turn to when seeking knowledge on the spiritual realm.
Various functions of demons
There's different spirits that cause different kinds of problems in a persons life, some affecting the person physically while others mentally and some give people special occult powers or abilities.
Example of physical influence: Luke 13:11,16, "And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself... And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" Also see Matthew 9:33, "And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel."

Example of mental (including soulish, spiritual, etc.) influence: Luke 8:27,35, "And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs... Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid." Also see Matthew 17:15,18, "Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water... And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour." The word lunatic here translates from the NT Greek word seleniazomai and means to be crazy or moonstruck (mentally ill).

Example of torment from evil spirits: In 1 Samuel 16:14 we find that King Saul was tormented mentally by evil spirit(s), "Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear." (NLT) Also see Matthew 15:22, "And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil." To be vexed means to be tormented, troubled or shaken by an evil spirit.
Example of occult spirits: In Acts 16:16, we are told of a young girl who had a spirit that allowed her to tell fortunes, "And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:" Soothsaying refers to fortune telling. Also see Deuteronomy 18:11, "Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer." and Leviticus 19:31, "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."

There's also other kinds of spirits in the demonic kingdom as well, including rulers, principalities, etc.
Demons have different names
The Bible also refers to demons with specific names that relate to their function, for example, in Luke 13:11 we are told of a spirit of infirmity who caused a woman to be bent over, and in Acts 16:16 we are told of a young girl who had a spirit of divination that allowed her to tell fortunes.

Various strengths of demons
Some demons require more than simply a command to drive them out: Matthew 17:14-21, "And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit THIS KIND goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."
Now Jesus' disciples were regular deliverance ministers, and had cast out many demons (Mark 6:13), but when they reached 'this kind', they were unable to cast it out because of their lack of faith. Jesus clearly staked out this kind of demon and told us that more than just commanding this kind to leave is needed. Even if it were just prayer that was needed... nowhere else that I am aware of in the NT are we told to 'pray' before a normal deliverance. Jesus however made it clear that you'd better be prayed up before trying to cast 'this kind' of demon out. Apparently, this demon had properties (strength or stubbornness) that required something more (prayer/fasting/faith) than the average demon to drive out.

Varying wickedness of demons
As Matthew 12:45 points out, demons can clearly vary in wickedness too, "Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation."
Hierarchy of demons
As stated above, there is obviously different strengths of demons that we can encounter during a deliverance. There's also evidence of demon hierarchy (ranks of demons) in the Bible as well.
Acts 10:38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."
Properly translated from NT Greek to modern English, it is actually telling us that to be oppressed of the devil is to have an order of demons (Merriam-Webster dictionary refers us to celestial hierarchy) exercised against us. If we look up celestial hierarchy, it comes flat out and tells us that this is speaking of a traditional hierarchy.
Ephesians 6:12 also speaks of this hierarchy when it tells us, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

Multiple demons in the same person
It is not uncommon for a person to have more than one demon when they are possessed.
Mark 16:9, "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils."
Luke 11:24,26, "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.... Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first."
Mark 5:9, "And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many."
Demons work together
Luke 11:24,26, "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.... Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first."
As we can see, demons can and do communicate with one another and can call in more evil spirits into action as well.

Mark 5:9, "And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion (which meant between 6,000 and 7,000): for we are many."
It also seems that they work in harmony together. Even though there was several thousands spirits in the man at the time, notice that there was no confusion among them when Jesus approached them. One of them took the role as the leader and spoke for the rest of them and the rest of them followed the leader's plan to enter the pigs. When the leading spirit answered 'we', it gives us a good indication that they were working together.
Anybody who is experienced in this ministry will tell you that it is not uncommon to find a leader spirit and then a series of weaker spirits hiding out under their leader.

[Mark H. Stevens, Th.D]

You are welcome brother