{"id":18283,"date":"2019-12-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/angelology-020-demonology-2\/"},"modified":"2019-12-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-01T06:00:00","slug":"angelology-020-demonology-2","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/angelology-020-demonology-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Angelology 020 (Demonology 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[89],"series_event":[499],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18283","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-acts","series_event-angelology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Angelology 020 (Demonology 2)","sermon_date":"20191201","sermon_month":"12","sermon_year":"2019","sermon_notes":7326,"sermon_slides":7327,"sermon_mp3":7332,"sermon_id":"121191357187413","series_or_event":499,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":89,"chapter_and_verse":"19:15","sermon_transcript":"Angelology #20\nDemonology\nActs 19:15\nDecember 1, 2019\nDr. Andy Woods\n\nOpening Prayer<\/strong>\n\n\u201cFather, we\u2019re grateful for today and grateful for this morning. We\u2019re grateful for Thanksgiving, which we just celebrated. We\u2019re looking forward to celebrating the advent of Your Son, Jesus Christ, into our world 2000 years ago.\n\nWe\u2019re grateful, also, for the chance to look into the Book of Revelation in the main service that follows. We\u2019re looking at Christ's Second Advent. So we\u2019re grateful for all of these things that You\u2019ve given us.\n\nI pray You\u2019ll be with us during Sunday school, the main service that follows, the Lord's Table, the fellowship meal, and everything. I pray that Your Spirit would be at work guiding, directing, illuminating, healing, and convicting. I ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d God's people said, \u201cAmen.\u201d\n\nGood morning everybody! Happy December! It\u2019s a fun time of the year after Thanksgiving but before Christmas. If you\u2019ve got kids or grandkids, don't feed them too much sugar this time of year or they\u2019ll be bouncing all over the place.\n\nLet\u2019s take our Bibles and open them to Acts 19:15. We switched gears last week in our study of angelology. Prior to that we looked at the good angels\u2014or the unfallen angels\u2014and then Satan, the ultimate fallen angel.\n\nNow we\u2019re in part three, where we\u2019re looking at his minions, groups or entities called demons.\u00a0 So now we\u2019re moving into what is called demonology. Here's our outline of demonology. Last week we looked at the existence of demons and saw very clearly that they are very real entities\u2014Old Testament and New Testament.\n\nFrom there we looked at the origin of demons. I gave you my best guess at that. I think the demons that we see described, primarily in the pages of the New Testament, are really those one third of the angels who rebelled with Lucifer against God and lost their positions in heaven.\n\nWe've seen that there are two classes of demons; some are free, and some are confined. As we progress into this material\u2014not so much today but down the road\u2014I'll be trying to make the case that the only real explanation you have for those two groups has to do with the issue that took place in Genesis 6:1-4 (the sons of God and the daughters of men).\n\nWe also saw last time that the reason Satan and the demons are so united in their hatred for the human race is the plan of salvation is not open to them. So, at the name of Jesus they tremble! They don't rejoice at the name of Jesus because they know that Jesus is their executioner, so to speak. He's the one that's going to sentence them to the Lake of Fire one day.\n\nWe come here to number three. We\u2019ve done this for Satan and the good angels, and it's a subject called personhood. Just trying to communicate the point here that demons\u2014just like Satan, and just like the good angels\u2014are not just impersonal. These are entities that have actual personalities. Just like each of us in this room, as members of the human race, have different personalities and are actually people. Somehow, someway, that works its way out amongst these spiritual entities called demons, because demons have the attributes of personhood.\n\nGenerally, when you look at the attributes of personhood, you look at three things: intellect, emotions, and will. What we see is that demons have all three of those attributes. The first thing they have is an actual intellect or capacity for thought. There are many ways to demonstrate this, but one way is through the story of the seven sons of Sceva.\n\nThere was an issue that went on in Ephesus where seven sons of Sceva\u2014they look like they\u2019re Jewish; they look like they\u2019re unbelievers\u2014had seen the apostles cast out demons. And they thought that looked like fun, so they cornered a fellow in a house\u2014one against seven\u2014and they tried to do an exorcism.\n\nThe demon\u2014or demons\u2014through the demon possessed man in Ephesus started to speak to the seven sons of Sceva. This is what the demon said in Acts 19:15, \u201cAnd the evil spirit answered and said to them, \u2018I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?<\/em>\u2019 \u201d Then it talks about how this possessed man rose up\u2014one against seven\u2014and gave the sons of Sceva such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bloody, as Acts 19 says.\n\nIt's a very interesting story, and you can use it to demonstrate a lot of different things, but one of the things that\u2019s fascinating to me is the spirit answered and said to them, \u201cI recognize Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 So, they knew about Jesus, and they knew about the ministry of the Apostle Paul, but they didn't recognize who these seven sons of Sceva were.\n\nWhen he says, \u201cI know about Paul,\u201d this demon is obviously demonstrating intellectual capacity\u2014or capacity for thought. So, demons have intellectual abilities. You\u2019ll notice that they're not omniscient because they said, \u201cWho are you guys?\u201d But they recognized Jesus and they recognized Paul.\n\nNot only do demons have an intellect, but they also have emotions. Notice Luke 8:28, \u201cSeeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice<\/em> [this is the demon possessed person], \u2018What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.<\/em>\u2019 \u201d\n\nYou can see the emotion of fear coming over this demon at the presence of Jesus Christ. James 2:19 says the same thing. It says, \u201cYou believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.<\/em>\u201d That's clearly an emotion of fear. And demons apparently have that\u2014just like Satan has it\u2014just like the good angels have it.\n\nWhen we were talking about the good angels, I showed you the passage where the angels in heaven do what at the salvation of a sinner? They rejoice! That\u2019s in Luke 15:10\u2014that's an emotion<\/em>!\n\nDemons apparently have a will. We saw the emotion of fear, but they also have a will. In other words, they have a desire to do something. They're basically what you would call \u201cfree moral agents,\u201d where they can make decisions. \u201cNow there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission.<\/em>\u201d (Luke 8:32) Notice their volution, or will, \u201cWe want to go into these swine.\u201d\n\nThey\u2019re asking permission. Kind of like a child asking permission of their father for the keys to the car\u2014or something like that\u2014demonstrating that the child has a very clear will. The demons are demonstrating that as they\u2019re asking Jesus to send them into the swine.\n\nPut these Scriptures together, and they clearly have intellect, they clearly have emotions, they clearly have a will! And one of the things that\u2019s very interesting is the personal pronoun \u201che\u201d or \u201chim\u201d is used to describe demons. Mark 1:24-25 says, \u201csaying, \u2018What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth?<\/em> [this is the demons again, speaking to Jesus] Have You come to destroy us? I know<\/em> [you could use that one to prove intellect] who You are\u2014the Holy One of God!<\/em>\u2019 \u201d\n\nNotice what it says in verse 25, \u201cAnd Jesus rebuked him<\/em>\u2026\u201d It doesn't say Jesus rebuked \u201cit,\u201d an impersonal pronoun, or Jesus rebuked \u201cthat.\u201d It says, \u201cAnd Jesus rebuked him...<\/em>\u201d That\u2019s the same personal pronoun that\u2019s used to describe any other person in the Bible, whether it's Peter, the disciples, Judas, Paul, or whoever.\n\nYou\u2019ll notice that personal pronouns are also used to describe demons. \u201cAnd Jesus rebuked him, saying, \u2018Be quiet, and come out of him!\u2019 <\/em>\u201d Notice the repetition of \u201chim.\u201d The second \u201chim\u201d is the person that the demons were inside of\u2014a real person. It's interesting that Jesus rebuked \u201chim,\u201d the demon inside the person, and said, \u201cCome out of him,\u201d the person that the demons are inside of.\n\nSo, what can we conclude from that? The demons are just as much personages\u2014or entities\u2014as is a human being. I'm not saying that demons are human beings, obviously; they\u2019re a different class altogether. But it's interesting how the Bible uses these personal pronouns to describe demons.\n\nWhen you think of demons, you can't just think of them as the dark side of the force\u2014this kind of impersonal source of negative energy\u2014that's not who they are at all! They\u2019re actual personalities, possessing intellect just as real as yours. Emotions, just as real as your emotions. A will, which is just as real as your will. Being reflected in personal pronouns, just as the Bible talks about individual people in terms of personal pronouns.\n\nLet's take a look at some of the characteristics of demons. What are some of their characteristics? They\u2019re clearly called \u201cspirits.\u201d If you look at Matthew 8:16, they\u2019re designated as \u201cspirits.\u201d It says, \u201cWhen evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.\u201d<\/em>\n\nSo, they're actually<\/em> spirit beings. That's one of the reasons I think they\u2019re fallen angels, because angels are called\u2014Hebrews 1:14\u2014\u201cministering spirits.\u201d\n\nEphesians 6:12 is a really key passage on this whole subject of demonology. It says, \u201cFor our struggle is not against<\/em> flesh and blood...\u201d<\/em> We\u2019re fighting these entities, and it's not the same thing as fighting people.\n\nFighting people, there's actual physical combat in the natural world that you can see; not so with these demons. \u201cFor our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.\u201d <\/em>You\u2019ll notice that they\u2019re described there as spiritual forces of wickedness; so they are basically spirit beings.\n\nAnd the fallen ones are described with some of the most ugly terminology I can think of. They're called \u201cunclean\u201d in Matthew 10:1. This is Jesus sending out the 12 to Israel to preach the offer of the Kingdom. And in the process, He gave them authority over the spirits. It says, \u201cJesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.\u201d<\/em>\n\nIt doesn't just say \u201cspirits\u201d; it says, \u201cover unclean spirits.\u201d So, they\u2019re given that designation \u201cunclean.\u201d\n\nThey\u2019re also given the designation \u201cevil.\u201d They\u2019re put into that category; there's nothing redemptive in<\/em> them. Luke 7:21 says, \u201cAt that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits\u2026<\/em>\u201d Notice that they\u2019re called \u201cevil.\u201d We've already seen Ephesians 6:12, where they are called rulers of darkness in spiritual wickedness\u2014rulers of darkness.\n\nAnd I think I showed you this passage last time\u2014Matthew 12:45. It's always been very interesting to me, because apparently there are degrees of wickedness in the demonic realm. It's like being in a gang. Everybody in the gang is bad ,but some are the baddest of the bad. You see that sort of thing being described here in Matthew 12:45. Jesus is speaking of what happens when a demon is exercised out of a person and that person doesn't get saved.\n\nIt talks about how that demon wanders around in arid places, and he gets seven buddies and says, \u201cLet's go back into the body that we were evicted from!\u201d It says in Matthew 12:45, \u201cThen it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself\u2026<\/em>\u201d\n\nThat's always been very fascinating to me! So, all of them are wicked, but some are apparently more wicked than others. \u201c\u2026more wicked than itself<\/em> [degrees of wickedness amongst the demonic realm],<\/em> and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.<\/em>\u201d\n\nHe uses that as an example for describing what\u2019s going to happen to the nation of Israel that has gone through moral reformation, if you will, under the preaching of John the Baptist. And yet, at the same time, the nation of Israel never enthroned Christ as their King. It\u2019s going to be like a person who has a demon exercised. The last state of the man is worse than the first, because now he\u2019s occupied by seven more who are more wicked than itself.\n\nThe Bible has a lot of information for us concerning their character, particularly their corruption: unclean, evil, rulers of darkness in spiritual wickedness. And there are degrees of wickedness in the demonic realm.\n\nIn terms of their manifestation, I would say this, most of the time to us they seem invisible. In other words, we can't see them. It's like the good angels; we can\u2019t see them either. Remember Elisha. The servant was panicked in 2 Kings 6. The servant went to Elisha and said, \u201cThe enemy is closing in around us!\u201d And Elisha said to the servant, \u201c \u2018Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them<\/em>.\u2019 \u201d\n\nOf course, the servant is perplexed, and Elisha prays that the servant's eyes would be opened. God granted the request, and the servant could see into the angelic realm\u2014just for a moment. He could see the armies, and the chariots, and the horsemen protecting the camp of God.\n\nUnless that supernatural enabling of someone\u2019s eyes had taken place, everything that was happening there in the angelic realm could not be seen by the servant of God. That's true with good angels\u2014and it's also true with the evil angels\u2014you can't see them.\n\nThat's what it says in Ephesians 6:12, \u201cFor our struggle is not against flesh and blood\u2026\u201d<\/em> If my enemy was people, at least I can see people coming at me, right? Most of the time! But it makes it tricky because we have an enemy that's invisible to us, who we can't see, because they're in a different \u201cdimension\u201d or domain. They\u2019re in the angelic realm\u2014and we are not.\n\nWe\u2019ve studied this, as we\u2019re going through the Book of Revelation verse by verse. Sometimes the Book of Revelation gives us descriptions of demons in the context of prophetic events. So, when the Book of Revelation does this, these demons appear as ugly, hideous beasts.\n\nThey\u2019re called locusts in Revelation 9:7-10. They\u2019re analogized to frogs in Revelation 16:13-16. So, if God were to somehow allow us to see the realm of the demonic, I would think<\/em> that's how they would appear to us\u2014as some of the most disgusting, hideous beasts that we have on planet Earth. We would parallel with those beasts as we look at demons; they would look like swarms of locusts, or perhaps frogs. But these are interesting verses that help us to understand their basic characteristics.\n\nNow let's talk about their powers for a minute. How powerful are demons? Well, demons have a tremendous amount of strength. How do I know that? There were demons\u2014several thousand of them\u2014inside a man at a place called Gadara. And what was that man doing as he was demon possessed?\n\nLook at Mark 5:3-4. This is talking about what this demon possessed man, at a place called Gadara, was doing. Weird stuff! \u201cand he had his dwelling among the tombs.<\/em>\u201d That\u2019s kind of weird, isn\u2019t it?\n\nAnd no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.<\/em>\u201d So, we can conclude from that that demons have a level of strength that\u2019s far greater than mere human strength.\n\nWe already saw the sons of Sceva, right? How a man was possessed by the demons that the seven sons of Sceva in Ephesus were trying to cast out. \u201cJesus I know, Paul I know, but who are you guys? I don\u2019t know who you are!\u201d\n\nIt describes here the strength that this man had who was possessed by these demons in Ephesus. Because back in Acts 19:16 it says, \u201cAnd the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.<\/em>\u201d This looks to me like just one evil spirit in this particular individual. This is one against seven.\n\nSo, one demon possessed man could easily defeat seven human beings. You put some Scriptures like this together, and very clearly demons have a level of strength that\u2019s far greater than our own. But they don't have the omnis!\n\nWhat are the omnis? I\u2019m not talking about a hotel! Omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence. Because those belong only to Whom? God! Those are attributes that belong only to God. There have to be attributes that belong only to God, or else He wouldn't be what? He wouldn't be God.\n\nDemons are creatures, and so they lack the omnis. One of the omnis that they lack is omnipotence. You'll recall from our studies in the Book of Daniel that an angel was dispatched from Heaven to answer Daniel's prayer request. And yet that angel was resisted by a fallen angel. First he\u2019s called the prince over Persia.\n\nAnd then there's a later one that\u2019s described as the prince over Greece. And the good angel and the fallen angel\u2026 I would think the prince over Persia would be a demon\u2014some say even Satan himself. I don't know if we know that for sure, but at the very least a demon.\n\nAnd this angel dispatched from heaven\u2014who I think is Gabriel\u2014fought the prince of Persia for three weeks\u2014or 21 days. Now, if a demon is omnipotent, there wouldn't be any three-week battle, would there? But this melee went on for three weeks\u2014or 21 days.\n\nAlthough a demon has tremendous amount of strength, he doesn't have as much strength as God, and he\u2019s not omnipotent. So, in terms of strength, demons are far greater than human beings, but you shouldn't confuse that with omnipotence. Although, to us, it might seem like omnipotence.\n\nSomething else about demons is they exercise what I would call superhuman intelligence\u2014an intelligence that\u2019s far greater than our own. You can see this in different passages like 2 Samuel 14:20. This isn\u2019t speaking of a demon here. It\u2019s speaking of a good angel. It's speaks of the wisdom of an angel.\n\nObviously, demons know an awful lot. If I were grading their exams, I\u2019d have to give them an A on theology. They know all about Jesus. Because in Luke 8:28 it says, \u201cSeeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, \u2018What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.\u2019 <\/em>\u201d\n\nThey get an A on that; they get a check mark there for a good grade. They have a high Christology. They have a high eschatology. They know about their future torment. They know about Jesus Christ. So, they obviously know a lot of things in terms of intelligence.\n\n\u201cdo, obviously, since they're liars and deceivers and, as we saw earlier, unclean, evil, rulers in spiritual darkness, degrees of wickedness. Why would you ever want to converse with such an entity?\n\nThis is, of course, the problem with the New Age movement! Shirley McClain was doing all of this stuff back in the 1980\u2019s. She was talking about these spirit beings that she was in contact with. She was talking about how wise they are, how smart they are, and she is making the mistake of thinking that the entity that she's in contact with is benevolent. When in reality, biblically, the being that she's in contact with is malevolent\u2014or a deceiver.\n\nIt was interesting to listen to the testimony of Shirley McClain, because she would talk about how wise, how smart, what a tremendous grasp of history, etc., that these spirit beings had. And there's actually an explanation for that. Do you remember Luke 20:35-36, concerning angels, demons being fallen angels?\n\nIt says, \u201c \u2018but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage\u2026<\/em>\u2019 \u201d Look at this. There\u2019s a little parenthetical comment in Luke 20:36, \u201c \u2018for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.\u201d<\/em>\n\nSo, in the process of describing all this, Jesus makes the comment that angels can't die. Now that would include demons\u2014I would think\u2014as fallen angels.\n\nSo, you get into a conversation with a demon, and you\u2019re blown away by how intelligent they are? Well, obviously, they\u2019re going to appear very intelligent compared to us. They've been around\u2014if you date human history beginning 6000 years ago\u2014for 6000 years.\n\nI'm 53 years old\u2014I've only been on the planet for 53 years. Talking to someone like that would obviously communicate to me their massive intelligence, because they've had 6000 years to accumulate knowledge that I don\u2019t have.\n\nI look at my relationship with my own daughter who\u2019s 13. I'm 53; she's 13. I am light years ahead of her in terms of math, spelling, driver's ed, career, and relationships. Now, is that because I'm all that much smarter than her? No! I just have been around longer. So to her, my knowledge seems godlike.\n\nThink of that with a demon that's been around for 6000 years, who basically knew your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents. I mean, people go on the internet today, and they want to explore their family tree. Well, demons know all about your family tree.\n\nSo, you get into a conversation with someone like that, and their knowledge would seem godlike wouldn\u2019t it? Because they've been around thousands and thousands of years\u2014much longer than you\u2014and they've had a chance to accumulate all of this knowledge and data.\n\nSo, I think that's the reason why these entities\u2014whether you\u2019re talking about the New Age movement, or whether you're talking about statements that demons make in the bible\u2014come across as so smart. But<\/em> they're not God, are they?\n\nSo, they lack one of the omnis, and one of the omnis is what? Omniscience. Demons are not omniscient. You see that again with the seven Sons of Sceva in Acts 19:15, \u201cAnd the evil spirit answered and said to them, \u201cI recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?<\/em>\u201d\n\n\u201cI know about Jesus, I know about Paul, but I don\u2019t know about you guys.\u201d So, that statement demonstrates:\n
    \n \t
  1. superhuman intelligence<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nbut\n
      \n \t
    1. b) it shouldn't be confused with omniscience.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nConcerning the angels, we saw that the angels, Matthew 24:36, don't even know when Jesus is coming back. We have date setters today who apparently think they know, but the angels don't know. And even Jesus in His Incarnation\u2014Jesus having two natures\u2014in His human side didn't even know when He was coming back.\n\nThat's why 1 Peter 1:12 indicates that angels stoop down to study intently. They\u2019re studying us all of the time. Now, if you're omniscient, there's no reason to study, right?\n\nI used to go to bed at night with my biology book under my pillow, because I had a test the next day, and I was hoping that the data would jump into my head the night before the exam. I have to study; I have to learn. And that's not the most efficient way to learn, by the way!\n\nDemons and angels, and Satan, have to learn as well. So, they\u2019re not omniscient! You shouldn't confuse it with omniscience. But if you were ever to converse with one, they would seem like they were omniscient. Their knowledge would be godlike because they've accumulated all this information\u2014that you weren't around to accumulate\u2014for thousands of years.\n\nSomething else about demons is that they are not confined to physical or space barriers. Back to the man at Gadara, the demon possessed man. We actually traveled to Gadara on a recent Israel trip. I was really looking forward to it! I wanted to see some screaming and shrieking and pigs jumping off a cliff and all that cool stuff you read about in the Bible.\n\nIt\u2019s sort of disappointing when you get there, because they\u2019ve got the whole place chained off. All you can really see is a chain-link fence.\n\nIn Mark 5, we learn that these demons are not confined by normal space barriers. Notice what it says in Mark 5:9, this demon possessed man at Gadara is speaking. \u201cAnd He was asking him, \u2018What is your name?\u2019 And he said to Him, \u2018My name is Legion; for we are many<\/em>.\u2019 \u201d So, he identifies himself as \u201cLegion.\u201d\n\nAnd there's a debate on this. It's not something to be dogmatic on, but when he says, \u201cMy name is Legion,\u201d he could have been referring to a normal Roman army or battalion. Part of that army consisting of a legion.\n\nI have my trusted Ryrie Study Bible<\/em> here. I looked at the note, and this is how Ryrie explains legion. He says, \u201cA legion is the largest unit of a Roman army, of 3000 to 6000 strong, indicating that many demons possessed the man.\u201d\n\nIf I'm understanding this right, there could have been as many as 3000 to 6000\u2014that's what a legion was\u2014inside one person. That's why, when the demons are exercised, they want to go into the pigs\u2014not a single pig, but a herd of pigs. And you know the rest of the story. The pigs panicked\u2014which seems normal\u2014and they all followed each other off a cliff.\n\nIf there indeed were 3000 to 6000 demons inside one person, then that shows us that demons are not confined by normal physical or space barriers. In other words, you can fit them all into a very small place because they are spiritual beings. We couldn\u2019t even get 3000 to 6000 people in this building, let alone 3000 to 6000 spiritual beings in one person.\n\nSo, they're not confined by the normal physical barriers that we\u2019re confined by, but that shouldn't be confused with one of the omnis\u2014omnipresence. They're not everywhere at the same time. And you can see that in Mark 5:12 where it says, \u201cThe demons implored Him, saying, \u2018Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.<\/em>\u2019 \u201d\n\nSo, this legion had to travel from the man in Gadara a short distance to the swine. If they were omnipresent, they would automatically be in the swine. See that? So, they have to travel, apparently.\n\nIt's like God speaking to Satan, \u201cThe Lord said to Satan, \u2018From where do you come?\u2019 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, \u2018From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.<\/em>\u2019 \u201d (Job 1:7) Meaning, he moves fast. But at the same time, he has to move, and he has to travel because he's not omnipresent.\n\nCompared to us, demons have tremendous strength. Their intelligence is far greater than ours, and their mobility is far greater than ours. But that's not to be confused\u2014any of these categories\u2014with omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. This helps us to understand who we\u2019re up against and why we need the full armor of God.\n\nHere's a chart I've used many times before in the main service and in Sunday school. It's a chart showing every single miracle in the Bible that takes place that God has nothing to do with. Is God a God of miracles? Of course He is! The Bible is filled<\/em> with miracles. But the mistake people make is they think every miracle that happens must be of God.\n\nYou\u2019ll notice I've been expanding this chart, because last time around a couple of you at different times said, \u201cYou need to add this, and you need to add that.\u201d\u00a0 So I did that, which shows you that I'm good on my listening tour.\n\nBut when you start to look at this list, you see very clearly that there is a reservoir of miracle working powers within the realm of the satanic and the demonic. That's why it's troubling to have a whole branch of Christendom\u2014Christianity\u2014where their whole movement, to a large extent, revolves around the next miracle or the next sign or wonder.\n\nThey think that every time a sign or wonder takes place, it must be of God. I'm here to tell you that's not what the Bible teaches! The Bible never says all signs and wonders come from God, because Satan and the demons perform signs and wonders as well. Obviously, Satan and the demons can't perform miracles to the same degree God can, but they certainly can perform signs and wonders!\n\nThat's why we\u2019re told in 1 John 4:1, \u201cBeloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.\u201d<\/em> So the test for determining truth is not<\/em> an experience! And that's a mistake people are making.\n\nI know a little bit about this because I tried to do this as a very young Christian. I got involved with the charismatic movement, and the emphasis was on signs and wonders. There\u2019s this constant thirst, there\u2019s this constant seeking, for the next miracle, the next prophecy, the next sign or wonder, not understanding biblical epistemology.\n\nEpistemology is your doctrine of knowledge. Epistemology is the area where you're trying to figure out, \u201cHow do we know what we know? How do you authenticate something as true?\u201d The Pentecostal charismatic movement\u2014not all, but to a very large extent\u2014think something is true because of an experience.\n\nI'm here to tell you that that's not very good epistemology. You determine something is true not<\/em> by an experience. Because Satan and the demons give experiences\u2014clearly, as you look at this chart. You determine something is true not<\/em> based on an experience alone, but does the doctrine that's being taught line up with what? The Scripture!\n\nBecause God wrote this Book, didn\u2019t He? We\u2019ve got 66 books here. And if there's a conflict between the two, which do you think you ought to throw out? You throw out the teaching that you just heard\u2014even though it came to you through a dream, a vision, a sign and wonder, a healing, etc. That's proper epistemology!\n\nThat's why the Bereans are commended in Acts 17:11 for taking the teachings of the Apostle Paul\u2014I can't think of a higher authority than Paul other than Christ himself\u2014and they examined the Scriptures how frequently? Daily<\/em>, to see if these things were so.\n\nIt\u2019s interesting. The Bereans weren't what I would call \u201cfighting fundies.\u201d There are a lot of people like that out there who just want to fight against any new teaching. They weren\u2019t cantankerous. Because Acts 17:11 says that they received Paul's teaching with all eagerness\u2014they weren\u2019t close minded.\n\nBut at the same time, they needed to figure out if these things were so. They had the Old Testament\u2014Hebrew Bible\u2014and kept screening everything Paul said through Hebrew Bible. So, they are called more noble<\/em> than others.\n\nThey\u2019re called more noble than the Thessalonians, who didn't<\/em> follow that practice. But the Bereans followed it. So that's proper biblical epistemology, because it's impossible for God to lie! He can't say something on Monday and something totally different on Tuesday.\n\nI'm just wondering. If Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, had had proper biblical epistemology, we might not have Mormonism today. Because the doctrines of Mormonism were given to him, allegedly, from an angel named Moroni. Obviously, the doctrines of Mormonism have no confluence or concurrence whatsoever with what you read in your Bible.\n\nAnd if a young man named Mohammed had done the same thing\u2014I don't think he would've because he wasn't a Christian in any sense\u2014we may not even have Islam today. Because the teachings of Islam allegedly came to Mohammed through an angel. You have to listen to Muslims who pronounce this really fast; they call him Jibril. What they're really saying there is \u201cGabriel.\u201d\n\nYou say, \u201cMy goodness, don't we have an angel named Gabriel in our Bible?\u201d We even have a youth Pastor named Gabriel. My goodness! So, how spiritual is that? Well, it's a demon\u2014or Satan\u2014masquerading as an angel of light.\n\nWe\u2019re living in this culture today where everybody's excited about an experience. Everybody wants an experience! That's what's making this world a sitting duck for the Antichrist, because the Antichrist is going to give people experiences. We\u2019ve studied all of it in the Book of Revelation\u2014fire coming down from heaven.\n\nI even heard a Pastor recently. I don\u2019t have the quote directly in front of me so I won\u2019t give you his name, but you could probably do a little bit of research and figure out who I'm talking about. He is an evangelical basically saying that the virgin birth isn't that big a deal. \u201cWho really cares about the virgin birth?\u201d (Marginalizing the virgin birth.) \u201cWhat's really important is the resurrection of Jesus.\u201d\n\nI don't go out hunting for these things, believe it or not; people send me these things. I'm listening to this, and I\u2019m saying, \u201cThat guy is preparing the world for the Antichrist!\u201d Because the Antichrist himself is going to stage a resurrection. I happen to think it's a true resurrection.\n\nJesus is not just authenticated through His resurrection. Obviously, the resurrection is a big deal! But there are a lot of other things He's authenticated by: His sinless life, His virgin conception, etc.\n\nMarching through this chart very fast, you know Exodus 7-8, that's where Pharaoh's magicians replicated or duplicated many of the miracles brought by Moses and Aaron under God's power. It's interesting that they were able to do that\u2014up to a point.\n\nThey don't have as much power as God has. and When the gnats miracle occurred, Pharaoh's magicians finally<\/em> said, \u201cThe miracles of Moses and Aaron are from the hand of God.\u201d But it's interesting that they were able to duplicate Moses and Aaron's miracles up to a certain point.\n\nDeuteronomy 13:1-3. Let's just look at that for a second, if we could. This is the instructions that Moses gave to the nation of Israel as they were about to go into the land of Canaan and conquer it. Moses writes this, \u201c \u2018If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, \u201cLet us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,\u201d you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.<\/em>\u2019 \u201d\n\nIt's interesting that Moses specifically says, \u201cYou\u2019re going to go into the land of Israel,\u201d speaking to the second generation that came out of Egypt. Moses, as you know, did not enter with that group. He died there on Mount Nebo, only seeing Canaan from a distance.\n\nHe specifically says, \u201cYou're going to go in there, and you\u2019re actually going to find, in that land, people who are going to do signs and wonders.\u201d They\u2019re going to announce prophecies that are going to happen, but they're going to simultaneously say, \u201cLet's follow other gods.\u201d\n\nObviously, the moment they say, \u201cLet's follow other gods,\u201d you know they\u2019re a false teacher! It doesn't matter the magnitude or gravity of the sign or wonder because they're contradicting what God already said!\n\nThe first two commandments of the Decalogue are what? No other gods before me, and no graven images. So the moment they say, under the influence of the sign or wonder, \u201cLet's follow other gods,\u201d you\u2019re to test<\/em> that like a Berean! And you\u2019re to reject<\/em> it! Therefore, you're not to be impressed by the miracle!\n\nI'm afraid Christianity today\u2014a lot of it\u2014would be so impressed by the miracle they would just totally discard the teaching, and they wouldn't be screening it through the lens of God's Word. I can't tell you how many people I know will watch somebody on Christian television that is a proven heretic!\n\nWhen you question them on that, \u201cWhy are you giving your time to someone that's teaching false doctrine?\u201d This is the answer I get, \u201cThat person makes me feel<\/em> a certain way! Or that person makes me feel<\/em> good. That person makes me feel<\/em> significant. That person gives me the strength I need to make it through Monday.\u201d And they just mentally check out.\n\nThey don't really care about false doctrine A, false doctrine B, false doctrine C. That's a very<\/em> bad<\/em> biblical epistemology! That sets you up for deception when you go down that road.\n\nJob 1:12-19 and Job 2:7-8. You know that story. That's Satan doing miracles in the sense that he smote Job with a skin condition and destroyed Job's family and livelihood. That\u2019s Satan doing that when God gave him permission to do that.\n\n1 Samuel 28. I\u2019ve got a question mark by it because there\u2019s a debate amongst the commentators. It has to do with Saul and the witch of Endor. Samuel, who had died, was called back from the grave, and Saul had a conversation with Samuel.\n\nThis was one of the reasons that Saul's kingdom came to an end; these are the things he was trafficking in. I have a question mark by it because, \u201cIs that a demon there impersonating Samuel?\u201d Other people say it was the real Samuel whom God allowed to come back for a special occasion. 1 Samuel 28 may be one of those cases, if the former is true.\n\nWhen you go over to Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus\u2014in the sermon on the Mount\u2014talked about miracle working false teachers. \u201c \u2018Not everyone who says to Me, \u201cLord, Lord,\u201d will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, \u201cLord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?\u201d And then I will declare to them, \u201cI never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness<\/em>.\u201d \u2019 \u201d\n\nHere's a bunch of people that never knew Jesus, never had any relationship with Jesus and yet what are they doing here? They\u2019re prophesying in Christ's name\u2014they\u2019re performing miracles in Christ's name! How do they get the power to do that if they don't have any relationship to Jesus at all?\n\nThe point is: there's another reservoir of miracle working powers in the Bible. Matthew 24:24, Olivet Discourse, \u201c \u2018For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.<\/em>\u2019 \u201d\n\nSo, how can people who are false prophets perform signs and wonders? Obviously, Satan is giving them that power! In Acts 8:9, there's a man there named Simon the Sorcerer, who was not a believer yet. In fact, he did not believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ until later in that chapter. I want to say it's around Acts 8:13 that Simon the Sorcerer finally believed on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\nBut what was he doing before he believed on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? He was wowing\u2014literally wowing\u2014a whole area called Samaria with his sorcery and signs and wonders. Now, how can a man do that who\u2019s never trusted in Christ? How could he have that power when he has no relationship with Jesus? Quite obviously, Satan gave him that power!\n\nIn Acts 16:16 there's a slave girl that keeps following Paul and Silas around. This, by the way, is what got Paul and Silas thrown in jail. And she kept saying, \u201cThese men are the servants of God teaching you the way of salvation.\u201d\n\nShe kept speaking this. And Paul got tired of it, and so he cast out the demon that was residing in this slave girl. That didn't make the owners very happy because Acts 16:16 says this young girl with this demon inside of her was basically doing something called fortune-telling, where she was predicting the future.\n\nApparently, she was so effective at this that she was bringing in beaucoup bucks\u2014lots of money\u2014for her owner. So when Paul cast the demon out of her, the money disappeared! So that's what got Paul and Silas thrown in jail there in Philippi.\n\nYou ask yourself, \u201cHow was this little girl able to make so much money for her owners predicting the future?\u201d Obviously, the demon<\/em> inside of her was giving her that power!\n\nI like Galatians 1:6-9. Here\u2019s a loose paraphrase, \u201cIf an angel should appear tonight at your bedside and preach unto you a gospel that you do not know (in other words, contradict what the apostles have taught)... I mean, a very real angelic manifestation. \u201cBut if they say something different than what you find in these 66 books, then that angel is under an anathema, or curse of God.\u201d\n\nYou\u2019ll notice, again, that the Bible never promotes an angelic appearance as some kind of way to authenticate truth, because Satan can give angelic appearances. After all, Satan masquerades as an angel of what? An angel of light.\n\n2 Thessalonians 2:9. I think I've shown this to you\u2014how the Antichrist is going to come on the scene. It says, \u201cthat is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders.\u201d<\/em>\n\nPowers: DUNAMIS. Signs: SEMEION. Wonders: TERAS. When you study those three Greek words, you'll find them in the ministry of Christ. Those are how Christ\u2019s miracles are described\u2014real miracles! And, apparently, the Antichrist is going to come on the scene and do those exact same three categories.\n\nRevelation 13:3 talks about his head wound and his coming back from the dead. Revelation 13:13 talks about his assistant, the false prophet, bringing fire down from heaven in the full view of men, like Elijah did.\n\nRevelation 13:15 talks about the Antichrist setting up a statue of some kind in the rebuilt Jewish temple, and that statue has the ability to speak. It\u2019s some sort of miraculous power.\n\nRevelation 16:13-14 says, \u201cAnd I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits <\/em>[notice how these demons are called these types of categories\u2014evil or unclean] like frogs<\/em>; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.\u201d<\/em>\n\nNotice that demons have this ability to perform signs and wonders; they have this ability to perform miracles. They\u2019re probably others that you can think of in the Bible that I need to add to the list; I may have to make a second slide if you do that to me. But you look at this slide, and it\u2019s very clear: God is giving us an epistemology! You never authenticate something as true based on an experience, because Satan is in the experience business!\n\nYou authenticate something is true by doing what the Bereans did: search the Scriptures daily<\/em> to see if these things are so! I bring all of this up because we\u2019re talking about the powers<\/em> of demons, and apparently one of their powers is the ability to perform miracles on a very high level. Not as much power as God has, but miracle working power is there.\n\nThe next time we\u2019re together we\u2019ll take a look at the works of demons. We\u2019ll get a little bit into things to stay away from: divination, spiritism, magic, and PHARMAKEIA. I\u2019m going to go out on a limb on this\u2014and I\u2019ll probably empty the church out when I do this\u2014including all the video games and books that your children and grandchildren are reading. Because without even realizing it, they\u2019re bringing demons right in your household.\n\nThose are fighting words when you start talking like that. \u201cDon't mess with Harry Potter!\u201d Even though J.K. Rowling claims that she wrote the Harry Potter series within 24 hours or something like that. She said the book just wrote itself. Well, isn\u2019t that interesting?\n\nI'm a writer. If I can write 10 pages in one day, that\u2019s a really big day for me! Because it's hard for me to write! How do you explain someone who writes a runaway bestseller within a 24-hour cycle, claiming that the book just wrote itself? How do you explain that?\n\nI think something was talking to her, that she thought was some kind of ascended master. So the realm of the demonic is coming right into the living room. It\u2019s coming right into your coffee table at home. So we\u2019re going to talk about that.\n\nI\u2019m finished talking! Let\u2019s pray!\n\nClosing Prayer<\/strong>\n\n\u201cFather, we\u2019re grateful for the revelation of Your truth and Word and how it speaks very clearly about issues that kind of frighten us, but this is part of Your Word. So, make us good stewards of these things, and help us to have good wisdom in these last days.\n\nWe\u2019ll be careful give You all the praise and glory. We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d\n\nGod's people said, \u201cAmen.\u201d\n\nMerry Christmas\u2014almost!","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t