Are There Wicked Spirits?

JESUS CHRIST, who came to earth from the spirit realm, acknowledged the existence of wicked spirits. You may recall that he often spoke of the Devil, and that he called him “the father of the lie” and a “manslayer.” (John 8:44) For our own protection in this time when lying and murder are on the increase, we do well to examine this subject.

Many persons, of course, do not believe that there are wicked spirit creatures. Even some who claim to use the Bible say that Satan the Devil is only a quality of evil, not an invisible spirit person. But do the facts agree with their belief?

IS THE DEVIL REALLY A SPIRIT PERSON?

What about Jesus Christ’s own experience when the Devil tempted him? The Bible tells us that the Devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said to him: “All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.” Jesus answered the Devil: “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship.’” Then the Devil left Jesus.—Matt. 4:1-11.

During that experience, by whom was Jesus Christ tempted? By a real person? or by a mere quality of evil? If he was tempted by a mere quality of evil, in whom did this quality dwell? Was this evil in Jesus Christ? If so, then it could not be true that in him there was no sin. Yet the Bible, God’s Word of truth, makes it very clear that Jesus was “guileless, undefiled, separated from the sinners.” (Heb. 7:26) The Bible also says: “He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth.” (1 Pet. 2:22) So Jesus could not have been carrying on a conversation with “evil” in his own self. He was talking to a living spirit creature.

In the account about the God-fearing man Job, the Bible tells us that Jehovah talked to Satan. It says: “Jehovah said to Satan: ‘Where do you come from?’ At that Satan answered Jehovah and said: ‘From roving about in the earth and from walking about in it.’” (Job 1:6, 7) Well, now, was Satan on that occasion not a real person, but merely a quality of evil? Then to whom was God talking? To himself? If so, the quality of evil was in God Almighty himself, and that would mean that evil started with Jehovah. Such an idea is in conflict with all the rest of the Holy Bible and is contrary to reason.—Ps. 145:17; Rev. 4:8.

Thus the Scriptures and sound reasoning make clear that Satan is a real, live person in the invisible spirit realm. He was, and is, a historical person, an actual living creature. For this reason the apostle Peter urged Christians to be on guard against his advances, saying: “Keep your senses, be watchful. Your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone. But take your stand against him, Solid in the faith.”—1 Pet. 5:8, 9.

HOW A PERFECT CREATURE BECAME THE DEVIL

But in what way did the Devil originate? Obviously, the God ‘whose work is perfect’ would not create someone wicked. (Deut. 32:4) He would not create intelligent creatures with whom he could not associate. Such would be contrary to reason and God’s love.—Ps. 5:4-6.

So, the invisible spirit who later became the Devil must at one time have been perfect, without defect as a creation of God. In this respect he was like all the other millions of angelic “sons of God” whom God had created long before the earth had been prepared for habitation by humans. (Job 38:4, 7) How, then, did he go bad?

After the creation of the first man and woman, this particular spirit creature entered on a course of rebellion against God. He developed a desire to be worshiped and so enticed Adam and Eve to rebel against God. How did he do this? The Bible shows that a serpent spoke to Eve, telling her a lie. As a result she disobeyed God. Then she caused her husband to join her in revolt against God. (Gen. 3:1-6; 1 Tim. 2:13, 14) But who actually put the idea of rebellion into Eve’s mind? Was it a mere snake with no speech organs?

No, there was someone behind the serpent making it appear as if it were talking. We know that some skilled humans can speak words with their lips nearly shut, making it appear as if a nearby animal or a dummy is talking. How much easier for a superhuman invisible person to do this! God, for example, made Balaam’s ass speak, as the Bible observes: “Jehovah opened the mouth of the ass and she said to Balaam: ‘What have I done to you so that you have beaten me these three times?’”—Num. 22:28.

Similarly, in Eden, Satan used the serpent to speak to Eve. Therefore, the apostle Paul explained: “The serpent seduced Eve by its cunning.” (2 Cor. 11:3) Yes, the Bible identifies the Devil, or Satan, as “the original serpent,” hence the one who really introduced rebellion and wickedness into the universe.—Rev. 12:9.

But, you may wonder, if this highly intelligent spirit really was perfect, how could he turn to wickedness when there was no one to tempt him? The Bible answers that it was by his thinking upon a wrong idea. “Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire,” the Bible says. “Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.”—Jas. 1:14, 15.

There is nothing wrong in itself with seeing the possibilities in a certain situation. For example, a person in someone else’s home may see money lying on a table. The possibility of his taking that money and putting it into his pocket is there. But, since that would be stealing, he should not even consider it. Or, if the idea does come into his mind, he ought to dismiss it. But if he keeps the idea in his mind and allows it to grow, then wrong desire develops. Soon this may move him to commit an act of wickedness.

So, too, with the perfect spirit creature. The possibility was there of his using the human pair for his own purpose rather than carrying out what God wanted. As a free moral agent, he not only considered it but also failed to dismiss it from his mind, and it led him to sin. Just as a formerly honest man can make himself a thief by stealing, so this spirit creature made himself Satan by acting as a resister of God; and he made himself the Devil by becoming a slanderer of God, because that is what those names mean.

Of course, someone may say, “Might it not have been simply a mistake that he made? Could he not have apologized and so ended the matter there?” In answer, we need to keep in mind that a perfect individual is different from us. When he uses his free will, the choice that he makes is not due to weakness or imperfection. Imperfect people often make mistakes due to inherited weakness. They can admit their mistakes, apologize and change their course. But when a perfect creature chooses to do wrong, he does it deliberately, and he does not later turn back to doing good. This was the case with the one who made himself the Devil.

OTHER SPIRIT CREATURES MAKE THEMSELVES DEMONS

The Devil was not the only spirit creature to turn to disobedience and wickedness. God had created a great number of holy angels, millions of them. Daniel 7:10 reveals a portion of them as being 100,000,000. The Bible record at Genesis 6:1-5 explains that before the flood of Noah’s day some of these spirit “sons of God” materialized as men, that is, they left their place in heaven as spirit creatures and clothed themselves with fleshly bodies. And why?

It was for the purpose of enjoying human passions by marrying the good-looking daughters of men. This was an act of disobedience to God, and the Bible associates it with the actions of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah who ‘went after flesh for unnatural use.’ (Jude 6, 7) So, too, it was against their heavenly nature for angels to come down and seek human flesh with which to have sex relations. Their course brought bad results, including a freakish offspring, “mighty ones” called Nephilim. By their rebellious action, those spirit sons of God turned themselves into demons and put themselves on the side of the Devil, who is the “ruler of the demons.”—Matt. 9:34.

When the global flood of Noah’s day destroyed all the wicked humans, the unfaithful angels dissolved their fleshly bodies and returned to the spirit realm. But they were not allowed to become part of God’s organization of holy angels again. Instead, they were confined in a debased condition of spiritual darkness, as the Bible explains: “God did not hold back from punishing the angels that sinned, but, by throwing them into Tartarus, delivered them to pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment.”—2 Pet. 2:4.

Since the Flood, God has not permitted these demonic angels to materialize in the flesh as they did before then. Yet they can still exercise dangerous power over men and women. In fact, with the help of these demons Satan is “misleading the entire inhabited earth.” (Rev. 12:9) The great increase in wrongdoing that we see all over the earth today should alert us to the need to be on guard against being misled by them.

How to Avoid Coming Under the Devil’s Control

TO MAINTAIN a successful defense against the Devil and his wicked spirit forces we must have accurate knowledge of their methods of operation. Satan is a master deceiver. So, naturally, not everything he sponsors may appear evil. To the contrary, his devices for deceiving people can seem very innocent; in fact, they may appear to be a means of blessing mankind.

For this reason, the Bible shows, many persons who believe they are serving the interests of God and mankind are actually being used by the Devil to perpetuate his aims and schemes. There are persons who, though they sincerely think they are engaging in right worship of God, believe and practice things that God’s Word the Bible shows to be of demonic origin. We will be assisted to avoid coming under the Devil’s control by examining carefully what the Bible says about the position Satan holds and how he operates.

KEEP SEPARATE FROM THE WORLD

Jesus Christ was very concerned about helping his followers so that they would not come under the Devil’s control. So on the last night of his earthly life he prayed to God regarding the matter: “I request you, not to take them out of the world, but to watch over them because of the wicked one [the Devil]. They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.”—John 17:14-16.

What does it mean to be no part of the world? Why is it vital to maintain such separateness? To help us appreciate this, let us consider what God’s Word teaches concerning the position held by the Devil.

Three times in the Gospel of John the Lord Jesus Christ referred to “the ruler of this world,” and there can be no question as to whom he was speaking about. Notice his words: “Now there is a judging of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” Also, Jesus said: “I shall not speak much with you any more, for the ruler of the world is coming. And he has no hold on me.” And again he added: “The ruler of this world has been judged.” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) How obvious it is that “the ruler of this world,” who had no hold on Jesus, is not Almighty God but is Satan the Devil!

The apostle Paul, too, explained that the Devil exercises control over this worldly system of things. In fact, writing under divine inspiration, he referred to Satan “the god of this system of things,” saying: “The god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through.” (2 Cor. 4:4) Notice that the “god of this system of things” is not the God in whose image Christ is. Who else but Satan the Devil would deliberately blind the minds of mankind to God’s truth?

In confirmation of the above is the testimony of the apostle John. Under inspiration of God he wrote concerning the Devil: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) John also wrote that “Satan . . . is misleading the entire inhabited earth.” (Rev. 12:9) Thus the Devil, as “ruler of the world,” exercises great influence on men, overreaching them and even controlling political governments.—Rev. 16:13, 14.

If you will open your Bible to Revelation 12:9, you will see that the Devil is described as “the great dragon.” In the next Re chapter 13, verses 1 and 2, we are told that this dragon, the Devil, gave power and a throne and great authority to what is symbolically called a “wild beast” out of the sea. What is this symbolic “wild beast”?

Well, over what does Satan hold authority? What did he offer to Jesus Christ? The Bible says: Satan “brought him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth in an instant of time; and the Devil said to [Jesus]: ‘I will give you all this authority and the glory of them, . . . if you do an act of worship before me, it will all be yours.’”—Luke 4:5-8.

“But did Satan really possess all the earthly kingdoms?” someone may ask. Well, consider: Although Jesus quickly rejected Satan’s offer, he did not deny that the Devil ruled over the political kingdoms of the earth.

In harmony with this, Revelation 13:7 says concerning the symbolic “wild beast,” that “authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.” Further, with what did the prophet Daniel identify certain beasts? With “kingdoms,” or political governments. (Dan. 7:2-7, 17, 23) That the symbolic beasts of Daniel’s vision and the “wild beast” of Revelation have a similar meaning is seen from the fact that both accounts refer to the same kinds of creatures: a lion, a bear, a leopard and a ten-horned beast. (Rev. 13:1, 2) So the “wild beast” represents the Devil’s entire political organization that has exercised beastlike rule over the earth throughout the centuries until now.

Therefore, is it any wonder that Jesus Christ said: “My kingdom is no part of this world”? (John 18:36) And is it not also apparent that if we want to avoid coming under the Devil’s control we must keep separate from the world? In view of this, what will you do? Will you become involved in political affairs of the nations? That, of course, is something you must decide. However, in making such a decision you will want to keep in mind what Jesus Christ said to his true followers: “You are no part of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.”—John 15:19.

AVOID EVERY FORM OF SPIRITISM

Some persons view dabbling in spiritism as a form of amusement. They consider it fun to receive messages, or answers to their questions, in some mysterious, supernatural way. But is this merely a harmless form of entertainment? What is spiritism?

Spiritism involves getting in touch with wicked spirit creatures, either directly or through a human or other medium. Spiritism brings a person under the influence of the demons. Therefore, observe with what detestable practices spiritism is linked in God’s Word. It says: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, and they are fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, idolatry, practice of spiritism, hatreds, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, envies, drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these.”—Gal. 5:19-21; Rev. 21:8.

God condemns every kind of spiritism. The Bible tells us what some of these disapproved things are: divination, magic, looking for omens, sorcery, binding others with a spell (hypnotism, black magic, and so forth), consulting a spirit medium or a fortune-teller and inquiring of the dead. (Deut. 18:9-12; Isa. 8:19) All of this is demonism, and those who turn to such practices make themselves enemies of God. Thus, is it not apparent that if we want to avoid coming under the Devil’s control we must keep free from all of such forms of spiritism?—Lev. 19:31; 1 Chron. 10:13, 14.

Divination is one of the common forms of spiritism. It is the effort to obtain knowledge of the unknown or of the future by means of omens or demon power. As an example, the Bible tells of a girl who possessed amazing powers of prediction due to demon influence. The disciple Luke writes: “It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain servant girl with a spirit, a demon of divination, met us. She used to furnish her masters with much gain by practicing the art of prediction.”—Acts 16:16.

Many are the ways divination is practiced today, such as by divining rods, pendulums, crystal-ball gazing, query boards, ESP, examining the lines of one’s hand (palmistry), studying the flight of certain birds, looking for omens in one’s dreams and in other incidents in one’s life and then trying to relate these to the future. There is also divination by the stars, commonly called astrology. This originated in ancient Babylon, as did various forms of the magical arts. The Bible shows that all who use divination sin against God. It explains that “rebelliousness is the same as the sin of divination.”—1 Sam. 15:22, 23.

One of the common ways in which wicked spirits mislead people is by talking to them, either through a spirit medium or by a “voice” from the invisible realm. The “voice” pretends to be a departed relative or a good spirit; but this is falsehood! The voice is actually a wicked spirit speaking! What should you do if such a “voice” speaks to you? Well, what did Jesus Christ do when the ruler of the wicked spirits spoke to him? Jesus rejected the Devil’s suggestions, saying: “Go away, Satan!”—Matt. 4:10.

You can do that too. “Oppose the Devil,” the Bible says, “and he will flee from you.” (Jas. 4:7) Also, you can call on Jehovah for aid, praying aloud and using his name. Follow this wise course, and do not give ear to such voices from the invisible realm.—Prov. 18:10.

But what if one has been dabbling in some of the spiritistic religions or sciences and now wants to break free from spiritism? Well, what did many of the early Christians at Ephesus do when they wanted to get free from the magical arts? The Bible tells us: “Indeed, quite a number of those who practiced magical arts brought their books together and burned them up before everybody. And they calculated together the prices of them and found them worth fifty thousand pieces of silver.” (Acts 19:19, 20) Their example of destroying objects related to spiritistic practices is the wise one to follow.

Do not be deceived by the increasing interest in mystic and occult matters. Wicked spirit creatures are promoting such spiritism. But these wicked spirit forces, including the Devil, will eventually be destroyed. (Matt. 25:41) If you want eternal life, you need to stay free from their influence by abhorring every kind of spiritism. In this way you will avoid coming under the Devil’s control.

SHUN FALSE RELIGION

In this day of ecumenism, when so many churches are uniting in interfaith movements, people usually do not think of any religion as being false. But what does the Bible say about it? What is false religion?

Actually, false religion is the foremost means by which the Devil, “the father of the lie,” turns mankind away from God and gains control over them. (John 8:44) False religion is worship that is built on falsehoods and that is in conflict with God’s Word of truth, the Bible. That is one reason why the Bible points out that if a person worships in a way that is not in harmony with God’s Word of truth, he is in reality serving the demons, because he is acting in harmony with what they want and in conflict with God. Thus the Bible explains: “The things which the nations sacrifice they sacrifice to demons, and not to God.”—1 Cor. 10:20; Deut. 32:16, 17.

Although false religions may appear respectable, we should realize that the Devil is like many modern-day underworld or crime leaders who hide behind a front of respectability. What more subtle way could there be for him to deceive people and get them to serve him than by using a religious front that has an outward appearance of righteousness?

That the Devil would mislead people by religion that outwardly claims to serve God is shown in the Bible. (Matt. 7:22, 23) In fact, the Christian apostle Paul said that “Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light” and “his ministers also keep transforming themselves into ministers of righteousness.”—2 Cor. 11:14, 15.

So Jesus Christ was not imagining something when he called the Devil “the ruler of this world.” (John 12:31) There are indeed wicked spirits misleading “the entire inhabited earth.” But only a “short period of time” remains before the Devil and his wicked angels are to be put out of operation.—Rev. 12:9, 12.

In the meantime, it is vital for us to keep separate from this world, to have nothing to do with any form of spiritism, and to break free from religion that may appear respectable but is really based on falsehood. This will involve a real fight by us, as the Bible says: “Stand firm against the machinations of the Devil; because we have a fight, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places. Above all things, take up the large shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the wicked one’s burning missiles.”—Eph. 6:11, 12, 16.

This resolute action is absolutely necessary to avoid coming under the Devil’s control. It is the course we must pursue in order to receive eternal life in God’s new system of things, because it is only the truth that leads to eternal life.

“I saw three unclean inspired expressions that looked like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the wild beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and perform signs, and they go forth to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty. . . . And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har—Magedon.”—Rev. 16:13-16.