Slideshow image

Honestly, the angelic realm comes up quite a bit. Oaks is fascinating with the idea of the supernatural, especially demons. This particular talk was at bedtime. Maybe in retrospect—talking about demons before bed was probably not the greatest paternal decision.

Anyways, a conversation proceeded from this. Enjoy. 

______________________________

Oaks: “Hey Dad.”

Me: “Yes, Son?”

Oaks: “Let’s talk about demons.” 

Me: “Okay, but I feel like you are trying to delay your bedtime.”

Oaks (grinning): “No. I just like talking about angels and stuff. And—I want to spend time with you.” 

Me: “Yeah, I am sure. Nice try, Son.” 

Oaks: “Please?”

Me: “Okay. What do you want to know?” 

Oaks: “Everything.” 

Me (smiling): “Of course you do. No Son. Pick something.” 

Oaks: “Fine. How powerful is Satan?”

Me: “Pretty powerful. Maybe the most powerful of all angels.” 

Oaks (pausing and thinking): “Have you ever seen a demon?” 

Me: “No. Remember—demons are spirit beings. But I think I have seen a person possessed by a  demon.” 

Oaks: “Really?”

Me: “Yes. I will tell you the story.” 

______________________________

I did tell Oaks the story. It was creepy. A woman (who seemed to be homeless) was staring at me in a Carl’s Jr. The year was probably 2007. I was standing in line, four back from the front and saw this lady, hunched over, staring at me, about 10 feet away. This woman was worn down, emaciated, but had an unusual strength in her eyes. I didn’t think much about her until I ordered my food and noticed this woman still looking at me. 

At this point, the hair on my neck raised up a bit. I strolled over to the soda fountain. She took two steps towards me, now around 5 feet away. I could see her out of the corner of my eye, not moving, but seemed to be smiling. 

I remember the food came out quickly and I sat down at a booth. This woman also sat in a booth, behind me, diagonal, but my back was to her. I tried to eat my burger, but I positioned myself so I could see her in the corner of my eye. Oh—and another key part of the story. I came into the fast food joint holding my bible under my arm. Now I began to put two and two together and started to wonder if she might attack me. I turned to Matthew 5, but I couldn’t focus. I am a fast eater, but under the circumstances, I consumed my meal in record time. 

I quickly cleaned up my mess, dumped it in the waste container and rushed to the door. I clearly remember looking at her, not directly though, but she was still sitting in the booth, staring at me. I proceeded to push open the door. For some reason, I turned around to look at the woman. The woman’s face was glued to the door, inches away from my face. I jumped back and skipped to my car. There is no way she could have humanly moved that fast, especially in her frail condition. 

I took one last look, driving out of the parking lot. This woman was still staring at me from inside the Carl’s Jr. Her eyes were glued on me, though her head did not move. A homeless Mona Lisa. To this day, I firmly believe this woman was possessed by a demon. 

There were many questions that proceeded after I told Oaks this story. I will share and answer the below questions. 

“Are there demons today?” 

Absolutely. Maybe in this room right now. There is an invisible war happening all around us. 

“Do demons still possess people?” 

Yes, but not those who are genuine Christians. Christians are sealed in the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1). The flesh (the old nature) has lost its power. An individual who has been transferred into the kingdom of Jesus from the kingdom of darkness cannot be enslaved and/or controlled by the Evil One. Greater is He who is in you (i.e. Holy Spirit) that he (i.e. Satan) who is in the world (I John 4:4). 

“Can demons take human form?” 

This is an interesting question. If Genesis 6 were not in the Bible, I would say the overwhelming evidence is this: Good angels are allowed to take human form. We see this in multiple texts in the Old Testament, but it is most obviously seen in Genesis 18-19. Two angels, assuming human form, visited Abraham and then Lot, his nephew. Even in the New Testament, we are told to give ourselves to hospitality since it is possible to entertain angels—even without knowing it!

But what about demons taking human form? There is no explicit evidence that God has given demons the freedom to take human form. The only text that brings up this possibility is Genesis 6. 

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. (Genesis 6:1-2)

The phrase “sons of God” can legitimately refer to angels. It does repeatedly in the book of Job. To add some additional fodder, the New Testament seems to allude to the fact that there is a group of angels that crossed boundaries and were judged for it. 

And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day. (Jude 1:6)

To be clear, this is one of the most debated texts in the Bible. But because of Jude 1, you have to take seriously the words of Genesis 6. What I mean is this: If Genesis 6 refers to bad angels who took human form and were judged because of it, then this is the ONLY example of demons taking human form. 

“Do I have a personal demon who haunts me?” 

This is another interesting question by Oaks. This assumes a theological reality, which I am not sure is biblical—The concept of a guardian angel. 

Does the Bible say there are guardian angels? No. Does the Bible say explicitly that there are NO guardian angels? No, it doesn’t. 

Personally, I have no problem with the concept of a guardian angel. I also have no problem with the concept of my own personal demon, assigned to me by Satan, the Prince of darkness. C.S. Lewis wrote a book about this concept. 

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis 

“We are really faced with a cruel dilemma. When the humans disbelieve in our existence we lose all the pleasing results of direct terrorism and we make no magicians. On the other hand, when they believe in us, we cannot make them materalists and skeptics.” 

Big fan of Lewis. Good question, Son. Until our next talk.