The Bible not only teaches the existence of the devil but also of a great company of his followers known as demons or evil spirits.  These demons originally were holy but with the leader, Satan, they fell away from God.  Their ultimate end will be eternal damnation when God judges Satan and his host at the Great White Throne judgment (Rev. 20:10-15).

Demons have certain characteristics revealed by the Bible.

 1.  Demons are spirits without bodies.  "For 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" (Eph. 6:12).

2.  Demons were originally in fellowship with God.  "And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6).

3.    Demons are numerous.  "For He said unto him, 'Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!' And He was asking him, 'What is your name?'  And he said to Him, 'My name is Legion; for we are many' " (Mark 5:8,9).

4.  Demons are organized.  " . . This man casts out demons only by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons" (Matt. 12:24).

5.  Demons have supernatural powers.  "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" (Rev. 16:14).

6.  Demons are knowledgeable of God.  "And behold, they cried out, saying, 'What do we have to do with you, Son of God?  Have you come here to torment us before the time?' "(Matt. 8:29).

7.  Demons are allowed to roam the earth and torment unbelievers.  "Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it.  Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept and put in order.  Then it goes, and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and five there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first" (Matt. 12:43-45).

8.  Demons sometimes can inflict sickness.  "And as they were going out, behold a dumb man, demon possessed, was brought to Him.  And after the demon was cast out, the dumb man spoke - . . " (Matt. 9:32, 33).

   9.      Demons can possess or control animals.

            " And He gave them permission.  And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine;
                and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them, and they were drowned in the sea"
                (Mark 5:13).

10.   Demons can possess or control human beings.  "And also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses; Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out" (Luke 8:2).

11.   Demons sometimes can cause mental disorders.  "And when He had come out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him and he had his dwelling among the tombs.  And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain ... and constantly night and day among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones" (Mark 5:2, 3, 5).

12.   Demons know that Jesus Christ is God.  "And just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, 'What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to, destroy us?  I know who you are -- the Holy One of God' " (Mark 1:23, 24).

13.   Demons tremble before God.  "You believe that God is one.  You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder" (James 2:19).

 14.   Demons teach false doctrine.  "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" (I Tim. 4: 1).

15.   Demons oppose God's people.  "For 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" (Eph. 6:12).

 16.   Demons attempt to destroy Christ's Kingdom.  "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (I Pet. 5:8).

 17. God takes advantage of the actions of demons to accomplish His divine purposes.  "Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech" (Judg. 9:23).

 18. God is going to judge demons at the last judgment.  "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment . (2 Pet. 2:4).

DOES DEMON POSSESSION OCCUR TODAY?

Granting the fact that demon possession occurred in New Testament times, the natural question arises, "Does it occur today?  " After extensive study of demonology and years of observing patients, psychiatrist Paul Meier gives his professional opinion:

     I can honestly say that I have never yet seen a single case of demon possession.  The main thing I have learned about demon possession is how little we really know about it and how little the Bible says about it.

    I have had hundreds of patients who came to see me because they thought they were demon possessed.  Scores of them heard "demon voices" telling them evil things to do.  It was at first surprising to me that all of these had dopamine deficiencies in their brains, which were readily correctable with Thorazine or any other major tranquilizer.  I discovered that all of the "demons" I was seeing were allergic to Thorazine and that, in nearly every case, a week or two on thorazine made the "demons" go away and brought the patient closer to his real conflicts. (Danny Korem and Paul Meier, The Fakers, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1980, pp. 160, 161).

     However, there are many others who attest to having witnessed demon possession.  Kurt Koch writes, "I was once invited by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones to speak before a group of psychiatrists in London.  During the discussion which followed my talk, two psychiatrists stood up and stated quite dogmatically that possession as such did not exist.  Immediately after this, however, two other psychiatrists present-they were both Christians-rose to their feet and said that. they were not only convinced that possession was a genuine phenomenon, but that they had already come across cases of it within their own practice, one of them seven cases and the other eleven" (Kurt Koch, Demonology - Past and Present, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1973, p. 32.)

    In the nineteenth century there were some striking cases of demon possession recorded in China by missionary John L. Nevius.  When Nevius first came to China, he firmly believed that demons belonged to a bygone era.  When he heard firsthand accounts of demon possession, he considered it superstition.  However, try as he would, he could not convince the people that what they had heard and seen was a result of their imaginations.  Finally, the evidence led him to a change of mind, not only believing the demons existed but also that demon possession was in fact a present reality.

Nevius said this of his experiences:

     I brought with me to China a strong conviction that a belief in demons, and communications with spiritual beings, belongs exclusively to a barbarous and superstitious age, and at present can consist only with mental weakness and want of culture.  I indulged Mr. Tu (his Chinese teacher), however, in talking on his favorite topics.... I could not but notice ... the striking resemblance between some of his statements of alleged facts and the demonology of Scripture.  This resemblance I account for only as apparent or accidental.... (John L.          Nevius, Demon Possession, Grand Rapids, MI:          Kregel Publications, 1968, pp. 9, 10).

    Nevius then records Ms many and varied experiences with demon-possessed people which eventually led to his change of mind on the matter.