The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: The reason why Satan's demonic regime is so successful and is so powerful is because it is so unified.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans says that's why Satan's plan is to divide and conquer us.

Dr. Tony Evans: He divides husbands and wives so the family can't stand. He divides believers so the church can't stand. He dominates, whereas God's people are in chaos.

Guest (Male): This is The Alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.

We enjoy hearing about the powerful positive influence angels can have in our lives, but not all angels are cheering us on. Let's join Dr. Evans as he uncovers the dark side of the heavenly host.

Dr. Tony Evans: First of all, the origin of demons. How did they originate? When God created the angelic host, he created them all perfect. Even Satan, the head of demons, was created in beauty and he was a wonder to behold.

However, when Satan rebelled against God, as you recall, he was removed from heaven and cast down to Earth. Through his influence, one-third of all the angelic powers came under his control by rejecting God and choosing him.

Turn with me to Matthew chapter 12. And all the multitudes were amazed and began to say, "This man cannot be the son of David, can he? Is this the Messiah we've been looking for?" But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." So Satan is the ruler of the demons and they are blaming Christ for using Satan as his means of getting rid of demons in this man.

And knowing their thoughts, because Jesus is God, so he can do that. Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste. Any city or house divided against itself cannot stand." That's a good lesson for your home. If your home is divided, you can't be unified, you can't be on the same page.

And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself, how then shall his kingdom stand? In other words, he says to the Pharisees, "Satan is not going to cast out Satan, because if Satan casts out Satan, Satan is working against his own plan." So he says in verse 27, "If I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom your sons cast them out, consequently, they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

One of the reasons that they didn't want to buy that Jesus Christ was casting out demons by the power of God, was because if they bought that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of God, that meant that God was with him. And if that meant that God was with him, that meant he was who he declared himself to be, the Son of God. So in order to reject him as being the Son of God, they rejected the power that he was demonstrating.

But his point here is that Beelzebub runs a kingdom. And there is no division in his kingdom. Now this is going to be a very important point as we go along. The reason why Satan's demonic regime is so successful and is so powerful is because it is so unified.

There are no demons who say in the morning, "I don't feel like being a demon today." Demons are loyal to their commitment and loyal to their leader. Just as the power of hell is seen in the unity of the unrighteous empire of hell, the power of God cannot be seen unless there is the unified impact of the powers of heaven.

And that is precisely why Satan's one of Satan's main goals is to disunify people because he knows a divided kingdom can't stand. So he can divide husbands and wives so the family can't stand. He divides believers so the church can't stand. He divides the world so society can't stand. But he keeps his kingdom intact.

Okay? So when his kingdom is unified and God's kingdom is divided, then he dominates, at least in the immediate sense, not ultimately, whereas God's people are in chaos. The nature of demons. Turn to Luke 8. We can find pretty much what we need to in this one passage. What's the nature of these beings?

Luke chapter 8. We have a story of the demoniac, this demon-possessed man, and in verse 27, he came out into the land, he met a certain man from the city who was possessed with demons and who had not put on any clothes for a long time and was not living in a house but in tombs.

And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before him and said with a loud voice, "What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me." This man is demon possessed. Jesus shows up and he goes into torment. Now, why does he go into torment if Jesus is showing up? Because demons and Jesus can't be at the same place at the same time and get along.

Somebody has got to move when Jesus shows up. So that's why Satan doesn't want you to have a full-time relationship with Christ because he can't handle it. The demons are tormented simply because Jesus is in the neighborhood. Principal, keep Jesus in the neighborhood and you won't have so much demonic problems in your life.

So, the first thing you need to know is that these demons have intellect. Why? Because they recognize Jesus. They recognize Jesus, Son of the Most High God. And we'll find out in a moment that it is the demon speaking through the man. "Do not torment me." So they have intellect.

Secondly, they say, "Do not torment me." That means they have emotions. They can feel. They know what torment is. In verse 32, "Now there was a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain, and the demons entreated him to permit them to enter the swine, and he gave them permission." So they have will.

They have intellect, they recognize Jesus. They have emotions, they can feel torment. They had will because they asked and made a request that if they had to leave the man, please allow them to go into the pigs. So they have will. They wanted a choice to be made. Whenever you have those three components, intellect, emotions, and wills, you have persons.

So demons are persons. They're not this ambiguous force out there that's blowing in the wind. They are persons. So they understand talk, they understand thought, they understand communication, they understand feelings, they understand choices, they are persons to be related to because what? All angels are personal beings.

Secondly, they are spirit beings. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood." Ephesians 6:12. You don't have to turn there, but it says, "We wrestle against wicked spirits." So they are spiritual beings, and that means that they do not have form of their own. They enter the form of others and use them as the vehicles to express themselves.

Another thing you need to know is they are powerful beings. Turn back to Luke 8. Look at this guy. Verse 29 says, "For he had been commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would burst his fetters and be driven by the demon into the desert."

So they put chains on him, he'd break them. Now, perhaps you've seen some of this when people are on drugs. That's because when people are on drugs, they're not just on drugs. They are on a demonic vehicle. Because drugs in the Bible, sorcery in the Bible, wizardry in the Bible, witchcraft in the Bible, all of those are vehicles that transport demonic activity. They are vehicles that guide demons to their destination.

All of this is attached. It's not isolated from the spiritual realm. So they are powerful beings. In fact, Revelation chapter 9. Look at what it says. He says in verse 3, "And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the Earth." A word used of demons. "And power was given to them as the scorpions of the Earth have power." So just like a scorpion can sting, so can these demons.

"And they were told that they should not hurt the grass of the Earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months and their torments were like the torments of a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days, men will seek death and not be able to find it, and they will long to die and death will flee from them." They are powerful beings.

There are three categories of demons. Let's look at the categories. Three categories. First of all, we won't take much time on the first one, I think you know this one. There are those who are free to move about at Satan's bidding to carry out his purposes. And that's back to Ephesians 6 verse 12, where you know, we wrestle against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, okay? These are the free demons.

The ones who have access to Satan because remember now, Satan is not God. So Satan can't be everywhere at one place at one time. He's not omnipresent. He's not omniscient, he doesn't know everything, you know. He's not omnipotent, he's not all powerful. He's very powerful, but he's not God. So since he's not God, he needs he needs all of these agents in order to to carry out his will.

God uses the agents by choice, Satan uses them by need because he's not God. He's a creature created by God, okay? So basically what Satan did was he gambled and lost. He gambled and lost. He thought the creature could be greater than the creator. He blew it, okay? And he'll have an eternity to think about it.

Guest (Male): Dr. Evans will return to expand on that idea in a moment. First though, I want to let you know about our featured companion resource for this series, Tony's powerful book, "Warfare: Winning the Spiritual Battle." This book is designed to help you recognize the unseen spiritual conflict behind so many of the struggles we face in everyday life, and teaches you how to stand strong using the tools God has provided.

Whether you're dealing with fear, discouragement, temptation, relational conflict, addiction, or other strongholds, this book offers practical biblical guidance for finding lasting victory. You can get this book when you make a donation to help support the broadcast ministry of The Alternative. And as an additional way of thanking you for your donation, we'll also send you all 12 full-length messages from Tony's current two-volume teaching series, "Angels: Good, Bad, and Ugly." Available on CD, USB flash drive, or digital download. This double resource package is a limited-time offer. So visit TonyEvans.org today for details, or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. Team members are available around the clock to help you. Again, that's 1-800-800-3222. Dr. Evans will return with more of today's message right after this.

It's beyond a Sunday sermon, a chance to really dig into the Bible and the kingdom in a new way. Anytime and anywhere because it's all online. The Tony Evans Training Center, in-depth courses on all kinds of topics: cultural transformation, intro to expository preaching, Jude, John, Hebrews, Old Testament, New Testament, and so much more. These aren't sermons. They're teaching courses to help you engage, understand scripture, and not just to hear about, but to explore the kingdom of God on your own. Find out more at TonyEvansTraining.org. TonyEvansTraining.org.

Dr. Tony Evans: Now, there is a second group of demons. This is an interesting group. Let's start with the book of Jude. Verse 6. "And angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper abode, he has kept in eternal bonds under judgment for the judgment of the great day. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire."

There are a group who have been placed in permanent bondage because they left their proper abode. Satan was told, "You will be defeated by the seed of the woman." Right? In other words, God told Satan, "I'm going to beat you with something less than you that is dependent upon me to show you that that which is less than you, when it's dependent upon me, can do more than you."

So Satan dreams up this magnificent plan. What Satan did was he let his angels leave their abode, leave their realm. Come down and contaminate the human race. For that, those angels were judged for that sin. And their judgment was they would no longer be able to participate in the conflict.

There's a third group. And this group are those which are temporarily incarcerated. Go back to Luke 8. Verse 31. "And they were begging Jesus, entreating him not to command them to depart into the abyss." Now what were they worried about? They were worried that Jesus Christ was going to exile them, the abyss. They said, "Don't send us out the game, send us into the swine."

This is how powerful demons are. Verse 33, "And the demons came out from the man into the swine, the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned." These pigs were dead. What they did to the man, they did to the animal kingdom. So one of the reasons creation is chaotic is because creation is demon possessed. When God removes demons, guess what? The lion will lay down with the lamb.

Look at Revelation chapter 9. We saw they opened up the bottomless pit and these beings come forth. This is the abyss. They open up the abyss and these beings are allowed to come forth. The angel verse 1, was given the key to the pit, that is it's a spiritual prison that an angel has to let them out of, which shows God is greater, and then they are released upon the Earth to judge men.

So you see, these are not permanent like the second group. So at least one other point, that is the spheres of demons. Let me just say this. Demons want to destroy four things. First of all, they want to destroy you. First Peter 5:8, you don't have to turn there, it says, "Satan is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." Satan wants you.

And he will do it any way he can. Satan is responsible for physical illness, Satan is responsible for insanity. He wants you. So first of all, you are his target. Of course he wants to keep the unsaved blind, he wants to keep the saved ineffective. Secondly of all, he wants your family. That's what he did in Genesis 6. The sons of God came down and they destroyed the family. Only one family left.

First Corinthians 7:5 says that Satan in his army is trying to get into your family. He wants to destroy communication in the family. Thirdly, he wants to destroy the church. Ananias and Sapphira, Acts chapter 5 verses 1 through 4, was they were hurting the church by lying and stealing from God and he says, "Why you allowed Satan to put this in your mind?"

Ephesians 6 says that the church wrestles against principalities and high places in heavenly places. And then he seeks to destroy society. Daniel 10:13 says that nations are controlled by demons. That the that the political, geopolitical realm is demonized. And that's why the presence of God's people are so important. And of course we're getting more and more like that.

Look at Revelation chapter 18 verses 1 and 2. "After these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great authority, and the Earth was illumined with his glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice saying, 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great. And she has become a dwelling place of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.'"

In other words, demons were now controlling Babylon. Why? Because where Jesus Christ does not exist, or only limitedly exists, there are no angels running up and down Jacob's ladder. That's why. There's no movement of the heavenlies where there is no presence of Christ.

Closing passage, Matthew 12. The same story we read earlier in Luke, but let me apply it a little differently. Verse 43. "Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, barren areas, seeking rest," or basically a good time, "and does not find it." No satisfaction not being in his house or somebody's life. "Thus it says, 'I will return to my house,'" or that person's body, "from which I came. And when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept and put in order." That means that this man or woman has made changes in their lives, they've reformed themselves.

Verse 45. "Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more wicked than itself." So in other words, all demons aren't equal. Some are more wicked than others. "And they go in and live there, and the last state of the man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will be with this evil generation." Now watch this. It's not enough to clean your house. You have to also make sure you have the right tenant living in the house you're trying to clean up.

All right? That's why Jesus ends this in verse 46. "While he was still speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and brother were standing outside seeking to speak to him. And someone said to him, 'Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to you.' He answered the one who was telling him and said, 'Who is my mother and who are my brothers?' And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Behold my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.'"

What's the point? The point is, if you are not doing the will of God, you do not have in any functional way the ministry of Christ operating in your life. Because you're not his brother or mother or you're not a close relative if you're not doing the will of the Father. But if you are doing the will of the Father, then you have the impactful presence of the Son dominating your life, which means when the demons seek to get in, they not only have a clean house, they have a clean house with somebody else living in it.

Somebody else running it, somebody else controlling it. But not just anybody else. Somebody who's greater than the one trying to move in. Because Jesus said earlier, "Unless you can bind the strong man, then you can't take over the house." You can't bind this strong man because he's too strong. Not even Michael the Archangel messes with Satan. So you need somebody stronger than the strong man. That means you need Jesus Christ.

In order to get Jesus Christ, though, he says at the end of the last verse, "You must be doing the will of the Father." It is your statement in the morning time when you get up that says, "Lord, today, my greatest joy today will be doing your will. If you will simply lead me in your will, even if I don't want to do it, if you'll help me, I'll do it." It's not just saying, "I'm going to do better today." That's cleaning your own house. That's not good enough, all right? That's not good enough. You need Mr. Clean in the house.

Not only because he can clean it, but because he's staying in the room, dominating the house and protecting all the doors and windows. He is the one who keeps the demonic forces from dominating your life. Now you say, "What's that got to do with practical living?" Everything. Because remember, everything physical and visible is controlled by that which is invisible and spiritual. So if you're being dominated by things that are messing up your life, but now Jesus is in control, those things are no longer in control.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans, talking today about the danger of demons and the security we have through Christ. If you'd like to hear the complete full-length version of today's message, check with us for details on the message entitled, "The Existence of Demons." Better yet, request it as a part of Tony's current two-volume series, "Angels: Good, Bad, and Ugly." This 12-message collection explores the reality of spiritual warfare, and reveals what scripture says about the unseen battle taking place around us every day.

As I mentioned earlier, when you make a donation to support Tony's ministry right now, we'll send you this complete audio collection along with a powerful companion book called "Warfare: Winning the Spiritual Battle." Together, these resources will help you better understand the spiritual conflicts you face and how to experience victory through God's power. Get all the details and make your request at TonyEvans.org, or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222, where team members are standing by around the clock to help you. That's 1-800-800-3222, or online at TonyEvans.org.

If you find Dr. Evans' teaching helpful, you'll enjoy listening to him engage in thoughtful conversations with spirit-filled guest speakers on The Unbound Podcast. You can listen or watch on his YouTube channel, or wherever you stream your favorite podcast. Victims who fall for a scam often say, "It seemed right." But Dr. Evans says it's more important to be right. Tomorrow, he explains how our trusting nature can be a target for demons who distort the truth. Be sure to tune in.