Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08119 Demons are not the invention of medieval imagination or the projection of pre-scientific superstition onto medical conditions people did not yet understand. They are real, personal, spiritual beings whose existence Scripture affirms and whose activity Jesus took with complete seriousness. The Gospels record more encounters between Jesus and demons than between Jesus and…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08120 Few questions in pastoral ministry generate as much fear, confusion, and theological disagreement as this one. Horror films have shaped the popular imagination far more than Scripture has, and the result is a great deal of anxiety among believers who wonder whether they or someone they love might be subject to demonic possession….
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08117 Satan is not a cartoon figure with horns and a pitchfork, nor is he the equal-and-opposite counterpart of God in some cosmic dualism. He is a real, personal, spiritual being of extraordinary intelligence and power, operating within boundaries set by God and destined for a defeat that Scripture describes in vivid and unambiguous…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 08114 The Bible does not give a precise count of the angels God has created, but it provides enough language to establish that their number is extraordinarily vast. The consistent impression Scripture gives is of an innumerable host, a created order so immense that human counting cannot contain it. The Biblical Language of Multitude…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08115 The idea that God assigns a personal angel to watch over each individual believer is one of the most widely held assumptions in popular Christianity. It appears on greeting cards, in children’s songs, and in the casual reassurances people offer one another during difficult times. But does Scripture actually teach it? The answer…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 08112 The existence of angels is affirmed throughout Scripture with such consistency and matter-of-factness that the biblical authors clearly regarded it as beyond question. Angels appear in almost every major section of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and are involved in some of the most significant events in redemptive history. The question of…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 08108 The question of whether meditation can open doors to demons is one that requires careful definition, because the word “meditation” covers an enormous range of practices, and the biblical answer depends entirely on what kind of meditation is being discussed. Scripture itself commends a form of meditation, while the practices most commonly associated…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 08106 Fear of the demonic is something many Christians experience, and it ranges from a mild unease about the unseen spiritual world to a paralysing anxiety that Satan or his agents might harm them, their families, or their spiritual lives. The question of whether believers should be afraid of Satan and demons is one…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 08107 Few things stir parental concern more deeply than the thought that their children might be vulnerable to spiritual attack. The instinct to protect is God-given, and Scripture does not dismiss the reality of spiritual opposition. But the question of how to protect children from spiritual attack requires careful biblical thinking, because the answers…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08104 This question arises frequently in Christian circles, particularly where the influence of charismatic and deliverance ministry culture is strong. It is a question that requires careful biblical thinking, because the answer has significant pastoral consequences. If genuine Christians can have demons that need to be cast out, then the church needs a deliverance…