B. The Origin of Demons
We are, however, apparently able to discern in the New Testament clear traces of the two orders of Satan’s subjects, the spiritual, and those who were in the flesh.82
But another class of Satan’s subjects is much more frequently brought before us, that of the (GREEK WORD) or demons; and great confusion is introduced into our version by the erroneous translation “devils.”83
So, probably, in remote ages, before the first whisper of rebellion against God, Satan, as the great governing head and the viceroy of the Almighty, assisted by glorious beings of his own nature, ruled over the sinless dwellers upon earth.84
Demons and evil spirits are, therefore, synonymous terms. But they must be carefully distinguished from angels, bad as well as good. For angels are not mere disembodied spirits, but”‘as we may learn from our Lord’s declaration that the children of the resurrection shall be equal to the angels ”‘”‘ are clothed with spiritual bodies ”¦86
For may not these demons be the spirits of those who trod this earth in the flesh before the ruin described in the second verse of Genesis, and who, at the time of that great destruction, were disembodied by God, and left still under the power, and ultimately to share the fate, of the leader in whose sin they acquiesced? Certainly one oft-recorded fact seems to confirm such a theory: for we read that the demons are continually seizing upon the bodies of men, and endeavoring to use them as their own. And may not this propensity indicate a wearisome lack of ease, a wandering unrest, arising from a sense of incompleteness; a longing to escape the intolerable condition of being unclothed ”‘ for which they were not created ”‘ so intense that, if they can satisfy its cravings in no other way, they will even enter into the filthy bodies of swine? (Matt. viii.31) 87
And they besought him, saying, send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered into the swine: and the herd rushed down the steep into the sea, in number two thousand; and they were drowned in the sea. (Mark 5:12”‘13)
The metabolism of pigs is closer to that of human metabolism than perhaps any other animal. Perhaps this is why they are one of the forbidden, unclean animals of the Jewish religion, since the keeping of such a domesticated animal would cause the Jewish people to be exposed more to demonic possession.
The unclean spirit when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith. I will turn back into my house whence I came out. (Luke 11:24)
Well, then, is it so difficult to imagine some forms of life getting along without water, too?
Yes, quite difficult. No form of terrestrial life can do without water. Life developed in the sea, and the fluids within the living cells of all organisms, even those who now live in fresh water or on dry land and who would die if placed in the sea, are essentially a form of ocean water.88
Each of us is a mobile museum. The fluid in our bodies is a perfect replica of that ancient sea in which we grew to fruition following our liberation from the clay. The concentration of sodium, potassium, and chloride in our blood, the cobalt, magnesium, and zinc in our tissues, are the same as those that once prevailed in the primordial ocean.89
Is there a thing whereof it may be said, see, this is new? It hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us. (Eccles. 1:10)
There is no remembrance of former things … (Eccles. 1:11 KJV)
For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days upon earth are a shadow:) (Job 8:8 ”“ 9)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1)
Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare, if thou have understanding…. When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4, 7)
For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not a waste, that formeth it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah; and there is none else. (Isa. 45:18)
And the earth became waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Gen. 1:2)
These uplifts suggest that at least one earlier catastrophe, probably more, overtook the Earth prior to the antediluvian world.90
These are grounds for suspecting at least one primordial catastrophe before the age of man”¦ Thus, this earlier primordial hydro”‘carboniferous catastrophe or catastrophes may well assist in explaining the following…. 91
We have, therefore, in the second verse of Genesis no first detail of a general statement in the preceding sentence, but the record of an altogether distinct and subsequent event, which did not affect the sidereal heaven, but only the earth and its immediate surroundings. And what that event was we must now endeavor to discover.
According to our version “the earth was without form, and void.” This, however, is not the sense of the Hebrew, but a glaring illustration of the influence of the chaos legend. Furst gives “ruin,” or “desolation,” as the proper meaning of the noun rendered “without form.” The second word signifies “emptiness,” then, “that which is empty”; so that in this case the authorized translation is admissible. Now these words are found together only in two other passages, in both of which they are clearly used to express the ruin caused by an outpouring of the wrath of God…. Such a meaning is by far the best for our context: we may therefore adopt it, and render, “And the earth became desolate and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. 92
through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. (2 Pet. 3:6 NASB)
Professor Ewing of Columbia University carried on his investigations in The Atlantic. In 1949 he published his results, and, like Patterson, he found that lava spread only recently on the bottom of the ocean. He also came upon signs of land deep on the bottom of the ocean … 94
Thus says the Lord God to Tyre, ”¦ And they shall take up a lamenÂtation over you and say to you, ‘How you have perished (vanished, in other translations), 0 inhabited one, From the seas, 0 renowned city, Which was mighty on the sea, She and her inhabitants, Who imposed her terror On all her inhabitants!'” (Ezek. 26:15, 17 NASB)
For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, then I will thrust you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the nether world, among primeval ruins, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or have a place in the land of the living. (Ezek. 26:19”‘20)
These verses in Ezekiel 26 above take on even more significance when it is realized that only two chapters later in this same book of the Bible, Satan is referred to allegorically as the king of Tyre. It is most likely that these verses are an allegorical reference to what happened on the earth at the time of Satan’s rebellion. Who are the people of old, and where did these primeval ruins come from?
This is the major rift valley of the Earth; a second one, also perpendicular to and astride the equator, has been detected in the submerged Mid”‘Atlantic Range. 95
or, Who shall descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.) (Rom. 10:7)
And Jesus asked him, What is thy name? And he said, Legion; for many demons were entered into him, And they entreated him that he would not command them to depart into the abyss. (Luke 8:30”‘31)
There is however, in the account of this day’s work an omission which is probably significant: for the usual conclusion, “And God saw that it was good,” is in this case left out. And since the reasons ordinarily given for the omission are unsatisfactory, we venture to suggest the following explanation. May not the withholding of God’s approval be a hint of the immediate occupation of the firmament by demons, those, indeed, which are its present inhabitants? Since they were concerned in the fall of man, they must have speedily appeared in the newly formed atmosphere. May they not, therefore, have been imprisoned in the deep, and having found some way of escape at the”‘lifting up of the waters, have swarmed into the dominion of the air, of which their leader is Prince? In this case the firmament might have been teeming with them before the close of the Second Day and we need not wonder that God refused to pronounce their kingdom good.96
They that are deceased tremble beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof. (Job 26:5)
There was a race of beings on the earth before the advent of the human race, at the time of Satan’s rebellion. The members of this race were the subjects over which Satan had authority, to lead them in the worship of God. In judgment of their co”‘rebellion, God inundated the land on which this race lived. All physical traces (primeval ruins) of their civilization were swept into and beneath (into the Pit, the nether world) the abyss. This caused them to become disembodied spirits”‘ ”‘an unnatural condition ”‘ making them have an inordinate desire to possess the physical bodies of human beings to alleviate what is to them a very uncomfortable condition. Originally these disembodied spirits were imprisoned in the prison of Hades, which is located under the abyss, but have since escaped. Scripturally, their activity appears concentrated about this abyss, which, according to geological evidence, appears to be on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Remember the probable electromagnetic link to the spiritual universe? It should be no surprise, then, that there have been reported cases of electromagnetic irregularities connected with this part of the ocean.
C. Present”‘day Manifestations of Demons
As far as we know, there has never been any other civilization of this kind (human) on earth . . . 97
There are no signs whatever of an earlier, prehuman civilization, and from what we know of the evolutionary history of life on the planet, we can’t see which prehuman living species could possibly have supported such a civilization. 98
As we have seen, all physical traces of the civilization of the demonic race were either obliterated or removed beyond our reach. Yet this race, being disembodied spirits, has a proclivity for again possessing physical bodies”‘, which has caused a constant contact with the human race throughout our history. This demonic race, at the direction of their leader Satan, has always endeavored to impart knowledge to us that is forbidden to us by God. This being the case, we should expect to find evidence of a racial myth, a legend, with the following characteristics:
1. The legend is persistent, despite there being no cultural or archaeological evidence whatsoever to support it.
2. This legendary race lived on a continent”‘island”‘city that was situated in the Atlantic Ocean and was destroyed by a violent, cataclysmic disaster, which caused a rapid, complete inundation by the ocean due to its sinking.
Do we find evidence of such a persistent legend in the literature of our race?
But to this day the tradition, as revived by Plato, has not died….
An incomplete catalogue of the literature on Atlantis in 1926 included 1,700 titles. 99
Has anyone reading this not heard of the legend of Atlantis?
We have seen how this demonic race influences us as a society, but what are the manifestations today of their actual beings? Keep in mind that demons, while powerful, are not nearly as powerful as the fallen angels”‘so that we may expect limitations in their abilities. Also, as far as we can tell from Scripture, they cannot fly and are limited to the surface of the earth. We may also expect (since such impressions are psychically transmitted) that perceptions of their presence will vary with the individual.
And when even was come, they brought unto him many possessed with demons: and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick: (Matt. 8:16)
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit. And he (Jesus) said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and whereÂfore do questions arise in your heart? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself”‘. handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having. (Luke 24:37”‘39)
Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof, A form was before mine eyes … (Job 4:15”‘16)
And seeing them distressed in rowing, for a wind was contrary unto them, about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking (in the sea”‘, and he would have passed by them; but they, when they saw him walking on the sea, supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; (Mark 6:48”‘49)
In the literature on apparitions, there are reports of groups numbering from two up to seven or eight individuals seeing something similar at the same time; but there are no well ”‘documented cases of larger groups ever doing so. Theatres are notoriously haunted places, and yet no mass audience has ever collectively witnessed an apparition on stage. Why? 100
There are many similar ghost stories, but this one is significant because the three people involved gave slightly different accounts of what they saw. Discrepancies of this kind lead many investigators to infer that one of the witnesses must have been correct, and the others, mistaken, or even to imply that all three involved were either misled or dishonest. I, on the contrary, find the difference the most convincing part of the story and am quite prepared to accept that all three actually had separate experiences. 101
The possibility of tapping into the physical resources of one of the individuals involved could be why so many people who see apparitions feel cold or experience “an icy draft,” even if they are not afraid, and despite the fact that others in the room at the time are unaware of any change in environmental temperature. 102
Eighty percent of apparitional objects in this survey were human beings, most of them familiar to the subjects, and two”‘thirds of these known positively to be dead. A few were animals, including horses and rabbits, but more often dogs and cats, usually individual pet animals also known to be dead. If there is any substance to the notion that some vital essence survives death, but can nevertheless still be experienced by the living, then it is strange that it should not manifest itself equally everywhere and stranger still that only domestic animals would be capable of survival in this way. And if the apparitions do indeed have some form of independent existence, it is odd that their physical characteristics are differentially realized. All things being equal, we should be able to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell apparitions with equal facility.
The conclusion is inescapable that a vast majority of apparitions fulfill our subjective expectations and cater to our own sensory bias. 103
”¦as we shall presently see, in many cases at least, and possibly in all, it is probable that the obh (demon) itself personated the dead.104
Demons are able to cause people to perceive them as having a form. However, since their powers are limited, there is a limit to the number of people who they can influence at the same time. Also, for the same reason, they are more likely to be perceived in such a form at night than in the daytime”‘ it is easier for such a manifested “form” to be perceived then, and it is less uncomfortable to their disembodied state at night than in the day under the effects of the sun.
Such manifestations, when not vague, are usually made to appear to be that of a deceased person. When summoned by a medium, it is in the form of’ the deceased person sought after that the demon appears”‘ according to the memory of the person seeking such forbidden contact (more on this shortly). When there is not such a specific designation of what form to take, the deceased person manifested by the demon is usually that of the last person they possessed. This is why “ghosts” (particularly the more powerful demons manifested as poltergeists) are usually perceived as being the “ghosts” of people who either inflicted or suffered violent death ”‘ murderers and suicides. It should be apparent that a much higher percentage (than the general population) of murderers and suicides are demon”‘possessed people, and that it is this state that has instigated the abnormally violent behavior of these people. This is why “haunted houses” invariably have a history of a violent, fatal incident”‘ such a death caused the demon to be disembodied again ”‘ thus producing the “ghost.”
who [the demoniac] had his dwelling in the tombs. . (Mark 5:3)
Thou shalt not take unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (Exod. 20:4)
Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry”¦ what say I then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God: and I would not that ye shall have communion with demons (1 Cor. 10:14, 19”‘20)
Yea, they sacrificed their sons arid their daughters unto demons, And shed innocent blood, Even the blood of their sons and their daughters, Whom they sacrificed unto the idols … (Psalm 106:37”‘38)
Why is idolatry associated with demons? God condemns idolatry because it is insulting to Him for us to worship inanimate objects rather than Him. But His commandment is so detailed as to indicate that there is also a danger to the people involved in idolatry. Why? Remember, demons seek to again possess a physical body. To take possession of a person’s body, that person’s will must, to a certain extent, be submissive. This is the entire purpose of idolatry”‘ to put people into a state of submission where they are conducive to possession- providing a regular supply of physical vehicles for the expression of the demonic race, which would otherwise be discontinuous due to the physical mortality of our own race. The result of idolatry is submission”‘ not to another human being- but to inanimate objects. How convenient, this is for demons! This is why there is always a much higher incidence of demonic possession in countries where idolatry is prevalent.
If one reads the instructions concerning the treatment of recently deceased people in the Bible, two things stand out: There is no elaborate funeral process given, rather, the main idea is to get the body underground and out of the way; there are, however, elaborate instructions for purifying anyone who has been in close contact with a person at the time of their death. Recall how the possessed man lived in the tombs? When a possessed person dies, the demon often will have trouble immediately finding a suitable (submissive) now person to possess. When this happens, tile demon will remain clothed with tile dead physical body until extended dehydration caused by the decomposition of that body makes them as uncomfortable as being disembodied again. This is why “ghosts” are so much more prevalent around cemeteries. But lest we think the demonic race to be stupid, we should expect them to have influenced our culture in this area to minimize such uncomfortable disembodiments.
There is no logical or scriptural basis for our cultural attitude towards the dead bodies of departed people. There is absolutely no action whatsoever on our part that can influence their fate one iota nor be perceived by them. Our entire cultural attitude toward the dead can be traced entirely to idolatrous paganism. It should be obvious to the reader what the real purpose of our idolization of the graves of the deceased is. The whole atmosphere produced by the physical surroundings of our cemeteries is designed to induce a submissive attitude on the part of all who come there. There can be but one logical reason for the promotion of this attitude ”‘ that of increased susceptibility to demonic possession.
And they went out to see what had come to pass; and when they came to Jesus, and found the man, from whom the demons were gone out, sitting, clothed and in his right mind (Luke 8:35).
Recently both Leonie and Christine have been topped by a patient of Cornelia Wilbur, a New York psychoanalyst, who seemed to have sixteen distinct personalities. These appeared gradually over a period of twenty years and even included two male characters.105
There is seldom any overlap between the personalities, and even under intensive analysis it is almost impossible to detect any leakage between them. In all the psychological tests that can be devised, they react like different people, In one study of a twenty”‘seven”‘year”‘old black American with four separate selves even their electroencephalograms were different.106
Either, we insist, the material comes directly from Pearl Curren and Jane Roberts, or Patience Worth and Seth are exactly what they claim to be”‘ spirits from the dead. Their control of the two mediums in these cases is only temporary, but I see no reason why Patience and Seth should not be regarded in the same light as alter personalities in a multiple”‘personality situation. All the evidence seems to indicate that while it is not in action, when it is in effect out of gear, the alternative personality ceases to exist.107
And let us not suppose that the age of demoniacs is past: the lapse of a few centuries has not reconciled demons to the disembodied state, they are still as eager as ever to clothe themselves with bodies. In the course of an interesting conversation which tile writer had with the late Dr. Forbes Winslow, the latter expressed his conviction that a large proportion of the patients in our lunatic asylums are cases of possession, and not of madness. He distinguished the demoniac by a strange duality, and by the fact that, when temporarily released from the oppression of the demon, he is often able to describe the force which seizes upon his limbs, and compels him to acts or words of shame against his will.108
There are close similarities between mental illness and demonic possession, with one being capable of easily being mistaken for the other. Actual mental illness is of one or two different causes. One cause of mental illness is a defect in the physical vehicle of the mind, the brain. This may be caused either by some chemical imbalance or by an actual physical impairment of some kind. The other cause of mental illness is of the mind itself. Whenever a person’s conscience reaches the point where the accumulated guilt is greater than that person’s mind can bear, the result is mental illness without a physical or chemical cause in the brain. Usually such a person when “successfully” treated is done so by apparent conscious resolution of the inner conflicts. The actual result is that the conflicts are enabled to be relegated to the “unconscious” region of the mind where they will no longer interfere with conscious, rational thought processes. The result is a negation of the effect of the functioning of the conscience. By no means are these conflicts resolved, as would be the case if this process could actually erase them. Only one thing can do that ”‘ the blood of Christ. Psychiatry can at best only treat the symptoms and never touch the disease. What psychiatry actually does do is bring the psychiatrist into much greater than average contact with fallen human nature- with the inevitable result”‘ psychiatry has the highest suicide rate of any profession.
The unclean spirit when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest; and finding none … (Luke 11:24)
How being this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. (Matt. 17:21 KJ V )
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (Gen. 3:7)
And when he was come forth upon the land, there met him a certain man out of the city, who had demons; and for a long time he had worn no clothes, and abode not in any house but in the tombs. (Luke 8:27)
What are the characteristics exhibited by a person who is genuinely possessed? A person who is genuinely possessed will have an unusual and unnatural inclination towards nudity, profanity, and water. Even when in possession of a person, dehydration of that person’s body is a discomfort to the demon in them”‘ varying according to the degree of dehydration from mild irritation to discomfort great enough to cause them to prefer vacating the premises. The reason for the love of nudity is a result of their rebellious nature towards God, countermanding the natural functioning of the conscience (due to the Fall) regarding modesty. The love of profanity is a direct expression of their opposition to, and slandering to us of, God. All of these characteristics are innate tendencies in all of us due to the Fall, but they are usually held in check by our conscience and by the facade that culture requires us to don daily.
I must emphasize that in a possessed person these characteristics are excessive and expressed to an extreme. All of us, in varying degrees, are under the influence of the demonic race without necessarily being actually possessed. Most of the demons are to be found in the oceans, where the fluid composition of the water is probably virtually identical to what once were in their bodies. We should thus expect these tendencies to be more prevalent among people living along or upon the oceans. Do you really think that it is a coincidence that sailors are renowned for their use of profanity, among other things?
FROM: amessageforthehumanrace.org