Are demons real? (Where do they come from? And what do they do?)
Demons are real, and their origin traces back to the Nephilim—the giant offspring of rebellious divine beings and human women—whose disembodied spirits now roam the earth in defiance of God. These unclean spirits emerge from ancient cosmic rebellion and continue to corrupt, deceive, and oppose God’s purposes in the world. They promote false teachings, exploit human institutions, and wage spiritual war against humanity. Yet their influence is not ultimate; through Jesus, the Kingdom of God has broken in to confront and overcome their power.
1. Demons Come from the Dead Giants (Not Fallen Angels)
A common assumption in modern Christian thought is that demons are simply fallen angels who followed Satan in rebellion. However, ancient biblical interpreters—especially during the Second Temple period—understood demons a bit differently. Drawing on Genesis 6:1–4, they believed demons originated from the Nephilim, the giant offspring of the “sons of God” (interpreted as divine beings or Watchers) and human women. “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days…when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them” (Genesis 6:4).
1 Enoch further develops this theme as the Watchers are punished for their rebellion and bound in the abyss, while the spirits of their hybrid offspring are condemned to wander the earth. “The spirits of the giants oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and cause corruption on the earth…These spirits will rise up against the children of men and against the women” (1 Enoch 15:11–12, NOTE: all references to 1 Enoch are quoted from The Watchers and the Holy Ones translation). These entities—presented as “evil spirits”—are described as the restless souls of the giants (Nephilim), disembodied and hostile toward humanity, neither fully angelic nor human, yet spiritually hostile.
Scripture later refers to these entities as “unclean spirits” (Mark 1:23) as they are not only non-human in nature and rebellious but defiled or unclean. In contrast, later Christian theology equates demons with fallen angels. This isn’t entirely off base, as there most certainly is a correlation between the fallen Watchers (angels) and their offspring. The Enochic tradition, then, provides a clarification through an older worldview where demons are the lingering aftermath of the cosmic rebellion of their angelic fathers—bastard spirits born from the unnatural union of heaven and earth. Far from fiction, this narrative shaped the New Testament writers' worldview and contributes to our understanding of spiritual warfare.
2. The Watchers Were Rebels from the Heavens
Long before demons appeared on the biblical stage, there were the Watchers—a group of angelic beings who initiated the first cosmic rebellion. Their story is drawn from Genesis 6:1–4 interpretations, as demonstrated in 1 Enoch and other Second Temple texts. These writings recount how the “sons of God” descended to earth, breaking divine boundaries (Jude 6, “left their proper dwelling”). Rather than fulfilling a protective, ministering (and judicial, as in the Deuteronomy 32 sons of God) role, they took human women as wives and fathered the Nephilim, an unnatural and violent race of giants. “Shemihazah, who was their leader, said to them, ‘Let us all swear an oath…and all of them together bound themselves with a curse’” (1 Enoch 6:3–4). Their transgression was so severe that Jude refers to them directly, noting their condemnation, “The angels who did not stay within their own position of authority…he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness” (Jude 6).
The rebellion of the Watchers was more than physical—it was intellectual and spiritual corruption. They introduced humanity to illicit knowledge, such as sorcery, astrology, the making of weapons, and the use of enchantments (1 Enoch 8:1–3). What ancient Mesopotamian tradition often viewed as divine enlightenment, Enoch reframes as cosmic treason. The knowledge they passed down—warfare, vanity, magic—defiled humanity, accelerating moral decay and social chaos. This wasn’t progress; it was pollution. Their influence turned Earth into a battlefield of spiritual disorder, prompting God’s judgment through the flood.
The Genesis 6 angelic rebellion influenced later Jewish and Christian understandings of demonic activity. The spiritual contagion unleashed by the Watchers did not end with the flood—it continued through the disembodied spirits of their offspring, who became the demons of later biblical tradition. The legacy of the Watchers, then, is not just about fanaticizing about ancient giants—it’s about a cosmic war against God’s order, one that still echoes throughout Scripture, shaping the drama of redemption history.
3. Demons Inhabit the Wilderness and Unclean Places
Throughout Scripture, the wilderness is portrayed not only as a place of testing but as a spiritual battleground where demonic activity is often present. This theme appears vividly in the Day of Atonement ritual described in Leviticus 16, where one goat is offered “for the LORD” and the other is sent away “for Azazel” into the desert (Leviticus 16:8). While Azazel is not explicitly named a demon in Leviticus, Second Temple texts, again, like 1 Enoch offer that interpretation, “The Lord said to Raphael, ‘Bind Azazel by his hands and his feet, and throw him into the darkness… in the desert of Doudael’” (1 Enoch 10:4–5). The wilderness—here represented by the uninhabitable and cursed region of Doudael—becomes the domain of exiled spirits and spiritual chaos.
In ancient Israelite cosmology, the wilderness was not just a geographical location—it was symbolic of chaos, impurity, and divine absence. Sending the goat into the wilderness carried the people's sins away from the camp, reinforcing the idea that spiritual impurity belongs outside of God’s order. Later Jewish writings developed Azazel into a demonic figure, even associating him with the goat demons mentioned in Leviticus 17:7, whose worship God condemns. This interpretation reflects a broader ancient Near Eastern belief that evil spirits and unclean beings dwell in desolate places, cut off from community, covenant, and holiness.
The New Testament places Satan and demonic testing squarely in the wilderness. “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). Jesus’ confrontation with the devil in the desert reflects this idea that the wilderness is a place of spiritual exile and demonic confrontation. In biblical theology, demons are drawn to places marked by disorder and separation from God’s presence. These aren’t just spooky locales—they're charged spiritual places where God's kingdom is at odds with forces of darkness.
4. Jesus’ Ministry and the War Between God’s Kingdom and the Demonic
Jesus' ministry wasn’t limited to preaching and healing—it was marked by frequent, direct confrontation with demonic forces. His exorcisms were not random miracles; they were strategic strikes against the kingdom of darkness, signifying the arrival of God's Kingdom rule on earth. As Jesus declared, “if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28). Each episode of deliverance acts as a sign that the long-awaited Kingdom of God is not only near but actively reclaiming the earth once held by spiritual oppressors.
The demons—lingering spirits of the Nephilim—have plagued the world since the ancient rebellion, and Jesus’ power over them represented a divine reversal. His authority left witnesses in awe, and His opponents baffled—some even accused Him of working by Satan’s power (cf. Matthew 12:24). But Jesus countered that argument, stating that Satan's kingdom divided against itself could not stand. Instead, He proclaimed that He was “binding the strong man” and plundering his house—liberating souls from demonic bondage (Matthew 12:29).
The clash of kingdoms points to a cosmic expression of the Gospel. Jesus didn’t come merely to offer personal forgiveness—He came to crush the serpent, silence the demons, and reclaim dominion over a; creation. His exorcisms were acts of war, revealing that the battle initiated in Genesis was now meeting its match in the incarnate King. Every unclean spirit cast out was a preview of Satan’s ultimate defeat and a foretaste of the restored kingdom God intended from the beginning.
5. Demons Promote False Teaching and Institutional Corruption
Demonic influence is not always loud or sensational. More often, it is quiet, persuasive, deceitful, and embedded—working its way into doctrine, culture, and institutions. The apostle Paul warns, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). This is not just about personal temptation but the systemic spread of spiritual deception. Demons don’t merely afflict individuals—they twist truth and seed lies into entire systems, particularly within religious communities. You might call this the ‘institutional infiltration of demons.’
The strategy isn’t new. In 1 Enoch, the Watchers—the divine rebels—first introduced destructive knowledge to humanity. “They taught the cutting of roots and trees… and secrets that destroyed mankind” (1 Enoch 8:2). What was portrayed in other ancient cultures as beneficial divine wisdom, Enoch reframes as demonic sabotage—knowledge used to dominate, control, and corrupt. Today, demonic influence may manifest through ideologies that appear morally upright or socially beneficial on the surface but ultimately pull people away from the truth of the Gospel and the authority of Christ. This includes false teachings that distort grace, deny Christ’s divinity, or reduce the Gospel to personal comfort and cultural conformity.
As emphasized in The Gospel Is Bigger Than You Think, a narrow gospel that limits itself to private belief and personal morality is ill-equipped to resist systemic demonic influence. The biblical Gospel confronts not only sin in the heart but lies in the culture, deception in doctrine, and corruption in institutions. Our battle is cosmic, and our response must be spiritually discerning and theologically robust. This infiltration should not cause fear; rather, it should produce vigilance as we root ourselves in a Gospel big enough to expose and resist the lies that demons embed in the world around us.
6. Demons Are Doomed—and the Victory is Already Won
Though demons continue to harass, deceive, and stir resistance against God’s people, their judgment is already sealed. Scripture paints a sobering and triumphant picture of their end. “The devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur… and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). This is not merely symbolic—it is the final destruction of every rebellious spiritual power. Likewise, 1 Enoch echoes this eschatological judgment in its vision of divine justice. “The Lord said to Michael, ‘Bind Shemihazah… and cast them into the valley of fire’” (1 Enoch 10:11–13). The enemies of God may continue to operate, but their time is limited.
The cross of Christ was not just a payment for sin—it was a cosmic victory. As Paul writes, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15). Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has dethroned the principalities, defeating their authority and exposing them as powerless in the face of God’s Kingdom. And while their activity persists, it does so under the shadow of imminent destruction. The church now participates in this triumph—seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6)—empowered to stand against demonic schemes, not in fear, but in faith.
Jesus is the true giant-slayer, fulfilling and surpassing the Old Testament type of David against Goliath. His victory over death is also a victory over the demonic legacy of the Watchers and their offspring. This is part of a comprehensive Gospel—one that confronts not only personal sin but cosmic rebellion, offering freedom from false gods and spiritual oppressors. The final judgment will bring full justice, but the invasion has already begun. The Kingdom is here, and the demons know their time is short.
