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Particulars
of Christianity:
311
Spiritual Warfare
Spiritual
Warfare Part 3b
Biblical/Historic View of Angels & Demons
Spiritual
Warfare Part 1a: A Study of Demonic Activity
Spiritual
Warfare Part 1b: A Study of Demonic Activity
Spiritual
Warfare Part 2a: The Spiritual Warfare of the Believer
Spiritual
Warfare Part 2b: The Spiritual Warfare of the Believer
Spiritual
Warfare Part 2c: The Spiritual Warfare of the Believer
Spiritual
Warfare Part 2d: The Spiritual Warfare of the Believer
Spiritual
Warfare P. 3a: Biblical/Historic View of Angels & Demons
Spiritual
Warfare P. 3b: Biblical/Historic View of Angels & Demons
Spiritual
Warfare P. 3c: Biblical/Historic View of Angels & Demons
Spiritual
Warfare Study Conclusions
Spiritual
Warfare Additional Quotes and Definitions
We
will now make several claims regarding angels and demons and
support them with quotes from the Book of Enoch and the early
church writers. All of which will show that the claims themselves
are the ancient, historical, orthodox view of angelic and
demonic ontology held both by the Jews before and by orthodox
Christians after the New Testament was written. This then
is the historical context and understanding that existed at
the time the New Testament was written, which is essential
to the Grammatical-Historical Method.
1) The Nephilim are the children of angels and women
and after they die their spirits were called demons or unclean
(or evil) spirits.
Enoch, Chapter 15 - And go, say to the Watchers of heaven,
who have sent thee to intercede for them: "You should intercede"
for men, and not men 3 for you: Wherefore have ye left
the high, holy, and eternal heaven, and lain with women, and
defiled yourselves with the daughters of men and taken to
yourselves wives, and done like the children 4 of earth, and
begotten giants (as your) sons? And though ye were holy,
spiritual, living the eternal life, you have defiled yourselves
with the blood of women, and have begotten (children) with
the blood of flesh, and, as the children of men, have lusted
after flesh and blood as those also do who die 5 and perish.
Enoch, Chapter 19 - 1 And Uriel said to me: 'Here shall stand
the angels who have connected themselves with women,
Enoch, Chapter 10 - 8 And now, the giants, who are produced
from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon
9 the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling.
Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they
are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning
and primal origin; 10 they shall be evil spirits on earth,
and evil spirits shall they be called. [As for the spirits
of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the
spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the
earth shall be their dwelling.] And the spirits of the giants
afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction
on the earth, and cause trouble:
Enoch, Chapter 69 - …this is he who showed the children of
men all the wicked smitings of spirits and demons,
"The angels transgressed this appointment and were captivated
by love of women. And they begat children, who are those called
demons."
- Justin Martyr (c. 110-165 AD)
"The poets and mythologists did not know that it was the [wicked]
angels, and those demons who had been begotten by them…For
they called them by whatever name each of the angels had given
to himself and to his children."
- Justin Martyr (c. 110-165 AD)
CHAP. VI. --THE ANGELS AND THE CREATOR OF THE WORLD COULD
NOT HAVE BEEN IGNORANT OF THE SUPREME GOD. By calling upon
Him, even before the coming of our Lord, men were saved
both from most wicked spirits, and from all kinds of demons,
and from every sort of apostate power. This was the case,
not as if earthly spirits or demons had seen Him, but
because they knew of the existence of Him who is God over
all, at whose invocation they trembled, as there does tremble
every creature, and principality, and power, and every being
endowed with energy under His government.
- Ireneaus (120-202 AD, disciple of Polycarp, the disciple
of John the Apostle)
(Angels distinguished from demons:)
CHAP. VI.--EXPLANATION OF THE WORDS OF CHRIST, "NO MAN KNOWETH
THE FATHER, BUT THE SON," ETC.; WHICH WORDS THE HERETICS MISINTERPRET.
pROOF THAT, BY THE FATHER REVEALING THE SON, AND BY THE SON
BEING REVEALED, THE FATHER WAS NEVER UNKNOWN. …while He received
testimony from all that He was very man, and that He was very
God, from the Father, from the Spirit, from angels,
from the creation itself, from men, from apostate spirits
and demons, from the enemy, and last of all, from death
itself.
- Ireneaus (120-202 AD, disciple of Polycarp, the disciple
of John the Apostle)
"Furthermore, we are instructed by our sacred books how
from certain angels, who fell of their own free will, there
sprang a more wicked demon brood, condemned of God along
with the authors of their race…Their great business is the
ruin of mankind. So, from the start, spiritual wickedness
sought our destruction.
- Tertullian (approx. 197 AD)
"These angels, then, who have fallen from heaven, and haunt
the air and the earth, and are no longer able to rise to heavenly
things, and the souls of the giants, who are the demons who
wander about the world, perform similar actions."
- Athenagoras (approximately 175 AD)
"From the seed [of the fallen angels and women], giants
are said to have been born. By them, arts were made known
in the earth. They taught the dyeing of wool and everything
that is done. When they died, men erected images to them.
Yet, because they were of an evil seed, the Almighty did not
approve of their being brought back from death when they had
died. For that reason, they wander and they now subvert
many bodies. And it is these whom you [pagans] presently worship
and pray to as gods."
- Commodianus (approx. 240 AD)
2) Demons will be worshipped as gods and as idols by
pagans.
Enoch, Chapter 19 - 1 And Uriel said to me: 'Here shall stand
the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their
spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind
and shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods,
(here shall they stand,) till the day of the great judgement
in 2 which they shall be judged till they are made an end
of.
Enoch, Chapter 99 - 7 And again I swear to you, ye sinners,
that sin is prepared for a day of unceasing bloodshed. And
they who worship stones, and grave images of gold and silver
and wood (and stone) and clay, and those who worship impure
spirits and demons, and all kinds of idols not according to
knowledge, shall get no manner of help from them.
CHAP. II.--IGNATIUS IS CONDEMNED BY TRAJAN. For Trajan…threatening
them with persecution unless they should agree to(6) worship
daemons, as did all other nations, thus compelled(7) all
who were living godly lives either to sacrifice [to idols]
or die…Thou art in error when thou callest the daemons of
the nations gods.
- Ignatius (30-107 AD, disciple of John the Apostle)
CHAP. V.--CHRISTIANS CHARGED WITH ATHEISM. - For the truth
shall be spoken; since of old these evil demons, effecting
apparitions of themselves… not knowing that these were
demons, they called them gods, and gave to each the name which
each of the demons chose for himself…we not only deny that
they who did such things as these are gods, (2) but assert
that they are wicked and impious demons
- Justin Martyr (c. 110-165 AD)
CHAP. IX.--FOLLY OF IDOL, WORSHIP. And neither do we honour
with many sacrifices and garlands of flowers such deities
as men have formed and set in shrines and called gods… but
have the names and forms of those wicked demons which have
appeared.
- Justin Martyr (c. 110-165 AD)
CHAP. XII. --DOCTRINE OF THE REST OF THE APOSTLES For, as
they did not speak to the Gentiles in compliance with their
notions, but told them with boldness that their gods were
no gods, but the idols of demons;
- Ireneaus (120-202 AD, disciple of Polycarp, the disciple
of John the Apostle)
"From the seed [of the fallen angels and women], giants
are said to have been born. By them, arts were made known
in the earth. They taught the dyeing of wool and everything
that is done. When they died, men erected images to them.
Yet, because they were of an evil seed, the Almighty did not
approve of their being brought back from death when they had
died. For that reason, they wander and they now subvert
many bodies. And it is these whom you [pagans] presently worship
and pray to as gods."
- Commodianus (approx. 240 AD)
Conclusions from Genesis 6, Enoch, and the Early Church
1. The Old Testament as well as Jude and Peter record that
before the flood some of the angels came down from heaven
and had children by the daughters of men, which were called
Nephilim.
2. Orthodox, non-canonical works from before and after the
New Testament affirm that the children of angels and women
would die and that their spirits would be called demons or
evil/unclean spirits on the earth.
3. Additionally, both the Bible and these orthodox, non-canonical
works inform us that it is these demon spirits that the heathen
worship as gods.
4. And finally, orthodox, non-canonical works from before
and after the New Testament inform us that demons ARE NOT
angels, but instead, are the offspring of angels and women,
which are ontologically distinct from both angels and men.
New Testament Terminology Confirms a Distinction Between
Angels and Demons
Now that we have become acquainted with the ancient Jewish
and Christian view of angels and demons, and found that they
distinguished between the two, the question is does the Bible
itself uphold such a distinction? The answer is yes, it does,
which explains why so many orthodox Jewish and Christian writers
from the time before, during, and after the New Testament
made such a distinction in their own writings. We can confirm
that the Bible upholds these distinctions that we have observed
above by surveying the scriptural usage of terms, which are
used to refer to angels and demons.
There are several Greek words used to refer to angels and
demons in the New Testament, they are:
1. angel - aggelos (32)
2. demons (NIV, etc.) or devils (KJV) - daimonion (1140) (occurs
60 times) or daimon (1142) (occurs 3 times)
3. unclean spirit - akathartos (169) pneuma (4151)
4. devil - diabolos (1228)
5. satan - satanas (4567)
Before we continue with the results of the survey of the above
words it is important to note that the KJV uses the word devils
for the Greek words daimonion and daimon, while all other
modern versions translate into the English word demon. To
avoid confusion we will use the English word demon. The reason
for this is simple.
Webster's Dictionary, tenth edition records that the English
word "demon" originates from the Greek word daimon.
Demon or daemon /de'mon/ n [ME demon, fr. LL
& L daemon evil spirit, fr. L, divinity, spirit, fr. Gk
daimon, prob. fr. daiesthai to distribute - more at TIDE]
)13c) 1a: an evil spirit b: a source or agent of evil,
harm, distress, or ruin 2 usu daemon: an attendant power or
spirit: GENUS 3 usu daemon: a supernatural being of Greek
mythology intermediate between gods and men 4: one that has
exceptional enthusiasm, drive, or effectiveness )a ~ for work)
- demonian /di mo'ne-en/ adj. demonization /de me'ne'za-shen/
n. - demonize /de-me-niz/ vt.
It is this Greek word, which appears in the New Testament.
Here are the Greek words and definitions, which are translated
into demon in modern version of the Bible.
(1140) daimonion {dahee-mon'-ee-on}
neuter of a derivative of 1142
TDNT - 2:1,137 n n
AV - devil 59, god 1; 60
1) the divine power, deity, divinity
2) a spirit, a being inferior to God, superior to men
3) evil spirits or the messengers and ministers of the devil
(1142) daimon {dah'-ee-mown}
TDNT - 2:1,137 from daio (to distribute fortunes) n m/f
AV - devils 4, devil 1; 5
1) a god, a goddess
a) an inferior deity, whether good or bad
2) in the NT, an evil spirit
(1139) daimonizomai {dahee-mon-id'-zom-ahee}
TDNT - 2:19,137 middle voice from 1142 v
1) to be under the power of a demon.
On the other hand, the Greek word for devil, is diabolos,
from which we get the word devil. So, the KJV interprets two
different Greek words "daimon" (or "daimonion") and "diabolos"
into the same English word devil even though the English word
demon is directly related to the Greek words "daimon" and
"daimonion," but not to the Greek word "diabolos." Therefore,
we will use the English word demon in place of the Greek words
"daimon" and "daimonion" instead of the English word devil
in order to avoid confusion and to maintain the distinction
between the Greek words for demon and devil.
Having addressed this translation issue, we can now proceed
with our survey. We will first deal with the cases in which
Greek words are used interchangeably to refer to the same
thing.
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