Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention. I want to introduce to you In this corner of the good and the right Stands a champion robed in white His height exceeds the heavens His weight outweighs the world His reach reaches everywhere His age is ever known He is higher than the highest greater than the great no one can ever take his crown away he's more mighty than the mightiest he reigns from above He's the old time, undisputed, undefeated champion of love He left his hometown to enter this arena To raise his hands in victory for me But an angry crowd crucified The king who wore their crown And they gladly watched their champion going down Oh, but I will never count him out For I'm a witness of The day he arose to reclaim the title Champion of Love He is higher than the highest Greater than the great, no one could ever take his crown away. He's more mighty than the mightiest, he reigns from above. He's the old time, undisputed, undefeated champion of love. all right let's open our bibles this morning the first corinthians chapter two first corinthians chapter two uh... right now been preaching on sunday morning for a long time on the doctrines of the bible and for the past month or so on the doctrine of angels and specifically now we're talking about the fallen angels And the ushers will give you an outline if you would like to use that to follow along this morning, as well as using your Bibles. I hope you have your Bible with you. First Corinthians chapter 10. And we'll begin reading in verse 16. First Corinthians 10 and verse 16. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. Behold, Israel, after the flesh, are not they which eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the altar? What say I then, that the idol is anything, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God. And I would not that you should have fellowship with devils. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and of the table of devils. And notice, especially verses 20 and 21, in those two verses, you see the word devils four times and um... we'll all start with that and uh... look at of this morning some offerings concerning the subject what are father we are praying now for your help and your blessing i pray that you might help me as a trial preaching takes over to god this morning to do so in the power of the holy spirit i pray that You might teach us what you have for us and help us this morning. I pray if there's anybody here who's never trusted Christ as Savior that they might do so today. And I pray that you'll teach us the Word of God this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. Now, in verses 20 and 21, notice again the apostle declared, "...but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice," he's talking about sacrificing when they sacrifice to idols, "...they sacrifice to devils and not to God, and I would not that you should have fellowship with devils." You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and of the table of devils. Now, you see the word devils four times in those two verses, and the devils that are spoken of in these verses refer to the entities that we usually call demons. Now, in our English King James Bible, you do not find the word demon. The Bible simply refers to them as devils. The word demon comes from the Greek word which is translated devils in these various passages in the New Testament. all that greek word is the word by a money on and as you sounds like you can see that you get the word demon all from that word now there's also another greek word i'll say the greek and i'm i'm using because of the lord gave the new testament initially in greek he gave the old testament or initially in hebrew with small portions being written in aramaic And then, praise His name, He got it to us in English in the King James Bible. But you don't find the word devil or the word demon in the Bible. God simply refers to them in the English as devils. But the Greek word in the New Testament is dæmonion, which is where we get the word demon from. There's another Greek word which is translated devil. in our English New Testament, and that is the word diabolos, which always refers to Satan himself, the leader of the demons. And then it's also interesting to note the Hebrew words that are translated devils in the Old Testament. For example, if you'd like to look to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 32, and here Moses is about to depart of the earth and go to heaven and he's giving some last words to the people of Israel and in Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse number 17 he's talking about how Israel had become at various places involved in idolatry in the wilderness and he says this about them. Verse 16, they provoked him, provoked the Lord, to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. Verse 17, they sacrificed unto devils, not to God, to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. And so then he said that they sacrificed to devils. The word there is the Hebrew word shed and you have the same thing in Psalm 106 and verse number 37 where it's referring to the same thing, the fact that Israel had become at various times involved in idolatry. And Psalm 106 and verse 36 says, "...and they served their idols, which were a snare unto them." Verse 37, "...yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan." and the land was polluted with blood. Now in both of those passages, Deuteronomy 32 and Psalm 106, the word for devils is the Hebrew word shade. This word comes from another word which means to swell, and it has the idea of swelling in pride and in insolence, and that's a good word for the demons then. And then the other Hebrew word that's used in the Old Testament for these demons or devils, you find it, if you'll notice, in Leviticus chapter 17. Leviticus chapter 17. And here in this passage, in verse number 7, the Lord is giving instructions here to Moses concerning the people of Israel and what they're to do and not to do. And he says in verse 7, "...and they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils after whom they've gone a-whoring. This shall be a statute forever unto them throughout their generations." And then the word translated devils there, you see the same word if you'll look at 2 Chronicles chapter 11. And here the Bible's talking about how when Jeroboam divided the kingdom between North and South, and he himself became the king of the North. He turned the people away from the worship of the true and living God. In 2 Chronicles 11, And verse number 15 says, "...and he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made." Now the Hebrew word in Leviticus 17 and in 2 Chronicles 11 is the word sa'ir, and that's interesting. It's a word that refers to a he-goat, which that was one of the forms into which idolatrous images would be made for worship, and so they would make a statue, as it were, of a he-goat and then they would worship that as an idolatrous god. And it's interesting that that form has carried down to the present day. You've probably seen the five-pointed pentagram star that with the one point pointing down and two pointing up like that, and the form of the devil in that image set forth. And so then they would make statues of these he-goats and worship them, and the Lord uses that word for he-goats and translates it devils in those Old Testament passages. All of these words, as well as the context of the passages in which they are used, show us that demons are the spiritual activating force and factor behind idolatry and false religion. So a person who's involved in idolatry and false religion unknowingly most of the time, but true nevertheless, is involved in something that has as its activating principle demons and devils. And so then we talk about demons, and I'll be honest with you, I was somewhat hesitant to even approach this. I mean, I thought, well, you know, people come to church to hear about God, not about the devil. And yet the Lord tells us quite a bit about the devil and the demons in the Bible. And by the way, that's where we find out the truth about these things, not from what's been handed down, not from some medieval artist or something, but from the Word of God. I have seen Christians, though, have an unhealthy fascination about demons, and I don't want to cause that, so I would caution you against that, but we do want to see on the next few weeks what the Bible teaches about them. And this morning, just some very basic things concerning what are demons. And again, you don't find the word demon in the English Bible. They're simply called devils in our English Bible. Now, what are these demons? Let's notice several things this morning. Let me say in the first place that they're not superstitious designations for natural diseases and infirmities. Now this is the explanation given by many unbelievers as to what demons are. And when they say this, what they're saying is that demons do not really exist except in superstition. that they're simply superstitious terms that are used for natural diseases and natural infirmities. Now, let me say to you that the demons do sometimes cause infirmities, and I didn't say every time, but the Bible tells us and shows us that demons do sometimes cause infirmities. For example, if you'd like to consider a few verses with me, the Bible tells us that demons sometimes can cause mutinous. Luke chapter 11 and verse number 14 tells us concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was casting out a devil and it was dumb, and it came to pass when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake. and the people wondered. And so then here you have somebody who was mute, who was dumb, could not speak, and the Bible says that it was because of a demon, and when the Lord cast this demon or this devil out, then the person could speak. So in this case then, a muteness was caused by a demon. And then in Matthew chapter 12, And verse number 22 of the Bible shows us here that demons sometimes cause blindness. Now again, I didn't say in every case. I didn't say everybody that's mute's got a demon or that the muteness is caused always by a demon. But sometimes, as we saw in Luke chapter 11, that was the cause, at least in the case of this person out of whom Jesus cast the devil and made the person so they could speak. Now in Matthew 12 and verse 22, the Bible says, "...then was brought unto him one possessed with the devil, notice, blind and dumb, and he healed him insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw." And so in this case then, we're told about a person who was blind and that blindness was caused by this demon and when Jesus cast the demon out, then the blindness was healed. Now again, I didn't say, and the Bible doesn't say, that everybody that's blind, that it's because of a demon. That's not always the cause, but in this case it was. And then the Bible tells us that demons sometimes cause insanity. in Matthew chapter 17. We're told about when Jesus came back down off the Mount of Transfiguration after being transfigured. The Scripture tells us in Matthew 17 and verse 14, and when they were come to the multitude, they being Jesus, Peter, James and John, who had gone with him up to the Mount of Transfiguration, When they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying," here's my mother's favorite verse, "'Lord, have mercy on my son, for he's a lunatic, and so are vexed. For oft times he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.' Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me." And Jesus rebuked the devil and he departed out of him and the child was cured from that very hour. And so then in this passage we have a situation where a boy was played, his father said he was a lunatic But he had this demon, and the demon would cause him to, sometime when he'd go by a fire or a body of water, to throw himself into it, seeking to commit suicide. And so, again, not every person who's plagued with mental problems has a demon, but in this case, the demons caused insanity and caused this person to have suicidal tendencies. In Mark chapter 9 and verse number 25, the Bible tells us about a person who was deaf because of demonic attack. Mark 9, 25, the Bible says, "'When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee come out of him and enter no more into him. And the Spirit cried and rent him sore and came out of him. And he was as one dead, insomuch that many said he is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and he arose." We have this fellow who not only was mute but was also deaf and the reason that's given is because of this unclean spirit, this demon, and when Jesus got rid of the demon, then the deafness as well as the muteness of this individual was cured and was healed. And so then I'm saying that the Bible indicates that demons do sometimes cause infirmities, muteness, blindness, insanity, deafness and so forth. But the Bible makes a definite distinction between natural infirmities and demon possession. Now notice in Matthew chapter 4 We saw that sometimes demons do cause infirmities, but here in Matthew 4 and verse 24 we see that the Lord puts a distinction between natural infirmities and demon possession, which indicates that they're not one and the same. Matthew 4, 24, and His, that is Jesus' fame went throughout all Syria. Now notice this, and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and he healed them." Now notice here that he puts a distinction here between those that were taken with different diseases and torments and those which were possessed with devils and those which were lunatic. Do you see what I'm saying? He divides it off one from the other and this indicates then that devils, when we talk about demons, they're not superstitious designations for natural diseases and infirmities because Jesus puts a difference between them in Matthew 4 and verse 24. And so then we talk about demons. Number one, they're not just superstitious designations for natural diseases and infirmities. Number two, we're talking about what are demons. Number two, They are created beings. Now, let me point out to you that everything that exists with the exception of God himself was created by the Lord, everything. In John chapter 1, verses 1 through 3, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says this, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. Now notice verse 3, all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. And so he said then, all things were created by God, specifically by God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The same thing in Colossians chapter 1 and verse number 16, speaking of Christ, the Bible says, for by Him, were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. And so then we find that all things that exist with the exception of God Himself were created by the Lord, everything. And so then, that means that demons are created beings. If all things were created by Him, that would include them. However, let me also point out that they were not originally created as demons, for everything that God made was good in its original creation. That's what the Bible says in the last verse of Genesis chapter 1 after telling us about the creation week. The Bible says, "...and God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." And so everything that God made was good in its original creation. He created all things. That means the demons were created by him. But when he originally created all things, he created them in a state of goodness. God did not create the demons as the demons. That means that something happened after they were originally created as good creatures which caused them to become demons. And so what are demons? Number one, they're not superstitious designations for natural diseases and infirmities. Number two, they are created beings, though they were not created as demons, but they were created in a state of goodness and then something happened later that caused them to become demons. Then number three, what are demons? They are spirits. Now, if you'd like to look to Luke chapter 10, in this chapter, We have the account of the Lord Jesus Christ sending out the 70 to minister in his name. Verse 1 of that chapter says, After these things the Lord appointed other 70 also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whether he himself would come. So Jesus then sent out the 70 to minister on his behalf. Then down in verse 17 the Scripture says, and the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." Now notice that they said, Lord, they were rejoicing and happy about the fact that the demons, the devils, were subject unto them through the name of the Lord Jesus. Verse 18, He said unto them, Jesus said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven, Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you, notwithstanding in this, rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. And so then, now what I want you to notice is that in verse 17, these 70 disciples refer to these entities as devils, whereas in verse 20, Jesus refers to the same entities as spirits. Do you see that? And so then the devils, the demons, are spirits. This simply means that in their essence they do not have a physical body. They don't have a body of flesh and blood, a material body, a physical body, but rather they exist as spiritual entities. Now we'll see in upcoming weeks that demons can and sometimes do, and I think more and more in this day and time, possess individuals, physical individuals, but in their essence they're spirit beings and exist in the spirit world. And so demons then, when we talk about demons, Demons, this is not just a superstitious designation for natural diseases and infirmities, though demons sometimes do cause natural diseases and infirmities. They are created beings, though they were not created as demons, but rather they were created in a state of goodness and then something happened that caused them to become demons. Number three, they are spirits. They're not physical entities, though sometimes they can possess people and even animals that are physical entities. Now let's Consider four views concerning demons. Various people have different ideas as to what exactly the demons are and I'll give you four different viewpoints that various people have had. And so the first viewpoint is that demons are the spirits of unsaved men who have died. There are people who advance this idea that when a lost person dies that their spirit turns into a demon and so the demons are the spirits of lost men who have died. Now, that idea is advanced by some, but that is not true. Here's the reason I know that. The Bible teaches that when an unsaved man, a lost person, dies without Christ, that person goes to hell, not goes wandering around on earth. as we've seen is the case with the demons or at least with some of the demons. Now, in Luke chapter 16, Jesus told us about a person, a person who lived on this earth but who died without Christ. He died lost and went to hell and Jesus shows us this picture, the only one in the Bible, that specifically tells us about a man in hell, what he's thinking and that kind of thing. Luke 16 and verses 22 and 23. Well, let's start with verse 19 for the context. Jesus said, There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sowers and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores." So Jesus then is talking about two different people, one of them a rich man who lives in luxury, the other a poor beggar who sat outside this rich man's gate begging for food. Now here though comes something that they had in common. Notice verses 22 and 23, "'And it came to pass,' Jesus said, that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. And so then this beggar, he was a beggar here on earth, but he was a beggar who had trusted Christ as his Savior. And so then when he died, the angels came and took his soul and spirit and took the alma into this Jewish conception of heaven called Abraham's bosom. And now Jesus goes on and says, "'The rich man also died and was buried, and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.' And so then this rich man, he was rich here on earth, but he was lost. He had never received Christ as his Saviour, but rather had rejected him, and so he and the poor beggar come to the same ultimate destination as far as this life is concerned, and that destination is death. The poor beggar, he was a beggar here on earth and he died. The rich man was wealthy here on earth, but he came to the same end, as far as this life is concerned, as the beggar did, and that is he also died. Now, the time is going to come, unless the Lord returns first, when I will die. The time is going to come when you will die. And you know, this thing of death is something. They talk about the death rate getting worse and this and that. I don't know about that far as I can tell. The death rate's one out of one. I mean, everybody who's ever lived died, and so will we unless the Lord returns first. But the rich man, when the beggar died, he trusted Christ as his Savior. He went to heaven, Abraham's bosom, but the rich man, No doubt thinking because he was rich he didn't need God. That's one of the big problems with riches is they are deceiving. They deceive people into thinking that they have everything they need. They don't need anything or anybody else. But when they die, if they do not know Christ as Saviour, they'll go to the same place this rich man went to. And Jesus said that rich man died and was buried and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torment and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And so then, this teaches us that when a lost person dies without Christ, that person, doesn't his spirit go wandering around on earth, but rather the person goes to hell when he dies. And so then, what I'm saying is that the idea that the demons are the spirits of lost men who have died is not a scriptural idea. Lost people, when they die, their spirits don't turn into demons. Their spirits go to hell. But then a second view that some people have promoted as to what the demons are is this. Some people have believed that the demons are the disembodied spirits of a pre-Adamic race of people. Now there are some well-known Bible students that have advanced this idea The idea being that before God created Adam in the Garden of Eden, that way before that there was another race of people before Adam that inhabited the earth and that when this pre-Adamic race of people were destroyed, their disembodied spirits became the demons. Now, as I said, there have been some well-known Bible students that have advanced this idea But if you'll check out I Corinthians chapter 15 and verse number 45, you'll find that the Bible tells us that Adam was the first man. Now, what does that mean? That means that there was no pre-Adamic race of people. Adam was the first man, and so then the idea that the demons are the disembodied spirits of a pre-Adamic race of people is false from the biblical perspective because the Bible says that Adam was the first man. Now, the third viewpoint, the third idea that some people have had as to what the demons are is this. Some have thought that the demons are the spirits of the monstrous offspring of the Union of evil angels and pre-flood women. Now there's a somewhat disputed passage in Genesis chapter 6 that's telling us things concerning what conditions were like on the earth prior to Noah's flood. Now here's what it says, Genesis 6 verses 1 through 4, And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that notice this, the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh, yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days and also after that when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And so then this passage, and again it's a disputed passage, which for centuries there's been disagreement between Bible students about what it's talking about exactly, but it seems to indicate that fallen angels, what are called the sons of God in this passage, had sexual relations with human women, referred to as the daughters of men, and that this resulted in a monstrous hybrid race of giants which God then sent Noah's flood to destroy. And some people believe that when the bodies of these giants were destroyed in the flood, that their spirits were then loosed to become the demons. There are some that believe that. I'm not one who believes that. Number four, the fourth view— I do, by the way, believe those were fallen angels and human women. but I don't believe the idea that these became demons. The fourth viewpoint and the one to which I hold is, and it seems to be the most natural and logical concept, that the demons are simply the fallen angels. Now we touched on this last time, but this viewpoint says that a high-ranking angelic-like creature named Lucifer attempted to exalt himself above God and was cast out of heaven becoming Satan. In Luke 10, 18, Jesus said, I saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven. So he's talking there about the original fall of Satan who before his fall was known as Lucifer. There are two passages in the Old Testament that tell us about some of the details as to what happened in this fall of Lucifer. One is in Isaiah chapter 14, verses 12 through 15. Now in both of these passages, The Lord uses a tool that he often uses in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, and that is a tool that we call double reference. In other words, he will tell us about an entity or a person but in giving the description and the details, he not only is describing that human individual, but goes behind that to the spiritual force which activated that individual and that spiritual force, in this case, being Lucifer. Now, in Isaiah 14, the human, that's under discussion here is the king of Babylon, as you can see from verse 4. But you get down in this passage to verse number 12 and the Lord steps behind just the human king of Babylon to tell us about the Spirit that motivated him and controlled him. And he says this in verse 12, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations? For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High." And so then, Lucifer, this angelic being, developed this pride and this willfulness, this desire to elevate himself above God. And the Lord says to him in verse 15, "...yet thou shalt be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit. And so then Lucifer, due to his pride and his selfishness and his willfulness, decided that he would exalt himself above God, and yet God said to him, you will be brought down to hell. Now, the second place in the Old Testament which uses this same tool of double reference, in this case, Ezekiel chapter 28, the human that he's talking about is the prince of Tyrus or the prince of Tyre. But then he goes behind the human prince to show us the spiritual prince that motivated and controlled and activated him. Ezekiel 28, beginning in verse number 13, the Lord says to this spiritual being, the garden of God, every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold. The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee, in the day that thou wast created. And so here the Lord tells about the fact that this high-ranking angelic cherub, as he refers to him in verse 14, that he was a very beautiful creature covered with precious stones and gold and with the workmanship of tabrets and pipes inside of him so he was a musical being. And this you can understand how the devil uses music to his advantage and to our disadvantage. Then he goes on in verse 14 and says to this creature, Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, and I have sent thee so. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God. Thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned. Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God, and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty. Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness. I will cast thee to the ground. I will lay thee before kings that they may behold thee. And so then there's this high-ranking, angelic-type creature that the Lord refers to as a cherub named Lucifer, and this being rebelled against God, tried to exalt himself above God, was cast out of heaven, and became Satan. Now, when Lucifer fell, and became Satan, a number of the angels joined this rebellion and they became the devil's angels or the demons. Now Jesus spoke of these in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 41 when he described the judgment that will take place when he returns. And Jesus declared, Then shall he, the Lord, say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil, that is, Satan, and his angels. Well, where'd Satan get angels? Because when he fell from his position as the anointed cherub and was cast out of heaven, a number of the angels joined him in his rebellion against God and they became the devil's angels. that is, the demons. Now, the exact number of the angels who followed Satan in his rebellion against God is not given in the Bible, but it is suggested in Revelation chapter 12 that the percentage was one-third of the angels And since the Bible tells us that the angels, it never gives a definite number. In fact, in one place, Hebrews chapter 12, it refers to them as an innumerable company of angels. In Revelation chapter 5, John saw the angelic beings in heaven worshipping the Lamb along with the 24 elders and so forth, but he said the number, of the angels was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands. And so there's a whole bunch of angels that God created and the Bible suggests that when Lucifer, the high-ranking cherub, are sinned against God, sought to exalt His throne above God's throne, and was cast out of heaven and became Satan, that one-third of the angels joined Him in His rebellion. They became the devil's angels, or what we generally call the demons. And so then, what are demons? Well, number one, they're not superstitious designations for natural diseases and infirmities, though they sometimes do cause diseases and infirmities. Number two, they're created beings, though they were not created as demons. They were created in a state of goodness and then something happened that caused them to become demons. Number three, they are spiritual beings, not physical beings, though they can and sometimes do. possess the bodies of physical people and even animals, but what are they? The demons are the angels. This is what happened. It caused them to leave the state of goodness and become demons. They joined Lucifer in his rebellion against God and Lucifer, he fell and was kicked out of heaven and became the devil, diabolos, Satan. But the angels which joined him, a third of the angels, became the devil's angels or the demons. And so then that's what the demons are. And we'll move on and talk about some other things next time. But that's what the demons are, and people who like to fiddle around with demonic stuff, what you're fooling with is something, and by the way, you get to fooling with that stuff you'll wish you hadn't before it's over with. But you're dealing with something that you don't want to be involved with when you get involved with demonic things, and we'll see more about that in weeks to come. Now, Father, would you bless what we've looked at this morning from the Word of God?