Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness

Are demons real? Are they red creatures with goatees holding pitchforks and sitting on people’s shoulders while whispering bad things? Did a third of the angels really rebel with Satan? Are demons and “principalities and powers” just terms for the same entities, or are they different members of the kingdom of darkness? Is the world a chaotic mess because of what happened in Eden, or is there more to the story of evil?

What people believed about evil spiritual forces in ancient biblical times is very different than what people have been led to believe about them today. And this ancient worldview is missing from most attempts to treat the topic.

In Demons, Michael Heiser debunks popular presuppositions about the very real powers of darkness. Rather than traditions, stories, speculations, or myths, Demons is grounded in what ancient people of both the Old and New Testament eras believed about evil spiritual forces and in what the Bible actually says. You’ll come away with a sound, biblical understanding of demons, supernatural rebellion, evil spirits, and spiritual warfare.

320 pages.

Contents

• Introduction
• What You Know May Not Be So
• Section 1: Biblical Vocabulary for the Powers of Darkness
  • Hebrew Terms for Evil Spiritual Beings
  • It Was All Greek to Them, Too
• Section 2: The Powers of Darkness in the Old Testament and Second Temple Judaism
  • The Original Rebel—I Will Be Like the Most High
  • Satan in Second Temple Judaism
  • The Second Divine Rebellion—Making Our Own Imagers
  • Depravity and Demons in Second Temple Judaism
  • The Third Divine Rebellion—Chaos in the Nations
  • Dark Powers over the Nations in Second Temple Judaism
• Section 3: “The Devil and His Angels”: The Powers of Darkness in the New Testament
  • The Devil—His Dominion and Destiny
  • Evil Spirits—Demons and Their Destiny
  • The Ruling Powers—Their Delegitimization and Destiny
• Section 4: Common Questions and Misconceptions
  • Myths and Questions about the Powers of Darkness