1A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth.
3Another sign was seen in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven crowns. 4His tail drew one third of the stars of the sky, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Her child was caught up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty days.
7There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war. 8They didn’t prevail. No place was found for them any more in heaven. 9The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ has come; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. 11They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death. 12Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has gone down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.”
13When the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished for a time, times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15The serpent spewed water out of his mouth after the woman like a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the stream. 16The earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon spewed out of his mouth. 17The dragon grew angry with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep God’s commandments and hold Jesus’ testimony.
Malevolent spirits are spoken of several times in the Bible. They are called "demons" in most Bible translations, and likely represent those beings mentioned in the New Testament who fell with Satan (Matt 25:41; Rev 12:7-9). The writings of the apostle Paul speak of such creatures, who live in the upper spiritual regions of the earth (Col 3:10), and who are our true enemies (Eph 6:12), over whom the Messiah Jesus triumphed in the cross (Col 2:15). Matthew 12:24 designates Satan as their head.
In the Old Testament, these spirits are called evil spirits, and their deeds are often used by God to accomplish His own purposes (I Kings 22:20-23), even their leader Satan (Job 1:6-12). Two instances are when God used an evil spirit to judge Abimelech for the murder of the sons of Gideon, and an evil spirit punished King Saul for his disobedience to God (1 Sam 16:14-15).
Another example of the activity of fallen angels is seen in the life and work of the prophet Daniel, as they opposed his prophetic work regarding the end time and his prophesying of it, which relates to the same time of activity at the end of the age before Messiah (Dan 10:12-14).
Rather than the term "evil spirit" the New Testament often used the term "demon," which was already used in the Greek word for a spirit who had interaction with humans. Socrates (469-399 B.C.) uses this Greek term, daimon (δαιμον) in his defense against the charge of atheism by the city fathers of Athens because he rejected the Olympian gods, claiming a personal (daimon) spirit that provided direction. This may be seen in the Apology (93, 101) and in his interaction with Euthyphro1
This Greek term for a "personal spirit" with Socrates is identified with the evil spirits in the writing of the New Testament and later literature. In the biblical texts, they control some humans to do their will, while at the same time inflict physical harm and sickness on others, as in Matthew 8:16.
During the earthly ministry of Jesus, demons were especially active. Jesus cast demons out of those who were possessed (Matt 8:16, 32; Mark 5:1-13). At times, as in Matthew 8:29-31, they acknowledged the identity of Jesus and were anticipating their future judgment. Those possessed were under the complete control of the demons, but they were subservient to the Son of God.
No evidence exists that demons were in control of the persons who were regenerated during the time of Jesus on earth or after the beginning of the church that is recorded in Acts 2. In the book of Acts, Paul encountered a servant girl who was possessed by a spirit relating to the god Apollo (Greek god of wisdom and knowledge) whose major shrine was at Delphi. After being annoyed by her for some time, the apostle cast the spirit out of her (Acts 16:16-18).
The Apostle gave teaching regarding the influence of demons (principalities and powers) and the work of Satan against Christians, but demon possession of Christians is not a subject broached by him or the other apostles. There is a discussion of the rise of demonic works in the Revelation of John that relates to the end of the present order and the coming of Christ, but not of believers being possessed by them.
What is especially important to understand is the demonic activity in the life and ministry of Jesus was in view of His coming sacrificial work on the cross, and that which is found in the revelation is in view of His coming in judgment. Though we should be wary of Satan's devices, and those of the fallen angels, we are protected by spiritual forces by the word of God, our faith, and the work of the Holy Spirit (Eph 6:10-18).
Harold North Fowler, Plato (Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Phaedrus), published by Harvard University Press, 1961. ↩︎