Tag: Demons

Marine spirits

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on January 14, 2024. Posted in The Basics on Angels and Demons.

What are marine spirits?

Marine spirits is a phrase used in some expressions of the Charismatic faith, and it’s associated with beliefs related to demonic oppression and possession. So-called deliverance ministries may seek to exorcise “marine spirits” and other types of evil spirits about which they speculate.

In most cases, marine spirit is meant as a generic term rather than as a reference to one, unique, named demon. In this way the term is different from other supposed oppressive spirits, which may be given individual names such as Jezebel, Leviathan, Absalom, Python, and so forth. Even so, leviathan and python spirits are sometimes grouped as “water spirits” or “marine spirits.” Other names sometimes associated with this class are Rahab and even Merman or Mermaid.

Those who teach the existence of a special class of “marine spirits” trace those demons’ origin to the great flood of Noah’s day. Supposedly, the “marine spirits” live in water and do not feel comfortable being dry—Jesus’ reference to the “dry places” in Luke 11:24 is used as a supporting proof text. Also, the Legion that Jesus exorcised from the man in the tombs were “marine spirits” because they caused the pigs to rush into the sea (Luke 8:26–33). A “marine spirit,” according to the lore, often comes as a succubus or incubus in order to make a person a “spiritual spouse”; and they are sometimes called “husband spirits” or “wife spirits.” Their effect is sexual lust and perversion.

Belief in “marine spirits” is based on extra-biblical information, so there is an extraordinary variety of teaching about what a “marine spirit” is and what it does. Any given deliverance ministry or demon chaser could hold a set of beliefs concerning “marine spirits” that differ from another. It is hard to find consistent teaching about “marine spirits” or other types of demons within the Charismatic movement.

Scripture gives no reason to believe there is a specific class of demon called a “marine spirit” or that Christians today have a specific ability to rebuke or exorcise them. Whether or not some demonic entity is directly involved in a person’s struggle with lust, the Bible never addresses the concept of a “marine spirit.” The remedy for lust and other besetting sins is not to rebuke a “marine spirit” but to pray, seek discipleship, and submit oneself in obedience to God (James 4:7). It is no use blaming mermaids, speaking to evil spirits, or inventing a new mythology.

Nephilim

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on January 6, 2024. Posted in Genesis, The Basics on Angels and Demons, What’s new?.

Who, what were the Nephilim?

The Nephilim (“fallen ones, giants”) may have been the offspring of sexual relationships between the sons of God and the daughters of men in Genesis 6:1–4. There is much debate as to the identity of the Nephilim (verse 4) and the “sons of God” (verse 2), who seem to be distinct from the “human beings” in verse 1.

One theory is that the “sons of God” were fallen angels (demons) who took on physical form and mated with human females (or demons who possessed human males who then mated with human females). These unions resulted in extraordinary offspring, the Nephilim, who were “heroes of old, men of renown” of a giant size and, apparently, enhanced physical abilities (Genesis 6:4). If demons were involved in producing the Nephilim, it is likely those demons are the ones who were judged by God and are now “kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day” (Jude 1:6).

Assuming the Nephilim were the spawn of demons, why would demons want to cohabit with human women and produce offspring? One speculation is that the demons were attempting to pollute the human bloodline in order to prevent the coming of the Messiah. God had promised that the Messiah would one day crush the head of the serpent, Satan (Genesis 3:15). The demons in Genesis 6 were possibly attempting to prevent the crushing of the serpent and make it impossible for a sinless “seed of the woman” to be born.

There are at least two objections to the theory that the Nephilim were demon-human hybrids: first, there is nothing in the text to expressly identify the sons of God as angels. Second, the Bible never indicates that angels are physiologically compatible with women and can procreate with them (unless Genesis 6 is the only instance).

Others have suggested that the sons of God might be fallen angels who possessed men. As in the first theory, the phrase sons of God could still refer to fallen angels, the difference being that the demons were using mortal men to accomplish their goals. While this view would resolve the physiological problems of the first theory, there is, again, nothing in the text to suggest demonic possession.

Another view of the Nephilim is that the statement “There were giants on the earth in those days” (Genesis 6:4, NKJV) simply means that everyone was big and tall and mighty. Genetically, humanity was still in a nearly pristine condition. This theory takes the view that these sons of God were simply men. This would explain why there were giants before the flood “and also afterward” (Genesis 6:4; cf. 1 Samuel 17:4–7), as primeval genetic material survived in Noah’s family. The fact that Nephilim were still around sporadically after the flood is an indicator that giants like Goliath were exceptional, but not superhuman.

According to legend (the Book of Enoch and other non-biblical writings), the Nephilim were a unique race of giants and superheroes who committed acts of great evil. In the 2014 movie Noah, starring Russell Crowe, the Nephilim are fallen angels encased in rock. All that the Bible directly says about the Nephilim is that they were “heroes and famous warriors of ancient times” (NLT) or “powerful men of old, the famous men” (CSB). The Nephilim were not aliens, angels, “Watchers,” or rock monsters; they were literal, physical beings.

As mentioned, there were some Nephilim after the flood, according to Genesis 6:4. When the Israelites spied out the land of Canaan, they reported back to Moses, “We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:33). Later, as Moses addressed the people of Israel before they entered Canaan, he mentioned the sons of Anak: “You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: ‘Who can stand up against the Anakites?’” (Deuteronomy 9:1–2). These “giants” were destroyed by the Israelites with God’s help (Deuteronomy 3:10–11; 9:3; Joshua 11:21–22; 1 Samuel 17).

It’s a mysterious passage, but Genesis 6:4 states that there were Nephilim in the land in the days before the flood. The passage does not explicitly say how these giants came to be. It is best to not be dogmatic on an issue that the Bible says so little about and that is not theologically significant in the grand scheme of things.

Nephilim demons

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on January 6, 2024. Posted in The Basics on Angels and Demons.

Are the demons the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim?

As a background, please read our articles on “Who were the sons of God in Genesis 6:1-4?”, and “Who were the Nephilim?” With the understanding that the sons of God were the fallen angels, and that the Nephilim were the hybrid offspring of the union between the fallen angels and human women, the question then arises: What happened to the spirits of the Nephilim after they were killed, whether by the flood, or in the case of the possible post-flood Nephilim (Genesis 6:4; Numbers 13:33), after the flood?

Some speculate that the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim remained on the earth and became what we now refer to as demons. The presumption is that, as angelic-human hybrids, the spirits of the Nephilim would have been different from the human soul-spirit, having the ability to remain present in this world despite no longer having a physical body. This would possibly explain the desire the demons have to possess human beings, thus gaining control over a physical body. This would also make some sense from the perspective of the fallen angels, who are outnumbered 2-1 by the holy angels (see Revelation 12:4), giving them a good reason to seek to increase their ranks.

The Nephilim explanation for the origin of the demons is partly the result of a misunderstanding of who exactly are the “spirits in prison” in 1 Peter 3:19 (see also Jude 6). Many misunderstand the “spirits in prison” to be all of the fallen angels who rebelled against God. If all of the fallen angels are imprisoned, then there must be an alternate explanation for the existence of demons; thus, the need for the Nephilim explanation. However, clearly, not all of the fallen angels are imprisoned. Satan, the leader of the angelic rebellion against God, is not imprisoned. Why would God allow the rebel leader to remain free but then confine the angels who followed Satan in the rebellion? No, it makes more sense to understand the “spirits in prison” as the fallen angels who participated in an additional rebellion, viz., the sons-of-God/daughters–of-men incident. The fallen angels who mated with human females are the ones who are imprisoned. There is no solid biblical reason to reject the idea that the demons are the same beings as the fallen angels.

The idea that the demons are the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim is also drawn from the book of Enoch, which goes into great detail regarding the Nephilim. We have to remember that, while the book of Enoch contains some truth (Jude 14), it is not the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. We should never base a belief exclusively, or even primarily, on extra-biblical literature. So, with no need to explain the existence of demons outside of the fallen angels, and with no clear evidence in Scripture for the spirits of the Nephilim continuing on Earth, there is no solid basis on which to identify the demons with the spirits of the Nephilim. While the idea is possible, it cannot be derived explicitly from Scripture, and therefore should not be considered the best explanation of the origin of the demons.

Spirit of infirmity

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on December 30, 2023. Posted in Demons, What’s new?.

What is a spirit of infirmity?

The term spirit of infirmity occurs in Luke 13:11 specifically in the KJV. Here a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years is healed by Jesus on the Sabbath day. Luke says she has a “spirit of infirmity” or a “disabling spirit” (ESV) or a “sickness caused by a spirit” (NASB) or is “crippled by a spirit” (NIV), crippled by an evil spirit (NLT). Quite simply then, this “spirit of infirmity” is a demon who caused the woman to be crippled for eighteen years.

The Bible is clear that spiritual warfare exists. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” And, from Luke 13, it is clear that evil spirits can sometimes cause physical maladies. However, it is not clear that there are specific spirits whose “specialty” is such things as sickness or poverty or anger. Luke’s reference to the “spirit of infirmity” indicates that, at least in that one case, a demon had been granted power to inflict a disability. Extrapolating a doctrine that categorizes demons according to the afflictions they cause goes beyond what the Bible teaches.

We need to be careful not to overemphasize the power of demons. Many human ailments are simply caused by living in a fallen world, and there are many instances in Luke’s gospel of people being healed of diseases with no mention of a demonic cause. In Luke 13 Jesus specifically speaks of Satan having bound this woman (verse 16). But, in many other cases of healing, He simply heals with no mention of evil spirits involved.

Today, there are some people who refer to “spirits of infirmity” as being the cause for sickness. Or they may talk about “spirits of” particular emotions or sins, such as anger or lust. Certainly, Satan and his demons can attack our bodies, emotions, and thinking patterns. But we cannot blame every illness or every difficult emotion or every sin on Satan’s influence. There is a variety of reasons a person may be struggling with such things.

No matter the specific cause of an infirmity, we can bring the problem to God in prayer. James 4:7–8 talks about resisting the devil and submitting to God. Prayer is one way to do this. James 5:16 says we should confess our sins to one another so that we can pray for healing.

The major thing to observe from Luke 13:10–17 is the power and compassion of Jesus. In an instant, He overcame the disability this woman had been struggling with for eighteen years. He healed her on the Sabbath day, to the indignation of the Pharisees. He responded to her need with compassion, calling the woman a “daughter of Abraham” (verse 16) and highlighting how much God loved her and was willing to free her.