Demons: Hell's Legion of Fallen Angels

St. Albertus Magnus said of demonology, "A daemonibus docetur, de daemonibus docet, et ad daemones ducit" ("It is taught by the demons, it teaches about the demons, and it leads to the demons").

Gustave Doré's depiction of Satan from John Milton's Paradise Lost

In some Christian mythology, a fallen angel is an angel that has been exiled or banished from Heaven. Often such banishment is a punishment for disobeying or rebelling against God. One early source for information on angelology and demonology is the Persian prophet Zoroaster. The best-known fallen angel is Lucifer. Lucifer rebelled and was cast out of Heaven and fell to Earth for his offense. According to some traditions, fallen angels will roam the Earth until Judgment Day, when they will be banished to Hell.

by Greg Verandas

Christian demonology is the study of demons from a Christian point of view. It is primarily based on the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament), the exegesis of these scriptures, the scriptures of early Christian philosophers and hermits, tradition, and legends incorporated from other beliefs.

The origin of the term lies in the Hebrew word for "giant". The Hebrew word translated as "giants" here is nephilim, a plural, which itself derives from the root word Naphal, which means to fall. The apocryphal Book of Enoch explains that a group of rebellious angels "left their first estate" (heaven, or the sky) and came down (fell) to Earth to marry human women and have children with them. Jude makes mention of these angels in the New Testament:

“ Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. ”

Due to the disastrous results of this forbidden intermingling, many have come to view the word "fallen" as denoting a fall from grace[citation needed], though it seems that the original meaning was simply to descend from the heavens.

The distinction of good and bad angels constantly appears in the Bible, but it is instructive to note that there is no sign of any dualism or conflict between two equal principles, one good and the other evil. The conflict depicted is rather that waged on earth between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the Evil One, but the latter's inferiority is always supposed. The existence, then, of this inferior, and therefore created, spirit, has to be explained.

The gradual development of Hebrew language consciousness on this point is very clearly marked in the inspired writings. The account of the fall of the First Parents (Genesis 3) is couched in such terms that it is difficult to see in it anything more than the acknowledgment of the existence of a principle of evil who was jealous of the human race.

This belief involves Lucifer's revolution against God, well known amongst Christians. Pride, the gravest of the seven deadly sins, eventually led to the expulsion from Heaven of certain beings, up to and including the highest orders of angels. Lucifer, who himself succumbed to pride, was the first and mightiest angel to be created. With intelligence, radiance, beauty, and power unmatched among all of the angels in Heaven, Lucifer was second in majesty only to God Himself.

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

In 1589, Peter Binsfeld paired each of the deadly sins with a demon, who tempted people by means of the associated sin. According to Binsfeld's classification of demons, the pairings are as follows:

Asmodeus: Lust
Beelzebub: Gluttony
Mammon: Greed
Belphegor: Sloth
Satan: Wrath
Leviathan: Envy
Lucifer: Pride

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There are also other demons who invoke sin, for instance Lilith and her offspring, the incubi and succubi, invoke lust. The succubi sleep with men in order to impregnate themselves, so that they can spawn demons. The incubi sleep with women to lead them astray and to impregnate them with demon spawn.

Unfortunately, Lucifer became ambitious and self-centered, eventually deciding to prove his power by raising his throne to the height of God's throne. Other angels did not approve of Lucifer's plan; they did not want a lower being trying symbolically to become the equal of God. When Lucifer enacted his scheme, he was instantly hurled out of Heaven. This account of the rebellion might have come from several ancient Canaanite manuscripts that deal with Shahar, one of their own deities.

Catholic theologians have speculated that the incarnation of Christ was revealed to the angels. The idea that all of Heaven must bow before Christ, formed in part from the lesser nature of humanity, motivated the prideful actions of Lucifer (cf. Suarez, De Angelis, lib. VII, xiii).

One relatively recent example of Christian demonology is the book War On The Saints, by Jessie Penn-Lewis, which purports to reveal what demons are, how they work at gaining possession, how to recognize their workings, how to oppose them, and how to free oneself and others from demon possession.

According to Christian teaching, a demon is an evil spirit, and can be either a fallen angel or the spirit of a condemned human, and it's intention is to mislead mankind into sin using every guile imaginable.

The most damaging ways in which demons (or malicious spirits) can work are when they are given "ground" for their workings, i.e. when they are accepted, consciously or unconsciously, knowingly or unknowingly, by the human.[citation needed] Acceptance often means committing sin; eg. demons gradually gain control of the eyes when the eyes sin by looking at things vile, gain control of the tongue when it is used for slander or blaspheme, and can make it slip, etc, and this can spread to other parts of the body, regardless of whether the sinner calls himself Christian or no. This is called possession. In more extreme cases of possession, the demon gains an actual entrance into the bodily frame, leading to disastrous results, often hideous and agonestic, powerful examples of which are given in the Gospels.

Symptoms of demon possession include voices in one's mind or a horror of mind, especially when there are no signs of insanity or mental damage/unhealthiness, a stubbornness of mind- holding fast to a particular belief and refusing to listen to reason, a split personality as if two separate personalities share the same body.[citation needed] A fierce and unreasoning hatred of God is a sure sign of possession[citation needed], and an unnatural sexual fascination is also caused by accepting the influence of evil spirits.

Another way they can be "accepted" is by believing their lies whispered into the human mind, or accepting their suggestions, subtly disguised as one's own thoughts or otherwise (typically this can be recognized when the voices heard in the head seem to come from *outside* the bodily frame, especially if there are no signs of insanity in the person).

Forbidden rituals, the study of magic (both black magic and white magic, as both ultimately come from demons and lead to ruin) worshipping false gods, accepting visions received from evil spirits, (mediums and diviners) and having faith that these visions will come to pass i.e. faith in evil spirits are among the worst things one can do to allow them possession, which can lead to unimaginable pain.

For protection against demon possession, faith in God is needed,[8] an alert watchfulness, a guarding of one's own mind, and an aggressive, often spoken refusal of the influence of all evil spirits. Prayer against the evil spirit or spirits, prayer to shed light on what action(s) was done or word(s) said that allowed them ground for possession so that this too can be refused are also often necessary.

There are numerous accounts of evil spirits told by different witnesses; James Gall, Dr J.L. Nevius, Sir Robert Anderson, Pastor Ernst Lohmann.

Demons their Unholy Origins

According to the Book of Revelation (Rev 12:9), demons are the angels that fell from heaven with Satan when he chose to rebel against God.

According to the apocryphal Book of Enoch, the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim are demons. Enoch explains; ‘And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits (Angels) and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon 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; 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: they take no food, but nevertheless hunger and thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them. From the days of the slaughter and destruction and death of the giants, from the souls of whose flesh the spirits, having gone forth, shall destroy without incurring judgement’. (Enoch15v8-12, 16v1. C.H.Charles.)

In John 8:44 Jesus calls the Devil "the first homicide" ("he was a murderer from the beginning" in the King James Version), perhaps referring to the murdering of Abel by Cain, a liar, and father of all lies.

The number of demons, at least according to Christian demonology, is high. It can be deduced from the fact that the Bible mentions fallen angels, and not only one. Much has added to the growth of the number of demons when Christian theology said that all Pagan deities were demons.

In early times of Christianity it was accepted an unknown number of demons, but later, during the Late Middle Ages, some demonologists tried to evaluate this number.

Some scholars did not accept a unique number of demons. Gregory of Nyssa, in the 4th century, supported the idea that demons procreated with other demons and with women, believing in the existence of male and female demons.

Other scholars supported the idea that the number of demons was unique and they could not procreate.

As it had been said by Christian theology that there was 400 millions of angels, Alfonso de Spina calculated that about one third of them were demons, and in 1467 he asserted that the number of demons was 133,316,666 demons. This idea of one third of the angels turned into demons seems to be due to an exegesis of the Book of Revelation 12:3-9.

Johann Weyer, in his Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (1583) after a complicated system of hierarchies and calculations, estimated the number of demons in 44,435,622, divided in 666 legions, each legion composed by 6,666 demons, and all of them ruled by 66 hellish dukes, princes, kings, etc. He forgot to add the rulers of these rulers to the total, but not to mention them in his book. Besides, the number of legions mentioned by Weyer varies in different editions of his book.

The Lesser Key of Solomon (17th century) copied the division in legions from Pseudomonarchia Daemonum but added more demons, and so more legions; anyhow, its anonymous author did not calculate the number of demons cited in this work. According to the editions of this book, the number also varies.

It is suggestive that both Spina and Weyer used the 666 and other numbers composed by more than one 6 to calculate the number of demons (133,316,666 demons, 666 legions, 6,666 demons in each legion, 66 rulers).

Sexuality of demons
The demons' behind, genitalia and sperm were a subject of dedicated study by Christian theologians, demonologists and inquisitors. The Inquisition seemed to have been particularly interested in this topic.

Concerning the demons' behind, there were confessions asserting that they were normal, others telling that instead of an anus they had another mouth and thus when kissing their behind during the Sabbath people received another kiss in exchange, and confessions telling that demons did not have buttocks.

About the demons' testicles, only one witch confessed to Pierre de Rostegny that the demon with whom she had sexual relationships had them. Other confessions denied that demons had them. Henri Boguet supported the idea that demons did not have sexual organs and Johann Meyfarth asserted that demons did not have a penis.

The demons' penis was a problem for inquisitors and scholars. Many of them manifested a morbid interest in the demons' genitalia, but the penis reached pathological proportions. Many questions during the interrogatories in the witch trials referred to this theme. All persons confessed to have had sexual relationships with at least one demon, but the descriptions given of this particular part of their anatomy vary from a small phallus to a big one. Some confessions described a normal penis in the appropriate place, others a normal one in the behind, others two phalluses, one in its place and the other in the behind, and others a bifid one, like the tongue of a snake. Confessions that described two phalluses or a bifid one often added the particularity that the demon practised vaginal and anal coitus at the same time; Sylvester Prieras was a supporter of this idea. Even some confessions described three penises. In one legend, it was described to be six-foot long. Concerning the material of which it were made, there were confessions affirming that it was normal and flesh-made, others saying that it was iron or horn-made, others telling that it was half flesh and half iron, and others saying that it had scales and, being scaly, the sexual act was painful; even some confessions asserted that it was bone or wooden-made.

The sperm of the demons constituted another problem. Some persons confessed that this sperm was icy, meanwhile others felt it as that of a common man. But another problem arose among scholars to determine if demons had their own sperm or not. Ludovico Maria Sinistrari was one of the few authors that supported the idea that demons were corporeal entities that had their own sperm and with it could impregnate women and conceive children with them. But most scholars denied the idea that demons could have their own sperm, and concluded that they took sperm from men. The problem grew when these authors had to explain how demons took that sperm, how did they put it into a woman's vagina, and if that sperm could conceive children or not.

Most theologians agreed in the fact that demons acted first as succubae to collect sperm from men and then as incubi to put it into a woman's vagina. But as many of them agreed also in the fact that demons' bodies were icy, they reached the conclusion that the frozen sperm taken first from a man could not have generative qualities. Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas wrote that demons acted in this way but could fecundate women. Ulrich Molitor and Nicholas Remy disagreed in the fact that women could be impregnated; besides, Remy thought that a woman could never be fecundated by another being than a man. Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger (authors of the Malleus Maleficarum) adopted again an intermediate position; they wrote that demons acted first as succubae and then as incubi, but added the possibility that incubi could receive semen from succubae, but they considered that this sperm could not fecundate women.

Peter of Paluda and Martin of Arles among others supported the idea that demons could take sperm from dead men and impregnate women. Some demonologists thought that demons could take semen from dying or recently deceased men, and thus dead men should be buried as soon as possible to avoid it.

Not all Christians accept that demons exist in a literal sense. There is the view that the New Testament language of exorcism is an example of the language of the day being employed to describe the healings of what today would be classified as epilepsy, mental illness etc.

The Roman Ritual (Latin: Rituale Romanum) is one of the official ritual works of the Roman Catholic rite. It contains all of the services which may be performed by a priest, which are not contained within either the Missale Romanum or the Brevarium Romanum. The book also contains some of the rites which are contained in both of these books for convenience. Of all of the official books of the traditional Roman Rite it is probably the least organised.

There is no biblical mention of the incarnation of demons in the New Testament, but according to the Matthew, Mark and Luke they could be seen and heard (there are several allusions).

Basil of Caesarea was, apparently, the first who wrote on this subject. He believed that demons, to materialise, had to condense vapours and with them form the body of a person or animal, then entering that body as if it were a puppet to which they gave life. Henry More supported this idea, saying that their bodies were cold due to the solidification of water vapour to form them (see below). Many authors believed that demons could assume the shape of an animal, preferably black.

It seems that until the first millennium, when the fear for the coming of the Antichrist reached proportions that were out of control, the appearance of demons was not a significant problem. But since this moment on, demons acquired a terrible appearance in the mind of those who believed to have seen them.

Raoul Glaber, a monk of Saint-Léger, Belgium, seems to have been the first in writing about the visit of a demon of horrible aspect in his Historiarum suis temporis, Libri quinque (History of his time, Book five).

Augustine thought that demons often were imaginary, but sometimes could enter human bodies, but later accepted the idea of the materialisation of demons. Thomas Aquinas followed Augustine's idea, but added that demonic materialisation had sexual connotations because demons tried to seduce people to commit sexual sins.

Ambrogio de Vignati, disagreeing with other authors, asserted that demons, besides of not to have a material body could not create it, and all what they seemed to do was a mere hallucination provoked by them in the mind of those who had made a diabolical pact or were "victims" of a succubus or incubus, including the sexual act.

ROMAN RITUAL AND DEMONOLOGISTS By Ken Deel

Also See: 20 Questions with Ken Deel here now.

(17 more questions for Demonologist Kenneth Deel)

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Ken is a Demonologist, Spiritual Warfare Counselor, and Catholic faith adviser, as he has over 28 years of research / experience on the topics, with his first experience occurring when he was about seven years old. He is near completion of his book: ”The realm of the Demonic”: A comprehensive guide to the Demonic haunt”, which should be in print by 2009. And will begin a producing an educational documentary as a companion to his book, after the book is completed.

Also: Demonolgy