St. Paul, in not dissimilar language, speaks of discernings of spirits (1 Co 12io ; cf. 2 Co 11*) and of evil angels as being 'principalities' (dpxat), ' powers,' ' world-rulers (Koa/uLOKparopes) of this dark- ness,' ' spiritual beings (irvevfiaTiKd) of wickedness
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in the heavenly [places]' (Eph 6^^; the last phrase may be roughly rendered ' in the sphere of spiritual activities ' ; cf. Robinson's note on Eph 1^ and see art. Air) ; perhaps also as being ' the i-ulersof this age which are coming to nought . . . the spirit or the world' (1 Co 2^-^-); or collectivelj^ as 'all rule and all authority and power ' which are to be abolished (1 Co 15-^- -«, Eph l^"-)- That these are Satan's 1. )sts appears from the context of the last passage (2-), which speaks of the Prince of the power of the air (see Air).
It would seem that St. Paul regarded the heathen gods as demons, having a real existence, though they were not gods. On the one hand, ' no idol is anything in the world, and there is no God but one' (1 Co 8'*) ; on tlie other hand, the sacrifices of the heathen are offered to demons, not to God, and therefore Ciiristians must not attend heathen temples lest they have communion with demons (10-"*'- ; note the idea that sacrifice involves com- munion between the worshipper and the wor- shipped). So in the LXX Ps 96^ affirms that all the gods of the heathen are demons (Heb. o'^'^i^, i.e. 'vanities' ; Vulg. daemonia) • and Dt 32'^ (see above) both in the Heb. text and in the LXX clearly identifies the heathen gods with demons. And similarly in Rev 9-" the worship of demons is joined to that of idols.
The activity of demons towards man is great. Though, after a fashion, they believe — not with the Christian's faith, which is born of love, but with faith compelled by fear (Ja 2^^ : they ' shudder') — yet with the ingenuity which is peculiarly their own (Ja 3^^ ao^ia . . . daifiovubdrjs), they try to draw man away from his belief : they are ' sedu- cing spirits,' whose teaching is called the ' doctrine of demons ' (1 Ti 4"-, so most commentators) ; their captain is called the ' sjjirit that noAV worketh in the sons of disobedience ' (Eph 2-, where, however, ' spirit ' is in apposition to ' power,' not to ' prince,' perhaps by grammatical assimilation ; see Robin- son's note ad loc). The demons accordingly in- stigate evil men against the good ; they are ' un- clean spirits, as it were frogs ' coming ' out of the mouth of the dragon . . . for they are spirits of demons,' instigating the ' kings of the whole world ' to the ' war of the gi-eat day of God' (Rev 16'^'-)- If we identify them with the 'rulers of this age' of 1 Co 2'' (see above), they instigated our Lord's crucifixion (v.*). See also Devil.
Demons are able to work miracles or signs (ffTfUJ-ela, Rev 161^), as Antichrist can (2 Th 2^) ; they attract worship from men (Rev 9'-" ; cf. Dt 32'' above), and have their temples and tables (see above). Rome, the corrupt capital of the heathen world, designated ' Babylon,' is the habitation of demons, the prison of every unclean spirit, the prison of every unclean and hateful bird (Rev 18-).
Just as the fruits of the working of the Holy Ghost in man are called the spirit ' of power and love and discipline ' (2 Ti P) and ' of truth ' (IJn 4«), so those of the demons are ' the spirit of bondage' (Ro 8'*), and 'stupor ' (Karai'iJfews, 11*), and 'fear- fulness' (2 Ti V), and ' error' (1 Jn 4«).
3. Demoniacal possession. — This subject is much less spoken of in the writings which are here dealt with than in the Gospels. The evangelistic records depict a much stronger activity of evil in Palestine during the earthly life of our Lord than that which, as the rest of NT would lead us to suppose, existed elsewhere and at a later time. Yet in four passages of Acts Ave read of possession by unclean or evil spirits : at Jerusalem (5^") ; in Samaria, Avhere they were expelled at the preaching of Philip (8^) ; at Philippi, where the ventriloquist maiden is said to have a spirit, a Python (16"*^: irvevna vOduva is tlie best reading) ; anil at Ephesus, where by St. Paul's miracles the evil spirits were expelled (19'^). In
this last passage we read of the evil spirit speaking out of the possessed man's mouth, and of the man's actions being those of the evil spirit (v.^^) ; also of Jewish exorcists who endeavoured to expel him (the seven of v." become in all the best MSS two at v.^'' ; probably there wei'e seven brothers, but only two took part in this incident). The word 'exorcist' does not occur elscAvhere in the NT. The passage about the Python (10'") is very remarkable. The name is derived from Pytho, a district near Delphi where the dragon (called Python) was slain by Apollo. The title Avas thus given to a diviner : both Apollo and the Delphic priestess Avere called ' the Pythian ' (6 Hvdios, i] Ilvdia). Ventriloquists Avere regarded as being under the influence of demons, and as being able to divine ; they Avere, as Plutarch tells us (Morcdia, ed. Xylander, ii. 414 E, quoted by Wetstein on Ac 16"^), called irvduves, irvOdivKTaai. Here, then, Ave have the conception of something other than ordinary madness being a possession by evil spirits ; and this incident may be considered as a stepping-stone to the conception found in some NT Avriters of physical disease as being, at least in some cases, also a possession. This is the case especially in the Avritings of Luke the physician. Thus the woman Avho Avas ' boAved together ' is said to have had ' a spirit of infirmity' {irveufia da-deveia^, Lk 13'^) and to have been bound by Satan (v.'") ; our Lord 'rebuked' (^TreTt/urjue) the fever of Simon's Avife's mother (Lk 4^^), as if it Avere an unclean spirit ; a deaf-mute is said to have a ' dumb spirit ' or ' a dumb and deaf spirit '(Mk 9'^''*^''). There is nothing Avhich leads us to suppose that the conception of demoniacal possession Avhich we find Avell established in the four Gospels, especially in the Synoptics, was not shared by the other NT Avriters ; but it is notcAvorthy that, as the subject is only glanced at in the Fourth Gospel (Avith refer- ence to the charge against our Lord, Jn 7^" 8^*^* lO-"'-), so it is not dealt with at all by St. Paul, though Ave could perhaps hardly expect that it should be spoken of in epistolary Avritings. We may, hoAvever, remark that the language of the famous passage Ro ']^*--^, in Avhich the Apostle speaks of the poAver of sin in the Christian — for Ave can hardly think that he is speaking of himself only before his conversion — bears a close likeness to that used to describe demoniacal possession.