The History of Demons

Demons are dark evil creatures, the devil's apprentices. The demons not occupying the under crusts of the world, are either free or living in the abyss before going back to Gehenna, the "lake of fire," to join their master, Satan the other demons and the unsaved.

The "head demon," some call the "fallen angel," is believed to be Satan, the devil. It was believed that the devil had once been an angel in good standing with God. After quarreling with God he was banished to hell. The battle of good and evil has been going on since the beginning of time. The devil's greed, wanting to be ruler of the world and his battle with God caused him to be banished from Heaven's gates for the rest of eternity. In most cultures demons personify evil, pain and suffering.

Demons are said to possess certain powers, such as prophecy, that are alluring to man. To the Ancient Greeks, daimons were minor deities, not necessarily good or evil. The good demons were called Eudemons; evil demons were called Cacodemons.

Many Eastern religions recognize a number of different demons. Buddhists had the Mira, who was considered the embodiment for all that is evil. Indian demons are lead by the powerful Ravana, who is believed to be able to change shape and remain invulnerable to all other spirits.

The word "demon" is a more modern term. The Greek word daemon from which the words daimon and demon are ultimately derived, means "genius and intelligence," and has been given to all spiritual beings good or evil. The names for demons may differ from religion to nationality but the underlying meaning remains the same, evil.