Demons and Evil Spirits: How were They Created?

Christian pastors of most churches I attended in my youth glossed over the subject of demons and evil spirits in their sermons, while some others never even brought up the subject. Occasionally, there would be mention of these entities in certain biblical studies, but even then the subject wasn’t really covered in depth. Ask most people what a demon is today, and you will get a variety of answers, most of which are false.

It is understandable that there is confusion surrounding this subject, because even Christian ministers are confused. Their misconceptions sift down throughout the population and false beliefs end up being presented by the entertainment industry. In our modern world, demons are often considered as make-believe or mythological creatures that are found in novels, comics, video games, movies, and television programs.

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But historically their descriptions are buried in religious literature which refers to them as real life forms. In the Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, a demon is considered a harmful spiritual entity which can sometimes obtain possession of an otherwise normal person.¹ So, Jews and Christians have references of this in their scripture as well as do the Arabs; Mohammed himself recognized their existence.² They are believed to exist in many other religions and cultures too.

There are a few Christian ministers that know the truth about demons, but don’t want to publically preach on the subject, because they desire to avoid speaking about the depraved facts associated with how such creatures made their appearance on earth. I’ve always found it best to gather the evidence, follow the logic, and tell it “as it is.” So I will present what I have learned, and even though the information is profane and hard to believe, I feel it should be made available to everyone, because it appears that demonic activity is on the increase. How someone views this information is up to them, for each of us has been given the freewill to decide for ourselves what to believe and how to handle that knowledge.

While I don’t think the end of the world is approaching, I do believe the end of this age of grace is near and there will be an apocalyptic rebirth of our planet. And righteous humans will then live on a cleansed earth under the kingship of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Demons play an important part in end-time prophecy, so we need accurate information to understand and maneuver through the coming tribulations we will face. So, where did demons originate? The following is a brief overview of their creation history.

Demons are an earthly creation.

Angels & Fallen Angels. Angels were created by God before he created humans (Job 38:4-7), and as time progressed, many angels decided to rebel against the Almighty’s sovereignty. Although the exact term “fallen angels” does not appear in the Bible, it is used as a description for those rebellious angels led by Satan, the devil. He and his associates are constantly trying to usurp God’s rule, and they do their best to turn humans’ alliance away from God and toward Satan. It is known that they use deceptions, tricks, and lies to accomplish their goals.

It was not long after the creation of the first human couple that Satan deceived Eve into breaking God’s one simple law. That is why Satan the devil was called the “father of lies” by Jesus when he was speaking to the Jewish leaders who were trying to convict him of a crime.

Jesus told them, “You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies,” (John 8:44, NRSV).³

Nephilim. Now, Nephilim are a different kind of creature and they were created later than Adam and Eve, by way of a most abominable method performed by one group of about 200 fallen angels⁴ that were following Satan. The tragic start of their actions is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, chapter 6.

“When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. Then the LORD said, ‘My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.’

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days — and also afterward — when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes [mighty men; giants⁵] that were of old, warriors of renown,” (Genesis 6:1-4).

So, the offspring (Nephilim or giants) were creatures created by sexual union between some fallen angels and humans. There may have even been some genetic manipulation involved, but the final results were hybrid creatures created by angel-human unions that were made in a sabotage effort against God’s order.

A repercussion from an angel-human union would be that the hybrid creature produced would have no possibility of salvation. Fallen humans have been granted that possibility, but the half-breed creatures have no such opportunity, because they were not created by God.

There are many questions concerning the theological, paradoxical, and grotesque nature of the progeny of such unions,⁶ but they have not been fully addressed in the Bible. There are sure to be specific answers, of course, but the Bible contains only what God believes we need to know at this time, and doesn’t always explain many of the finer details. However, there are other sources we can examine to find such answers.

For instance, the Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. Although used by Christians for several hundred years after Jesus, it is not part of the biblical canon as used by most Christian Churches today,⁷ but it is often referred to by academics and commentators. A translation of this book, by biblical scholar Robert Charles, describes the fall of the angels as follows.

“And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’

“And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations[⁸] not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it,” (Enoch 6:1-6).⁹

Also, the Book of Jubilees, sometimes called the ‘Lesser Genesis’, is an ancient Jewish religious work of some 50 chapters. It is considered canonical by some Christians, as well as considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches.¹⁰ The Book of Jubilees states the following.

“And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of God saw them on a certain year of this jubilee, that they were beautiful to look upon; and they took themselves wives of all whom they chose, and they bare unto them sons and they were giants.

“And lawlessness increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way, alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walks on the earth – all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour each other, and lawlessness increased on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of all men (was) thus evil continually.

“And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt, and all flesh had corrupted its orders, and all that were upon the earth had wrought all manner of evil before His eyes,” (Jubilees 5:1-3).¹¹

This suggestion that even animals were corrupt would explain why animal life was destroyed along with the humans during the Great Flood. Could it be that it was one of Noah’s jobs to find two of each ‘uncorrupted’ animal types to bring aboard the Ark? Were the mythological human-animal hybrid creatures (e.g., centaurs and others) of ancient times real? Were the fallen angels technologically corrupting the DNA¹² of all life on earth? There are many unanswered questions!

Demons. The Nephilim, being hybrid creatures created by mating fallen angels and human women, were mostly destroyed when God reset the earth by way of a flood. Humankind can and do die, but angels do not die. The great flood killed most humans, including the human aspect (or physical side) of the hybrid angel-human creatures,¹³ but the angel aspect (or spirit side) lived on as disembodied spirits. These disembodied spirits are the ‘demons’ — the unclean or evil spirits — they never die and still exist today. The Book of Enoch references what happened this way.

“And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits 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[¹⁴] 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” (Enoch 15:8-10).¹⁵

Now to clarify. ‘Demons’ are the evil or unclean spirits of the giant Nephilim produced by some fallen angels mating with women of earth. The flood in Noah’s day destroyed their fleshly bodies, and without a body they are invisible. So any grotesque or dreadful images of demons in movies and books or in art work must all be false, because the fact is that they have no physical body of their own.

They are uncomfortable upon the surface of the earth, so only go there for short durations. But there is one way they can escape the darkness of the underground without discomfort and have more freedom of movement — it is to possess or occupy a host body. Evangelist and author David D. Hernandez wrote, “Demons seek to possess bodies and they seem rather uncomfortable being outside of them.” He continues to say, “Demons are clingy, needy, angry, tormented creatures.”¹⁶ They enter and process a human body so they can continue to interject their evil ways.¹⁷

And Bible teacher and writer Derek Prince wrote, “Apparently their first choice is a human body, but rather than remain in a disembodied condition, they are willing to enter even the body of an animal,” (see Luke 8:32–33).¹⁸

Demons in Jesus’ Time

In the Old Testament we see the origin of demons created through a supernatural rebellion in Genesis, chapter 6. These demons are disembodied spirits of dead Nephilim and are believed to dwell in barren desert areas (Matthew 12:43-45), but can temporarily roam the world for a host body. And there is a hierarchal relationship between Satan and the demons. All these thoughts were the accepted belief, as shown in Second Temple Jewish texts, shortly before and during Jesus’ life on earth as a human man.¹⁹

In the New Testament, “evil spirits” and “unclean spirits” are often used interchangeably for “demons.”²⁰ And keep this thought in mind when doing your own research, some Christian teachers state that demons are only the devil’s evil angels, and that comment is caused by a misunderstanding. The problem stems from using the King James Version Bible (KJV) which incorrectly translates the Greek ‘daimon’ as ‘devil’ when it should be ‘demon’ (see comment in References & Notes).²¹

Jesus and his apostles removed many demons from human victims. Matthew 8:28-34 tells one such story in detail about Jesus casting out many demons from an insane man. The demons didn’t want to return to the dark abyss and asked permission to enter some pigs instead. This request was granted. You can read my full study of this event by visiting the link listed at the end of this article.²² That story indicates much about the attributes of demons. They knew who Jesus was and that he had power over them. They knew their time was limited. They could speak and think, and they could control their host. They could even affect the physical and mental facilities to cause illness in the man.

Certainly all illnesses are not demon-produced, but the Bible shows that demons can and do afflict the body with problems. Examples, beside that mentioned above, are: (1) the mute man controlled by a demon (Matthew 9:22); (2) the young deaf and speechless boy foaming at the mouth and being prone to self-injury, along with having convulsions while being controlled by a demon (Mark 9:17-27); (3) the woman with deformities and controlled by a demon (Luke 13:11).

It is likewise in today’s world, with obsessive and compulsive problems (gambling, pornography, alcohol, drugs, etc.) — although most such habits are not necessarily demonic possession, they should at least be considered as possibilities.

Think about it! Demonic possession can be used to take control of our government officials, military personnel, court judges, financial tycoons, corporate leaders, and members of the entertainment industry, and maybe even some ministers in our religious organizations. Since our spirit is our inner self — which allows a connection to God — it seems logical that Satan wants control of it and will attempt to corrupt our righteousness through possession by demons.²³ We must be careful because demons can fully observe our actions, therefore they can craft temptations to play on our weaker traits; they will attack our body and our character. And they will lie and deceive us — they can and will influence our thinking.

Conclusion

Here is a brief synopsis of what we have learned about demons. Demons were not made by God. Some of the fallen angels, by way of their own free will, decided to create new creatures through genetic manipulation. They engineered this by cross-breeding angels with humans (and other animals), which produced half-breed creatures called Nephilim. When the earth flooded in Noah’s day, the animal side of most Nephilim died, but the incomplete remaining angelic side lived on as a fractional disembodied tortured spirit being.

These demons are self-aware creatures of a spiritual nature only. Some angels have been known to materialize a body at will, but demons are earthly creatures that do not have that ability. To live for any length of time on the surface of the earth, they must possess and control a body of a human or other animal. Angels can accomplish work with or without a body, but demons must possess bodies to accomplish any task. Satan is the leader of both fallen angels and demons and they help to implement his agenda.

How do we protect ourselves? If something is said or done and it is true, then it will follow the truth written in the Holy Bible. If it is false, then it is not from God. Check and recheck; remember that Satan is a deceiver, and has been since the creation of humanity in the garden of Eden.

We should stay away from spirit mediums, even if just in playing games or participating in certain holiday activities. Such actions open our mind for the entry of controlling evil spirits. Sometimes devices are used, like an old-time Ouija board or some modern high-tech electronic device. The purpose is to mediate communication between spirits and human beings. The Bible gives specific instructions concerning this approach, “Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out, to be defiled by them,” (Leviticus 19:31).

Remember, God didn’t say evil spirits were not real or that they could not be contacted, he let us know they WERE real, and that we SHOULD NOT contact them. Don’t put your salvation at risk!

Can Satan arrange for fallen angels and demons to work within the Church? The answer to that question is yes! Remember the very words of Jesus Christ, “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect,” (Matthew 24:24).

And in the first letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul, stressed that Timothy’s pastoral duties involved guarding the truth and refuting the heretics²⁴ when he said, “in later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron,” (1 Timothy 4:1b-2).

Copyright © 2026, Ray Hermann
OutlawBibleStudent.org

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References & Notes

1. “Demon,” (Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 13 October 2019), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon
2. Whitehouse, Owen C., “Demon, Devil,” in A Dictionary of the Bible: Dealing with Its Language, Literature, and Contents Including the Biblical Theology, (Eds.) James Hastings, et al., (New York; Edinburgh: Charles Scribner’s Sons; T. & T. Clark, 1911–1912), vol. 1, p. 590.
3. Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), ©1989. Used by permission.
4. “And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it,” (1 Enoch 6:6).
   Charles, R. H. (et al.), The Book of Enoch, (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1917).
5. Strong’s Hebrew #1368, gibbôwr (or shorter: gibbôr) – powerful, warrior, giant, champion, mighty man, strong, valiant man.
   Strong, James, The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996).
6. Morris, Henry M., The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1976), pp. 168-169.
7. “Book of Enoch,” (Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 29 November 2018), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch
8. imprecations: a formal spoken curse; evil invocation.
   Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008 [revised]).
9. Charles, R.H. and Oesterley, W.O.E., The Book of Enoch, (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1917), 1 Enoch 6:1–6.
10. “Book of Jubilees,” (Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 16 November 2018), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Jubilees
11. Charles, R. H., The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913), ‘Book of Jubilees’.
12. DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid – a molecule composed of two chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth, and reproduction of all known organisms.
13. Note: Some Nephilim survived the flood, examples: Numbers 13:33; Deuteronomy 3:11; 2 Samual 21:20 – because of their half-human nature, they are believed to have eventually died by other causes, releasing their still-living demonic spirits.
14. Note: Sometimes in the Book of Enoch, angels or fallen angels are called ‘watchers’, since this book is translated from Aramaic, which uses that term. Watchers provided surveillance over humankind. ‘Angels’, ‘watchers’, ‘sons of God’ all mean the same thing.
15. Charles, R.H. and Oesterley, W.O.E., The Book of Enoch, (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1917), 1 Enoch 15:8-10.
16. Hernandez, David Diga, “3 Subtle Distinctions Between Demons and Fallen Angels,” (Charisma News, 30 July 2016), https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/58898-3-subtle-distinctions-between-demons-and-fallen-angels
17. Quarterman, C. K., “The Book of Enoch and Demons,” (Fallen Angels & The Watchers, 31 March 2012), https://onlinefranchising.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-of-enoch-and-demons.html/
18. Prince, Derek, They Shall Expel Demons, (Christchurch, NZ: Derek Prince Ministries, South Pacific, 1998), p. 97.
19. Heiser, M.S., Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness, (Lexham Press, Bellingham WA, 2020), p. 194.
20. Ibid., p. 195.
21. Note: The word for demon in the Greek language is daimon and is found more than 75 times in the Greek New Testament. In each case it is translated by the word ‘devil’ in the King James Version of the Bible.
    Towns, Elmer, “Demons in the Bible – Different Types and How They Attack,” (Bible Sprout, retrieved 3 August 2019), https://www.biblesprout.com/articles/hell/demons/
22. Hermann, Ray, “Demons, Jesus, and the Pigs,” (The Outlaw Bible Student, OBS, 13 August 2019), https://outlawbiblestudent.org/demons-jesus-and-the-pigs/
23. Thompson, Leonard, Demons, (Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company, 2005), p. 65.
24. Dockery, David S., (Ed.), Holman Bible Handbook, (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), p. 739.