The Bible reveals that there is a spiritual realm which is unseen but which affects the physical world. The devil and his demons are waging a vicious and evil spiritual battle all around us, trying to thwart God's plans and trying to prevent people from becoming saved and entering God's kingdom. We as Christians need to know about this spiritual battle so that we are aware of the devil's schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11), so that we can take our stand against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:11), and so that we can protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our ministries (Ephesians 6:16). If we are blind to the battle and unaware of what is going on around us simply because we cannot directly see it, then it becomes easy for the devil to deceive us in clever, subtle ways and to prevent us from being effective at saving people and doing God's work here on earth. We need a deeper understanding of who we are in Christ and the authority that we have over the demonic realm. Our focus must always be on Jesus, but in order to be effective soldiers for Christ it is helpful for us to understand the nature of our enemy. Scripture tells us that Jesus has already defeated the devil and his demons, and it says that Christians are God's warrior kingdom here on earth. The idea of evil spirits and demonization is difficult for many people to accept. The "demon-possessions" mentioned in the Gospels are often considered to be nothing more than unscientific first-century explanations for physical diseases or mental illnesses. However, the Bible is perfectly clear that demons exist. Consider the following passages: "He [Jesus] called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness." (Matthew 10:1) "[Jesus is speaking] Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:6-8) "[Jesus is speaking] And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12:27-28) "Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek." (Mark 1:23-26) "When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned." (Luke 8:27-33) Notice that Jesus Himself confirms the existence of demons. The argument could be made that the people of the first century were not very scientific or sophisticated and did not have our modern medical understanding when diagnosing diseases, but that argument cannot be used with Jesus, the Son of God! Either Jesus was lying or being deceptive (which is impossible for God - Hebrews 6:18), or else demons really do exist.What are demons?