Quiz: On God, the Creator and Provider

Demons are fallen spirits. They hate goodness, oppose God, tempt and destroy people. It is believed that demons possess their own hierarchy - structured by degrees. Evidence for this can be found in Christ's words: “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man... and when he comes, he finds it (the man who serves as a house for the demon) swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself” (Lk. 11:24-26). This passage demonstrates that demons differ in degrees of wickedness. This cabal is headed by the devil - also known as Beelzebub, Lucifer, Satan. Scripture refers to demons variously as spirits of wickedness, unclean spirits, evil spirits. The Apostle Paul further differentiates them into: principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age (Col. 2:15; Eph. 6:12). Again, this entire mob is led by the architect of sin - the devil. This is unequivocally confirmed by numerous testimonies in both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. For example, the Evangelist Luke records Christ's slanderers saying: “Some said, He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons” (Lk. 11:15). Demons possess extraordinary cunning and deceitfulness. If God doesn’t restrain their malice, mankind would suffer grievously. We know that through the Savior's victory the devil's dominion has been crushed and his kingdom overthrown. We are no longer his slaves and by God's grace we can now resist his schemes. As the Lord declared: “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Mt. 17:21).