The earliest mention in the Bible of evil spirits or fallen angels, also referred to as "demons," is in Genesis 6:1-4. Evil spirits are real. They were created as good, holy angels, but became corrupted by sin when they chose to rebel against God.

It is difficult to determine from the Bible a specific timeframe when the fallen angels rebelled against God. It can be concluded that it more than likely occurred sometime before the creation of the world or relatively close to it.

Soon after the creation of Adam and Eve, the serpent, which is later identified as Satan in Revelation 12:9 and 20:2, tempts them to sin and rebel against God.

Old Testament Clues About Fallen Angels

There appear to be two passages in the Old Testament that address fallen angels led by Satan. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 appear to be dualistic in nature, as they describe both human and angelic authority. It seems Babylon in Isaiah 14 is both a literal place Israel opposes and a spiritual confrontation with the fallen angelic host led by "the Day Star."

The oldest book of the Bible, that is, the book written first, is the book of Job. It doesn't contain the earliest story of God and humanity; that privilege is reserved for the book of Genesis. But the oldest recorded book of the Bible is Job. Most scholars believe that Job lived as a contemporary of Abraham.

The book of Job records that "stars" is a synonymous term with angels. This is seen in Job 38:7. It is reinforced in Isaiah 14:13 when Isaiah quotes the "Day Star" as saying, "I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God, I will set my throne on high."

It seems Satan is in view here, and the synonymous terms of "star" and "angel" interchange with one another.

Again, in Ezekiel 28, most scholars believe this passage also has a dualistic interpretation. The first half of the chapter appears to be about the actual King of Tyre, referring to him as a man. Whereas the second half of Ezekiel 28 refers to the character in focus as an anointed angel that had to be cast out because of his sinful rebellion against God.

These two passages, along with Genesis 6 and the book of Job, seem to indicate that fallen angels, evil spirits, have been amongst humanity since the beginning of Creation.

The Mission and Hierarchy of Evil Spirits

It would appear from the Gospels and Ephesians 6 that this demonic evil world lives in a hierarchy and has levels of authority over the world through spiritual interactions and, sadly, sexual interactions as seen in Genesis 6 between "the daughters of men and the sons of God."

It can be known from Job 1:6 that "sons of God" is a term that refers as well to the fallen angels that work in tandem with Satan.

It appears from all these passages that the mission of evil spirits is to oppose God's people and God's purpose by spreading lies, promoting sin, and leading people astray from the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God's Sovereignty Over Evil Spirits

It is difficult to understand the authority God Almighty allows evil spirits to have. Obviously, in the Gospels, Jesus would cast out evil spirits from people and heal them from their ailments. The evil spirits were aware of who Jesus was and His authority over them.

Yet, in the Old Testament and the New Testament, it also appears that when it benefits God to use evil spirits to advance His plan, He does. Repeatedly, when Saul refused to obey God, God would send an evil spirit to torment him. Then David would play the harp to relieve Saul of his torment from the evil spirit sent by God. This is not just an Old Testament concept. The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 6 to turn the unrepentant "believer" over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh so that on the day of the Lord, he may be saved.

It seems God uses evil spirits to get the followers of Jesus' attention to turn back to Him.

C.S. Lewis said it best, "Satan is God's devil."

However, God also uses it from time to time to magnify His presence through the believer's life.

One of the most notable examples of this is found in Job, but it also appears in the New Testament.

The Apostle Paul spoke of this in 2 Corinthians 12:7: “So, to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”

Evil forces and evil spirits are subject to God's authority and His sovereignty over the universe. They bow ultimately to His purpose for His followers. He is greater than they.

John the Beloved said it best in 1 John 4:4 when he said: "Greater is He (Jesus) that is in us than he (Satan) that is in the world."

Evil spirits are real.

Evil spirits are created beings that seek to destroy God's good in us and through us.

Evil spirits are subject to Jesus.

Evil spirits are inferior to Jesus.

Evil spirits are at times used by Jesus to multiply His good through humanity.

Evil spirits, including Satan, know their time is limited, and their end is destruction.

The Ultimate Defeat of Evil Spirits

Ultimately, the Bible teaches that evil spirits know their end is eternal judgment in the lake of fire, a punishment prepared for the devil and his angels.

Sadly, much of humanity will join the devil and his demons in the lake of fire if they choose to reject faith in Jesus Christ.

Evil spirits' ultimate desire is to trick, blind, mislead, deceive, and get humanity to join them in their eternal destruction.

John 10:10 says: "The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I (Jesus) came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

Each human has a choice: to fear God and trust Jesus, or to fear evil spirits and reject Jesus.

Eternity hangs in the balance, and humanity, unlike the evil spirits, has a choice.

The Book of Jude, in Jude 1:24, addresses the angelic battle between good and evil spirits. And concludes with these words, "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

No matter how much authority evil spirits possess and appear to wield, the dominion and authority of the spiritual realm belong to Jesus. This was the important lesson Jesus reminded his disciples of in the Gospel of Luke.

Jesus said to them in Luke 20:10: "Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

Every evil spirit must eventually bow down to King Jesus, now and forevermore.

Because of this reality, the Apostle Paul proclaims it best in 2 Corinthians 12:9b, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Evil spirits are used to display God's infinite goodness when humans obey Jesus despite their weaknesses. Through obedience to Jesus, humanity demonstrates and fulfills the original intent of evil spirits for goodness.

In the end, God's goodness wins!