Out of the Body

We have proven that the Holy Spirit has a unique ability called omnipresence. He exercises that power, a power given to him by God, but only after leaving his body. That means that: yes, 1) the Holy Spirit has a body, 2) he departed from his body, and 3) the Spirit does something very special while outside of his body--he indwells those who have trusted in Christ.

You've heard that mortal humans can have out-of-body experiences. Well, how much more possible is it for the Holy Spirit to experience out-of-bodiness? Can't he leave his body if a human being can leave their body? Of course he can. Isn't the Holy Spirit (who has the divine nature) leagues more powerful than we are? Or does a human being have more power than the Spirit of God?

You may have heard a person's testimony about an out-of-body experience, and you may know that Paul gives such a testimony in the Bible. Paul gives witness of the reality of out-of-body experiences when he talks about 'a man in Christ' who he knew. Likely Paul was talking about himself, but wanted to be humble, so he didn't outright say that it was him, but you be the judge of that.

Here's what he said:

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the Third Heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.

And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to Paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).

A Body for Everybody

We’ve studied multitudes of Bible passages that demonstrate that the Holy Spirit has a body—a truth that you’ve likely never heard before. And it’s also a truth you’ll likely never hear again. It’s so uncommon to hear it said that the Holy Spirit has a body that you’ll need to anchor it firmly in your mind now before the next pastor you listen to successfully erases it again.

We've looked at many Biblical proofs that the Holy Spirit has a body. We've seen that he lifts up a banner (see Post #23), that he flies (see Lesson #21), that he snatches people up (see Lesson #3), and that he has appeared in physical form (Lessons #1, #2, and #4). But outside these proofs is something else, a principle of the Universe: that every spirit-being has a body. That principle also proves that the Holy Spirit has a body.

We repeat the universal rule: Every spirit-being has a body. Haven't you noticed? God has a body. And that's the reason why you have a body and I have a body. Weren't we made in his likeness and image?

You already know that Jesus has a body. So, will you also recognize that the Holy Spirit has a body? He does.

In this lesson we're going to prove that demons have bodies. Demons are angels and angels have bodies. Most people know that but haven't thought through the implications of the physical nature of angels. That's what we're about to do.

Angels’ Bodies

If you’ve ever doubted that angels have bodies, then the following four Bible passages will take away your doubts. Each of them demonstrates that angels can physically touch human beings.

A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, ‘Daniel… stand up, for I have now been sent to you’ (Daniel 10:10-11).

Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak… ‘My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.’

Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. ‘Do not be afraid… Be strong now. Be strong.’ When he spoke to me, I was strengthened (Daniel 10:16-19).

… an angel of the LORD appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. ‘Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists (Acts 12:7).

… immediately an angel of the LORD struck him [Herod] because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died (Acts 12:23; NASB).

Angels most certainly have bodies. You can bet on it. They have touched human beings on many occasions. But they're spirits. The Bible calls them spirits, so how can they have physical bodies?

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?(Hebrews 1:14)

Demon Babies

You say “Fine, I believe that angels have bodies.” But, do you believe that demons have bodies too? Don't forget the universal rule: All spirit-beings have bodies. You know that demons are spirits just as much as any angel.

You know that demons are fallen angels, but did you know that demons (like good angels) also have bodies? Yes. It's an awful reality, and a little frightening, but the bodies of demons are physical. They're real.

It's embarrassing to talk about, but the bodies of demons are so real that demons have impregnated women. Before the Universal Flood, the unholy intercourse of demons with women produced a new race of mighty men called the Nephilim. These were powerful men fathered by demons. They were men of supernatural size and strength.

… the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose… The Nephilim were on the Earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.

Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:2-4; NASB).

To be a man of renown means that you have become famous. Some of the stories of these ‘mighty men of old’ have been passed down to us by the ancient cultures. The Anglo-Saxons, the Babylonians (Iraqis), Romans, and the Vikings (Scandanavians) have each preserved detailed stories of their ancient heroes. But the most elaborate accounts come to us from the Greeks.

The Greeks called their famous men demigods—and that means a man who was the offspring of a “god” and a mortal [we don’t really believe that there were different “gods” besides the One God, our Father]. There were dozens of demigods in Greek mythology, but let’s take a look at just eight of their stories. There may be a shred of truth to them.

Why read about these eight demigods? Well, the existence of supernaturally-powerful men is a Biblical truth. If mythology says they were born of “gods,” could these be the same men the Scriptures tell us were born of demons? And, if so, does it not confirm the fact that demons (who are spirit-beings) have bodies? We think so.

Greek “Mighty Men” of Old

In alphabetical order, let’s run through a short list of names of the demigods the Greeks myths have passed down to us.

Achilles: A son of king Peleus and a sea nymph named Thetis (a daughter of the sea god Nereus).

Asclepius: A doctor capable of resurrecting the dead, the son of Apollo (a “god”) and the mortal woman Coronis.

Dionysus: He eventually became the god of wine, born the son of the chief god Zeus and a woman named Semele who offered sacrifices to Zeus.

Hercules: The strongest man on Earth, son of Zeus and the tall and beautiful Alcmene, from Thebes.

Minos: The most famous king of Crete, born the son of Zeus and the woman Europa.

Orion: The son of the great sea god Poseidon and a Cretan princess named Euryale.

Perseus: The heroic son of Zeus and the princess of Argos, Danae.

Telegonus: He was the son of the goddess Circe, a demigod who accidentally killed his father Odysseus (a.k.a. Ulysses, the protagonist of Homer’s Odyssey). Then he married Penelope, his father’s wife.

Mighty Women?

Not all of the demigods were men. There were also a number of demigods in Greek mythology who were women. The Bible doesn’t mention anything about “mighty women of old” but it’s logical to conclude that if demons and human women reproduced, that some of their offspring were female—about half!

At least three women from Greek mythology were noted to have been born of the “gods” (that is, of non-human supernatural parents).

Helen of Troy: She was the daughter of Zeus and a woman named Leda (as reported by Homer).

Hippolyta: She was the daughter of Otrera, a queen of the Amazons, and the god Ares.

Pyrrha: She repopulated the Earth after the Great Flood—the daughter of the titan (“god”) Epimetheus and the first woman, Pandora.

If the demons who impregnated these women had no bodies, but rather possessed the bodies of human men, then how could their offspring have had super powers? But their offspring did have superpowers. So there was something physical about the transmission of power to the demigods, if they actually existed.

One group of mighty men we know existed were the Nephilim. Their powers must be traced to the genes of their supernaturally-powerful fathers. Their fathers were not real gods at all, but demons).

Genes contain the codes and programming which give every human the characteristics we possess. Genes are found within the chromosomes of every nucleus of every cell within a person’s body. Now, the genes of demons are not like our human genes. It’s true that demons and humans are both spirit-beings, but there’s a difference between their spirits and our spirits. There’s a difference in nature. They have some different sets of genes.

Here's a verse that speaks of the spirit of man:

The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the innermost parts of his being (Proverbs 20:27; NASB).

The Nephilim had both physical and spiritual superiority to men for one reason: their fathers were demons. What did they get from their fathers? Genes. The mythology of ancient cultures testifies to the truthfulness of the Biblical account of the Nephilim.

Not Really Gods

You and I know that these Greek demigods were not really gods, for there is only One God. The Greeks didn't know that. They thought that the demigods were actually gods.

We know that an idol is nothing at all in the World and that there is no God but One (1 Corinthians 8:4-5).

Idolatry used to govern the World. Every culture on the planet had some idols they worshipped. Now idolatry mostly centers itself in Hindu and Catholic cultures, but idolatry used to be universal.

So, ‘an idol is nothing,’ but that doesn’t mean that idolatry is innocent. A lot is going on behind it. Spiritual forces are at work.

Idols are not merely innocent statues or images carved in stone. Demons lurk behind those idols, and receive the glory people should be directing to God. The Greeks had their idols, but behind the worship of the Greek so-called “gods” were demons.

Those demons still try to steal glory from the One God, our Creator and Father. Paul said:

Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons (1 Corinthians 10:19-20).

Demons’ Dirty Deeds

Supernatural power was in the very DNA of the bodies of the demons that mated with human women prior to the Flood. The stories the Greeks invented about their so-called “demigods” is of little significance. We put no confidence in the veracity of Greek mythology any more than we trust in modern-day soap operas. The Greeks made up elaborate stories that are unreliable reflections of what really happened. But something did happen. The Bible tells us what it was: demons doing dirty deeds.

According to the Bible, demons mated with mortal women and produced a race of superheroes—men who became very famous due to their exploits. The only thing we can glean from Greek mythology is that demons copulated with our women. The Greeks were happy to tell those stories because of their twisted notion of entertainment. And Renaissance painters demonstrated their twisted notion of aesthetics and beauty when the painted (again and again) naked pictures of the seduction of these women.

Steering clear of the perversion of Ancient Greek and Renaissance art, thinking within the framework of the Bible, we deduce that women gave birth to super-strong beings who were giants among men. That is, after all, what Nephilim means—giants.

The Bible tells us that demons transmitted their physical characteristics to humans. So what’s the takeaway for you and me? What can we learn from this topic? That demons have physical bodies, like us, but not of the same nature as us. They are genetically different from us.

Remember that the Bible talks about heavenly bodies and spiritual bodies. It says: ‘There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies’ (1 Corinthians 15:40). The bodies of demons are heavenly. That’s where they were made—in heaven. Your body—which is just as real and just as tangible—is from the Earth. You have an earthly body.

Jesus’ Holy Deed

We have proven through the story of the Nephilim that spirit-beings have bodies.

Don’t doubt that the Holy Spirit has his own body. He’s outside of it for now, while he empowers us. He's outside his body while he dwells within us. But the Spirit has his own physical body. He gave it up so that we might be the "mighty men" in the World to Come.

We’ll be the mighty men forever. We'll be the ones who have power in the Kingdom because we’ve been born of the Holy Spirit. He lives inside us even now and gives us his anointing--a supernatural power.

It wasn't sin but Jesus' sacrifice that produced this power in us. It wasn't a demonic dirty deed, it was Jesus' holy act that has given us a new life.

Power from the Spirit

The Nephilim were real and they got their strength physically from demons. Samson was real, and he got his strength from the Holy Spirit.

As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men (Judges 15:14-15).

Like Samson, the power we have obtained we obtained legitimately. We have not obtained supernatural power by an act of sin, but by an act of sacrifice. Jesus looked down from Heaven, had pity on us, and lived among us as a Servant.

Jesus didn't take any women for himself. On the contrary, he sacrificed his life for men and women at Calvary. Jeus came not to exploit anyone. He did not come to corrupt anyone. He came to save everyone.

Jesus didn't come to take advantage of anyone. He came to give us an advantage. He came to give us the advantage of his Spirit within us--the Holy Spirit who selflessly gave up his own body to live within ours.

None of the Greek myths come close to the Gospel. None has ever matched our story. Ours is a story of salvation made available by Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Both of them were willing to give up their bodies in order to save ours. Both of them left their bodies for a time so that we might keep ours forever.