Biblical Demonology: A Study of Spiritual Forces at Work Today

by Merrill F. Unger

"The supreme merit of Biblical Demonology is that it holds closely to the Word of God. . . . It will remain for many years to come the standard treatment of biblical demonology." —Dr. Wilbur M. Smith

Genres: Theology, Christian, Religion, Reference, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Christianity

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

Merrill Frederick Unger, author of Demons in the World Today, earned his A.B and Ph.D. degrees at Dallas Theological Seminary. He held pastorates in New York, Texas, and Maryland. He taught at Gordon College and Gordon Divinity School, and from 1948 to 1967 he was professor of Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Reviews

[J.D. Camorlinga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Merrill Unger writes this book on the biblical perspective of demons. The theology of this text is very good and Unger covers the topic very thoroughly.

You have to remember that the author was born in 1909, therefore his language is sometimes dated but I actually love that about this book. Where else can you read a sentence like, "...the pestiferous quagmire of darkness..." in an academic text? Biblical Demonology is where!
If I had any reservations it would be that in my opinion, Unger tends to give more credit to demonic influence than is strictly likely. I do not feel strongly on that however since he could very well be right!

I would recommend this book for any people interested in demonology, it is a great addition to my library and it would be to yours as well. I would just leave you with one parting comment from C. S. Lewis; "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight." [1]



1. C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit that a big reason I read this book was because it has the word "demonology" in the title. I mean, what an absolutely fantastic word! I could think of nothing better than to be a certified "demonologist" and be able to print up business cards and hand them out at parties. Since I don't have that option, having this book on my shelf seems like the next best thing, even if it does annoy my girlfriend a bit whenever I carry it around in public. All that aside, BIBLICAL DEMONOLOGY is a pretty exhaustive study of what the Bible makes known about demons--not much of which is very surprising, but some of which is indeed quite interesting. Unger has an encyclopedic knowledge of Bible verses and teachings, but he falls woefully short of being convincing anytime he tries to use non-Biblical sources to argue for the existence of demons. The writing is professional but extremely dry, and I found myself nodding off in more than a few places. It's a good resource text, but I was ultimately disappointed that reading it didn't make me feel like I was Keanu Reeves in the movie CONSTANTINE.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

The standard text when it comes to Biblical Demonology, Merrill F. Unger has written the classic exhaustive study of demons as understood exegetically through the Scriptures. What's more, Unger offers the various views that a Christian can hold regarding demons and their nature.

What excited me was Unger's command of the Scripture, and ability to understand that the evidence does not lead a Christian to believe that demons are merely "fallen angels" as most the world suggests, but rather, the disembodied spirits of the antediluvian Nephilim and their offspring. Although he leaves the question open for the reader, he does a great job with this systematic study on the topic. I recommend this book to anyone looking for information on demonology, and have been abundantly blessed by this work.

I was recommended this by Chuck Missler a few years ago when he briefly touched on the topic, and have been grateful to pick this up and carefully read through it. A must read.

Brent McCulley (11/13/2013)

[Greg Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative from a biblical perspective. Dated language, utterly bone dry reading. I literally had to keep a cup of water beside me while reading in order to keep from drying out.

[Jay D · Rating 3 out of 5]

evangelical, so it has an element of silliness, but worth reading.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Book titled "Biblical Demonology" by Dr. Merrill F Unger, Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary is probably the best and most comprehensive book on the subject; excepting the one on "Christian Counselling and Occultism" and "Occult Bondage and Deliverance" - both by Dr. Kurt E Koch.

Both the above mentioned authors are experts in the field of Biblical Demonology; they both understand well the Scriptures and are sound in their teachings. Only the Bible has the true answers to man's problems - demon possession or to be demonized is definitely a problem that no one can solve without the Almighty Power of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. True freedom from demonic and Satanic oppression is only available through the power of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

I whole heartedly recommend both the above books for anyone and everyone who wants to understand the subject. There are of course many other books published by good Christian publishers, but the above mentioned authors I believe are the best and most authoritative to read. And I use the word authoritative only because they totally rely on the 'authority' of the Word of God - the Bible; which alone is the 'touchstone' by which all Truth and/or facts are to be and should be judged. And therefore because the above mentioned authors rely so very completely on the Word of God, I believe they have arrived at the truth of the subject.

One other book by Dr. Unger "Demons in the World Today" is also very good; besides the one he wrote entitled "What Demons can do to saints".

I could also recommend the following good sound Christian books -

1. "The Invisible War" by Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse
2. "Satan is no Myth" by J Oswald Sanders
3. "Angels, Elect and Evil" by C Fred Dickason
4. "Demon Possession and the Christian" also by C Fred Dickason

Of the above listed, the last one by CFD is more comprehensive and most interesting. Not all will perhaps agree with the above listed authors and their conclusions. But they each are solidly 'evangelical' in their approach to the Word of God and therefore definitely worth reading.

Finally, above all, read - meditate - live by - the Word of God (The Bible). This alone will keep us in the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ and by His Grace alone can we each live for Him.

And now a word to those who are not believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. Demonology is definitely not a subject to be 'dabbled' in; no, not out of curiosity. If you dear reader are having troubles with Satanic 'forces' you need to come to the Lord Jesus Christ who alone can deliver you. However, if you are not a 'Christian' - and by Christian I mean you not are one who has committed your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, you have not owned Him alone as your Lord and Saviour - you are not yet 'born' from above; you are not born of God into His family - you need firstly and most importantly to believe on Him. You have to first settle the 'sin' question in your life, before you can experience deliverance from the Devil.

The Bible says that all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are born of God and all such God transfers them from the kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of His Son - our Lord Jesus Christ.
And such who are children of God, they keep themselves in the Love of God and by God's grace and power alone, the Evil one does not 'touch' such as these.

May you all find true love, joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ

[Pat Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressive how wonderful a command Unger has of the Bible. He explains a lot of events in the Bible, in their order, in a clear way. So much scripture is in different books, rather than having it all in one volume of the Bible. This took all the info, put it in chronological order, and made it easier to understand just what happened in the Bible and it's significance.

[Zachary Guthrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book had a decent overall view of what the differences between what the Bible says about demons and how they interact with people and the cosmos at large. However, I thought this book got dry near the end.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very valuable information in this book. I think every Christian should read it. My only criticism is the over use of uncommonly used words which caused me to reach for the dictionary many times and because of that this was not an easy read at times. Still, it's an important read.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A challenging book to read but very good from what I read. This book goes very deep thinking at times which is very thought provoking. Important for all Christ followers to understand evil and its purpose here on earth until Christ returns.

[Yolanda Orme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informatics

[Jessica Marik]

Difficult to read. Have not finished.

[Some Christian Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of good information.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

#1: Very informative.
#2 You'll need a dictionary to understand some of the words and terms.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot of information out there about demons - who and what they are, what they do or can do, and so on.

Unfortunately, almost all of it has absolutely no foundation in biblical truth, and is simply re-invented from various pagan myths or just plain made up from someone's "visions" or profit-inclination.

This book does a pretty decent job of illuminating just what the Bible says about demons. Things like:

- Are demons real?
- What do they look like?
- What about demon possession?
- What about the influence of demons in politics and such?
- and more.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the parts that analyzed scripture passages and attempted to put them in their context, this was a very good book. Also helpful were the sections where he wrote of non-Christian views of demons and magic. As an evangelical, Unger stayed true to scripture and didn't apologize or soft-peddle the existence of demons. Where he was weak is where his obvious dispensationalism kicked in with the incorrect view that Satan is the prince if this world now and won't meet his demise until the 2nd coming. There were many more good parts than there were bad.

[Jacob Lehman · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to read a case for the existence of demons, I guess this is as good as any. Logical fallacies abound, but the author clearly believed in the reality of demons and that they were behind the rise of Hitler/WWII, which, to be fair, may have felt more eschatological than (most) current events.

I read this as part of my project to read one book from every aisle of Olin Library at Cornell; you can read my reaction in that context here: https://jacobklehman.com/2020/01/26/r...

[Karla Renee Goforth Abreu]

informative

[Bill Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on demonology

This author has always been my go to guy on this subject. I read "Demons in the world today" by him. Great info for those who disbelieve in these unclean spirits.

[Eileenj1960gmail.Com]

I don’t know because I just ordered it!!
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