Is there demonic activity in the world today?

from the old testament

• Job gives a good idea of what demons can do (Job 1—2). Satan enticed the Sabeans to kill Job's servants and take his oxen and donkeys, and the Chaldeans to take his camels. He sent fire from heaven to kill Job's sheep and shepherds and a wind to collapse the building Job's children were in, killing them all. When Job's faith stood strong, Satan then caused Job to contract a horrible, painful skin condition.
• God is sovereign over demons and has the power and authority to limit their activity. Job 1 and 2 show that Satan couldn't lay a finger on Job without God's permission.
• Daniel gives another glimpse of demonic activity in the world. In Daniel 10:11–14, an angel reveals that his arrival was delayed because of the "prince of the kingdom of Persia," a demon who apparently had great spiritual influence over the nation of Persia.
• It is absolute foolishness to seek out demons, and in the Old Testament, such attempts were punishable by stoning (Deuteronomy 18:9–12).

from the new testament

• Jesus encountered and healed demon-possessed people often in His ministry (Matthew 4:24; Mark 1:34). One time, a demon-possessed man in a synagogue cried out "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24).
• Mark 3:11–12 says, "And whenever the unclean spirits saw him [Jesus], they fell down before him and cried out, 'You are the Son of God.' And he strictly ordered them not to make him known."
• During His public ministry, Jesus sent out His disciples and gave them authority to cast out demons. They were amazed that the demons submitted in Jesus’ name (Luke 10:17).
• Years after Jesus’ ascension, in Jesus’ name, Paul commanded a demon to leave a young girl who had been used by men to make money through her divination (Acts 16:16–18).
• Paul calls Satan the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4). He and his demons seek to deceive people from following the truth. There's no reason to think such authority has been or will be revoked until Satan is bound for a thousand years after the Tribulation (1 John 5:19; Revelation 20:1–3).
• Demons are the enemy of God's children and want nothing but harm for us (1 Peter 5:8).
• Demons are our enemy (Ephesians 6:12). To seek to associate with them is to invite destruction.
• In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray that God will deliver us from evil—most likely referring directly to Satan. We can ask God to protect us from demonic activity (Matthew 6:13).
• God can use demonic activity for His purposes—to encourage us to return to Him (1 Corinthians 5:5) or to teach us how to trust Him more completely (2 Corinthians 12:7–10).
• In the end times, the entire world will be controlled by demonic activity (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4; Revelation 12:9). This will herald the glorification and victory of Christ.

implications for today

The Bible does not blame all misfortune on demonic activity. Someone who is plagued by fear does not necessarily have a "spirit of fear." Someone who can't manage money is not necessarily being harassed by a "spirit of poverty." Someone who can't find a spouse is not necessarily being tormented by a "spirit of rejection." While it's possible that a person could be subjected to particular attention by demons, the Bible does not indicate that every hardship is a direct result of spiritual warfare. Our world is broken, and we should expect to experience some of that brokenness in our lives. On a worldwide scale, while it is possible that demons are guiding human institutions to wreak havoc across the globe, the Bible doesn't indicate that Christians should concentrate on stopping those efforts.

We are not to concern ourselves with how to perform exorcisms or expel demons from places. Instead, we are commanded not to allow demonic activity to influence us to reject God's authority over our lives. James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." This doesn't refer to a spiritual attack that causes earthly harm, but to temptation to sin. Job, again, is our model for this—"In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong" (Job 1:22). We can't control the spiritual forces; we can only pray for protection and resist the temptation to sin.