The name “angel” under which we usually subsume the entire class of higher spiritual names is not a name deriving from their nature (nomen naturae) but from their office (nomen officci). The Hebrew mal’ak simply means “messenger,” “envoy,” and can also mean a human being sent either by other humans (Job 1:14; 1 Sam. 11:3; etc.) or by God (Hag. 1:13; Mal. 2:7; 3:1). The same thing is true of angelos, which is repeatedly used to denote humans (Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:24, 27; 9:52; Gal 4:14; James 2:25). In some translations it is erroneously reproduced by “angel” instead of “messenger” (e.g., Gal. 4:14; Rev. 1:20). In Scripture there is no common distinguishing name for the entire class of spiritual beings, though they are frequently called “sons of God” ([KJV, RSV note] Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Ps. 29:1; 89:6); “spirits” (1 Kings 22:19ff; Heb. 1:14); “holy ones” ([Deut. 33:2-3] Ps. 89:5, 7; Zech. 14:5; Job 5:1; 15:15; Dan. 8:13); “watchers” (Dan. 4:13, 17, 23).

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 2, God and Creation (Grand Rapids, Baker Academic, 2004), 450-451.

Demonology is discussed in theological colleges only in the most general way. There just is not time to study the subject with any degree of thoroughness. Consequently there is much vagueness and at time error in the Protestant pulpit when Satan and the demons are mentioned. Nothing of any importance has been written on the subject, from a Reformed standpoint, since John L. Nevius, a Presbyterian missionary in China, wrote his Demon Possession and Allied Themes in 1894. There has been a steady trickle of Dispensationalist writing on the subject and in recent years a number of books by evangelical authors have appeared. They are mostly superficial in their treatment of the subject. Some of them contain wild and unwarranted statements and a few of them are positively dangerous for the unwary to read. Publishers have sensed a market for such books and in a day when we hear much about extrasensory perception, ouija boards, black witches, exorcism and suchlike, there has been a tendency to rush out books on the occult, sprits and demon-possession which pay scant attention to the Biblical evidence, pander to the sensational and often arrive at unwarranted conclusions.

There is a crying need for an examination of this whole subject in the light of Scripture alone, bearing in mind that the Scriptures are our only rule of faith and practice. We are concerned to confess what has been revealed in Scripture and not what is partly the result of logical deduction and subjective opinion. All available details and reports relating to the phenomena of Satanic activity and demon-possession are to be studied, but they must be interpreted in the light of Scripture and not used to form a basis for conclusions or to colour the interpretation of Scripture

Frederick S. Leahy, Satan Cast Out (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2017), 7-8.

Actual communication with unseen spirits; their influence on the acts and destinies of individuals and nations; and demon-possession, are taught clearly and unmistakably in both the Old and New Testaments. These teachings are not occasional and incidental, but underlie all Biblical history and Biblical doctrine. The Bible recognizes not only the material world, but a spiritual world intimately connected with it, and spiritual beings both good and bad, who have access to, and influence for good and ill, the world’s inhabitants.

John L. Nevius, Demon Possession and Allied Themes (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1896), 243.

Since this book was first published in 1975, the need for biblical instruction in matters pertaining to Satan’s activities and to the demonic in our culture has in no way lessened. Quite frequently I have been asked to address groups of church elders, school classes and youth fellowships on this subject. Invariably I have found not only a measure of confusion, but also much evidence of the involvement of young people from a Christian background being caught up in this dangerous activity with alarming results and I have noted the distress of their parents in such situations and their uncertainty concerning what to do. Many young people are now at great risk. Scores of books and television programmes continue to provide a poisonous cocktail of sex, violence and occultism. This is spiritually and morally lethal.

Frederick S. Leahy, Satan Cast Out (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2017), 10.