Demons
There is but one devil. Where the word devils occurs in the New Testament, we should substitute the word demons . These demons are a race or order of bodiless spirits, supposed by many to be the bodiless spirits of the inhabitants of the pre-Adamite earth who seek to reembody themselves by taking up their abode in human beings. This we know they can do under certain conditions. Demon possession was common in Christ’s day.
These demons are wicked, unclean, and vicious, having the power to derange both mind and body (Matthew 12:22; 15:22; Luke 4:35; 8:26–36; 9:42). They are the familiar spirits and wizards of the Old Testament, and the seducing spirits of whom Paul warned Timothy (1 Timothy 4:1).