Luke 11:29-32
When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah..."
Guess who's coming to dinner.
There's more to this than just driving evil spirits out, there's the filling up of the soul by the Holy Spirit. There's more than just a prayer for mercy and deliverance, there's a prayer for the coming in, the filling up, and the abiding faith in Jesus Christ, and Him alone without all the trappings of heresy.
Jesus said, "blessed is the one who hears the word of God and keeps it". And that obedience to his commands will fill your soul like a vaccine against these wicked spirits.
The crowd demands a sign from Jesus and their demands are met with a rebuke. The evil lies in their seeking the spectacle and the tangible rather than recognizing the presence of God already among them. Jesus is talking about an invitation for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s not just about emptying their souls of their wickedness but actively filling it with faith, obedience, and the presence of Christ. Not following after the creation but worshipping the Creator through whom all things were made.
What are these evil spirits?
In the context of Luke 11 and broader biblical tradition, "evil spirits" refer to malevolent spiritual entities, often synonymous with demons, that oppose God and seek to influence or harm humanity. They’re not just metaphorical; in Scripture, they’re depicted as real, personal beings with wicked agency, though their exact nature remains mysterious. If you were to ask my personal opinion, I'd say they're likely interdimensional beings existing all around us. They're in the in-between I've written about before.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15: Paul warns,
"Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness."
Deceiving spirits posing as a departed saint for instance, someone revered for their life of holiness, fits this pattern. And the deceived will teach from that deception a doctrine of devils as a result.
Matthew 24:24: Jesus says,
"False messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."
1 Timothy 4:1: Paul speaks of "deceitful spirits" leading people astray with doctrines that seem pious but deviate from truth.
The Bible doesn’t depict evil spirits impersonating specific saints (like Peter or Mary). However, in Christian tradition, saints are venerated as intercessors or exemplars. If an evil spirit appeared as, say, a vision of Saint Francis delivering a false gospel message, it would align with Satan’s "angel of light" tactic, using a trusted Christian figure to sow confusion or heresy. The discerning measure of course is always the word of God that Jesus earlier said blesses the one who keeps it. If the vision is delivering a message of heresy, not aligned with the gospel of truth, then it's a fair criticism to call into question the veneration and ritualism associated with the traditional festivities.
The "sign of Jonah" (Christ’s death and resurrection) is sufficient, yet they miss it, chasing after creation’s flash instead of the Creator’s reality. But for so many this sign isn't enough. It wasn't enough for the Ninevites in Jonah's time, those who followed after humanism and reincarnation. People who believed they were working towards ultimate divine glory. People who venerated the creation over the Creator.
A demon appearing as a saint could deliver a "doctrine of devils" that's very similar to this. Let's say, a twisted gospel of self-justification mingled with idolatry, while draped in the trappings of holiness. These devils go to church. It fits the pattern of exploiting trust. If false prophets can mimic divine power, their spiritual backers can mimic divine messengers. Evil spirits can co-opt any symbol of faith. This resonates with 1 Timothy 4:1’s "deceitful spirits," pushing seemingly pious lies. If a saintly vision contradicts the gospel, it’s suspect, no matter how dazzling, and no matter how good it makes you feel. This cuts through ritualism or veneration gone astray; if the focus shifts from Christ to the spectacle (relics, feasts, or even the saint’s image), it risks becoming the very sign-chasing that Jesus rebuked. And their miraculous events themselves are suspect as well.
These spirits, then, are opportunists. In Luke 11’s context, they thrive where faith is shallow, where people demand signs but won’t abide in God’s presence. Posing as saints could be their ultimate con, turning reverence into a trap. The evil spirits don’t create the hunger for God; they redirect it.
They’re not just chaos, they’re cunning, mimicking light to obscure the truth of the gospel. They always alter the word of God. Twisting its message and meaning. Adding to it with traditions and doctrines. And reforming it so much so that they end up writing their own story altogether. And there have become plenty of extrabiblical canon that example that reality throughout the history of the church.
The gospel, God’s truth revealed in Christ, is the bedrock of our faith (John 1:1, 14; Romans 1:16). Not the traditions of men. Those things are the works of legend, a historical reflection of the twisted gospel of its age. Every idolatrous tradition begins in this way and can thrive in the hearts and minds of the generations for millennia. Because the demons make it work for them.
Q: Why? Why is it that the evil spirits target the Word of God?
A: Because Jesus testified to that truth. He literally told his judge and executioner that his purpose was exactly that.
Colossians 2:15
"He [God] disarmed the rulers and authorities [Probably demonic rulers and authorities] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him [Jesus his Son]."
Because it’s the power of Truth that exposes them (Colossians 2:15) and fills the soul with the Holy Spirit, leaving no room for their influence. Twisting its message is their survival tactic. Revelation 12:17 shows Satan’s rage against those who "keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus", the word is their enemy.
And that testimony is given for this reason. So that faith is filled with the Holy Spirit which stands against these deceiving spirits. The "evil generation" demands signs because they’ve lost the plot, God’s word, which is embodied in Jesus, and which stands before them, yet they want more, they want fireworks. Evil spirits thrive there, offering distractions (spectacles, traditions) to keep their souls empty and available for possession. They’re not sloppy. The demons study the word to subvert it. They're there with you in your catechism class and Sunday school. Think of Satan quoting Psalm 91 to Jesus in Matthew 4:6, twisting protection into presumption. They’ll use a saint’s image, a church’s rituals, or a preacher’s charisma, all to obscure the gospel’s simplicity. And their proselytes are souls chasing the shadows of departed Christians instead of their Creator.
The evil spirits are cunning editors of God’s truth, rewriting the script to star themselves, or at least sideline Jesus and elevate humanity. They don’t destroy the word; they distort it, banking on our laziness or pride to buy the head fake.
And that human pride, that desire to make ourselves into gods, will tout the historical significance of the traditional doctrines, and the men who wrote it. Gnosticism, Arianism, Pelagianism, Montanism, Medieval Indulgences, Patterns and Your Humanistic Frameworks. Scripture doesn’t name demons behind these things, but they're there (except broadly, like Satan in Galatians 1:6-7’s "different gospel" ).
And today we've sophisticated the heresies with Universalism, Hyper-Charismatic Excess, The Prosperity Gospel, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. It's insane how involved we get with twisting the gospel to fit our own agendas.
There is no manifesto that says, "Satan wrote this", but the framework fits. These heresies thrive where the words are unfilled by the Holy Spirit. These heretical demons exploit sign-seeking (Luke 11), offering tangible perks; money, acceptance, mysticism, miracles, comfort. All these created things over the "sign of Jonah". Social media (I could search X, or Facebook and find it with zero effort) amplifies them. Prosperity clips go viral, far left universalist takes on the trend, far right NAR prophecies racking up the likes. The cunning demonic spirit mimics light, but the gospel’s truth gets buried in all its lies.
The vaccine?
Obedience to the word cuts through it all. Test these heresies against Scripture (1 John 4:1), and the Holy Spirit will expose the fake gospel (John 16:13) that is found in every religious organization that focuses on tradition and doctrines of devils instead of drawing people into the presence of Jesus Christ in the name of Jesus Christ for the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "whoever is not against us is with us".
So, it stands to reason that those who are against us are not with us.
Matthew 12:30 Jesus said as much,
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
You know who you are if you examine your worship. As the word says you'll know them by their fruit. Not necessarily good deeds, but by knowing to whom or what they give the glory. Who is the focus of their devotion. Jesus? A saint? A doctrine? A legacy? A nation or traditions of men? What do you give your time too? The answer to these questions will tell you who your god or God, truly is.
Examine your heart. Be honest with yourself and your god, or God.