Vital reading on the spiritual battles we are involved in:
The Bible clearly teaches that God exists, that Satan exists, that angels exist, and that demons exist. There is a spiritual world that is all around us, and it has a massive impact on all that we do, think and say. Given that God and Satan are at war with each other, and given that angels and demons are at war with each other, it should come as no surprise that believers are caught in the crossfire.
But some Christians might be a bit squeamish here, claiming we should not draw attention to the devil, demons, and the like. Well, the Bible draws attention to them, and so should we. Spiritual beings, both good and evil, exist, and the Christian needs to be aware of them.
How we understand how this spiritual war impacts us can be a matter of some debate. Can a Christian be impacted by demons? Maybe even possessed by demons? How do we stand against the forces of darkness? What about things like exorcism? And what do we know about angels and demons?
Plenty of questions arise here. As such, plenty of books have been written on these matters over the years. I cannot mention them all, but I can try to mention some of the ones that I found to be helpful. Here then are 50 volumes that do a good job of covering these various issues:
Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World - and Why It Mattersby Dr. Michael S. Heiser (Author)
Anderson, Neil, The Bondage Breaker. Harvest House, 1993.
Anderson, Neil and Timothy Warner, The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare. Regal, 2000.
Arnold, Clinton, Three Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare. Baker, 1997.
Arnold, Clinton, Powers of Darkness: Principalities and Powers in Paul’s Letters. IVP, 1992.
Heiser, Michael, Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host. Lexham Press, 2018.
Heiser, Michael, Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness. Lexham Press, 2020.
Heiser, Michael, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World – and Why It Matters. Lexham Press, 2015.
Heiser, Michael, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. Lexham Press, 2015.
Ingram, Chip, The Invisible War: What Every Believer Needs to Know about Satan, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare. Baker, 2005, 2015.
Jeremiah, David, The Spiritual Warfare Answer Book. Thomas Nelson, 2016.
Koch, Kurt, Demonology Past and Present. Kregel, 1973.
Koch, Kurt, Satan’s Devices. Kregel, 1978.
Kohl, Ronald, ed., Our Ancient Foe. P&R, 2019.
Kraft, Charles, Defeating Dark Angels: Breaking Demonic Oppression in the Believer’s Life. Regal, 1992.
Kraft, Charles, The Evangelical’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare. Chosen Books, 2015.
Kreeft, Peter, Angels and Demons. Ignatius, 1995.
Lane, Anthony, ed., The Unseen World: Christian Reflections on Angels, Demons and the Heavenly Realm. Baker, 1996.
Leahy, Frederick, Satan Cast Out. Banner of Truth, 1975.
Lewis, C. S., The Screwtape Letters. Macmillan, 1944.
Logan, Jim, Reclaiming Surrendered Ground: Protecting Your Family from Spiritual Attacks. Moody, 2016.
Lutzer, Erwin, The Serpent of Paradise: The Incredible Story of How Satan’s Rebellion Serves God’s Purposes, republished as God’s Devil. Moody, 1996, 2015.
MacArthur, John, God, Satan and Angels. Word of Grace, 1983.
Mayhue, Richard, Unmasking Satan. Kregel, 1998.
Murphy, Ed, Handbook on Spiritual Warfare. Thomas Nelson, 1992.
Noll, Stephen, Angels of Light, Powers of Darkness. IVP, 1998.
Oropeza, B. J., 99 Answers to Questions about Angels, Demons & Spiritual Warfare. IVP, 1997.
Page, Sydney, Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons. Baker, 1995.
Powlison, David, Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare. Revell, 1994.
Prince, Derek, Victory in Spiritual Warfare: Outfitting Yourself for the Battle. 1987, 2011.
Rhodes, Ron, Spiritual Warfare in the End Times. Harvest Prophecy, 2020.
Spurgeon, C. H., Spurgeon on Prayer & Spiritual Warfare. Whitaker House, 1998.
Williams, Peter, The Case for Angels. Paternoster, 2006.
As always, when I mention a kazillion titles – or 50 – some folks will be a bit overwhelmed, and might ask me to narrow things down a bit. Well, maybe these authors would be well worth starting with: Anderson, Arnold, Heiser, Murphy and Storms.
Let me finish with just four brief quotes on all this:
“If once the curtain were pulled back, and the spiritual world behind it came to view, it would expose to our spiritual vision a struggle so intense, so convulsive, sweeping everything within its range, that the fiercest battle fought on earth would seem, by comparison, a mere game. Not here, but up there – that is where the real conflict is engaged. Our earthly struggle drones in its backlash.” Abraham Kuyper
“Where are you? You are in enemy country, a stranger and an alien. The world is not your friend. If it is, then you are not God’s friend, for whoever is the friend of the world is the enemy of God. Be certain that you will find enemies everywhere. When you sleep, remember that you are resting on the battlefield; when you travel, suspect an ambush in every hedge.” Charles Spurgeon
“We alone, as Christians, understand what is wrong with the world. We see powers and principalities, the rulers of the darkness of this world, behind the visible and seen phenomena, and we see perplexed politicians trying to deal with the problems, and failing. We know they must fail because they do not see what is at the back of it all. We see it as the conflict between heaven and hell.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“The primary battle is a spiritual battle in the heavenlies. But this does not mean, therefore, that the battle we are in is otherworldly or outside of human history. It is a real spiritual battle, but it is equally a battle here on earth in our own country, our own communities, our places of work and our schools, and even our own homes. The spiritual battle has its counterpart in the visible world, in the minds of men and women, and in every area of human culture. In the realm of space and time the heavenly battle is fought on the stage of human history.” Francis Schaeffer
10 Replies to “Top 50 Books on Angels, Demons, Satan and Spiritual Warfare”
Well said Bill, great list!
For those who still have reservations, let me quote from Eph 6:11-12:
“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Now please read the rest of this chapter to see what we can do in light of those two verses, and enter the war we are in.
You will find we have six defensive parts to our armour, and one offensive weapon, which is, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God….
Thanks Henri.
I have those Heiser books and they are awesome. Super helpful when doing a bible study on a tricky passage. Highly recommend. I highly recommend going back into the naked bible podcast archives. Dr Heiser passed away a year ago but there are nearly 500 Episodes to go back and re visit
Yes they are very good indeed Daniel.
Hi Bill,
God’s plan is amazing.
3 weeks ago Bjorn and I started running a spiritual warfare course by Kjell Sjoberg on zoom. More details here https://prayerstrategy.org/spiritual-warfare/
Kjell came to Australia in 1987 on a special mission (He was invited by Noel and Barbara Bell) His teaching is still very relevant to nowadays’ battles.
We have been running this program for the last 4 years, amazing leaders are doing this program with us from all over the world. If anyone wish to join for 2025 program, please let us know
Kind regards
Lilian
Thanks Lilian.
Just a question, Bill… what about those two great fictional classics on the nature and character of Satan, Dante’s The Divine Comedy (Inferno) and Milton’s Paradise Lost? What are the greatest fictional depictions of the power of evil apart from that? While discernment is important in this context, great works of fiction can equally contribute to that.
Sure fiction can help us in many ways. If I wanted to have works of fiction included here, many books could be mentioned, including newer volumes such as The Screwtape Letters by Lewis. But that was not the intent for my piece.
I would be interested in a future piece that deals with who you think are the greatest authors of Christian fiction of all time, as well as how you comprehend those works help us in our work with Christ. I mean, apart from the obvious ones like Tolkien, Lewis and Bunyan. Better yet, an article specifically focusing on one great Christian author apiece. Perhaps Dante, or Milton, given I brought up the subject (and, as you know, I was introduced to the Divine Comedy at an early age by Ma and promptly hooked by the grandeur and scope of its description- and although I encountered it later, exactly the same applies to Milton).
Well, as I have said now and then, my wife actually read more than I. And 98% of her reading was fiction, while 98% of my reading is non-fiction. So she would be best placed to pen such a piece, were she still alive. She could just pull volumes off her shelves and make a list!
Well said Bill, great list!
For those who still have reservations, let me quote from Eph 6:11-12:
“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Now please read the rest of this chapter to see what we can do in light of those two verses, and enter the war we are in.
You will find we have six defensive parts to our armour, and one offensive weapon, which is, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God….
Thanks Henri.
I have those Heiser books and they are awesome. Super helpful when doing a bible study on a tricky passage. Highly recommend. I highly recommend going back into the naked bible podcast archives. Dr Heiser passed away a year ago but there are nearly 500 Episodes to go back and re visit
Yes they are very good indeed Daniel.
Hi Bill,
God’s plan is amazing.
3 weeks ago Bjorn and I started running a spiritual warfare course by Kjell Sjoberg on zoom. More details here https://prayerstrategy.org/spiritual-warfare/
Kjell came to Australia in 1987 on a special mission (He was invited by Noel and Barbara Bell) His teaching is still very relevant to nowadays’ battles.
We have been running this program for the last 4 years, amazing leaders are doing this program with us from all over the world. If anyone wish to join for 2025 program, please let us know
Kind regards
Lilian
Thanks Lilian.
Just a question, Bill… what about those two great fictional classics on the nature and character of Satan, Dante’s The Divine Comedy (Inferno) and Milton’s Paradise Lost? What are the greatest fictional depictions of the power of evil apart from that? While discernment is important in this context, great works of fiction can equally contribute to that.
Sure fiction can help us in many ways. If I wanted to have works of fiction included here, many books could be mentioned, including newer volumes such as The Screwtape Letters by Lewis. But that was not the intent for my piece.
I would be interested in a future piece that deals with who you think are the greatest authors of Christian fiction of all time, as well as how you comprehend those works help us in our work with Christ. I mean, apart from the obvious ones like Tolkien, Lewis and Bunyan. Better yet, an article specifically focusing on one great Christian author apiece. Perhaps Dante, or Milton, given I brought up the subject (and, as you know, I was introduced to the Divine Comedy at an early age by Ma and promptly hooked by the grandeur and scope of its description- and although I encountered it later, exactly the same applies to Milton).
Well, as I have said now and then, my wife actually read more than I. And 98% of her reading was fiction, while 98% of my reading is non-fiction. So she would be best placed to pen such a piece, were she still alive. She could just pull volumes off her shelves and make a list!