Why Don’t Demons Go to Heaven

Written by Maya Anderson

A question that is repeatedly asked among Christians is that if demons believe in God (James 2:19), and all you need to do to have eternal life is believe in God (John 3:16), then why don’t the demons, or even Satan, get into heaven?

The answer is simple. You see, the New Testament was originally written in Greek. The Greek work for “believe” is pusteuo meaning not only to believe, but also to entrust, to rely on, to cling to.

So not only to we need to believe in God, but we also need to cling to Him, and rely on His powerful hand.

Then, it says in James 2:14:

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”

And again in verse 17:

“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

So we see that not only do we need to believe in God, but we also need to take action to rely on Him, cling to Him, and follow His commandments to the best of our abilities.

That is to say, just works won’t get you into heaven either (Ephesians 2:8-9). You need to have a balance between the two (James 2:22). James chapter 2 is a good passage to read for more information on that.

And because demons don’t have that balance, and because they don’t rely and trust in God like He calls us to, that is why they can’t gain salvation, and so, can’t make it into heaven.