There is an unseen world. A world which you cannot see with your natural eyes. Here a war rages between the forces of good and evil – and believe it or not, mankind is caught in the middle. This leaflet is not about some fictitious novel, nor some make-believe Hollywood film, but rather the truth of what the Bible reveals to us about the sometimes frightening story of the race of Angels and Demons.
In Hebrew they are called mal’ak, and in Greek angelos which convey the meaning of ‘Messenger’ or ‘Agent’. Although the words are sometimes used in the Bible to describe ministers of God and Jesus Christ Himself, here we want to focus specifically on what the Bible describes as an actual race of supernatural beings – the Angels.
Who Are The Angels?
1. Angels are created beings, and were granted immortality (everlasting life) by God.
2. They are far more intelligent and powerful than mankind, although they are always under God’s control and do His will (Psalm 103:20-21). They are moral beings knowing right from wrong, and as such are rewarded for obedience, and punished for disobedience.
3. They are spiritual beings, and so are invisible to us. However, they have appeared in bodily form at different times in the Bible to perform a special service for God. For example, an angel appeared to Mary and told her the Child that, “Shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). The general rule in the Bible is that when there is something important about to happen or there is an important message to hear – God will send an angel.
4. They inhabit Heaven and have direct access to God. In Heaven they hear the voice of God and sing His praise. Indeed, the Holy angels praise the God of Heaven now, and will do so for all eternity. The Bible tells us what they sing: “And all the angels stood round about the throne, …and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 7:11-12). Despite their incredible power, the holy angels desire to give all the glory and honour to God. “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). They are humble.
5. They can fight. If God permitted it they could wipe out the Human race in a heartbeat, and you will be surprised to hear that they have come close to doing it. When the enemies of Jesus came to arrest Him before His crucifixion, He turned to one of His disciples and said: “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). Jesus only had to ask, and God the Father would have sent an entire army of Angels to this earth.
6. They are very numerous. When the apostle John tried to number the angels he saw before him, he said there were, “Ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (Revelation 5:11). Two are named in the Bible: Michael the Archangel (Daniel 10:13,21), and Gabriel (Luke 1:19,26). Two ranks, or types of angels are given in the Bible also – The Cherubim and the Seraphim.
7. There are ‘Guardian Angels’. The Bible especially appears to associate them with protecting little children and Christians.
8. Angels CANNOT (or are not permitted by God) to ‘possess’ humans. Neither can we ‘conjure them up’ or make them appear to us. In fact, the Bible expressly warns against trying to contact the spiritual world (Deuteronomy 18:10-11), and warns that if we do try to contact angels, we will more than likely contact what the Bible calls a ‘Fallen Angel’ – a demon.
The Creation of the Demons
The origin of the Demons really begins with Lucifer, one of the greatest angels God ever made. The Bible gives an account of what happened to him: “Thou [Lucifer]… full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; …Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. …therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness” (Ezekiel 28:12-17).
Many often make the mistake of assuming that Lucifer has always been evil. However, the Bible teaches that he was once one of the greatest (if not THE greatest angel) that God created. Tragically, pride and self worship consumed Lucifer and he fell from his great position and became a ‘fallen’ angel – the Devil (Satan).
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Satan lead a rebellion against God, and because of his corrupt wisdom, managed to persuade (perhaps as many as one third) of the angels to join him. These ‘fallen angels’ are now the ‘agents’ or ‘messengers’ of Satan doing his will and seek to work against and sabotage the plans of God.
Demons
1. Like Holy Angels, they are spirits (what the Bible calls “unclean”, “evil spirits”, or “devils”) that still retain great power, intelligence, and knowledge.
2. They still believe in God, and even acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, even trembling at the thought (James 2:19). In Matthew chapter 8, two demon possessed men came out from the tombs shouting at Jesus saying, “What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). Demons even know what fate ultimately awaits them when ‘the time’ (Judgment Day) comes.
3. They can (sometimes) cause ill health in humans, and possess and control individuals. From the incidents of demonic possession in the Bible we can see that demons ultimately seek the harm of people, either through destruction of a person’s mental ability, their spiritual state, or indeed their physical life. Therefore, demons are much involved with promoting the evils of drink, drugs, mindless violence, mass murder, abortion, euthanasia, cruelty, torture, self-harm, and suicide. God delights in seeing men come to Him, being saved from Hell, and having everlasting life in heaven (Luke 15:10). Satan and his fallen angels on the other hand want the complete opposite, seeking to end lives as early as possible and take as many to Hell with them as they can. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
4. Their most effective work and greatest damage is done by subtlety, especially in drawing people away from the truth. The Bible warns us about, “…seducing spirits, and doctrines [or teachings] of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). Therefore, all of the cults and false religions of the world have Satanic forces behind them, seeking to ensnare (often very sincere and genuine people) in a web of lies and deception.
5. The final habitation for the demons will be the same as Satan – the Lake of Fire (everlasting punishment in Hell). “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6). “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, …and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10) The destiny of the ‘fallen angels’ is irreversible, as (unlike the human race) God has made no way for them to be saved.
Time To Take Sides?
Which side would you choose? Angels or Demons? Which destiny would you choose? Heaven or Hell? Clearly, no one IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would choose to serve Satan and his angels, and actually want to go to Hell? Indeed, some today boast of wanting to go to Hell, and some in their madness even swear allegiance to Satan, but they do so ignorant of what the REAL Hell will be like and ignorant of what terrifying company demons will be. They dance upon the very edge of Hell, and in a heartbeat are consumed. Are you as careless as them with your soul?
The Bible says that sin has “alienated” (or separated) us from God and made us enemies of God in our minds, “by wicked works” (Colossians 1:21). Not only that, but if we have not yet obeyed the Gospel, we are by default headed for Hell. Jesus said: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). He also said: “He that is not with me is against me” (Luke 11:23). In this war, there is no neutral ground.
‘What is sin?’ you may ask. Sin is wilful disobedience to Almighty God and open rebellion to Him. Look at just five of the Ten Commandments to see if you have sinned: 1. Have you ever lied? 2. Have you ever stolen? 3. Have you ever used God’s Name as a curse word? 4. Have you ever looked at anyone with lust? (Jesus said that to look with lust is adultery of the heart). 5. Have you ever hated anyone? (The Bible says that God sees hatred as murder). Someone who is a liar, a thief, a blasphemer, an adulterer at heart, and a murderer at heart is an enemy of God by their wicked works, and so would be guilty on Judgment Day and end up in Hell.
In an age of emphasis upon the temporal and material things, do you instead have the wisdom to see the importance of where you will spend eternity? Surely it is time for you to push aside all earthly distractions, and seek a way of escape from the coming judgment of God? This is not a game. “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested [or made known], that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Did you know that the Lord Jesus Christ destroyed the works of the devil? He came to this earth about 2000 years ago, lived a perfect life, and then after being cruelly treated at the hands of the Romans, was crucified on the cross for the sins of the world. Then Jesus triumphantly rose from the dead on the third day, and now sits on the right hand of God in Heaven. The Bible simply commands you to repent of your sin (that is to confess your sins to God and then turn from them), and then transfer all of your hope and trust over to what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. FAITH that Jesus was the perfect Son of God, that He died on the cross for YOUR sins, and that He physically rose from the dead, is all that God requires. Jesus has done the great work, all that is left for you to do is to BELIEVE.
“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile [or ‘bring together’] all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Colossians 1:19-21).