Understanding Angels, Satan, and Demons

Understanding Angels, Satan, and Demons

When discussing God's creation, we have limited our discussion to the Physical Realm, but there are also spiritual creatures: God has created called Angels and Demons. Satan, a demon himself, is considered the head of the Demons.

What Are Angels?

Angels are created, Spiritual Beings with moral judgment and high intelligence, but without physical bodies. They are God's Warriors and, as a group, are often referred to as the host or armies of Heaven. They have not always existed; they are part of the universe God created. Ezra affirms this when he says of God, "You have made Heaven, the heaven of Heavens, with all their host" (Nehemiah 9:6).

The Nature of Angels

Since angels are spirits (Hebrews 1:14), they do not have physical bodies. As Jesus says, "a spirit does not have Flesh and Bones" (Luke 24:39). Therefore, Angels cannot ordinarily be seen unless the Lord opens our eyes, as He did with Balaam in Numbers 22:31, where they take on bodily form to appear to us, as happened at Jesus' tomb in Matthew 28:5. Normally, though, angels are invisible as they perform their ordinary activities of guarding us in all our ways (Psalms 91:11) and joining us in our worship of God (Hebrews 12:22).

Angels' Abilities and Roles

Angels demonstrated moral judgment when they sinned and were cast out of Heaven (2 Peter 2:4). They demonstrate their intelligence through speaking to humans (see Matt 28:5, for example) and singing praise to God (see Revelation 4:11, for example). Angels have great power; they are called Mighty ones (Psalms 103:20) and are greater in might and power than unrighteous Humans (2 Peter 2:11).

God's Greater Love for Humans

Even so, God demonstrates a greater love for humans than for Angels. For God did not spare Angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy Darkness (2 Peter 2:4). In contrast, when Adam and Eve sinned, though they were cast out of their Paradise, they were not cast into hell. Instead of putting them in Chains, God made clothes for them, covering their shame (Genesis 3:21-23).

Angels as Examples

As Angels obediently carry out God's plans by doing His word (Psalms 103:20), they serve as examples for us. They worship and glorify God continually (see Isaiah 6:2-3, for example). We should therefore be aware of the Unseen presence of angels as we go about our daily lives. They may be joining us in worship, protecting and guarding us, or even visiting us as strangers, seeking Hospitality (Hebrews 13:2).

What Are Demons?

Demons are evil angels who sinned against God and who now continually work evil in the world. They are the Angels whom God did not spare when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy Darkness (2 Peter 2:4).

The Origin of Demons

Demons did not start out as evil. As part of the original creation, they were part of the everything God made that He considered very good (Genesis 1:31). Although the Bible does not tell us specifically when they fell, sometime between their creation and Satan's tempting of Eve to sin, these demons did not stay within their own position of authority but left their proper dwelling (Jude 6) and were cast into hell.

Who is Satan?

Satan is the personal name of the head of the Demons. He is mentioned by name in passages like 1 Chronicles 21:1, where it says, "Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel." Jesus speaks directly to him when tempted in the Wilderness, "Be gone, Satan" (Matthew 4:10). When the disciples tell Jesus that the demons are subject to His name, Jesus responds by saying, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven" (Luke 10:18).

Names and Characteristics of Satan

The Bible also uses the following names for Satan: the devil (Matthew 4:1), the serpent (Genesis 3:1), Beelzebul (Matthew 10:25), the ruler of this world (John 12:31), the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), and the evil one (Matthew 13:19). Satan was a murderer from the beginning and the father of Lies (John 8:44). The devil (1 John 3:8) tells us he has been sinning from the beginning. He is the originator of sin, having sinned before he deceived Eve by his cunning (2 Corinthians 11:3). He also tried to tempt Christ to sin (Matthew 4:1), so that Jesus would fail in His mission to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

The Work of Satan and His Demons

Satan and his demons will try to use every type of destructive tactic to blind people from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). They will also use similar destructive tactics such as temptation, doubt, lies, murder, guilt, fear, confusion, sickness, envy, pride, and slander to hinder a Christian's witness and usefulness.

Limitations of Demons

The devil and his demons are limited both in their own power and by God's control in what they can and can't do. They are kept in Eternal chains under gloomy Darkness (Jude 6). Satan himself can be successfully resisted through the authority of Christ, "resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Satan and his demons cannot know the future, for only God can declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done (Isaiah 46:10). Although they may be able to observe what we do on a daily basis and from this draw conclusions about our thoughts or our future, they cannot know for certain what we are thinking or what our future holds (Daniel 2:27-28).

Demonic Activity Today

Like God's angels, Satan and his demons are active in the world today and they work much evil, but they are not solely responsible for all the evil in the world. Much of the sin mentioned in the Bible is not the result of Satan or his demons, but instead the result of an individual person's own actions (James 1:14). Nevertheless, the Bible encourages us to be sober-minded and watchful, for the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Therefore, we are encouraged to resist him (1 Peter 5:9) and give no opportunity to the devil (Ephesians 4:27).

Victory Over Demons

As these attacks from Satan and his demons come in various forms and to various degrees, those who believe in Jesus should realize that, through death, Jesus nullified the power of the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil (Hebrews 2:14). At the cross, God disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in Christ (Colossians 2:15). Therefore, if Satan or his demons mount an attack against us, we should take confidence in Christ's Victory and use the weapons of our Warfare that have divine power to destroy strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Our Response to Demonic Activity

At times, we may also decide to speak directly to an evil spirit, commanding it to leave in the name of Jesus (see Luke 9:1, 10:17; Acts 8:7, 16:18; James 4:7). We should not fear demons, for "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). All the time, we should not rejoice that the spirits are subject to us, but instead rejoice that our names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20).

The Final Victory

In Romans 16:20, Paul tells Christians, "the God of Peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." As the good news of the Gospel is preached and people come to believe in Jesus, another spiritual battle is won. Someday, Christ will come and completely remove the influence of Satan and demons from this world (see 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 20:1-3).