Besides the physical world that we can all see and that
scientists can measure and investigate, there is also a hidden world that we
can learn about only through divine revelation—or when beings from that world
interact openly with this world. That
hidden world is populated with spirit sons of God.
The Bible says relatively little about these spirit sons of
God, although it includes mention of them from Genesis through Revelation, and
what it does reveal is of critical importance to our understanding of the world
we live in.
We know that angels existed before the creation of the
earth, because “all the sons of God shouted for joy” when God “laid the
foundations of the earth.” (Job
38:4-7) God then created man “a little lower than the angels.”
(Heb. 2:7) A vision of God’s
throne in heaven shows that there are vast numbers of angels: “angels around the throne .
. . the number of them was ten thousands of ten thousands, and thousands
of thousands.” (Rev. 5:11)
The Bible speaks of different types or categories of
angels: holy angels including cherubs
and seraphs—and fallen angels or demons.
Holy angels serve God in the invisible realm and visit humans on rare
occasions as messengers from God or to execute his judgments. For example, when the first humans sinned and
were expelled from the garden of Eden, angels were
posted to keep them from returning there. (Gen. 3:24) And Jesus’ birth was announced to shepherds
near Bethlehem by an angel. (Luke 2:8-14)
Only two holy angels are actually mentioned by name in the
Bible: Gabriel who is named by Daniel
and Luke, and Michael who is named in the books of Daniel, Jude and Revelation.
When they do visit humans, holy angels make it clear that
they are humble messengers doing God’s bidding, not their own, and they do not
accept worship or otherwise interact inappropriately with humans. For example, when the Apostle John was shown
visions by an angel, he said
“I fell down to worship at the feet of
the angel who had been showing them to me.
But he said to me, ‘Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and
with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’” —Revelation 22:8-9 NIV
Fallen angels, on the other hand, seek or demand
worship. When Satan the devil tempted
Jesus in the wilderness, he wanted Jesus to worship him:
“Again, the devil took him to an
exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and
their glory. He
said to him, ‘I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and
worship me.’” —Matthew
4:8-9
And the Apostle Paul indicated that the worship of pagan
idolaters is directed toward demons rather than toward God:
“What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything,
or that an idol is anything? But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice
to demons, and not to God, and I don’t desire that you would have fellowship
with demons.” —1
Corinthians 10:19-20
Just as “God made people good, but they have found all
kinds of ways to be bad” (Eccl. 7:29
NCV), the fallen angels too appear to have exercised their free will to rebel
against God. The first one to do so
evidently became their chief or leader—like an organized crime boss in the
visible world. Scripture calls him the
devil (from a Greek word meaning slanderer)
or Satan (from a Hebrew word meaning adversary). A parable directed at the king of Tyre seems to indicate that he was
the cherub assigned to care for things on earth when the first humans were
placed in the garden of Eden:
“You were in Eden,
the garden of God
. . . You were the anointed cherub who
covers . . . You were perfect in your
ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in
you. . . . you
have sinned: therefore I have cast you as profane out of the mountain
of God; and I have destroyed you,
covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your
beauty; you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness . . .” —Ezekiel 28:13-17
A comparison of Genesis and Revelation also indicates that
Satan the devil was the one who spoke through the serpent that deceived the
first woman Eve:
“Now the serpent was more subtle than
any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Has
God really said, “You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?”’
“The woman said to the serpent, ‘Of the
fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but of the fruit of the tree which
is in the middle of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat of it, neither
shall you touch it, lest you die.”’
“The serpent said to the woman, ‘You won’t surely
die, for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and
you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” —Genesis
3:1-5
According to the Revelation recorded by the Apostle John,
the serpent that deceived Eve was actually Satan the devil:
“the old serpent, he who
is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” —Revelation 12:9
By lying to the woman and leading Adam and Eve to sin,
punishable by death, Satan showed himself to be a liar and a murderer. Jesus said,
“. . . the devil . . . He was a murderer
from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.
When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of
lies.” —John 8:44
NIV
We cannot speak with certainty about matters that the Bible
only hints at with vague references, but there are enough clues in Scripture to
conclude that the cherub who was left in charge of matters on earth, and who
abused his privileges, still retains control—somewhat like a human president
who has been impeached for misconduct and abuse of power but has not yet been
removed from office. When Satan tempted
Jesus in the wilderness, he offered him worldly political power:
“The devil, leading him up on a high mountain,
showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
The devil said to him, ‘I will give you all this authority, and their glory,
for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to
whomever I want. If you therefore will worship before
me, it will all be yours.’” —Luke
4:5-7
Jesus did not dispute Satan’s claim to world rulership with
the ability to give political power to others, but instead answered
“‘It is written: “Worship the Lord
your God and serve him only.”’” —Luke
4:8 NIV
Later, Jesus referred to the devil as “the prince of this
world” (John 14:30) or “the ruler of this world.” (John 14:30 RSV, NKJV, NASB) And elsewhere
Jesus said, “Now is the time for the world to be judged; now the ruler of this
world will be thrown down.” (John 12:31 NCV)
God’s judgment may seem to us humans to be a long time in
coming, but that is just because we are looking at things from a human
perspective. From God’s eternal
perspective, and from the perspective of angels who were alive when the earth
was created, the legal case against Satan is moving right along:
“But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one
day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count
slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord
will come as a thief in the night . . .” —2
Peter 3:8-10
These disobedient angels face a time of judgment from God,
according to the Apostle Peter who wrote that
“. . . God didn’t spare angels when they sinned,
but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to
pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment” —2
Peter 2:4
But, in the meantime, they continue to deceive and tempt humans,
evidently trying to justify themselves by pointing out the sins of others. Note the case of Job, where the curtain was
pulled back so that we could see what went on in heaven before tragedy struck
the family of this godly man:
“One day the angels came to present themselves
before the LORD, and Satan also came with
them.
“The LORD
said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’
“Satan answered the LORD,
‘From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.’
“Then the LORD
said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth
like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.’
“‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’ Satan replied,
‘Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You
have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread
throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he
has, and he will surely curse you to your face.’
“The LORD
said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the
man himself do not lay a finger.’
“Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.’” —Job 1:6-12 NIV
Satan went off from that meeting and sent fire, enemy
raiders and a wind storm against Job’s property and his family, destroying his
possessions and killing all of his children.
In spite of all this, Job kept his integrity. So, Satan took the matter further:
“Then the LORD
said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth
like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And
he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him
without any reason.’
“‘Skin for skin!’ Satan
replied. ‘A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your
hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your
face.’
“The LORD
said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his
life.’
“So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from
the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken
pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.
“His wife said to him, ‘Are you still maintaining
your integrity? Curse God and die!’
“He replied, ‘You are talking like a foolish woman.
Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’
“In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.” —Job
2:3-10 NIV
Was Job’s case unique?
Or, is the devil still involved in making similar challenges regarding Christians
today? Evidently the latter is the case,
because the book of Revelation calls him
“the devil and Satan, the
deceiver of the whole world. . . . ‘. .
. the accuser of our brothers . . . who accuses them
before our God day and night.’” —Revelation
12:9-10
The Apostle Paul encouraged Christians in the ancient city
of Ephesus to trust in Christ’s
strength and rely upon God because we have a struggle against powerful
invisible enemies—the devil and his demons:
“Finally, be strong in the
Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. For our
wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities,
against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and
against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” —Ephesians 6:10-12
What does “the whole armor of God” consist of? Paul elaborates by listing these elements of
our Christian walk as followers of Jesus:
truth, righteousness, the Good News or Gospel message, faith, salvation,
the Scriptures and prayer:
“Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and,
having done all, to stand. Stand therefore,
having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on
the breastplate of righteousness, and having fitted your feet with the
preparation of the Good News of peace; above all, taking up the shield of
faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil
one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God; with all prayer
and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this
end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints . . .” —Ephesians
6:13-18
So, even though the devil and his demons are powerful
invisible enemies, we can successfully stand firm against them if we put on
“the whole armor of God” as Paul outlines here.
The Apostle Peter likewise encourages us to take our stand
against the devil, trusting that God will bring us through our present
sufferings in this world:
“Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your
adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour. Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing
that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings. But may the God of all grace, who called you to his
eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect,
establish, strengthen, and settle you.” —1
Peter 5:8-10
While some of Satan’s attacks against Christians are
head-on violent confrontations, as in the case of Job, we must also be watchful
for his more subtle attacks. Satan
pretends to be a good angel, and humans who work for him similarly may appear
on the outside to be good people. These
more subtle attacks often occur inside Christian churches where false teachers
employed by the devil do his bidding and attempt to lead church members and
newcomers away from following Jesus:
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful
workers, masquerading as Christ’s apostles. And no
wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
It is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of
righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” —2 Corinthians 11:13-15
Such subtle attacks within Christian churches by
“Christian” leaders who actually work for the devil are discussed in greater
detail elsewhere in this book, particularly in the chapters that deal with
Jezebel in the churches, and religious authorities, and those who deliberately
keep on sinning.
God is temporarily tolerating the rebellion by Satan and
his hordes of fallen angels, just as he is temporarily tolerating human rebellion
and the wicked society men have built in the visible world around us. But the legal and moral issues raised by
those who challenge God have been settled.
The mountain of evidence that has piled up over the course of history
proves that God is fully justified in executing judgment against rebellious
angels and humans. Jesus indicated that
their end will be in
“the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels” —Matthew 25:41
Meanwhile, Satan’s biggest ‘success’ has involved
convincing the modern world that he does not exist. Not only does this allow him more easily to
deceive and mislead people, but it also allows him to call into question the
Bible’s truthfulness, since it speaks of the devil from beginning to end. Those who call themselves Christians but do
not believe the devil exists end up following a different Jesus—not the Jesus
of the Bible who was tempted by the devil, who warned his followers against the
devil, and whose purpose in coming was “to destroy the devil’s work” as Jesus’
beloved Apostle John points out here:
“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you the wrong way. Christ is righteous. So to be like Christ a person must do what is
right. The devil has been sinning since
the beginning, so anyone who continues
to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of
God came for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s work.
“Those who are God’s children do not continue
sinning, because the new life from God remains in them. They are not able to go on sinning, because
they have become children of God. So we
can see who God’s children are and who the devil’s children are: Those who do not do what is right are not
God’s children, and those who do not love their brothers and sisters are not
God’s children.” —1 John 3:7-10 NCV
Jesus destroyed the devil’s work through his sacrificial
death on the cross:
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too
shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds
the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were
held in slavery by their fear of death.” —
Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV
The devil brought death to humankind, and enslaved us to
sin through our fear of death. But Jesus
lived a sinless life and died on the cross to set us free from both sin and death—setting
us free from the power of the devil.