Angels, Demons, and Satan

[00:00:00] Speaker A: We're jumping right back in. But we're in a new category. So to start, I kind of want to know what your notions or experiences are, if you have any, or maybe just what you think of when you hear of angels and demons specifically. I know Satan is up there too, but we'll say angels and demons. What do you think of. If you think you've had any experiences or what they are? Like, what do you think? And this can be right or wrong, accurate or inaccurate. I'm just curious what you guys think of. Oh, yeah. Okay. So you think of a specific Bible story? Yes, I think most of us picture something like that. Like a halo, maybe. You think they have halos? No, not really. I don't know. I mean, there might be. I don't know if there's actually a verse that hints at that or not, so I didn't see one. But it's interesting. We do think that way. What about demons? What do you think of with demons? We probably don't like to think about that much, but I'm sure you have an image in your head. [00:01:20] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm always thinking of the red eyes and weird horns. [00:01:26] Speaker A: Yeah, red eyes. Horns, yeah. Spiky tail, little red pitchfork. That's, you know, that's Satan. You see, probably you see this, like, very humorously portrayed. What were you gonna say? Cartoons? It's like bell on the shoulders. Oh, yeah. The. I don't know what those are called. Just like the little. Yeah, like your good and evil conscience telling you, do this, do this. Yeah, yeah. I think of, like, a specific movie when I think of that. Yeah. It's usually really cartoonish, especially with demons, probably for a good reason, because you don't want to think about that. But you might picture, like, the red devil guy, like, walking around hell with his minions as, you know, like he's some evil God and he's got his own angels, and it's really not like that at all. This really, you would probably understand, doesn't really align with scripture. It's too cartoonish. Satan doesn't like, run hell. It's a place that he actually will suffer in. And so we have a lot of misunderstandings. Angels are not that cute, you know, with just like a little halo and wings. They're terrifying. And sometimes they have many eyes and such, so that they might even really, really scare us if we were to see them. But nonetheless, this is kind of just how we understand them. So we want to go to the Bible. We want to see kind of what we understand from there to really kind of solidify what we believe about these beings because the way they're portrayed is typically very inaccurate. Of course it is hard to portray it accurately, but that's the state we're in. And so we're starting this new section of the categories, the 50 core truths of the Christian faith or systematic theology, as you might hear me say sometimes. So we've done two broad categories. We're starting the third one. What are the big umbrella categories we've done? Yes, well, those are two of the, like they're under one of the big umbrellas. So we covered those that was under the doctrine of God. So that was one of the big umbrellas because we were talking about his attributes. So that was a subcategory of studying God. And there's another big category we covered before. We covered just God and his attributes and what he does. Yeah, the Word. So we started with the Word and did several categories related to the Word. And then we did several categories related to God himself. And now we're doing a few categories relating to God's creation. Now we had a topic on creation itself, but we're going to look at his creatures. And so we're going to begin with angels, demons and yes, Satan. All things which God created. And that's an important thing for us to remember is that they were created by God. It is not the good versus evil equal battle. They were creatures and are creatures too. This is a good reminder, something that we ought to remember that anything, anything that is not God was created. Anything that is not God was created. That's important. You might even write that down. This is what we call a creator creature distinction. It is a very important distinction. There is the creator God and there is everything else. There's nothing else in existence, physical or non physical, metaphysical, that he did not create every single thing. So even these good and bad beings, angels and demons. And so we're going to look in the Word and try to be driven by the Word to the best we can so we don't fall into common mistakes when we're talking about angels and demons. So we believe at least six facts about angels and demons and Satan. We're going to go over those. But first let's look at our main idea which really is kind of just defining what these beings are. So angels are highly intelligent. That's our first blank up here. They are highly intelligent, morally good, spiritual beings created by God. Some angels rebelled, they rebelled against God. They lost their original goodness. So like how angels are morally good, they lost that original goodness. And now they're referred to as demons. So demons are just angels who rebelled against God and they had Satan as their head. They attempt to combat God in his work, they live to thwart it, to hurt his work, to draw his beloved ones away from him. He is the being. And demons are the beings that do their best to choke out the seeds that are planted or to scorch them. To refer to Jesus parable, that is what they are. They were angels and now they are referred to by something different. So our first fact about these beings is angels are creatures. We just said that they are creatures. Now how do we know that angels are creatures created by God? Do you guys have anything else? Yeah, they were created by God and it just makes sense that if they. Yeah, they're living things even if they aren't always manifested physically. Right. They're metaphysical beings, but they're created by God. Now what if angels aren't creatures? What if we want to argue that they weren't created, they've just always been around? Yeah, yeah, that's a good answer. Does anyone have anything else they want to add that would mean that they're like on the same level as God? Yeah, they would be eternal, which God's eternality is one of his attributes that he does not share with created beings. So there would be a confusion in that creator creature distinction that we so want to keep intact. So God created angels, though it's not explicitly stated when at creation, we typically understand them as they were created at some point before day seven. That is what we know and that is what God chose to reveal to us. Angels are creatures. Now, second, angels have attributes. So we mentioned that God has attributes. Well, angels do too. And this is. Since we can't see them or we're not like shaking their hand and getting to know them like a visitor at church or something. We can only know them basically by their attributes and how they are described in the Bible. So we're just going to go over a few of their attributes which are related in our main idea. But the first is intelligent. They are intelligent. They know a lot. Now, do you think they know everything you're saying? No. Why don't you think they know everything? They're so close to God. I mean, they're with him. Yeah, right. And they were created. Again, you can't know everything if you are not the Creator. So that's really good. We can see an example of this if we go to 1 Peter. So let's flip to 1 Peter. And can somebody read just three verses from 1 Peter 1:10 12. Any volunteers? 1 Peter 1:10 12. First Peter 1:10 12. Does anybody have it? I know some of you. All I can tell in your Bibles. Who wants to read it? Thank you, Anya. [00:11:22] Speaker B: Concerning his salvation, the prophets who spoke of the grace that was to come to you searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the times and circumstances which the Spirit of Christ in them was one who predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they may not govern themselves. But you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you, by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels. Long tips. [00:11:51] Speaker A: Yeah. So what is this saying about angels and their intelligence? What are a couple phrases? You might see different phrases in your version. It's the same idea. We're talking about things of salvation, the gospel. What does this last phrase say? These are things. Yeah. Into which angels long to look. Or things angels long to look into, depending on how it's put together. Yeah. They long to see these things. Peter even tells them that the angels are created to serve God's purposes in saving us. They are lesser. They don't know all things though they are intelligent and have a perspective that we lack as physical creatures. So they are intelligent. Their second attribute that we're going to talk about is holiness. Angels are holy. What does holy mean? Can someone remind us? Set apart? I think that's what Annie said too. Yeah. Set apart. They are morally good, morally pure and that makes them set apart from the sin stained world. They are holy like God. We know this because if angels are in the presence of God, then that means they must be holy. They cannot stand there if they are not holy. They only obey and worship God. They lack the sort of autonomy and responsibility that we do. Now. They do have the ability to rebel, as some of them did, but they are much more subservient to God. They're not necessarily born with a sin nature. They were created with an angelic nature, which is different. They are holy, though. Angels are also third powerful. They have power. Flip to Acts 5. Now we'll see how angels have power and I'll read a paragraph, but go to Acts 5:17. Acts 5:17. I'll give you a second to get there. So I want you to look along and see what's happening. Acts 5:17. But the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is the party of the Sadducees and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, go and stand in the temple and speak to the people. All the words of this life. And when they heard this, they. They entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. So what are some things angels can do with their power? Unlock. Who said that? Yeah, they can unlock things. Anything else? They don't all have to be in this passage. What are other things that, you know, angels have been said to do? They can talk to people. Yeah. Do what? Yeah, they can tell the good news. They can sing it like they do to the shepherds on Christmas Eve. I'm sorry. Yeah, they can command. They have authority to tell us to do things because they are messengers of God. That's actually what angel. Angel means. It means a messenger. What are the things that angels can do? They can. They can come to Earth and they can be made physical. Right. So they can change their form or be changed by God in their form because they're non physical, but they become physical. We see this especially in some Old Testament accounts of angels interacting with people and being served by people. Yeah, an angel was told to guard Eden, even so they can guard and protect things. Angels do have a lot of power that are not granted to humans. They are powerful. So those are a few of their attributes. There are more you can get into, but those are kind of maybe the more important ones. Our third fact about angels that we believe is angels have. They also have kinds. So they have attributes. They have kinds. That just means there are different types. Types of angels. Different kinds of angels. Okay, so can I get three volunteers to read And I'll give you a passage to go to so we can go through these bit by bit. They're not going to be long. Ezra, can you do Jude nine, Jude nine, hanya, can you do Ezekiel 10:1 through five? And then Violet, can you do Isaiah six, two, three? Ezra, whenever you're ready, you can go first. It's hard to find because it's so short. Okay. Yet Michael the Archangel, in contending with. [00:18:29] Speaker B: The devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against. [00:18:33] Speaker A: Him a reviling accusation, but said the Lord rebuke you. Okay, so what kind of angel was mentioned there? Anyone else? I heard like arch. Arch. Arch was in there. Arch. Yeah. I'm sorry. Archangel. Yeah, Archangel. That's right. Arch or arc? Angle. Archangel. I don't know how we are to pronounce the ch, but it's probably C maybe. But anyway, these are known to be rulers of other angels. They're kind of a higher rank as we see them typically have command of angels. And so that's one kind. Anya, can you read from Ezekiel? [00:19:18] Speaker B: I looked and I saw the likeness of the throne of sapphire above the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim. The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hand with burning coals from among the cherubims out of the ruin the city. And as I watched, he went in by the cherubim was standing on the south side of the temple. And the man cloud filled the airport. And the glory of the Lord rose from above the cher and moved in fresh out of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was forged to radiance at the glory of the Lord. The sound of the winds of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty. [00:19:55] Speaker A: Okay, well, what type of angel was mentioned there? Anybody? Yeah. Cherubim. Yeah, Cherubim. Cherubim. They worship God. We see their role in the temple there. They do something else in the Bible. In Genesis 3. 24, we read he drove out the man. And at the east of the Garden of Eden, he placed the cherubim, a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. So they guard the Garden of Eden. They worship God. They are very, very close to God and not much more can we know about them. But that is another kind of angel. For our third one, Violet, can you Read from Isaiah 6? 2, 3. [00:20:49] Speaker B: Love him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings. With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet. And with two he hung. And one called to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. [00:21:03] Speaker A: Okay, what was mentioned there sounded similar. Seraphim, Similar ending. It's just a Hebrew word ending. We see this same type of angel mentioned in Revelation 4. 8. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of angels. Eyes all around and within and day and night. They never cease to say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. So these are six winged creatures who worship God. Very mighty and terrifying creatures that I would not want to come in or be confronted by, though they would, you know, they are good. There is no need to fear. But we typically see man fear. Now, are there any other Types of angels you maybe have heard of. Yeah. Okay. You've heard of those? Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah. And we'll get into demons in a minute. That's another kind. Yeah. So there are actually two misconceptions about angels, about kinds of angels that I want to address. One of them is guardian angels. We don't really see any evidence that there is an angel for you that guards you. So this idea of a guardian angel is misfounded. Though God does protect people with angels when the case requires he can do so. He can order them to do that. But we don't really see biblical evidence of you having an angel assigned to you. Another misconception about angels that I want to address is that humans become angels. I don't know how many of us maybe believe this, but it's common for people to talk about so and so getting his or her wings when they pass away. We do not become angels. We become when we are in Christ, you are with the Lord. You are still a person. He created mankind, men and women, in his image. That's not said of angels. He created mankind in his image. It would be as hard as it is for us to imagine a downgrade, for us to be made into angels. But instead you are present with the Lord. And when Christ comes again, he gives all of his people resurrected and glorified bodies that are not angelic, but they are unique to humanity, a perfected humanity, much like the body Christ is in today, a resurrected and glorified one, but still human. But nonetheless, angels do have kinds, just not those two kinds. Now, fourth. Yeah, Fourth. Yeah, we're on the fourth one. Angels are active. Angels are active. They don't just sit around and do nothing. They do things. They're workers. That's their very purpose. What are some things that angels do? Yeah, they carry messages. We talked about that. Because they're messengers. Yeah. Anything else? That does cover a lot of it, admittedly. They carry messages. We can kind of see this if we go to Luke's. Will you guys all flip to Luke 1:26. Luke 1:26. Alright, and now look and read along. As I read, Luke 1:26 says, in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. And you shall call his name, Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there will be no end. So here is an example, a very famous example that we probably heard read quite often over the last few weeks, of an angel being a messenger. They speak for God. They are similar to a preacher in that they are heralding and proclaiming a message from God, though angels are doing it a bit more directly. They speak for God now. We'll see. There's actually another way that angels are active. We'll need to go back to Acts 12. So go to Acts 12 and look at Verse 6, see another example, Acts 12:6. I'll start reading a few verses. You'll catch on. It says now, when Herod was about to bring him out on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with two chains. And sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, get up quickly. And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, dress yourself and put on your sandals. He did so, and he said to him, wrap your cloak around you and follow me. And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting. So what does this angel do for Peter? Yeah, he rescues him. Angels rescue guard. They minister to God's people when he tells them to do so. So they help God's people specifically to help his grand plan. So they speak for God, they minister to people for God, but most of all, they surround the throne of God for worship, as we saw the seraphim do and other such angels. But even those that are around the throne worshiping, they are active. This is an act of worship. Fifth, some angels fell. So these are called what, fallen angels or demons? I think I maybe heard demons too. Yeah, both those are correct. Some angels fell. 2 Peter 2, 4 says this. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment. And he goes on. But this is an example. Some angels sinned against God and are being and will be punished for such sin. These are demons. Angels fell. Most of all, Satan did. Now, Satan goes by many names in the Bible. This is just the most common one, probably that we use day to day. But what are some other names or nicknames or phrases for him? Lucifer. Lucifer. Yeah, that's. Oh, there's one that's really, really obvious. It's not as much a name. You usually just say the. The serpent or did someone say something else? Devil. Yeah, the devil. The serpent or the ancient serpent is also a phrase used. The evil one. When we see those phrases, we know we're talking about Satan. Now some less common ones that you'll see is Abaddon, Apollyon and Beelzebub. But there are many names for Satan. It's not just like he is Satan. And these are all different. No, they're all referring to the same person. They have the same angel, angelic being. He is the head of the demons, and that is why he is given the title of the evil one, the devil. He is the serpent of old that tempted mankind. Those angels fell. Now, sixth and finally, fallen angels and Satan are evil. Not groundbreaking, but true and important for us to know they are evil. They are not good at all. It is different than fallen mankind that is capable of doing some acts of grace and goodness. Demons and Satan do no such thing. Now, what do these evil beings do? Specifically, what do they do? Yeah. They lie. That's right. Why do they lie, though? Is it just a lie? Yeah, they want to foil God's plan. What else? Do they want to do something to you? Yeah, yeah. Spying. That's. Yeah. And for a specific end, too. They want to what? What do they do? What does the serpent do to Adam and Eve? Huh? Yeah. Make you sin? Tempt you to sin? What were you saying? Deceive you into sinning? Yeah. They want to torment. They want the world to be full of sin. They hate God and want to steal all glory and worship from him. Now why do we need not fear these powerful, intelligent, evil beings that we cannot see? [00:32:15] Speaker B: Because God's with us. [00:32:17] Speaker A: God is with us. Exactly. It's important to remember, you know, this can be a fearful thing when we really consider the reality that these beings are out there. But if you are in Christ, you are protected. If you're not in Christ, there is no protection guaranteed. You must turn to him in faith so he can redeem you from your sins. Because your sins ultimately have you chained and shackled to these beings. You have the same fate reserved for you. God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell. He will do the same to people that reject him and choose sin over him. But those in Christ need not fear. That's why Paul says in Ephesians 6, 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 schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand firm, stand. Therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace in all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with, with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. So that's Ephesians 6, 10, 20. I encourage you guys to reflect over Ephesians 6, 10,20. This is so important. It's a reminder that there is a metaphysical. That means you cannot see it. A cosmic battle, though Christ has won and will complete his victory one day. Don't think of these as, like, you know, I often thought of this as, like, a silly little analogy because I just had these images of, like, what's his name? Bible man from Sunday school. I don't know if you guys know who that superhero is, but really, this is a serious way that Christ protects you. If you are in him in faith with the shield of faith. If you have faith in him and he has given you his righteousness as a breastplate, then you can be safe from the schemes of the devil. You have a way out of temptation. I just pray that you guys remember that. All right, we're out of time. Overtime a little bit. Let's pray and we can head on over. Father God, thank you for your word. Lord, thank you for teaching us about even these creatures that we cannot see. See. Lord, thank you for giving us your image. God, help us to not fear. Remind us that in Christ we are safe and protected from the schemes of the devil. And God, give us ways out of temptation when it is there. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.