Demons and angels

By Elizabeth Prata

I was asked about the spiritual realm. It is a huge subject! Angels are an interesting subject, and I am like many of you who wonder why preachers do not preach on the subject. It IS a legitimate feature of most Systematic Theology divisions, after all. It’s called Angelology.

Angels were created by God before He created the world. We know this from Job, because the angels were already created when God made the world. They shouted with joy at the creation of it. (Job 38:6). In Genesis 1:31 which describes the sixth day, they had not fallen and were still holy, because God declared everything at that point, “very good”.

By Genesis 3:1, some angels had fallen into sin and rebelled. Satan visited Eve and Adam in the garden. We do not know exactly how long between the end of creation day 6 and the fall happened, we just know between Genesis 1:31 and Genesis 3:1 that Satan (a title meaning Accuser or Adversary) was one of them who fell. Most theologians believe his name is Lucifer. According to most interpretations of Revelation 12:3–4, he convinced about a third of the created holy angels to follow him into rebellion against God.

Gustave Dore Lucifer’s fall

Lucifer’s desire and intent is mentioned in Isaiah, a section known as the “5 I Wills”. Isaiah 14:12-15 says-

“How you have fallen from heaven,
You star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth,
You who defeated the nations!
13“But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
14‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
15“Nevertheless you will be brought down to Sheol,
To the recesses of the pit.

Ezekiel 28:12-16 mentions satan as one of the highest cherubs who became proud and fell. Sin was found in his heart.

Fallen Lucifer/Satan and his cohorts are now unholy angels, or better known as demons. The demons oppose God by attempting to thwart His plans. They incite sin, make war, lay traps for the unwary, foment chaos, hinder God’s people as one of them did to Daniel in Daniel 10:13, and more. They also have the ability to possess an unsaved person’s body (they cannot possess a Christian, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, (Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 John 4:4).

What do holy angels do? A LOT! I was surprised when I heard a sermon by John MacArthur and he outlined all the things angels do and I had not known how busy they are! John MacArthur preached on what the angels do in a 3-part series I linked below.

Once you listen to that and then see in the Bible how much angels do and how much they are around, you can’t unsee it!
Angels: God’s Invisible Army, Part 1

Angels: God’s Invisible Army, Part 2

Angels: God’s Invisible Army, Part 3

Angelology and Demonology are fascinating subjects, but we are wise to be cautious about what is real and what is not. Both those subjects, particularly demonology, have a LOT of crazies preaching wrong stuff. Those subjects seem to invite a lot of extra-biblical speculation, experiential anecdotes, and just plain weird doctrines that have no place in any serious discussion.

John MacArthur preached for nearly 60 years. He said there were only two times he came across a demon-possessed person. John Piper preached for nearly that long, he encountered a demonic possession only once. It does happen, make no mistake, but it’s less common that the fringe ‘ministries’ would have us believe.

We cannot see demons, they are spirit beings. If a ministering angel incarnates and walks among us, we most often are unaware of his presence (Hebrews 13:2).

There seemed to be a lot of demonic possession in the Bible but the demons intensify their activity when God’s plan is coming to fruition. The times when the Ark was being built, during the time of the Prophets, and especially during Jesus’ earthly ministry, demons were highly active, according to the Bible.

They will again be given opportunity to do their worst during the Tribulation of the last of the last days, as Revelation describes. But demonic possession is not rampant and most Christians never encounter it.Demons ONLY do as much, no more or less, that Jesus orders them to.

Are demons on earth? Yes. The Bible describes both obvious activity (such as possession) and unseen activity such as war, influence, philosophies, and the like. We know angels appear on earth as noted in Hebrews above. If a third of the angels fell, then there is a one-on-three chance that the angel a person suspects is around may be a demonic one. Not ALL angel activity is a holy angel who is ministering in God’s name. Some ‘minister’ in satan’s name.

But they can only go as far as Jesus tells them to. When God told satan he could harass Job, satan was also told not to take Job’s life. When the legion of demons in Gadara met Jesus they begged Him not to send them into the pit (which they knew He could.) He sent them into the pigs instead. Apart from the ones that fell, a few early on disobeyed His orders were locked up (Jude 1:6 and 2 Peter 2:4).

Judas was the only person the Bible records was possessed by Satan. And yet Judas was responsible for his decisions and he freely made them. (The Antichrist will be inhabited by satan in the future, but other people were possessed by other demons, not satan.) So demons are allowed by God to do certain things as part of His desire to push forward His redemptive plan, to test Christians, to sanctify us through trials, to hand over the sinning ungodly to His wrath, and so on.

in 1 Kings 22:20-23 we read that the prophet Micaiah saw the angels both holy and unholy assembled before the throne, and God asked-

‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one spirit said this, while another said that. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall entice him, and you will also prevail. Go and do so.’ 23 Now then, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

Here is Randy Alcorn asking a good question,

Since Satan Knows the Ultimate Outcome of God’s Plan, Why Does He Continue Opposing God?

Spiritual battles take place every day but normally they are against our own sin, against the world that wants us to sin, and against satan’s minions who influence Christians to sin. We defeat them by refusing to sin, praying, and staying in the word of God.

If you know someone who swears they have seen demonic activity, consider that it may be real (but unlikely) but also may be made-up. Sometimes it’s not made up on purpose, sometimes it my be seemingly real to the person but they are being influenced by books or movies… Most of the girls at the Salem Witch Trials that swore they saw the devil were making it up, they confessed later. A servant-sorceress had filled their heads with stories and a kind of mass hysteria ensued, perpetuated by peer pressure and influence. There are many reasons to be cautious about such tales.

It’s the same with holy angels. Hebrews verse says we are unaware. We may suspect, we may actually know in some cases an angel (or a demon) has been around, but it’s of no profit to go around saying this. We read in Colossians 2:18 that-

Take care that no one keeps defrauding you of your prize by delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,

Though there is much more to be explained about that verse, the gist is-

The peril Paul had in mind here was Oriental mysticism, the belief that a person can have an immediate experience with the spiritual world, completely apart from the Word of God or the Holy Spirit. The false teachers in Colossae had visions and made contact with angels. In bypassing the Word of God and the Spirit of God, they were opening themselves to all kinds of demonic activity—because Satan knows how to give counterfeit experiences to people (2 Cor. 11:13–15). Wiersbe, Warren, The Bible exposition commentary.

Take heed: “Satan knows how to give counterfeit experiences to people“. Too many people excitedly describe an alleged supernatural experience they had with an angel, never supposing it can be an unholy angel AKA a demonic experience!

If we excessiely focus on angels or demons as our niche topic, even if you do read and understand the word of God as a believer, the peril is that we may 1) begin to transfer our worship to the angelic being rather than to Jesus, and 2) our prideful heart will want to become puffed up with what we have seen or experienced. (see Revelation 19:10).

I caution my good sisters against following too may rabbit trails toward the holy angels or the demons. Many ministries who focus too excessively on one or the other seem always to lose their way eithr incrementally or dramatically. The resources below, and the Alcorn one above, are credible.

Further Resources:

Ligonier essay: Angels and demons

Costi Hinn at For the Gospel short definition: Theology Terms Explained: Angelology

Costi Hinn at For the Gospel short definition: Theology Terms Explained: “Demonology”

Grace to You sermon: Satan: What is he like?

Grace to You sermon: Satan: How does he operate?

Martyn Lloyd Jones sermon on Good Angels

His companion sermon, “The Devil and the Fallen Angels” audio was lost. But this link is a transcript of that sermon on the unholy angels- follow up to Martyn Lloyd Jones’ first part called Good Angels by clicking the link which goes to a .pdf.

A quotation from Terry Pratchett

   “I don’t hold with paddlin’ with the occult,” said Granny firmly. “Once you start paddlin’ with the occult you start believing in spirits, and when you start believing in spirits you start believing in demons, and then before you know where you are you’re believing in gods. And then you’re in trouble.”
   “But all them things exist,” said Nanny Ogg.
   “That’s no call to go around believing in them. It only encourages ’em.”

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 14, Lords and Ladies (1992)

More about this quote: wist.info/pratchett-terry/8535…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #terrypratchett #discworld #lordsandladies #grannyweatherwax #nannyogg #belief #demons #existence #faith #gods #occult #spirits #spirituality #religion

I realized today the gray aliens/demons have a head that resemble that of an insect, like a locust, or praying mantis.

#aliens #demons #insects

Falling #demons. #Apocalypse, Belgium ca. 1313. BnF, Français 13096, fol. 36r.
#medieval #MedievalArt

Alt...

Falling #demons. #Apocalypse, Belgium ca. 1313. BnF, Français 13096, fol. 36r. #medieval #MedievalArt

The irony ...

"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."

Artemis (Diana) is Apollo's twin sister. Together the two are 'Lucifer'.

They are chief deities of the solar worship cult.

#NASA #AprilFools #Moon #Artemis #Apollo #Bible #Babylon #Lucifer #Gods #Demons #Worship #Religion #Space

While everyone is distracted by the scripted ICE theater the counter-reformation unification of Roman Church and state proceeds stealthily. Rome's agents are slowly converting America to the Imperial Roman religion.

From his bully pulpit the President is proclaiming Imperial Roman religion about the Roman goddess Mary, formerly known as Minerva, also sometimes known as Venus, and formerly known as Isis in Egypt and Semiramis in Babylon.

Presidential Message on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

"In her honor, and on a day so special to our Catholic citizens, we remember the sacred words that have brought aid, comfort, and support to generations of American believers in times of need: Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/12/presidential-message-on-the-feast-of-the-immaculate-conception/

This is deadly Imperial Roman dogma being proclaimed from the Presidential bully pulpit.

The Roman "Mary" is Isis of the Egyptian trinity. The Roman "Mary" is NOT the Miriam who gave birth to Jesus of Nazareth. The Roman "Mary" is also known as Astarte, Easter, and in Babylon as Semiramis. The Roman Church pasted a "Mary" nametag on its pagan idol, then by the sword of Constantine and Justinian forced all Christians to worship this idol.

Anyone who can actually read the Bible can see that the 'immaculate conception' of a 'sinless mother of god' is nowhere taught in the Bible. But it was taught in Babylon, Greece, Egypt, and Rome. The trinity is a pagan idol having nothing to do with the God of the Bible. Trinity worship is the chiefest of things the true God of Abraham despises. The trinity is a hoodwink to trick Christians into worshiping the old serpent and insulting the divine Creator.

The Bible is clear on who God is:

"Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one [echad:singular] Lord alone!"

This is the first great commandment of the Law of Moses. Upon this one commandment hang all the Law and the Prophets.

Then in the Decalogue given at Sinai a similar command is given:

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

In the Hebrew of this phrase, the word BEFORE is means REPRESENTING. Thou shalt have no other gods REPRESENTING me. Notice he says GODS in the plural, as Israel just came out of Egypt where there was a trinity of gods.

The next commandment is a further condemnation of the trinity:

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:"

In the religion of the trinity, the father reigns over heaven, the mother/son/daughter/hermaphrodite reigns over the earth, and sometimes the third person of the trinity reigns over the waters. We see this with the Sumerian Anu, Enlil, and Ea, who are copied by the Romans in varying forms, for example as Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. In this one command the God of Moses is rejecting this form ot trinitarian worship, saying he alone is God, and he is jealous against all idolatry of this trinity demon.

Why did the first commandment need to be about God being one or singular?

Because Israel just came out of Egypt where the god of Egypt was a trinity. So God founded the entire law of Moses on a complete rejection of the trinity. The first commandment that God gave to Israel was to HEAR that he is SINGULAR.

Jesus Christ also rejects the Catholic Trinity:

" And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

Out of Jesus own mouth he says that only the Father is God. More over, he says that the Father is the "ONLY TRUE GOD" showing that Jesus knew there was a false god--the trinity of the Grecians and Romans that came from Egypt that came from Babylon.

The Christian religion is an organized insurrection against Jesus Christ while claiming to represent him. Jesus warned us that many would come in his name, and that they are all liars:

"All that ever came before [representing] me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. ..... But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep."

We have 30 thousand sects full of hirelings who teach you to worship their false trinity idol. Christ's sheep reject this idol and follow the true shepherd, who teaches that the Father alone is God. Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the only divine being that has ever existed. There is no other. There is no 'god the son' or 'god the holy spirit'. There is only and ever GOD THE FATHER in heaven.

Only Jehovah is God. Jehovah does not share his glory. He shares his life. He shares his wisdom. He shares his titles. He shares his power. He shares his authority. He shares his property which he created. But he does not share his GLORY, his right to be known as the only singular God and Creator. And he especially does not share his glory with idols such as the Roman trinity.

Everyone worshiping the trinity is an idolator, just as ancient Israel committed idolatry with the trinity of Babylon and Egypt.

The Demonic Trinity of Rome was the Capitoline Triad:

The Capitoline Triad was a group of three deities who were worshipped in ancient Roman religion in an elaborate temple on Rome 's Capitoline Hill (Latin Capitolium). It comprised Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The triad held a central place in the public religion of Rome. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitoline_Triad]

The Capitoline Triad Temple is related to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre#Connection_to_Roman_temple]

Babylonians worshiped a trinity:

"The ancient Babylonians recognised the doctrine of a trinity, or three persons in one god--as appears from a composite god with three heads forming part of their mythology, and the use of the equilateral triangle, also, as an emblem of such trinity in unity ..." (Thomas Dennis Rock, The Mystical Woman and the Cities of the Nations, pages 22-23). [https://archive.org/details/mysticalwomanan00rockgoog]

Moses, the Prophets, the Apostles, and Jesus Christ of Nazareth rejected the trinity idol of the nations. All of these men gave glory to singular god whom they called, Father. So ask yourself why Christian preachers are teaching you to worship a trinity when the God of Abraham and Moses declares himself to be SINGULAR.

The answer is simple: The Christian religion is a centuries-long insurrection against the kingdom of God, masquerading itself as the kingdom of God. And this is what Genesis tells us about the kingdom of Nimrod.

The Father created Jesus Christ as the only valid image of deity that men can bow to. Humanity is always bowing to idols of their own making, both physical and mental idols. The Father in Heaven HATES this. He met mankind halfway since mankind is incapable of worshiping what he cannot see. So the Father made an image of himself in the man Jesus Christ, and commands us to bow to that man as God's face or representative. This in no way makes God a trinity nor does it make Jesus a person in a trinity. It makes Jesus a man, like any other man, who was chosen and formed to be the image of God. God solved the idolatry problem, yet to this day the Christian religion persists in denying God's mode of worship and substitutes their idolatry in place of what God commands.

Jesus is the Image of God. Jesus is the Son of God. Yet Jesus is neither God nor God the Son. That is a clever trick of Rome to fool people into worshiping their ancient trinity deity.

#Trinity #Rome #Catholicism #Trump #Mary #ImmaculateConception #Isis #Babylon #Egypt #Pantheon #God #Demons #Dogma #Church #Gospel #Idolatry #Reformation