Angels and Demons

What should you believe about angels and demons? Here’s a quick summary of what the Bible teaches.

Angels are spiritual, non-human, powerful beings (Heb 1:6-7, 2 Pet. 2:11) created by God to worship Him and to do His bidding, often as a special messenger or to help humans (Col. 1:16, Heb. 1:14, Ex. 23:23). They play a prominent role in furthering God’s program, both effecting the law (Gal. 3:19, Acts 7:53) and the gospel (Matt. 1:20-21, Acts 10:3-8).

They are sinless, holy, and perfectly obedient (Ps 103:20). They are able to meet and communicate with humans (Matt. 28:5, Acts 11:13). They also are actively opposed to the Devil and his work (Dan. 10:12-13, Rev. 12:7) and have a significant role to play in judgment (Rev. 14:6-7, 2 Sam. 24:16-17).

There is a large number of angels (Dan. 7:10, Rev. 5:11), they do not marry (Matt. 23:30), and at least some have names (Luke 1:19, Jude 9). The term “Angel of the Lord” may refer to an appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament (Gen. 31:11-13, Judg. 13:21-22).

Satan and demons, also created by God, chose to rebel against His reign and are now fallen angels (Isa. 14:12-15, Ezek. 28:11-19, Rev. 12:9). They are opposed to God and His work, desiring to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10, 1 John 3:8). They lie, deceive, and falsely accuse (John 8:44, Rev. 12:10).

They can cause sickness and problems and even possess people (Luke 13:16, 1 Thes. 2:18). However, those in Christ, have authority over them (Eph. 6:16, James 4:7). They may be highly organized, perhaps even “overseeing” certain geographic regions (Eph. 6:12, Dan. 10:13).

Satan is the god of this world and the ruler of this age, and is very active in deceiving people (2 Cor. 4:4, Rev. 12:9). The ultimate destiny for all fallen angels is the eternal like of fire, created by God for their punishment (Matt. 25:41, Rev. 20:10).