"Immanuel - God with us."

Spirit Beings - Angels, Demons and Satan, the Dead

There are three realms of reality: the divine, the spiritual, and the physical. The Bible, polytheistic (belief in more than one God) religions, mythology, and philosophies speak of beings in the spirit world. These beings in the spirit world have been identified as gods, angels, demons, Satan, and the souls of the dead, etc.

As one news-commentator likes to say, “And now I am going to tell you some things I don’t know.”

Most of our knowledge of beings and events in the spirit world are, at best, a guess. There are a few clues scattered through the Bible about angels, demons and Satan, and the souls of the dead, but there is no definitive discussion of these things. So here goes. What follows is what I believe about the spirit world, given what I have read in the Bible, commentaries, and heard in classes, sermons, and discussions with others.

First I will talk about angels, demons and Satan, and lastly, about human beings who have died.

The angels and demons, and Satan are real beings. The Bible speaks of the existence of these beings as though this belief was common. James, John, Luke, Paul and others wrote of the existence of these beings.

The word “angel” simply defined is “messenger”. Angels are the messengers of God. They seem to be divided into three groups with an archangel over each group. The reason for this classification into three groups is that two angels and possibly a third are named in the Bible. The two that are named for sure are Gabriel (Luke 1:26), Michael the archangel (Jude 9). The third is possibly Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12).

The work of angels is found from Genesis to Revelation. The angels interacted on God’s behalf with human beings on many different missions. The angels destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), they were with Israel in the desert exodus from Egypt (Exodus 14:19), they were with the Israelites through the periods of the judges, the kings, and in the Babylonian exile. The angels defeated some of Israel’s enemies and gave God’s commands to Israel’s leaders,

In the New Testament angels are mentioned seventy-five times. Jesus Himself talked about the angels at least twenty-three times. The angels did all sorts of chores for God. Here is a very brief list with no Scripture references: appeared to Mary and Joseph and to Zechariah, sang at the birth of Jesus, ministered to Jesus after the temptations, were at the tomb after the resurrection of Jesus, appeared to Peter and Cornelius and Paul, and Revelation is filled with the work of angels.

Some believe living human beings, especially those who are saved, have “guardian angels” with them today. (Psalm 34:7, Psalm 91:11, Hebrews 1:14) As I understand this belief, “guardian angels” watch out for people and sort of tend to their needs.

I don’t have any convictions about the work of angels today. My belief in the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life is so strong that I don’t really care if I have a guardian angel. Since God the Holy Spirit is in my life, I really am not concerned with a guardian. Having the Holy Spirit in my life is like having a several billions of dollars while a host of angels can only come up with two or three cents.

When people tell me of their experiences with angels, or even with God the Holy Spirit, it seems to me that their experiences are quite subjective; that is their experiences are based on what they believe and their feelings. For example, I believe I have felt the consolation and encouragement of the Holy Spirit many times in my life, but I cannot prove those subjective feelings. All I can do is tell you what I sensed.

I believe in angels. I just don’t know what role they play in the lives of human beings today or the role they play in the spirit world right now. Revelation says they will be doing many things at the end of time. But right now, I don’t know.

Now to the demons. The demons are organized under the control of Satan (Luke 9:42). We are told where they make their habitat – the earth (Matthew 12:26, Ephesians 6:12). Jesus tells us of their final doom – eternal fire (Matthew 25:41). Jesus commanded his disciples to cast demons out of people possessed by demons (Matthew 10:1) and to rebuke demons (Mark 5:8). Jesus viewed His conquest over the demons as the defeat of Satan (Luke 10:17-18). The demons are identified as evil spirits (Acts 19:12-13).

The demons are apparently “fallen angels”. First read the following passages and then I will try to weave these thoughts together and express my opinion about the origin of Satan (the devil) and the demons (or devils and evil spirits).

Isaiah 14:12-15: "How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer (means “Morning Star”) son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit."

2 Peter 2:4: “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment . . .”

Jude 6: “And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home, these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.”

Revelation 12:3-4a: “Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.”

Revelation 12:7-9: “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”

Here is what I think may have happened.

Lucifer was one of three archangels (along with Gabriel and Michael) and was the leader of one-third of all the angels. Being filled with pride, Lucifer thought he was powerful enough to overthrow God. But when Lucifer and his angels tried it, they lost the battle and were banished from heaven to earth. At that time they became Satan and the demons.

These are the evil powers we fight. Ephesians 6:12 says: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

At times the battle the faithful fought against Satan and the demons was really fierce. From the time of Jesus birth all the way through the New Testament period, it seems Satan and the demons were very active. Satan tempted Jesus to abandon His mission to seek and to save the lost. Jesus and the apostles cast demons out of people.

Is this battle with dark spirit forces still going on today? Is there a Devil? Are their demons and demon possession? Those are difficult questions for me, because I have not experienced what I would consider a fight with Satan or one of his demons. On television Geraldine (Flip Wilson) used to blame his misdeeds on Satan. Remember? “The devil made me do it.”

Personally, I believe Satan and the demons are real. But because of my lack of experience with them (I think), I tend to believe the demons are not as active today as when Jesus walked the earth and when the apostles and prophets established the church.

On the other hand, it is not my place to question the experiences of others, both in this country and in places dominated by occultic religions. I have heard many tales about demons and demon possession and the power they exert. And many people believe firmly demon possession is happening today.

One preacher who had difficulty believing in demon possession once told me that he “did not believe it was still happening today, but if demon possession was happening now, then he knew a woman who was possessed!”

I told you I was going to tell you things I do not know.

Now about the dead. The question is: Are the dead conscious and where are they now?

There is a lot of speculation about the answers to this question. The quick answer is, nobody knows. I know people who are sure that the dead receive their reward or punishment immediately when they die. I also know people who are just as sure that the dead are in an unconscious state awaiting final judgment – a “soul sleep”. Take your choice.

My personal belief is that when a person dies, time is no longer relevant. Much like a person who sleeps soundly without dreaming, the time between states of consciousness passes in an instant.

I tend to believe that when a person dies (“sleeps” is a word the Bible often uses to describe death) it is like going into a deep sleep. And the next thing a dead person is aware of is the final judgment of God. The time that elapses between his death and awareness may well be thousands of years, but the dead person is not aware of the passing of time. For the dead the presence of judgment seems instantaneous.

I believe the dead are asleep. Time is passing for those alive. But when the Lord returns, all of the dead will come back to life and, with those who are alive, will face judgment at the same time.

Here are a couple of other ideas about the state of the dead.

1) At the moment of death the saved go straight to heaven and witness what is happening here on earth. The lost go straight to hell and will remain in everlasting torment.

2) The dead have been prejudged. Those who are saved are enjoying Paradise (not heaven, yet). Those who are lost are suffering in torment (not hell, yet).

The Hebrew writer said, “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) That pretty much describes the state of the dead.

I am afraid that, for me, the Bible is not so clear about the immediate circumstances of the dead. I think if the state of the dead was important, the Bible would be very clear about it.