Angels, Demons, and the Devil

(1 John 4:4) There are three angels called by name and two "orders" of angels identified in Scripture. Lucifer led a number of angels to rebel against the Lord and these fallen angels now operate as enemies of God. In today's study we see what the Bible says about each of them and about the God who is above all.  (0950250225) ----more----

 

Angels and Demons in the Bible

Can you tell me the name of any angel? Specifically the name. There actually are only three that are given to us in all of Scripture. Now, why is that so important? We've been studying the fact that angels are God's messengers and that they are not to be worshipped. In fact, they would be the first to tell you worship God only.

It's not their name that's important, it's the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus Christ. And we don't want to go beyond what the Bible says when it comes to angels. Now today, we're discussing not only angels, but demons and the devil. Why is that? Because demons and the devil himself, who leads that demonic host, they are simply fallen angels. They are created beings who were given certain power and gifts and then rebelled against God and are now using those against their creator. 

Exploring the Three Named Angels

Who are the three angels that were named specifically? Michael is named. He is the archangel. We find him in Daniel chapter 10 and verse number 21 and we find him in Jude, we find him in the revelation of Jesus Christ. The name Michael means who is like God. Isn't that beautiful? For In other words, even the archangel, the highest angel says, I want you to know there's no one like God. There's no one like our creator.

Then there's Gabriel. Gabriel's mentioned in Daniel chapter 9 and of course famously known in Luke chapter 1 as the angel that announces the birth of Messiah. And Gabriel's name means the mighty one. Now, these angels are mighty because they were created by the almighty God.

And then the third angel given by name in scripture is Lucifer, son of the morning. You can read about him in Isaiah chapter 14, what a description of him. His name means he who is the light of God. Now, hear that carefully because you want to remember that Lucifer becomes Satan, becomes the devil, and plunges into sin. He brings the whole world into darkness. He is the chief of the darkness. And yet his name originally was one who reflected the light of God. If you reject light, you enter into darkness. And Satan is the classic example of that. 

Orders of Angels: Seraphim and Cherubim

If there are three angels given by name, there are two orders of angels given to us in Scripture. There may be more than this. Scripture talks about the principalities and the powers and We honestly don't know all the orders of angels and all the things going on in the spirit realm, but we know these two groups of angels.

There are the seraphim, the seraphs, and there are the cherubim. The seraphim you find in Isaiah chapter 6, in Isaiah's vision of God, His holiness. And what are they doing? They're just worshiping the Lord. They seem to be leaders in praise. People that are just created, or beings rather that are created to do one thing, and that is to give glory to the God who's worthy of all glory.

The cherubims, or the cherubs, you find in Genesis chapter 3, and again in Ezekiel chapter 1, and they are always connected to the glory of God. Both of these orders of angels, the seraphim and the cherubim, are always in some way connected to God's throne. You find them Very near to the Lord. 

The Fall of Lucifer: From Light to Darkness

Now we shift from thinking simply about angels, to talking about the devil and demons. Why? Because the devil was a created being. In fact, he was a chief angel. Listen to the words, the description given to us of Satan, Lucifer, originally in Ezekiel chapter number 28, beginning in verse 13. God says, "Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was thy covering, the sardis, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle in gold, the workmanship of the tablets of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, and I have set thee thou wast upon the holy mountain of God. Thou wast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till iniquity was found in thee. By the merchandise of thy, by the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence. And thou hast sinned. Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God, and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire."

What was his chief sin? Ezekiel 28:17 tells us, "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty. Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness. I will cast thee to the ground. I will lay thee before kings."

I might go so far as to say that the root sin of all sin is pride, thinking that we know better than God or that we deserve more than God. What do we learn? We learn that Satan was a real person with intelligence and emotion and will and moral responsibility. He was a created being, the highest created angel.

He belonged to the order of the cherubim as best we can tell from Ezekiel 28. But he sinned against God by lifting up himself above the Lord. And he became God's adversary. In fact, if you're wondering where the name Satan came from, the name Satan literally means adversary. And he is the Lord's adversary. You think he's your enemy? No, He's only your enemy because he's God's enemy. He hates man because man is God's chief creation, the one capable of fellowship with him. Do you know why the devil wants you? He doesn't want you because you're that important. He wants you because you're that important to God. And he knows if he can get at you, he can grieve the heart of a God who loved you so much, he gave his own son for your soul. 

The Rebellion of Fallen Angels

Satan led quite a rebellion of fallen angels against the Lord. You can read more about these fallen angels in Revelation chapter number 12, but basically they decided they were going to follow Lucifer instead of the Lord. That, my friends, was a very bad decision. We refer to these fallen angels typically as devils, plural, or as demons. And you find them all through scripture. You see them in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, rearing their ugly head up against Messiah. Because everything God ordains, Satan opposes.

The Apostle Paul refers to them, and there are many of them. You remember, Mark chapter 5, Jesus cast Satan out. A demon or demons out of a man, and that demon's name was Legion. In the Roman Army, there were 6,000 people in a legion, so there were a lot of demons possessing that man. And they can possess lost men and they can oppress believers there, fears and violence. All this violence we see going on around us today. What is that? It's the work of the devil and his minions, the hounds of hell, stirring it up because they know that their time is short. 

The Power of Christ Over Demons

And I want to remind you today as we talk about angels and the devil and demons, I just want to remind you that none of them are as powerful as our Christ. God is greater. Their power is limited in scope and praise God it's limited in time. You should take them seriously, but not be afraid of them. I'm thinking now of the words of the prophet to his servant in 2 Kings  6:16, when the enemy came against them. And he said, "They that be with us are more than they that be with them."

At that moment, the young man's eyes were open, and he saw the angels of God, the armies of heaven on the mountains round about. I want to say to God's people today, if you know the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, The devil may be strong and the demons may be at work but they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

And I'm not just referring to angels, I'm referring to a greater than the angels. Someone better than the angels. Christ is with us. We can't see him in the flesh but we have him and we have another comforter, the Holy Spirit of God. Who abides with us. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. I end today the same way we ended our last episode, reminding you that though you should believe in angels and believe that there's a devil and believe that there are demons, you should trust the Lord alone. Because God is able to rule the good and overrule the evil. That, my friends, is what the Bible says.

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