The Order of The Players: Angels

Order of the Cosmic Kingdom, part (c)

EDEN TO ZION VIDEO SERIES

Transcript

Introduction

This is Part 9 of our series Eden to Zion, fostering a biblical worldview through the story of the bible.

We’ve taken a three-part interlude between Genesis 2 and 3 to stand back and then focus systematically on the Order of the Cosmic Kingdom. In part a, titled The Order of YHWH we turned to God’s attributes, the names of God, the Trinity, and more, what we call Theology Proper. Last time in the mammoth part b, we turned to the Order of the field – In worldview language, the ‘field of play’ is the total sum of reality, therefore biblically, the heavens and the earth, which we contrasted with varies common worldviews such as naturalism, Hinduism, Platonism, and how Christoplatonism has infected the church. We began with God’s Dwelling place – how he rules from a real throne in a real temple in the height of the heavens; The Nature of the Cosmos; God’s law and order that penetrates all of the field of play; We got clarity on Hell (Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Lake of Fire); and touched on God’s providence, before comparing worldviews.

Today, in continuity of the worldview language we are turning to the Order of the Players – the players or characters are those who play a part in the field or stage of all things.

I said this was going to be three-parts but actually it’s going to be four, because today we’re going to exclusively concentrate on the invisible players – and I don’t want to cheat us of time in our study of angelology – so we’re going ask what are the angelic creatures, their purpose, nature, appearance, rank and order. We’ll take a look at the heavenly divine council, the origins of Satan and demons, their activity, can Christian be possessed? How we should relate to angels and more.

Then next time we’ll take a look at the human players, The Order and the economy of the Man, in part d, and then I promise we’ll turn back to Genesis 3.

First up then, angels or should I say, the Order of the Heavenly Host.

The Order of the Heavenly Host

With Creation we see God’s divine order. He makes clear distinctions, heavens and earth, light and darkness, day and night, land and waters, humans and animals, man and woman etc. The Host of Heaven are the no different. They too are ordered and purposely distinct from all else and from each other.

What do we mean when we say the Heavenly Host?

In part a, we recognised one of the names of God as the “LORD of hosts” which occurs 261 times in the OT. Hosts is a reference to the angelic armies of heaven.

When an angel told the Shepherds in the field the good news about the birth of Messiah, “suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God” (Luke 3:13).

David’s Psalm points to the order and purpose of the host:

“The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, O you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his word,

obeying the voice of his word!

Bless the LORD, all his hosts,

his ministers, who do his will!” (Ps 103:19-21)

In these verses and other examples, Angels and the word hosts are distinguished but angels make up or at least are included in the host of heaven, the armies of heaven. I think the reason they are highlighted is because they are the ones that interact with Man. The Host are under the authority of the one on the throne. All of whom obey God’s word, and as ministers they do his will.

When I refer the Host of Heaven, I’m referring to all angelic creatures, whose primary dwelling is in the company of God in the highest heaven. Equally sometimes when we use the word angels, although not technically correct we can be referring to all the angelic creatures. I will try to be a more careful with my wording today.

What are Angelic Creatures?

They are Created beings?

Firstly, they are created beings, created within the six days at the beginning of history. Angelic creatures are not mentioned in the creation account because the earth and man ruling it are the focus, yet the summary statement in chapter 2 hints at their creation:

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” (Gen 2:1) Some point to the planets as the host of heaven, but as we’ve noted “Host” here is a reference to an army of angelic beings.

Psalm 33 says: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” (Ps 33:6)

Ezra said: “You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host” (Nehemiah 9:6)

Job reveals something about the timing of their creation:

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth… when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4,7)

The heavens were created on day one, expanded on day two which included the heavenly dwelling, and then the earth was formed more fully on day three. It is possible then they were created on day two or early on day three to witness the foundations of the earth being laid, rejoicing in God’s work.

Their creation at the beginning of history means they have been around 6000 years – they’ve seen everything. The timeline of history – the most part of creation, Adam eating the fruit, the global flood, Noah’s Ark, the tower of Babel, Abraham leading his son up mount Moriah, the rise of Joseph in Egypt, the red sea crossing, the ten commandments at Sinai, the Babylonian siege, Jesus walking on water, the crucifixion, rising from the dead, the heavenly atonement, everything… they have seen it all.

I can imagine an angel at the back of church when the pastor says, “it was probably a local flood”, the angel is like, “yeah right, here we go again, I saw it cover the globe.” Or the pastor’s like, “we’re building the kingdom” and the angel is like “nooo you’re not, you’ll know when it comes.” Or the preacher is like, “the universe is billions of years old, God used the process of millions of years of evolution” and the angels like “you’ve behaving like monkey but you’re talking garbage, seriously, where did you get this guy, what could God have written for you to believe what it says.” I’m sure they don’t think quite as carnal as that, but you get the point… It’s worth thinking about. They’ve seen it all, their understanding of doctrine is far greater than yours.

Once created they live forever and do not die.

Their Names

As we have seen they are called the “sons of God” (Job 1:6; 2:1; Job 38:7) indicating they are created directly from God and family in a sense. They are his heavenly family.

They are referred to as his “mighty ones” (ps. 103.20), as “powers” (eph 1:21), “watchers” (Dan 4:13, 17, 23), “spirits” (Heb 1:14), “holy ones” (Ps. 89:5,7), and as “gods” (), which we’ll come on to.

They have Will

Like man they have free will or as I prefer free choice, but are subject to Gods will. The “holy ones” choose to respond immediately, and joyously to carry out God’s will.

They exercise moral judgment and are bound to God’s universal law.

Their Limits

Being created means they have limits to their high intelligence, power, dominion, knowledge (Matthew 24:36) etc.

Nature and Appearance

They are invisible spirits who do not have physical bodies as we do. Jesus said: “For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” (Luke 24:39) They are invisible unless God opens our eyes to see them (Num. 22:31; 2 Kings 6:17; Luke 2:13; Matt 28:5; Heb 13:2), which he does on occasion.

They are not said to be made in the image of God like humans. They neither marry nor bear children in their own image (Matt 22:30; Luke 20:34-36).

Summary

Angelic creatures then are created personal spiritual beings, invisible to us, who are highly intelligent, feel emotions, with moral discernment, and have will.

Kinds of Angelic Creatures

Apart from Angels proper which we’ll come on to, there are three main types of heavenly beings mentioned in the bible.

Cherubim (Cherub or Cherubs)

Firstly, Cherubim (plural), or Cherub singular, you can say cherubs, but cherubim is the correct plural.

Pictures of angelic creatures are often far removed from the biblical ones. Cherubim are not cute babies with a pair of wings. They are fierce servants that are associated with the presence of God and specifically the throne of God.

We remember from the previous session that Ezekiel 1 and 10 describe the cherubim.

Ezekiel 1 calls them “living creatures” describing them:

With four faces, a human face, the face of a lion on the right side, the fourth had the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle. Each of them had four wings.

“two wings… touched the wing of another”

“two [wings] covered their bodies”

“Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands”
“Their legs were straight”, the “soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot”
“they sparkled like burnished bronze”
their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like… torches moving to and fro… they darted to and fro, like lightning.

In Ezekiel 10 these “living creatures” are identified as Cherubim. “These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim.” (v20)

In Ezekiel 10 the only difference is that the face of the ox is described as the face of a cherubim.

We also learn that their wings are loud, like “the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.” (Eze 10:5)

In Ezekiel’s vision they key to the movement of the portable throne of Christ.

In Psalm 18, David says the Lord “rode on a cherub and flew” (Ps. 18:10).

1 Chronicles 28 speaks of “the golden chariot of the cherubim” (1 Chronicles 28:18)

They are associated with the throne of God and chiefly the portable chariot throne.

With four faces they do not have to turn their head to move in any direction. Their design helps with the movement of the portable throne, and means they can keep watch from any direction.

On top of the ark of the covenant that God told the Israelites to build, there was what is called the mercy seat, on which two golden Cherubim figures stood, with their wings stretched out above it. This represented a place for the throne of God to dwell among them (Ex. 25:22; 18-21). Of course, these are not real cherubim but the ark of the covenant with its mercy seat was designed to reflect the throne of God with its cherubim.

So for example, 2 Samuel 6 says, “the LORD of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim.” (2 Sam 6:2)

Isaiah 37: “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim” (Isa 37:16).

Images of cherubim adorned the tabernacle and temple structures. They were woven into the curtains of the tabernacle (Exod 26:1), the walls and doors of the temple would include carvings of Cherubim (1 Kings 6:29; Ezek 41:18,20,23). The massive bronze basin between the altar and the temple would include images of cherubim (1Kings 7:28,36). Also, two 15 foot wooden cherubim overlaid with gold filled and guarded the holy of holies in Solomon’s temple with wings covering the ark of the covenant (1 Kgs 6:23–28).

Daniel Block shows that the cherubim in Ezekiel vision and the cherubim over the ark differ:[see video]

Having said that, in the descriptions of the cherubim made for the Ark of the covenant, and huge ones that stood over it in the holy of holies, it doesn’t actually say they have two wings or that they have one face. It simply says their faces were pointed toward each other (Ex 25:17-22; Ex 37:7-9), which at first read sounds like one face, but I don’t think it excludes the possibility of each having four faces. It doesn’t describe the face or faces. Again, in the description from Ex 25, Ex 37, 1 Kings 6, 1 Kings 8, it does seem as though they have two wings but it doesn’t say they do, they could have four (1 Kings 6:23-28; 1 Kings 8:6-7). While most depictions of the ark of the covenant are two wing, one face creatures, I’ve seen an eighteen-century drawing with cherubim like Ezekiel’s visions.

Perhaps they are the same. Perhaps the more static thrones on earth and in heaven have cherubim with 1 face and two wings, and God’s portable throne utilises a different type of cherubim with four faces and four wings, and four of them as opposed to two.

As we will soon discover cherubim are given the task of guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:24).  In the video ‘The Garden of God’ we noted the possibly of the cherubim anointing Adam (referring to Ezekiel 28) and witnessing the wedding ceremony.

Cherubim are mentioned 91 times in OT and once in the NT.

They are mighty guardians of God’s sacred spaces.

Seraphim (Seraph or Seraphs)

Seraphim means fiery ones. In his commentary on Isaiah, John Oswalt says Seraphim is “a term elsewhere applied to serpents (Num. 21:6; Isa. 14:29; 30:6), some scholars believe that they were serpentine or dragon-like in appearance.”

The only mention is in Isaiah 6:1-7. We remember that this too was a vision of a prelude Messiah incarnate as King:

Above “the Lord sitting upon a throne… stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!””

The cherubim are under the Lord, and the seraphim are over the Lord. They are covered by their wings, it says feet but it can mean the whole body – so they appear as “all wings” with a sound of worship in symphony with each other, like a fitting canopy of praise over the Lord enthroned.

One would fly over to Isaiah and purify his lips with a burning coal.

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”” (Isaiah 6: 6-7)

Living Creatures

There are also various kinds of heavenly beings.

There are what is called “living creatures” around the heavenly throne. In Ezek. 1, the prophet referred to “living creatures” and later labelled them as cherubim. In Revelation, John sees creatures he calls “living creatures” and they remain unclassified.

Again, they have features like the earthly variety.

“And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of 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!”” (Rev 4:6b-8)

Revelation 5 tells us they worship with harps, and it is these angelic creatures that hold “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

Here though each creature does not have four faces like the cherubim, but each one has a different face. Moreover, they have 6 wings like the seraphim, rather than four or two like the cherubim. So these aren’t cherubim or seraphim, unless they are classed in a broader category of one of them. These are four distinguishable creatures, possible always found together in fours, but different from each other in facial appearance.

These living creatures announce the arrival of the four horses in Revelation 6.

What’s more, “one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God” (Rev 15:7).

So, they worship in song, declare God’s holiness, they fall down before God’s throne, they are announce events, they are part of the liturgy and activity of the heavenly temple.

Perhaps there are more heavenly living creatures that have not been revealed. Not every animal is mentioned in the bible and no doubt many more of the heavenly host have not been revealed.

In second kings 2 and 6 we read about how God opened the eyes of the Elijah and Elisha and they could see heavenly horses and chariots of fire (2 Kings 2:11; 6:17).

Aside from that we have identified, one or two types of cherubim, the seraphim, four different living creatures (that seem to be categorised together), and now we’ll turn to Angels. That would be 7 or 8 different creatures possibly categorised into four broader creature kinds.

Angels Proper

Their Names

The word angel comes from the Greek angelos, meaning messenger. Mal'akh, the Hebrew equivalent too means messenger. When you read the translation “angel”, it either Mal'akh in the OT or angelos in the NT, both referring to heavenly messengers.

There name indicates their purpose, at least in relation to man.

They are call "holy angels" (Luke 9:26), “angels of God” (Luke 12:8), “mighty angels” (2 Thessalonians 1:7), they are referred to as “angels in heaven” (Matt 22:30), and Jesus calls them “His angels” (Matt 16:27).

The author of Hebrews says angels are “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Heb 1:14). All angelic creatures including angels proper, minister to God by glorifying him (Isa. 6:2-3; Ps. 103:20; 148:2; Rev 4:8). They serve God and they serve man.

Watchers

In Daniel 4 angels are called “watchers”. Nebuchadnezzar had a vision of “a watcher, a holy one, [who] came down from heaven.” (Dan 4:13; cf. 4:23). They have the authority to speak the decrees of God bringing commands and revelation to man.

This Hebrew word can be translated as “watcher”, an “angelic watcher”, or “guardian”,  or “sentinel”. Paul Tanner says, “The NIV’S translation “messenger” fails to retain the important nuance of the word. Most likely it is related to the Hebrew verb ʿûr, meaning “to awake; to arouse oneself.” The common translation “watcher” denotes their interest in the affairs of man. They keep watch as guards over the earth.

The book of Zechariah describes angels that “patrol the earth” (Zechariah 1:10-11) and report their findings to the angel of the Lord. So, they keep watch, patrol, and report to the heavenly throne.

They observe Christian order, work, and suffering and so Paul says, “through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” (Eph 3:10) “God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.” (1 Corinthians 4:9) Angels learn about God through the activity and response of the church.

Purpose and Activity Summary

From the scriptures we see their purpose then is to deliver messages (Luke 1:11-19; Acts 8:26; 10:3-8,22;  27:23-24;) and heavenly degrees from heavens throne to earth; they are to guard and protect us (Ps. 34:7; 91:11-12; Heb 1:14); they deliver Judgements from God (2 Sam. 24:16-17; 2 Chron. 32:21; Acts 12:23; Rev 16:1; Revelation 7:1; 8:2); they bring answers to prayer (Acts 12:5-10); they assist in winning people to Christ (Acts 8:26; 10:3) – like the angel who directed Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch who received Christ and was baptised; they escort spirits on death to sheol /hades, and carry or carefully lead the righteous spirits to the heavenly paradise (Luke 16:22); and they encourage the apostles (Acts 27:23-24); they will be part of announcing the second coming (1 Thes 4:16; Rev 18:1-2,21; 19:17-18) when Jesus returns  “with his angels in the glory of his Father” (Matt 16:27; cf. Luke 9:26; 2 Thess 1:7).

They serve God (Psalm 103:20; Revelation 22:9), and sing praise and (Psalm 148:1-2; Isaiah 6:3; Rev. 4:11; 5:11) worship Him (Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:8-13). We told “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10), They are present when we worship; they worship with us (1 Cor. 11:10; Heb:12:22-23)

In a similar way that we long to look at the heavenly abode, Peter said that “angels long to look” (1 Peter 1:12) at the “the subsequent glories” (1 Peter 1:11), the restoration of the earth. They are excited to see God fulfil his promises to man, they glorify God when they witness his redemptive plans play out (Luke 2:14; Heb 1:6), how much more should we?

How Many Angels Exist?

Let’s first ask: Do each of us have guardian angels? If not as adults, what about children? The term guardian angel does not appear in Scripture, yet the concept can result from the words of Jesus. In Matthew 18:10, He said, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” Was Jesus referring to just the immediate children around him, or perhaps just all Jewish children under the covenant, or does he mean angles keeping watch over an area of children rather than an individual basis, or is it a universal statement about guardian angels for children or all peoples?

When an angel rescued Peter from a prison cell, he went to the disciples who were gathered at the house of Mary the mother of John Mark. A servant girl named Rhoda herd Peter’s voice over the gate, and: “Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!”” (Acts 12:14-15)

Some propose they believed Peter had his own personal guardian angel, but the passage doesn’t explicitly say that. It’s referring to the angel protecting him at that time.

There is OT support for guardian angels: Psalm 91 says that God, “will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (11). This is the passage Satan quotes to Jesus when tempting him in the desert. And then after the temptation, “angels came and were ministering to him” (Matt 4:11).

I don’t think we can be conclusive, but it seems possible each one of us, at least before we reach physical maturity, and possibly followers of Jesus have a guardian angel. That doesn’t mean children and believers won’t ever be harmed, but it means they would be watched over, report back to HQ and step if when ordered to. If this is the case, it means there must be billions of angels. If you consider too that about 60 million people die each year – that a lot funerals to prepare for – a lot of spirts to carry to heaven or usher to sheol.

The bible does speak of “innumerable angels in festal gathering” (Heb 12:22). In a scene in Revelation 5, it says there are, “angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.” (Rev 5:11). That’s at least a hundred million then.

Millions very possibly billions. It wouldn’t be a arbitrary number. It would be a precise number to fulfil God’s purposes taking in to account that some would fall away.

Appearance

Very often angels are depicted as female or feminine, but from the bible we see only male names given to them, or they are described as appearing like men in make form. This is important and we’ll come back it. The next time you read a children’s bible story, you’ll clock the inaccuracy of the angelic images – they don’t have wings, and none mentioned are female, they appear as human men.

Example of Activity in History

Some examples throughout history include:

Genesis 18, whereby three angels appear to Abraham as “three men” (v2). One of the angels is actually the angel of the LORD – the pre-incarnate Jesus: He comes to Abraham as an angel, a messenger of the Father in heaven, a messenger of YHWH. The difference of course that angels proper are not YHWH, whereas the angel of the LORD is YHWH a messenger from YHWH – the Son delivering a message from the Father. Then the two angels (proper) rescue Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah before its destruction.

Jacob met angels on his travels, and saw them in dreams “ascending and descending” on “a ladder” up to heaven (Gen 28:1).

Daniel said, “My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him” (Dan 6:22).

Two angels are mentioned by name. Michael is given the title ‘great prince’ in the book of Daniel (10:13, 21; 12:1), who is seen as challenging, or standing against the evil spirits.

The angel Gabriel delivered messages to Daniel (Daniel 8:16; 9:21). Again, he is described “having the appearance of a man” (Dan 8:15). The same Gabriel delivered messages regarding the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:19) and Jesus (Luke 1:26). To John’s father Zechariah he said, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.” (Luke 1:19)

On the morning after the resurrection, we read, “And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.” (Matt 28:2)

There are plenty of examples.

Rank and Order

There is order and rank to the Host of Heaven.

Some have proposed a 9-level hierarchy of the heavenly host as follows:

• Highest/First Order:

Seraphim

Cherubim

Thrones

• Middle/Second Order:

Dominions

Virtues

Powers

• Lowest/Third Order:

Principalities

Archangels

Angels

But scriptures don not say that is the order. Colossians 1:16 is classic choice of reference:

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16; cf. 2:15)

I would agree with F. F. Bruce who says: “In all, five classes of angel-princes seem to be distinguished in the NT—throne, principalities, authorities, powers, and dominions. These probably represent the highest orders of the angelic realm, but the variety of ways in which the terms are combined in the NT warns us against any attempt to reconstruct a fixed hierarchy from them.”

The point Paul is making is that all these invisible powers were created through him and for him and are subject to Christ.

The bible does speak of archangels (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Michael is the only archangel named in Scripture in Judge 9 “archangel Michael” (Jude 1:9). Archangels will be in charge of an army of angels who are under their authority (rev 12:7-8).

The bible gives the impression that each nation is assigned an archangel. Daniel 12 says: “Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people.” (Dan 12:1) or “who stands guard over your nation” (NLT). Michael is the archangel over Israel.

Deuteronomy indicates that angels are appointed to manage the nations: “When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.” (Deut 32:8) I would guess there are seventy archangels assigned to the nations.

There are possible spirits of lesser order.

No doubt the order in heaven is exemplary – every angelic being knowing their place, submitting accordingly between each other and all under the authority of God.

Angels are said to be above all other creatures, including mankind (Hebrews 2:7-9). We could think that angels are valued more than man. This is false. The future world is for humans not angels - “For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.” (Heb 2:5) Christ did not die on the cross for the angels (Hebrews 2:16).

Divine Council

Psalm 82

As part of the heavenly order, the scriptures allude to a divine council:

“God [elohim] has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods [elohim] he holds judgment:” (Psalm 82:1)

“Divine council” is the translation of the ESV. It is translated “great assembly” in NIV, the “divine assembly” in the Berean Study Bible, “the congregation of the mighty” in the KJV, “His assembly” in the NASB. I agree with Derek Kidner when he says, “The word council is misleading here. The Old Testament does use the term (see on 25:14) to speak vividly of God’s sharing his thoughts with his servants; but here the word is simply ‘assembly’.”

A first glance it appears an assembly of heavenly host before God as he makes judgements. Michael Heiser, for me, makes a meal of the word “gods.” The Hebrew is elohim, the same word used for the God, and because more often than not it is plural, the use of the word is translated as “gods”.

If “gods” in this psalm is referring to the angelic creatures, it is doing so because they are spirits. The bible is not painting a picture of many real gods (as we typically understand the word) before the true God, as if there is a hierarchy of gods. The bible is polemically anti-polytheistic. We remember that the disembodied Samuel who was brought up from sheol was referred to as a “god” (same Hebrew word elohim) but of course we don’t recognise Samuel as a god, it’s his spiritual and invisible properties that would likely have been referred to. The same with angelic creatures. Idols and demons are referred to as false gods, elohim (e.g. Deut 32:17; Isaiah 44:9-20).

So, spiritual beings are sometimes referred to as gods (in English small g).

Psalm 89 which is often connected with Psalm 82 and used to assist in its interpretation is clear in that there is an assembly before God that cannot be compared to him:

“Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?” (Ps 89:5-7).

The author of Hebrews underlines this point too:

“And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?” (Heb 1:13)

So “gods” or “sons of God”, “angels” – could be synonymous.

Having said that, I’m not convinced Psalm 82 is referring to the Heavenly host.

Here’s why.

Let me build the picture. It’s not apparent in the ESV, but the Hebrew actually says God is standing, not sitting before this assembly. In the heavenly scene in Daniel 7 we recall ‘The Ancient of Days’ is seated, and in Rev 4 he is seated before the 24 elders who we identified as human representatives of Israel.” Whereas on earth for example, Joseph as a foreshadow of Messiah had a dream whereby He rose and stood before his brothers, who represent the tribes of Israel, bowed down to him.

Secondly, as Kidner points out in Psalm 82, “This company is present to be judged, not consulted”. This is not a congregation who are assisting God in judgement – they are being judged.

The book of Numbers and Joshua mention the:

“congregation of the LORD” (Josh 22:16)

“congregation of the LORD” (Num 27:17)

There are also several other references “in which the parties in legal procedures are directed to come before “God”.” (Marvin E. Tate)

Isaiah 3 has a similar passage where God “stands to judge peoples.” He judges the “the elders and princes of his people” because they “devoured the vineyard” they took “the spoil of the poor” “crushing my people” - they have judged unjustly.

In Psalm 82, God stands in the midst of the assembly, or congregation, who are being judged because they “judge unjustly” and “show partiality to the wicked” and therefore, “like men ['āḏām] you shall die, and fall like any prince. Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!”

You could argue “like men” must mean they are not men, therefore angelic beings. Or it is simply saying, like all men, like all princes before you, you will die. On the other hand, Angels don’t die, therefore it points to men, although you could argue that angels are destined for the same punishment “like men” in the lake of fire which is called ‘the second death.’ I’m trying to be fair here to both positions.

For me, it sounds like he is judging the leaders of Israel.

So how do we count the people of Israel, or at least its leaders as “gods”?

A second time within Psalm 82 it says:

“I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;”

God said to Moses about his brother Aaron: “He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God [elohim] to him.” (Ex 4:16)

And Ex 7:1 “And the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God [elohim] to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.”

God the most high called Moses a “god” of the people of Israel. He is the “god” by proxy. He is the representative of God.

In light of this, perhaps the medium at Endor referred to Samuel as a “god” not only because he was in disembodied spiritual form but referring to his leadership of Israel. One of the “gods”, one of the princes.

There are several other examples of men, usually as an appointed judge referred to as a god. (Ex 21:6; 22:7–8, 27; Jdg 5:8; Ps 138:1).

We are missing a key piece in our interpretation.

What I find remarkable, is that Hesier’s book The Unseen Realm is centred around, or at a least begins with the hook of Psalm 82 triggering discussion on the “gods”. But the entire work fails to address the gospel of John chapter 10, reducing it to a footnote on p268.

Why John 10? Because Jesus quotes Psalm 82 and identified the “gods” as those “to whom the word of God came.” Whether he means the prophets/leaders who received the scriptures beginning at Sinai, or referring to himself as “the Word became flesh”, and therefore “gods” would apply to even those he is speaking, either way he is saying it is the people of Israel.

Hear the full passage from verse 31:

“The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.” (John 10:31-39)

Context matters. This is at “the Feast of Dedication” (John 10:22) in the Temple, and the Jews (which no doubt included some of the leaders) are about to stone him, so Jesus quotes Psalm 82, effectively saying, “If God called even the sinful leaders of the Israel “gods” because the “word of God” came to them to steward and deliver justice on behalf of God… then how can you charge me, who is sent from the Father, to deliver the word of God, who is the word of God in the flesh, who will carry out true justice… with blasphemy, simply for saying “I am the Son of God?”.” What Jesus is doing here is incredibly clever – he’s using scriptural logic to make it near impossible for them to charge him with blasphemy, because his time is not yet to die, and at the same time, affirming he is the Christ, the Son of God. He’s not downplaying his deity, he is disabling his opponents’ wrists. In truth, in part, it seems Ps 82 is a prophecy of these Jewish leaders gathering around to judge him, and he stands before this assembly (but he exposes their arguments), almost as a foreshadow of future judgment in reverse. But I digress.

What he is saying wouldn’t seem to make sense if he is referring the heavenly host as “gods.”

Ramsey Michaels points out that in Jewish tradition - the Babylonian Talmud, the Midrash, the Targums, other literature – “frequently applied [Psalm 82] to Israel as a whole, by virtue of Israel’s election and reception of the law at Mount Sinai”.

Still, some conclude picking heavenly or human “gods” would be a false dichotomy. They see a merger of both heavenly and human beings judged.

Scholars are divided on this. Jesus’ interpretation persuades me to believe Psalm 82 does not refer to a divine council of heavenly hosts in the heights of the heaven.

1 Kings 22

Having said that, we’ve recognised previously the heavenly court that includes angelic creatures.

In 1st Kings 22, King Ahab is an evil king who took note of Elijah, but still refuses to repent, and surrounds himself with hundreds of manipulative false prophets. Now the prophet Micaiah confronts him:

“And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the LORD said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ 23 Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you.”” (1 Kings 22:19-23)

Unlike Psalm 82, the LORD is seated on his throne. He asks which of the angelic creatures will intervene to steer the events ahead, to entice, meaning to persuade Ahab. One of which takes on the challenge.

Here we see God giving the angelic creatures a choice. Perhaps they have an order between them, and God is asking who is next up in line, or it’s a totally open to all. It’s a choice. Some kind of dialogue takes place, and then one “spirit” who comes forward and God gives this spirit freedom to decide “by what means” he will accomplish the task. And God’s word finalises the mission, declaring it will be successful. This lying spirit must be an evil angel who God uses against evil Ahab.

It’s an exceedingly intriguing heavenly court scene, that opens a window into what takes place.

Without drifting off into the subject of how God’s sovereignty works: The false prophets want to deliver deceitful words. Ahab wants to believe deceitful words. Their hearts are set. The spirit directs the lying tongues to persuade Ahab to go into battle which led to his death. Remember God does not temp, nor lie, nor directly cause sin.

Harry Shields explains: “In a mysterious way, God governed and ordained this event without Himself producing it as the direct, immediate cause… Instead, He brought to fruition the episode as the “indirect,” “ultimate cause,” and the false prophets, who were responsible for their own moral deeds, are blamed for the guilt of their actions, not God.”

God didn’t necessarily require a deceitful spirit for the task. Shields says, “the deceiving spirit (v. 22) provides a theological “layer” between God and the false prophets.”

He chooses to include holy angels in his ruling of the cosmic kingdom; He gives permission, even uses evil angels to accomplish his purposes. The heavenly host are there to witness decrees, affirm degrees, but not making the top-level decisions.

Daniel 4

Some connect Daniel 4 with the angelic council. As I’ve mentioned in Daniel 4 angels are referred to as watchers. In Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of this great tree that reached the heavens, we read,

“a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree” (Dan 4:13-14), and then announces that Nebuchadnezzar would become like a beast for “seven periods of time” (16).

The key verse is 17:

“The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’” (Dan 4:17)

Let me read Paul Tanner thoughts:

This seems to refer to an angelic council that stood before Yahweh God… The NET’s translation (“by the decree of the sentinels; … by the pronouncement of the holy ones”) would signify that the angels merely announced the heavenly decision. Other translations (e.g., NASB’s “the decision is a command of the holy ones”) would indicate that the angels somehow may have been involved in the making of the decree. The latter part of v. 17 tends to favor the former idea (the decision was God’s, and the angels concurred with the divine decree)—and this is the understanding of most commentators.

We’ve seen with 1 Kings 22 that God sometimes gives freedom to angels as to how they may go about fulfilling he missions, but ultimately all decrees are from God, and the results of the mission are so “that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men”.

Summary

Psalm 82: I lean toward the assembly of “gods” as the human leaders of Israel, administrators of global blessings.

Psalm 89: Is referring to an assembly of Heavenly Host – probably equivalent to a council, or court, but the point of the verses that interrupt the Psalm is that God is above all. Marvin Tate: “Yahweh’s cosmic rulership is (1) marked by the praise of the heavenly beings (vv 6-8), and (2) characterized by his “faithfulness””. We’re not given any other information.

1 Kings 22: Certainly the most intriguing interaction of God with his angels, but here we have both holy and evil angels in come kind court scene.

Gen 1:26: We mentioned in video 4, is not referring to the heavenly court.

There are other verses too such as Jeremiah 23:18: “For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and to hear his word,” (Jer 23:18) The chapter doesn’t give us any information about what takes place.  Actually, this may not be referring to the heavenly council. In context the prophet Jeremiah is saying he stands before the Lord and hears his word. J. A. Thompson says, “it is the circle of those who are privy to the deep purposes of Yahweh and are in his confidence.”

There are less passages than we think. If you are writing a book on the heavenly council, you’re going to project that picture on every possible allusion. For me, whatever passage I look at, I’ll read plenty of in depth commentaries on it, listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling me, and whatever the result I go with it, whether it rocks my thought process or programs or projects. I’m sure everyone is trying to do that, but it seems sometimes we’re just trying to write something new.

We’re going to come on Job 1 and 2.

What we are sure of is that angels appear on the left and right of the throne. There seems to be some sort of divine council – although I’m not thrilled with that term – it suggests something that isn’t obvious in the text. But the Host of Heaven are the sons of God, watchers, and form an assembly in the temple of God. Like the scene of 24 elders pictured in the eschaton, the angelic beings are there to affirm and witness the decrees of God and take on his missions. God speaks to them as administrators of the heavenly paradise and their involvement on earth.

Angels know there place and are careful not to make judgement even against the wicked. Peter tells us “angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.” (2 peter 2:11) Their pronouncements and activity is always within the scope of God’s missions. God doesn’t need to use them, but he chooses to use them. In the same way he doesn’t doesn’t need us for evangelism but chooses to use us. They are not hesitant to act, and they do not overstep their position of authority.

That’s the heavenly council. We’ve spent more time than I initially planned, but It’s because so much is being written about it in the popular arena, so I felt like we had to address it, and perhaps tone down some of the hype.

The Fall of Angelic Creatures

Probationary Period

We spoke about the probation period for Adam in ‘The Garden of God’ video, and angels too would go through a probationary period. They were given the choice of acting according to or contrary to God’s word, their calling and design, before being verified as holy or declared unholy – a vast gulf between good and evil angelic creatures.

Once certain angels had sinned, they would be no coming back, and they would eternally harden their hearts toward God. The righteous angels who chose to obey God would be stamped as holy, and they would be eternal empowered to remain righteous. It was a short, one time probation period, at end of which a one time event of declaring the status of the angels.

Since then, battles between holy angles and fallen angels continue.

The Fall that Wasn’t

So what happened?

For the fall of Satan, most would turn to Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14. In the Garden of God video, around the 57-minute mark onwards, I made the case that neither of these chapters refer to the fall of Satan, but rather Adam and his fall. If so, it means our typically regurgitated messages about Satan’s original state, what took place, what made him rebel, many of these things are not truly flowing from the scriptures.

Ezekiel 28

I’m not going to go through these chapters again. But briefly and firstly Ezekiel 28:

We talk about the original beauty and wisdom of Satan, because of the lines such that say he was “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (12) and because of the dazzling pectoral arrayed with costly jewels. But as I’ve argued, I believe this was Adam not Satan.

We say that Satan is “wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden” from him (v3). But it’s not about Satan.

Because it says, “Your heart was proud because of your beauty” (17) we say that it was Satan’s pride that triggered the events.

Some will reach as far back as verse 2, and because this individual said to himself, “I am a god” (v2,9), we say that Satan declared himself god.

Some will refer to Satan’s original status as a “guardian cherub” (Ezek. 28:14,16) and his role was to guard Eden and specifically the garden where he was placed, but he failed in his duties. Except he’s not a cherub, and this was Adam role, not Satan’s (nor the cherub).

Isaiah 14

In Isaiah 14, we call Satan, Lucifer because it’s a Latin translation of “morning star” in verse 12. Except this isn’t referring to Satan. The “great expositors of the Reformation” didn’t believe so. Yet we still continually beat this drum that before his fall he was called Lucifer.

There appears to be a disconnect with pastors and scholars on this. I would say the vast majority of pastors turn to Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 regarding Satan’s fall, but the majority of quality in depth commentaries I’ve studied detach Satan from these chapters.

The Fall that Was

When / What / Who

So what do we know? Well we know it was spring time. The heavens and earth were created in spring according to God’s calendar, and the fall happened some time after.

What we don’t do, is say, “we can’t throw out Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 because then we’d be left with nothing”. So be it. We shouldn’t hold on to teaching that is in error because we haven’t got anything else.

Now, Satan’s beauty was probably astounding. I’m sure he did want to be his own god. It will have pride that triggered his downfall… but we can’t directly connect it to these chapters.

What we can do is identify a pattern from the bible of those who rebel, especially those who began well but finished badly. We could even turn to Adam’s fall in Genesis 3, even Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 and wonder how Satan and other angels turn from God.

No doubt, He desired to be God, and not to be a servant of God.

When did the fall occur?

Angels sang when God created the world Job 38:4-7, and God declared “everything that he had made” as “very good” (Gen 1:31), therefore it must have been sometime after the creation week. If demons were causing chaos during the creation week it would be impossible for God to call it “very good.”

We learn from John’s letters that, “the devil has been sinning from the beginning” (1 john 3:8). So anywhere between day one of the second week of history to the episode of the serpent in the garden in Genesis 3.

What did take place?

The fall of the angels was led by Satan and Revelation 12:4 indicates that a third of the angels followed him. Was there a specific event kickstarted his rebellion? Was Satan as the serpent breaking his probation in that very moment? In judging the serpent in Genesis 3, was the Lord also at that point declaring him unholy? Some questions will go unanswered, but there must have been an initial trigger, and based on how God judges publicly before all, I believe a formal judgment before the throne of God in heaven would have taken place.

When the short probation period was up, they would be rounded up, presented before the throne of God, and declared unholy before all the heavenly host.

They would no longer have the capacity to become a holy and righteous. The division between Holy angels and evil angels was set. Could this have included other angelic creatures too, such are cherubim and seraphim? Possibly, as they have free choice.

To sin, results in be exiled from serving God. They would lose rights and privileges to general dwelling in the heavenly paradise and be cast to the earth where they spend the better part of time.

They are deemed unfit for purpose.

Instead of guarding, they transgress, and encouraging transgression. Rather than protecting they abuse and encourage abuse.

This is what we call the fall of the angels. The word “Fall” is perhaps not the best choice of words. They didn’t stumble out of their heavenly abode or stumble by accident out of position and relationship with God. They chose to dig a ditch (so to speak) and God pushed them into it.

Satanology

Satan initially shows up as a serpent in the garden and goes by several names.

Revelation 20 lists four of them:

“the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan” (Rev 20:2)

The dragon, the serpent (Gen 3:1, 14; 2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 12:9; 20:2), the devil, Satan, it’s speaking of the same individual. The serpent refers to his seduction, the dragon refers to his persecution.

He is also referred to as:

“the evil one” (Matt. 13:19; 1 John 2:13)

“Be-elzebul” (Matt. 10:25; 12:24, 27; Luke 11:15)

“the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2)

And a “father” (John 8:44) of those who follow him.

Satan tempted Job, he “incited” David (1 Chron. 21:1), accuses Zechariah (Zech 3:1), He tempted Jesus, he possessed Judas, and he will possess the final antichrist.

Jesus said:

“He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

Satan knows the bible form memory, and will he quote it, twist it, and has corrupted his mind so deeply that he’s deluded to the point he thinks he can escape his hellish fate.

In the Olivet discourse, Jesus referred to the “devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). So he is the head of fallen angels hence the attention the bible draws on his activity and ultimate crushing.

Demonology

Traditionally, demons are fallen angels who rebelled against God, and continue to rebel and revel in evil. Demons are referred to as angels of Satan (Revelation 12:9), and described as “lying spirits” (1 Kings 22:23), as “evil spirits” (Matt 10:1 NLT, Mark 1:27 NLT), or “unclean spirits” (Mark 1:27, Matt 10:1).

Scripture relates idol worship to worship of demons (Leviticus 17:7; Deuteronomy 32:17; Psalm 106:37; 1 Corinthians 10:20).

The fact that “demons believe” (James 2:19) means that rebellion has nothing to do with proof of God, but rather the heart’s desire.

They are enemies of God.

Some speculate that demons are the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim, who are arguably fallen-angel and human hybrids – demonoids if you like. Genesis 6 says: “sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them” (Gen 6:4). If the “sons of God” are fallen angels (which I believe they are), when their hybrid offspring died, the spirits were then referred to as demons, so the theory goes. This is drawn from Book of Enoch, but it’s cannot be derived explicitly from Scripture, so we must be cautious, and I’d steer away from that suggestion. I think all fallen angels from the beginning can be referred to as demons.

The bible depicts spirits that can enter the body. We don’t know much about them, for good reason.

If they enter they the body they can cause physical ailments, such are epilepsy (Matt 17:18), blindness ( Matt 12:22), or for example muteness:

“As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke.” (Matthew 9:32–33)

Demons can make people appear superhuman, such as the man in Mark 5: “no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.” (Mark 5:3-4)

And then in verse 9: “Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”” (Matt 5:9) So Demons have names and this case a name is given to a many demons grouped together as an army that explains the force in this man. Jesus cast them in to 2000 pigs, revealing this man was possessed by thousands of demons. After which he was “in his right mind.”

It doesn’t mean that all physically ailments are caused by demons, but some are.

Then there is the example of “a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling..” (Acts 16:16)

In his rebellion, King Saul was troubled by an evil spirit which changed his mood (1 Samuel 16:14-15; 18:10-11; 19:9-10).

Demons can influence a sinner to do even more evil such as “Satan entered into Judas” (Luke 22:3).

Sin, particularly habitual sin, is what opens a door to demons to dwell within us. Dark magic, the occults, cultish communities, and idol worship will open the door to demons. We’ll come back to this.

The Activity of Evil Angelic Creatures

There is a hierarchy of Wicked Angelic Creatures

Just as the holy angles make up an orderly army with hierarchy, all reporting to the throne in heaven, Satan has set up a counter army with hierarchy to control areas of land, groups of people, all reporting back to Satan who has set up his throne on earth. In Revelation chapter 2, Jesus says, “Pergamum” (which is modern day Turkey) is “where Satan's throne is… where Satan dwells” (13). He is addressing the church of Pergamum, the centre of pagan worship in what was known as Asia Minor of the first century, but these letters find an eschatological fulfilment. This point of information is not thrown in for padding. Jesus wants us to know that Satan’s throne is in Pergamum. [on screen] In the illustrative reconstruction on the screen, you can see that Satan inspired a temple dedicated to himself. He may reposition himself geographically throughout history, conceivably returning to Pergamum or at least the same geographical nation in the final years of this age.

There is evidence that Satan has moved his throne. Believe it or not, there is the ‘Pergamon Museum’ in Berlin. In 1901, Germany transported the ruins of the altar (leaving behind the foundations) of Pergamum to Berlin. There they reconstructed the altar of Zeus – Satan by proxy. Turkey agreed the altar (or at least he capstones of it) would become the property of Germany and in 1930 the Pergamon Museum opened. Adolf Hitler had nothing to do with in the initial move (Satan did), but years later Hitler’s chief architect Albert Speer used the altar of Pergamum as a model to design the colossal grandstand (Zeppelin tribune) within the Nazi parade grounds in Nuremberg.[on screen] Hitler called for rallies at night with beams of vertical light a mile high like columns of a great Cathedral as they swore a “holy oath” to Germany. In fact, this effect was known as the “Cathedral of Light.” For twelve years they would show a propaganda film called ‘Triumph of the Will’ that portrayed Hitler as a Messiah. It was here Hitler would announce laws to accomplish his Final Solution that meant the Holocaust - Holocaust stems from a Greek word meaning “a wholly burnt animal sacrifice.” He ended his rule in Berlin, the city of the stones of the altar of Satan, the capital of The Third Reich.

From the throne of Satan of Pergamum, where burnt sacrifices were offered to Zeus, to transporting the altar to Berlin, and a remodelled version in Nuremberg for Hitler to call for 6 million Jews to be burnt. But God quickly put an end to his Satanic Thousand Year Reich. Berlin with its wall would become the gate between communism and relative freedom. It would seem then, that Satan moves his throne throughout history to inspire and empower wicked cities and brutal empires. Whether Babel, Babylon of Iraq, Rome (who Peter referred to as Babylon (1 Peter 3:5)), Pergamum, the Ottoman Empire, mystery Babylon to come. He sets himself at the centre of sinful activity and worship. Israel was the door to the Judeo-Christian faith, Pergamum was the door to a pantheon of false gods and corrupted theology. One day Satan will attempt to set up his throne in the Holy Land via the false prophet and antichrist.

Israel is the focus of attack

If they can’t get to the King, they go after his people.

Satan seduced the first Adam, but failed to seduce the second Adam. Throughout history Satan attempted to extinguish the seed of Messiah. If you can’t now get to the second Adam, you go for his children.

Israel is central to the biblical narrative because it is through them that Messiah works to restore the earth. For this reason, they have been attacked throughout history and will continue to be attacked climaxing at the end of the age, but Messiah will come to save them.

Persecution comes to Jews first, then gentile Christians.

Battles with Holy Angels

Satan and his demons battle the holy angles.

Deuteronomy tells us that when Moses died, “no one knows the place of his burial to this day.” (Deuteronomy 34:6). Jude adds that, “the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses” (Jude 1:9). Did the devil want the body to possess it and speak lies, or inspire an ungodly shrine or who knows?

The angel Gabriel who spoke to the exiled Daniel said: “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia” (Dan 10:13). Here we have a demon referred to as the prince of Persia. A powerful demon over the nation who would not allow the angel Gabriel to visit Daniel. The archangel Michael however came to rescue him and send him on his way to deliver the message.

Michael also oversees an army of angels who are prepared to fight in the heavens (rev 12:7-8):

“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down… and his angels were thrown down with him. (Revelation 12:7–9)

Last time we saw that holy angels are in charge of Sheol and they will throw Satan in there for the millennial reign (Rev 20:1-3).

So, we gather that Satan has a network throughout the world. Demons stationed over nations, cities, towns and so forth. God has corresponding Angels. They are self-ordered to mess with the order of the cosmic kingdom – they can’t mess with the heavenly kingdom, so they battle in the mid heavens, and spend most time messing with the world order. If a third of angels followed him Satan (Rev 12:4), the good news is that two thirds are on God’s side, our side.

Job 1 & 2

The book of Job offers insight into God’s dealings with Satan. We begin with verse 6 in the first chapter:

“6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.”

Firstly, here we see that even evil angels must present themselves before the LORD periodically, to give an account of their activities. John Hartley says, “the Targum [the Aramaic translation with rabbinical notes] identifies the time of the first meeting with New Year’s Day”. Though fallen angels spend the best part of time on earth, or battling angels in the mid-heaven, they do have access before God in the heights of the heavens when requested.

Secondly, Satan here has the article – “the Satan” – so, as Harley puts, “it functions as a title rather than as a personal name. The Hebrew root śṭn means “to oppose at law.” On this basis some scholars conjecture that the Satan may be the prosecuting attorney of the heavenly council.” However in these scenes he’s not what we might typically think of as a court prosecutor, more like a trouble causer or “accuser” or “adversary.” He isn’t just feeding back the sins of men, but stirring up chaos in the kingdoms.

It continues:

 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.” (Job 1:7-12)

This is before the assembly in the Temple. YHWH asks Satan to give an account. And Satan responds by suggesting he has been searching the earth for disloyalty to YHWH. YHWH brings Job to his attention to show that man can live blamelessly and fear him regardless of his circumstance. Satan claims Job’s response to God is for selfish gain and would recant if his possessions were taken. YHWH gives him permission over jobs possessions but not over his body. He body (at least his life) belongs to YHWH. Satan is limited by God’s permission, he thinks he’s clever by causing harm, yet he is an apparatus of God’s testing, he’s proved wrong, and Job will receive greater rewards in the Kingdom.

Chapter 2 begins with a similar session in heaven:

“Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.” (2:1)

Hartley adds, “Targum identifies… the second session with the Day of Atonement.” If so, at least twice a year, Spring and Autumn, they must present themselves before the LORD in heaven according to the Jewish calendar, God’s calendar.

It continues almost identically to Chapter 1.

2And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.” (Job 2:2-7)

By YHWH saying “you incited me against him to destroy him” he is charging Satan with incitement, agreeing that Satan persuaded him, but in doing so YHWH takes full credit for Job’s trouble. YHWH as judge is careful not to concede any of his authority to Satan. Hartley says “This point is crucial, for in the dialogue Job will seek deliverance from Yahweh alone and rightly so, for he has no battle with the Satan.”p80 Satan incited “without reason.” Job feared God “without reason” of circumstance. He loved and feared God regardless.

We can learn lot from Job and the book of Job.

Limitations

It is helpful to remind ourselves that Satan and his angels are not omnipresent. They, like any individual can only be at one place at any one time. Satan relies on demons to report the world affairs so he plan his next moves. God choose to use angels but sees everything in real time before it’s reported, and knows precisely what happens next. Satan always plays into God’s.

So, while they cause carnage, inflict hurt, influence abuse, temp into wickedness, sow lies, … the devil and his angels are limited in power, authority, and ultimately subjected to the King of the Universe. Yes, they are powerful and dangerous, but they can do nothing without the permission of God.

Some sentenced to Sheol

We recall that some angels are kept in sheol/hades:

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell [hades] and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;” (2 Peter 2:4)

The initial probation and the sentencing to sheol for some of the angels demonstrates God’s great patience and grace with man.

Why are some angels kept in the prison of sheol /hades until judgment? Jude offers some understanding:

“the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day” (Jude 1:6)

The best explanation that I’ve come across is that here in Jude and apocryphal literature point to the angels that procreated with women to bring forth demonoids, therefore refusing to stay within their boundaries. God then cut short their time on the surface of the earth and bound them within the heart of the earth within sheol/hades.

It may not be limited to those angels. Could other angelic creatures too such as cherubim and seraphim have been sentenced early to sheol for falling for Satan in the initial probation? Possible.

God has chosen not to redeem any angelic creatures who have sinned. They will be thrown into “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41)

How Should We Relate to angels?

Firstly, to righteous angels.

We tend to fall into two errors. Those who become obsessed with angelic creatures, and then those who are weirded out by them and steer clear of the subject. Scripture does tell us about their nature, activity, etc therefore God wants our lives to be enriched by this limited knowledge. So aware, but not focused on. We are forbidden from worshipping them or praying to them (Col 2:18; rev 19:10; 1 Tim 2:5). “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5). A holy angel would not allow you to worship them, as in the case with John in Revelation 19:10.

Nowhere in the scriptures do we see men of God asking angels for help or to even see them. We can ask God to send angels to protect us, but not to visibly see them to satisfy our curiosity.

As if God tests us or sends angels to appear in human form to check on us, the author of Hebrews wrote, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Heb 13:2) I’m quite sure that many people have entertained angles unawares, others neglected angels unawares.

We can learn from the activity of holy angels. We pray “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (6:10) In heaven the Holy angels respond immediately, without question, eager to do his will. Humble, faithful servants, not jockying for position within hierarchy, praising God continually. So should we. We should be aware they join us in worship (1 Cor 11:10).

And we should be aware they are watching us daily – faithful or unfaithful and are reporting back.

Secondly, to evil angels

Warning and guidance

Two errors include: Blaming Satan for everything and becoming fearful and lacking personal responsibility, or we fail to recognise Satan’s existence and his global influence and governance. In acts we read: “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.” (Acts 23:8) Pharisees are knocked, but actually they were reasonably charismatic, believing in miracles, and angels.

Our sin is our own. Don’t give the devil too much credit. If you were late for work every day last week – it’s not Satan, it’s you, not getting up early enough. The epistles correct the church to change their ways with little reference to demonic spirits. Often, we are the issue and need to take responsibility without blaming a demon. We are to focus on growing closer to God, deeper in faith and that will lead us away from demonic activity. Having said that, almost all sin, particularly that which is directly working against God’s order and redemptive plans contain a demonic element.

The NT gives some warnings and guidance.

Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” (Luke 22:31) There is real activity going on behind the scenes that we have no idea about, and great men can be lured into deceitful ideas.

Jesus warned us that the seeds of the gospel sown on the path (the hard ground) “Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.” (Mark 4:15)

Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love me” (John 8:42) and he goes on to say, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires.” (John 8:44) Which side are you on? Who are you a son or daughter of? Who do you love and therefore act accordingly. Who are you working for?

John is explicit: “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10)

We are told that elders of the church, “must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.” (1 Tim 3:6) Which indicates pride was the downfall of the devil. “Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:7)

Paul encourages us to “forgive… so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Cor 2:10-11) Lack of forgiveness can open at door to demons and can become chains on our lives.

For those that fall into his traps, we pray, “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2 Tim 2:24-26)

Paul said, “a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me” (2 Corinthians 12:7). God was working his purposes through this thorn to stop him “to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations” (2 Corinthians 12:7)

The previous chapter tells us, “for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” (2 Cor 11:14-15). Similar to Jesus words, “you will know them by their fruit” (Matthew 7:16). Wolves come in sheep’s clothing, not wolves clothing.

In his letter to Timothy he warned of, “deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). Some translations say, “doctrines of demons.”

Doctrines of demons attack the core tenants of the faith such as the Trinity, Christ and His atoning work, and then major distortions of the grand narrative - Local rather than global flood, evolutionism, Platonism, replacement theology, and on to things such as the distortion of home and church order.

John’s epistles warns us that those “who denies that Jesus is the Christ… who denies the Father and the Son” these have the spirit of “antichrist.” The antichrist to come will deny the Son  (1 John 2:22).

Paul warned that, “even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Gal 1:8)

Or false prophet who lies about speaking to angel such as, 1 kings 13:

““I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him.” (1 kings 13:18) We must be cautious who we believe… many cults have began with, “an angel told me…”

Demon Possession / Control

What does it mean to have demons?

They are spiritual beings who enter the body. Each having an identity, demons are able to speak and respond, and they have characteristics often of the sin that people commit. Spirits of lust, greed… spirits that identity with Jezebel or Baal… and so forth.

When they enter, they can pervert attitudes, personality, thought patterns, physical appetites, and motives. It can lead to addiction, torment, sickness and enslavement. Those who have demons can start to compel sin, enslave and tempt others, deceive, manipulate, dominate, accuse, intimidate.

It is helpful to remember they are limited. Unlike God, angels do not know the secrets of the heart (Jer 17:9-10), they can’t read minds, or know the future (Mark 13:32). They can only twist what they see and hear, and persuade, and disrupt, which is what is demonstrated in the occult. If given permission they take over bit by bit, tormenting to the point the person looses their mind (like the Gerasene with thousands of demons), but they can’t read the mind. When people visit mind readers, most of which are fake magicians, but the real ones are listing to demons who tell them about you – what car you drive, what you eat for dinner, a family member that died - they are not reading minds, so much as relaying the demons report.

How do they enter a body?

Evil demonic spirits can enter us through sins of our doing or those we are under the covering of, for example parents and grandparents, church leaders, national leaders.

To the Ephesians, Paul says, “do not sin… and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Eph 4:26) He connects sinning with giving the demons under the authority of the devil power to intervene.

Yielding to temptation is the issue. Temptation is about Satan trying to get control of our lives. Sinning gives him the right to areas of our lives that causes havoc. Man is vulnerable to temptation because Satan has general control of the earth because man gave him the authority.

They have had a global land grab and now they are trying to grab the authority over your body and therefore life. They are legalistic and opportunistic. They sow lies through deception and can hold us captive to those lies.

But they can’t enter you if you don’t give them an opportunity through sin. It doesn’t mean you won’t be attacked externally even if you are blameless like Jesus and Eve – Both sinless, Jesus resisted, Eve succumbed. It’s a continual battle of resisting.

Can Christians be possessed?

The bible uses terms such as a man who “has a demon” (John 10:20; cf. 7:20, 8:48-52; Matt. 11:18; Luke 7:33), or “who had demons” (Luke 8:27) plural, or “those oppressed by demons” (Matt. 4:24; Mark 1:32; et al.) and although uncommon, “demon-possessed” (Mark 5:16, 1:32; Luke 8:36).

There appears to be a difference between “having demons” and being “demon-possessed.” I will add that in Grudem’s opinion “it never uses language that suggests that a demon actually ‘possesses’ someone.”[13] Some believe Christians can’t have demons at all once you are in Christ, however ministries all over the world will tell you that the people that come for deliverance are Christians. Peter is an illustration of being influenced by Satan (Mat 16:23). My understanding is that through sin (especially habitual sin) Christians can “have demons” but we cannot be “demon-possessed.” We are God’s possession as he paid the price on the cross. God takes ownership of our body, but it contains things he wants to flush out and make clean. Just as someone takes possession of a property, and renovates it, cutting out the rot, the woodworm, cockroaches. Calling in an agency to deliver the house from its damage and abuse, like God using the agent of the Holy Spirit to clean us up. We can’t clean ourselves before we come to cross. He purchases you and takes possession of you just as you are. Then he gets to work (Matt 12:28; Luke 11:20) and we must be responsive to his work, and “walk in newness of life.” (Rom 6:4)

Jesus referred to Satan as, “the ruler of this world” but asserted, “He has no claim on me” (John 14:30). If he had no claim on Christ, and you are in Christ, he has no claim on you. For “Christ bought us with His blood” (Galatians 3:13). So, as Christian’s we can not be possessed by demons – we are possessed by the Holy Spirit, but we can allow demons to enter Christ possession through sin – then you have a battle within you. The Holy Spirit is kicking it out the door, but you keep letting it back in.

In Matthew 12, Jesus uses an allegory of a man with demons, to explain that the generation he was speaking to will be worse off after he has left because they would not receive him.

“When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”” (Matthew 12:43-45) Apart from the end point he is making; we can see the truth that a man who is delivered from a demon, can later be home to many more demons, if we reject Christ, and his ways.

Demonic attack or even “possession” does not necessarily mean that the person has no will whatsoever over their own body. As Christians you “must consider yourselves dead to sin… Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness… [but to] God as instruments for righteousness… [then] sin will have no dominion over you” (Rom 6:11-14).

I’m bemused when I hear Christian involved in yoga, and reading dark books with wizards and witches, or reading horoscopes. They would laugh when you mention these things. You’re are playing with fire. Some say, “God redeems things, and we’re redeeming yoga”. We’ve learnt that God doesn’t redeem everything, he’s going to burn a lot of stuff. You can’t stamp a Christian sticker on Satan’s forehead and call him your new best buddy.

How do we get rid of them?

In Luke 10 we read:

“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority… over all the power of the enemy… Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”” (Luke 10:17-20)

Because Jesus refused to submit to Satan, only submitting to the Father unto death, his triumphal work means that Satan has no rightful authority over those in Christ (Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14). We are not sons of Satan, but “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith” (Gal. 3:26).

Paul became “greatly annoyed” at a demon in a servant-girl so he spoke to the demon and he, “said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.” (Acts 16:18)

Another example is, when Philip when to preaches in Samaria, “For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.” (Acts 8:7)

We can cast them out in Jesus’ name, confessing sins, asking for forgiveness, repenting, and on occasion addressing generational sins and asking God to break ungodly soul-ties. There can be a knock-on affect from the sins of our ancestors, or corporate sin such as church or nation. In Nehemiah 1 – the people of Israel confessed their corporate sin which included sin of those that went before them: “we have sinned against you” (v6). We admit we are part of the problem, so that God can demolish demonic strongholds and can use us to become part of the solution. We ask God will cleanse us and break us free from the consequences of that generational sin or corporate sin. We can be free from control by putting our houses in order, living a clean and holy life unto God.

Jesus said, “everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36). By entering a relationship with God, we are empowered to resist temptation. If you enter that relationship and abide in his word, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

Healing through deliverance is part of the gospel mission (Luke 4:41; acts 8:7; acts 26:18). Most people in the world are suffering from demonic trauma, past scares or present activity. Often they require healing through deliverance so that they can be effective in mission.

The key to demonic free living is to confess sin, in the name of Jesus verbally rebuke the demons commanding them to leave with the authority given to us (Luke 9:1; 10:17,19), and sin no more. The power of which comes from the Holy Spirit. You don’t need to shout.

Think of this. If you don’t want demons, starve them. Do not sin, and you will starve them out. They are not going to stick around long if you’re worshipping God (hey hate worship), if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, and you are blameless before God. Starve them out!

We Require the Whole Armour of God

Peter warns us to, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

For this reason, Paul exhorts us to:

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph 6:11-17)

Time does not permit, but if you going through a spiritual battle this passage in Ephesians 6 is a key one to study.

James concurs that if we, “Submit [ourselves]yourselves, then, to God” We can, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) Jesus swung the “sword of the Spirit” when tempted in the desert.

When we become frustrated with government or hurtful people, remember, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” (2 cor 10:3-4)

Those who stand before God under his covering can have no fear of these evil powers (1 John 4:4; 2 Tim. 1:7). For, “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” (1 John 5:18)

If Jesus defeated Satan, how does he still have authority over the world?

Jesus personally defeated Satan at the cross. “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (col 2:15) Jesus had not sinned and so was not subject to death, though he chose to lay down his life. So, when Jesus died, he was not under Satan’s authority, so death could not hold him! Satan did not overcome Jesus – Jesus refused to submit - so Satan remains under Jesus’ authority. While, “the whole world lies [still] in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19), by entering into that victory, Satan has no rightful authority over us, and Jesus has entrusted us with authority over the powers of darkness. We know that the time is coming when Satan and his demons will be finally dealt with once and for all, and Jesus will claim his inheritance of the world. “and if [we are] children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Rom 8:17)

In closing

Hopefully you will now be more familiar with the terms used for the Heavenly Host. The various kinds, their purpose, activity, their order and rank, who and what Satan and his demons are, and how we should relate or not.

The invisible players mean we are a battle, not with flesh and blood, but dark powers who rule the earth. We must be aware of all the players on the field that God has spoken of. It’s not to satisfy our curiosity but to warn us and enrich our lives.

Next, and I promise it will be the final part of the interlude before we turn to Genesis 3, we’ll look at visible players, namely mankind and his ordering. You don’t want to miss that one.

Keep watch, pray for protection, fear not.

May his face shine upon you.

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