What the Bible Says About Angels

By Bro. Brett Castle
 

In the early 90’s we saw a great surge of interest in angels come to the front of our times and culture. That has cooled off some in this day, but it opened a line of thinking that has cracked the door of the spiritual in a way that is good for us in the Christian world to proclaim the God who made the angels.
 

1. We, as God’s own, had better make sure we get a Biblical understanding of these most amazing created beings of God.

A. For if we do not, Satan will use the false and half-truth to take our eyes off the creator and put them on the created. To worship angels is just as wrong as to worship snakes, money, or even self.

2. Of you do not think the evil one has used this to move us away from God, just

Look around.

In fact, we see this in the Holy Word of God in 2 Corinthians 11:14. My sheep we must be very careful in this area.

2. Is it possible that rather than making a new false anti-Christian cult he is using

the angel thing to move our world away from God’s saving grace?
 

1. The false taste of the sweetness of a little angel treat can and often does kill the appetite for a good hard meal of the Word of God. (With angels we can make it up as we go and feed on the lies of Hollywood.)

My sheep we also see no accountability in angel-mania. It seems to me this is

one major attraction for this over the edge, almost worship of beings.

“Even secular publications have recognized at least partly this aspect of angelmania. They note the easy lure of preferring angels over God and describe how angels offer a form of spirituality devoid of Jesus and God. Belief in God is no longer “popular” in America, it is possible to believe in anything. People are searching for spirituality,but not if it involves God. Time magazine has insightfully stated, “angels are the handy compromise, all fluff and meringue, kind, nonjudgmental. They are available to everyone, like aspirin.” Life magazine attached the label “God Lite” to the angelism movement. The magazine’s reporter visited a conference of angel enthusiasts. Unlike the mighty heavenly beings described in the Bible, the reporter said angels described to him at the conference were a more benign and bite-size species, cuddly as a lap dog, conscientious as a school crossing guard. I heard angels likened to spiritual kissing cousins, flower delivery messengers… just a nice feeling of warmth and love that washes all over you. Today angels seem to spend a lot less time praising God than serving us. While they are still making super-hero, nick-of-time rescues, they are also showing up in less dire emergencies to track down a set of lost keys or make a chicken casserole more flavorful. Indeed, nearly all the angel believers I met, got around to mentioning their parking space angel whom they call upon while cruising crowded streets.”

From David Jeremiah
 

C. That is why we must know all we can about these created beings that the Word teaches us. You must be able to tell your family, friends and co-workers what the Bible truths say about angels.
 

LET ME STATE FROM THE START, MY INTENTION IS TO GIVE A BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF ANGELS AND WHAT THEY DO.

The more I study angels the more I’m convinced that we have overlooked these created beings of God. There is a lot recorded about angels in the word of God (The Bible), yet humans refuse to learn about them. And what we do is warped Hollywood glitter mentality. We have allowed movies, TV, and even newspapers to lead us in our view of these often misunderstanding creations.
 

So what Does the Bible say about Angels? Are they real or made up by mankind? We will see that the fact is these beings are as real as heaven and God himself. The more I learn about them the greater my lord seems.
 

I. Angels are spoken of over 300 times in the bible as a whole. (501 references)

Case and point; let me list just a few that come to my mind.
 

OLD TESTAMENT

 

1. 2^nd Kings 6:15-17 we see young Elijah opening his eyes to the spiritual.

2. The book of psalms is full of information on these beings. Ps. 34:7, Ps.9:10-12 and Ps.48:2 to just name a few.

C. Job also has a great deal to say about angels. (Job1: 6). We will look closer at this book when we look at Satan, the head of the fallen angels. (Job1: 6-8)

The frequency that angels are seen participating in human affairs had diminished since Pentecost. I think because of the bigger role of God’s Holy Spirit in N.T. times.

NEW TESTAMENT
 

A. An angel appeared to Mary to tell her of the child she was to give birth to. (Luke1: 2-33)
 

B. Even before this the angel Gabriel appeared to Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist.
 

C. We also see angels come to Joseph several times. (Matt.1: 20)
 

D. The angels brought the Good News of the birth of Jesus - The Christ.

(Luke 2:9-12)
 

 E. After our Lords Resurrection, we see them a lot in scriptures. Acts 5:18-20,    Galatians 4:14 and Rev.1:1.
 

We see that the Book of Revelation is full of angels, and the part they will play in the " end times".

II. Angels are Created Beings.

1. One of the reasons I’m doing this study is because of all those who told me they

believe humans turn into angels upon death. It may make for a good movie, but it is bad theology.

1. Psalms 148:2-5 helps people see that angels are created beings from God and that he created them like he created mankind, the earth and the heavens etc.

B. As created beings, you and I do not turn into angels upon our death. (1 Cor.15:40-57, Phil. 3:20-21 and Rom.8:10)

2. It would seem that angels have the ability to change their appearance. (Heb.13:2) “Do not forget to entertain strangers for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”

A. Heb. 1:14 calls the angels “ ministering spirits” so it would seem that they do not

possess physical bodies as we think of them.

B. God has not given them the ability to reproduce and they do not marry as we do. (Mark12:25)

3. The empire of the angels is as vast as God’s creation; as Billy Graham put it” There are potentially millions of angels.” (Heb.12:22) Look at this verse in the N.I.V. “ Thousands upon thousands” and the N.A.S. Myriad” which means countless or innumerable (K.J.V)

A. Ten thousand angels came down on Mount Sinai to confirm the presences of our Lord {Holy God}. (Ps. 68:17)

B. In the N.T. John tells us of seeing ten thousand times ten thousand angels. (Rev.5:11; also look at 2 Thess.1: 7.) So we see that as Ps.148: 2-5 tells us, God created angels and humans do not turn into them after death.

We need at this point to decide what angels are. Let us do a small word study on what the word angel means.

WORD STUDY ON ANGELS
 

Angel Heb. mal ak and Gr. Angelus both mean messenger. In scripture, we see the angels as messengers of God. They are mentioned in every Book of the Bible except Ruth, Nehemiah, Esther, and the Epistles of John and James.
 

1. We see scriptures use progressive revelation on angels as they do most other doctrines of the Bible.

A. In the N.T., angels appear frequently and in a big way with the coming and ministry of our Lord.
 

B. It is clear that angels were created as personal, sinless, and immortal beings that exist in great numbers.
 

C. Of the history of angels little is known; however, it is clear that Satan and fellow angels were created sinless then later fell.
 

D. As I read scripture, it seems that there is nothing irrational, nor crazy about holding to the understanding that angels do exist. In fact the opposite is true.
 

FALLEN ANGELS

We cannot move on without looking at the fall of the bad angels. If you believe in the devil, you must see that angels are real; Satan is a fallen angel!

(Isaiah 14:12 K.J.V.) “ How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning" How art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations.”

1. Read Ezekiel 28:12-19 Before his fall, Lucifer was also known as Satan; the anointed cherub.

A. Paul tells us in his letter to Timothy that Satan fell because of pride.

(We see this in a warning to preachers.)
 

B. Note: One third of the angels fell with Satan when he rebelled. (Rev. 12:3-4).

2. The Bible shows us that Hell was created for the Devil and his followers (angels).

(Matt. 25:41)
 

A. I hear from the lost “God would not send any one to Hell. That is not a loving God.” Folks, God doesn’t send any one to Hell! People send themselves by rejecting God’s plan of salvation in Christ. (Do not blame God for man's pride.) (2 Peter 2:4)
 

B. If I had to say when the fall came, I would say it was before mankind was created. The Bible doesn’t say outright, but it appears to me that Satan did not come to Eve as the anointed cherub with all his diamonds and gold.

Billy Graham says it happened between the dawn of time, and the coming of Satan to the garden. All in all, I don’t think anyone really knows for sure, but we can agree it happened. The reasons can be found in the Bible By looking in Isaiah 14:13. The five I’s:

1. I will ascend to heaven.

2. I will raise my throne above the stars of God.

3. I will sit on the Mount of Assembly.

4. I will ascend above the highs of the clouds.

5. I will make myself like the Most High.

Will the end of Satan’s evil stop? In Matt. 6:10, we see the hope that will keep us going. “ Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Until then, the battle rages on. Whose side are you on?

1. There is no salvation for the fallen angels.

A. There is no salvation for the angels that have fallen away. I don’t care what cute movies or what T.V. shows you may have seen. Angels do not earn their wings or salvation by coming to earth. (They are on Gods side or the side of devil.) Hell is a place that was made for the devil and his angels. (Matt. 25:41)

B. The Bible teaches us since the fall of Satan and his followers there have been wars between Good and Evil. Paul shows us that war takes in and uses humans also. (2 Cor.10:3-6)

2. The war will not end until the end of time, as we know it has past. (Rev.12: 7-10)

A. We see that angels long to look into salvation, but they are not given the right or the freedom to choose. ( 1 Peter 1:11-12)

B. Angels by their very name were created to be God’s messengers. (Lucifer wanted to be above God so we see he cast his lot to go against God.)

3. God gave mankind a second chance through his Son. He didn’t come to die for the fallen angels.

A. Angels cannot preach the gospel. {We will deal with this subject off and on during our time together} Acts 10:3- They can bring the message, but you are the only created being that can lead humans to Jesus.

B. The only way that man can hear the message is through man himself. As Christians we are joint heirs with Jesus; this doesn’t take in the angels. (Rom.8:17)

C. The angels can rejoice when humans become saved and bring glory to God. (The one who saved man.) They cannot testify personally to any thing they have not experienced.

ILL. The person that has not come to God through Christ cannot tell others what it was like to be saved, but only the one who knows what it was like can tell others.

NOTE: Nowhere in the bible do we see that angels have the ind welling of Gods Holy Spirit.

DO ANGELS DRINK AND EAT AND HAVE OTHER HUMAN NEEDS?

We have already seen that angels do not marry in Matt. 20:30 and because of this I can make the deduction that angels do not have human desires of sex either. While we’re on the subject, angels do not have the need to reproduce, nor do they give birth. The number of angels remains the same.

1. Nothing in scripture tells us that angels have the need to eat or drink in order to stay alive, but we do see that when angels come in human form, they do eat.

A. Remember Elijah after the dealing with the priests of Baal; Jezebel scared him and the Lord sent an angel to feed him twice. The Bible seems to indicate that he went forty days and forty nights on that food. (Some have called it Angel food.) 1Kings 19:5-8

B. David also tells us about the time Manna was eaten by Gods people in the wilderness. He as well referred to it as Angel food. (Ps. 78:22-25)

C. When Abraham met three angels on the Plains of Mamre, I believe One was the

Lord Jesus. The three heavenly beings ate what was brought to them.

(Gen.18: 1,2 and 8)

D. We also see that Jesus ate in (Luke24:42 and 43)

E. We see this again when the angels ate with Lot. (Gen.19)

It appears to me, Angels eat in order to put humans at ease. There will be no pain in heaven, no pain from hunger! (Rev. 21:4)

If Heaven is Heaven then there is no need for things of the flesh!

DO ANGELS HAVE MORE POWER THEN HUMANS?

1. I believe the Bible teaches us that angels possess more power in a lot of ways, but they are not omnipotent nor are they “all powerful.”

Paul refers to the ‘ Mighty’ angels or in other words ‘Dynamite.’ The angels are Gods dynamite. Note, I said God’s not their own. (2 Thes.1:7)

1. Peter backs Paul up in 2 Peter 2:11

2. Let us remember, the angels shut the mouths of the lions in the time of Daniel

when he was in the lion’s den.

3. David tells us that angels excel in strength. ( Ps. 103:20) Again, we note God’s

Angels.

4. We see in Revelation that one angel will come down from heaven and bind the

devil with a great chain. (Rev.20: 1,2)

Warning: There are people in our time leading others to borderline worship of angels. In fact, some people are giving so much power to angels, saints are turning to the angels rather then to God. Angels are created beings.

ANGELS DO SING

Let me tell you from the start that this is partly speculation on my behalf; however, the word does not tell us out right.

1. It would seem that John saw a great choir of angels in Rev. 5:11 and 12.

A. Music is such a part of worship that angels do sing.

B. Paul tells us that angels have a language of their own. (I put this in as a related subject.)

ANGELS WORSHIP GOD

Most people take for granted that angels standing on God’s side worship Him. They are his messengers.

1. We see angels around the throne in heaven in Rev. 4:6-9

A. Is not praising God a form of worship. (Ps. 148:2)

B. When God came to earth in the flesh, the angels came to worship him. (Luke 2:13)

C. The word tells us that angels worshipped God in the flesh again in Heb.1:6

THE RANKS OF THE ANGEL

We come to a time and place that we need to look at the ranks of the angels. The Bible shows us that angels are organized in terms of authority and job. I realize that any list showing ranks of angelic beings may be an error. It seems to me, they do differ in power and place.

1. Let us look at the ranks of angels. We start with what I call the ‘ Elect or

Chosen angels. (Basing this on 1Tim. 5:21)

The Archangel

By the root word “Arch,” we can see that this angel is in charge, or the chief over the other angels.

A. Scripture tells us that Michael is the Archangel, thus he stands alone.

Note: I feel that before the fall, Satan was equal or even superior to Michael. (Referring to the Book of Job.)

B. In the O.T., we see Michael as being the chosen prince of Gods’ people. (Daniel 12:1) Look at the hope that this understanding brings.

2. Daniel tells us that Michael is “Your Prince” in Daniel 10:21. We also see Michael in the role of leader of the Lords armies while defending against Satan. (Rev.12:7-12) Michael and his angels will be locked in battle with Satan and his followers for the control of the universe during the last conflict of the ages.

Note: In verse 12, Satan knows his time is limited, thus this answers the age old question

“ Does Satan know he will loose?”

A. Michael will shout, as he comes with the Lord during the second coming.

B. We see from the O.T. as well as the N.T. that the battle rages on between Good and Evil also with Satan and our Lord. (Daniel 10:13) In Jude 9 we also see Michael and Satan fighting over the body of Moses. There are people who try to overlook this fact in the Bible; but it is there so I believe.

The Name Michael Means ‘ One who is like or is as God.’

We see that Michael is the leader of the angels against the strife that Satan brings

mankind and in the name of God. He stands against Satan for the Nation of people of

Israel and for the Saints of the New Covenant.

POINTS TO ADDRESS

We have people who would have us to believe that there are four Archangels:

Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Ariel, but this comes from Jewish tradition and folklore.

There is no biblical backing thus making this a falsehood if not based on the

Bible. (I bring this out because I look for Hollywood to bring this out soon.)

THE ANGEL KNOWN AS GABRIEL

Gabriel is the prominent angel in the Bible. The Hebrew name Gabriel means ‘God’s

hero or The Mighty One.’ John Milton calls him an Archangel, but scripture refers

to Michael as being the Archangel. (This reminds us not to let the ways of the world

lead us in the ways of God.)

Gabriel is most often the bearer of good news. It was he who came to Daniel in the appearance of a man. (Daniel 8:15,16)

Note: No where do we see him blowing a silver horn. The idea came from folk music.

Gabriel comes to Daniel a second time in prayer. (See in Dan.9:21)

GABRIEL IN THE N.T.

A. Gabriel first appeared in the N.T. in The Book of Luke 1:19. He announces the birth of John the Baptist and tells of him being the forerunner for our Lord Jesus.

B. We see Gabriel in the lime light with the message that was the best news we have heard since the second coming. The One who’s birth was told to Mary.

Let your heart soar while we think about the message this angel was to bring. Oh, the

way our God works. It is breath taking.(Luke1:30-33)

C. Through all time this declaration is the greatest that the minds of man could hold on too. Think of it. God became flesh in order to redeem humankind.

SERAPHIM

The Bible leads me to think that even among the ranks of the regular angels, their ranks are different. The Seraphim and the Cherubim are the next order in which we will look at. I do not know if one rank is above the other; however, I know that their duties are different.

Note: Some people would put these two orders outside the group of angels. I would not!

The word ‘Seraphim’ may come from the root word in Hebrew meaning ‘ Love’ but I see the meaning as ‘ The Burning Ones.’ Some people link it with ‘Noble.’

A. We find Seraphim only in the Book of Isaiah 6:1-6. (As we read this scripture, we see a wonderful insight into the worship of God.

B. I am assuming that they are servile because the text refers to each one and points out the fact that they cried to one another.

C. The ministry or function of these beings appears to be to praise the name and even the very character of God in Heaven. Look at where the Seraphim are. ‘ Above the Throne’ unlike the Cherubim who are ‘Beside the Throne!’

D. They are indescribably beautiful! ( Read the passage again in Is. 6:1-6)

1. Two wings cover the face

2. Two wings cover the feet

3.Two wings are used to fly with.

Note: The Bible does not support the fact that all angels have wings. In fact, when we see angels talked about in other places in the Word, we often see them without any mention of wings at all.

We see similarities in the description of the four living creatures in the Book of Ezekiel, but I’m not sure enough in my own mind to really call them Seraphim.

Last Note: You will find a name difference while looking in the N.I.V. The difference will be Seraphs instead of Seraphim.

CHERUBIM

‘ Cherubim is plural for cherub.’ We see Cherubim first in the Garden of Eden while

guarding the Tree of Life after the fall of man. (Gen.3: 24)

1. They are often symbolic of heavenly things.

A. At God’s direction they were incorporated into the design of the Ark of the Covenant as well as had a place in the Tabernacle. ‘ Their image that is.’

B. Ezekiel 10 is hard to understand. However, he gives us a good look at these

angels called Cherubim.

1. They had four faces, One of the faces was of a Cherub, the second of a man, the third was of a lion and the last was of an eagle.

2. They had eyes all over them

3. They had four wings.

4. They had what it appeared to look like human hands.

B. Some people claim they guard the throne of God and only allow those who have been saved by the blood access. I believe this understanding to carry a lot of merit. For example, look at verse 19 of Ezekiel in the 10^th chapter.

GUARDIAN ANGELS

I would like to open this part of our study by letting God’s word speak for itself.

(Heb. 1:14) ‘Angels are they not all ministering spirits sent to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.’ So, if you are in Jesus Christ as an heir to salvation you will have angels appointed to you.

1. God’s angels often protect his servants. We see that the Bible makes this clear. (2 Kings 6:14-17)

A. We find another case and point in Acts 27: 23-25.

B. Some people tell us that we have our own personal angels!

C. Jesus himself leads us to think this is the case. (Matt. 18:10)God used angels during the taking of the promise land in the O.T. ( Ex. 33:2)

Note: The thread that seems to run through scripture is that those who angels minister to are Gods people. (The people of the Nation in the O.T., and the saved in the N.T.)

D. We cannot leave without looking at the scripture that my wife Betty used to comfort our boys when they were smaller and had fears. ( Ps. 91: 1,11,12.)

II. Angels are involved in the lives of God’s people. (1Cor. 4:9.)

A. In the Book of Psalms 34:7 it shows that angels do protect us.

B. Look at Peter in the book of Acts 12:5-11. Many of us are in chains that Satan has put upon us. It may not be the same kind of prison as Peter. Ours may be depression of that great dark pit. (Rom. 2:11 and Eph.6: 9) ‘ All of us that come to God through Jesus are the same at the foot of the cross.’

ANGELS AND DEATH

I. Before we look at angels in death, we must look at death. Death is the battle of the last crisis. Paul called it the last enemy. (1Cor.15: 26)

A. Death for Christians cuts that, which keeps us as captives in this body and holds us in this evil world away.

B. When I think of death, I always think of Lazarus; I allow that example to give me comfort. Because I know Jesus, I know which of the two I will end up like.

Note: Who brought Lazarus to heaven? ‘The Angels’ these words came from the mouth of God himself!

C. God placed in each of us the will to live and because of this, death is not natural! (God created us to live but because of sin we have death.)

Personal Note to Reader: I have been at the side of many people while they faced death; both as an E.M.T. worker and again as a Preacher. There is a big difference between how people who know Jesus face it and the ones who don’t know him.

D. It seems to me that the Bible assures each of us that while we are in Jesus Christ we will have an escorted journey to heaven.

E. Hear the word as we read 2 Cor.5: 8.

As we think about death today, let our fears be calmed, as we see the saved ones instantly transformed into a Glorious likeness of Jesus as well as being surrounded by the Heavenly messengers sent by God himself to carry us home.

ANGELS IN THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST

I have put this heading in our study, because if we are to understand angels, we must see how they responded to their Lord and ours.

I. Before God stepped off the throne of glory to die for us, the angels followed his orders. Now since Jesus has gone back to be with his Father the angels worships him as ‘The Lamb’ slained for our sins. We must understand and accept this fact in order to see the whole picture.

A. We have already looked at Gabriel ‘The Mighty Angel’ bring the word of Jesus’ birth to Mary. (We see angels in the life of Jesus before his human birth.)

B. We also saw in Luke 2:9. The angels were there at the birth of Christ.

II. When Jesus started his public ministry, we see the angels of heaven ministering to him. (Look at how active the angels were, when the Lord was tempted by the devil in the wilderness.) (Matt.4:1, 2)

A. This appears to me to have been one of our Lord’s most difficult times outside the crucifixion. (Think about it, Forty days and forty nights without food and on top of that, the Evil one is trying to defeat God’s plan to get his people to come back to him.)

1. Wishing to hit another blow like the one in the Garden of Eden, Satan hits Jesus during his weakest moment.

2. My beloved, we as God’s people cannot miss the lesion to all who will open their

hearts. (If Satan did not let Jesus slide during his weakest moment this would let him make a stab at us who would follow.)

B Three times, Satan made a run at Jesus in his desire to defeat Gods’ plan to deal with sin. (Luke 4:1-13)

1. Look close at verse 13. “Until an opportune time.”

2. Mark tells us in 1:13 that “The angels were ministering to him.”

(Also in Matt.4: 11)

Note: From that moment on, Our Lord ‘Whom without sin’ (Heb.4: 15) could understand what it is like to face Satan in the flesh. (When we come face to face with temptation, we need him to lead us onto victory in which is won only through his power.

III. The second place we see angels, is in the Garden of Gethsemane. (The night before his death on the cross.) (Luke22: 42-44

In just a short time, Judas would betray him with a kiss, and that would open the door for Jesus to be beaten then hung on the cross as a thief.

1. It was at this place and time in history, that Jesus needed the inner power in order to face what no other creation has ever imaged much less faced themselves. (Oh, to become sin for those who hated him.)

2. At a crucial time, the angels came to assist him and strengthen him.

(The men slept but not the angels.)

ANGELS AT THE RESURRECTION

The angels were present throughout our Lord’s life; they were there before he was born, they were there to hail his birth in the flesh, when he ended his life on the cross; they were there and it was the angels that rolled the stone away at the tomb. (Matt.28:2)

1. What a great job. (John 20:11,12)

2. One of the angels proclaimed the greatest truth that has ever been heard.( Think of

the message of hope. Jesus overcame death, the darkness of the grave, and the sunshine where darkness use to be.)

THE ASCENSION AND THE ANGELS

The Book of Acts opens with the Ascension of the Lord. (Acts 1:9-11)

1. Picture it. The disciples felt sad, and maybe even felt like Jesus abandoned them. Tears filled their eyes and their lives; then God’s messengers appeared and reminded them of God’s promises in Christ.

2. We see that angels are found at every stage of God’s walk on Earth.

DEMONS

To say that Satanism and the worship of the Devil is on the up swing is to understate the obvious.

A. It seems a little strange in this age of man on the moon, but with people knowing more and more about the world, the human body and mind, to have them running around making alters of worship to Satan.

B C.S. Lewis in his book the Screw tape Letters tells us “there are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and feel an exclusive and unhealthy interest in them.

I. Is there a real revival of Satan, or are we over-reacting?

A. The first church of Satan in San Francisco led by Anton LaVey, its high priest help us with the question by the following statement: “The satanic age started in 1996. That is when God was proclaimed dead, the Sexual Freedom League came into prominence, and the hippies developed as a free sex culture.

1. We see Satanic worship places in every major city in the U.S.A. (We see this around the world, with a big move in Europe

2. We see a lot of folks letting the horoscopes dictate their every move. ( A lot of

people play with this, but we see a lot of people getting more and more into it. More and more people are calling the 800 numbers in T.V.)

B. Let us look at some of the attack points of Satan in our day.

1. We see an open worship of Satan in music. I will give you a list of Black Metal Bands and the words to their songs.

Note: To be fair, I must say a word about Country Music. The words of a lot of their

songs don’t bring glory to God.

Slayer: Alter of sacrifice declares “Learn the sacred words of praise, “Hail Satan”, off the album Reign in Blood.” Slayer was blamed for inspiring a Lake City teen in rural Arkansas, for attempting to kill his parents by beating as an offering to Satan. This is just one of the many songs that bring glory to Satan and the “dark side.” Another is King Diamond led by self-confessed Satanist Ken Peterson. His microphone stand is made of human bones shaped in an upside down cross. ( He is now the leader of the band “Merciful Fate”.)

The start of the Satanism movement in Rock can be traced back to Mick Jagger as he sang “Just call me Lucifer”. In the 70s the Rolling Stones posed as witches for the cover of the album “Their Satanic Majesties Request, or Goats Head Soup”

Led Zeppelin – Jimmy Page lead guitarist for the band once owned an occult bookstore.

The band Black Sabbath – has on the front fold out cover an upside down cross, the name is bad enough, but the band sings openly of demons.

Anthrax – named after a deadly disease, “misery loves company,” ended with this line I’ll kill you.

Danzig, DIO, Exodus, Grim Reaper, Halloween, Iron Maiden, Mega death, Metal Church, Metallica, Celtic Frost, Sam Harin, Sodom, Possessed, and Guns and Roses.

I don’t even need to list the movies. It seems like they are coming out every time we turn around. “I read of the churches that are letting the youth watch these movies. One for instance is “Rosemary’s Baby;” It grossed millions. The book sold over 2 ½ million copies.

2. The reason that this worship has reached the epidemic state I believe, is because we the church don’t want to face the fact that we need to address this sickness. The church wants to act like we don’t see it and that it will go away.

BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE EXISTANCE OF DEMONS

(Look at Luke 10:17-20)

I. Satan is shown as Lucifer, the first and most glorious creature of God, who fell into sin. (Isaiah 14: 12,13 and Ezekiel 28:16)

A. Satan is the king of darkness which is his kingdom ( Matthew 12:26)

1. Satan has an army that is organized and deadly. (Eph. 6: 11 – 12)

2. The Old Testament shows us that the worship of idols is demon worship by men.

B. The New Testament shows overwhelming evidence of existence of demons

1. The very birth of Jesus brings a powerful pouring out of evil (Matt 4: 1–10 and Mark 5:1– 10)

3. We have already seen how his ministry was under attack by the evil one and his

Helpers. (Luke 11:20)

B. It seems to me that if one believes in Satan then one has to understand that demons are his helpers.

1. The New Testament speaks of demons (James 2:19 and Rev 9:20)

A. A look at their nature is shown in Luke 4:33-35 and 6:18

B. Let us see the verses that tells of their activity. ( I Tim 4:1 ; Rev 16:14 ) Do we see I Tim 4:1 happening today?

C. How they oppose us as children of God. ( Eph 6: 10-20)

D. Where do they live or abode? ( Like 8:31 ; Rev 9:11 )

NOTE: The word “abyss” = the Greek word abossos means (deep or even bottomless pit.)

E. Let us hear of their doom in Matt. 25:41 the final victory will be God’s!

II. There are people that say demons only came before Jesus, or that he worked with the popular beliefs of his day in order to get the message across Accommodation theory.) Or these people may have had a mental illness that was not known in the time of Jesus. (Psychopathological).

A. But what do you do about Paul and the demons he came across.

( Acts 16:16-18)

B. It is a fine line for me to walk and I’m not telling you I have all the answers, but I know one thing, sin opens the door for Satan and his demons to wreck ones life.

‘Wrapping up on Angels, good and bad’

I. My Beloved, we as Christians are in the middle of a great conflict where our souls are at stake!

A. God has given angels to minister, at the same time, the devil and his bunch are trying to harass, tempt, and cause Christians to stumble at every turn.

B. It seems to me as your spiritual leader that we had better admit the war is going on and know how to fight.

II. Let us look at ways the Word of God tells us to fight and live the victory.

1. Start by putting on the whole armor of God.

NOTE: I said the whole armor. ( Eph 6:11)

2. Know Satan is out to hurt, and his ways. ( II Cor 2:11)

3. Give the devil no room to work in your life (Eph 4:27)

4. Resist the devil. This is where many fall short. James the Lord’s brother tells us how in James 4:17

5. Be of the right mind. Be on the look out for Satan. (I Pet 5:8)

6. Overcome the devil in the Blood of Jesus. (Rev 12:11)

7. Beat Satan by learning the Word of God. (I John 2:14)

8. Let him who is in you( The Holy Spirit of God) lead you.

(Romans 8:14, 15)

9. Use the name of Jesus to put evil thoughts, deeds, and even Satan on the run.

Pray in the name of Jesus! (John 14:14)

What will it be, God at the head of your life or Satan?’

Satan

The name means “Adversary or Opponent”, the chief or leader of fallen spirits or angels. We see in I Kings 11:14 the use of adversary or (Satan) in the same verse 23 of the same chapter.

I. We first see Satan in the book of Job (aside from the serpent in Gen. 3) Look at

Job 1:6-12 and 2:1.

A. We see him mixing with sons of God or the angels.

B. The Old Testament references to Satan are few, but he is consistently engaging in trying to mess up good things of God.

C. The New Testament is where we get our best look at this angel (Fallen) called Satan. But we do know that Satan was sin from the beginning (I John 3:8)

1. Names and titles of Satan in Scripture

A. Satan is called the Devil, this name is often translated, "demon" but it’s wrong. There is one devil and many demons. The word means in Greek and Hebrew "Accuser or better Slanderer." Being the enemy of God and man, he accuses man to God (Job 1:6-11, 2: 1-5 and Rev 12: 9,10). We also see this works in another way in Gen 3. He afflicts men with physical suffering (i.e.) Job again also see Acts 10:38.

B. The Devil or Satan also called the Dragon; this name can only be found in the book of Revelation where we find it twelve times. (In my study, it seems to me that the dragon is pictured as a large snake or monster like animal.) It appears, the roots go back to the idea of the snake, as being crafty, smart, etc. In the garden, Gen. 3 read the first verse.

C. The evil one: Evil, is the comprehensive term under which disturbances of God's divinely appointed will is stopped or interrupted. ( So the evil one is the root of all that which goes against God's will.) This is bigger than man alone, we see that Satan even led some of the angels to do sin.

D. Here are some of the names that were used for Satan, but we will not spend a lot of time on them: Angel of the bottomless pit (KJV) or most other translations used "The angel of the Abyss or Bottomless put. (Look at Revelation 9:11) (The only place outside of Rev that this meaning is found, is in Like 8:31and Rev 9:1,2) Prince of this World, Because John 12:31 tells us that his control will stop with the end of this world, as we know it.

E. Appllyon (Destroyer) (Rev. 9:11) & Abaddon ( Destruction ), Belial (2Cor. 6:15) means "Worthless, Wickedness, reckless, or the best understanding, lawlessness, when used of Satan. The understanding is personification of all that is bad. Beelzebub = Matt 10:25 and 12:24 the other gospels Mark and Luke use the name in the same way. Meaning = a heathen deity, believed to be the prince of evil spirit. It was also a word used for Beelzebul ( the god of dung) or a kinder term "The Lord of the flies" or the house of evil spirits.

The Satanic Bible

The Satanic Bible, written by the Church of Satan founded by Anton LeVay, it is a 272 page worship of the devil. Published in 1969, it became an instant best seller; topping the half-million mark. On some of the college campuses, it outsold the Christian Bible.

To understand where Anton was coming from, let me tell you about an opening in the book ‘where we see a very sad mixture of truth.’ From the Satanic Bible, “As a sixteen-year-old organ player in a carnival, I observed men lusting after half naked girls dancing at the carnival. Saturday nights and on Sunday mornings, when I would play the organ for a tent show evangelist at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children asking God to forgive them and purge them of their carnal desires. On the next Saturday night, they’d be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. I knew then that the Christian Church thrives on hypocrisy, and that mans carnal desires will win out.”

I. The nine Satanic Statements are listed below to help us see more clearly the attack of the Evil One.

1. Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence.

2. Satan represents vital existence, instead of spiritual pipe dreams.

3. Satan represents undefiled wisdom, instead of Hippocratic self deceit.

4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted

on ingrates.

5. Satan represents vengeance, instead of turning the other cheek.

6. Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for

Psychic vampires.

6. Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes ‘better more

often worse’ than those that walk on all fours, whom, because of his “divine spiritual and intellectual development," Has become the most vicious animal of all.

8. Satan represents all the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental or emotional gratification.

9. Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in

business all these years.

NOTE to the reader: Look at how many times these principals twist biblical statements to the extreme opposite. The Lord says "Turn the other cheek" Look at #5, ( The Bible of Satan says "Self - preservation is the highest law. He who turns the other cheek is a cowardly dog."

A. We see in both the O.T., and the N.T. to give to those who are in need. (Matthew 25:34 to the end of the chapter Romans 12:20 read #4.)

B. Another saying in the Satanic Bible, is "Why should I now hate my enemies? If I love them, does that not place me at their mercy?"

1. Now let us imagine, a person that has been hurt and feels like the world had let him or her down, and they have a big rebellious streak in them. (Think of a person that is looking for a cause to believe in repeating these statements over and over.)

A. The fact is that blasphemy is a big part of worshiping Satan, so the book has outrageous lines hurled against the Living God like "I dip my finger in the watery blood of your impotent mad redeemer, and write over the thorn-torn brow: the true prince of evil- the king of slaves.

B. The satanic Bible, on doing a Satan-Worship ceremony. All source of light except the lights of candles, are done away with. ( I will not go into it other than to say drugs, and sex are a part of it.)

THE SATANIC RITUALS

The author of the “Satanic Bible” Anton LaVey published the “Satanic Rituals” in 1972, a how-to-guide for the Satanist. The book claims that we are now living in the Age of Satan. It promises followers the ability to call the names of the gods of the Abyss with freedom from guilt and immunity from harm. The book tells the readers that “if they follow the rites and ceremonies outlined, it will give the person power and control over his or her destiny.”

1. LeVay's book, Satanic Rituals leads readers to see the rituals as a stage play

where the players and the success hinges on the participants belief and magical abilities. LaVey contends, “ One of the most important ideas is "Satanism demands study not worship!"

A. In addition to blasphemy, we must see that a lot of the ritual pornography, and sexism. (Often, the altar is a naked woman)

B. Perverted behavior is condoned. (Things, so sick that we find them hard to fathom much less see happening.) (The Lair Epais’ Ceremony) Ceremony of rebirth takes place in a large coffin. The coffin contains a nude woman whose task is to awaken lust in the dead man ( I will stop here because we get the idea)

C. Blood is also consumed in "The unknown Known" Ritual. ( LaVey also prophesies quote "The twentieth century has prepared us, for the future and the coming of Age of Fire. The infant is learning to walk, and by the first working year of his Age - that is to say 1948. He will have steadied his steps, and by the next 2002 - he will have attained maturity"

THE BLACK MASS

This is the best known ritual. Black Mass came into being about the Middle Ages as retaliation for the Christian Mass.

1. A goat or symbol of obscene figure of Christ is places in the altar. Black

candles are burned, and the chalice is filled with blood. ( Again a nude woman serves as the altar with mass being celebrated)

A. Backwards prayers are offered ( Traditionally the people who are worshiping

are nude except for robes that have Satanic symbols)

B. When a child is sacrificial, the Child’s blood is mixed blood, of others in the chalice.

NOTE: Ceremonialism is not a high priority for the informal occult, so we see a kind of mix and match worship. (The intent of most Satanists, is to hype themselves up for sex, drugs and self indulgence that leads to all kinds of criminal and moral actions. ) If you think this is just a fad, let us look a just one, of the cover stories, as the modern era of the devil is heralded on. June19,1972 when the hooded symbol of Satan glared from the cover of “Time” Magazine with the headline: “The occult revival – Satan returns.”

THE CRIME OF THE 90’s

On September 27, 1987, the Minneapolis Star Tribune came out with the headlines “Police Expert Warns of Satanism” the story told of how police had found computer records linking child molestation rings with a nationwide link. Investigators thought the network is informal, passed on by families and friends and from one generation to the next. Circumstantial evidence showed nationwide covens of child molesters are in touch with each other.

How many Satanists are there?

Most sources, place the number at around sixty thousand hard-core Satanists nationwide; the biggest group in California.

THE ATTRACTION OF EVIL

1. Who are those deceived by the Evil One and his followers"

A. As I have came to this point it seems to me that the first thing in a low self-esteem. ( They are looking for something that makes them feel valuable.)

B. Most are angry in one way or another.

NOTE: As I look at the people that get sucked into the occult, I see the status of the family has little to do if whether they are coming to worship Satan.

Case: Matamoras, Mexico across the border from Brownsville Texas. A Satanic drug ring kidnapped and murdered innocent victims as sacrifices to Satan. In April 1989, 15 bodies were uncovered.

C. So, the Place of the family, on the economic scale makes little or no difference. (Most of those people involved with the sacrifices in Matamoras, were from upper-middle class families.)

D. Most of those returning to Satan, are trying to get rid of psychic pain.

5. They are selfish in nature.

F. They are rebellious.

DEVOTIONAL

I. Satan knows who the Christ is! (Mk 1:24, Mk 1:34, Mk 5:7, and Luke 4:41)

A. Jesus did not want to reveal himself to mankind yet, the demons knew him, and showed fear.

B. The demons know Christ, but they have not taken him as Lord! (This shoots those who say, they believe that there is a God, in the foot, if they think believing in God's existence.)

11. We must know our enemy, in order to defeat them. (2 Cor. 2:11)

A. We see Paul warning us about letting ourselves to be led astray, by this cunning killer. (2 Co. 11:3)

B. We had better be ready for war! (Eph 6:11)

C. Folks, we must see that Satan can and will use counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders. (2 Th 2:9)

Take this page and go back and look at the scriptures, read them, pray over them, and seek the face and wisdom of God.

Compiled by Bro. Brett Castle - Pastor
East Baptist Church of Denison, TX
http://www.ebchurch.com