Angelology 101
Pastor:
Pastor Mike
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Sermon Date:
2010-07-24
Our culture is fascinated with angels and demons. Author Dan Brown followed up The DaVinci Code with a bestseller entitled Angels and Demons. City of Angels was a movie about a spiritual being who wanted to become human because he’d fallen in love with Meg Ryan. 2010 gave us Legion, where an angel was sent to destroy humanity because God was fed up with people. Brad Pitt played the angel of death in Meet Joe Black. In It’s a Wonderful Life, Clarence, a guardian angel, saved a suicidal man. Angels in the Outfield is Disney’s take on angels…and, yes, it does have a happy ending. And Dogma is a blasphemous movie where Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play two angels who’ve been booted out of heaven and sent to…Wisconsin!
Hollywood has never been known for its theological accuracy, so what’s the truth about angels? Where did they come from? What do they do? What do they look like? Do we all have a guardian angel? Did my grandma turn into an angel? And what about demons? Can they hurt you? Possess you? Carry you to hell? There is no one chapter of God’s Word to answer those questions. So today let’s scan the pages of the good book to find some good answers to the top 7 questions about angels and demons. Since we’ll cover more points than we often do, I’d encourage you to fill-in-the-blanks in your bulletin as we go.
Question #1: Did God create angels and demons? Answer: Sort of. God is the creator. We confess, “I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible.” So the invisible angels were created by God. Colossians 1 says, “For by [Christ] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.” So angels were created by God during creation week (blank #1).
But does that mean God created the devil and the demons? Well, that’s the “sort of.” God did create them, but he created them 100% holy. The devil was a good angel. The demons were faithful servants of God. But, unfortunately, that wasn’t good enough for them. They rebelled. 2 Peter 2 tells us, “God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell.” Jude 6 says some “angels abandoned their own home.” And 1 Tim. 3 encourages us not to “become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.” So it appears the devil and some of the angels became proud, rebelled against God, and were cast out of heaven. We now call them Satan and the demons.
Question #2: Do good people turn into angels? You might read that on a Hallmark card if a toddler tragically dies. “God needed another angel in heaven.” Or when grandpa passes. “Now he’s got his wings and he’s flying around up there with the angels.” That’s actually what the Mormons teach. For example, they claim Adam, the first man, became the archangel Michael and Noah, the dude from the flood, turned into the angel Gabriel. So are Hallmark and the Mormons right? Answer: No. In fact, when the Bible gives us glimpses of heaven, it makes a distinction between the great crowd of believers who lived on earth and the angels in heaven. So your baptized baby boy is in paradise, but he’s not an angel. And he is perfectly happy without wings. And your grandpa is filled with unending joy in heaven. But not flying around like the angels.
Question #3: What do angels look like? Do a Google image search and you’ll find three categories: First, there are the tempting angels—Pictures of Charlie’s Angels or shots of Victoria Secrets angels not dressed very angel-y. Second, there are the cute angels—Chunky babies at some JC Penny photo studio sitting on a pile of cotton balls with silky wings strapped to their back. Finally, there are the warrior angels—They have swords, body-builder arms, and look like they could kill you. Now which of the three do you think is correct? (Raise up a number) The Bible has the answer. Remember when Jesus was born? “There were shepherd living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were (say it with me) terrified!” Terrified! Do you think a JC Penny chubby baby-angel would terrify the shepherds? “Aaaahhh! He’s going to drool on me!!!” Or think of Jesus’ resurrection. Matthew 28 says, “The angel’s appearance was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.” Trained guards, swords on their hips, white as ghosts. Charlie’s Angels wouldn’t have that effect. But God’s powerful angels do. When they don’t disguise themselves as an average human being (which happens in the Bible), angels are mighty spirits who make Harley riders tremble. So put the cutesy angel crafts in the garbage. Burn the cross-stitched sweater. Angels are powerful warriors of God.
Question #4: What do angels and demons do? Short answer: Angels help us. Demons try to harm us (answer). Let’s start with the demons. Do you know the most dangerous moment in a football game? The time when the coach wants to get his star quarterback off the field? It’s when the opponent is getting killed and there’s no time to come back and he’s ticked at the referee. That’s when frustration and embarrassment turns into an injury-causing rage. Now listen to God’s Word. “Woe to the earth…because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short…[The devil] went off to make war against those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” The devil and his demons are filled with fury because they lost. Their rebellion turned into a sentence in hell. And now the only thing they can do is try to take you with them. That means using false teaching, sinful desires, personal feelings, deceit, lies, doubt, unbelief, and bad experiences to pull you away from God’s Word and push you into hell.
And the devil is good at what he does. His lies are endless, “There are a lot of paths to God. Don’t limit yourself to Jesus.” “You tried reading the Bible before. Remember how useless it was?” “God wouldn’t have created you with these feelings if he didn’t want you to act on them.” “There are some sinful people at that church. Maybe you should just be spiritual and not religious.” “Prayer doesn’t work. You know that from experience.” “It’s your body. It’s your life. It’s your money.” Those are lies. This is a war. And the devil and the demons want to separate you from your church, from the Bible, and from God. They want to spiritually kill you.
The angels, on the other hand, are servants of God who help you. In the Bible, they often brought messages from God. “A Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.” “[Jesus] is not here! He is risen!” But they do more than that. Sometimes angels keep evil far away from us. Sometimes they prevent tragedies from happening. Sometimes they punish wicked people. While God doesn’t say specifically if angels keep cars on the road, kids from falling down the stairs, or speak to us when we’ve lost our keys, the Bible is clear that angels serve and protect God’s people. In heaven we may find out just how often angels helped us in this life.
Question #5: What about demon possession? Soon after I came to Eastside, I was asked to cast out a demon. “You need to come to my house,” the woman said, “I think it’s possessed.” I’m not sure what you know about our seminary, but Demon-Casting-Out 101 isn’t currently offered. As I drove to her place on the east side, I had images of Ghostbusters and I wondered if Home Depot sold those containment devices from the movie. So I prayed…a lot…grabbed my Bible and got myself amped up to fight a demon. That night, I pulled into her driveway. I listened for voices. I glanced in the windows as I approached the front door. Trying to steady my hand, I rang the doorbell. And when she opened the door, I went inside. I held my breath and looked down every dark hallway. We sat down in the living room. And she told me, “My husband is hitting me. Our marriage is a wreck. Two of my family members lost their jobs. I’m worried. Pastor, I think there’s a demon in my house.”
And I said, “Whew!” What that woman was suffering wasn’t a case of demon possession, but demon influence. Her husband was doing demonic things. Her sinful nature was worrying, just like Satan wanted. But sinful problems are different than demon possession. This woman needed to get to a safe place, read God’s Word, and pray, not call an exorcist. Demon possession is something else. It’s when a demon takes control of a person’s body and causes physical and psychological damage. Even in our day, pastors have shared stories with me of the demon-possessed.
So could you be possessed? I’m not sure. It’s difficult to say if the biblical accounts of possession involve believers or those who had walked away from God. So I’ll avoid an unbiblical assumption and simply say this: Stay away from the devil. James 4 says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” The best way to avoid demon possession is to resist the teachings and tools of demons. Don’t mess with the occult. Don’t play with Ouija boards. Don’t dabble in astrology or Satanism or witchcraft. Don’t get close enough for Satan to bite you. He is like a rabid dog on a steel chain. Stay on the path of God and he can’t reach you. Wander off the path into his front yard and you might get bit…or possessed. So stay far away.
Question #6: Do you have a guardian angel? Answer: Maybe. Our gospel lesson today implied angels are connected to us personally. But does every Christian have one specific angel? God doesn’t say. One angel might serve you your entire life. Many angels might share that task. If you’re clumsy and absent-minded, God might need a whole army of angels just for you! (Just kidding) What we can say is that it essentially doesn’t matter. All angels are powerful. All angels love God. All angels want what’s best for us. It’s not like if you lose “your angel”, you’ll get stuck with the angel who barely graduated guardian school. The one who takes a nap when you drive in Chicago traffic or reads the paper while you’re fixing your roof. So whether the same angel reports to you day after day or God uses multiple angels, don’t worry about it. You’re in good hands.
And last and far from least, question #7: How can we defeat the devil and the demons? Answer: Not by yourself. On your own, you should be terrified of demons. They have been around since creation week. They know human nature. They understand how to tempt you. They are immensely more powerful than you are. The devil is like a roaring lion and the last time I checked you and a lion in the jungle didn’t turn out well for you.
So how can you defeat the demons? Answer: Jesus. Because Jesus is immensely more powerful than even the devil himself. Think back to Genesis 3. God the Father promised the devil, “[Jesus] will crush your head.” And Hebrews 2 declares, “Jesus destroyed him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” Or just read Luke 8, “[The disciples] sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" The demons have to beg Jesus. They fall at his feet. They are petrified of him. Why? Because Jesus is true God.
Since Jesus is true God, the followers of Jesus can defeat the devil and every demon. Because Jesus crushed evil. Jesus ripped open the hands of the devil and rescued sinners like us. Jesus cleansed us from our sins, giving Satan nothing to accuse us of. Jesus transformed death from the final breath before we join the devil in hell to the final breath before we join God in heaven. With Jesus, the devil is defeated. Not a roaring lion, but a mangy cat. With Jesus, the demons are not to be feared, but mocked as pathetic enemies who have been trounced in this spiritual war. As Martin Luther wrote in his famous hymn, “Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us; we tremble not, we fear no ill, they cannot overpower us.” With Jesus Christ as your Savior, your Protector, your God, you need not fear. Are there demons in your basement? Who cares? God will protect his children. He will keep you in his mighty hand.
With Jesus at our side, we will avoid two extremes—To make too little of demons and to make too much of demons. We will not deny their existence, their power, or their hatred of God. We will not paint the devil as a mischievous, pitchfork carry rascal, but as a seething enemy of the Church. But we will not panic. Instead we will talk trash to Satan as we hold our Bibles high. Your Bible is the best weapon to fight the devil. It speaks truth to expose his lies. It fills us with light and life. It keeps us far from hell and on the path to heaven.
Friends, with God’s Word in our hands, our Savior’s forgiveness in our hearts, and the angels at our sides, we can claim the words of Romans 8, “I am convinced that…neither angels nor demons…will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That’s the truth. Amen.
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