Spiritual Beings

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What are angels? Do Christians become angels when they die? Do angels have wings? What are seraphim and cherubim? What are demons? Who Is Satan?

Welcome to Session 6 of Discovering Good News in John. Today we’ll talk about supernatural beings, beginning with angels.

I. What Are Angels?

Hebrews 1:14 explains that angels are “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.” So they are spiritual beings. We cannot see them unless God opens our eyes to see them or they take on a physical manifestation. Angels are intelligent, personal beings. They are not omniscient but long to see God’s plans for humans unfold. Second Peter 2:11 tells us they are stronger than people. Revelation 5:11 numbers angels at “myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.”

The Hebrew and Greek words translated “angel” simply mean “messenger.” When those words are used of a being who is clearly human, they’re translated “messenger” or “ambassador.” But when they’re used of a spiritual being, they’re translated “angel.”

That points to one of their primary tasks: delivering messages from God to humans. But they have other tasks as well. Angels guard God’s people, worship God, rejoice when people turn to Christ, and watch humans (Psalm 91:11; Luke 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:9; Hebrews 12:22). We can be encouraged that God has sent powerful, invisible beings to care for his people.

Do Christians Become Angels When They Die?

In Charles Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop, a child says to the lovely and kind orphan, Little Nell, “Why, they say… that you will be an angel, before the birds sing again.” In other words, Little Nell will die and become an angel before morning. Comic strips often portray dead people in heaven with wings and halos lounging on fluffy clouds, thus reinforcing the idea that good people become angels.

But the Bible doesn’t teach that people become angels. In fact, angels are a different type of created being than humans. In Matthew 22:30, Jesus said,

For in the resurrection they [meaning people] neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

Matthew 22:30

Notice he said the resurrected will be like angels in that they won’t marry, but he did not say they would become angels.

Angels don’t marry because they don’t reproduce. God created two humans, Adam and Eve, who then bore children to generate more humans. In contrast, God created all the angels, as Psalm 148 describes:

Praise him, all his angels;
       praise him, all his hosts!
…
        For he commanded and they were created.

Psalm 148:2,5

God Created Angels Before He Created Adam and Eve

In Job 38:4-7, God told Job this:

Where were you when
I laid the earth’s foundation?
…
On what were its footings set,
        or who laid its cornerstone—
while the morning stars sang together
        and all the angels shouted for joy?

Job 38:4-7 (NIV)

So God created angels before he laid earth’s foundation.

Angels and Humans Have Different Roles in the End Times

Notice too how Jesus distinguishes between people and angels in Matthew 13: 47–50:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:47–50

At the end of the age, then, angels will separate wicked humans from the righteous.

What Happens to Those Made Righteous?

The righteous do not become angels. However, something more wonderful than that is in store for God’s children.

The Lord Jesus Christ…will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.

Philippians 3:20-21

We will receive an imperishable body, raised in glory and power, a spiritual body that bears the image of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:42-49).

So godly people do not become angels when they die. Instead, we will have a resurrected body like Jesus’s glorious body.

Another question about angels is do they have wings?

Do Angels Have Wings?

It may shock you, but the Bible never describes angels as having wings. That shocked me the first time I heard it. After all, artists commonly portray angels as winged females. But when angels appear to humans, people often mistake them for male humans. For example, in Genesis 19, the residents of Sodom think that the two angels at Lot’s house are mere men. That wouldn’t have happened if they were sporting wings.

That angels can be mistaken for men is why Hebrews 13:2 instructs:

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Hebrews 13:2

Again, who could be unaware that a guest was an angel if feathery appendages were peeking out?

Now, angels are sometimes described as ascending into heaven, as at Jesus’s birth in Luke 2:15. But Jesus also ascended into heaven, and he was wingless.

Does that mean artists shouldn’t depict angels with wings? No, not at all. When we see a painting of a being that looks human except for a pair of feathered wings, we know the artist means to portray an angel. Its identity is recognizable. And we don’t really know what invisible angels would look like when God isn’t causing them to appear human-like before us.

II. What Are Seraphim, Cherubim, and the Living Creatures?

The Bible does ascribe wings to other heavenly beings, however: seraphim, cherubim, and living creatures.

Isaiah 6 describes seraphim with six wings each who minister at the Lord God’s throne and declare God’s holiness to each other. One seraph cleanses Isaiah’s sin with coal from the altar.

Near Valentine’s Day each year, images of a chubby cherub with baby-like features and two small wings abound. But Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10 describe cherubim as having four wings, hands under their wings, feet like a calf’s foot, and four faces (human, lion or cherub, ox, and eagle). They are covered with eyes.

After Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden, cherubim blocked the way to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:24). Two golden cherubim were attached to the lid of the ark of the covenant, one on each side (Exodus 25:18-20). The curtains of the tabernacle and the veil were embroidered with cherubim (Exodus 26:1,31). Solomon’s temple walls had cherubim carvings (2 Chronicles 3:7). The Most Holy Place had two giant wooden cherubim overlaid with gold (2 Chronicles 3:10); their wings extended 30 feet (verse 13).

Revelation 4:6-8 describes four living creatures with six wings and eyes all over them. One is like a lion, one like an ox, another like an eagle, and one has a human face. They may each be a type of cherub. Or they may be heavenly

“representatives of the created order.”

G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, 1100

III. What Are Demons?

Just as the caricatures of angels and cherubim differ from Bible descriptions, so do the caricatures of demons. They’re usually depicted as red with two little horns, goat feet, and a long tail. They’re often shown carrying a pitchfork.

Demons are fallen angels. So that makes them created, spiritual beings. They fell some time before Satan tempted Eve. They are not omniscient, so presumably they cannot hear our thoughts; they can, however, learn much by watching us and listening to our conversations.

Demons Are Limited in Power

They are not omnipotent. God limits what they can do. 2 Peter 2:4 tells us:

God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment.

2 Peter 2:4

The Greek word translated “hell” here is Tartarus, which is not the usual word for hell (Gehenna) but refers to a temporary holding place. Some think there are two classes of evil angels—those who are in chains and those who are free to do their work on earth—but others think it’s more likely that demons are bound in some way that limits what they can do.

Demons Need God’s Permission to Act Against Us

Another restraint on demons is that they cannot do anything that God does not permit. In the book of Job, Satan accused Job of being faithful only because God gave him everything that he wanted. He asked God for permission to test Job to prove whether Job was truly faithful to God or merely obedient to earn goodies. Job 1:8-12 reads:

And 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?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have 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. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And 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 1:8-12

Notice two important concepts. First, Satan needed God’s permission to test Job. Second, Satan implies that if God had given him everything he wanted, he might not have rebelled.

Demons Deceive

Demons deceive humans and promote false doctrines. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:1 that

The Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.

1 Timothy 4:1

They also promote false religions, accepting worship and sacrifices from people. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:20 that

What pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God.

1 Corinthians 10:20

That is why Paul warns against accepting messages from angels that contradict Scripture:

But 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.

Galatians 1:8

Both Joseph Smith and Muhammad started new religions (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Islam), saying an angel told them to do so.

Revelation 9:20 tells us that worship of demons will continue until the Lord Jesus comes back.

Demons can cause physical ailments, though most ailments are not caused by them; rather, they are caused by the fact that we live on a fallen and cursed planet. Demons try to impede spiritual growth. They tempt people to sin.

In this discussion of demons, I’ve mentioned Satan several times. So who is Satan?

Who Is Satan?

The name Satan means adversary. He’s also called the devil, the accuser, the tempter, and Beelzebub, among other names. As we read this week, Jesus calls him the father of lies and a murderer.

Satan is the “prince of demons,” according to Matthew 12:24.  Revelation 12:9 describes him as head of the fallen angels:

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Revelation 12:9

The main way Satan opposes God is by tempting humans. Just as he deceived Eve in the garden by telling her that God lied when he said that eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil would bring death, so he deceives people today. He disguises himself as an angel of light, according to 2 Corinthians 11:14. He also blinds the minds of non-Christians to keep them from responding to the gospel—that’s 2 Corinthians 4:4.

While God made Adam and Eve the rulers of this world, when they listened to Satan instead of to God, Satan ruled the earth, as we shall see in our reading this week in John 12:31.

Should People Fear Satan and Demons?

Only if they’re not Christians. I suspect that my mom and I flirting with witchcraft and my dad pursuing extra-sensory perception opened our household to some demonic activity. In chapter 5, I shared about how an encounter with what I now know was a demon caused me to cry out to Jesus. I had no power in me to stop him. But the instant I called out to Jesus, Jesus stopped the demon.

When we turn to Jesus as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes inside of us. Then, 1 John 4:3–4 assures us:

Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God… Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1 John 4:3–4

Moreover, 1 John 5:18 reads:

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he [Jesus] who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

1 John 5:18

The word translated “touch” in this passage is the same word used in Matthew 9:21 to describe the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’s garment.

We Have Protective Armor

Ephesians 6:10-18 explains that we need the whole armor of God to stand against the devil’s schemes.

• We take on the helmet of salvation at the moment we’re saved—and that’s the first step toward not needing to fear demonic activity.
• Likewise, we put on the shoes of the gospel of peace when we accept the gospel as true and then believe and proclaim its message.
• We take on the belt of truth when we commit to honesty with God, ourselves, and others, and when we combat lies with the truths that we learn from God’s Word.
• We put on the breastplate of righteousness when we commit to obeying God’s commands and when we confess and turn from our sins.
• We take up the shield of faith when we believe God’s words to us and act on those beliefs, trusting God.
• And we take the sword of the Spirit that is the Word of God when we know God’s Word and use it to fight the enemies’ deceptions with the truth of God’s word.
• Finally, when we pray at all times, we are calling to God to help us.

We Can Resist the Devil

James 4:7 tells us:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

First Peter 5:8–11 gives another encouragement:

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. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:8–11

Yes, we have spiritual enemies. But they cannot take our salvation, and they can do nothing that God doesn’t permit. 1 Corinthians 6:3 tells us we will judge angels at the end of the age. Then the devil and his fallen angels with him will be thrown into the lake of fire where they can never again tempt, deceive, or torment.

Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit is in us, strengthening and growing us. One day we’ll be clothed with glorious, resurrected bodies. We’ll join the Father and Jesus in the new heavens and earth. We’ll be with them forever.

In Conclusion

Today we saw that angels are created, spiritual beings who minister to God’s people. People do not become angels when they die but will be resurrected to live in God’s kingdom in the new heavens and earth eternally. Seraphim and cherubim are winged heavenly creatures. Demons are fallen angels who attempt to deceive humans but whose end is sure

This week in Discovering Good News in John, complete chapter 6: The Resurrection and the Life. We’ll answer the question, What evidence did Jesus offer that he had power over death?

Join the Discussion

1. What one thought stuck out to you in this week’s video? Why did it stand out?
2. What one thought stuck out to you from this week’s chapter? Why did it stand out?
3. Question 30, page 109: Think of someone you shepherd. How can you act as a good shepherd who puts the sheep’s needs first rather than as the faithless shepherds who seek power, control, and other’s praise?

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You Might Also Like

• For more on combatting lies, see Fight Fear with Truth and Rip Off Joy-killing False Beliefs
• For more on deceptions by supernatural beings, see Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

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