During my many visits to the San Blas region of Panama to minister to the Indigenous Kuna people, I had several supernatural experiences. Along with the Holy Spirit convicting thousands of people of the truth of the Gospel and many coming to Christ, there was also much demonic activity as the “ruler of this present age” was blinding the eyes of these precious people. I witnessed a man trying to drown himself in the ocean. We couldn’t keep him in the canoe, he jumped overboard and face-planted in coral on the edge of the island. Anyone else would have been unconscious after such a blow, but this man immediately jumped up and ran off down the sandy beach towards the village. When we found him, amulets and chanting spells surrounded him trying to ward off the demons that were perusing him. As we shared the power of Jesus and freedom, He could see them all around, and the invisible battle became more intense, and he eventually ran off again.
Supernatural activity is not just constrained to the third world. People are curious, and as Christians, we are poised to deliver the best response because we have been redeemed by a supernatural, all-powerful, Creator that is divinely interested in His creation. He is not a conspiracy, but a Divine Being that has all creation in His hands, and nothing surprises Him.
… evil is not winning, nor will it ever win. Click To TweetSome of the most intriguing creations in Scripture are heavenly or angelic beings. Our world has tried to depict these creatures in art, with white robes, wings, harps, flashes of light, and feminine features. What does God’s Word say about these angelic creatures as well as their dark counterparts?
Ephesians 6:12 describes our struggle, as believers, not being against things we see, but against mighty powers in the dark world and heavenly places.
When the unseen meets the seen, we encounter a battle. This battle rages, and the spoils of war are the souls of men and women. The crossover between the spiritual and natural has always been part of human history. We may be oblivious to the war raging around us, but it affects us still. Like the wind — it is unseen, but its effects are seen with the debris and destruction that it can bring.
Angelic Beings
Genesis 3:24 introduces us to Cherubim as guardians of the Garden of Eden. We also find them in Exodus 25 as guardians of the arc of the covenant. Cherubim have wings, and God’s presence sits over them.
Isaiah 6:1-3 tells us about the Seraphim. They have wings and continually minister to God Almighty in His throne room.
Revelation 12:4 shows that there were innumerable angels created. Angels have a hierarchy. Two notable Archangels are mentioned in Scripture: Gabriel – the messenger angel, and Michael – the angel of war.
Spiritual Evil
We find in Scripture that a third of heavenly beings chose to follow Lucifer when he rebelled against God.
Satan is the arch-rebel depicted by the imagery of the snake (Genesis 3) and “sin” (Genesis 4). He is known as the deceiver, the tempter or Lucifer. He is a thief, a liar, the accuser, and only seeks to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10).
Demons are lower-level spiritual rebels who deceive humans into exalting their empires to a divine status. These are lesser spiritual beings that work to animate the fallen nature of humankind. Sometimes referred to as fallen angels. A fallen angel no longer is an angel as the word angel means messenger of the good news. An angel who becomes a demon loses his title.
Another spiritual evil was the deceased spirits of the Nephilim (Rephaim) who endure a shadowy existence in the underworld. This bizarre group is explained in Genesis 6 and
2 Peter 2:4-5.
Application
No matter how dark it looks around us, evil is not winning, nor will it ever win. Jesus has won. He conquered death, hell, and the grave. He removed Satan’s power and took the keys from the prince of darkness and set the captives free (Luke 4:18).
God has created supernatural beings for His purposes. We are not to search for nor pray to angels. We are not to confront demons or rebuke Satan. Although angels are God’s servants, He only sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die for humanity. We have a large part to play in His plan of redemption. We should not occupy all our time thinking about angels and demons, but we surely should not ignore them.
“The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out.” John 12:31
Note: the before-mentioned Kuna man later came to Christ and was freed from the demonic oppression. His story, like many others on the islands, shows of the power and grace of God.
Click here to read the Introduction to the series, Why Study Theology
Click here to read part one of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Bibliology
Click here to read part two of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Theology Proper (available October 29, 2019)
Click here to read part four of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Pneumatology (available October 31, 2019)
Click here to read part five of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Angelology (available November 1, 2019)
Click here to read part six of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Ecclesiology (available November 4, 2019)
Click here to read part seven of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Anthropology (available November 5, 2019)
Click here to read part eight of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Hamartiology (available November 6, 2019)
Click here to read part nine of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Soteriology (available November 7, 2019)
Click here to read part ten of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Eschatology (available November 8, 2019)
Click here to read part eleven of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Dispensationalism (available November 8, 2019)
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