DON’T Overemphasize Demons and DON’T Worship Angels
Some ministers & Christians speak as if there’s a demon behind every bush. The problem with this is that they’re putting so much emphasis on a defeated foe that it becomes a veritable testimony to the devil & his filthy spirits. In essence, they’re praising the kingdom of darkness (!). But notice what the Bible says about our enemy:
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he [Christ] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Colossians 2:15
The Mighty Christ disarmed the kingdom of darkness, by making “a public spectacle” of these fallen angels through his death and resurrection. The phrase “a public spectacle” is likely figurative, but it literally refers to a victory parade where a conquering army would parade their defeated enemies through the streets to the cheers & jeers of the exuberant crowds. God’s Word is telling us that this is essentially what happened to the devil & his loser minions through the Messiah’s death & resurrection. Notice how another translation puts it:
He stripped the rulers and authorities [of their power] and made a public spectacle of them as he celebrated his victory in Christ.
Colossians 2:15 (God’s Word)
Get ahold of the fact that Satan & his wicked spirits are stripped of their authority and power when it comes to spiritually-regenerated believers. If you’re a reborn follower of Christ this means YOU. We should only speak of the kingdom of darkness in terms of their defeat. We must not speak as if we’re testifying to the great things the enemy is doing, but rather proclaim them to be defeated foes because that’s what the Word of God says they are! Since Christ already won the victory we must not fight as if we’re fighting the battle over again; instead, we simply enforce the victory.
As far as there being “a demon behind every bush,” keep in mind that the devil was only able to mislead about one-third of the angels (Revelation 12:3-4). Yes, the Bible describes Satan as the “god of this world” and so his minions are causing havoc on the Earth (2 Corinthians 4:4), BUT they’re stripped of their authority and power when it comes to believers who are born-again of the seed of Christ. ‘Seed’ is “sperm” in the Greek and therefore believers are born of the sperm of Christ, spiritually speaking (1 John 3:9)! As such, we’re co-heirs with Christ through spiritual rebirth (Romans 8:17)!
It’s imperative that you get a hold of this if you want to walk in victory. We are “more than conquerors” through the Mighty Conqueror (Romans 8:37)! Jesus already did the hard part—defeating the enemy—all we have to do is “fight the good fight of faith” by conducting spiritual warfare and standing in faith (1 Timothy 6:12). “Spiritual warfare,” by the way, simply means overcoming demonic attacks via the spiritual tools that God has provided us. You’ve been given authority and power to overcome all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). ‘Authority’ means the right to rule whereas ‘power’ means the ability to rule. You have both over the kingdom of darkness. Speak like it; act like it!
The New Testament declares that “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). The Holy Spirit (God) who is in you is greater than the defeated one who’s in the world; that is, the devil & his filthy spirits. Make this your confession and testimony. Say: “Greater is God, who’s in me through the Holy Spirit, than the devil & his wicked minions who are in the world!” Remember, words have the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21). Speak life, not death!
We Have ’em Outnumbered!
There will always be believers foolishly misled by “deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). This is unfortunately true, but it doesn’t have to be YOU. That’s why grasping what the Bible says about angels is so important; and that’s why this site features so many articles on angels, whether in league with the Lord or in rebellion against the kingdom of light. The body of Christ worldwide needs to grasp the angels of God in our midst. There are also evil spirits and there is a devil, but we have ’em out-powered and out-numbered! Remember, Lucifer only misled a fraction of the angels to join in his asinine insurgence.
Consider the example of Elisha & his assistant when the king of Aram sent an army with horses & chariots to capture the prophet in Dothan. The king’s forces surrounded the city at night and look what happened the next morning:
When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
2 Kings 6:15-17
The servant’s eyes were opened to see in the spiritual realm and he thus saw the hills full of angelic horses and chariots of fire. With these invisible angelic legions on their side, Elisha & his servant had the imposing Arameans outnumbered!
Twelve Legions of Angels
Or consider Jesus’ words to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane where he was threatened with arrest after Judas’ betrayal. Peter tried to defend the Lord with his sword, but Jesus stopped him saying, “Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53).
Jesus had to submit to this unjust arrest because it was God’s will and it corresponded to prophecy, but he said it was within his authority to pray for the assistance of twelve legions of angels, if necessary. A Roman legion at the time of Christ amounted to 5,120 soldiers; so twelve legions of angels would be about 61,500 angels. Just keep in mind that Jesus said “more than” twelve legions of angels.
“Those who are with us are more than those who are with them”
Remember Elisha’s assuring words to his servant: “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” This is a fact; get ahold of it!
On top of this, the Bible emphatically declares—as noted above—that “the one who is in you [the Holy Spirit] is greater than the one who is in the world [the devil and his loser followers]” (1 John 4:4). Let’s get excited about the good spirits of God, including the Holy Spirit who’s in us, and not be so concerned about the defeated filthy spirits.
The bottom line is this: There are angels working for us and they outnumber the demons working against us, but let’s not get out of balance by overemphasizing either or, worse, allow ourselves to be seduced into the “worship of angels” (Colossians 2:18).
Cults Tend to Start With Some Kind of Angelic Visitation
If you’ve ever studied cults or false religions you know that many of them started with an angelic visitation. A good example is Mormonism with the angel Moroni, who started visiting Joseph Smith in the early 1800s. While this “Moroni” was an angel, he was obviously a fallen angel.
Another good example is Islam, which originated when Muhammad was visited by an angel masquerading as Gabriel in a cave near Mecca. Again, this was a fallen angel.
Needless to say, let’s keep our eyes on the LORD, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) and not get sidetracked by an unhealthy overemphasis on angels, fallen or otherwise. Amen?
Be Aware of Angels and Partake of their Services, but DON’T Worship Them
Because angels are supernatural beings they’re fascinating creatures and we should appreciate them and take advantage of their services, but we must not entertain any temptation to worship them. ‘Worship’ is proskuneó (pros-koo-NAY-oh) in the Greek, which literally means “to acknowledge and adore by kissing the ground in prostration.” The apostle John was tempted to do this twice with an angel while he was receiving the revelation of Jesus Christ imprisoned on the Island of Patmos. Notice what this angel says to John on these occasions:
So I fell at his feet to worship to him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!”
Revelation 19:10
But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
Revelation 22:9
It’s important to understand this because the Bible warns us that the worship of angels stems from an “unspiritual mind” and it is a key element of those who try to mislead believers (Colossians 2:18). Cults thus put undue emphasis on either heavenly angels or fallen spirits. Do not be misled by these false teachers. Let your worship be reserved for God alone, as this particular angel instructed John.
These verses, by the way, explain why angels so seldom make themselves visible to people and, when they do, they often masquerade as humans (Hebrews 13:2). This also might explain the rather generic descriptions of angels in the Bible, at least “common angels” anyway. It’s just too tempting for us in our current state to be so awed by celestial beings that we naturally respond with worship, as John does above. If this great apostle was inclined to worship an angel who appeared to him, how much more so believers of lower stature?
The angel’s responses show that these spiritual beings are adamant about our attention being focused on the Lord, their ‘employer,’ not them. They prefer to stay in the background and let the Mighty Christ have the throne. As created beings, they know their rightful place and their purpose: To worship and serve the Creator, not be worshipped themselves.
Lastly, notice how this heavenly angel described himself in each of his responses to John: He said “I am a fellow servant with you”. We must get ahold of this fact: Angels are “ministering spirits”—serving spirits—sent by God (their ‘Boss’) to serve people (Hebrews 1:14). People, by contrast, do not serve angels; they serve us. In fact, we are mandated to judge angels one day, which is addressed in this article (just scroll down to the section How Exactly Will We “Judge Angels”?).
Focus on the Victor, the LORD, Not the Loser
The reason this article is important is because I don’t want anyone to take the several articles on angels on this site, whether godly angels or fallen angels, and get off balance, particularly the info on spiritual warfare. Let me give an example of what I mean: A pastor got in the habit of opening his services with the statement “Satan, I bind you in the name of Jesus.” The problem with this is that the very first words out of his mouth were directed toward the ultimate loser. Why not rather open the services praising God? Like: “Praise the LORD!! God is good, amen?” To which the believers would respond with a hearty “Amen!!” Doing this would send the enemy fleeing in terror more so than a verbal “Satan, I bind you.”
Consider a pitch black room: How do you remove the darkness? Do you enter the room and rebuke the darkness? No, you simply turn on the lights. It’s the same principle in the spirit. Instead of ranting & raving against the devil and his defeated minions “turn on the lights” by praising the Victor, the LORD. Praise ushers in God’s manifest presence and, when the LORD arrives on the scene, the enemy flees. This can be observed in this psalm:
1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
Psalm 9:1-3
In the first two verses David focuses on thanking & praising the Most High and thus, in the third verse, his enemies turn back, stumbling and perishing before God’s mighty presence.
For details on the importance of praise & worship as a spiritual weapon against the enemy see this article (scroll way down to the section Draw Near to God, particularly the part on Hallowed be Your Name).
This article was edited from Chapter 2 of ANGELS, which is available for a special low price here (345 pages). Or pick up the eBook version for just $2.99!
Related Topics:
ANGELS — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?
Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?
Satan (the Devil) — Liar, Slanderer, Thief, Murderer
Demonic Spirits — How to Deflect Them
How to Enlist the Help of Angels
Why do Unclean Spirits seek out Dry Places?
Why is this World so Messed Up?
REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation
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