The Invisible Realm A recent survey of adults’ spiritual beliefs suggests that people who consider themselves to be Christian have a diverse set of beliefs – but many of those beliefs are contradictory or, at least, inconsistent. 59% of “Christians” said they believed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” Ironically, a majority of Christians also said that they believe that a person can be under the influence of spiritual forces, such as demons or evil spirits. 64% of Christians agreed that such influence is real. (www.barna.org).
Do you believe that angels and demons exist? If you trust God’s truth recorded in the Bible you should! “Believe” can mean three different things: Faith Service Worship Vision There may be times when you find it difficult to reconcile God’s truth to your own opinion or worldview, God’s truth is eternal, it does not change, our understanding of the truth does change as we allow God to work in our hearts and minds. These sessions are not about opinion, they are about learning truth, the truth contained in the Bible, together we are going to focus on how we apply God’s truth, black & white in a grey world. To set godly priorities, grow in Christian character and live according to God’s standards so that we are a living witness to others.
Words of Truth & Life:
Session 3 Bible Study 5 October 2010
1. It can mean simply an opinion, like believing it will rain tomorrow. 2. It can mean personal trust or reliance, like believing in your doctor. 3. Or it can mean religious faith, saving faith, giving your whole heart and self and life to God in adoration and submission. Believing in angels in the first sense makes only a mental difference in your map of the universe. Believing in angels in the second sense makes a real and important difference to your life. Believing in angels in the third sense is idolatry, worshipping false gods. Clearly we are talking about belief in the first and second senses
What difference does it make whether you believe in angels or not? This subject makes many of us uncomfortable. It may seem to be a throwback to medieval superstitions. However, a person cannot read the Bible as the Word of God without accepting the reality of demons. In addition to the physical realm that we see, there exists an invisible spirit realm. This invisible realm is inhabited by good spirit beings called angels and evil spirit beings called demons, and affects our world every day. “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:18). n
Throughout the history of the church, spiritual warfare has been over and under emphasised. We need an appropriate understanding of spiritual warfare.
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The devil wants you to either believe he doesn’t exist, or to be afraid of him.
The Bible does not attempt to prove the existence of demons any more than it attempts to prove the existence of God. It simply reports on their activities as if its first readers accepted their existence. Nor did the early church fathers have a problem with the reality and personality of demons. Origen wrote: “In regard to the devil and his angels and opposing powers, the ecclesiastical teaching maintains that the beings do indeed exist; but what they are or how they exist is not explained with sufficient clarity. This opinion, however, is held by most: that the devil was an angel; and having apostatized, he persuaded as many angels as possible to fall away with himself; and these, even to the present time, are called his angels.”
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Ready for battle!
They stopped him from making a human sacrifice of Isaac. They saved Abraham and his nephew Lot from the foretaste of hell that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
The Armour of God
Elisha
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV) 10
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God revealed the plans of the enemy King of Syria to Elisha, who then told the King of Israel. When the King of Syria found out about this, he sent his horses, chariots and a great army to Dothan to kill Elisha. It was just an ordinary Saturday – Elisha sent his servant out and he saw that the city was surrounded. He woke up the prophet and said, “Alas, my master, what shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” The servant did not understand. “And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” This was a vision of the Lord’s heavenly army! (2 Kings 6:8-17). What we have here is the story of two people who saw into totally different realms, and it illustrates the difference it can make for us to see into the invisible world.
The Visible Invisible Realm
Daniel
Do you believe that Dust Mites exist? Have you ever seen one?
Daniel was praying and fasting for three weeks, and he had a great vision of a powerful warrior angel.
Think about the Dust Mite. Tiny creatures. There are about 100,000 mites in a square yard of carpet. In your bed with you last night, you had up to 10,000,000 sleeping with you. They love warm, moist skin. They feed on your dead skin.
“And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me.” (Daniel 10:11-13).
These creatures have eight hairy legs, no eyes; they are basically one big stomach and a mouth. If you have had a pillow longer than two years, 10% of the weight is dust mite waste. This is the visible invisible world, but there is an invisible world even beyond that.
Seeing Invisible Realms
Notice the word of the Lord to Daniel: “Greatly beloved… do not fear.” The angel that visited Daniel gives us a glimpse into the reality of spiritual warfare.
Have you ever seen an Angel? Angels came to old women and old men, to the blind and the poor, to shepherds and fleeing criminals, but not to kings or politicians. They came to Jacob in the desert on a ladder, back and forth like cars on a busy road to heaven. One picked up the prophet Habbakuk by the hair and whisked him seven hundred miles away.
There are angels (good spirit beings) and demons (evil spirit beings) at war.
Job The book of Job gives us a glimpse into the invisible realm and we see how Satan was responsible for Job’s troubles – the loss of his children, possessions, and health. (Job 1-2).
One came to a teenaged Jewish girl as an ambassador of her Creator and meekly asked her permission in his name to use her womb as his door into our world.
Here we see that both God and Satan have plans for us! Jesus said, “The thief (Satan) comes to steal, kill and destroy. I have come to bring you abundant life.” (John 10:10).
Abraham Angels surrounded the life of Abraham, the first of God’s “chosen people”. They announced to Sarah, his hundredyear-old, laughing wife, that she would have a miracle baby.
Jesus loves you and wants to bless your life. Satan hates you and wants to destroy your life!
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What is an angel?
Different kinds of angels ARCHANGELS: CHIEF angels. Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer (who fell and became Satan). (see 1 Thess. 4:16 & Rev. 12:7).
NT Greek name “angelos” = messenger Angels are not cute little naked babies with wings, they are mighty warriors.
Profile of an angel:
CHERUBIM (means “fullness of wisdom”) & SERAPHIM (meaning “the burning ones”): First mention of cherubim (“fullness of wisdom”) in Gen. 3:24 was the angel with the flaming sword that guarded the tree of life. The seraphim in Isaiah 6 have six wings.
Some angels have wings - but not all do.
What do other religions say about angels?
Some angels appear in white garments (Acts 1:9-11).
Essentially, just about all religions teach that there exists something like angels: spirits superior to man but inferior to God. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all teach essentially the same thing (in their orthodox form) about angels. They also all teach essentially the same thing about the nature of God and about moral virtues and vices. Coincidence? I doubt it.
Angels are spirits created by God; people don’t turn into angels when they die (Ps. 148).
Some angels have the appearance of men. “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have entertained angels unaware.” (Hebrews 13:2). Angels may be present and unperceived at any time (see 2 Kings 6:15-17).
The three main functions of angels:
Other ancient religions which do not stem from God’s revelation to Abraham and from the Bible, may have worshipped angels as gods. In ancient Greek philosophy angels are spirits but not God’s messengers, and they are not created by God. The idea of creation out of nothing was a distinctively Jewish (and subsequently Christian and Muslim) idea. These Greek spirits are superhuman intellects without bodies, and in Greek and medieval astronomy they are related in a special way to the planets, which they were thought to move in their orbits.
n Service to God. “Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him,
all His hosts.” (Ps. 148:2). Angels are created beings, and God is the Creator. Their first function is toward God. n Service to Christians. Angels are “God’s ministering
spirits sent forth to minister to those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). n Performance of God’s Word. “Bless the Lord, you
His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word.” (Psalm 103:20).
In the Bible, in contrast, angels are related not to planets or to the physical cosmos but to God (as his creatures), and to man (as our guardians), and to both as God’s messengers to man.
10 specific functions of angelic ministry: 1. Angels bring GOD’S WORD (message). (Matt. 1:20; 2:13,19; Luke 1:19,26-27).
The ancient pagan mind was cosmocentric; the medieval theistic mind (Jewish, Christian, and Muslim) was theocentric; and the post-Christian modem mind is anthropocentric, or humanistic. The typically modem angel book is psychological: “your inner angel”, you becoming an angel, etc.
2. Angels release REVELATION, dreams, and understanding. (Dan. 8:15-19; Rev. 1:1). 3. Angels give GUIDANCE and DIRECTION. (Acts 8:26; Gen. 24:7).
Satan and Demons
4. Angels bring DELIVERANCE. (See Is. 37:36; 2 Kings 19:35).
“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:9). [v.4 tells us that Satan took 1/3 of the angels with him]
5. Angels provide PROTECTION. They guard little children, have charge over and protect believers, ‘camp’ around those who fear God. (Matt. 18:10; Ps. 34:7; 91:11-12). 6. Angels impart STRENGTH. (Matt. 4:11; Luke 22:42; Dan. 10:16).
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8).
7. Angels release God’s HEALING. (John chapter 5). 8. Angels minister to God through PRAISE AND WORSHIP. (Luke 2:14; Rev. 5:11-12).
Satan and the demons are fallen angels. They are deceivers and tempters.
9. Angels conduct WAR. (Gen. 32:1-2; Dan. 10:13; Rev. 12:7).
God has given us the power to stand against the devil’s attacks. Our greatest weapon against them – righteousness.
10. Angels release God’s JUDGMENTS. (Gen. 19:11; Ex. 12:21-23; Rev. 16:17).
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Spiritual Warfare
1. A Spirit of Heaviness - inner hurts, suicidal thoughts, depression, despair, hopelessness, self-pity, sorrow, grief
Why does denying the existence of demons discredit Jesus?
Provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendour. (Isaiah 61:3)
A major part of Jesus Christ’s ministry was given to confronting demonic powers and releasing people from the control and/or influence of demons. If we deny that demons exist, we discredit Jesus and His good news. He told us that one of the signs of His kingdom was the overthrow of demonic powers.
2. A Spirit of Fear - untrusting, doubt, anxiety, stress, nightmares, torment, horror, many phobias For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Tim. 1:7)
As believers, we are engaged in a spiritual war. We need to put on all of God’s armour, so we can stand firm against all the strategies of the devil.
3. A Spirit of Infirmity - many different sicknesses can be causes by demons, but not all are.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:10-11) 10
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A woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. (Luke 13:11)
n Our strength comes from the Lord. We can’t defeat the
enemy on our own.
4. A Spirit of Divination - desire for magic, witchcraft, horoscopes, fortune telling, sorcery, occult. Dangerous!
n Jesus came to defeat the works of the devil
(1 John 3:8).
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. (Acts 16:16)
n Yes it’s true that Satan is a defeated a foe, but he is a
deceiver! n The Devil has strategies and tricks, and we need to be
5. A Lying Spirit - false teaching, gossip, lies, slander, accusations, flattery, superstitions
aware of them! n We need God’s armour if we want to stand firm against
“So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you.” (1 Kings 22:23)
the enemy. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) 12
6. A Spirit of Jealousy - cause divisions, envy, extreme competition, contention, strife, revenge, anger If the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself— 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. (Num. 5:14-15)
n People are not the enemy! n Never fight against another person. n No ‘friendly fire’. n We are to fight against the forces of darkness.
7. A Spirit of Rebellion - pride, rebellion, rejection of God and leadership, contentious, strife, arrogant
Discerning Demonic Spirits
Rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. (1 Sam. 15:23)
It would be wrong to think that all of the difficulties in life are directly brought on us by the Devil or demons. Many sickness, financial or relational problems are the result of our own wrong or poor decisions.
The Armour of God Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)
Some of our suffering is causes by viruses that infect our cells, bacteria that attack our health, and even genetic coding that makes us prone to different problems. Yet, we must take seriously the words from the Bible about those “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms!”
How do we put on the armour of God? Some people over-allegorize and spiritualise this armour, some “pray on the armour of God” every morning. The Apostle Paul is using a word picture to show us how we fight against the enemy. The armour of God is a picture of the lifestyle we need to live if we want to win!
We must not become always accept materialistic explanations of life’s challenges, or forget the real and powerful spiritual world that surrounds us and that opposes God’s purposes for us.
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One of the other main strategies of the enemy is to destroy our peace in our relationships with people, and get us mad at and fighting each other, instead of fighting him.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:14-17) 14
When we get into strife in relationships, we are no longer ‘going’ and being witnesses for Jesus, and making a difference in the world. When we get into strife, we enter “the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Tim. 2:23,26).
1. The HELMET of SALVATION
“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them…Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behaviour. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Eph. 4:29, 31-32).
Even though this piece comes later in this passage, I am including it first because it is the prerequisite for all of the other ones. If we want to be strong in the Lord, we must first be saved – be a Christian. Until Jesus Christ is the Lord of our life, we are in the kingdom of darkness!
2. The BELT of TRUTH
When we don’t forgive, Satan takes advantage of us. “If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Cor. 2:10-11)
If the devil is a liar and the father of all lies (John 8:44), then one of the surest ways we can stand against him is by committing to telling the truth. Jesus said: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32).
Two main areas the enemy wants to get us into strife = in families and in the church. Walk in forgiveness towards others, and refuse to pick up an offense.
There is no freedom apart from the truth. The devil uses deceit to trick and trap us. A lot of spiritual warfare happens in the realm of the mind. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” (2 Cor. 10:3-4).
5. The SHIELD of FAITH To stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Faith is a weapon God has given us to stop the devil’s attacks. How do we get faith? From the Word, “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17).
This is why it’s important to guard our heart and mind, and watch what movies we watch and music we listen to, because it affects our thinking. Garbage in, garbage out. Commit to walk in truth and integrity. Confess all lies.
A powerful example from the life of Jesus is when He resisted temptation using the Word (Matt. 4).
3. The BREASTPLATE of RIGHTEOUSNESS
The more of the Word we have in our hearts, the bigger our shield of faith!
From the very beginning of creation, one of Satan’s main strategies has been to separate us from our relationship with God by getting us to sin.
6. The SWORD of the Spirit, THE WORD If we don’t learn how to get into God’s Word, we will never be victorious as Christians: God’s Word tells us who we are in Christ, and gives us tools to overcome Satan.
Earlier in Ephesians, Paul wrote: “You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness – righteous, holy, and true. So put away all falsehood and “tell your neighbour the truth” because we belong to each other. And “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.” (Eph. 4:24-27).
7. PRAYER And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:14-18)
When we sin, we are ‘taking off our breastplate of righteousness’ and giving the devil a foothold in our lives. Commit to walk in righteousness.
4. The SHOES of PEACE
For some Christians, this is all they know of spiritual warfare, they start here and stay here. The problem with this is our prayers won’t be effective unless we first have on the helmet of salvation (we are Christians), the breastplate of righteousness (right-standing with God), and the shoes of peace (right relationships with others).
That comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. There are two kinds of peace – peace with God and peace with people – because of Jesus.
FIRST we submit to God, THEN we resist the devil in prayer and he flees (James 4:7). Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.
If you sin, be quick to repent and confess.
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Living in the Light Since we have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the light of Christ, let’s live in the light. His light shining in us will dispel the darkness. A Christ-centred Christian will be so much more joyful, so much more contented, so much more loving. The spiritual realm is real. Learn to discern. Ask God to teach you by His Word and by His Spirit to see the effects of Satan and his messengers in the world so that you will be effective in confronting and defeating evil.
For Personal Reflection As believers, we are engaged in a spiritual war. We need to put on all of God’s armour, so we can stand firm against all the strategies of the devil. Walk in righteousness before God and peace with others Walk in truth, faith and the Word and Pray Always! If we do this, we will win! The battle is not ours but the Lord’s! (1 Sam. 17:47) No weapon formed against us will prosper! (Isaiah 54:17) When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord will raise up a standard! (Isaiah 59:19) Greater is he who is in us, then he who is in the world! (1 John 4:4)
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