After Life - Adult SS - Lesson 5: Angels, Demons & The Devil

To listen back to anything.

Now today I want to do something loosely related to what we've been doing.

! But it's kind of a bit of an appendix to the series.

! And it's something I've mentioned throughout this series, but we never really got into it.

Today we are looking at angels, demons, and the devil.

I want us to ask today, what or who are these things?

We hear about them in the Bible, but what kind of power do they have?

And how should we think about them?

And how do they even relate to us?

How do we kind of think about this?

Because the Bible talks about them a lot.

In fact, when you read the Gospels, we're in the beginning of the Gospels at Christmas, aren't we?

And some of the first characters you meet are angels, aren't they?

So who announces Jesus' conception and birth?

It's angels.

And then you read on in the Bible, who does Jesus meet?

He meets demons, unclean spirits.

And then he meets the devil as he's tempted in the wilderness.

As soon as we open the New Testament, as soon as we open the Bible, we encounter these things everywhere.

And so they seem such key figures.

But we don't know much about them, do we?

We don't often think about them.

So what are they?

Well, let's just dive in and look at the first thing.

Angels.

Angels.

Angels.

Now, the word angel comes from the Greek word angelos, which means either angel, kind of in what we're thinking of, or it can mean messenger, right?

A human messenger.

And in Hebrew, the word is malach, meaning, again, angel or messenger.

And so humans can be referred to as angelos, like in James 2, Rahab's spies, the spies that go to Rahab, they're referred to as angels, messengers.

But actually, a large use of the word angelos, it seems to refer to these non-human, supernatural messengers from God.

So as soon as you open up the Bible, Genesis 1, you quickly realise this world isn't purely just science and material stuff.

So first of all, there's a creator.

So God made all of this.

But also, we quickly realise that there are supernatural creatures in existence.

So in Genesis 3, we meet a talking evil serpent, don't we?

And at the end of Genesis 3, we meet creatures called cherubim, who have a flaming sword to guard the Garden of Eden.

And then Genesis 21, we meet angels speaking from heaven.

So Genesis 21, and God heard the voice of the boy, that's Ishmael, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her,

What troubles you, Hagar?

Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

And then at the beginning of the Gospels, we quickly meet these things called angels, don't we?

Who remembers what happens to Zechariah when he enters the holy place in the temple?

Well, what does he meet? What appears in front of him? An angel.

So Luke 1, and there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

So no one's allowed into this place.

Zechariah, once a year, he's allowed in.

But somehow he goes in, and in front of him appears this thing, this angel.

And he has a message from God about the future.

And so from the outset, the Bible speaks of these supernatural creatures called angels.

And they seem to be non-human, but they can talk.

They seem to have supernatural knowledge of events.

They have direct messages from God.

They seem to be directly sent from God.

And they seem to interact with this world in a supernatural way.

They can just appear and disappear.

But what exactly are they?

Well, let's break this down.

There are a few sub-points.

First thing, angels are real creatures.

In all these cases, we are never given the impression that the appearance of angels are kind of hallucinations.

Or just these unreal things that people are seeing.

No.

In every case, it is read as real history.

So Adam was real.

And so the cherubim in front of the garden is real.

Zechariah is as real as the angel that he saw in the holy place.

As real as the resurrection is, so are the angels who appear in the tomb.

And so whatever they are, we'll get into what they are, but whatever they are, they are real.

They exist.

And they aren't equals with God.

They're not kind of other gods alongside God.

No.

Think back to our Sunday school on God.

That's definitely not the case.

But they are creatures made by God.

So Nehemiah 9, God made the host of heaven.

That's referring to angels.

Angels.

These are all real creatures beneath God, made by God.

And so think back to our creature, creative creature distinction.

Forget this bit in a moment.

I'll explain that in a second.

But this is all things, right?

All things.

Angels are included in this.

Okay?

But they aren't like creatures that we encounter in this universe, are they?

They aren't like humans or dogs or birds.

They seem to interact with this physical world in unusual ways.

They seem to be something kind of beyond physical.

More than physical.

That is to say, second sub-point, angels are spiritual creatures.

So look at Hebrews 1, 14.

In this chapter, the writer to the Hebrews, he's been talking about angels and how Jesus is greater than them.

And he speaks of angels in this verse.

And look what kind of creature they are.

Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

Angels seem to be a part of this, not a part of this visible universe, but a part of a different invisible spiritual realm.

They are spirits.

So Colossians 1, 16 speaks of an invisible spiritual aspect of creation that the Son of God created.

For by him, by Jesus, the Son of God, for by him all things were created, all things, here we go, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.

There is an invisible aspect to creation.

And look at Ephesians 6.

This is talking about evil spiritual creatures.

We'll get onto that at the end.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

And when it's talking about the heavenly places here, it's not talking about heaven, like in our session.

It's not talking about heaven of heavens.

It's talking about a spiritual realm, the heavenly places.

We get the impression that there is an invisible, supernatural, spiritual, behind-the-scenes existence to creation.

An invisible realm to this creation.

Where spiritual forces, good or bad, spiritual forces and spiritual creatures are at work in this realm.

So heaven would be included in that invisible aspect of creation because we can't see it.

It's kind of, it's not a part of, we can see it when we get there, but we can't see it right now.

But it seems to be talking more than just about heaven because it's talking about evil spiritual forces here.

There's another invisible spiritual dimension to our creation.

So, I think that has illustrated.

I wonder if you can tell me what it is.

It's kind of like if you peel back the visible part of creation.

Does that look like that?

Like peeling back, right?

Peeling back.

Go behind the scenes of the invisible, of the visible thing.

We can see our universe.

We can see heaven when we get there.

Other people will see heaven when they go there.

But if there's an invisible aspect of running throughout all of creation, a spiritual invisible realm,

it's kind of, it's all this kind of behind-the-scenes action.

We peel back reality.

Okay?

So that's called, there's the invisible...

spiritual realm.

There you go.

And angels seem to be a part of this invisible spiritual realm,

but they are spiritual creatures.

Now, what does spiritual actually mean?

Are they kind of made of this ethereal plasma that we kind of can or can't touch?

We're not sure.

Or are they made of something funky like that?

Well, the answer is, we don't know.

We're never given details.

But spiritual beings seem to just be in contrast with the normal physical beings of this universe.

And so they're not quite like what we know of.

They seem to not be bound by physical limitations as we are.

So, like with Zechariah, angels can appear spontaneously.

Right?

They're not omnipresent.

Only God is that.

But they seem to just not be interacting with this physical world in ways that we can understand.

And they can appear in dreams as well, like with Joseph.

Do you remember Joseph in Matthew 1?

But sometimes they do appear in visible forms, don't they?

When we encounter them in the Bible, they're in visible forms.

So they sometimes appear as men.

Think about the resurrection.

Jesus' tomb.

They appear in bright clothes.

Some of them seem to have wings.

We see that in Isaiah 6 when we glimpse into heaven.

And there's something striking about them when they do appear.

They don't look like they're from this universe.

They look supernatural.

So think about how people react to them.

The women at the tomb, they were frightened when they saw these men.

Zechariah was scared when he saw that thing in the holy place.

It wasn't like, oh, there's some guys just sitting over there.

There's something striking about them.

Now, we don't know if they look like that all the time.

Or maybe they just kind of appear temporarily to be seen by people.

But whatever it is, there is something otherworldly about them.

And we don't know what they're made of.

But they're called spiritual beings.

And that means that they have supernatural qualities.

This is the third sub-point.

Let me just list some descriptions about them.

So angels are described as mighty.

2 Thessalonians 1.

They are powerful and are able to do supernatural things in this universe.

So think about how did the stone get moved at the resurrection?

You know, the women were wondering how it's going to be moved.

But the angel moves it.

Or think about the locked prison in Acts 5.

An angel was kind of instantly could open these locked prison doors.

So angels are mighty.

Angels are very knowledgeable.

So when Jesus talked about his return,

think back to a couple of weeks ago,

he says, Matthew 24,

He seems to suggest,

even compared to humans,

angels know a lot about creation.

They're very knowledgeable.

They're advanced.

Angels are also moral creatures.

So look how they're called.

They're described as holy.

Matthew 25.

Obedient.

There are elect angels.

But also 2 Peter 2.

You have angels.

There are angels that fell into sin.

We'll get on to that next.

But something to see here.

That they are moral creatures.

That they're not like planks of wood.

They are moral creatures with moral responsibility.

And so, accordingly,

Christ will judge fallen angels in the end.

Jude 6.

And Jesus says something interesting in Luke 20 about angels.

He says angels don't die.

So in Luke 20,

Jesus is talking about our resurrection,

the resurrection of believers.

And he says, Luke 20, 36,

he says,

they, believers,

cannot die anymore in the resurrection

because they are equal to angels.

angels.

So angels,

like our undying resurrection cells,

angels don't die.

Angels don't seem to be susceptible to death and injury like we are,

but probably that's because they're spiritual creatures as well.

And so they don't die.

But then Jesus also says angels don't breed.

So in the same passage,

Jesus says in the resurrection,

we will also be like angels in that we won't be married.

So angels aren't designed to marry.

Astonishingly,

that is only part of humanity's design.

And if they aren't designed to marry,

it's unlikely that they're designed to reproduce.

It's kind of a bit of an implication about it,

but I think we could go that way.

And so they're not a race like the human race that have families and grow.

No,

they don't marry.

And God probably made a certain amount of angels.

And then that's that,

that kind of a part of his initial creation.

Angels,

I make them.

And then that's that.

And how many did he make?

Well,

look at Revelation five.

Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.

There are a lot of angels in existence.

In fact,

the name Lord of hosts.

So,

you know,

God is sometimes referred to as the Lord of hosts.

That means the Lord of armies.

He's referring to angel armies.

It's the host of Nehemiah nine that we,

that we read earlier.

So,

so God is the God of armies of thousands of angels.

And there seem to be different types of angels.

So,

uh,

we hear of cherubim in Genesis three.

Cherubim are kind of,

they're related to guarding.

Usually there's seraphim in Isaiah six,

that they be related to worship.

And there are archangels.

Now,

we don't really know what they are,

but the term is referring to something kind of superior ruling around about the angels.

Um,

you see that in Jude nine.

And we don't know the details about this,

but,

but there seems to be some sort of order and class to angels.

Yeah.

And look how the Westminster large catechism sums all this up.

we've been reading through the large catechism in our staff meetings.

It's been great.

How did God create angels?

God created all the angels,

spirits,

spiritual beings,

immortal.

They don't die.

Holy.

They're moral,

excelling in knowledge that they seem to have superior knowledge,

mighty in power.

And he created them to execute his commandments and to praise his name.

Yeah.

Subject to change.

Now notice here,

it mentions why God made angels.

So two purposes to execute his commandments and to praise his name.

These are the two big reasons why angels were made and what they do in creation.

And so let's look at that.

The next sub point,

the purpose of angels.

So the first purpose is worship.

So look back to Nehemiah 9 again.

You have made heaven,

the heaven of heavens.

That's talking about actual heaven.

With all their host,

the host of heaven worships you.

Angels are made to worship God,

to vocally praise God in heaven.

And that's what we see when we get glimpses into heaven.

So Isaiah 6,

the seraphim cry out,

holy,

holy,

holy,

before the throne.

Revelation 5,

thousands of angels are before the throne in heaven.

Same with a loud voice.

Worthy is the lamb who was slain.

And so the purpose of angels,

the first purpose,

it's to praise God.

But also,

there's another purpose,

to execute God's plan of salvation.

So look at Hebrews 1 again.

This is a remarkable purpose of angels.

Hebrews 1, 4.

Are they not all ministering spirits

sent out to serve

for the sake of those

who are to inherit salvation?

Angels exist.

And angels work

for the sake of those

who are to inherit salvation.

Do you realize what he's saying here?

Angels exist

for the sake of the church.

For you.

Now this doesn't mean

that there are guardian angels,

kind of one for every one of us.

That idea kind of developed

in the medieval church

and there's no indication

in the Bible

of guardian angels,

kind of one for every person.

There's nothing like that

in the Bible.

But we do see here

that they exist for us

more in the sense

that they are God's workers

in this world

to serve the church

and execute

his plan of salvation.

So in Psalm 91

we see that they are said

to watch over all the saints.

1 Timothy 5

that the church is present

before the angels.

In Jude 9

that the archangel Michael

is said to be

fighting behind the scenes

against the devil

in the invisible

spiritual realm.

And we constantly see

throughout the Bible

that angels are messengers

of revelation

and messages

to God's people.

So angels aren't sent

just to have a little chat.

They're there for

kind of big salvation

revelation purposes.

And we see that

throughout the Bible,

particularly Christmas time.

What do we see

all the time at Christmas?

it's angels

revealing these things.

And so

they are servants of God.

This is how you think about them.

They are servants of God.

His workers

whom he sends out

to drive salvation forward.

Working out his plan.

And that's why

they're always there

at the key point,

key turning points

of salvation.

Have you ever noticed that?

So who announces

the birth of Jesus

to the shepherds?

It's angels.

Who ministers to Jesus

after his temptation?

It's angels.

Who is there

at the tomb

in the resurrection?

It's angels.

Who is there

at the ascension

speaking to the disciples?

It's angels.

And who will accompany

Jesus when he returns?

His mighty angels.

angels.

All the key

turning points

of salvation.

And so angels

are remarkable,

powerful creatures.

Something we can't

really fathom.

We're just kind of

tip of the iceberg here.

But what's amazing

is that they exist

to serve us.

To execute God's

plan of salvation

for us.

And in fact,

Peter says

something remarkable

about angels.

He talks about

all that God

is doing in the church,

our salvation,

and he says,

1 Peter 1,

the things that have

now been announced

to you

through those

who preach

the good news

to you

by the Holy Spirit

sent from heaven,

these things

announced to you

are things

into which

angels

long to look.

God's work

in the church,

the power

of the gospel

at work

in this world,

Christ's

salvation

in the lives

of sinners,

God's work

in your life

right now,

these are things

angels

long to look

into.

Angels

long to

peer down

and see

what Christ

is doing

here on earth.

angels

long to

see

why

the

Son of

God

became

flesh.

Angels

long to

peer

into a

Sunday

sermon.

But these

angels

long to

look into

your salvation.

And why

is that?

Why do

these

mighty

angels

who know

the heavenly

realms,

why do

they

long to

peer

into our

lives?

Because the

Son of

God

didn't

come to

earth

for

angels,

he

came

for

you.

Look at

Hebrews 2.

For surely

it is not

angels that

he helps,

but he

helps the

offspring of

Abraham.

just think

about it.

The

word

didn't

become

an

angel,

did he?

The word

became

flesh.

Angels

aren't

made in

the image

of God,

only we

are.

God

didn't

love

angels

so much

that he

sent his

only son.

No,

he loved

us.

And he

made angels

to serve

you in

your

salvation.

And so

just a few

points of

application on

this.

First thing

is,

realize that

angels exist.

There are

real

spiritual

forces out

there,

and angels

are a

part of

that.

They are

God's

workers in

this world.

Second

thing,

given that

this is the

purpose of

angels,

this is why

we don't

worship angels.

And I'm not

saying you're

tempted to

do that,

but I think

it's good to

realize what

we're doing

here.

Firstly,

Paul forbids

the worship

of angels in

Colossians 2.

3.

But also,

angels are

not made

to be

worshipped.

They are

made to

serve us,

serve the

church.

They're

made to

help us

worship God.

And so

to worship

them, it

would be

utterly

upside down,

wouldn't

it?

But also,

third thing,

don't pray

to angels.

So God

uses angels,

but that

doesn't mean

we pray to

angels for

help.

No,

we pray to

God for

help.

That's how

Jesus teaches

us.

And then

God responds

as he likes,

whether he

uses angels

or not.

We don't

really know

how he

works,

if he

does work

when he

uses angels.

But we

pray to

God,

and then he

helps us

in whatever

way he

likes.

Which brings

me to the

final application,

focus on

God,

not angels.

God

in all

this,

we start

thinking about

these things,

it's easy to

get carried

away with

all this,

isn't it?

God has

told us

about angels,

he's told us

remarkable

things,

that there

are things

to know

about them,

but the

point isn't

to focus

on them,

it's to

focus on

God.

It's to

realise he

is in

charge of

this heavenly

host.

He is

in complete

power and

control over

this spiritual

world,

and he's

made these

angels to

serve you.

He is

doing heavenly

majestic

things all

for you

and your

salvation.

And so

that is

angels in

a nutshell.

I'll pause

there for

questions,

actually,

and then

we'll move

on to

humans and

the devil.

How long

have we

got?

Okay,

for time.

Oh,

yeah,

Lancashire.

Yes,

so,

what do you

talk of the

cup,

or the

Hebrew

cherubim,

and going

into

1712,

16

cherubim,

what do you

think is

the significance

of that

cherubim

and the

ancient

carved

ones?

You mean

the golden

carved

ones?

No,

not the

golden

cut.

No,

no,

so,

no,

the golden

cut,

like,

the,

the,

the,

the,

the cherubim

manufactured

on the lid

of the covenant,

is that,

is that what you're

referring to?

Yeah,

yeah,

yeah,

what's the

significance of

that?

And,

yeah,

okay,

so,

what Lacta's

asking,

there are,

when the

tabernacle is

made and the

Ark of the

Covenant,

they,

they carve on

the lid of the

Ark of the

Covenant,

there are kind of

two cherubim

with their wings

doing that,

and that

kind of over the

lid,

and God

said to dwell

there,

that's the

mercy seat,

kind of where

God's presence

is kind of

particularly

intensified.

Why

cherubim?

One,

I don't know,

but I can have

some guesses.

The whole of

the tabernacle

is designed

like heaven,

like,

there's,

so,

the,

the veil,

kind of between

the holy place

and the holy

of holies,

it's kind of

embroidered with

angels on it,

and so,

the whole tabernacle

is meant to be

like a little

picture of heaven,

it's a mini

heaven,

or kind of a

reflection of,

because that's

where God dwells,

that's where he

specially dwells,

just like we saw

in our session

on heaven a few

weeks ago,

and so,

God is saying,

I specially

dwell in the

heaven of heavens,

and this tabernacle

is going to be

like that,

I'm going to

specially dwell here,

and so,

the presence of

images of angels

in that place

is,

it's not

surprising,

it's a mini

picture of heaven,

but why on top

of the mercy

seat,

maybe an

extension of

that,

Paul says

that angels

are kind of

intermediaries,

they're kind of

mediators between,

yeah,

in God's

revelation,

so it could be

something to do

with that,

I don't know,

good question,

yeah,

come up with an

answer,

and come back

in January,

good question,

yeah,

really good

question,

yeah,

I was hoping

someone would

ask that,

that's good,

so there

are times in

scripture,

and I

mentioned this

in our

adult Sunday

school in the

Trinity,

there are

sometimes in

scripture that

there is a

figure referred to

as the

angel of the

Lord,

right,

L-O-R-D,

capital,

angel of the

Lord,

and that

figure seems

to be God

himself,

so there are

characters called

angels that

seem to be

separate from

God and

sent out by

God that

aren't identified

with him,

but there seems

to be also

sometimes this

figure called

the angel of

the Lord

that is

sent from

God,

but is also

identified with

God,

like,

referred to

as God

himself,

I don't

have any

verses here,

it's in the

Exodus,

you'll see

that in

the Exodus,

you'll see

it with

Abraham,

and so,

yeah,

how are we

to think of

that angel

of the Lord,

yeah,

it seems to

be something

quite unique

about that,

it seems to

be God

himself coming

down,

but referred

to as the

angel of the

Lord,

and I,

yeah,

I think you're

right to say

that that

hints at

the second

person of

the Trinity,

it's,

we see

kind of a

glimpse in

the Old

Testament of

us,

someone can

be sent

from God

and also

be God,

and so it's

kind of a

kind of a

foreshadow of

Christ,

yeah,

Judy.

In Genesis

32,

the angel

is described

as a man,

but it's

in the

heading,

the Bible

heading,

it's described

as God,

it says,

Jacob

rested

with God,

so,

yeah,

yeah,

yeah,

yeah,

yeah,

that's a

good point,

yeah,

yeah,

just with

the use

of angel,

we should

read it in

context,

remember I

said angel

could mean

angel as in

heavenly angel

or messenger,

human messenger

sometimes like in

James 2,

so you could

add a third

category of

what we need

to kind of

think about

and read in

context,

also it could

be the angel

of the Lord

God himself,

so,

yeah,

just read in

context when

we encounter

the word,

yeah.

Anything else?

We can do

questions at the

end as well,

let's try to

finish with

this next

section,

demons

and the

devil.

Now I

think this

deserves its

own session,

in fact I

think we

might do a

Sunday school

next year,

I've got

something in

my head,

I'm planning,

maybe do a

Sunday school

on God's

providence

and suffering,

and I

think demons

and the

devil would

be a

whole session

of that,

but let me

just do a

quick breakdown

of who or

what demons

and the

devil are.

So Peter

and Jude

tell us God

created angels

and two

Peter two

that some

angels fell

into sin.

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.

And Jude

six,

the angels

who did

not stay

within their

own position

of authority

but left

their proper

dwelling place.

There seems

to be that

there was a

fall of

angels from

heaven at

some point.

Now we

don't know

when,

probably some

point after

day six of

creation because

everything was

very good at

the end of

day six.

So sometime

between then

and then the

fall in

Eden where

the devil

appears.

And those

angels were

thrown into

hell, it

says here.

But at the

same time

fallen angels

seem to be

the demons

and unclean

spirits that

we meet in

the gospels.

So angels

are spirits

aren't they?

That's Hebrews

1.

But the

demons in

the gospels

are called

unclean

spirits.

They seem

to be

unclean

evil

versions

of what

angels are.

And so

nothing is

explicit here

but it

seems like

demons are

fallen angels.

angels.

And also

Jesus speaks

of in

Matthew 25

the eternal

fire prepared

for the devil

and his

angels.

So the

devil's

minions,

the things

that he

leads are

called his

angels.

But those

things also

seem to be

unclean

spirits and

demons.

And so

maybe we

can add

these things

together and

maybe gather

that probably

fallen angels

are the

demons and

the unclean

spirits.

And a

bit like

angels,

they can

do

supernatural

things

except that

they're out

to cause

harm.

So Mark

and I,

they can

take possession

of people

and control

people in

their minds.

They can

give people

super strength

in Mark

5.

They have

special

knowledge about

Jesus in

Mark 5

7.

And again,

like angels,

demons are

real.

people.

So these

accounts in

the Gospels,

you must

not think

that these

are really

just epileptic

fits, but

the writers

just call

them demonic

activity.

Mark is

very clear,

these are

demons.

Demons are

real.

And their

head, their

leader, is

the devil.

evil.

So Jesus,

in Matthew

25 again,

he speaks

of these

evil forces

as the

devil and

his angels.

Okay, that's

a quick

overview of

demons.

But now,

who or what

is the

devil?

Well, like

demons, the

devil could

well be a

fallen angel.

So Jesus

says in

Luke 10

18,

I saw

Satan fall

like lightning

from heaven.

Now, when

did he fall?

When did

Jesus see

him?

Again, it

must be

some point

between day

six of

creation and

when he

appears in

the garden

as the

serpent.

So at

some point

between that,

we don't

even know

how long

that period

is.

And why

did he

fall?

We don't

know.

Jude 6

says that

these angels

didn't keep

their position

of authority.

So it

could well

be to do

something to

do with

pride,

despising

God's

authority over

the angels,

but ultimately

we don't

know that

this is

kind of a

real mystery

of what

caused it.

But we

do know

his mission.

If angels

exist to

serve the

church,

Satan

exists to

destroy it.

So 1 Peter

5, he's

like a

lion in

this world

seeking to

devour

Christians.

Christians

by destroying

their faith,

particularly

by fear

of persecution.

That's

what 1 Peter

is really

pushing

home.

And he

blinds the

minds of

unbelievers

to not

see the

light of

the gospel,

2 Corinthians

4.

He schemes

and plots

and attacks

Christians to

fall away

from the

faith,

Ephesians

6.

So he's

active,

real in

this world,

kind of in

the behind

the scenes

of the

invisible

spiritual

realm,

but active

here.

And he

does have

some power

to do

this.

So the

Bible calls

him the

god of

this world.

Now,

small letter

G,

we know

there's only

one god,

but he

has some

authority,

some power

in this

world.

And he's

called the

prince of

the power

of the

air in

Ephesians

2.

And so

Satan

is really,

he's able

to control

things and

influence people

in this

world.

We don't

know exactly

how all

this works.

It's not as

simple as

that he

takes possession

of people

and they're

kind of like

robots and

they'll do

things.

No,

it's not

quite like

that.

It's more

subtle and

deceptive.

And it

isn't as

easy to say,

oh,

that's Satan

working right

there,

you know,

he's directly

active there.

It's not

quite as

simple as

that.

Although we

can obviously

see Satan's

work at

sometimes.

But sometimes

it may not

be Satan

at work.

But we

need to

realize his

influence is

widespread.

It's on an

individual level,

Ephesians 6,

as he schemes

against individual

Christians.

Christians.

It's on a

wider level as

he tries to

take down

churches.

We see that

in Revelation

2, in all

the persecution

that's going

on.

And it's

also on a

global scale,

as Satan

blinds billions

of sinners

to the

gospel.

And Ephesians

2 even says

that every

unbeliever,

however kind

of nice and

normal they

seem, every

unbeliever is

ultimately

following the

devil in

their sin.

And so

spiritual

warfare, it's

a reality.

There is an

invisible spiritual

aspect to

creation and

angels, the

demons and

Satan are at

work in

that realm.

And so we

should be aware

of this.

We must not

think that we

live in an

easy temptation

free life.

No, the

devil and his

forces are out

there trying to

destroy the

church.

But I want

to end on

this.

We know

ultimately they

won't destroy

the church.

God is more

powerful than

the devil.

Satan's power

is limited.

He's under

God's authority

and he can

only do as

much as God

allows.

So think of

Job in Job

1.

When Satan

attacks Job,

he can only

do so with

God's permission.

He has to

ask God to

do that.

God.

And so

Satan is

like a dog

on a leash.

Martin Luther,

the reformer,

he once said

that Satan is

God's devil.

He's not his

own separate

God.

He is God's

devil.

And so God

is the real

one in charge

and one day

Satan will be

thrown into

hell.

And so God

has his

sovereign hand

over everything

that happens

in this world

including the

devil's work

and God is

in complete

control of his

church.

He's in

complete control

of your

life.

So I don't

want you to

leave today

here worried.

I want you

to leave

firstly aware,

know that this

is reality,

but also I

want you to

leave knowing

that God

is working

all these

things for

the good

of his

church,

using angels

and demons

and the

devil himself,

using all

these things

for the

ultimate good

of his

church and

the glory

of his

name.

So I

want you to

leave here

today knowing

you have

nothing to

fear.

The piano

is definitely

playing,

isn't it?

Let's go

one or two

questions.

Chinua.

What did

Jesus teach us

to pray and

deliver us

from evil?

That's one

of the basic

prayer that we

can learn,

isn't it?

And so one

of the basic

things we can

do, one of

the most

important things

is to pray

against the

devil's work,

against the

church and

in our lives

and pray that

we will be

delivered from

his temptation.

There's a lot

more to say

about the

devil, how

he works

temptation

and persecution

and things

like that.

So yes,

definitely pray

against it.

What was your

other question?

I was

giving a talk

in New Forest,

I was totally

lost and the

talk, I was

stopped, I had to

speak in 15

minutes in

church and this

car came

alongside and

said, where are

you going?

I said, there,

they said, you're

in, they said,

just follow me.

And I followed

this car and

it got me there

two minutes

before I had to

speak,

literally.

And I got out

and I wasn't

wondering if that

was an angel.

Yeah, we

don't know.

Yeah, it

seems to be

that angels,

so God doesn't

have to use

angels to do

something like

that, does

he?

Like, he can

use normal

people and

craft history

and events to

do that.

So we don't

have to

automatically

think that

that's an

angel, but we

don't have the

knowledge to

say that it's

not.

it seems to

be that

there's perhaps

a bit more

of a supernatural

aspect to

angels.

They're perhaps

doing stuff more

behind the

scenes.

And where we

really see them

at work, it's

in these turning

points of

redemptive

history.

But that

isn't to say

that, yeah,

Ephesians 1's

right, that

they're ministering

spirits serving

the church, so

maybe, maybe.

I don't want

you to leave

here kind of

superstition,

oh, I think

that's an angel

there, or

that, I guess

it.

Like, it's, like,

God doesn't have

to use angels, he

works in so many

ways, and he

uses the church, he

uses people to

minister to other

Christians, you

know, we

minister to each

other, so, you

know, I'm not

saying you're all

angels, you know.

And we don't, and

think about the

negative side, we

don't always have

to think, like,

oh, there are

demons at work

here, and the

devil is at work

because, you

know, that thing

fell off and

ruined my day,

like, it's, yeah,

it's not always

like that.

That's why I

want us to focus

on God at the

end of this, know

God's sovereignty,

he is, he's in

control of all

aspects of your

life, but also

just have awareness

that there are

these unseen

spirit activities

that we need to

be careful about.

Yeah, David.

I need to see

what that word

is, like, what

do we, yeah, we

need to, yeah, do

you have the

passage?

Um, yeah.

It might be

25.

We'll have a

think afterwards.

Right.

Yeah, yeah.

Good question.

Good question.

Oh, yeah, yeah,

yeah, okay.

We'll have a

think afterwards.

All right.

Quick answer is

think about how

the word is used

in context.

Does it mean we

suddenly transform

into angels?

There's probably

not, so think

about how it's

used.

It could be

messengers.

On that note,

let's pray.

Lord God, you

are the Lord of

hosts, the Lord

of angel armies.

You are glorious

in all your

might, and we