The Origin and Purpose of Angels
The Bible tells us that before God began preparing the earth for human habitation, He created invisible spirit beings (Colossians 1:16; 2 Corinthians 4:18). God had in mind that these invisible to the human eyes entities, called angels, would serve a purpose in assisting Him in carrying out His plans for mankind (Psalm 34:7; Hebrews 1:14; Luke 1:26-28; 2 Kings 6:17). These angels witnessed God’s creation of the earth (Job 38:4-7).
The word “angel” itself is defined in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #32 (Greek) as, “a messenger; especially an ‘angel’; by implication, a pastor.” Hence, the word “angel” is simply a job description meaning a “messenger” who may provide pastoral guidance. Many of these invisible spirit beings serve God in the role of a “messenger,” hence the Bible calls them angels. We find these spirits in the Bible performing various duties assigned to them by God.
Although we think of angels as always being good, God gave them free choice, hence the ability to choose to be good or evil. Evil spirits once were angels or messengers performing job duties for God. However, without permission from God, they appeared on earth in human form and illicitly procreated with women, choosing to follow Satan rather than to follow God (Genesis 6:1-4). Many refer to these evil spirits as “fallen angels” and today these invisible entities are often called “spirit guides”.
The Deceptive Nature of Spirit Guides
For those who view these spirit guides (invisible fallen angels) as kind and caring friends, it will be hard to grasp that actually the opposite is true. They are evil spirits – the demons or fallen angels warned about in the Bible. Satan and his spirit guide servants deceive people with false offers of help, advice, wealth, power and life direction. However, their true nature is deceptive, prideful, selfish and evil as revealed in the following Bible verses:
Genesis 3:13 (NKJV) “And the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’" (See also 1 Timothy 2:14.)
2 Corinthians 11:14 (ESV) warns, “…Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
1 Timothy 4:1-2 (ESV) “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared.”
Ephesians 6:12 (ESV) warns, “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.”
The Ruler of the Spirit World
The true king and ruler of these evil spirits is Satan himself, who goes by many names, including Lucifer, Baal, Moloch, Beelzebub, and others.
In Ephesians 2:2 (NKJV), Satan is described as, “the prince of the power of the air.”
Matthew 12:24 (Amplified Version) reads, “Beelzebul (Satan) the prince of the demons.”
In John 8:44 (NKJV), Jesus describes the devil by saying, “…He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
Jesus promises in John 12:31 (NKJV), “the ruler of this world will be cast out.”
Symbolically describing Satan as the King of Tyre the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 28:13-15 (Amplified Version) explains, “You were in Eden, the garden of God … You were the anointed cherub that covers with overshadowing wings, and I set you so…You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until iniquity {and} guilt were found in you.” Verse 16 (ESV) “In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub…”
Yes, Satan was in the Garden of Eden as a guardian and protector, but betrayed God, Adam, and Eve. By his deception, he consigned our first parents and all mankind to the death penalty from which relief would only begin to come thousands of years later through Jesus, mankind’s Savior and Redeemer.
2 Corinthians 11:3 (ESV) warns, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
The Bible aptly describes Satan as a liar, deceiver and murderer. What led Satan to such a path of evil? Why did this high ranking angel lead a rebellion against God?
Isaiah 14:12-14 (NKJV) explains, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’”
Pride and the lust for power drove Satan to insane heights of war, defiance and rebellion against God.
An interesting episode is found in the book of Job.
Job 2:1 (Amplified Version), “There was a day when the sons of God the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (the adversary and the accuser) came also among them to present himself before the Lord.”
Here Satan cleverly sought an audience with God in order to outwit God and ridicule Job, God’s greatest servant on earth at that time. Though Satan was permitted to take everything away from Job, the plot backfired because Job never cursed God as Satan had claimed he would do (Job 1:11). Rather, in the end, though humbled, Job praised and exalted God (Job 42:1-6). The opposite is true of the fear-based devotion to Satan which can only be sustained by gifts of supposed insight, success, wealth and power. Through fortune tellers, Satan entices eager customers in similar ways. Satan ultimately controls many of his followers by fear of consequences and punishment (2 Timothy 1:7; 1 John 4:18).
The Origin and Evil Influence of Spirit Guides
Spirits or angels are described as the “sons of God” in Job 38:7 when “all the sons of God shouted for joy” during the creation of the earth. Bible references to angels include holy angels, as well as those formerly holy spirit beings who would later defect and follow Satan’s rebellion. Variously described as evil spirits, demons or fallen angels, in today’s world, they are often called spirit guides by fortune tellers and channelers. “Spirit guides” is a deceptively friendlier way to describe demons. We find these spirit guides appearing in mankind's early history. Prior to Noah’s flood, these demons had the ability to appear in human-like bodies.
Genesis 6:2, 4-5 (Amplified Version) explains, “The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took wives of all they desired {and} chose… vss. 4-5 There were giants on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, and they bore children to them…The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination {and} intention of all human thinking was only evil continually.”
With the aid of their giant hybrid sons (born from human women with demon fathers), these fallen angels so contaminated mankind with evil that recovery to goodness eventually became impossible. Genesis 6:9 (NKJV) states, “Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations.” The Hebrew word “perfect” here is tamim: תָּמִים — which can mean to be physically pure without defect or blemish. It is the same word used of the Passover lamb in the Torah, which had to be pure and spotless physically — without flaw or defect (Exodus 12:5). Hence, perhaps better understood, Noah and his family were not genetically contaminated by the fallen angel interbreeding with mankind. To end the evil, God sent the great flood and thereafter continued the human race only through Noah’s untainted family.
To prevent Satan and these fallen angels from so thoroughly contaminating the world again, God placed them in a prison called Tartarus, which restrained their ability to influence mankind. This was NOT complete restraint, as these demons can deceive the willing minds of curious people who are enticed and then controlled by misleading promises to gain insights, learn secrets, attain power and achieve success.
2 Peter 2:4 (HCSB) explains, “For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned, but threw them down into Tartarus and delivered them to be kept in chains of darkness until judgment;”
Jude 1:6 (ESV) “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.”
These fallen angels’ abilities have been greatly restrained in these “chains of darkness.” Some students of Scripture have taken these verses to imply that in these last days in which we are now living that the evil spirits can again appear in human form, no longer restrained in these chains of darkness. In any case, their behavior since Noah’s flood reveals to God in each situation whether their heart has repented or whether they are still enemies of God. Two thousand years ago, Jesus by his teaching and example as a perfect man on earth - and perhaps also by preaching to them after his resurrection - may have led some fallen angels to repentance.
1 Peter 3:18-20 (Montgomery NT) explains, “…Christ…was put to death in the flesh…It was in spirit that he went and preached the Word to the spirits who were in prison, who in old times had been disobedient, when God’s longsuffering was waiting in the days of Noah, while an ark was building…”
Though unseen, these wicked demons are enemies of Christians and will endeavor to tempt, ensnare, and mislead those who follow Jesus Christ. As previously quoted, Ephesians 6:12 (Amplified Version) warns, “For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against the [master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.”
These fallen angels or demons often work through human agents to spread their influence and deceit.
