So far, we’ve learned about the existence of angels and demons, as presented in the Bible. Over the next several days we’ll explore many of the characteristics we are given regarding these supernatural beings. Today, however, I want to take a quick detour to point out an important consideration when examining the Bible’s treatment of angels and demons.

To our modern-world mindset it can be quite surprising to see just how often scripture talks about angels. They’re role throughout the Bible is significant. However, when you come across verses that speak of “the Angel of the LORD,” rather than “an” angel of the Lord, it is typically not referring to these created beings, but rather to what is known in theology as a theophany—a visible appearance of God to a person. It is important to recognize this distinction so as not to attribute certain attributes, such as being worthy of worship, to the created angels. Exodus chapter three provides one of the more obvious cases of “the Angel of the LORD” referring to God.

Then the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. . . . Then He continued, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:2, 6)

Here we see that “the Angel of the LORD” appears to Moses in a burning bush. Then as He continues speaking to Moses, He makes the clear statement that He is God. Throughout scripture it is reaffirmed that God spoke to Moses in the burning bush.

As you read your Bible, take note of situations where “the Angel of the LORD” appears to people in contrast to when an angel of the Lord speaks.

We saw yesterday that Elisha’s servant saw that the hills were covered with horses and chariots of fire, angels who were there to protect them. This should be a huge encouragement to us. But, what about our battle, you know, the one that is not with flesh and blood? With all these angels around, who are we battling?

We are told in the Bible that as many as a third of the angels, rebelled against God. They followed Satan, who was one of the highest ranking angels that God created, when his arrogance drove him to rebel and to seek equality with God. Perhaps the most descriptive, though somewhat symbolic, passages regarding the fall of these angels is found in the book of Isaiah.

Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground. You said to yourself:" I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods' assembly, in the remotest parts of the North. I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:12-14)

These fallen angels are what we call demons. When Ephesians refers to “rulers, authorities, powers of darkness, and spiritual forces of evil,” it is speaking of these fallen angels. As a result of their rebellion, God has condemned them to a final judgement, which has not yet occurred.

He has kept, with eternal chains in darkness for the judgment of the great day, the angels who did not keep their own position but deserted their proper dwelling. (Jude 1:6)

Whether this passage refers to all demons, which are somehow eternally chained, but still have influence and impact on our world today, or if this refers to a specific set of demons who committed some uniquely heinous crimes, and are thus being held over until judgement seems unclear. Regardless, their arrogance and opposition to their Creator has left them without hope of redemption and merciless in their hatred for humanity, whom God chose to offer redemption through His only Son, Jesus Christ.

This is why, I have attempted to portray the demons bewilderment and rage at God’s offer of grace to humanity. Here is an excerpt from Restoration’s Journey that illustrates this tension.

The demon snorted, cursed, and limped to the car. “He does not care about you, Adiya. He only cares about His precious humans. They reject Him at every turn.” He pointed in the direction of the trees where Ima hid. “Yet he still offers them hope. Such forgiveness—He will never show you.” – Restoration’s Journey

So, we’ve seen that God created the heavenly host and directs them to watch over us. But, we live in the modern world, where science attempts to offer a logical solution to everything that is seemingly unexplainable. Is it possible that the Bible’s reference to these spiritual beings is merely metaphorical? Good and evil personified for illustrative purposes? Absolutely not!

Take a look at this verse from Second Kings. This is a passage I reference whenever I sign someone’s copy of In The Image of Man. Elisha was a prophet of God. When his servant discovers that they have been surrounded by an enemy nation’s chariots and warriors, he is overwhelmed with fear. But Elisha doesn’t panic, instead he uses this opportunity to teach the servant about the unseen realm.

Then Elisha prayed, “LORD, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the LORD opened the servant's eyes. He looked and saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17)

I often wonder, how would our lives be changed if we, like this servant, were permitted just a glimpse of the true world around us?

And lest we be tempted to think that this was some kind of hallucination, or some event from a long time ago and that angels are no longer among us, I’ll leave you with an instruction that was given to the early church.

Don't neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2)

There’s no reason to believe that this instruction is any less for us today than for the early church. It is possible that every one of us has seen, interacted with, helped, or turned our back on one of God’s angels. Check out this snippet from In The Image of Man.

“Hey Margie, can you flip that to the news?” A large burly man sitting in the corner of the diner pointed to the television, which displayed a rerun of a game show.

Zeke shook his head. Eitan was a master of disguise. Not one demon in the place suspected the burly trucker in the jean bib overhauls was the captain of the host. If they only knew . . .

Yesterday, we saw that there is an unseen world out there, and not just “out there,” but all around us. We learned that our battle is against rulers, authorities, powers of darkness, and spiritual forces of evil. I don’t know about you, but this can be a bit frightening. But, we’re told in 2 Timothy 1:7, God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound judgement. And we aren’t alone in this fight. He is always with us, and He has given His angels orders to protect us (Psalm 91:11).

So, who are these angels? That is what we are going to look at over the next couple weeks, and yes, we’ll also look into our dark enemies. One key lesson I hope you’ll come away with, after these brief discussions, is that God has no equal. This isn’t a war of equal yet opposites. Rather it is the desperate flailing of the condemned to bring destruction to as much of God’s creation as possible.

The first, and most important thing to know about the unseen forces, is their origin. They are created beings! Only God is eternal in His existence. He has no beginning or end. As powerful as angels and demons may be, they are mere art projects to God.

You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them, and the heavenly host worships You. (Nehemiah 9:6)

This is why, throughout the Unseen Dominion series, the angels most frequently refer to God as the Creator. The hosts of heaven owe their existence and sustenance to their perfect Creator, as do we.
​
“The white dove-like feathers of her wings stood on end at the thought. The audacity of attempting to usurp the Creator. Mael knew better. He was present the day Lucifer attempted to claim equality with Him. They all were. A droplet of paint on a canvas claiming equality with the artist.” – Restoration’s Journey

It has been an absolutely crazy few weeks as we’ve launched Restoration’s Journey. This is the second book in the Unseen Dominion series, which by the way is available now from Amazon in either e-book or print format. So, I thought this would be a great time to look in some detail at what the Bible teaches us about the unseen spiritual realm.

We live in an era where we tend to only believe in what we can see, touch, hear, or smell. Even those of us who believe in our heads that more exists beyond the physical realm rarely let the unseen world have any sort of impact on our lives—at least as far as we can control.

There is a key verse that has guided the formation of the Unseen Dominion series.

For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. (Ephesians 6:12)

We are in a war that we cannot see. It would be wise to consider the impact this should have on our lives. Who is involved in this unseen battle? And what can we do about it?

Over the coming days, hopefully each day between today and Resurrection Sunday, I will unpack some of the many verses that unveil the spiritual realm to us. I will also talk about some of the considerations I made when writing In The Image of Man and Restoration’s Journey.

Caution: These verses may have irreversible impact on your perception of the world around you!