Angels & Demons (Part 2)

Good afternoon. Happy Sabbath, Brethren.
Good to see you all.
Must be that turkey still, lingering.
So the last time I spoke here, I started a series of sermons delving into the spirit realm.
Not ghosts or goblins, sorcerers or fairies, but what scripture actually says.
I started by looking at angels and the roles and responsibilities God has given them.
They are his messengers bearing good news or warning to man.
They are protectors and guardians of those God has chosen for protection.
They are his investigators whom he charges with searching out a matter and providing a witness on.
They are his agents of judgment, executing his just judgment on creation.
They are also his attendants who praise and bless him.
And they also are ministering spirits sent to man to care for and strengthen them.
When we look at the descriptions of angels and demons in the scriptures, we have to remember that
the spiritual realm is beyond our physical comprehension or understanding.
We don't have the perspective to fully understand what the writers of these scriptures were trying to convey,
even if they fully understood what they perceived themselves.
Our eyes don't have the ability to see the spirit realm, nor do our ears have the ability to hear it.
For a comprehensive analogy, think about how you would describe the color red to someone who had been blind from birth.
Or how would you describe the difference between a loving whisper and a venomous threat uttered under someone's breath to someone who had always been deaf?
The fact of the matter is we lack the senses or the ability to comprehensively understand the spirit realm, so
our perception of it has been filtered through our physical senses in a matter which can comprehend and process them.
Now, the other layer of complexity to remember here is that the people who saw these visions of the supernatural,
portrayed in ways that they could comprehend, they then had to record what they saw in concrete terms.
So the descriptions that we get in Scripture have gone through multiple filters and translations before they even got to us. 
So don't be surprised when accounts don't exactly line up with each other or they have elements that seem contradictory.
What else do we know about angels and demons?
Well, for starters, today let's open our Bibles and turn to Colossians 1.
We'll start in Colossians 1, and we'll read verses 15 through 17.
Colossians 1 verse 15.
For he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through him and for him.
And he is before all things, and in him all things consist.
Here, Paul describes all things as being created through God.
This goes beyond the boundaries of the earth and would include the angels and the spirit realm as well.
Speaking of creation, turn to Job 38.
Job 38, and there God is describing, is responding to Job's complaint.
And in verse 4 of Job 38, it includes these verses.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Or who stretched the line upon it?
To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone?
When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of joy shouted for joy.
Speaking about the creation of the earth, God asked Job where he was when he created Earth and talks about the reactions of the stars and the sons of God which sang for joy at creation.
These could just be literary tools.
The stars and term sons of God are elsewhere referred, are elsewhere used to speak of angels or angelic beings.
So from what God says to Job here, it indicates that the angels were created prior to the creation of earth.
It also ties into the next characteristic of angels, which is that they have free moral agency and emotions.
As we saw there in Job 38, verse 7, the angels shouted for joy at the creation of the earth.
That would mean that they have the ability to feel joy and therefore other emotions too.
Luke 15, verse 10 in the parable of the lost coin, Jesus also comments that there is joy in the presence of the angels when one sinner repents.
But it seems that the darker side of having those emotions is true as well.
In Isaiah 14, if you'll turn there, verse 13, it speaks of the fall of Lucifer.
Isaiah 14, verse 13.
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.
Now, we'll get into this more when we look at Satan, but here in Ezekiel 28,
we see that the emotion of pride was the reason for Lucifer's fall.
This also demonstrates another key characteristic of angels.
Because of his rebellion against God, it demonstrates that they have free moral agency.
They have free moral agency to say yes or no to God and His law, and to choose whether to follow Him or not.
Two-thirds of the angels did, one-third did not.
Now, moving on, let's move on to what they look like.
Now, as spirit beings, they aren't bound by physical appearances or to one physical body. But when man typically interacts with them or sees them,
they usually take on the form of men to perform their roles and duties God assigns them.
In Genesis 19, when the angels were sent to investigate Sodom and Gomorrah, what form did they take?
Two men, which Lot then invited to stay in his house out of the town square.
For a different example, turn to Mark 16.
Mark 16, and we'll read verses 5 through 6.
Mark 16, verse 5.
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side.
and they were alarmed. But he said to them, do not be alarmed.
You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.
He is risen!
He is not here.
See the place where they laid him.
The angel that was there to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he took what form?
That of a young man, sitting inside the tomb.
His humble outward appearance belies a true glory normally hidden from mankind.
Remember the exhortation in Hebrews 13, verse 2?
It reminds us there, do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
That humble appearance covers up what we don't, their true glory that we don't normally see.
Now, when they demonstrate that, power and glory, what possibly is there?
Turn to Revelation 10.
In Revelation, John saw many angels during his vision. And here's a description of one of them.
Revelation 10, verses 1 through 3.
And I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was on his head.
His face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.
He had a little book open in his hand, and he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,
and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars.
When he cried out, 7 thunders uttered their voices.
That's quite the appearance.
A face so bright it was impossible to look at, feet like pillars of fire, a roaring voice that boomed like a lion and thunder.
Likewise, in Daniel's vision on the banks of the Tigris River,
Daniel witnessed the power and glory of angels.
Turn to Daniel 10, and we'll read about that example.
Daniel 10, and we'll read verses 5 and 6.
I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded like gold of Uphaz.
His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color,
and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.
Daniel describes a creature with resplendent but also terrible features.
Eyes like torches of fire,
A voice that sounded like a crowd speaking.
A fire appearance is often a recurring motif with angels.
When we get to some types of them, this flame appears to be a major part of their appearance, or even their core characteristic.
If you read in Psalm 104, verse 4  it talks about angels as,
Who makes his angels spirits, his ministers a flame of fire.
As we can see from Scripture, there seem to be various types or classifications of angels.
Turn now to Isaiah 6, and we'll look into that.
Isaiah 6, we'll start at the beginning of the chapter there.
Isaiah 6:1
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. And the train of his robe filled the temple.
Above it stood seraphim.
Now quick question here.
How did Isaiah know that what he saw was seraphim?
Was it an intuitive, was it intuitive in the vision, like how you know something in a dream, even though it doesn't make any logical sense at all?
Or were there oral traditions and images of these angels that were passed down to Isaiah's time that we have since lost?
I don't really know.
But I think we can still trust Isaiah that what he saw was seraphim.
So continuing on in verse 2.
Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
And one cried to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
So this word, seraphim, is only used in one place in scripture, right here in Isaiah 6.
But it is the plural form of the Hebrew word seraph, which is used many, many more times and paints a rather vivid picture of these heavenly creatures.
In biblical usage, seraph means serpent or fiery serpent. Perhaps even a poisonous serpent.
Maybe the fiery is related to the burning effect of the poison.
But To read more about that, a good example of this is found in Numbers 21.
Numbers 21, and we'll read verses 6 through 8.
Here this is the incident, an incident where the people of Israel were speaking out against God, and
God sent judgment upon them through his angels.
Numbers 21, verse 6.
So the Lord sent fiery serpents, Seraphim among the people, and they bit the people, and many of the people of Israel died.
Therefore, the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you.

Pray to the Lord that he take away the serpents from us.
So Moses prayed for the people.
Then the Lord said to Moses, make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live.
Both the fiery serpents afflicted the Israelites, and the bronze serpent on the pole used the word seraph in Hebrew.
Now, Isaiah describes them as having human-like characteristics, but in Numbers, they're described as fiery serpents.
Is this a contradiction? I don't think so.
As spirit beings, they can change their appearance, just as angels often appeared to mankind as men.
But I think the account in Isaiah, I think the account in Isaiah is attempting to give us the true description of their actual characteristics.
Matthew Henry's commentary makes some interesting notes on their physical appearance.
He says that the only part of their appearance that is noticed and written down by Isaiah is their face, feet, and particularly their wings.
One pair of wings cover their feet, i.e. their less honorable members.
Think of Middle Eastern cultures, how they treat feet being as unclean, or example in the burning bush, feet being
unclean, Moses having to take his sandals off.
One pair of wings cover their faces, potentially to shield them from the dazzling full glory of God on His throne.
And the final pair of wings are used to transport themselves.
In their role, Isaiah describes them as flying above the throne of God, praising Him.
Now, that's really all we have on seraphim and their roles,
for like all creatures described in the spiritual realm, Their descriptions are spotty and hard to pin down.
Let's move on and look at another classification of angel described in Scripture, the cherub or cherubim.
Cherubim are some of the most well-described angels in Scripture, at least for their physical appearance.
That being said, those descriptions don't always align with each other.
When the tabernacle and temple were built, Hebrews 8 tells us that they were modeled on the heavenly tabernacle.
As such, the description of the items in the physical tabernacle give us a picture of the heavenly tabernacle.
On the lid of the Ark of the Covenant was the mercy seat. Or maybe it was the lid itself. It's hard to tell.
An item or area on the Ark of the Covenant. that was representative of God's throne or his rule.
Now, we won't dig into the mercy seat today, but let's look at the cherubim in scripture here in Exodus 25.
Exodus 25, and we'll read verses 17 through 22. 
Exodus 25:17
You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two and a half cubits shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its width.
You shall make two cherubim of gold, of hammered work. You shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.
Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end.
And you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat.
And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings.
And they shall face one another. The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.
You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the Ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you.
And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim.
which are on the ark of the testimony about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
From this physical description of the mercy seat, we get a picture of the cherubim in close proximity to the throne of God, with their wings stretching over it.
This close proximity implies that they are God's closest attendants. that they are the last line allowing access to Him.
Now, we don't get a physical description of them here, but it mentions their wings and their faces.
And it is implied that the Israelites already had an idea of their appearance.
They aren't just limited to the mercy seat either.
Turn back to Exodus 26 and we'll read more about that.
From the construction of the rest of the tabernacle, we can see images of these cherubim used throughout.
Exodus 26, and we'll read verse 1.
Exodus 26:1
Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread.
With artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them.
Then let's skip down to verse 31 and read there.
You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim.
If you want to read additional descriptions of how they were used in the construction of the temple, you can refer to
all of Exodus 25 and 26, or you can look at 1 Kings 6 for more details.
In addition to being God's closest attendants, it appears that they also serve as His transportation.
In 2 Samuel 22, verse 11, you don't have to turn there today, it says,
He rode, and this is referring to God, in 2 Samuel 22:11,
He rode upon a cherub and flew, and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
This and another physical description of them is elaborated on in Ezekiel 10.
The description of cherubim in Ezekiel 10 is so in-depth that you could spend an entire message digging into it.
It elaborates on the previous details and the responsibilities we've read before, their wings, their faces, their position in relationship to God and His throne.
So if you want to understand more about them, that's a good place to read about them and both them and God's throne.
Beyond the seraphim and cherubim, there are other types of angels that we know little to nothing about.
For example, John caught a glimpse of this in Revelation when he saw heavenly creatures and elders.
But beyond his account, we don't really have any more details about them.
Now, beyond the types that there are, I previously mentioned that they are like us and God, having emotions and free moral agency.
In addition to that, like us and God, they have names.
Only a few of them are named in Scripture, however, and they are not called by their names until the captivity of Daniel in Babylon.
If you turn to Daniel 10, we'll start reading about those.
The one in this account is Michael.
Here in Daniel 10, Daniel was in mourning, walking along the Tigris River when he saw a vision.
We previously examined this angel's appearance in verses 5 through 8, but let's now look at what he tells Daniel starting at verse 12.
Daniel 10, verses 12 through 21. Yeah. 12-21 of Daniel 10.
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 God,
your words were heard, and I have come because of your words.
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days. And behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me,
for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.
Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.
From this angel's story, he tried to bring his message to Daniel as soon as Daniel had started praying.
But he had been prevented by another spirit being as powerful, if not more powerful, than himself, the Prince of Persia.
The struggle had gone on for 21 days until the named angel, Michael, an angel who seems to be of a higher position and/or power, intervened to battle the Prince of Persia
so that he could get this angel that delivered the message could get through to Daniel.
Let's continue on in verse 20, verse 20 of Daniel.
It says, Then he said, 'Do you know why I have come to you?' And now I'm, he said, 'Do you know why I have come to you?
And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia.
And when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Persia, the prince of Greece, will come.
But I will tell you that tell you what is noted in the scripture of truth. No one upholds me against these except Michael, your prince.
As the unnamed angel leaves Daniel, he again mentions Michael as a prince among angels.
He mentions him also as your prince, which is interesting when he talks to Daniel.
For more on that, turn back a couple chapters to Daniel 12.
Here in chapter 12, Daniel is receiving a prophecy of the end times
of the war between the king of the north and the king of the south.
And in verse 1 of chapter 12, it mentions Michael again.
Daniel 12, verse 1.
At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people.
And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who was found written in the book.
As Michael was referred to in chapter 10 as your prince, In this prophecy, Michael is referred to as the great prince who watches over the sons of your people, in reference to Daniel.
This implies that part of Michael's responsibility is to watch over at least the people of Judah, maybe even Israel.
It's not clear from the phrase.
It's not clear from the phrase.
This reference in Daniel 12 touches on another of Michael's responsibilities as well.
For that, let's turn to Revelation 12.
Revelation 12, and we'll read verse 7.
Revelation 12, verses 7 through 9.
And war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon,
and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail,
nor was a place found in them for heaven, in heaven any longer.
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.
This part of Revelation given to John is one of those bits that is difficult to place, whether it happened in the past, is a vision of the future, or is some of both.
Instead of trying to figure that out today, I'm going to put it aside and we'll just look at Michael's role in this event.
It says that when war broke out in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon.
That implies that Michael is leading these angels to fight against the dragon and his demons.
This probably puts Michael in the position of the commander of the angelic army of God.
In John and Daniel's times, a leader of an army wasn't in the position only for his ability to strategize and outmaneuver the enemy,
commanding from a position miles behind the war front.
He instead was also expected to lead the army into battle physically and had the martial prowess to excel in a fight.
I think that the events of Daniel 12 we previously read reinforce this because
The angel who came to deliver the message to Daniel needed Michael to intervene in the fight against the Prince of Persia to
give him the opening to get through to deliver his message to Daniel.
All right, that's Michael. Let's move on to another named angel that we know of, Gabriel.
For him, turn to Daniel 8.
Daniel 8.
Gabriel, his name itself means God is my strength, or strength of God.
In this chapter of Daniel 8, Daniel received the vision of the ram and the goat prophesying the fall of the Persian Empire and the rise of the Greek Empire.
But his vision came without an interpretation.
He didn't understand it. Until we get to chapter 8 of Daniel.
Let's read in verse 15 through 17, Daniel 8:15-17, and it says,
Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called and said, 'Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.'
After Daniel receives the vision, the angel Gabriel is given the command to provide the meaning of the vision to Daniel,
which he then proceeds to do throughout the rest of chapter 8.
Then in chapter 9, he goes on to Daniel praying to God when Daniel realized the full extent of the wickedness of his
people, the house of Judah, and the length of their captivity, the 70 years.
In his prayer, he is then visited again by the same Gabriel.
Daniel 9, and we'll read verses 20 through 22.
Daniel 9.
Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel,
and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God,
Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision
at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.
And he informed me and talked with me and said, O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you the skill to understand.
So in both chapters 8 and 9, Gabriel is seen as having the responsibility of a messenger,
sent by God in important times to important people with what seems to be the most important of messages.
This responsibility is continued in the New Testament.
We actually see Gabriel in the New Testament as well.
If you turn to Luke, Luke 1, we'll read about him. 
In Luke 1, verse 18,
we're reading about the events of Zacharias receiving the good news that he and his
wife will give birth to a son who will become John the Baptist.
When Zacharias questions the message, Gabriel says this to him,
Luke 1, verses 19 through 20.
And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and
was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.
But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place,
because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their own time.
Then if you turn back a little to verse 26, we see that Gabriel is entrusted with
Probably the most important message God had ever given him to deliver,
the long-anticipated birth of Jesus Christ to Mary.
Luke 1, verse 26.
Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city
of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.
The virgin's name was Mary.
And having come in, the angel said to her, Rejoice, highly favored one.
The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.
Now, those are the only scriptures in the canonized Bible where we see Gabriel named.
From these roles, he seems to be entrusted with the most important messages of God.
This might make him something as like the chief herald of God.
During the end times, he may even be associated with announcing the events at the end of the days,
or even the return of Christ.
We don't know for sure, but because his name isn't mentioned in Revelation, but it seems to be a responsibility that he has.
Now, let's look at the last named angel that we find in Scripture.
Lucifer
For him, Turn to Isaiah 14.
While he's mentioned multiple times in Scripture with other names, this is the only place the name Lucifer,
meaning light bearer, shining one, or morning star, is actually used.
Isaiah 14, and we'll read verses 12 through 15.
Isaiah 14:12
How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning.
How you are cut down to the ground, you who weaken 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,
yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest pit, lowest depths of the pit.
The words here in Isaiah paint a picture of an angel who was cast down from heaven due to his pride in exalting himself above God.
With this picture in mind, if you go over to Ezekiel 28, we can read about more here.
Although Ezekiel doesn't use his name, Lucifer, instead referring to Satan as the king of Tyre,
The imagery for the king of Tyre closely matches what we previously read in Isaiah,
and further describes Lucifer as an angel before his fall.
Let's start in Ezekiel 28, and we'll start in verse 15, because that lines up with what we just read in Isaiah.
Ezekiel 28, 15 through 19.
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading, you became filled with violence within, and you sinned.
Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O covering cherub,
from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty.
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground.
I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you.
You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading.
Therefore I brought fire from your midst it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you.
All who knew you among the peoples were astonished at you.
You have become a horror and shall be no more forever.
This image of pride and sin being found in an angel who was created with immense beauty, who was cast down
from heaven, parallels the verses in Isaiah.
Ezekiel, though, has some additional information we didn't find in Isaiah.
Particularly, he mentions Lucifer as being a cherub.
For more, let's go back and read starting in verse 11.
Ezekiel 28. and we'll read 11 through 14.
Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre and say to him,
thus says the Lord God, you were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God, every precious stone was your covering, the sardius, topaz and diamond, beryl, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.
You were the anointed cherub who covers.
I established you. were on the holy mountain of God.
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
The image painted here in Ezekiel is a tragedy of the fall of an angel who is within close proximity to the throne of God.
Ezekiel refers to him as the cherub who covers.
If you go back where we read about the tabernacle of God in Exodus 25 and 26, cherubim are depicted all over the tabernacle, in the tapestries, sculpture, etc.
And most importantly, their wings covered the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.
That depicts their close proximity and relationship with God.
From his position as cherub and these descriptions in both Ezekiel and Isaiah, Lucifer was probably
one of those cherubim in close contact with God, his wings overshadowing the mercy seat before his sin and betrayal of God.
Lucifer's fall and betrayal is probably a good place to conclude this message today as a warning, as an example for us.
As we saw throughout the various accounts of angels today, they have
qualities similar to ourselves, free moral agency, names, emotions.
Lucifer was created without defect, but because of the pride and vanity that he
allowed to grow within himself, he tried to usurp God and place himself, his plans, and his desires above those of God.
Through pride and ungodly desire, we can fall into that same trap, lifting ourselves above God.
This could bring about our own fault, similar to that of Lucifer, who became the despised creature we now know as Satan and the devil.