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In the latest edition of the Lamplighter magazine and our ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy, Dr. David Reagan interviewed me about my newest book, The Mighty Angels of Revelation. We noted that, of the 72 angels and classes of angels found in the book of Revelation, not all on the list are good angels who serve God Almighty. Rather, a number of them are fallen angels, deceitfully evil beings who serve their wicked master, Satan. The following tells a bit about their story.
Are Satan and his demons actually real or just symbols of evil?
Satan and his demons are absolutely real! When we arrive at the Great Sign as described in Revelation 12, we are introduced to the villains of the Tribulation. That's where we encounter the Red Dragon. The Red Dragon is an actual symbol, a symbol of the very real lord of the demons himself — Satan.
Too many people today have come to the conclusion that there is really no such thing as the Devil. They think he's just a symbol for evil, or a force of nature. But, the Bible makes it crystal clear that Satan is a very real being.
The evil entity we call Satan today was once a good angel known as Lucifer long ago. He actually existed for the purpose of glorifying God. He was created extra special, imbued with great wisdom and sculpted perfectly in beauty. Lucifer was given a great honor, having been anointed to serve in the illustrious role as guardian over God's throne.
Day and night Lucifer led the hosts of Heaven in singing the Almighty's praises with his "timbrels and pipes." But, it wasn't too long before this superior chief among the angels believed someone as special as he should also get a share of the attention. Lucifer's heart became lifted up in pride, and in his avarice, he committed the very first sin — he coveted God's authority and position. The angel once considered perfect in all his ways was found to have iniquity seething in his heart. Where once beauty and brightness defined Lucifer's virtues, now the blackness of greed and the lust for power corrupted his every thought.
Like all of God's sentient creatures, Lucifer enjoyed free will, and so he could have chosen to repent before his Creator, but he instead plotted to usurp his Liege. Lucifer convinced other angels with the likely promise that, if they joined him in overthrowing God, they themselves would become gods and so be worshiped by mankind. Sin is like a virus, spreading and infecting others very quickly, and it wasn't too long before a staggering third of the angels plotted alongside Lucifer.
Lucifer, as one of the "chief princes" along with the Archangel Michael, makes him one of the most powerful beings ever created; and yet, his power is nothing compared to the Creator. Therefore, Lucifer had zero chance of successfully pulling off his coup. He and his scheming co-conspirators easily lost out to the Almighty and His loyal angels. Banned from their celestial abode, the insurgents fell to the earth like falling stars. In their fall, the rebellious angels had been transformed into demons, and Lucifer became known as the Devil or Satan.
Revelation 12 also describes how Satan will lead his armies back to Heaven at the midpoint of the Tribulation in yet another attempt to overthrow God. But, he will again fail miserably, and he will then be permanently and forever locked out of God's abode.
At that point God will allow the Red Dragon to muster his demonic hordes — Abaddon and the Locust Demons, the Four Horsemen of the Euphrates, the Chimera and the Frog Demons — who become judgments upon all of wicked humanity. Even in rebellion, Satan and the demons play a role in Christ's inevitable victory.
Revelation 20 provides the final details of Satan's last attempt to overthrow God during the Millennial Kingdom. The story will end joyously with Satan's and the demons' inevitable failure and eternal sentence to the Lake of Fire.
What do angels and demons look like?
When it comes to angels, I find most people really do not understand angels very well. We each come at the subject with wildly different preconceptions. Angels, in truth, are not a bunch of blond, curly-haired dudes sporting white togas who sit around on clouds singing old hymns to God all day long. Actually, angels are very, very far from that children's book imagery.
Most have ideas like I once had when I leaned heavily upon the classically illustrated children's books from my parent's generation. They depicted these celestial beings as Caucasian men with curly blond hair, sporting two feathery white wings. They usually had a golden metal halo floating above their heads. They possessed tall and stoic demeanors, and were always clad in white robes of the ancient Roman toga fashion.
Likewise, whereas I grew up believing all angels to be of this description, I also pictured demons as they are popularly characterized as red-clad, goateed charlatans possessing long, pointy tails and carrying three-pronged pitchforks. As comic as this imagery is grim, I soon discovered that the true appearance of demons is far worse!
The more I researched for The Mighty Angels of Revelation, the more I learned that angels come in many different shapes and sizes. They are far from stereotypical, nor are they uniform in appearance. While many can and do appear as humans, others exist as actual forces of nature, such as the Angel of the Waters, and still some are animalistic in appearance, such as the Vulture Angel. Some have wings, but not all, which is a surprise to many people. Some are even large enough to step across the seas. And, some even appear to be made of fire!
Angels in their true forms appear nothing like what we tend to imagine. They are so wondrous that even John lost his head twice and was about to worship them. Fortunately, despite all of their massive power, God's loyal angels are incredibly humble and only seek worship to flow to God alone.
Certainly, almost limitless power has corrupted a number of the angels, hence we now have demons, but God's mighty angels have passed the ego test. They willingly and on a continual basis supplicate themselves before God, knowing just Who wields ultimate power and authority. To be truly humble while possessing such awesome power and authority is a super-power in and of itself, the likes of which we've rarely seen throughout human history. The mighty angels, also being humble angels, provide a wonderful example for us Christians to follow.
Resource
Encounter 72 of God's mighty angels from the book of Revelation! Come and travel along with a man called the Elder and his angelic guide as the end times are revealed throughout the book of Revelation in stunning detail. Along the way, meet 72 of God's mighty angels as they proclaim God's messages of warning and hope to a lost world. Together let us encounter... The Mighty Angels of Revelation!
"I consider this book to be the premier work on the subject of angels to this point in literary history." - Terry James, Rapture Ready
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