Lesson 6: Spirits

(1) The student will be able to explain:

• Some details about the nature of angels.

• The involvement of angels in the life of the believer.

• The fall of Satan and other evil spirits.

• The spiritual conflict that exists in the spirit world.

• The ultimate victory of God and believers over evil powers.

• A statement of Christian beliefs about spirits.

(2) The student will avoid the wrong kind of interest in the spirit world.

► Read Matthew 4:1-11 together. What does this passage tell us about evil spirits?

When people talk about angels, often the first question is, “What do angels look like?” Many artists have tried to describe them.

► What do angels look like?

Do angels have wings? The seraphim that Isaiah saw had six wings (Isaiah 6:2). The image of the cherubim that God told Moses to put on the Ark of the Covenant had wings (Exodus 25:20). The cherubim that Ezekiel saw had four wings (Ezekiel 1:6, Ezekiel 10:15).

We don’t know that angels in general have wings. They generally do not need wings for travel, because they are spirits and travel at speeds far greater than flying with wings. As spirits, they also would not have physical bodies. For angels, wings are usually unnecessary.

Contrary to much of the art we see, the Bible never describes angels as looking like women or children. They have appeared in male form, but do not have gender in the human sense. They do not have anything like a marriage relationship or family network. (Read Matthew 22:30.) Each was individually created.

Angels are usually invisible to people, but they can appear when there is a purpose for it. Sometimes when an angel appeared, people thought at first that he was an ordinary man (Genesis 19:1-2). At other times angels appeared with such radiance that people would fall on the ground in fear (Matthew 28:2-4). When an angel appeared to someone, he usually greeted the person with the words “Fear not.” (Read Luke 1:13, 30; Luke 2:10.)

Angels are spirits (Hebrews 1:14),[1] but we should not think of them as less real because of that. The Bible implies that spirits are more powerful than anything physical. (Read Isaiah 31:1, 3.)

Angels are called the sons of God (Job 1:6) and have something of the nature of God, but not the same way that humans do. Angels are far superior to humans in power and intelligence now, but humans will someday be above angels. (Read 1 Corinthians 6:3.)

The creation of angels is not mentioned in Genesis. They were created before the earth, and they celebrated when they saw God creating it (Job 38:4-7).

Angels never die (Luke 20:36). The fact that they were created before the earth means that all angels have lived for thousands of years and have observed all of human history.

Angels have personality. They can speak and have conversations (Luke 1:18-20). They worship God, which means they can understand something of his nature and can respond to it with awe (Hebrews 1:6). They rejoice when a sinner repents, which shows that they have emotions. (Read Luke 15:10.) They are intensely interested in understanding the plan of salvation, which shows that they have intellectual capacity. (Read 1 Peter 1:12.) They celebrated at the announcement of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:13-14).

Angels are not all alike, because there are some called cherubim (Psalm 80:1) and seraphim (Isaiah 6:2). There are also levels of angels, for the Bible speaks both of angels and at least one archangel and mentions “the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). There is an authority structure among them, referred to as thrones, dominions, and principalities. (Read Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 1:16.)

In both Jewish and Christian tradition much has been written about angels, going far beyond what we know from scripture.

Not much is revealed in scripture about the differences between angels. The term archangel is used only twice in the Bible. Michael is called an archangel, and there will be the voice of an archangel at the return of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Jude 1:9). The term archangel literally means “chief angel.” We don’t know how many archangels exist.

Seraphim are mentioned in the Bible only in Isaiah 6. They had six wings. Other than their wings, they may have looked somewhat human, because they had hands, feet, and faces.

Cherubim and a flaming sword were placed at the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were removed (Genesis 3:24). This was to make the garden unapproachable. Ezekiel’s description of the cherubim that he saw is very different from any other creature we know of. They had four wings, four faces that were all different, several hands, a radiance like fire, flashes of lightning, and lightning speed (Ezekiel 1:5-14, Ezekiel 10:15).

Images of two cherubim were placed on the ends of the Ark of the Covenant, with the Mercy Seat between them.[2] God is repeatedly called the One who is enthroned above the cherubim.[3] This identified him as the God of Israel who was worshipped in the Temple and also showed that he was unapproachable except in the ways he directed.

The power and majesty of God is seen in the kind of servants he has. The cherubim are such creatures that a person seeing one might think that he is seeing God, and be inclined to worship it, yet it is only a servant of God.

The fact that God is attended by so many angels shows his majesty. The Apostle John saw a crowd of angels around the throne of God that he expressed as “myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands” (Revelation 5:11).

The power of an angel is not unlimited, for we read that one was delayed by conflict when carrying the message for Daniel. (Read Daniel 10:12-13.) Yet God can give them as much power as they need for whatever task he gives to them, such as the time when one killed 185,000 soldiers (2 Kings 19:35).

Angels are apparently assigned responsibilities. The Bible tells us they are sent to serve those who receive salvation. (Read Hebrews 1:14.) Angels surround and protect the people who serve God (Psalm 34:7). We can assume that many angels are present with us all the time. Jesus said that children have angels assigned to them. (Read Matthew 18:10.) The archangel Michael is called the prince that defends the nation of Israel (Daniel 12:1).

The Bible never says that we are to pray to angels. It never even says we are to try to communicate with them. They are not mediators between us and God. There is a warning about people who worship angels and get involved in things in the spirit world that they do not really understand. (Read Colossians 2:18.) If we try to get involved with angels in a way that God does not want, evil spirits will likely respond to us instead of God’s angels.

► What is the origin of evil spirits?

Evil spirits are angels who rebelled against God. This happened before the creation of humanity, and the Bible does not reveal much about it. Satan was the leader of the rebellion, and one third of the angels followed him (Revelation 12:4). Jude speaks of the angels that left their first position (Jude 1:6). They have already been condemned by the judgment of God. (Read John 16:11; 2 Peter 2:4.)

There are two passages in the prophets that might refer to the fall of Satan (Isaiah 14:12-17 and Ezekiel 28:12-19). Each passage talks about a human, earthly king, but they may be comparing the falls of kings to the fall of Satan.

It seems that Satan became proud and wanted to become independent of God. The Apostle Paul warned that a person could become proud and fall into the same condemnation as the devil. (Read 1 Timothy 3:6.) This was the same temptation that the devil offered to Adam and Eve when he said, “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). It is the temptation to reject God’s authority and become your own god.

► What are some things we know about Satan?

[1]Satan still leads the rebellion against God. He is called the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). Satan is called the ruler of this world because the people of this world are mostly in rebellion against God (John 12:31). He claims ownership of the kingdoms of the world, giving them temporarily to whomever he chooses (Luke 4:4-6). He blinds the minds of sinners to keep them from accepting the gospel. (Read 2 Corinthians 4:4.) Sinners who have not repented are truly his prisoners (2 Timothy 2:26). He takes the Word of God out of people’s minds so it will not have effect. (Read Mark 4:15.) He put into the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira the plan to lie to the church and to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3), and he entered Judas with the desire to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3). He invents wrong religious doctrines and encourages people to teach them. (Read 1 Timothy 4:1.)

Satan hates God and therefore hates people because they are created in the image of God and they receive God’s greatest favor. He seeks to bring as many people as possible under the same condem­nation that he has received by influencing them to rebel against God.

Those who consciously serve Satan are the most deceived people in the world, for they are in a rebellion that cannot succeed, and they are serving a master who hates them and is interested only in destroying them (1 Peter 5:8). He makes promises that he knows he cannot fulfill (John 8:44).

Others follow Satan unconsciously when they choose to live in sin (Ephesians 2:2-3). That is why he devotes much time and energy to temptation and deception (2 Corinthians 4:4, 2 Corinthians 11:3, 14). He wants to cause people to reject faith in God, making idols of created things instead of worshipping God (Romans 1:25). His temptations are deceptions, because he really has nothing to offer but perversions of what God has created. The devil has created no joys or pleasures; God created them all. The devil can only offer pleasures in abused forms that are out of the will of God. In fact, Satan cannot create anything; he can only pervert the good things that God created.

Certain evil spirits apparently focus on specific geographical areas or groups of people. Just as the angel Michael was called the prince that defends Israel, there were evil spirits that were called the princes of Persia and Greece (Daniel 10:13, 20). Certain spirits became the gods of nations.

Satan desires worship. (Read Matthew 4:9.) Evil spirits work through false religions. The Bible tells us that when people worship idols they are worshipping demons. (Read Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20-21.) Demons respond to the worship of people who do not know what they are worshipping. Just like the worshipper of God becomes more like God and delights in holiness, the worshipper of evil spirits becomes more evil and delights in evil. Perhaps the worst form of worship that has ever occurred was when people sacrificed their own children to demons. (Read Psalm 106:37-38.)

Satan and other demons try to take full control of people’s minds and behavior. This is called “demon possession.” Some people have yielded themselves consciously to this kind of possession; perhaps others have allowed it without realizing what they were doing. Some people have gone step by step into this condition, thinking that they were acquiring powers to use for their own purposes. A person so possessed becomes a slave of evil spirits, is driven to self-destruction, and suffers horrible torments of mind and emotions. (Read Mark 5:2-5.) Only Jesus can deliver a person from this bondage.

In countries where the gospel has been widely preached, the activity of evil spirits is usually disguised. Ironically, it is in these “civilized” countries that people are the most secular, ridiculing anything supernatural and denying the existence of spirits. In such an environment, evil spirits do not act openly, for if they terrified people who have heard the gospel, many of those people would turn to God for deliverance and protection.

[1]In countries where the gospel is little known, evil spirits operate more openly. The people there do not know that they can turn to Christ for deliverance, so the powers of demons intimidate them and bring them into submission. The people serve the spirits, not willingly and joyfully, but fearfully. The gospel comes as a wonderful message of deliverance and freedom.

Because of the constant attack of the devil, we are in a spiritual war. We are warned to remember that our warfare is in the spirit world and not against physical enemies. (Read Ephesians 6:12.) We are told to wear spiritual armor, so we can protect ourselves (Ephesians 6:13). We can be confident of victory, because the devil cannot resist the power of God that is in us, and when we resist the devil, he will run from us (James 4:7).

► Is the devil the opposite of God?

The devil has power far beyond what humans have in their present, mortal state. However, his power is nothing compared to God’s. He should not be thought of as opposite to God, as if he is equal in power. Some philosophers think that the forces for good and evil in the world are equal. That is far from the truth. Satan is not present everywhere, does not know all things, and makes mistakes. God is the Creator of spirits, and they cannot defeat him. When the time of man’s probation is finished, all evil spirits will be judged, confined, and punished, along with sinful men.

The defeat of Satan was promised long ago. God promised to send a Savior to crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and give us victory over sin. (Read 1 John 3:8.) Jesus, by his death and resurrection, does not allow Satan to have power over death (Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 1:18). The final and eternal destiny of Satan and the other evil spirits is the lake of fire. (Read Matthew 25:41.)

Already God puts limits on what Satan can do (Job 1:12, Job 2:6). That means that we don’t have to live in fear of what Satan may do to us. Nothing can happen unless God allows it, and he knows what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Not only are we defended against Satan’s attack, but we also have power to advance God’s kingdom against the kingdom of Satan. Jesus gave power to his disciples, not just to the apostles, to cast out evil spirits. (Read Luke 10:17.) As we preach the gospel, God gives power to his truth, and delivers from Satan those who respond to the gospel.

Note to class leader: A member of the class could explain this section.

Some people become fascinated with the spirit world. They begin to study angels and may try to interact with them. The Bible never tells us to pray to angels or to try to have a relationship with them. The Bible warns us not to worship them or to try to know more than we are able to understand (Colossians 2:18).

It’s even more dangerous if a person becomes too interested in evil spirits. Some people become fascinated by their power and the things they do. There are games that interact with spirits. There are methods people use to get information from spirits. We are never to be involved with evil spirits except to resist them by the power of God (James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8-9).

Some people have developed complex and detailed explanations of the spirit world and how it works. However, God has revealed in the Bible all we need to know about the spirit world.

► Read the statement of beliefs together at least two times.

God created all spirits. The holy angels worship God and protect believers. Angels are immortal, personal beings who can speak, worship, and reason. They have made moral choices. Satan and other angels fell into sin and are enemies of God and humanity. God limits the power of Satan and has condemned him to eternal punishment.

(1) Passage Assignment: Each student will be assigned one of the passages listed below. Before the next class session, you should read the passage and write a paragraph about what it says about the subject of this lesson.

• Matthew 12:43-45

• Luke 8:27-35

• Acts 12:7-11

• 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

• 1 Peter 5:8-9

(2) Test: You will begin the next class with a test over Lesson 6. Study the test questions carefully in preparation.

(3) Teaching Assignment: Remember to schedule and report your out-of-class teaching times.

(1) How do we know that angels do not usually have physical bodies?

(2) When were angels created?

(3) Do angels die?

(4) Name four ways we know angels have personality.

(5) Name four words used in the Bible to refer to angels.

(6) What is something that angels do for people who serve God?

(7) What is the origin of evil spirits?

(8) What is an idol worshipper truly worshipping?

(9) What is the final destiny of Satan and other evil spirits?

(10) What must believers do to protect themselves from spiritual attacks?