by jimwalton » Sat Nov 19, 2022 2:17 am
Again, glad to talk.
Satan: A powerful spiritual being of unknown category. There is NO reference that he was ever an angel. We know nothing of his origin or how he got to the place of opposing God as he does (I am convinced that neither Isa. 14 nor Ezk. 28 refer to him.) His main chosen role on Earth is to deceive. He cannot possess people. He has helpers in fallen angels, but not demons (to be explained later). He is not omnipresent, omnipotent, or omniscient. He can only be one place at a time.He certainly has power in this world, as Ephesians 2.2 shows. He is called a "prince" in many texts in the Gospels, relating that he has a modicum of power. He is the Dragon (serpent) of Revelation and the source of some evil in the world. (People's own hearts are the source of most evil.) He influences life, but not like God. Satan is a deceiver, but he cannot indwell as the Holy Spirit can.
But we have to understand that Satan is not a power equal to God, like Yin and Yang. Compared to God, he is quite tiny in his power and also quite limited. Compared to humans, however, he is very powerful, mostly in his ability to deceive. That's where his true danger lies.
The fallen angels: These are angels formerly of God who abandoned their positions for nefarious purposes (Jude 1.6; 2 Peter 2.4). They now serve Satan (Mt. 25.41) as his messengers, carrying out his tasks on Earth.
Demons: Demons are amoral spirit beings who cause chaos. They're to the human world like tornadoes to the natural world: chaotic and disruptive, but not evil. Generally speaking, demon possession in the New Testament causes physical symptoms like seizures (though the NT recognizes it as different from epilepsy) and what seems like madness. It's interesting that in the NT, demon possession never motivates people to sin, is not perceived as evil, and, even more intriguing, we only ever hear demon-possessed people speaking the truth. Demons are not identified with Satan. Satan and the fallen angels are a different thing.
Angels: Angels are God's messengers. They are most often mouthpieces bringing His messages to humans, but at times are involved in doing actions of judgment as agents for God.
Archangels: Seemingly a higher power of angel, almost always involved in military (both physical and spiritual) or political matters. The Bible only ever mentions 1 archangel. Its name is Michael (I use "its" because its gender is unknown or nonexistent). It appears in the Bible only a few times: Dan. 10.13, 21; 12.1; 1 Thes. 4.16; Jude 1.9; Rev. 12.7. That's it. We are told almost nothing about archangels.
What does it do? It seems to be a guardian over Israel, battling for Israel in the spiritual realm (Dan. 10.13). In 1 Thes. it is the agent God uses to signal Christ's return and the final spiritual battle, and therefore possibly a guardian over Christians in the spiritual realm. In Jude, Michael is doing battle for the body of Moses. In Revelation, Michael is fighting against "the dragon."
So I think we can conclude an archangel is a warrior who fights on behalf of God's people in the spiritual realm. That's about all we know from the Bible. Of course there are many traditions (the book of Enoch, Jewish literature) making up stuff about archangels, even adding archangels and naming them, but that's all unauthorized speculation, as far as actual Bible study is concerned.
Seraphim: Seraphim seem to always be in the presence of God (Isa. 6, the only place they are mentioned)—we know close to nothing about them. The only descriptions we have of them make them seem to have the appearance of winged serpents who are on fire or glow as if they were. They are also described as having face, hands, feet, and wings. So they are most likely upright fiery flying serpents who surround God's throne.
Cherubim: Cherubim seem to flank the throne of God, but they did appear on Earth once to guard the way to the garden (Gn. 3). So they are guardians who mark out God's invisible presence. They are composite creatures with faces, wings, and bodies like several animals put together.
Again, glad to talk.
Satan: A powerful spiritual being of unknown category. There is NO reference that he was ever an angel. We know nothing of his origin or how he got to the place of opposing God as he does (I am convinced that neither Isa. 14 nor Ezk. 28 refer to him.) His main chosen role on Earth is to deceive. He cannot possess people. He has helpers in fallen angels, but not demons (to be explained later). He is not omnipresent, omnipotent, or omniscient. He can only be one place at a time.He certainly has power in this world, as Ephesians 2.2 shows. He is called a "prince" in many texts in the Gospels, relating that he has a modicum of power. He is the Dragon (serpent) of Revelation and the source of some evil in the world. (People's own hearts are the source of most evil.) He influences life, but not like God. Satan is a deceiver, but he cannot indwell as the Holy Spirit can.
But we have to understand that Satan is not a power equal to God, like Yin and Yang. Compared to God, he is quite tiny in his power and also quite limited. Compared to humans, however, he is very powerful, mostly in his ability to deceive. That's where his true danger lies.
The fallen angels: These are angels formerly of God who abandoned their positions for nefarious purposes (Jude 1.6; 2 Peter 2.4). They now serve Satan (Mt. 25.41) as his messengers, carrying out his tasks on Earth.
Demons: Demons are amoral spirit beings who cause chaos. They're to the human world like tornadoes to the natural world: chaotic and disruptive, but not evil. Generally speaking, demon possession in the New Testament causes physical symptoms like seizures (though the NT recognizes it as different from epilepsy) and what seems like madness. It's interesting that in the NT, demon possession never motivates people to sin, is not perceived as evil, and, even more intriguing, we only ever hear demon-possessed people speaking the truth. Demons are not identified with Satan. Satan and the fallen angels are a different thing.
Angels: Angels are God's messengers. They are most often mouthpieces bringing His messages to humans, but at times are involved in doing actions of judgment as agents for God.
Archangels: Seemingly a higher power of angel, almost always involved in military (both physical and spiritual) or political matters. The Bible only ever mentions 1 archangel. Its name is Michael (I use "its" because its gender is unknown or nonexistent). It appears in the Bible only a few times: Dan. 10.13, 21; 12.1; 1 Thes. 4.16; Jude 1.9; Rev. 12.7. That's it. We are told almost nothing about archangels.
What does it do? It seems to be a guardian over Israel, battling for Israel in the spiritual realm (Dan. 10.13). In 1 Thes. it is the agent God uses to signal Christ's return and the final spiritual battle, and therefore possibly a guardian over Christians in the spiritual realm. In Jude, Michael is doing battle for the body of Moses. In Revelation, Michael is fighting against "the dragon."
So I think we can conclude an archangel is a warrior who fights on behalf of God's people in the spiritual realm. That's about all we know from the Bible. Of course there are many traditions (the book of Enoch, Jewish literature) making up stuff about archangels, even adding archangels and naming them, but that's all unauthorized speculation, as far as actual Bible study is concerned.
Seraphim: Seraphim seem to always be in the presence of God (Isa. 6, the only place they are mentioned)—we know close to nothing about them. The only descriptions we have of them make them seem to have the appearance of winged serpents who are on fire or glow as if they were. They are also described as having face, hands, feet, and wings. So they are most likely upright fiery flying serpents who surround God's throne.
Cherubim: Cherubim seem to flank the throne of God, but they did appear on Earth once to guard the way to the garden (Gn. 3). So they are guardians who mark out God's invisible presence. They are composite creatures with faces, wings, and bodies like several animals put together.