5 MYTHS ABOUT ANGELS AND DEMONS by Sam Storms for Core Christianity
Ongoing Interest
There is no indication that our world’s fascination with angels and demons is in decline. Rarely does a day pass that we don’t hear of someone’s alleged encounter with either a holy angel or a fallen demon, together with news that a new TV show or film on Netflix will feature either or both of these species of spiritual beings. Sadly, though, there is a lot of confusion about angels and demons and certain myths that simply won’t die. Here are five of them.[1]
Myth #1: Angels and demons are eternal and uncreated.
This runs counter to numerous biblical texts. The psalmist includes all God’s “angels” and heavenly “hosts” among those whom he “created” (Psalm 148:2–5). The Apostle Paul clearly asserts that “thrones” and “dominions” and “rulers” and “authorities,” standard language for angelic and demonic beings, were created by the Son of God (Col. 1:16).
Furthermore, each angel is a direct creation, that is to say, they did not descend from an original pair as we did; they do not procreate as we do (Matt. 22:28–30). We don’t know when angels were created but it is likely this happened before the events of Genesis 1:1ff (see Job 38:4–7). Satan, being himself a fallen angel, is not eternal. He is a finite creature. He is, therefore, God’sDevil. Satan is not the equal and opposite power of God (contra dualism). His power is not infinite. He does not possess divine attributes. In sum, he is no match for God! At most, Satan is the equal and opposite power of the archangel Michael.
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Myth #2: Angels and demons are all-powerful.
Make no mistake, they are powerful! But only God is omnipotent. All angelic power is subject to God’s power and purpose (Ps. 103:20; 2 Pet. 2:11).
In Genesis 19:12–16, angels are used by God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. In 2 Kings 19:35, one angel is empowered to kill 185,000 Assyrians. According to Matthew 28:2, an angel moved the stone from Christ’s tomb. In Acts 12, an angel entered a locked prison and released Peter. In Acts 12:23, we read that an angel killed Herod in a most gruesome way. Angels appear in the book of Revelation (see especially Rev. 7:2–3) to influence the phenomena of nature.
