Archive for the ‘Angels & Demons’ Category

Can Believers Be Demon Possessed?

Posted: December 7, 2011 in Angels & Demons
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Those involved in “deliverance ministries” say it is necessary to bind Satan in the unsaved in order to give the gospel. “The experienced deliverance minister can compel evil spirits to tell the truth. I do so all the time….To evangelize the demonized we must learn how to bind demonic activity from the minds of demonized unbelievers” (Ed Murphy, We Are at War pages 51 and 58).

Charles Ryrie believes that Christians can be temporarily demon possessed (or have the base of operations within the believer). Ryrie is weak on this issue stating “the argument against a believer’s being able to be demon possessed is often based on the fact of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s heart. In other words, since the Spirit indwells the believer, it is impossible for Satan or demons also to indwell and thus possess the believer at the same time. But do not the Spirit and the flesh war within the believer? (Gal. 5:16-17) If it be argued that the old man has been judge (Rom. 6:6), it may also be pointed out that Satan has been judged too (John 12:31). So if Spirit and flesh, the new and old, can be present within the believer at the same time, why cannot the Spirit and Satan (or demons)?” (Basic Theology, page 167).

The problem is not between the Spirit and the inanimate principle of the old nature dwelling together in the believer but the problem is the Holy Spirit dwelling in a believer with another evil person like a demon. 1 John 4:4 assures us “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

The following verses are used to argue that believers can be demon possessed: (1 Sam. 16:13-14; Lk. 13:11-16; 1 Cor.5:5; 2 Cor. 12:7; Acts 5:3). Ryrie makes another mistake by citing Ananias who allowed Satan to fill his heart. “Since there is no reason not to believe that Ananias was a believer, here is a clear statement that Satan did fill the heart of a believer. Nothing is said about demons here, though presumably if Satan filled his heart, demons could have also….Neither Satan nor demons can permanently indwell a believer nor ultimately have victory over him” (pages 167-168).

One weakness of Ryrie’s argument is to assume to be filled by Satan equals demon possession. To be filled in Scripture means to be controlled as believers who are filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit or the Pharisees who were filled or controlled by envy toward Christ. Dr. Ryrie does not give any Scripture for this view. Ryrie argues against permanent demon possession from 1 John 5:18 and John 20:17.

There are persuasive arguments against believers being demon possessed. None of the verses used to prove believers can be demon possessed are convincing. The Trinity would not share their abode in believers with demons.

Christ is in every believer (Col.1:27). The Holy Spirit is in every believer (1 Cor. 6:19-20) as a matter of fact, the entire Trinity is in every believer (John 14:23). How can such conflicting personalities dwell in the same person?

Personal Angelic Body Guards? Part 2

Posted: December 29, 2010 in Angels & Demons
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We are examining some Scriptures used to defend the belief in personal guardian angels

1. Psalm 91:11 is thought to teach each believer has one assigned guardian angel (See Part 1).

2. Some use Mt. 18:10 to teach that each child has only one guardian angel assigned at birth.

This was the view of Thomas Aquinas in his The Summa Theologica. Question 113 addresses the guardianship of the good angels and Article 5 asks whether an angel is appointed to guard a man from his birth?

“As long as the child is in the mother’s womb it is not entirely separate, but by reason of a certain intimate tie, is still part of her: just as the fruit while hanging on the tree is part of the tree. And therefore it can be said with some degree of probability, that the angel who guards the mother guards the child while in the womb. But at its birth, when it becomes separate from the mother, an angel guardian is appointed to.”

Jesus is talking about only children who are already believers “who believe in me” (18:6). Aquinas taught on the basis of Mt 18:10 that each child at birth was assigned a guardian angel. Jesus is warning about offending a little child. If anyone offends a little child, God has angels ready to deal with the offenders. Jesus says these angels are in heaven, not on earth shadowing their charge. Jesus says these angels are “always beholding the face of God the Father” rather than guarding believers.

3. In Acts 12:15, Luke records that a group of believers believed in guardian angels.

But this group of believers is not exactly the model for us to follow in belief or practice. They were praying for God to deliver Peter from prison and when God answered their prayer, they would not believe it. Instead of believing that God had answered their prayer, they thought Peter’s guardian angel was at the door knocking.

“The reply to Rhoda reflects the Jewish tradition that a guardian angel resembles the person to whom it is assigned. But a report indicating that certain disciples believed in guardian angels does not invest the belief with authority. Some Christians still had mistaken or confused beliefs on various subjects. In absence of definite didactic material, we must conclude that there is insufficient evidence for the concept of guardian angels” (Erickson, vol. 1, page 445).

The believers in the prayer meeting were mistaken about Rhoda being crazy. She was not. The believers in the prayer meeting were also mistaken about Peter. They did not believe Peter was at the door. He was. An angel had helped break Peter out of prison, but then left for heaven, rather than constantly guarding him.

This thought leads us to Hebrews 1:14 which is part of Hebrews one and two,the most thorough discussion on angels in the New Testament. The final word on any doctrine in Scripture is found in the Epistles. As we have already seen, angels do not perform all the ministries found in the Gospels (delivering God’s revealed Word to individuals) and in the book of Acts (breaking innocent believers out of jail).

4. Hebrews 1:14 is the final teaching on angels.

Angels minister by serving God and worshiping God (see Part 1). They worship God as witnessed in Revelation. They also serve believers according to Heb 1:14. From Hebrews one and two we learn:

a. Angels are inferior to Christ.

1) God calls Jesus His Son, not angels (Heb 1:4-5).

2) God commands angels to worship His Son (Heb 1:6).

3) God has exalted His Son an eternal King above angels His servants (Heb 1:7-9).                    

4) God has assigned angels to serve believers in the world created by Christ (Heb 1:10-14).

5) Christ in His incarnation became man not angels because angels do not have a physical body and can not die (Heb 2).

Many advocates of guardian angels teach that we should develop a relationship with our guardian angel. Terry Lynn Taylor advocates this in her book Guardians of Hope: The Angel’s Guide to Personal Growth. “Basically, I’m suggesting that you become best friends with your guardian angel! Pretend you have an invisible best friend who witnesses everything you experience and with whom you can share insights” (page 13).

“When children make up invisible playmates on their own, it is generally cute, harmless, and even therapeutic. When adults recommend to other adults that they pretend to have an invisible friend who will protect them day and night as a guardian angel, that’s bad advice” (Kenneth D. Boa and Robert M. Bowman Jr. Sense & Nonsense About Angels & Demons. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007, 80).

The Word of God teaches us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (not angels),” “Draw nigh to God (not angels) and He will draw nigh to you,” and “Seek first the kingdom of God (not angels).”

Not only are angels inferior to Christ but next we learn from Hebrews 1:14 that

b. Angels serve only believers.

Hebrews 1:14 says that angels are ministering spirits “to them who shall be heirs of salvation” or believers. Psalm 34:7 teaches the same truth as Hebrews 1:14, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him”. If an unsaved person claims to see an angel there are three possibilities:

a) That unsaved person was either dreaming.

b) That unsaved person mistook a human for an angel. It was not an angel who changed your fat tire, it was a good Samaritan.

c) That unsaved person was visited by a fallen angel/demon.

From Hebrews 1:14 we have discovered that angels are inferior to Christ, that angels only serve believers and also that

c. Angels are created by God.

It is God who ultimately protects us, and Hebrews 1:14 says angels are “sent forth” by their Creator to protect believers.

Why was James the apostle martyred in Acts 12 and Peter was delivered? Did James’ guardian angel fail? No it was God’s will for James not to live.

What about babies and small children who die, did their guardian angel fall asleep on the job? No, God is ultimately in charge not angels. While God sometimes uses angels to protect us as He sometimes uses other believers or police officers or the military, God does not need angels to protect us because He is all powerful.

David Jeremiah opens his book on angels entitled, What The Bible says about Angels, “In a doctor’s office one fall day last year, I was told I had cancer. I’m sure you’ll understand when I say I was fearful. It was one of those times when I would have cherished having an angel with me in the room, assuring me everything would be okay. In the months that followed I felt the same fear when I prepared to have surgery on two occasions. An angel’s hand holding mine as I was wheeled into the operating room would have been treasured comfort. But as far as I knew, I’d never seen an angel. Never. Did that mean something was wrong with me? Why did other people have that privilege? Wasn’t I spiritual enough?” (page14).

But near the end of David Jeremiah’s book he (page 188) summarizes my thoughts: “But if this is disappointing news to you, and you’re dismayed to think there may not be a specific angel responsible for your protection, you need not jump up in fear to check the locks on your doors and windows. There’s plenty of evidence that God himself is looking out for you.”

Personal Angelic Body Guards? Part 1

Posted: December 28, 2010 in Angels & Demons
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DO you believe you have a personal guardian angel? Many people think they do. For that matter, a certain woman in western Canada is said to have a special gift involving angels. If you give her your full name along with $200, she claims that she will put you in touch with your guardian angel. First, she meditates by focusing on the flame of a candle. Next, she has a vision in which your angel gives her a message to pass on to you. As a bonus, the woman provides a sketch of what your angel looks like. This example from this Jehovah Witness’s website is just one among many on the internet revealing the new angel craze or the Third Wave.

Theologian Robert Lightner documents the connection between angelmania and the New Age Movement.

New Age authors Alma Daniel, Timothy Wyllie, and Andrew Ramar, in their book Ask Your Angel, believe that angelic activity has been in three waves.

1. The first wave was in Bible times when angels appeared to a few individuals like the prophets.

2. The second wave came in the Dark Ages when angels appeared to outstanding leaders.

3. The third wave is our present day when angels appear to ordinary people.

Today, angelmania has assigned powers, abilities, and activities to angels that far exceed what the Bible teaches. Third wave belief in guardian angels is far beyond one on one coverage:

1. The twelve Zodiac signs are said to have angelic governors who watch over the months of the year.

2. Guardian angels are assigned to the planets.

Gustav Davidson in A Dictionary of Angels states that Guardian angels are assigned to the planets in our solar system. Eight guardian angels and their planets are mentioned.

1) Rahatiel is the chief angel of the planets

2) Raphael is over the sun

3) Gabriel is over the moon

4) Michael is over Mercury

5) Aniel is over Venus

6) Samel is over Mars

7) Zadkiel is over Jupiter

8) Kafziel is over Saturn

3. Others believe angels are assigned to wild beasts.

4. Even birds are under angelic supervision. Arael is the angel over birds. The dove has its own angel, Alphun.

“In a New Age book on angels, A Book of Angels, author Sophy Burnham writes about a woman who reported that she was visited by four angels one night as she contemplated all the things she still needed to do before she died. She said she knew the angels were there in the room with her because her golden retriever saw them. And she said she knew that because the dog nosed one of the angels out of his way so he could go to sleep on his favorite spot in the room”. Now that is very convincing empirical evidence! I’m a believer! Just kidding!

5. Angels watch over plants and trees.

6. Angels guard the seasons of the year and weather.

The influence of the New Age Movement on angelology can be read in the titles of New Age books on angels: Where Angels Walk by Joan Webster Anderson, Ask Your Angels, A Book of Angels, Guardian of Hope, by Terry Lynn Taylor, Angels of Mercy, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Angels within Us, John Randolph Price.

What is the New Age Movement?

The New Age movement is old Hinduism. Hinduism teaches pantheism which is the belief that everyone and everything is part of God. Here are some tenets of New Age theology which shows how conducive it is to believe in the New Age and angelmania.

1. God and creation are one. Therefore you are God and don’t need the real God. Angels will suffice.

2. Revelation is special and continuous. The Bible is not authoritative. Therefore what angels say is relevant and revelatory.

3. Jesus is a man who evolved into a godlike being. Therefore he can’t save you from your sins, if you have any.

4. Humanity’s crises are all the result of people’s ignorance of their own divinity. Our depravity is not because of sin but ignorance and angels are available with revelation to help us overcome this need.

5. Through various techniques an altered state of consciousness can be produced in individuals, resulting in a perceived change of reality.

6. The “transformation” of each individual is the basis for the transformation of the entire world . Salvation is not individual but global. New Age teaching comes from angelic instruction. The angel, Abigrael, is acknowledged as the teacher for much of what is taught in Ask Your Angels. In much New Age thinking, angels replace God and the messages of the angels replace the Bible (Robert Lightner. Nashville: Word Publishing. Angels, Satan, and Demons. pages 17, 18, 49).

What does the Word of God teach about Guardian Angels? Does each believer have a personal, invisible, angelic bodyguard 24/7/365 or is this just part of the angle craze?

Let’s examine some Scriptures used to defend the belief in personal guardian angels

1. Psalm 91:11 is thought to teach each believer has one assigned guardian angel.

This Psalm is praise to God who protects individual believers. Repeatedly the Psalmist is praising “the most High” as “my refuge and my fortress” in verses 1-10. In 91:11, the Psalmist says that God will provide many “angels” not just one guardian angel “charge over you” i.e., each individual believer. God can send a multitude of angels to our aid if necessary (2 Kings 6:13-17).

Wayne Grudem sees the protection of angels more like zone defense in basketball rather than man to man. Elsewhere in the Bible, we read that not just one, but many angels accompanied, protected, and provided for believers. Elisha was surrounded by many horses and chariots of fire (2 Kgs 6:17; Lk. 16:22) (Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology.Grand Rapids: Zondervan,1994, page 400.)

In my next post we will look at the more popular verses (Mt 18:10, Acts 12:15) used to teach guardian angels for individual believers.

Christmas Sermon on Angels, Part 2

Posted: December 23, 2010 in Angels & Demons
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Sometimes angels are invisible. At other times they appear human. Angels are also described as having wings. On rare occasions, brilliant lights accompany angels. “Angels get so absorbed in their work that even their appearance is governed by their assignment. Depending on the task God gives them in serving us, they may remain invisible to our eyes, or appear in ordinary human form, or take on some more glorious aspect. Their form—what they are—depends on their function—what they do. As J. M. Wilson says, ‘In general they are simply regarded as embodiments of their mission’” (David Jeremiah. What the Bible Says About Angels. Sisters: Multnomah Books, 1996, 181).

We have observed Gabriel performing his ministry of delivering his message to Zacharias. Now he delivers his greatest message.

B. Gabriel’s second message wsas to Mary with the message of the birth of Jesus in Luke 1:26-38.

1) Angels focused their attention on God and not themselves. Gabriel once again is sent from God in heaven to deliver a message to Mary in Nazareth about her virgin birth of Christ. Gabriel delivers his message “and departed from her” (1:38). The study of angels is difficult because the Bible is God centered and not angel centered. “Every reference to angels is incidental to some other topic. They are not treated in themselves. God’s revelation never aims at informing us regarding the nature of angels. When they are mentioned, it is always in order to inform us further about God, what he does, and how he does it” (Erickson, p.434).

2) When Mary visits Elisabeth, both of them make much of Christ not the angel who had visited them 1:39-47. Billy Graham called angels, “God’s secret agents” for a reason. Angels do not draw attention to themselves when they deliver God’s message. They fly under the radar. They are sleath in their ministry. They are invisible. They prefer not to be seen or recognized. In Luke one Gabriel said little about himself. He appears, delivers God’s message and then disappears. Their appearance is nondescript. Mark 16:5 says the angel was “a young man.” Luke 1:11 says simply “an angel of the Lord appeared.” That is in stark contrast today with angelmania.

John Randolph Price in his book The Angels within Us (that is an odd title because the only people who have angels in them are sinners who are demon possessed with a fallen angel. So if you have an angel within you, you are in trouble) described a female angel who had “the face and form of a beautiful woman wearing a flowing white robe trimmed in gold” (page 4). I think angels are embarrassed with so much attention given to them.

C. Angels are watching our ministry according to several verses. In 1 Cor 4:9 Paul says we are a spectacle or theater to the world and angels. Not only are the unsaved watching our lives but God’s angels are observing how we serve God. I wonder if angels are pleased with our service to the God they so willingly serve?

D. Angels not watch our service but model ministry for us. Sometimes Scripture pictures angels with six wings to show the swiftness with which angels obey God’s commands. In His model prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” by angels.

2. God also created angels to Worship Him. (In Revelation 22:8-9 John was forbidden to worship the angel who delivered to him the book of Revelation)

A. Those caught up in the angel craze worship angels.    

1) Some religions even encourage and teach angel worship. John MacArthur writes, “Did you know that along with worshiping God and Christ, the Catholic Church has promoted the worship (i.e. veneration) of saints and angels for centuries. In his book on Catholic theology, Ludwig Ott writes, ‘The worship of angels by men is justified. That which the council of Trent teaches as to the invoking and worshiping of saints may also be applied to angels.’ And so they worshiped angels—the primary angel is Michael. In fact, in the Catholic calendar there is an event called Michaelmas September 29th. There were even two famous and large churches built to honor him: one by Constantine near Constantinople, and the other in Rome” (God, Satan and Angels, MacArthur p.126).

2) The worshipping of angels is forbidden by Paul in Colossians 1:16; 2:18-19 because believers were already being tempted by the GGnostics to worship angels. Worship of angels is a substitute for worshiping God. Joan Webster Anderson writes in her book Where Angels Walk: True Stories of Heavenly Visitors, “Angels offer a form of spirituality devoid of Jesus and God….the search is for spirituality, but without God” (quoted from What the Bible says about Angels, page 16).

B. The worship of God is one of the chief activities of angels throughout Scripture.

1) The angel who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds was joined by an angelic choir who broke out in the worship of God in 2:13-14.

2) There is a special group of angels around God’s throne who always worship. This group is mentioned in Revelation 4:8: “The four living creatures had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” This group of angels leads you and me in worshiping God for His great creation in 4:9-11.

3) Soon after their creation when God created the heavens, angels shouted for joy when God next created earth as recorded in Job 38:7. Erwin Lutzer, in a message, said that perhaps God lined up all the angels He had just created when He created the heavens and just before He created earth and the universe in six days and said, “Watch this!” And when God said, “Let there be light” and there was light that the angels shouted and sang God’s praise.

4) We will join this choir in Heaven one day in Revelation 5. Read this preview of our participation in worship in heaven and imagine what it be like when we join the innumberable angelic choir blessing God for our redemption.

C. Angels not only watch our service but they observe our worship. According to 1 Cor 11:10 angels are watching if we are submissive to one another in worship. What do angels who model perfect worship think of our worship?

Conclusion. We believers can please angels who our fellow servants (Revelation 22:8-9) when we serve God as His messengers and worshippers, but the unsaved can also bring delight to angels by trusting Christ. Jesus made this point: “I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

Christmas Sermon on Angels, Part 1

Posted: December 22, 2010 in Angels & Demons
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“Angels We Have Heard on High” is a Christmas carol that commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child. From Wikipedia.

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.

Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ Whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

See Him in a manger laid,
Whom the choirs of angels praise;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While our hearts in love we raise.

At Christmas we simply think more about angels. We sing Christmas carols about angels. We have angels adorning our Christmas trees. We send and receive Christmas cards with angels on the front. Ladies wear angel like jewelry. We watch our favorite Christmas movies with angels such as Jimmy Stewart’s It’s a Wonderful Life with Clarence the 2nd class angel who is trying to win his wings.

Most of us have heard Angel Stories from our childhood. Billy Graham in his 1975 Angels: God’s Secret Agents told this angel story about his wife’s grandmother’s death: “The room seemed to fill with a heavenly light. She sat up in bed and almost laughingly said, ‘I see Jesus. He has his arms outstretched toward me. I see Ben [her husband who had died some years earlier] and I see the angels.’ Then she slumped over, absent from the body but present with the Lord.”

Now, however, more than ever people are caught up with angels and not just at Christmas time. Some call it angelmania or obsession with the spirit world. Angel stories abound on-line and in many books about angels helping people with life’s difficulties such as changing their flat tire to rescuing them from a burning building.

People have always believed in angels as a study of church history shows:

1. In the 2nd Century church fathers bordered on considering angels divine. Justin Martyr in his Apology stated that Christians reverence and worship not only the Son but angels.

2. In the 5th and 6th century pseudonymous Dionysius’ book Celestial Hierarchy became the source of medieval angelology. “This book—was so important that some medieval theologians, such as Hugh of St. Victor (1096-1141), wrote commentaries on it. Because a convert of Paul was thought to be its author, the book was treated as the next best thing to the New Testament, and since it was far more detailed in its treatment of angels, it became the source of medieval angelology” (Kenneth D. Boa and Robert M. Bowman, Jr. Sense & Nonsense About Angels & Demons, page 67).

3. The 13th century was the heyday for angelology. University students were required to take courses in angelology. Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) was known as The Angelic Doctor. In his Summa Theologica, Aquinas answered 118 questions concerning angels.

4. The 16th century John Calvin rejected pseudo-Dionysius and helped put a stop to excessive angelology. Calvin wrote, “If your read that book, you would think a man fallen from heaven recounted, not what he had learned, but what he had seen with his own eyes. Yet Paul, who had been caught up beyond the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2), not only said nothing about it, but also testified that it is unlawful for any man to speak of the secret things that he has seen(12:4)” (John Calvin. Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill. Philiadelphia: Westminster, 1967, 1. 14.4).

5. Belief in angels dropped to an all time low in 19th and 20th century. Belief in angels was thought to be superstitious nonsense. As late as 1982, Mortimer J. Adler, a prominent American philosopher, wrote in his book Angels and Us “It would appear to be a dead subject, of interest only to historians, and of limited interest even to them” (page 17).

6. In the 1990s, however, interest in angels skyrocketed. From 1993 to 2003, Touched by An Angel was a prime-time portrayal of angels. By 2000 four out of five people in America believed in angels. Angels are big business in our society which already suffers from angelmania. “Angelphilia” is the name Duane Garrett gives to this unprecedented addiction with angels in his book Angels and the New Spirituality (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995, 9).

There are two oversimplistic reactions to angelmania:

1. Accept all claims concerning angels.

This is a very dangerous reaction. It was alleged angels that communicated revelation which started two false religions. Muhammud started Islam when the angel Gabriel recited to him the Qu’ran . The Qu’ran has three Christological passages that deny the deity of Christ, so Gabriel who announced the birth of Christ could not have dictated the Qur’an. Twelve centuries later Joseph Smith started Mormonism when he received the golden plates from Moroni that contained the Book of Mormons.

2. Deny the existence of angels.

“Skeptics generally dismiss all accounts about angels as superstitious nonsense, to be classified along with alleged sightings of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, alien spacecraft, and Elvis” (Sense & Nonsense About Angels & Demons, page 19).

The Sadducees of Jesus day also did not believe in angels and to them Jesus said, “You are wrong.” And then Jesus added the reason they were wrong, “Because you do not know the scriptures” (Matthew 22:29). There is only one reliable source for us on which to base what we believe about angels and that is the scriptures. Not what people claim in their Angel Stories or what angels say to angel enthusiasts?

The two primary purposes of angels are to Serve God and Worship God and both are seen in the Christmas story in Luke 1 and 2.

1. Angels were created to Serve God (They are called “ministering spirits” in Hebrews 1:14)

Let’s go to the Christmas story in Luke 1 and 2 where angels played an important role in the first Christmas. One of the ways angels serve the Lord is by delivering messages which Gabriel does twice in Luke one.

A. Gabriel’s first message was to Zacharias with a message concerning his son John the Baptist in Luke 1:5-25.

John would be born 6 months before Jesus and would be His forerunner. The Old Testament Hebrew word for angel is mal’ak and the New Testament Greek word for angel is angelos and both mean “messenger.”

1) Angels delivered God’s Word to people (1:13-17). “In fact, major bodies of Scripture are said to have been administrated to humans by angels, including the Mosaic Law (Gal 3:19); the Book of Revelation (Rev 1:1) and the visions of Daniel (Dan 7, 8, 9)” (Robert Lightner. Angels, Satan, and Demons, page 125). Sense God’s Word is complete angels no longer perform this ministry. Jude 2 says the Gospel has once and for all been delivered. Angels do not perform all the ministries today they did in Bible times.

2) Angels are spirits which explains how they can be “in the presence of God” (1:19) one minute and the next minute delivering God’s message to someone on earth.

 a) Their ministry is seen in the word “angel” or messenger.

 b) Their nature is seen in the word “spirit.” Angels have no physical body. Angels never die. That is one reason Jesus became a man and not an angel according to Hebrews 2:9, 16, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death….For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.” Jesus became human so that His physical body could be nailed to the cross, bear our sins, and physically die.

3) Angels also delivered messages of judgment as in 1:19-20. In Genesis 19, two angels pronounced judgment on Sodom. In the future angels pour out the judgments of Rev, 8-9, 16. Today alleged angelic appearings never bring messages of judgment. Sophy Burnham in her book A Book of Angels says that angels are so popular today “because we created this concept of God as punitive, jealous, judgmental.”  Burnham then says that “angels never are. They are utterly compassionate” (Quoted by David Jeremiah What the Bible says about Angels, page 51). This implies God is not compassionate and angels are not instruments of judgement. Both beliefs are wrong in light of Scripture.

In Part 2, we continue to examine ministry of angels serving God and also worshiping God.

Do Angels Play Zone or Man to Man?

Posted: December 23, 2008 in Angels & Demons
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angels-in-america3

DO you believe you have a personal guardian angel? Many people think they do. For that matter, a certain woman in western Canada is said to have a special gift involving angels. If you give her your full name along with $200, she claims that she will put you in touch with your guardian angel. First, she meditates by focusing on the flame of a candle. Next, she has a vision in which your angel gives her a message to pass on to you. As a bonus, the woman provides a sketch of what your angel looks like.

 

New Age authors Alma Daniel, Timothy Wyllie, and Andrew Ramar, in their book Ask Your Angel, believe that angelic activity has been in three waves. The first wave was in Bible times when angels appeared to a few individuals like the prophets. The second wave came in the Dark Ages when angels appeared to outstanding leaders and the third wave is our present day when angels appear to ordinary people (Robert Lightner. Angels, Satan, and Demons. Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998, 18).

 

Today, angelmania has assigned powers, abilities, and activities to angels that far exceed what the Bible teaches. Such as:

 

1. The twelve Zodiac signs are said to have angelic governors who watch over the months of the year.

2. Guardian angels are assigned to the planets.

Gustav Davidson in A Dictionary of Angels states that Guardian angels are assigned to the planets in our solar system. Eight guardian angels and their planets are mentioned.

1) Rahatiel is the chief angel of the planets

2) Raphael is over the sun

3) Gabriel is over the moon

4) Michael is over Mercury

5) Aniel is over Venus

6) Samel is over Mars

7) Zadkiel is over Jupiter

8) Kafziel is over Saturn.

3. Some believe there are angels for each day of the week and each hour of the day.

4. Others believe angels are assigned to wild beasts.

5. Even birds are under angelic supervision. Arael is the angel over birds. The dove has its own angel, Alphun.

In a New Age book on Angels, A Book of Angels, author Sophy Burnham writes about a woman who reported that she was visited by four angels one night as she contemplated all the things she still needed to do before she died. She said she know the angels were there in the room with her because her golden retriever saw them. And she said she knew that because the dog nosed one of the angels out of this way so he could go to sleep on his favorite spot in the room (Robert Lightner, Angels, page 49).

6. Angels watch over plants and trees.

7. Angels guard the seasons of the year and weather.

The influence of the New Age Movement on angelology can be read in the titles of New Age books on angels: Where Angels Walk by Joan Webster Anderson, Ask Your Angels, A Book of Angels, Guardian of Hope, by Terry Lynn Taylor, Angels of Mercy, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Angels within Us, John Randolph Price.

 What is the New Age Movement?

The New Age movement is old Hinduism. Hinduism teaches pantheism which is the belief that everyone and everything is part of God. Here are eight points of New Age theology:

1. God and creation are one.

2. Revelation is special and continuous. The Bible is not authoritative.

3. Humanity is one with God.

4. Jesus is a man who evolved into a godlike being.

5. Humanity’s crises are all the result of people’s ignorance of their own divinity.

6. Humanity, therefore, needs a complete transformation in which each person is made aware of his oneness with God.

7. Through various techniques an altered state of consciousness can be produced in individuals, resulting in a perceived change of reality.

8. The “transformation” of each individual is the basis for the transformation of the entire world (Angels, Satan, and Demons, page 17).

New Age teaching comes from angelic instruction. The angel, Abigrael, is acknowledged as the teacher for much of what is taught in Ask Your Angels. In much New Age thinking, angels replace God and the messages of the angels replace the Bible. 

What does the Word of God teach about Guardian Angels?

 

Angels still minister today but not necessarily the same as they did while the Bible was being written (Heb. 1:14). Angels delivered messages to believers, as with Daniel in Dan. 9:21-27. But angels do not deliver messages today because God’s revelation is complete. Angels broke apostles out of jail in Acts 5 and 12. But do angels deliver innocent people found guilty of murder from the electric chair or lethal injection? Why are most of the angelic sightings with angels who speak happy messages or always deliver from danger? In the Bible, angels mete out judgment (Isa. 37:36-38; 2nd Sam. 24:15-16). 

 

Sophy Burnham, in her book Angel Letters, gives many testimonies from people claiming firsthand contact with and ministry from their guardian angels. Their angels warned them of imminent danger, helped them change a tire, healed the sick, and brought peace to the dying. People from various religious faiths and some with none give their testimonies. Guardian angels, they say, are nonjudgmental; they just live and care for those to whom they are assigned” (Lightner, page 168).

Scriptures that advocate of guardian angels

Some use Mt. 18:10 to teach that each child has only one guardian angel assigned at birth. This was the view of Thomas Aquinas in his The Summa Theologica. Question 113 addresses the guardianship of the good angels and Article 5 asks whether an angel is appointed to guard a man from his birth?

 

As long as the child is in the mother’s womb it is not entirely separate, but by reason of a certain intimate tie, is still part of her: just as the fruit while hanging on the tree is part of the tree. And therefore it can be said with some degree of probability, that the angel who guards the mother guards the child while in the womb. But at its birth, when it becomes separate from the mother, an angel guardian is appointed to it; as Jerome, above quoted, says.

Still others believe that angels in general protect infants and children rather than one or several angels assigned to individuals of Jesus’ teaching in Mt. 18:10. In their helpful book on angels, Boa and Bowman, address this view:

 

Are these guardian angels? Well, if they are, they seem to be in the wrong place, because Jesus says they are ‘in heaven,’ not on earth shadowing their earthly charges. Moreover, instead of watching the children, Jesus says these angels ‘continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven’ (Kenneth Boa, Robert Bowman, Sense & Nonsense Abut Angels & Demons, page 78).

Wayne Grudem sees the protection of angels more like zone defense in basketball rather than man to man. Elsewhere in the Bible, we read that not just one, but many angels accompanied, protected, and provided for believers. Elisha was surrounded by many horses and chariots of fire (2 Kgs 6:17; Lk. 16:22).

Another possibility, for some, is that “angel” in Mt. 18:10 and Acts 12:15 means not an angelic being but the “spirit” of the person who has died (2 Cor. 5:8). Erickson, in his theology, refutes this view.

 

The reply to Rhoda reflects the Jewish tradition that a guardian angel resembles the person to whom it is assigned. But a report indicating that certain disciples believed in guardian angels does not invest the belief with authority. Some Christians still had mistaken or confused beliefs on various subjects. In absence of definite didactic material, we must conclude that there is insufficient evidence for the concept of guardian angels (Erickson, vol. 1, page 445).

 

David Jeremiah, in What The Bible Says About Angels (page 188), summarizes my thoughts: “But if this is disappointing news to you, and you’re dismayed to think there may not be a specific angel responsible for your protection, you need not jump up in fear to check the locks on your doors and windows. There’s plenty of evidence that God himself is looking out for you.”

 

 

 

Is There a Gift of Exorcism Today?

Posted: December 17, 2008 in Angels & Demons
Tags: , ,
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Some extremely bizarre and radical behaviors accompany some of today’s so-called exorcisms. A fifty-one-year-old Chicago woman called the police after she had been severely bruised and beaten by her husband and by a Presbyterian minister.

 

Why had they abused her? They said they were trying to rid the woman of evil spirits. In the Los Angeles area an even more horrifying experience occurred, purportedly in the name of Christianity. A group of preachers allegedly stomped a woman to death as they tried to remove demons from her (Robert Lightner, Angels, Satan, and Demons, page 148).

 

Casting out of demons in the life of Christ was part of the temporary sign gift of healing (Mt. 15:21-28; Lk. 9:42; Acts 10:38). Because the temporary sign gifts are ceased, the gift of exorcism is not for today.

 

Spiritual gifts fall into two areas: Temporary sign gifts and permanent service gifts. 1 Cor. 1:22 states that the Jews require a sign.

 

There have been three periods in the history of Israel when there have been sign gifts performed because Israel refused to believe God’s messengers and their God given message:

 

1. Moses and Joshua (Exodus 4:1-9; 12:12; Numbers 27:18; Deuteronomy 34:9)

2. Elijah and Elisah (1Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37)

3. Christ and the Apostles (Matthew 8:1-18; 10:8; 12:22-32; 2 Corinthians 12:12)

 

Just as sign gifts did not follow Moses and Joshua and Elijah and Elisha eras, sign gifts did not follow Christ and the Apostles because in the last era the canon of Scripture was completed.

 

The phrase “that which is perfect is come” in 1 Cor. 13:10 is a reference to the completion of the canon of Scripture. The context proves that “perfect” means the completion of the canon and not the return of Christ. In verse nine Paul said that the sign gifts through which God revealed knowledge were still in effect because revelation was incomplete: “for we know in part and we prophesy in part.” But in verse 10, Paul referred to the completed canon when revelation would no longer be incomplete: “but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” Also the word “perfect” (Greek teleiov) is a neuter noun. If perfect were referring to Christ the noun would have been masculine. Teleiov has a wide semantic range in meaning. One of the common meanings of teleiov which fits this context well is “complete” as in Hebrew 5:9. Christ was made complete in His incarnation in order to be our High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. When the canon was complete, the sign gifts were no longer necessary as a means of revelation.

 

Now for the explanation of specific sign gifts not operative today

 

1. The gift of apostleship was a foundational gift for the early church (Eph. 2:20; 2 Cor. 12:12) not needed today. Through the preaching and writing of the apostles we have the Scriptures. To be an apostle one had to have seen the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:22; 1 Cor. 9:1) which is no longer possible after the ascension of Christ.

 

2. The gift of prophecy was a gift of the first century when God was giving revelation which included the mystery of the Church (Eph. 3:5). In 1 Cor. 13:10 this gift cease with the canonization of Scripture as explained before.

 

3. The gift of miracles was performed by the official apostles who witnessed Christ in His resurrection body and that office is no longer in existence as argued earlier. An example of the gift of miracles is in Acts 13:1-12 on the Church’s first missionary journey. Paul, instead of healing the Jewish false prophet’s blindness, judged him with blindness.

 

In Mark 16:17-20, after the ascension, the apostles “went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with miraculous signs following.” But in Hebrew 2:3-4 the author stated the confirmation of the apostles with the gift of miracles was past.

 

4. The gift of healing is no longer operative today because this gift also was an apostolic sign gift which has ceased like the other apostolic sign gifts. The apostolic gift of healing included the ability to raise the dead (Acts 9:36-43; 20:6-12). The dead are not being raised today by faith healers who claim to possess the gift of healing.

 

5. The gift of tongues. Paul declared that “whether there be tongues, they shall cease.” As argued before the Jews required a sign. God is no longer dealing with the Jews as a nation according to Romans 13:11-18 and therefore signs are not necessary today. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul was only regulating the legitimate gift of tongues until that gift ceased with the passing of the official apostles and the canonization of Scripture. Church history confirms cessation.

 

Other reasons the gift of exorcism is not for today?

 

Christ could cast out demons because it was a sign of His messiahship which Matthew recorded in Matthew 8-11 as credentials of the messiah. Christ proved His messiahship by exercising power over physical maladies (Mt. 8:1-18), over nature (Mt. 8:23) and casting out demons (Mt. 8:28-34).

 

The apostles could also cast out demons as a sign of their apostleship to the nation of Israel because the Jews require a sign (Mt. 10:6-8). Peter and Paul could also cast out demons because they were apostles (Acts 5:16 and 19:11-12) and the sign gifts had not yet ceased (1 Cor. 13:10). But this sign gift like all sign gifts ceased with the close of the canon.

 

No one has the gift of exorcism today because nowhere in the Epistles are believers commanded to exorcise demons. Casting out of demons was part of the apostolic commission in Mark 16:17-20 which also included speaking in tongues, taking up serpents, drinking deadly poisons, and healing the sick. All of these must be practiced not just one or two of them if a person is an apostle with this apostolic gift. Also as discussed before the writer of Hebrews 2:2-3 considered these confirming signs as past.

 

When Paul explained how believers could stand against the wiles of the devil in Ephesians 6:10-18, he did not mention exorcism as part of the whole armor of God so we can stand. Demons are cast out by the gospel not a gift. Paul informed the Colossian believers that because they had experienced the gospel (1:6) they had been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love (1:12-14).