Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Angels, Demons, and Christ's Supremacy

"There can be no biblical theology without demonology." It may be a strange statement, but let’s take a few moments to explore the significance of this observation. What Berkhouwer was responding to in that comment was part of the critique that had been leveled against orthodox Christianity by perhaps the most famous New Testament scholar of the 20th century, the German scholar Rudolf Bultmann. [00:00:40]

Rudolf Bultmann had argued that if the Bible, written so many centuries ago, is to have any relevance to a modern person, that the Bible must first be demythologized. And it must be approached asking the questions that are made possible by first adopting a modern existential philosophy. [00:01:24]

I can remember in a class that I was teaching in a college on one occasion, I asked the people how many of them believed in a devil and only a couple of kids in the class raised their hand. The rest of them didn’t. And I said, “How many of you believe in the existence of God?” and everybody put their hand up. [00:03:01]

Well, again, we have to come back to this whole question of angels and demons and say that if we are going to be biblical in our theology, Rudolf Bultmann notwithstanding, and if we are confident that the Bible is not simply a source book of mythology but represents the sober, revealed truth of God then we’re going to have to take seriously what the Scripture says about angels – good and fallen. [00:06:18]

Now just in terms of numerical frequency, it may be surprising to you to know that the New Testament speaks more frequently about angels than it does about sin or about love. If this book spends this much time talking about things as angels, then I think it behooves us to take them seriously. [00:08:40]

And the argument proceeds. “For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son. Today I have begotten you.’ And again, ‘I will be to Him a Father and he shall be to me a Son.’ But when he again brings the firstborn into the world God says, ‘Let all the angels of God worship him’.” [00:10:00]

But in any case, they are creatures. Angels and devils alike are created beings. They are not equal with God. And their first task is to minister. Now we see several ways in which the angels function as ministers in Scripture. First of all, there are those angels who are especially created for the purpose of ministering in the immediate presence of God. [00:12:24]

It is the angels who first announce the impending birth of Jesus. The angel Gabriel is sent to announce the birth first of John the Baptist and then to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus. It is the angels in the field outside of Bethlehem that announce “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and goodwill to men” and so on. [00:13:58]

Now, beyond the realm of angels, we have to look specifically at the realm of fallen angels, because as Adam and Eve were created originally in goodness and in holiness, so the angels were created good but a portion of the angelic realm fell with Lucifer, and Lucifer became the supreme archangel of this whole company of fallen angels and the demonic world. [00:19:37]

Now one of the things that is critical for Christians to understand is that Satan is not God. We are not dualists who believe in two equal and opposite powers, one good, one evil; one light, one darkness. Satan is a creature. He does not have the power of God. He cannot do things that only God can do. [00:20:44]

Different images are used for Satan. We are told that he goes about as a roaring lion seeking to devour those whom he will. And I see these twin pictures in my mind; this roaring lion, fierce. He’s terrifying. I see that same lion running down the path with his tail between his legs when he has been resisted by one who possesses God the Holy Spirit. [00:21:49]

I think we need to get away from thinking of him as this diabolically ridiculous figure that we see because Satan has the ability to transform himself into an angel of light. That’s his deceptiveness; that he won’t come on to us in an ugly state but he will come on quoting Scripture, appearing pious, seemingly pure, causing us to go against the word of God. [00:22:49]