Other angels followed Satan in his rebellion, and they all fell from their sinless position in heaven. Based on the following passage from Revelation, many people believe that about a third of the angels of heaven rebelled:
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth....And war broke out in heaven: [the archangel] Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.(Revelation 12:3–4, 7–9)
The Bible tells us that the fallen angels were cast into hell to await their judgment at the end of the age:
God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment. (2 Peter 2:4)
And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, [God] has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.(Jude 6)
The Bible also reveals the solemn reality that, even though the angels who sinned were cast into hell, some, at least, continue to operate against God and His people:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
Satan is the leader of the fallen angels, and Jesus said that the devil “does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). Satan hates God, and he hates God’s people with a passion.
All iniquity on earth stems from Lucifer’s sin. In his desire to further hurt God and usurp His authority, Satan tempted God’s beloved creation, mankind, so that humanity would also rebel against God and be a fallen, corrupt people. (See Genesis 3.) Humanity did fall, and Lucifer thought he had won a victory. However, the devil did not count on God’s sending Jesus to redeem humanity. Now he works to keep lost souls in darkness by blinding them to the truth of the Gospel, which is the message of salvation and freedom from sin through faith in Christ. When Satan rebelled, he exalted himself because he wanted to be worshiped as God. Today, he continues to try to exalt himself.
In fact, I believe that he and his fallen angels are behind much of the current angel craze in our culture. The Bible says that he “transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14) in order to deceive people. His purpose is to cause us to worship him and his evil spirits rather than God. He knows that people were created as vessels of worship. Either we are worshiping the true and living God, or we are worshiping the devil and his demon forces. Those who do not know God are serving Satan—consciously or unconsciously.
Satan wants to draw all people to his counterfeit light. Your adversary is lying in wait to deceive you if he can. He wants to confuse you in regard to the truth. Once you are deceived, your mind and heart become open doors for him to attack. That is why it is extremely important in this age, when so many people are becoming interested in spiritual things, that we learn to recognize when the devil is at work and to discern the difference between good and evil angels.
How to Discern the Spirits
How are we to know if what presents itself as an angel is truly from God? The Bible tells us to try or test the spirits to see if they are authentic:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses [“acknowledges” niv] that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess [“acknowledge” niv] that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.(1 John 4:1–3)
If we continually read and meditate on the Word of God, we can distinguish between the devil’s deceiving angels and God’s holy angels. You can tell whether or not an angel is from God by what he says about the Lord Jesus and the salvation He provided for humanity when He came to earth as a man and shed His precious, cleansing blood on the cross. If a spiritual being communicates any message that denies the deity, humanity, and salvation of the Lord Jesus, we can unmask him as the enemy. We can expose him through the power of the Holy Spirit. If his message promotes an unscriptural message or practice, if it draws attention to himself rather than Jesus, then that spirit being is a demon attempting to deceive people.
Therefore, if any being, or any person, claiming to be an angel begins to tell you something that is different from God’s Word, or that goes against God’s Word, you can know that an evil spirit from hell is behind it. Remember that Satan twisted the Scriptures out of context when he tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness (see Luke 4:1–13), and he is still trying to manipulate the Scriptures to deceive people today. Make it a priority to study and learn the whole Word of God so you can tell when the Scriptures are being misquoted.
While fallen angels are working as hard as they can to do evil under the direction of the devil, righteous angels are diligently serving God and doing good under His direction. God’s holy angels continually glorify Him. They acknowledge Jesus Christ and His coming into the world to redeem us from the enemy’s bondage. They focus on Jesus and His deliverance. By their activities and actions, they continually emphasize God’s work and will.
Our Ultimate Protections against Deception and Evil
Your ultimate protection against the enemy’s deception and evil is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The final destiny of Satan and his angels is to spend eternity in a burning lake of fire. Jesus said that there is an “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). It would be Satan’s delight to take you and all your friends with him to hell. Let me beg you not to let this happen to you! Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Savior today. Then, as you study about angels, pray to God the Father, in Jesus’ name, and ask for His direction and protection so that you will not be deceived by the enemy.
Remember that Jesus is always more powerful than the devil and his demons because they are only created beings, while Jesus is God. In addition, when we accept Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we are safe in Him. Romans 8:38–39 says,
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When Jesus was about to be arrested and crucified, He said that He could easily call tens of thousands of angels to come to His aid: “Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). In Roman times, a legion could be made up of between three thousand and twelve thousand soldiers, including cavalry and support staff. Jesus could have destroyed His enemies then and there, but He allowed Himself to be crucified for our sakes. Through His death and resurrection, He restored our relationship with God. He paid a great price to provide us with forgiveness of sin and new life in Him.
Once, when I was diligently praying, I had a vision of the day Christ was crucified. It just broke my heart. I saw the Roman soldiers nailing His hands to the cross using huge nails. I saw His blood dripping and running down. I remember seeing the blood coming not just from His hands but from all over His body. He had been beaten so badly that I wanted to comfort my Lord and do something to help Him.
The men who were doing this terrible deed were cursing and blaspheming Him. All at once, the eyes of the Lord looked up. When He looked straight at the men, they fell backward. After a little while, they continued to prepare Jesus for crucifixion. Then I saw them lift up the Lord on the cross. It was so horrible and sad! I was crying and weeping as I saw this mighty vision.
Then I saw angels by the thousands. They seemed to be invisible to those who were at the crucifixion, but I could see them clearly. The angels placed every drop of blood that Jesus shed in vessels they held in their hands, and then they carried the blood of Jesus to heaven and laid it on the mercy seat. Just as atonement in the Old Testament was made by regularly applying the blood of animals to the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies (Leviticus 16:14–16), so Jesus’ blood was applied to the mercy seat in heaven. Yet the Old Testament sacrifices were only a type of the sacrifice of Christ. His blood alone was able to atone for the sins of the whole world once and for all.
The angels were crying as they carried those drops of blood up to the mercy seat. The precious treasure they carried represented a tremendous sacrifice for Jesus. As I watched in awe, I began to cry so hard that I could not see the vision anymore. I was overwhelmed by the awesome price Jesus paid for you and me. When He sacrificed His life, it hurt Him deeply. There was agonizing pain involved. Through this vision, I realized why He gave His life. He knew that He had to carry the weight of the whole world on His shoulders, but He was willing to do it in order to save us from a burning hell. Oh, what He has done for you and me!
I urge you to accept Jesus and His great sacrifice for you. If you do not know Jesus, read the Holy Bible and learn about Him. Understand who He really is. The Bible is the true Word of God, and it says you must be born anew into God’s kingdom: “Jesus answered and said to [Nicodemus], ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3).
Your sins can be washed away through the atonement Jesus accomplished by shedding His blood on the cross. Even if you think you are the worst person in the world, you can turn to Jesus for complete forgiveness. You can pray, “Jesus, I believe You’re the Son of God and my Savior. I believe You died on the cross and rose again so that I can have new life in You. I ask You to wash away my sins through Your cleansing blood and make me clean. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can now live for You. I commit my life to loving and serving You. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer sincerely from your heart, God will be faithful to forgive you and cleanse you completely. He will give you the gift of the Holy Spirit, who will live within you and enable you to obey and serve Him. You will become a part of God’s own family, and His angels will watch over you.
Angels in Action
The activity of God’s angels in the lives of His people was not just for Bible times. It continues today. Hebrews 1:14 says, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (niv). Jesus affirmed the involvement of angels in people’s lives when He said, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). Psalm 91:9–12 assures us,
Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
God sends His holy angels to help and protect those who belong to Him—who love and serve Him. Angels have worked for each of you who are the children of God. It is possible that an angel will appear to some of you as you face a special need. All around us, the atmosphere is filled with marvelous, magnificent, heavenly angels, God’s messengers and warriors. They are there to assist you, to help you, to lift you up!
I call these special messengers “angels in action.” They come in the power of almighty God. They are intermediaries between God and man, and they work for people according to God’s will. God sends His angels to strengthen me as I try to encourage people in the Lord through my ministry. I have seen so many beautiful things that God has done through His angels in various church services I have participated in. It is wonderful to see God undoing people’s heavy burdens and to see lives changed.
In all my visions of Christ, angels constantly surround Him. I am grateful that God has called me to be His servant and has allowed me to see supernatural visions of angels in action. If you meet someone who doesn’t believe in angels, just remember that the same situation existed in Jesus’ day: “Sadducees say that there is no resurrection; and no angel or spirit” (Acts 23:8). Some people live such cold, mundane lives that they believe God is cold and mundane, as well. They do not realize that “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). They also do not know that they are surrounded by a vital and active spiritual realm in which both good and evil angels operate.
The Hour of God’s Visitation
We must always keep our eyes on the glory that is being manifested throughout the earth today. This is the hour of God’s dispensation; this is the hour of the visitation of the Lord. As the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ draws closer, I believe that the visible activity of angels will continue to increase here on earth. I have noticed that others have also seen revelations from God and have written books about them. I believe God is preparing international events for the triumph and reign of His Son, Jesus Christ.
I also believe that God is preparing His people for the trouble and turmoil that will come on this earth as Satan attempts a last-ditch but futile effort to prevent the return of our blessed Lord. In this age of uncertainty, upheaval, and loss of control over our daily lives, it is very comforting to know that God has commissioned multitudes of spiritual beings whose principal responsibility is to protect and encourage His people. Jesus is truly the great I Am! Our God is a wonderful God, and He wants us to know how much He loves us, how much He cares for us. Let us ask the Lord to surround us with His holy angels, and let us always persevere in loving and serving Him, for Jesus said,