Angels are a big deal. In fact, the Bible mentions them approximately three hundred times.
The word actually means messenger. And, from the looks of things, that’s their main function:
• The angel of the Lord talked to Moses in the burning bush.
• An angel told Mary she was going to give birth to the Messiah.
• Angels sang in the skies over Bethlehem to announce Christ’s birth.
• An angel will sound the last trumpet, proclaiming the day of God’s judgment.
So, aren’t all angels good? Not according to the Bible.
Scripture seems to indicate that Satan himself was once a top angel and that he’s still capable of disguising himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). And, though the Bible doesn’t get into specifics, it tells us that somewhere back in time Satan was filled with pride and led a revolt against God.
It seems pride is a huge deal with Satan. He had status; he had standing. But it wasn’t enough. Somehow, he used his clout to get one-third of all the angels to join with him in an insane attempt to overthrow God. Talk about an ego.
The Book of Revelation puts it this way:
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent, called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to earth, and his angels with him.
Revelation 12:7–9
Before we start talking about the bad guys, let’s make sure we understand the good. Again and again in the Bible, we see angels delivering messages from God, defending those who love him, conquering our enemies, and worshiping God at his throne.
The same is true today.
I often hear stories of dying people who saw an angel off in the corner waiting to accompany them to heaven. Or I hear of missionaries who were protected by “glowing men with swords” whom they couldn’t see, but their attackers could.
One of my favorite stories is of a woman in Oregon who was injured and stranded in the freezing wilderness for a week. No one believed she could have survived until she explained that after she prayed, two glowing figures of light appeared by her side each night and used their golden light to keep her warm. They never said a word and disappeared at daybreak each morning until she was found.
Now that’s cool.
Unfortunately, there are also …
According to the Bible, there are also real bad guys out there. What makes it worse is that at first, at least for us mortal types, it’s often impossible to see the bad ones for what they really are. Extremely dangerous.
Maybe you’ve seen or heard of popular stories that portray fallen angels as dashing teenage boys who pursue human female love interests. They’re shown to be supernatural beings who made the mistake of falling in love and must now pay for all time. In their world, God is a bully who punishes them eternally for one mistake. Your heart goes out to them, right?
The truth of the matter is, these fallen angels (about one-third of Heaven’s population) embraced the evil of their leader, Satan, and rebelled against God. They were thrown out of Heaven and became demons. Something you definitely wouldn’t want to take a moonlit stroll with. And their purpose for humans? One thing and one thing only. Like their boss, they want to steal, kill and destroy.
The problem is Satan and his demons don’t walk around in red tights, with horns sprouting out of their heads, and carrying pitchforks.
So how do we tell the difference between angels and demons?
First of all, there’s real danger in thinking angels are something they’re not. And it’s especially dangerous when a natural and healthy awe of angels grows into full-fledged worship. The Bible is clear that angels are not to be worshiped.
Check out what happened when the apostle John tried to worship one: “I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!’” (Revelation 19:10).
And if you ever run into an angel who allows himself to be worshiped, watch out … They’ll use your awe to control, hurt, and destroy you, even to the point of possessing you. In other words, a good angel will always point you to God and his messages; a bad angel will point you to himself and the messages Satan wants you to hear.
As a young man just out of college, I received a phone call from a fellow who claimed he was in constant contact with angels. It would have been easy to dismiss him as a nutcase, except he was a psychic celebrity who used these “angels” to help the police solve crimes. (He told me that’s how he got my telephone number—in a dream.)
During our conversation he told me the angels sometimes spoke through him, and he offered to let me speak to one. I thought, Cool, and quickly agreed.
Immediately, his voice changed—completely. It became stronger, deeper, and full of authority.
I was pretty excited and remember putting my hand over the mouthpiece and whispering to my wife, “I’m talking to an angel!”
Over the next couple of days, I had more conversations with the guy and several of his “angels.” Was he faking it? I don’t think so. Each entity that spoke through him was so unique, with its own voice and personality, that I was sure I was talking to several different beings.
Besides, they told me things about myself he couldn’t have known except through supernatural means. For instance, they knew I was an aspiring writer. One of the voices assured me that I was going to be a successful author and that I was going to accomplish great things for God through my writing. Of course this was exactly what I wanted to hear. It’s like the “angels” went out of their way to feed my pride and tantalize me with visions of glory. They kept flattering me to make me feel special.
They also offered to help me achieve this fame by working with me to write a book proclaiming the “deeper mysteries of God’s love.”
I began to grow uneasy.
I didn’t know much about angels then, but I suspected that these beings didn’t really have my best interest in mind. They were a bit too slick. And instead of encouraging me to grow in humility and love, they kept stirring up my pride and my desire for great success.
Finally, I decided to ask one of the beings a very important question. “Is Jesus Christ your Lord?” I asked.
“Absolutely!” he said.
But before I could breathe a sigh of relief, he added, “In fact, not only is he my Lord, he’s also my brother.”
I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise.
Why?
Because I remembered reading that Satan and his demons are driven by pride, a desire to be considered equal to God. Or, as God put it: “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God’. but you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit” (Isaiah 14:13, 15).
Satan and his “angels” are so full of pride, they can’t help themselves. If they see a chance to claim equality with God, they go for it.
I knew then that I wasn’t dealing with angels but with demons. And once they realized I’d caught on to their scam, their attitude toward me changed completely.
At first, they tried to reason with me, wondering how I could be so “narrow-minded” and why I insisted on stubbornly clinging to my outdated beliefs in the Bible.
When I wouldn’t give in, they started insulting me, saying I was stupid, calling me names, and using language that didn’t fit into any holy angel vocabulary.
There’s more to the story, which I’ll tell you later. The point is, the beings speaking through this man were definitely not the good guys they claimed to be.
Today, as I skim through some of the most popular books on angels, I see right away that I’m not the only one who has been lied to. When I check what these books say against the Bible, their half-truths become obvious—particularly the ones where:
• An angel seeks to draw attention to himself and not God.
• An angel gladly accepts the adoration of men and women.
• An angel appeals to our pride.
• An angel tells us that he will answer our prayers and give us what we desire.
• An angel leaves heaven because he has fallen in love with a human woman.
• An angel views God as less than all-powerful, good, and holy.
And yet the angels who are described in the pages of many of the bestselling books may do all of these things and more.
Basically, I see three major lies our enemy uses again and again. If you hear any of them coming from either a human or an angel, watch out:
1. Christ isn’t the only Son of God.
2. There are many paths to God (which means Christ is a liar and his death on the cross wasn’t necessary).
3. We all have within us the power to be like God.
None of these statements agree with the Bible in any way.
I’ve also noticed plenty of books and teachers that start off sounding like they believe in the Bible but then twist truths until they’ve got their audience heading down an entirely different path.
To answer that question, let me tell you about a couple of famous men who have listened to “angels.”
The first is Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Did you know that the Islamic religion was founded on the teaching of an “angel”? According to Muhammad, it was the angel Gabriel who appeared to him and, among other things, taught him how Christians have things all mixed up … including the lie that Jesus didn’t actually die on the cross.
As Christians, we know it wasn’t Gabriel who appeared to Muhammad. But Muhammad believed it was, and so does the nearly 25 percent of the earth’s population that follow his teachings.
Another man who listened to “angels” was Joseph Smith.
One night when he was twenty-five years old and thinking about what to do with his life, Smith reportedly was visited by the “angel” Moroni. Moroni said that he had come directly from the presence of God and that God had chosen young Smith to restore the Christian church, whose doctrines had been corrupted.
The “angel” directed Smith to a nearby hillside, where he allegedly dug up some ancient tablets covered with hieroglyphics. Smith carried the plates home and, even though he knew only English, began translating them. He worked for days on end, stopping only to eat or sleep, and never for very long. Finally, when he’d finished, Moroni appeared again and took the tablets back to heaven.
You may know that Joseph Smith was the founder of the Mormon religion and the work he “translated” was The Book of Mormon.
But there are some things about Smith you may not know …
For instance, before his encounter with the “angel,” Smith allegedly had been involved in the occult. In fact, he’d developed a reputation as a “seer.”
On May 3, an article in the Chenango Union newspaper of Norwich, New York, reported:
In the year 1825, we often saw in that quiet hamlet Joseph Smith, Jr … (living with) the family of Deacon Isaiah Stowell … (who had) a monomaniacal impression to seek for hidden treasures, which he believed were hidden in the earth …
Mr. Stowell … heard of the fame of … Joseph, who by the aid of a magic stone had become a famous seer of lost or hidden treasures…. He with the magic stone was at once transferred from his humble abode to the more pretentious mansion of Deacon Stowell.
Here, in the estimation of the deacon, he confirmed his conceded powers as a seer, by means of the stone, which he placed in his hat. And by excluding the light from all other terrestrial things could see whatever he wished, even in the depths of the earth.1
This raises some interesting questions:
Did Joseph Smith’s journeys into the occult pave the way for his encounter with the “angel” Moroni? Is this why the theology of the Mormon church contains elements found in occult writings?
For example, Mormons believe the God who rules over the earth is not Lord over the rest of the universe. They believe there are many planets with intelligent life on them and each of these planets is subject to a different god. In fact, they believe all human beings have within them the potential to be like God.
Sound familiar? Remember those top three lies?
Islam and Mormonism are two very different religions whose founders said they were influenced and guided by angels. And yet their teachings don’t agree with each other, nor do they agree with the basic tenets of Christianity.
Author Phil Phillips lists several lies about angels often found in occult literature2:
1. We should seek angels.
Many of today’s popular “experts” on angels teach we should seek to have experiences with angels, and they give some ways to help make these possible. These ways include:
• The chanting of mantras.
• Summoning the angels by name.
Let’s look briefly at each of these practices.
First, meditation. There’s a big difference between the meditation the Bible talks about and the meditation taught by today’s Eastern and New Age teachers. Biblical meditation involves thinking of the Scriptures and filling our minds with God. Occult meditation involves emptying our minds to encounter supernatural creatures.
Next, the chanting of mantras. A mantra is a word repeated again and again in order to relax the body and enter an altered state of consciousness. Again, it involves emptying the mind and opening oneself up to dangerous supernatural encounters.
Then, the naming of angels. In her book, Angels of Mercy, Rosemary Ellen Guiley writes:
We must discover names for our guardian angels if we wish them to manifest in their fullest magnitude. Name is an important ritual: it defines and it invests life, power and potential. Without names, we cannot call out to the higher planes; we cannot invoke or evoke the beings, forces, and energies into our own dimension.3
It’s very interesting to me that some demonic rituals also summon demons by name.
The truth is that there is no power in the name of angels but only in the name of Jesus Christ.
2. Angels work miracles.
In The Angel Book, Karen Goldman says that “the angel in you can heal you in many ways. Angels can help to heal illness, poverty, anger, or despair. There is an abundance of pure healing energy, joy, creativity, and unwavering inner strength available for you at all times.”4
Where is there room for God in all of this? Angels aren’t in the miracle-making business. Miracles—including healing—are God’s line of work, and he’s still at it today. As a filmmaker who’s made documentaries on missionaries, I have seen God do incredible things. Not man. Not angels. God.
3. All angels tell the truth.
We’ve already seen that this isn’t the case. Angels aren’t infallible. Remember that Satan himself was once a high-ranking angel, possibly an archangel, and yet Jesus said, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
4. When you’re lost, angels desire to get inside your heart and lead you home.
This is very dangerous. Demons desire to get inside you, and when they do, it’s called possession. Anyone who invites an angel “into his heart” is opening himself up to demonic control. The Bible tells us that it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to lead and guide us from within—the Holy Spirit and no other (Romans 8:6–11).
5. Angels can help us gain access to heaven.
Wrong. According to Jesus, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
The only way we can get to heaven is to surrender control of our lives to Christ and accept the offer he made to pay for our sins when he died on the cross.
6. Human beings are able to become angels.
The Bible says we are two distinct creations. We aren’t angels. Despite what the books, movies, or TV shows say, we’ll never be angels. Scripture actually states that you and I will judge the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3).
7. Angels want to uncover our hidden goodness and make us like God.
The Bible does not teach that we have goodness in us apart from God or that we can become equal with him. Instead, we are a fallen, messed-up race, full of sin: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
8. Angels are always reaching out to us.
The truth is, angels reach out to us only when God commands them to do so. They are his messengers—his servants—and their desire is to do his will.
9. Angels can be felt in every atom of creation.
Wrong again. As Phillips writes, “It is God who indwells every atom of creation by virtue of His creative power.”5
10. Angels know what it’s like to be human.
While it’s true angels are created beings just as you and I, they do not know what it’s like to be human. Popular literature may present angels with humanlike characteristics, but the Bible tells us that angels are created beings who are distinct from humans (Hebrews 1:14). They do not marry (Matthew 22:30) or have families. They are God’s heavenly servants. And they will never know the joy of being saved from sin. Jesus died for humans, not angels. Angels know and love God deeply, but they can never sing “Amazing Grace” the way we can.
God’s angels are watching over us every minute of the day, doing their best to keep us from harm. But I believe they reveal their true identity to us only when they’re commanded to do so. Most of the time, they stay in the background, silent and invisible. Other times, we may encounter them and not even know we were in their presence: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). God’s angels:
• Are his warriors and his messengers. They will never tell us anything contrary to his Word, the Bible.
• Never accept the praise or worship of men.
• Always seek to bring glory to God and Jesus Christ.
• Rejoice whenever someone puts his or her trust in Christ.
• Understand we’re all powerless apart from God.
• Are ministering spirits who walk alongside the faithful, helping and encouraging those who are trying to live for God.
• Come to us to lead us to God.
Satan’s angels:
• Are his warriors and his messengers and often claim to bring new and better truths to replace or update the Bible.
• Are quick to accept and even invite the praise and worship of men.
• Deny or downplay Christ’s divinity.
• Say many paths lead to God.
• Tell us we have the power within us to become like God.
• Are anxious to get inside us to take control.
• Come to us to lead us away from God.
Usually, when people in the Bible encountered real angels, they were filled with terror and fear—often falling to the ground, covering their faces, and thinking they were going to die. The reason is pretty clear. Those angels just came from the awesome, holy presence of God.
When people who are involved in the occult meet their angels, they’re often filled with warm fuzzies and told how great they are.
One is a demonstration of the awesome power of God as his angels come to share his message with humanity … the other is a con artist trying to seduce a human with smooth words and cozy feelings.
Quite a difference.
1. W.D. Purple, Chenango Union Newspaper, Norwich, NY, May 3. 1877.
2. Phil Phillips, Angels, Angels, Angels (Lancaster, PA: Starburst Publishers, 1995). 103–107.
3. Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Angels of Mercy (New York: Pocket Books, 1991), 65.
4. Karen Goldman, The Angel Book (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992), 85.
5. Phillips, 102.