{"id":18282,"date":"2019-11-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-24T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/angelology-019-demonology-1\/"},"modified":"2019-11-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-11-24T06:00:00","slug":"angelology-019-demonology-1","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/angelology-019-demonology-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Angelology 019 (Demonology 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[50],"series_event":[499],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18282","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-deuteronomy","series_event-angelology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Angelology 019 (Demonology 1)","sermon_date":"20191124","sermon_month":"11","sermon_year":"2019","sermon_notes":7313,"sermon_slides":7314,"sermon_mp3":7320,"sermon_id":"1124191254454377","series_or_event":499,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":50,"chapter_and_verse":"32:17","sermon_transcript":"Angelology #19\nDemonology\nDeuteronomy 32:17\nNovember 24, 2019\nDr. Andy Woods\n\nOpening Prayer<\/strong>\n\n\u201cFather, we thank You for today. We thank You for\u2014how many things can<\/em> we thank You for? You\u2019ve blessed us spiritually. You\u2019ve put us in a country materially with freedom, and it\u2019s hard to even exhaust what we have. So our hearts are very thankful today and particularly this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving.\n\nI pray for Your presence and illumination in Sunday school today and in the main service that follows. I pray You\u2019ll be with everything this church is doing today from dawn till dusk. I pray that You will be right there in the midst of our activities.\n\nI pray that You would not find us like Laodicea, where we\u2019re doing church stuff but You\u2019re outside the door. We don't want to be that way; we want You involved in our church! We ask You\u2019ll do that today, and we\u2019ll be careful to give You all the praise and the glory. We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d\n\nAnd God's people said? \u201cAmen.\u201d\n\nGood morning, everybody! Happy almost Thanksgiving. Let's take your Bibles and open them to Deuteronomy 32:17. We\u2019re at a transitional point, if you will, in our study on angelology. We\u2019ve done a study on the good angels. From there we've taken a look at the angel who fell; his name is Satan.\n\nThe Bible has an awful lot to say about him. So we spent several lessons covering basically everything you'd want to know about Satan. You might be saying, \u201cI'm glad that bad stuff is over with! We don't have to think about fallen angels anymore.\u201d Well, not so fast, because we move here to number three: demonology. So now we\u2019re not just looking at Satan, but we\u2019re looking at his demons that accompany him and his evil work.\n\nI\u2019ll say more about it as we go, but here's our outline for demonology. Looking at the existence of demons, the origin of demons. There's some confusion about that. Where do the demons come from? Trying to look, today, at the fact that they are actually personalities. Just like the good angels, and just like Satan himself, you're not dealing with impersonal sources of energy; you're dealing with entities that have real personages and personalities. They\u2019re not, of course, humans. They are part of the angelic realm, but their personalities are very distinct, as given in Scripture.\n\nThen we\u2019ll be looking at the characteristics of demons. And then we\u2019ll be spending some time on their powers. How powerful are they, exactly?\n\nFrom there we\u2019ll move to their works. What are they doing?\n\nThen we\u2019ll be getting into an area that a lot of people are very interested in\u2014the area of demon possession. Actually, the Greek text doesn't say, \u201cdemon possession.\u201d It talks about people being \u201cdemonized,\u201d and you see many occurrences of that in the gospels. We\u2019ll learn about that. And is that a reality today? If so, can a Christian be demonized, like we see the man at Gadara was demonized? Can that happen today in the life of a Christian? We\u2019ll get into that whole subject.\n\nThen, finally, number eight. We\u2019re looking at defense. Since we\u2019ve described all of these terrible things about Satan and the demons\u2014and we see how powerful they are\u2014what are the resources that God has given us in the age of the church to defend ourselves against Satan and his minions?\n\nThat's sort of a broad sweep of where we\u2019re headed, but let's go ahead and start off with the existence of demons. You\u2019ll notice that with all of these categories we\u2019ve started this way. We started with the good angels and with Satan, looking at their existence, origin, personhood. And now we\u2019re doing the same kind of thing with demons.\n\nDo you believe in demons? I do, for the simple reason that the Bible tells us about them. The Old Testament doesn't give us as much information as the New Testament does, but the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible) clearly affirms the existence of demons.\n\nGo to Deuteronomy 32:17. It's interesting, one of the things that's written here. Speaking of the nation of Israel, \u201cThey sacrificed to demons who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread.\u201d<\/em> I'm reading out of the NASB. It uses the word there, \u201cThey sacrificed to demons\u2026\u201d<\/em> Consequently, it's very clear that there are entities that exist called \u201cdemons.\u201d\n\nOne more Old Testament passage, Psalm 106:37. Of course, you know that Moses wrote the Book of Deuteronomy about 1400 years, roughly, before the time of Christ. David wrote, probably, most of the Psalms about a thousand years before Christ. Notice what Psalm 106:37 says. It says virtually the same thing that we found in Deuteronomy.\n\nIt says, \u201cThey even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons\u2026\u201d<\/em> There it is again in the NASB. There was some sort of pagan sacrificial system taking place, and what was really behind it all were demonic entities. So, the Old Testament clearly affirms the existence of demons. The New Testament does as well, but it has a lot more to say about it.\n\nThe New Testament will mention demons probably over 100 times. You know that Luke wrote Luke and Acts. Peter wrote two letters. John wrote five books. Paul wrote 13 letters, etc. That's what I mean by a biblical writer. Not necessarily every biblical book, but every biblical writer mentions demons somewhere, except the author of Hebrews.\n\nThe author of Hebrews does mention, quite frequently, the good angels. Although, to my knowledge, I can't find anything in the Book of Hebrews that mentions fallen angels. But other than the Book of Hebrews, you find references to demons not necessarily in every book but from each biblical author.\n\nOf course, more important than anybody else is Jesus Christ! You can't get a higher authority than that. Jesus Christ spoke openly about demons, just as He spoke openly about Satan.\n\nThere are too many passages to go through, but we\u2019ll look at a handful. Look at Matthew 8:29. Here's Jesus interacting with demons. \u201cAnd they cried out, saying, \u2018What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?\u2019 <\/em>\u201d\n\nThese are clearly demons because it says back in verse 28, \u201cWhen He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.<\/em>\u201d\n\nSo, demons are acknowledging Jesus there through a man at Gadara. Demons are acknowledging Jesus; and Jesus acknowledges the existence of demons, conversely.\n\nMatthew 10:1 says, \u201cJesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.\u201d<\/em> There is Jesus, as He\u2019s sending out the 12 to preach the offer of the Kingdom to the nation of Israel in Matthew 10, giving them authority over certain things including the demonic realm. Obviously, Jesus wouldn't do that unless demons were truly in existence.\n\nThen, when you go to Matthew 12:43-45, you have to my mind one of the most fascinating statements that Jesus made concerning the reality of the demonic realm. He's basically speaking in a message to the nation of Israel how they have rejected Him and now something worse is going to fill the void that's in the nation's life because they have rejected their King. And in the process of explaining that, He makes a number of interesting statements about demons here in Matthew 12:43-45.\n\nJesus is speaking, \u201c \u2018Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, \u201cI <\/em>[personal pronoun of a demon] will return to my house from which I came\u201d; and when it comes, it finds it<\/em> [that\u2019s the person whose body Jesus exorcised the demons out of] unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits <\/em>[then it says something very interesting here] more wicked than itself\u2026\u2019 <\/em>\u201d\n\nThat to me has always been very interesting because there's the bad demons, then there's the badder demons, and then there's the baddest demons. It\u2019s like being in a gang\u2014everybody's bad, but some are really<\/em> rough compared to other members.\n\n\u201c \u2018Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.\u2019 <\/em>\u201d\n\nWhat He's saying is the nation of Israel is going to be in a worse state than it was when John the Baptist arrived because the nation of Israel never embraced their King. In the process of giving that teaching, He gives this metaphor into the demonic realm about what happens when a person has demons cast out of them, but Jesus never enters into that person. Well, the demon that's cast out gets seven buddies worse than itself and reenters the same body, and the last state is worse than the first state. He says, by way of analogy, this is how it's going to be for the nation of Israel in the first century.\n\nIn the process of giving this teaching He gives all kinds of fascinating details and fascinating information about the reality of demons, which we could probe and go into. That is not really my purpose at this point; it\u2019s just to show us that demons really exist.\n\nIf demons didn't really exist, then Jesus wouldn't be saying the things that He\u2019s saying and doing the things that He's doing in the Gospels. We wrestle not against flesh and blood Ephesians 6 tells us. And because we can't see demons, a lot of us are kind of conned into thinking that there's no such thing as demons. Yet they are very much a reality.\n\nJust because you can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist. They're just as real as\u2026 You\u2019re sitting in this room looking around at actual physical people, and you don't question their existence!\n\nThere is an angelic conflict going on\u2014the good angels and the fallen angels\u2014which really exist! Whether we can see it or not. It's interesting how Christ doesn't sit there and try to prove the existence of demons. He just matter-of-factly talks about them as if they're absolute 100% realities.\n
    \n \t
  1. Do demons exist?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nAbsolutely! Just like Satan exists. And just like the good angels exist.\n
      \n \t
    1. The origin of demons.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nWhere do these fallen entities actually come from? I'm of the view that they are comprised of the third of the angels that fell with Satan.\n\nWe have studied Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-17. We learned about Lucifer's rebellion and fall. And when you factor in those verses with Revelation 12:3-8, you learned that one third of the angels fell with Satan. So, the best explanation as to who these demons are? It's the third that fell in Lucifer's rebellion.\n\nNow why would I think that? I think that primarily because demons and fallen angels in the Bible are described so similarly. For example, we know that demons have a leader. Go back to Matthew 12:24, \u201cBut when the Pharisees heard this, they said, \u2018This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.\u2019 <\/em>\u201d\n\nSo, the Pharisees had a knowledge that the demons had over them someone in authority. And that's exactly how Satan and his angels are described. The Scripture will use this expression, \u201cSatan and his angels.\u201d Matthew 25:41, for example. We know that hell was created for Satan and his<\/em> angels. In other words, Satan has certain angels under his authority.\n\nYou see that same description over in Revelation 12:7-9. It keeps speaking there of Satan and his angels. It says, \u201cAnd there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. <\/em>[Who\u2019s the dragon? Satan] The dragon and his angels waged war\u2026<\/em>\u201d\n\nIf you go down to verse 9, you'll see the same reference. \u201cAnd the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.<\/em>\u201d\n\nSatan has angels\u2014fallen angels\u2014under his authority. Well, that's exactly how demons are described because Matthew 12:24 talks about Beelzebub the ruler of the demons.\n\nFurthermore, demons are called spirits. In Matthew 8:16 you'll see a reference to this. It says, \u201cWhen evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.\u201d <\/em>\n\nYou\u2019ll notice here that demons are called spirits. Well, my goodness, that's exactly what angels are called! They\u2019re called spirits as well! You say, \u201cWhere\u2019s that?\u201d It's in Hebrews 1:14. If you look at that for minute, you'll see that angels are called spirits as well. Concerning angels, the autor of the Book of Hebrews says, \u201cAre they not all ministering spirits <\/em>[speaking of angels], sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?<\/em>\u201d\n\nI'm seeing some similarities! Demons are called spirits; angels are called spirits. Maybe fallen angels are demons, and the demons are fallen angels.\n\nWe also know that demons have a capacity to enter into people. For example, back in Matthew 12:22. Sorry to have you keep flipping all over the place, but there is no book in the Bible called the \u201cdemon book.\u201d Okay? So when you do systematic theology you\u2019ve got to assemble data from all 66 books. What do all 66 books bear on a certain subject?\n\nMatthew 12:22 puts it this way, \u201cThen a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw.<\/em> All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, \u2018This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?\u2019 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, \u2018This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.\u2019 <\/em>\u201d\n\nIt's hard to cast out a demon from a person unless demons can reside in a person. So, very clearly, demons can enter people. That's what's called demon possession, or the Greek text reads \u201cdemonized.\u201d\n\nOver in Luke 11:14-15 it says, \u201cAnd He was casting out a demon, and it was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed.<\/em>\u201d You\u2019ll notice that demons go into people and demons can be cast out of people. Well, my goodness, Satan does that very thing, doesn\u2019t he? And Satan, we know, is an angel. From our studies, we\u2019ve seen that he at one time was a high-ranking cherub.\n\nYou say, \u201cDo you have any biblical evidence that Satan actually goes into people?\u201d Yes, I do. It's in John 13:27. Some of the spookiest words, really, in the whole Bible. It says, \u201cAfter the morsel, Satan then entered into him <\/em>[Judas]. Therefore Jesus said to him\u2026<\/em>\u201d Whom would Jesus be speaking to? Probably to Satan\u2014and indirectly to Judas. \u201c\u2026\u2018What you do, do quickly.\u2019 <\/em>\u201d\n\nI'm also of the view that the Antichrist will be demon possessed. I think that possession will probably happen midway through the Tribulation period when Satan loses his access that he has to go into heaven\u2014not to worship and serve as he once did as a high-ranking angel, but to communicate and accuse. He has that privilege right now. Halfway through the Tribulation period (Revelation 12) that privilege is taken away, and I think it's at that point he'll fall to the earth permanently and actually go into the Antichrist.\n\nThe reason I think that is because there's only two people in the Bible that are given the name \u201cson of perdition\u201d or \u201cson of destruction.\u201d The first is Judas Iscariot. John 17:12 calls Judas the son of perdition. Then Paul uses the exact same Greek phrase to describe the coming lawless one\u2014or Antichrist\u2014in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.\n\nSo, clearly, Satan\u2014an angel\u2014can enter people. Well, my goodness, demons can enter people! You don't have an airtight passage that says, \u201cThus sayeth the Lord, demons are the third of the angels that originally fell with Satan.\u201d But you do have these similarities, and these similarities can't be overlooked. Demons have a leader\u2014so do the fallen angels. In both cases it\u2019s Satan! It\u2019s just in Matthew 12:24 he\u2019s called Beelzebub, and in the Matthew 25:41 passage he\u2019s called Satan, \u201cthe devil and his angels.\u201d\n\nDemons are spirit beings (Matthew 8:16). My goodness, that's what angels are called (Hebrews 1:14)\n\nDemons can go inside of people (Luke 11:14-15). My goodness, that's what Satan does! He's already done it once in history\u2014at least. He\u2019s going to do it a second time with the Antichrist. Satan also is referred to as a cherub\u2014Ezekiel 28\u2014as an angel.\n\nWho, then, are the demons? The only guess I would have is the demons are part of that third that originally fell with Satan.\n\nThere are a lot of people out there that are coming out with some very odd definitions. And what I'm sharing is the basic definition of who the demons are. You'll find it in the Moody Handbook of Theology. This is the standard view.\n\nI'm seeing, though, a lot of people coming up with weird stuff! One fellow is out there trying to convince people that the demons are actually the souls of the Nephilim that were destroyed in the Flood. So, the bodies were destroyed but their spirits are free. Apparently, this fellow is thinking that the souls of the Nephilim must be demons. I give him an \u2018A\u2019 for creativity. I don't give him a very high grade for biblical evidence because there is<\/em> no biblical evidence<\/em> for such a thing! That's his own personal conjecture. I think your best bet is to look at the demons as the third of the angels that originally fell with Satan.\n\nOne of the things that\u2019s very interesting to notice in the Bible is these demons are divided into two categories. The first category is the demons that are free. I mean, they're free to harass us today. If that weren't true then Ephesians 6:12 wouldn't say, \u201cFor our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.\u201d<\/em>\n\nPaul clearly talks about how he was in open conflict (or combat) with demons. That's his whole logic for teaching the full armor of God because that's really the only<\/em> source of authority that we have to stand up under them.\n\nBut if you're a careful Bible reader, you'll also discover that some of these spirits are now in prison. You'll see a reference to spirits in prison in 1 Peter 3:19-20 and 2 Peter 2:4. There's an allusion to it in Jude 6, and people like to say, \u201cWell, those are souls in purgatory.\u201d They come up with all of these kinds of explanations, but the word \u201cspirits\u201d only applies to angels or fallen angels. It never applies to a human being.\n\nWhen it talks about spirits in prison, I'm of the persuasion that it\u2019s talking about demons in prison. And that may be the locusts, according to Revelation 9:3. When we were in Revelation 9, I tried to make the case that those locusts that come out of the abyss are not attack helicopters\u2014the way some popular prophecy teachers teach.\n\nThe locusts come out of the abyss. And when you study the abyss in the Book of Revelation, it's a temporary holding tank of some kind for fallen angels. In fact, that's where Satan is going to be thrown (Revelation 20:2-3) during the thousand-year Kingdom.\n\nSo these locusts that come out of the abyss? I have a tendency to think they are the same incarcerated demons that we read about in 1 Peter 3:19-20, 2 Peter 2:4, and Jude 6.\n\nYou start studying what the Bible has to say about demons, and you start to see that there are two groups of them. It's very interesting that when you study the Peter passages (1 Peter 3:19-20; 2 Peter 2:4), Peter brings up that subject related to the days of Noah. So somehow the incarceration of some of the demons is connected to something that happened in Genesis 6.\n\nI have a whole lesson and teaching coming up on Genesis 6; my point wasn't to go too far into that today. But a lot of people completely deny that demons are involved in Genesis 6 when the sons of God began to cohabitate with human women. I\u2019m going to try to make the case when we get to that section that those are actually demons procreating with human women for the purpose of damaging the gene pool of the human race to prevent the birth of the Messiah.\n\nNow, why would Satan do that? Because Satan always works in history to prevent the birth of Jesus. You see that all the way through Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament). This is just another strategy he used. Because he was there in Eden, was he not, when the proclamation was made in Genesis 3:15 that there's coming one from the Seed of the woman (who would that be? Eve) Who will crush his head. Seed of the woman means He must not be only fully God, but also what? Fully man!\n\nNow, Satan is a smart guy, and he says \u201cI\u2019m going to create a race of people that aren\u2019t fully human. I\u2019m going to create a hybrid race\u2014partly angel and partly human.\u201d Those are called the Nephilim. Now, Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-4) literally means \u201cfallen ones.\u201d You see, what is Satan doing there? He's trying to create, genetically, a race of people that can never begat or bring forth the Messiah.\n\nThat's why when you're in Genesis 6 it keeps talking about the innocence and the blamelessness of Noah. Most people read that and say, \u201cNoah was a great guy!\u201d Well, he was not blameless, morally. Because we read in that chapter that Noah found what? Grace in the eyes of Lord. That must mean he was fallen just like the rest of us! When it says \u201cblameless,\u201d Genesis 6:9, I'll show you from the Hebrew that the identical word is used to describe, in Exodus 12:5, \u00a0the unblemished nature of the Passover lamb.\n\nThe Passover lamb had to be genetically pure. Noah, when it keeps talking about his innocence and his blamelessness, along with his family\u2014eight total in the ark\u2014were genetically pure or genetically protected. They are protected by God in the ark because it's through one of those sons (Shem) that the Messiah\u2019s line will continue, and God will fulfill His promise in Genesis 3:15.\n\nSo Satan somehow got the fallen angels under his authority\u2026 We\u2019re not given the number; we\u2019re just told it\u2019s a third. We\u2019re told that there are so many angels you can\u2019t even number them: 10,000 \u00d7 10,000. A third falls with Satan, and somehow Satan got a subset within that third. How many? I don't know; the Bible doesn't say.\n\nThere is a subcategory. I have a chart on this that I\u2019ll show you when we get to that section. But he got a subset of them to get involved in the Genesis 6 sin where they left their natural estate, as Jude 6 and 7 says they did. They left their natural abode.\n\nThat was a crime of such a heinous nature\u2014the tampering of the genetics of the human race\u2014that God took that group (not all the demons) and He immediately put them in the abyss (or incarceration). They\u2019re in the abyss right now as I speak! But they\u2019re actually let out of the abyss in Revelation 9:1-12 to torment the human race as we\u2019ve studied in the Book of Revelation.\n\nNow, I was stuck in a restaurant with three guys when I was a student at Dallas Seminary. One of them was a professor and he had his two teaching assistants on my right and my left. It was a booth in Denny's where I really couldn't get out, to be frank with you. One of them was a famous football player. I don't even know how this came up, but somehow I started talking like this at the table at Denny's. And all three of them just became so angry at me! They sat there and it was like \u201cAndy in the lion's den\u201d for three hours!\n\nI was trying to explain my view and they kept posing objection after objection because they obviously didn't believe the way I believed on it. This went on more than one hour! I want to say it went on two to three hours! Finally, after all of this acrimony amongst brothers in Christ, I said to them, \u201cOkay. So you don't accept my interpretation Genesis 6.\u201d\n\nThough my interpretation of Genesis 6 is consistent with the earliest church, as I\u2019ll show you, and it's consistent with Old Testament Judaism. Even people like Josephus and a number of others I can show you that held to this view or a close parallel to it.\n\nI said, \u201cOkay, you don\u2019t accept my interpretation. Then can you please explain to me why some demons are incarcerated, and some are free?\u201d And all three of them, to a man, said, \u201cWe don't know.\u201d So I said, \u201cWell, okay, at least I have an explanation! You may not like the explanation, but I have an explanation!\u201d My explanation as to why some demons are free and some are incarcerated relates directly to what happened in Genesis 6.\n\nNow, if you don't have Genesis 6 in your angelology and you don't want to see angelology in Genesis 6, then you're left with no explanation as to why some demons are free and some are incarcerated. My only point now is to point out that that's clearly what the New Testament reveals. You\u2019ve got some demons incarcerated; some are free. And I think the ones that are incarcerated were involved in the Genesis 6 situation, and the ones that are free today were never involved in the Genesis 6 situation.\n\nSomething else that's very interesting to study when you get into the subject of demons, is the plan of salvation is not open to Satan and it is not open to the demonic realm. A few verses on that. Notice Matthew 8:29. We read this verse earlier.\n\nThis is the demons speaking who were in the man at Gadara. \u201cAnd they cried out <\/em>[that\u2019s to Jesus], saying, \u2018What business do we have with each other, Son of God?\u2019 <\/em>\u201d Notice that the demons know exactly who Jesus is! You can\u2019t even get theologians today to agree Who Jesus is! The demons knew exactly<\/em> who He was!\n\nAnd then they make this statement, \u201c \u2018Have You come here to torment us before the time?\u2019 <\/em>\u201d So, they know the future! They know they're going down! They know it\u2019s just a matter of time! They don't indicate here, \u201cWell, can I pray the sinner\u2019s prayer and get saved?\u201d Partly because, as we\u2019ve talked about in our church, the sinner\u2019s prayer doesn\u2019t save anybody!\n\nBut you notice they don't say, \u201cCan we believe in Christ and be saved?\u201d The way we as human beings can. They have no option to do that! The only thing they have to look forward to is their judgment. So you can conclude from a passage like this that there is no plan of salvation open for the fallen angels. The good angels wouldn\u2019t need a plan of salvation, would they?\n\nLook at Matthew 25:41. It says, \u201c \u2018Then<\/em> [that's when the Lord returns] He will also say to those on His left, \u201cDepart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels\u2026\u201d \u2019 <\/em>\u201d Hell itself was originally created because of Lucifer's rebellion. Obviously, if hell itself was created for Lucifer and those that rebelled with him in the angelic realm, the only thing Satan and the demons have to look forward to is future judgment. There is no such thing as a redemption for a fallen angel.\n\nOne more: James 2:19. The Book of James, as you probably know, is one of the earliest books that we have in the New Testament. It was written probably around A.D. 45 to 50. Notice what the Book of James says about demons. \u201cYou believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and <\/em>[what?] shudder.<\/em>\u201d\n\nWhat are they shuddering about? I would shudder as well if the only thing I understood at the name of Jesus Christ is not salvation\u2014He's not my personal Savior, but He's my future judge. Think about that! If the only connection you have to Jesus Christ is not Savior but Future Judge, would you not hate the name of Jesus? Would you not go out of your way to shut everybody up about the name of Jesus? And the reason the demons are that way? Because when you put these verses together, apparently the plan of salvation is not open to them.\n\nPart of this understanding that the plan of salvation is not open to the angelic realm helps us understand why the angels keep watching. As you go through the Old Testament, you\u2019ve got the cherubim inscribed there by Moses overlooking the Mercy Seat in the Book of Exodus. Implying that angels are watching.\n\nAnd when you look at passages like Ephesians 3:10 you learn that angels are watching. Who are they watching? They\u2019re watching us!\n\nFirst Peter 1:12 talks about how angels\u2014as God lavishes His grace upon us\u2014stoop down and look intently. In other words, they\u2019re studying us all of the time. They have to study because they\u2019re created beings. So, they're not omniscient. They don't even know when Jesus is coming back (Matthew 24:36).\n\nJesus, in His Incarnation, didn't even know when He was coming back. So you look at passages like this, and it\u2019s very clear that angels are not omniscient! They have to study, they have to learn, just like you and I have to study and learn to become skilled at anything.\n\nOne of the things they keep watching is the human race. Why is that? Why are we so darn interesting to these angels? I think it has something to do with the fact that the angels really don't know much about God's grace. I mean, how could they understand it when the plan of salvation is not even open to them?\n\nNow, they know all about His creative power. They know all about that. In Job 38:4-7 the sons of God exploded into praise as God brought forth the heavens and the earth.\n\nThey know about God's holiness (Isaiah 6:3) because what do the seraphim say day and night? They say, \u201cHoly, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.\u201d They know all about holiness. And they know all about judgment because they're aware of Lucifer's rebellion and how Lucifer took somehow\u2014or deceived\u2014a third of their colleagues into rebelling with him against God. And Lucifer lost his position in heaven, as did a third of the angels which are now demons.\n\nEvery angel knows about Creation, they know about holiness, and they know about judgment. What they don't know much about is grace. And how could they know much about it? Because the plan of salvation is not even open to that realm. They don\u2019t know much about grace. Grace\u2014meaning unmerited favor\u2014is a concept that is foreign to them.\n\nIt's not foreign to us because we've received Christ as our Savior and we understand what that's all about. But angels? The plan of salvation is not even open to them. How could they understand anything about it? So, how are they going to learn about it? Who would they study? They would study the unworthy people (us) whom that grace has been lavished on.\n\nThe Gospel of John tells us that we have received\u2014in the age of the church\u2014grace upon grace. There isn\u2019t a group of people in redemptive history that have received more grace than what we've been given as the Church Age for the last 2000 years. And the angels just can't get over this. That\u2019s why they sit and study and watch.\n\nThat\u2019s why you have all these verses telling us that the angels are watching. I think it relates to the fact that grace is a foreign concept to them because the plan of salvation is not open to them. So they have to learn about it somewhere, and they learn about it by watching us. It's an amazing theological issue that's taking place today with angelic observation.\n\nThe question becomes, \u201cWhy doesn't God just open the plan of redemption for the fallen angels?\u201d For one thing, Jesus would have had to become an angel to get that to work. We have no record that Jesus ever became an angel. Jesus became a man. At the virgin conception what was added to the eternally existent deity of Christ was humanity.\n\nJesus became, at the point of the virgin conception, the unique God-Man. Why did Jesus have to do that? Because if He didn't do that\u2014if that didn't happen\u2014He couldn't qualify to be the Savior of humanity. He also couldn't fulfill Genesis 3:15, could He? Which says that the Savior is going to be the Seed of the what? The woman! That's what Satan is trying to block and stop in Genesis 6. So, clearly the plan of salvation is not open to the fallen angels or else Jesus would have had to become an angel, which He did not.\n\nThere may be another reason, though, why the plan of salvation is not open to the fallen angels. I got this from Theissen, a very good systematic theologian from a prior generation. Because the Bible doesn't come out and tell you categorically, \u201cThus saith the Lord, the plan of salvation is not open to demons. And here's why...\u201d You have to do a little bit of inference.\n\nThiessen writes this, \u201cBecause the angels are a company and not a race\u2026\u201d We\u2019re a race, right? People want to get into racial issues. Well, there's only one race\u2014the human race. \u201cBecause the angels are a company and not a race, they sinned individually, and not in some federal head of the race [as was true with humanity's fall in the person of Adam].\u201d\n\nI like what he says here, \u201cIt may be\u2026\u201d See how he's saying, \u201cI'm doing some inference here.\u201d He\u2019s not dogmatic when the Bible is not dogmatic, but he just gives a logical inference. And that's what a good systematic theologian will do. You don't want to be dogmatic in places that the Bible is not dogmatic.\n\nNow he's doing a little bit of human reasoning and so he says, \u201cIt may be\u2026\u201d And I like this explanation because it's the best I've heard on it. \u201cIt may be that because of this that God made no provision of salvation for the fallen angels.\u201d\n\nWhat does the Bible say? To whom much is given, much is what? Expected! When they rebelled against God, they did not do that because some head of their race\u2014because they're not a race\u2014sinned. So, I am born into this world as a sinner because of something Adam did in the Garden of Eden.\n\nI am born under the penalty of sin because of something Adam did in the Garden of Eden. I'm of the view of seminal headship, which basically means that when Adam sinned, I was right there sinning with him. I guess that God could have put us all in the Garden of Eden, one by one, and we would've all done the same thing. That's what's called seminal headship view. I\u2019m more of that persuasion.\n\nBut the truth of the matter is (Romans 5:12) all of us are in a sinful condition because of something Adam did. Adam\u2019s sin affected all of us! Why? Because he is the acting head<\/em> of our race\u2014the human race.\n\nIt's like your politician in your district. Because of the position that they are in\u2014City Council, Congress, President\u2014whatever they decide affects you. Now, you may hate the person, you may have campaigned against the person, you may have voted against the person, but when all is said and done, tough tacos\u2014as we like to say\u2014they're your head. So whatever decision they make affects you.\n\nThat's what happened with the human race. Adam's position imputed the consequences of sin to all of us. All<\/em> of us<\/em> are born into this world dead in our trespasses and sins because of what Adam did. And what Thiessen is saying here is (paraphrasing), \u201cThat's not true with the angels!\u201d Each of them went into sin because of a conscious choice that each of them made\u2014a third of them.\n\nThe Bible says to whom much is given, much is what? Required. And they had a higher knowledge threshold than we do. They stood in the very glory of God, which we never have. And each made a decision to sin. You can't blame it on the fact that, \u201cWell, one angel sinned; so, all of them sinned.\u201d Because the angels are not a race, as Thiessen says, but rather are a company.\n\nTo capsulize Thiessen's thought process, I put together this chart which shows you the difference between human accountability and angelic accountability. We as human beings sinned as a class. You'll see that taught very clearly in Romans 5:12. \u201cTherefore, just as through one man <\/em>[who would that be? Adam] sin entered into the world<\/em> \u2026<\/em>\u201d You see, this happened way back in Eden before I was even conceived.\n\n\u201cTherefore, just as through one man<\/em> sin entered into the world,<\/em> and death through sin, and so death spread to\u2026<\/em>\u201d Who? Some men? No! \u201c\u2026all men, because all sinned\u2026<\/em>\u201d So, Adam\u2019s sin affected everybody! And when you understand this, then you start to see why the virgin birth is such a big deal! If Jesus had had<\/em> a natural conception\u2014like all of us do\u2014He would have been born under that same curse, but God circumvented that through the virgin miraculous conception of Christ.\n\nThat's why I'm very troubled by people like Brian McLaren. I've even found some statements by Andy Stanley (the son of Charles Stanley) not necessarily denying the virgin birth, but just acting like, \u201cOh, it\u2019s no big deal!\u201d I don't have those statements in front of me\u2014and I probably should bring them in if I'm going to name names like that.\n\nBut it's very, very, very disturbing to hear anybody that is in a position of Christian leadership somehow marginalizing the virgin birth. If you don't have a virgin birth, you don't have a sinless Savior. Beyond that, you don't even have an eternal Savior Who is qualified to pay the eternal debt because that means Jesus had a beginning point.\n\nRomans 5:12\u2014all of us are sinners because of what Adam did! See that? That's not true with the angels! The angels did not have some federal head over them that sinned, causing all of them to sin. Each of them sat there and made an individual choice!\n\nBeyond that, sin comes very naturally to us doesn't it? Psalm 51:5, \u201cBehold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.\u201d <\/em>In other words, I received a sin nature at the point of conception. When I came into this world no one had to sit me down and say, \u201cOkay, here's how you sin\u2014three easy steps. Do this, this, and this, and you can sin too!\u201d No! Sin comes naturally to me. That's my natural proclivity because I'm born under Adam\u2019s headship.\n\nYour kids? You don't have to sit them down and say, \u201cOkay, we\u2019re going to teach you today how to be selfish. Ready?\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to teach you today how to cling to your toys and not share with your friends.\u201d\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s the lesson for today: We\u2019re going to teach you how to throw a temper tantrum. Here\u2019s how you do it!\u201d\n\nKids do that quite naturally because we<\/em> did it quite naturally; because that's who we are in Adam's lineage. I sin because I'm a sinner! See that? My sin doesn't make me a sinner. Rather, I sin because I already am<\/em> a sinner (Jeremiah 17:9; Psalm 51:5).\n\nThink about the angels that fell. They had no sin nature, and yet they still decided to rebel! Beyond that, I sin having never stood in the glory of God or in His presence. I have never stood in God's presence or in God's glory. Think of the angels standing there in their unfallen state enjoying everything that God is and still<\/em> making the decision to sin against God. To whom much is given, much is required. It seems to me that the fallen angels had a lot more to account for than we do, and that may be yet another explanation as to why the plan of salvation is not open to the fallen angels the same way it's open to us.\n\nWhen you start to understand this, then you start to understand the ferocity<\/em> of the attack against us\u2014not just by Satan, but by the fallen angels\u2014because those folks have absolutely nothing to lose in this war. I mean, wouldn't you be this way if you were going down and the only thing you had to look forward to was judgment?\n\nWhat would be your mindset? \u201cI\u2019m just going to take as many people down as I can!\u201d That helps explain the ferocity of the attack by the enemy against us, and it has to do with the fact that the plan of salvation is not open to the fallen angelic realm. The two-thirds good angels that never fell? They don't need salvation. But the third that fell? Apparently, the plan of salvation is not open to them.\n\nSo that\u2019s a little bit about the origin of the demons and the existence of demons. The next time I'm with you, we will get into their personhood.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t