God Deals With People According to the Light They Have

What is GLORY in the sense of God’s (Shekinah) GLORY?

What Does “They Shall TAKE UP SNAKES” Mean?

When the Lord gave the Great Commission he noted that certain signs would accompany believers:

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Mark 16:17-18

To properly understand what Christ meant by the statement “they will pick up snakes with their hands,” just look to the rest of the verse where he says “and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them.” So the Messiah was talking about being accidently exposed to something poisonous and not being harmed. A good example is when Paul got bit by a deadly viper on the island of Malta after being shipwrecked:

Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

Acts 28:3-5

This is the obvious meaning of our text: Believers will not be hurt by deadly snakes or poison, assuming they’re walking in faith (see this article for details). The rest of the account shows that this sign was a powerful witness to the inhabitants of the island along with the sign that “they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well”:

The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

⁷There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. ⁸His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. ⁹When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. ¹⁰They honored us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

Acts 28:6-10

What Christ said in Mark 16:17-18 was hypothetical, but we see here two of these actual signs in real life on Malta, as well as the effect it had on the unconverted.

Does this sign of picking up snakes warrant having “snake-handling ceremonies” where poisonous snakes are brought into an assembly and the believers handle the serpents to prove that they are true believers? Obviously not. It would be like bringing deadly poison to the fellowship, such as drain cleaner, and encouraging the believers to drink it to verify their authenticity. This is idiotic fanaticism that “puts the LORD God to the test” (Matthew 4:7 & Deuteronomy 6:16).

Speaking of “snake-handling rituals,” I’ve been a believer since the age of 20 and have been to myriad assemblies in the last four decades, but I’ve never run across this kind of dubious ceremony, not even close, even though I’ve attended numerous varied Pentecostal/Charismatic services, including in Appalachian areas. However, I have seen snake-handling rites depicted in a couple movies. So, while there have been cases of this peculiar rite occurring in a small number of isolated churches, typically in Appalachia, it’s more of a cinematic myth than reality. I bring this up because Carol, my wife, worked with a woman a few years ago who kept referring to “snakebite churches,” which Carol & I found amusing. For the most part, they don’t exist except in the minds of Hollywood scriptwriters.

In any case, “they will pick up snakes with their hands” should be taken in the obvious sense relevant to Acts 28:3-5.

However, there is…

A Deeper Interpretation

Sometimes Scripture has a straight-forward meaning as well as a subtextual one. A good example would be Paul’s figurative interpretation of two historical people, Sarah and Hagar (Galatians 4:24).

So is there a deeper meaning to Christ’s statement “They shall take up serpents” in Mark 16:18? Yes, there is a viable symbolic interpretation. Consider when the LORD gave Moses & Aaron the assignment to appear before Pharaoh when the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt:

Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ”

²So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

He said, “A rod.”

³And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. ⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), ⁵“that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

Exodus 4:1-5 NKJV

And here’s what happened when Moses & Aaron actually went to Pharaoh:

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

¹¹But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. ¹²For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

Exodus 7:10-12 NKJV

Summing this up, Moses & Aaron appeared before Pharaoh and, as a sign to the Egyptians (aka the world), cast a staff to the ground and it became a serpent. Pharaoh’s sorcerers cast their rods to the ground as well and they also became serpents thru their black arts, yet Moses’ serpent consumed the other serpents and their black arts couldn’t prevent it. Then Moses & Aaron took up the serpent and it became a staff once again.

This account can be interpreted symbolically when you grasp the symbols:

The serpents represent sin in the Bible, which I’ll elaborate on in a moment.
Jesus Christ is the Branch of God, as detailed in Isaiah’s prophecy:

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

Isaiah 11:1 (NKJV)

This reveals that the family tree of David’s father, Jesse, would produce a “Branch” out of its roots, which refers to the Messiah (Romans 1:2-4).

Christ, the Righteous Branch, become sin and this is represented in Moses & Aaron’s staff becoming a serpent. The Son was “cast” to the Earth by the Father in order to be sin on our behalf when crucified (2 Corinthians 5:21), but was then taken up (to Heaven) to become, once again, the Righteous Branch. He’s no longer sin on the cross, a figurative serpent, but rather has been raised for the justification of all those who believe (Romans 4:25).

This helps make sense of the Old Testament account in which the Hebrews grumbled in unbelief after escaping slavery in Egypt and so were attacked by venomous snakes (Numbers 21:4-7). In other words, their sin — represented by the snakes — was going to kill them, but they humbly repented and thus the LORD gave them the means of salvation from the deadly bites, thus escaping the wages of their sin:

The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

Numbers 21:8-9

This obviously foreshadows Jesus’ crucifixion:

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:14-16

Now let’s apply this to believers “taking up snakes” in a figurative sense as a sign to the world during the current Age of Grace…

As we share the awesome news of the message of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), the people who are behaving like serpents — that is, lost in the world and living in sin — have the opportunity to believe and die to the flesh as they are raised righteous in Christ through spiritual rebirth, thus giving their lives over to the Lord (Romans 4:24, Titus 3:5, Romans 12:1 & Mark 8:35).

The New Testament teaches that believers are raised to life in Christ and have the “gift of righteousness” (John 5:24 & Romans 5:17). We are like the Egyptian sorcerers’ snakes that are swallowed up by Moses’ serpent and enter the work of the crucified & resurrected Christ. This work of the Anointed One who became sin for us yet was raised from that sin & death to righteousness & life by the hand of God.*

* Jesus didn’t sin, but became sin on our behalf (Hebrews 4:15).

All those who believe are taken in Christ just like the Egyptian snakes were taken into Moses’ serpent. The Lord became sin itself and took our sins; then was raised to life for our justification (Romans 4:25 & 5:17). In short, those who believe, receive Christ and are taken in Him and raised to life together with the Lord as new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17).

As such, this sign “They shall take up serpents” is how:

We share the awesome news of the message of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) and…
How people in the world are delivered from sin & death by being taken into Christ through faith.

They are no longer “serpents” — hopeless, unredeemed sinners — but are now in Christ, the Righteous Branch. Amen.

Related Topics:

“Holy water” and “Saying Grace”

Armor & Weaponry of God

Baptism of the Holy Spirit — and It’s Benefits

What Is GLORY in the Sense of God’s (Shekinah) GLORY?

God’s glory is linked to the LORD’s presence. When you hear a minister pray “God, show us your glory” it’s referring to the LORD manifesting glory to the people thereof. This is where we get the phrase God’s ‘manifest presence.’ The Almighty is omnipresent, of course — present everywhere at the same time in the sense of knowing what’s going on everywhere and nothing can be hidden from the Creator (Jeremiah 23:24 & Proverbs 15:3) — but this does not mean that God lacks a central presence and form (Psalm 11:4), it just means that the LORD manifests his presence and the corresponding glory to people at a certain time/place.

Some refer to this as shekinah glory, a phrase coined by Hebrew rabbis in reference to a visitation of the LORD on Earth and the corresponding glory. ‘Shekinah’ literally denotes the dwelling or settling of the presence of the Almighty, such as on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant (Leviticus 16:2). Although this Hebrew term doesn’t technically appear in the Holy Scriptures, the concept of shekinah glory does (Ezekiel 43:2-5).

One of the meatier passages on God’s glory pertains to the time when Moses was leading the Israelites through the Sinai wilderness after escaping Egypt:

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. ⁸And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. ⁹As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. ¹⁰Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. ¹¹The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

¹²Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ ¹³If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

¹⁸Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

¹⁹And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. ²⁰But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

²¹Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. ²²When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

Exodus 33:7-23

When Moses went to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” To explain, the Ark of the Covenant was housed in the Tent of Meeting and God’s shekinah glory dwelt on the top of the lid of the Ark (Numbers 17:4). “Face to face” in this context is a metaphor for intimate communion between God and Moses “as one speaks to a friend.” It’s not a literal statement, but rather refers to experiencing God’s spiritual presence and the relationship thereof, not physical presence. We know this because the LORD plainly says in verse 20, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Forms of God’s Manifest Presence

Someone asked me if God’s glory is a cloud, likely due to the pillar of cloud mentioned in verses 9-10. The LORD’s glory manifested as a cloud on this occasion perhaps because this cloud pillar was used to guide the Israelites through the desert wilderness for 40 years during the day and as a pillar of fire at night (Exodus 13:21). God’s glory also manifested as a cloud at the Temple on another exceptional occasion (1 Kings 8:10-11 & 2 Chronicles 5:13-14), which we also observe in the heavenly Temple in John’s vision (Revelation 15:8).

Yet God’s glory doesn’t always manifest in the form of a cloud or “holy smoke.” You might even call such manifestations exceptions. For instance, when the LORD passed before Moses and the prophet saw God’s back parts there is no mention of a cloud (Exodus 33:18-23). Furthermore, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, after he had communed with the Creator for 40 days, his face was radiant with splendor, but there was no cloud wrapped around his face.

Moreover, when the LORD passed by Elijah on the mountain, God’s glory manifested as a gentle whisper or “still small voice” rather than a powerful wind, earthquake or fire (1 Kings 19:11-13). This shows, by the way, that we can experience God’s glory without some great spectacle occurring, like a pillar of cloud or fire. You can be sitting in a field and quietly experience shekinah glory.

Jesus Christ often went to solitary places in the wilderness to pray “as was his habit,” as shown in Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23 and Luke 22:39-41. Do you think he experienced the Father’s presence & corresponding glory on these occasions? It’s a rhetorical question in light of the exceptional anointing Christ walked in during his earthly ministry.

**The Result of Experience God’s Presence (Glory)**

There are a lot of wonderful things we can get from this passage — Exodus 33:7-23 — such as the fact that Moses’ aid, Joshua, would linger in the LORD’s presence after Moses left the Tent of Meeting, and guess who God chose to lead the Hebrews into the Promised Land after Moses’ passing? Joshua! So anyone who wants to be used greatly of the LORD, spending time in God’s presence is a prerequisite, which is linked to praise & worship.

What we want to focus on here is simply how God’s shekinah glory is linked to the LORD’s manifest presence. Both the Greek word and Hebrew word for ‘glory’ bespeak of God’s splendorous intrinsic substance or essence. Since praising God naturally attracts the LORD’s presence and worship (adoration) is the natural response to being in God’s presence, a spirit of praise & worship are key to experiencing shekinah glory (Psalm 95:1-7 & Psalm 100).

Also, since the Living Word said that his words “are spirit and life” (John 6:63) it stands to reason that you’ll be filled with spirit and life if you fill yourself up with the LORD’s word. In other words, the more you spend time with the Lord and soak in the things of God in general, the more glory you’ll experience, but you’ll have to recognize & avoid the life-stifling pitfall of legalism, a horrible spiritual disease.

It is said that we become like those we hang around. For instance, if you spend a lot of time with a certain person, you’ll tend to pick up his/her traits. If you hang around smokers you’ll have an aroma of smoke. The same principle is at play with the LORD and the things of God in general. This can be observed in Moses’ hanging out with the LORD:

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. ³⁰When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. ³²Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Exodus 34:29-35

Spending intimate time with the LORD on the top of Mount Sinai and experiencing the glory of God’s presence had a noticeably effect on Moses. His face was radiant with God’s glory, which caused the Israelites to separate from him because they were uncomfortable, even afraid (verse 30).

The New Testament brings up this occasion (2 Corinthians 3:13-16) and ends with this thought:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Those who “contemplate the Lord’s glory” are transformed into God’s image with ever-increasing glory. In the Greek, “ever-increasing glory” literally means going from glory to glory. In other words, there are levels of glory that we will experience in our earthly pilgrimage corresponding to our spiritual growth. But we have to make sure we’re exposing ourselves to the LORD’s glory on a regular basis, not to mention soaking up the things of God in general. I’m talking beyond trips to your local assembly once or twice a week, although that’s good too of course (assuming the fellowship is biblical & godly and not legalistic).

All of this explains the idea of ministers with a high level ‘anointing.’ It’s the result of soaking up the presence of God & the corresponding glory, not to mention the things of God in general.

Several years ago we had a neighbor who regularly smoked. When Carol went to visit her I could always tell when she came back because she smelled like smoke. The same principle applies to those who regularly “hang out” with God. They’ll have the Lord’s light & aroma about them (2 Corinthians 2:15-17). It’s an anointing of glory.

One last thing, which is only for those interested in details…

Experiencing God’s Glory Is Distinguished From Having an “Altar Experience”

You can experience God’s manifest presence and the corresponding shekinah glory on a regular basis as you enter into the LORD’s presence (Psalm 95:1-7 & Psalm 100). This is different from having an “altar experience,” which is an encounter with God wherein you receive a potent revelation and make the necessary sacrifices. Such encounters are separate from – and should not be confused with – one’s daily fellowship with the LORD where the believer has (or, at least, can have) a 24/7 rapport with God by the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:17), which you can read about here.

Again, altar experiences are distinguished from entering into the Lord’s presence during Praise & Worship. How are they different? Simple: altar experiences occur infrequently and naturally involve a fresh directive and the appropriate sacrifice, physical or mental. That said, one can certainly have an “altar experience” during praise & worship when encountering God’s manifest presence. If you are not familiar with altar experiences, you can read about the topic here (or see the video).

Related Topics:

Prayer—Communing with God

Praise & Worship—What’s the Difference? Why are they Important?

DRINK UP from the Fountain of Life (video)

Is Christianity a “Relationship with God”?

Spiritual Growth — The Four Stages

Spiritual Growth is Like Climbing a Mountain

Ark of the Covenant — Why Isn’t it in the New Testament?

Believers Who Believe in Spiritual Gifts vs. Those Who Don’t

I just read a long rant by a minister who rebuked some Pentecostals/Charismatics for their arrogance and stressed how the fruits of the spirit are the true evidence of spiritual maturity. He had some corrective things to say that the body of Christ needs to hear, particularly fleshly believers in the Pentecostal/Charismatic camps, but other things he said showed a very limited understanding of the topic of glossolalia and spiritual gifts. Worse, he came across as looking down on Pentecostals/Charismatics, which is not good as shown in this passage:

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. ²One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. ³The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. ⁴Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Romans 14:1-4

You could insert any non-essential doctrine or practice into this scenario and it would apply. It corresponds to the wise saying:

In essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty; in all things charity

The topic this minister was addressing happened to be glossolalia and gifts of the Spirit. Believers who believe in spiritual gifts must not look down on those who don’t and vice versa. In other words, do not treat people with contempt if they don’t believe in spiritual gifts and don’t treat people with contempt if they do embrace them. The principle applies both ways.

Now let’s consider what was good and not good about this brother’s rant.

He was right to stress the importance of the fruit of the spirit as evidence of genuinely walking with the Lord (Galatians 5:16-26). He was also right to rebuke the arrogance of some Pentecostals/Charismatics who make the gift of speaking in tongues out to be the sign of a true believer. It’s not; the fruits of the spirit are — as Christ plainly said: “by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:15-23). Notice he didn’t say “by their spiritual gifts you will recognize them.” A good example of immature believers flowing in charismatic gifts while glaringly walking in the flesh can be observed right in the Bible at the assembly in Corinth, which explains Paul’s open correction to them:

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ… ³You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?

1 Corinthians 3:1,3

This minister was right to confront this issue in his rant and correct it.

However, he was in error concerning his understanding of the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. From what he said, it didn’t seem like he has spent much time studying this gift or charismatic gifts in general beyond what he understood of Acts 2. More specifically, he argued that the only purpose of glossolalia is for believers to reach unsaved people on the mission field who speak a different language. Actually there’s WAY more on speaking in tongues in the Scriptures as shown in:

This article on the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
This article on gifts of the Spirit.

I am so thankful for receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit 2.5 years after I was initially saved as a young man. I can’t tell you how much it has blessed me and empowered my walk with the Lord. I encourage every believer to learn of this awesome gift and receive it. However, I don’t look down on those who are ignorant of it or reject it for one reason or another. That’s their call.

The brother stressed Christ’s words in John 14:23 “if a man loves me, he will keep my word,” but what about keeping the Lord’s word in Holy Scripture on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts in general? Or should we just pretend like those many passages aren’t there? Or write them off somehow?

He argued: “They (Pentecostals/Charismatics) are more or less striving for special callings, ministerial power and gifts.” Yet doesn’t the Bible plainly instruct us to “eagerly desire” spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1, 31, 14:1, 39)? This is why believers should stay away from the false doctrine of cessationism because it encourages believers to eagerly deny spiritual gifts, which is the very opposite of what the Scriptures instruct us to do.

Paul plainly said in Scripture: “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you,” which certainly smacks of spiritual boasting (notice I said spiritual boasting, not fleshly). Yet he quickly followed this up with “But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:18-19). This shows wise balance on his part.

When it comes to non-essential doctrines & practices we have to be careful not to treat believers with contempt just because they disagree on some issue that we have a conviction. By “non-essential” I don’t mean that these doctrines/practices are unimportant, just that they’re not essential to salvation or being a genuine Christian.

By “not treating believers with contempt” I don’t mean that you shouldn’t teach/preach what the Bible says on any topic thru rightly-dividing the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15). Please do so, by all means, but be prepared to prove your case from several passages. Anyone who can’t do this is probably in error. However, if the person you’re trying to convince rejects it due to sectarianism or what have you, please don’t pester them or look down on them. Grant them the liberty to reflect on the matter and make their own decisions. Then pray for them. It’s their spiritual walk, not yours or mine. As the Scripture passage says at the beginning of this article: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand” (Romans 14:4).

Allow me to close with a fitting passage:

1If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13

Related Topics:

Spiritual Growth — The Four Stages

Slain in the Spirit—Is it Biblical?

Healing — How Do I Receive?

Should I get the Surgery or BELIEVE for Healing?

Prophets — New Testament and Old Testament (There’s a Difference)

Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation

Berean Spirit — What is it? How Do You Cultivate It?

Handing an Unrepentant Believer Over to Satan (?)

The apostle Paul gave a curious instruction to the Corinthian believers, an assembly that he started. It concerned a foolish man in their midst who was having sexual relations with his father’s wife. In other words, this was a practicing fornicator in the fellowship. The man was obviously confronted and corrected, but remained stubborn and impenitent. Thus Paul advised the believers to “hand this man over to satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 5:5).

What did the apostle mean by this? Simply that the man must be excommunicated from the assembly since he was unwilling to repent of his sin (1 Corinthians 5:12-13). The hope was that he’d eventually be spurred to repentance whereupon he’d be forgiven and warmly welcomed back. Thankfully, this is precisely what panned out, as revealed in Paul’s subsequent letter (2 Corinthians 2:6-11).

Paul was in essence instructing the believers at Corinth to hand the impenitent man over to a Discipline-Intended Trial. Nine or ten years later the apostle wrote about handing a couple of other unrepentant believers over to satan so that they’d learn a lesson (1 Timothy 1:20). To explain, there are three types of trials that believers will undergo during their pilgrimage on Earth: Self-Inflicted Trials (SITs), Discipline-Intended Trials (DITs) and Maturing-Intended Trials (MITs). Here’s an explanation of each:

SITs are obvious: they are the result of one’s own folly, like being injured after wrecking due to reckless driving or suffering physically due to a junk food diet. In both cases the person’s travails are not due to some satanic plot, but simply his/her foolish choices. The answer to SITs is learning wisdom and applying it.
A DIT means a curse is hitting you due to disobedience, whether a sin of commission or a sin of omission. I don’t mean “curse” like in those old horror flicks, but rather in a biblical sense (see Deuteronomy 28). If this is the case, immediately ’fess up and God will dismiss the transgression (1 John 1:8-9); then take up your weapons and “fight the good fight of faith” until the curse departs (1 Timothy 6:12).
An MIT means that the curse is striking you for righteousness’ sake and the LORD is allowing the enemy to assault you in order to test your character and, once your character is proven, turn the negative situation around to your good (Romans 8:28). What happened to Job is a good example (Job 1-2). The genius of MITs is that God takes something in which the enemy intends to destroy you with—or, at least, hinder you—and ultimately turns it around to your good, making you “strong, firm and steadfast” “after you have suffered for a little while” (1 Peter 5:8-10). Of course, this is providing you fulfill your role by fighting the good fight of faith and enduring. (Remember: the LORD is your “helper,” not your do-everything-for-you-so-you-don’t-have-to-do-anything-at-all-er). This is precisely what happened with Joseph (Genesis 50:20).

How was handing the unrepentant man in Corinth over to satan synonymous with a DIT? Simple, a dis-fellowshipped believer is removed from the protective covering of the church assembly and placed outside where the “god of this world” is at liberty to have his way with him/her, so to speak (2 Corinthians 4:4). The enemy will thus assault the individual with one or more of the curses of the Law because this is how satan & evil spirits attack people. They don’t manifest as spooky boogeymen with cloven hooves and pitchforks, they’re invisible spiritual beings who attack through one or more of the curses of the Law.

Any curse of the Law falls into one of five categories: physical ailments, mental illness, human attack/defeat, the threat of premature death and financial attack (again, see Deuteronomy 28). For a biblical example of this, read Job 1-3 wherein the devil struck righteous Job with these five curses after the Sovereign LORD gave permission to attack him.

Let me emphasize: The ultimate purpose for “handing a person over to satan” is to win him/her back. Paul’s goal was in line with God’s love, in this case tough love. The hope was that banishment from the community of believers and suffering one or more of the curses of the Law would humble the man, provoke desperation, and ultimately shock him back to his spiritual senses, at which point he would be warmly welcomed back into the fellowship, just like the prodigal son humbly returned to his father and was received with open arms (Luke 15:11-32).

So handing a person over to satan is one-and-the-same as handing him/her over to a Discipline-Intended Trial (DIT). These kinds of trials may be challenging, but they’re good in that they provoke a person to positive change.

If this article raises as many questions as it answers, it is because it’s meant to “wet your taste” and go deeper in God’s Word on the topic of spiritual warfare, which you can do by studying & applying the material in this article.

Related Topics:

What is “Backsliding”?

Spirituality — How to be Spirit-Controlled Rather than Flesh-Ruled

Handling Personal Offenses vs. Handling Criminal Acts

How to Confront & Correct (and How NOT to)

What if You KNOW a Confrontation Will Turn UGLY?

False Grace — “Hyper-Grace Cotton Candy”

Judging—When SHOULD You Judge and When SHOULDN’T You Judge?

Forgiveness—Should You Forgive EVERYONE for EVERYTHING ALL of the Time?

Are Angels Strictly Male… or Male AND Female?

The question we want to answer here is: Are there male and female angels or are they all male? Or are they genderless? This topic is somewhat interesting, but relatively inconsequential. For those interested, however, let’s honestly consider what the Bible says…

Angels are consistently referred to in the Bible in the masculine sense (he, him, his) rather than the feminine (she, her, hers). Actually, the Greek word for angel—angeles (ANG-el-os)—is masculine and there is no feminine form.

There is one exception, however, where Zechariah sees two female spiritual beings with wings carrying out a service in a vision (Zechariah 5:5-11). While Ezekiel doesn’t technically call them angels, what else are spiritual beings with wings conducting a service, if not angels? We’ll examine this passage momentarily.

Another thing to consider is that on every occasion when angels appeared to people in human form they were male (Genesis 18:1-3,10, 16-17,22-23 & Ezekiel 9:1-2). This obviously includes the evil spirits—the “sons of God”—who transgressed when they adopted human garb to have intercourse with women, which gave birth to the infamous Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-4), as covered here.

Something else to consider is that the only three angels named in Scripture are male—Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer—as detailed here.

While all this is true, there are several things that need kept in mind on the gender of angels…

**1. Just because angels are shown appearing in human form as males doesn’t mean an angel couldn’t appear as female, particularly if the angel is female.**

Consider, for example what the writer of Hebrews instructed believers:

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

This shows that angels can appear to believers in human form without us discerning that they’re angels. The verse describes them as “strangers” and does not distinguish whether they’re male or female. Notice that it doesn’t add something to the effect of “But if the strangers are female they can’t be angels because angels only appear as male.” Actually, it’s assumed that some of the “strangers” would be female.

Incidentally, the phrase “hospitality to strangers” is one word in the Greek—philoxenia (fil-on-ex-EE-ah)—which means “love to strangers; hospitality.” It doesn’t mean “love to strangers, but only male ones.” It refers to hospitality to people, whether male or female.

I said above that there’s no reason to assume that angels couldn’t appear in human form as female, particularly if the angel is female, which suggests, of course, that some angels are female. This brings up the next two points…

**2. Christ said that people—male and female—would become like the angels at the time of their bodily resurrection.**

Let’s read the text:

Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.”

Luke 20:34-36

This passage shows that people will become “like angels” at the resurrection in two ways: A. they “will neither marry nor be given in marriage” and B. “they can no longer die.”

Concerning the first point, people—male and female—will become like the angels in the sense that they won’t marry. This doesn’t mean that they will become genderless or that females will morph into males. It just means that marriage as an institution shall cease, perhaps because we’ll all be genuinely one in the Lord as the “bride of Christ” and so there will be no need to become “one flesh” with a person of the opposite sex.

The very fact that Jesus said believers—male and female—will become like angels in the sense that they won’t marry presumes that some angels are female. Think about it. Christ did not say “neither will people marry… for they will be like the angels and will all be male in gender.”

Regarding the second point, angels possess intrinsic immortality whereas unredeemed human beings do not. Immortality is only available to people through the gospel of Christ (2 Timothy 1:10 & Romans 2:7).

3. In a vision Zechariah sees two female spiritual beings with wings carrying out a service, which suggests that they’re angels.

Let’s read the passage:

Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”

⁶I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.”

⁷Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! ⁸He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.

⁹Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

¹⁰“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

¹¹He replied, “To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”

Zechariah 5:5-11

These two women with wings carrying a basket between Heaven and Earth are obviously angels because angels are spiritual beings, often described as having wings, who perform services for God, traveling back and forth from Heaven to Earth. The latter is reminiscent of Jacob’s dream where he saw a stairway (or ladder) to Heaven with angels going back and forth from Heaven to Earth (Genesis 28:12). Thus Zechariah’s vision suggests that angels can be female.

Some disagree on the grounds that A. they’re not technically called angels, but rather “women,” which is translated from the Hebrew term ishshah (ish-SHAW), meaning “female” or “wife”; B. this is the same word used for the symbolic “woman” in the basket, which isn’t a woman, but rather figurative of wickedness; C. this is contrasted by the “angel” whom Zechariah is actually talking to, which is the Hebrew word for angel, malak (mal-AWK), and this angel is repeatedly referred as “he” (verses 6, 8 & 11); and, lastly, D. the two women with wings appear in a prophetic vision and visions do not necessarily illustrate actual beings or items; a good example is the “flying scroll” noted earlier in the same chapter of Zechariah (verses 1-2).

Response: A. this is a God-given vision imparted to one of the LORD’s Old Testament prophets and is included in the Holy Scriptures; B. whether they’re called angels by Zechariah or not, the two women carrying a basket are spiritual beings with wings performing a service “between heaven and earth,” which implies that they are angels (after all, what else would they be?); C. God made a point to distinguish these two spiritual beings’ gender as decidedly female; and D. Jesus himself gave a parable—which is a symbolic story, not reality—where he referenced the angels who carried a dead beggar’s soul to Hades (Luke 16:22-23); while this parable is a fictional story containing symbolism* it presumes that these ‘death angels’ actually function in the spirit realm. Why would it be any different with Zechariah’s vision?

* For details see this article.

A pastor who objected to the existence of female angels argued that the women with wings in Zechariah’s vision are demons. Answer: Demons are fallen angels, so if there are female fallen angels there must also be female heavenly angels (unless Lucifer misled all the female angels, which isn’t likely since he only misled a third of the angels anyway).

**4. The Hebrew term adam is used to describe the faces of cherubim in the Bible and this term can denote male or female.**

This can be observed in Ezekiel’s two visions where he describes the four faces of cherubs, one being that of a “man” (Ezekiel 1:6,10 & 10:14). This is translated from the Hebrew word adam (aw-DAWM), which means “man” or “humankind” and can refer to male or female, as clearly shown here:

So God created mankind (adam) in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27

“Mankind” (or “man”) refers to both male and female and were created in the image of God, which shows that the feminine nature originated with God.

5. The Holy Spirit is referred to with masculine pronouns, but the Spirit’s nature is decidedly feminine.

Before anyone cries “HERETIC” consider the obvious evidence:

God has a “feminine” side in that Scripture gives evidence of his softer traits (feminine), as well as his sterner side (masculine). Some good examples include Psalm 103:8, 1 John 4:8 and Matthew 11:28-30.

Also consider this verse:

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he shows us his mercy.

Psalm 123:2

The LORD is compared with both a master (male) and a mistress (female). And the Creator has no problem including such a passage in the God-breathed Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Think about that.

Yet when it comes to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which one especially suggests the feminine nature? (Please understand that this is not a question of sexuality, but of nature). Obviously not the Father or Son because, after all, they’re the Father and Son — both clearly masculine.

I would offer that the Holy Spirit generally reflects the feminine nature. For instance the symbol for the Holy Spirit is a dove, which suggests gentleness and harmlessness (Luke 3:22). Also, the Holy Spirit is referred to as a “Helper” of believers in John 14:16, 26 (also translated as “Comforter” and “Counselor”). One of Eve’s main purposes was to be Adam’s “helper” (Genesis 2:18, 20). In addition, the Holy Spirit is shown to be sensitive — easily grieved — in Ephesians 4:30 and Hebrews 10:29.

The most glaring evidence of the Holy Spirit’s feminine nature can be observed in John 3:6 where the Messiah pointed out that “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Christ was comparing human birth with spiritual regeneration. Just as a woman gives birth to a child (“flesh gives birth to flesh”) so the Holy Spirit gives rebirth to a person’s spirit when he or she turns to God. Giving birth clearly bespeaks of the feminine nature.

By contrast, in 1 Peter 1:23 believers are said to be “born again” of the imperishable seed of the living Word of God, who is Jesus Christ. This is also conveyed in 1 John 3:9 where “Seed” in the Greek is sperma, the Greek word for sperm. You see, believers are born-again of the sperm of Christ, but given spiritual rebirth by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).

Furthermore, this may spur chuckles, but when the Messiah said, “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:32), I can’t help but think of the way men get irate when someone says something insulting about their Momma.

In regards to being sure not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30 & Hebrews 10:29), I can’t help but think of the saying: “If Momma ain’t happy, no one’s happy.”

It is true that the Holy Spirit is referred to by the pronoun “he” in Scripture (e.g. John 16:13) and Mary was inseminated by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18-20), but that seed was the seed of the Word of God, which is Jesus Christ; and the thrust of Scripture points to the Holy Spirit’s feminine nature, as detailed above. Besides, God transcends quaint masculine and feminine associations and there is neither male nor female in Christ (Galatians 3:28). Also, Jesus is the wisdom of God, as seen in 1 Corinthians 1:30, but wisdom is personified as a woman in Proverbs 8-9 and referred to with a feminine pronoun (e.g. Matthew 11:19).

This shows that just because angels are consistently referred to with masculine pronouns (he, him, his) it doesn’t necessarily mean that there aren’t feminine angels, which is pretty much proven by Zechariah 5:9.

6. Jesus is the wisdom of God, as seen in 1 Corinthians 1:30, but wisdom is personified as a woman in Proverbs 8 and 9.

This isn’t to suggest, of course, that Christ is womanly—far from it, as driven home in this article. It simply shows that, although the Son is decidedly masculine, Scripture is flexible in revealing one part of Him—wisdom—as feminine in a figurative sense.

7. The universality of male & female living beings, which are created by the LORD.

Male and female are God-given genders. Both are blessed, yet they’re different. Loony leftists, who claim that there’s no such thing as gender and, secondly, that a person has the right to reject his/her gender and therefore have their body mutilated to switch over to the other side, are blind fools. ‘Nuff said.

8. A few times in Scripture a group of angels is referred to as “the sons of God” and it’s obvious they’re masculine in nature (Genesis 6:1-4, Job 1:6 & 2:1)…

…yet all this shows is that these groups consisted of male angels; it doesn’t prove that there aren’t female angels.

**9. In certain contexts “sons of God” obviously refer to both male and female.**

This can be observed in Romans 8:14 where it says “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (KJV). While the original text literally says the “sons of God” (the Greek for ‘son’ being masculine*) the context is referring to believers led by the Spirit of God and therefore to both male and female Christians. This explains why the NIV translates “sons of God” in this verse as “children of God.” Luke 20:36 is a similar example. Thus when Job 38:7 cites that “all the sons of God [i.e. angels] shouted for joy” when God created the Earth (KJV) it’s not definitive proof that all angels are male. They could be, but more likely they’re not in light of the overriding evidence. The usage of the phrase “sons of God” in the Bible to refer to both male and female simply reflects the patriarchal nature of Israel & surrounding regions during biblical times.

* Huios (hwee-OS).

In light of all this, I don’t see the problem with the idea that there are male and female angels, although male angels are the emphasis in Scripture and they clearly don’t marry or procreate.

Nevertheless, the issue is trivial in the grand scheme of things and isn’t worth quarreling over, which is why I only include this data as an appendix in my book…

The book is available here for a special low-price (345 pages).
Or pick up the eBook for just $2.99!

Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Satan (the Devil) — Liar, Slanderer, Thief, Murderer

Demonic Spirits — How to Deflect Them

How to Enlist the Help of Angels

Women of the Bible / Women in Ministry

REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation

Demonic Spirits — How to Deflect Them

Introduction to ANGELS

The human race seems to be fascinated by angels. Why else do we observe references to these spiritual beings almost everywhere? Angels are in our movies, our books, our songs, our lyrics, our conversations, our graveyards, our ornaments, our greeting cards, our décor and other forms of art, like paintings and album covers.

Speaking of art, Solomon had the Holy Temple in Jerusalem decorated with cherubim, including the walls (1 Kings 6:23-29). Moreover, the lid to the sacred Ark of the Covenant had two gold-sculptured angels facing each other; and it was between these artistic cherubim that the LORD’s presence would dwell on Earth during the Old Covenant.*

* For a couple mind-blowing revelations on the Ark of the Covenant see this article.

This is all fine and dandy, but are angels real? Do they really exist and dwell in the invisible spiritual realm? And, if so, what is their purpose? Why do they exist? Furthermore, do we have control over their activity in some way? In other words, do our actions or inactions determine what they do or don’t do? Also, can angels appear in the physical realm as people? And what about dark angels; that is, evil spirits or demons? What’s the Bible say?

Please notice that the question is “What’s the Bible say?” and not “What’s my sect say?” or “What’s Pastor Jones say?” That’s because we shouldn’t be concerned with what a particular ministry or denomination teaches on angels, but rather what the Bible itself says, which is what Fountain of Life is all about. In other words, this article, my book on angels and the linking articles on this site are a decidedly non-sectarian Scripture-focused examination of the subject.

These materials include longer segments that are dense with info along with shorter ones which drive home simpler points. While I wrote my book on angels to be read front-to-back you’re welcome to jump around to get what you want out of it. Just use the CONTENTS page to zero-in on the topic that interests you. If you come to a section, article or chapter that doesn’t interest you, just jump to the next one. Cross-referencing is provided for your convenience, as are proof texts galore.

Speaking of which, I’m a stickler for proof texts because they place the relevant data at your fingertips. I encourage you to have a Bible handy so you can look up the texts yourself in your preferred translation.

Some important points are reemphasized now and then because 1. I don’t assume that a reader has read the other chapters/articles and 2. I consider the point in question to be indispensable to the body of Christ at this juncture. So I’m not being redundant, I’m just driving something home that needs driven home. The 1st century apostles practiced this, so it’s a God-ordained educational method (2 Peter 1:12-13).

If something is brought up and isn’t elaborated on to your satisfaction, it’s likely because it’s detailed more fully elsewhere in the book or linking articles on this site.

Like most biblical topics, angelology is a complex one and so the answers aren’t always simple or clear cut. Sometimes an answer depends on various criteria and balancing numerous passages, which is mandatory for “rightly dividing” God’s Word. Sometimes we’re compelled to speculate based on the biblical data at hand.

I think you’ll be amazed at what the Bible says about angels and linking subjects. The study will thoroughly enrich your spiritual walk, as it has mine. Now join me to dig into the Holy Scriptures and mine them for answers on angelology. You can start with the article Angels or pick up a special low-priced copy of my book…

ANGELS is available here for a low price (345 pages). Or pick up the eBook version for just $2.99!

How to Enlist the Help of Angels

Demons Vs. Jesus Christ — No Contest!

The DEFEAT of Satan & His Losers

The most important thing you need to understand about the Enemy & his demonic minions is that they’re a defeated foe. They’re stripped of their authority and power as far as regenerated believers are concerned:

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he [Christ] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 2:15

The “powers and authorities” refer to Satan and his sheeple demons. The Bible calls the devil “the god of this world,” but 1. his reign is a temporary one and 2. he’s been “disarmed” for all those in Christ. To ‘disarm’ means to strip or divest. As such, the devil & his filthy angels have been stripped—deprived of their property, rights and power for all those who come to Christ. In other words, the enemy has been dispossessed!

The very reason Jesus came to this lost and dying world was to destroy the devil’s reign:

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

1 John 3:8

This great mission started with the Messiah’s birth, earthly ministry, substitutionary death & resurrection and will culminate with the devil & his filthy angels being cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10 & Matthew 25:41).

How exactly did the Mighty Yeshua “disarm” the devil & his minions and “triumph over them” by his crucifixion and resurrection? By suffering God’s wrath in our place, which is what ‘substitutionary death’ means—the innocent dying for the guilty in order to set them free from their debt of sin and their corresponding bondage to the kingdom of darkness. But—and this is an important “but”—people have to willingly be born-again of the seed of Christ, which is spiritual rebirth (John 3:3,6, Titus 3:5, 1 John 3:9 & 1 Peter 1:23). This regeneration comes through the keys of repentance and faith (Acts 20:21).

**What if You Don’t Believe?**

If you don’t have faith—belief—then continue to seek it out. Those who seek shall find (Jeremiah 29:13 & Matthew 7:7). “Come near to God and he’ll come near to you” (James 4:8). It’s an axiom!

Let me illustrate from my own life: During my adolescence I heard the gospel from a few people and I also collected several tracts that presented the good news of Christ. I don’t know how, but I instinctively knew I needed some kind of rebirth—a fresh start in life—and so I prayed the salvation prayer at the end of those tracts on a few separate occasions during those dark years. Nothing happened, however, because I simply didn’t have the faith at the time. Simply put, I didn’t believe… yet.

So I carried on in my lost state, but I still genuinely sought the truth—the way it really is—even though some paths ended up being dead ends (like psychology, astrology, etc.). But, years later when I was 20, I was working at a fitness center cleaning the women’s shower room well after midnight when something ‘clicked’ in my mind and I saw the light. All I knew was: “I was blind but now I see!” (John 9:25). I was instantaneously saved and drove home that late night with an amazing sense of peace. The next morning I confessed Christ to my mother and sister with a spirit of newfound joy. The rest is His-story. I’ve continued to grow in faith as I sought the LORD and the truth, i.e. reality—the way it really is.

For details on my salvation experience see this video.

Satan & His Loser Angels Are Disarmed and Defeated!

For the spiritually reborn believer, the devil & his filthy spirits are disarmed because we’re born of the seed* of Christ by the Holy Spirit. More than that, God lives in us through the indwelling Spirit and so we are temples of God (1 Corinthians 6:19).

* ‘Seed’ in 1 John 3:9 is the Greek word for sperm; in 1 Peter 1:23 it’s spora (spor-AH).

This is the mind-blowing “mystery” of the gospel—“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). How is Christ in us? Through spiritual rebirth wherein we’re “created to be like God in true righteousness” (Ephesians 4:22-24) and also through the indwelling Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). The kingdom of darkness is disarmed in the lives of all those in Christ; they’re stripped of all their authority and power. Even more, those born of the Mighty Conqueror have authority and power over all wicked spirits. Authority means the right to rule whereas power means the ability to rule. And we have both over the devil & his filthy minions.

We have to get away from this idea that the devil & his loser underlings are these uber-scary creatures. This is only so for the unbeliever who’s subject to them. For believers born of the seed of the Mighty Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit all filthy spirits have been stripped of their authority and power! Remember: They’re spiritual doofuses who foolishly rebelled against the Almighty and lost their glorious place in Heaven and all the blessings thereof. How smart can they possibly be? Not very. Don’t be scared of ’em! The truth is, they’re scared of believers who know and walk in their authority and power.

So it’s of the utmost importance that you understand who you are in Christ—your position, authority and power. Know who you are and walk like it, talk like it! You’ll send the Enemy and his smelly cronies fleeing from you in terror; it’s true (James 4:7). If you want an example straight from the Scriptures see this article.

It’s of paramount importance that you grasp these truths if you want to walk free of the harassment of evil spirits. This doesn’t mean that they won’t attack you but, when they do, you are guaranteed the victory as you “fight the good fight faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). If there’s a fight to faith there are enemies to faith. You’ll never outgrow spiritual warfare; you must simply learn to fight!

‘Spiritual warfare,’ by the way, simply means to defeat satanic attacks through the spiritual weapons God has provided us. For details see these three articles:

This article was edited from chapter 14 of…

The print book is available for a special low price here (345 pages).
Or pick up the eBook version for just $2.99!

Related Topics:

ANGELS — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Satan (the Devil) — Liar, Slanderer, Thief, Murderer

How to Enlist the Help of Angels

REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation

What Is the MYSTERY OF THE AGES?

WORDS have the Power of Life and Death

What Goes On “Behind the Scenes” in the Spirit?

There are several articles on this site that go into detail about angels, including how to enlist their services. In this article we’re going to consider the possibilities of what goes on “behind the scenes” in the spiritual realm in regard to angelic help and demonic assaults, as well as the spiritual warfare we need to implement for positive results in our lives and the lives of those linked to us.

“According to Your Faith Will It Be Done to You”

Christ emphasized the power of speaking in faith rooted in belief in the heart. He said we can move ‘mountains’ with this principle (Mark 11:22-23). And this explains Jesus’ typical responses to people who experienced miracles through Him. For instance, when two blind men sought healing the Lord asked if they believed they would receive their healing through Him and they said “yes,” to which he replied: “According to your faith let it be done to you” (Matthew 9:27-30).

The Messiah made similar statements when others received miracles (e.g. Matthew 8:13 & 9:22). These people spoke in faith with their mouths as they believed in their hearts and thus received the miracle they needed. You need to get a hold of this principle if you want to experience your miracle from the Lord!

If you’re a believer you already walked in this principle when you received the miracle of salvation. The Bible shows us precisely how a person is saved:

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Romans 10:9-10

As you can see, you received eternal salvation by 1. declaring with your mouth and 2. believing in your heart that Christ is Lord and was raised from the dead for your justification. You can use this very same principle to receive any miracle—declaring with your mouth and believing in your heart.

You might say: “This is wonderful, but I’m having a hard time believing for my miracle.” Then I suggest meditating more on the promises of God’s Word, which is the basis of your faith. As Romans 10 goes on to say: “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (verse 17 KJV).

Your faith will increase the more you speak in faith that for which you are believing, which is why David said:

¹³With my lips I recount

       all the laws that come from your

       mouth.

¹⁴I rejoice in following your statutes

       as one rejoices in great riches.

¹⁵I meditate on your precepts

       and consider your ways.

¹⁶I delight in your decrees;

       I will not neglect your word.

Psalm 119:13-16

This was one of David’s key secrets for being such a man of faith — “a man after God’s own heart” *: He regularly and enthusiastically meditated on God’s Word, recounting it with his mouth. The Hebrew for “meditate” is siach (SEE-akh), which means to muse over and speak out loud. Meditating on God’s Word in this manner naturally built David up in faith; and he acted accordingly. He thus slew the 9½ foot tall Goliath and became one of the greatest kings of Israel. David was so exceptional that, even though he lived 3000 years ago, people talk about his great exploits all over the world to this day, like right now.

* See 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22.

Speaking God’s Word Increases Faith

The definition of siach shows that meditation isn’t just musing over God’s Word; it also involves speaking it out loud. If you’re having trouble believing for a particular miracle, I encourage you to increase speaking the applicable Word of God in faith. The more you speak it the more you’ll believe it; and it will ultimately manifest. Jesus alluded to this here:

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

Mark 11:23 (NKJV)

Observe how the Lord emphasized speaking three times as much as believing. Why? Because the more you speak something the more you’ll believe it. This works for the positive and the negative. Speaking of which, let’s look at…

Speaking & Believing for Negative Things

Carol and I were hanging out with a couple recently and we noticed how the wife kept talking in negative terms; often about negative things like physical ailments, cancer and the possibility of dying. While she was likely ignorant of what she was doing, she was nevertheless speaking and believing for negative things utilizing the power of her tongue. Is it any wonder that she had ongoing problems with depression?

In the above verse Christ said that “whoever” says to this ‘mountain’ and believes in their heart shall have what they speak. Notice that Jesus didn’t even specify that the person is in covenant with God. In other words, this powerful principle works for anyone who uses it, regardless of whether they’re a believer or not.

This explains why the pagan Goliath used this principle when he faced David. The intimidating giant eyed the shepherd teen with contempt and said he was going to kill him and feed him to the vultures; David essentially said the same thing to Goliath (1 Samuel 17:43-47). They both used the principle of declaring by faith with their mouths and believing in their hearts in order to gain what they wanted—victory. This potent principle works across the board for whosoever takes advantage of it. This is why you’ll read of it in secular self-improvement books.

So why did David have the victory on this occasion and not Goliath? The latter was a renowned champion with a long string of victories, so why didn’t this principle work for him this time? Because David was in covenant with the Almighty and Goliath wasn’t. In fact, David confirmed this when facing the giant: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). David no doubt experienced fear, but overcame it by speaking in bold faith according to the promise of his covenant. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather stubbornly doing what you have to do in faith despite any fear you might experience.

You could say that being in covenant with the LORD gave David the edge and thus he had the victory.

If this powerful scriptural principle works for the positive for “whosoever” implements it, does it also work for the negative? Of course. This is why the Bible says the tongue has the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21). Your words don’t just have the power of life; they also have the power of death. If you speak negative things often enough you’ll eventually believe them in your heart and they’ll come to pass to the degree that you believe, one way or another.

I observed an excellent example of this on a TV show about unsolved mysteries. A teenage girl, who was about 17 years-old, got it in her head that she was going to somehow be “taken” and therefore wouldn’t be around much longer. Her mother and sister heard her say this repeatedly over the course of a couple years. Then one day she went to the corner store to purchase a romance novel and she mysteriously disappeared. The evidence pointed to forcible apprehension and, sadly, her body was later found, molested. They were still trying to find the killer when the show aired.

How can this strange story possibly be explained? How did this girl “get it in her head” that she was going to be “taken” one day and never return? No doubt an evil spirit whispered this negative idea in her ear, so to speak, until she took hold of it and started speaking it. The more she spoke it to herself & others the more she believed it. And thus one day it came to fruition. Remember what Jesus said: “According to your faith let it be done to you.” Unfortunately, this girl had faith for negative things.

Good and Bad Angels “Released” Through Your Words

What goes on “behind the scenes” in a scenario like this? We know that the angels assigned to us respond to the voice of God’s Word:

Bless the LORD, O you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his word,

obeying the voice of his word!

Psalm 103:20 (ESV)

God’s written Word has no voice unless we speak it. When the Holy Spirit conveys a word to you in your spirit—whether you discern it as an impression, desire or inner voice—it also has no voice unless you speak it. Even if a New Testament prophet speaks a divine word over you and it’s confirmed in your spirit, that word has no ongoing voice in your life unless you agree with it and declare it. Whatever the case, when we speak the promises of God in faith we give voice to God’s Word and this releases the angels to assist in carrying out whatever miracle for which we’re believing. This is their very purpose—“to serve those who will inherit salvation,” i.e. people (Hebrews 1:14).

However, if you don’t speak according to God’s Word then your angels cannot obey the voice of the Word because you’re not giving voice to it. They are thus hindered—prevented—from fulfilling their purpose and you won’t partake of their benefit.

Now consider this: If the purpose of godly angels is to serve people and obey the voice of God’s Word, then fallen angels do the precise opposite—instead of serving people for their benefit they oppress people for their detriment! If heavenly angels respond to the voice of God’s Word then evil angels respond to the voice of that which contradicts God’s truth! In other words, they get excited about words that rebel against the LORD and His will; it inspires them!

Now let’s apply this data to the aforementioned girl and her tragic end: She got it in her head through the lies of an evil spirit that she was going to somehow be “taken” and never return home, meaning she would likely be killed. She took ahold of this idea, started speaking it to herself and others, and eventually believed it. The angels assigned to her were essentially bound up from helping and, instead, filthy spirits were released to bring to pass that for which she spoke and believed! These wicked spirts searched around the area for the ‘right’ sociopath and inspired him to go to that particular store at the very time she would be there; and when the girl showed up he took advantage of the situation.

Truly, our words have the power of life and death!

Like this unfortunate girl, I got something negative in my head when I was a teenager. The thought struck me that I was going to die by the time I was 26. I proceeded to dwell on it now and then, and consequently started sharing it with others. I may have only shared it a handful of times but, nevertheless, I was using this principle of speaking & believing for the negative, just as the girl in the story. Thankfully, I turned to the LORD when I was 20 and He soon taught me about the power of the tongue combined with believing in the heart. So I repented of speaking a curse over my life. At 53 years of age, as of this writing, I’ve more than doubled the time limit the enemy tried to put on my life!

Do Unbelievers Have Angels Assigned to Them?

At this point a question springs up: Do unbelievers have angels assigned to them? For instance, did the girl who was apprehended and murdered have angels assigned to her, regardless of whether or not she was a believer? (If she was a believer, she was obviously ignorant of the power of her words combined with faith in the heart). How about me and my similar story—were there angels assigned to me before I accepted the gospel?

A few passages that suggest this (Psalm 91:11 & Matthew 4:6). In Matthew 18:10 Christ spoke of children and “their angels in heaven.” Moreover, it just makes sense that every person has angels assigned to him or her in light of the divine purpose of angels: “to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Who is it that’s supposed to inherit salvation? People in general—the only physical beings created in the likeness of God. It is true that only genuine believers will inherit salvation, but unbelievers might inherit salvation; so angels need to be there for them, particularly when believers pray for them. And angels cannot readily serve people unless they’re readily available.

‘Serve’ is the Greek word diakonia (dee-ak-on-EE-ah), which literally means serving in the sense of waiting on someone’s table. How can angels wait at people’s tables—whether they’re saved or not saved—if they’re not even there to wait on their tables? So, yes, every person has angels assigned to him or her.

Now, say I’m interceding for an unsaved guy and I pray that the LORD would continually bring the gospel to him, one way or another; and, furthermore, provide godly believers to minister to him wherever he goes. Who is it that works behind the scenes to carry out such a prayer? Obviously the angels assigned to this man.

The Power of the Tongue and Your RESPONSIBILITY

The tongue is a powerful gift that the Creator has given us. It has the power of life or death, depending on whether we speak words of life or words of death; words of faith or words of doubt; blessings or curses (Proverbs 18:21). This applies to the words we speak over ourselves, as well as the words we speak over others, whether they’re present or not. This includes our prayers for people. It is through the words we speak, including our prayers, that angels are released or hindered.

This relates to both heavenly angels and fallen angels. For instance, the girl who was apprehended at the store used her tongue to speak words that hindered heavenly angels, yet empowered fallen angels. She didn’t repent, but kept it up. And it eventually brought about her doom. This does not negate the responsibility of the sick thug who murdered her, of course, but God had placed a great gift at the girl’s disposal and she inadvertently used it to bring about her own destruction! The fact that she was ignorant of the power of the tongue didn’t negate the power of this God-given tool. If a boy innocently picks up a gun and kills himself he’s dead regardless of whether or not he was aware of its power. The gun is neither good nor evil, but it has the potential for positive and negative results based on the actions of the person using it. The gun can put food on your table or protect you from criminals, but it can also kill you or others if wrongly used. It’s the same thing with your tongue working together with belief in your heart.

Speaking of children, who is responsible for the words spoken over them since kids are generally ignorant of the power of words? Obviously their parents, but also any adult figure that has influence over them, like teachers, coaches, relatives and friends’ parents.

When I was a kid my dad constantly spoke negative words over me, such as “You’re no good,” “You’re going to turn to $#!&” and worse. These words were implanted in my heart week after week, month after month, year after year, to the point that I started believing them. As soon as I hit 13 my life took a horrible nosedive. I started hanging around the wrong crowd, drinking, doing drugs and committing crimes (like breaking & entering, theft and vandalism). By the time I was 15 I was seriously considering suicide. What brought about this whirlwind of destruction? The negative words constantly spoken over me, which I meditated on, eventually accepted, and repeated with my tongue.

Who’s responsible for the destruction that ensued? Surely, I must take responsibility for what I used my mind to dwell on—my thought life—and what I used my tongue to speak. Yet my father was the influential authority figure who planted these negative words in my heart in the first place. So he bore partial responsibility for the destruction of my life as a wayward teen.

My point is that we must realize the power of the tongue and take responsibility for the words we speak over ourselves and others. Search your heart. If you’ve been speaking negative words over yourself or others—including gossip, slander and negative-spinning—simply repent and God will forgive you, which means he’ll dismiss your offense and wipe the slate clean (1 John 1:8-9).

Repentance tends to have a negative connotation these days, but it’s actually a very positive thing; it means to change for the positive by making a 180 turn. We need to regularly “keep with repentance” (Matthew & Luke 3:8). Repentance goes hand-and-hand with the “corrections of instruction,” which are the “way to life” (Proverbs 6:23). In other words, we positively change as we receive correct data and adapt accordingly. A wise person changes course upon receiving corrective instruction while a fool stubbornly continues on in his/her foolish way.

Prayer “Releases” Angels to Serve You and Others

I encourage you to regularly pray for yourself and your family & friends, but also for those who are closely connected to you in your neighborhood, at school or work. Pray for them by name on a regular basis. This “looses” God, the Holy Spirit, and angels to function in their lives.

We’re now going to go over some meaty material to discern how this works. If it gets too heavy you can always come back when you’re ready for it.

If the idea that prayer “looses” God and angels to function in people’s lives sounds strange to you, it’s in line with the principle of binding & loosing, as taught by the Mighty Christ:

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:19

“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

¹⁹“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”

Matthew 18:18-19

In the first passage Jesus said he was going to give believers the “keys of the kingdom of heaven.” “Keys” refer to authority or power. If you have the keys to a vehicle you wield the power to take advantage of it. The “kingdom of heaven” of course refers to God’s kingdom, the kingdom of light. Jesus was saying that he was giving his disciples the power to take advantage of God’s kingdom. This is driven home with the second part of the verse: “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” You could put it this way, Heaven will back us up in any legitimate effort to manifest God’s kingdom on Earth via faith and love, which are the terms of the new testament (Galatians 5:6).

What exactly does it mean to “bind” or to “loose”? The Greek word for “bind” is deo (DAY-oh), which means to literally bind up or figuratively in the sense of prohibiting or hindering; “loose” is luo (LOO-oh), which means to unbind or release. So deo means to lock up whereas luo means to unlock. As such, believers have the authority to hinder or prohibit the kingdom of darkness on Earth and to release God’s kingdom. The kingdom of darkness is prohibited in Heaven so we can prohibit it on Earth; the kingdom of light reigns in Heaven so we can loose it on Earth.

In the second passage Christ links the principle of binding & loosing to prayer. We bind the kingdom of darkness and loose the kingdom of light through our prayers.

This is supported by what we know as ‘the Lord’s prayer,’ which is the prayer outline that Jesus gave his disciples:

“ Our Father in heaven,

    hallowed by your name,

¹⁰ your kingdom come,

    your will be done

        on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 6:9-10

Verse 10 is not talking about praying for Jesus’ return and the set-up of his eternal kingdom on Earth. It’s talking about the principle of binding & loosing in this “present evil age.” This means now. Do you want God’s kingdom to reign in your life and the lives of others? Of course you do, but it has to be released through prayer. Do you want God’s will to be done in your life and the lives of others? You have to loose it via prayer. In other words, God’s kingdom will not come and reign on this Earth unless a believer releases it through prayer and action; and God’s will is not done on Earth unless the church looses his will via prayer and action. Simply put, believers have the power to bind the kingdom of darkness and loose the kingdom of light.

Someone might understandably respond: “Well if God’s so Almighty why doesn’t he just automatically do everything? Why does He need believers to ‘release’ his will through prayer and service?”

It is true that the LORD is Sovereign, which means he “reigns supreme.” The Bible describes God as “the King of all the earth” (Psalm 47:7) who owns the Earth and everything in it (Psalm 24:1, 50:12 & 1 Corinthians 10:26). Christ himself called Father God “Lord of heaven and earth” (Matthew 11:25). So there’s no disputing that the Almighty reigns supreme and “does whatever pleases him” (Psalm 103:19 & 135:5-6).

However, it’s also clear in Scripture that the devil is the “god of this age” and the “prince of this world” who rules the kingdom of darkness or Underworld, which is the dark spiritual dimension that underpins the world (John 12:31 & 14:30). Anyone who’s not part of God’s kingdom is subject to this dark kingdom because they’re “by nature objects of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3); this includes everyone who doesn’t have a covenant with the Almighty, meaning all unbelievers. The following verses verify this: 1 John 5:19, Revelation 12:9, 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Ephesians 2:1-2.

These passages show that the “whole world” is presently under the control of the kingdom of darkness, which is why the Bible refers to this current era as “the present evil age” (Galatians 1:4).

This doesn’t, of course, mean that all unbelievers are frothing at the mouth with evil, but rather that they’re subject to the kingdom of darkness, whether they realize it or not. The depth of their subjugation is dependent upon how far they choose to embrace the flesh, which is the satanic nature. It’s also dependent on how far their belief system deviates from biblical truth.

We see evidence of Satan’s ruler-ship and influence all around us constantly: wars, crime, corruption, broken families, immorality, injustice, poverty, false religion, legalism, harmful ideologies, disunity, disease, addiction, death, etc. Don’t be alarmed, however, because the above passages show that the devil’s control is limited to those designated as “the world,” which doesn’t include blood-bought, spiritually regenerated believers, Hallelujah! Christians are the “church” of Jesus Christ, which literally means “the called-out ones” in the Greek. This signifies that believers have been rescued from Satan’s kingdom:

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

Colossians 1:13

Not only have we been rescued from bondage to the kingdom of darkness, we’ve been transplanted into God’s kingdom as his beloved sons and daughters!

When you pray for yourself and those linked to you—family, neighbors and people at school and work—you’re binding up the kingdom of darkness and loosing the kingdom of light, which includes loosing the angels assigned to them. Some of the people you intercede for are lost and some are Christians who are ignorant of these things; as such, the angels assigned to them are limited in helping them, to say the least. But your prayers can release them to work in their lives, one way or another.

This doesn’t negate freewill, of course. No matter how much you pray for someone and no matter how much they’re exposed to the Word of God, the moving of the Holy Spirit and the service of angels, he or she can still stubbornly resist. And that’s their choice. You did your part; they have to do theirs. If they refuse then that’s their problem and they’ll be held accountable for it when they stand before the LORD.

Praying for those whom you regularly come in contact with is to your social relations what oil is to a bike chain. Without your prayers the kingdom of light is hindered in these people’s lives, which includes the service of angels. When this occurs the kingdom of darkness takes advantage of the situation: Unclean spirits will naturally have more freedom of movement and therefore more negative influence, which isn’t good for the individual in question or for your relationship with him or her. Since godly believers are guaranteed to be persecuted, why open the door to unnecessary problems due to skipping out on your duty to intercede? (See 1 Timothy 2:1-4).

My Example in Praying for People

Christian servant-leaders are called to set an example for believers (1 Peter 5:1-3), so allow me to share my example. What I usually do when interceding for several people is voice a general prayer, such as the apostle Paul’s prayer for the Colossian believers:

…we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, ¹⁰so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹²and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

Colossians 1:9-12

Notice how Paul prays this excellent general prayer for all the Colossian believers rather than say a similar prayer for each person by name. This makes sense and saves time because it keeps you from saying the same general prayer over and over for each individual.

After praying a general prayer like this I then lift up various names from my intercession list, praying in the spirit as led of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). When I get to a certain individual, a specific need might come up and so I pray about it—both with my understanding and by the spirit (1 Corinthians 14:15)—and then move on to the next person.

I mentioned an “intercession list.” This is simply a list of names in my mind; in other words, a mental list (I’m good with names and have an excellent memory). But I sometimes pray from an actual list as well, at least a couple times a week.

Praying for Governing Authorities

We talked about praying for people linked to you, whether family, friends, neighbors and people at school or work. With this in mind, be sure to also regularly pray for governing authorities, whether spiritual or political (1 Timothy 2:1-4). By spiritual authorities, I mean key ministerial leaders in your area, nation and otherwise.

If you need some inspiration on this topic I encourage you to see the excellent 2015 movie War Room.

What Goes on Behind the Scenes: The Bottom Line

Our subject is: What goes on behind the scenes in regard to angelic help and demonic assault? If you disregard the power of the tongue and use it to speak death rather than life, the angels assigned to you will be hindered and demonic spirits will have more freedom of movement to attack and oppress one way or another. The answer to these types of unnecessary attacks is to make a 180 turn and start using your tongue to speak life. This means taking advantage of the spiritual weapons at your disposal and, specifically, utilizing your tongue as the “sword of the spirit,” which is the Word of God spoken in bold faith (Ephesians 6:17-18).

The angels around you naturally obey the voice of the Word of God. It’s what they do. When angels are loosed, evil spirits are hindered; but when angels are hindered, evil spirits are loosed.

The Church must get ahold of this.

Spiritual Attacks for Righteousness’ Sake

But some demonic attacks are not the result of using your tongue to speak death or opening the door through unrepentant sin (Ephesians 4:27). In fact, some attacks are the direct result of practical righteousness.*

* I say “practical righteousness” as opposed to positional righteousness, although the foundation of the former is the latter. To explain: All genuine believers are righteous in a positional sense due to spiritual regeneration wherein they receive the “gift of righteousness” (Romans 5:17 and 2 Corinthians 5:21). Practical righteousness, by contrast, is actually walking in righteousness as a result of living according to one’s new nature, which is “created to be like God in true righteousness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). Practical righteousness naturally increases as one matures spiritually.

The example of Job in the Old Testament is Exhibit A. The first two chapters of his book reveal what went on behind the scenes in regards to Job’s extraordinary trials.

One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. ⁷The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

⁹“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. ¹⁰“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

¹²The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Job 1:6-12

Satan appears before the Sovereign LORD in Heaven where God proceeds to boast of Job and his extraordinary character. The devil argues that Job is devout merely because the Lord has blessed him so greatly and, furthermore, that God had “put a hedge around him, his household and everything he has,” which provided supernatural protection.

Before getting to the meat of this occasion, what do you suppose this “hedge” involved? Surely, this intangible shield was implemented and maintained by angels whose very purpose is to serve and protect people.

In any case, Satan insists that Job would curse God to his face if this “hedge” was taken down and his many blessings were removed. This naturally provokes God to conduct a test by allowing the devil to assault Job and take “everything he has.” Thus, using neighboring tribes and weather phenomena, Satan causes Job to lose all his animal stock and his ten children in a single day (Job 1:12-19).

But Job passes the test, saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (verse 21). Job was, of course, unaware of what went down behind the scenes. He didn’t know that the devil—whose very name means “slanderer” or “accuser”—incited God to permit the attack in order to test Job’s character. He wasn’t aware of Satan’s role in the proceedings and therefore wrongly attributed the events to the LORD.*

* Although Job was right in the sense that Yahweh is the Sovereign God who “reigns supreme” and thus would have to allow negative events even in cases where the kingdom of darkness is directly responsible.

This opens the door to round two, which begins when the devil appears before the Creator a second time:

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

⁴“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. ⁵But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

⁶The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

Job 2:3-6

Satan argues that Job passed the first test because he was personally unscathed, but if his body were attacked he’d surely curse God to his face. Thus the LORD permits the devil to attack Job’s body with the condition that he couldn’t take his life.

In this second round, Satan afflicts Job with painful sores from head to toe, but Job refuses to turn against God even though his distraught wife encourages him to “curse God and die” (verses 7-9).

What I want to drive home here is that Job wasn’t attacked by the kingdom of darkness due to opening the door through sin or using his tongue to speak death, which would’ve bound up angels and loosed evil spirits to oppress him one way or another. Job was so exceptional that God literally boasted to Satan that there was no one on Earth like him—“he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:1,8). Being “blameless” would include being blameless with the use of his tongue.

So the account clearly shows that Job was attacked due to being blameless and upright.* As such, Job’s incredible trial can be designated as an MIT—a Maturing-Intended Trial, which takes place through no fault of the person tested. To explain, let’s consider the three basic types of tests you’ll face in life…

* I’ve heard some theorize that Job opened the door to the devil through fear, which they argue is backed-up by his statement: “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me” (Job 3:25). But this can be rejected for a few obvious reasons: 1. We already know in plain language from the previous two chapters of Job that he was not being attacked because he opened the door to the Enemy through fear; rather, God praised him as righteous & thoroughly blameless and this is what spurred Satan to unjustly bring into question his character, which compelled the LORD to allow the test. Nowhere is it even hinted that Job opened the door for a horrible attack through fear. On the contrary, note what God says in 2:3. Scripture interprets Scripture. 2. Speaking of that hermeneutical law, the context of Job 3 is of a man relentlessly venting after two horrible satanic assaults wherein he lost his ten children and all his great wealth; then, after seven literal days of intense silent suffering with a few hushed friends (2:13), Job finally speaks his mind and his verbiage is hysterical: He curses the very day of his birth and argues for non-existence as opposed to life in this troubled world. 3. If we are going to dubiously base our entire interpretation of the book of Job on one verse spoken in venting hysterics then we should also be able to argue that Job opened the door to Satan by expecting good based on his later statement (when he was a little more rational): “when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness” (Job 30:26).

Distinguishing SITs, MITs and DITs

David Servant came up with a great way to categorize human trials—SITs, MITs and DITs:

SITs refer to Self-Inflicted Trials, like when someone bangs up his/her body due to careless snow skiing or gets nausea after eating too much junk food or suffers poverty because s/he is too lazy to work (which isn’t the only reason for poverty, of course). In each case the pain suffered isn’t some diabolical spiritual plot, but simply the result of the person’s foolish actions and choices.
MITs refer to Maturing-Intended Trials, like Job’s test. The LORD permitted Satan to assault Job for the purpose of testing his motivations. Was Job godly and devout solely for the purpose of having God’s blessings? Would he curse the Almighty or deny His existence if his many blessings were temporarily removed? Although the rest of the book of Job shows him severely venting to God after the misery and frustration of the ensuing weeks (e.g. Job 10:1-3) Job didn’t turn away from his Creator, but rather went to Him, and therefore passed the test. God then restored him and blessed him doubly (Job 42:10). Job’s trial, by the way, lasted several weeks, perhaps even months, as verified by the fact that he was reduced to “skin and bones” during the ordeal (Job 19:20). When New Covenant believers are attacked we need to recognize it for what it is—an attack of the enemy—and resist in faith. If you do this, the enemy will flee like a pathetic cur with its tail between its legs (James 4:7). As with Job, God will “restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” “after you have suffered a little while” (1 Peter 5:8-10). You will experience greater maturity and favor with God as a result.

DITs refer to Discipline-Intended Trials, which pertain to God permitting us to be inflicted by one or more of the five general curses as a means of rebuke for disobedience. This is why some of the Corinthians were sick or prematurely died, because they brought judgment on themselves due to disobedience (1 Corinthians 11:27-31). It was the same thing with a woman in the church at Thyatira—a self-proclaimed “prophetess”—as well as those who were foolishly following her bad example. Jesus said He gave them time to repent but they were unwilling so he was going to inflict some of them with sickness (“a bed of suffering”) and even strike some of them dead (Revelation 2:20-23)!

Needless to say, when we experience one or more of the five mundane curses—1. physical illness, 2. mental illness, 3. human attack and defeat, 4. the threat of premature death, and 5. financial lack—we need to ask ourselves if it’s an SIT, an MIT or a DIT. If it’s a Self-Inflicted Trial, we simply need to acknowledge our folly in the matter and make the necessary changes. If it’s a Maturing-Intended Trial, we should “fight the good fight of faith” with perseverance and victory will be ours. If it’s a Discipline-Intended Trial, we need to seek the Lord concerning what it was we did to incur His discipline, humbly acknowledge the error, and repent; that is, change for the positive. This would include repenting of foolishly using the power of the tongue to speak against the Word of God, which automatically hinders angels from performing their services and releases demonic spirits to oppress.

Now, someone might point out that Discipline-Intended Trials complicate the issue because they require the believer to determine if the malady in question is an attack from the kingdom of darkness for righteousness’ sake or a disciplinary measure on God’s part due to unrepentant disobedience. To do this requires an actual relationship with the LORD through “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14). Bear in mind that relationship is what true Christianity is about and separates it from mere human religion. How is this relevant? If a believer has a genuine relationship with God s/he will be able to discern fairly easily if the curse they’re hit with is the result of an MIT or a DIT. On the other hand, believers who fail to cultivate such a relationship will have a harder time distinguishing MITs from DITs. So, in reality, this is a spur to go deeper in God!

For important details on spiritual warfare see:

This article was edited from chapter 6 of…

The book is available for a special low price here (345 pages).
Or pick up the eBook version for just $2.99!

Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Satan (the Devil) — Liar, Slanderer, Thief, Murderer

REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation

Spiritual Warfare — Do You know What You’re Fighting For?

How to Enlist the HELP OF ANGELS

Christ said, “Are you not aware that I can call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). This shows that the Messiah could pray for the assistance of angels, if necessary.

Like Jesus, believers can pray for the help of angels when needed. “But Jesus was the Son of God,” someone might contend. True, but the Bible says that spiritually-regenerated believers are children of God because we’ve been born of the seed of Christ, which is ‘sperm’ in the Greek (1 John 3:2, 3:9). This brings up a powerful verse:

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 8:17

We are children of God through spiritual rebirth via the seed of Christ and are thus “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” This means that we share in the inheritance of our heavenly Father with the chief heir, Jesus Christ.

As co-heirs with Christ we can pray for and call down angels, if necessary, but doing so takes faith—that is, belief—because everything that’s available in our covenant with God is by faith (Hebrews 11:6 & Mark 11:22-24). How do we develop faith? Through exposure to truth and revelation by the Spirit of truth. ‘Truth’ is reality, the way it really is; it’s the opposite of unreality, aka lies, which is the main weapon the “father of lies” uses to mislead people. The main source of truth, of course, is the written “word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 & John 17:17).

As such, in order to have the faith Christ had for calling on angels we’re going to have to expose ourselves to what God’s Word says about these spiritual beings. The more we do this, the more faith we’ll have concerning them and this explains the purpose of this article and other relevant articles on this site: To expose the body of Christ to the reality of angels so we can benefit from their services since their very purpose is to “serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). So keep reading and you’ll be blessed!

The Purpose of Angels Is to Serve You, Watch Over You and Protect You

Speaking of Hebrews 1:14, since this verse is key to understanding angels, let’s read it again:

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Hebrews 1:14

Angels are “ministering spirits.” The Greek for “ministering” is leitourgikos (lih-toorg-ik-OS), meaning “given to serving.” This is observed in the second part of the verse: Angels are sent by God “to serve those who will inherit salvation,” that is, you and me. ‘Serve’ here is a different Greek word. It’s diakonia (dee-ak-on-EE-ah), which literally means serving in the sense of waiting on someone’s table. So Angels are here to serve us and help us; they’re waiting at our tables every day, 24/7. Get ahold of this!

With this in mind, notice what this psalm says concerning how angels can serve us:

⁹If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”

    and you make the Most High your dwelling,

¹⁰no harm will overtake you,

       no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹For he will command his angels concerning you

       to guard you in all your ways;

¹²they will lift you up in their hands,

       so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

¹³You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

   you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

Psalm 91:9-13

If you say “the Lord is my refuge” and make God your dwelling, the LORD “will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (verses 9 & 11). This is powerful! ‘Guard’ in the Hebrew is shamar (shaw-MAR), which means “to watch over, preserve and protect.” God will command his angels “concerning you” to watch over you, preserve you and protect you “in all your ways,” which literally means all your paths in life.

But notice that there are conditions to partaking of this awesome promise: Verse 9 shows that it’s necessary to 1. say “the LORD is my refuge” and 2. make God your dwelling. Let’s consider both:

To say the LORD is your refuge is a positive faith confession, which is important because “the tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21) and the very course of your life is linked to what you do with your tongue, whether good or bad (James 3:2-6). So the fulfillment of verse 11 is partially linked to your speaking in positive faith. I should add that the saying “The LORD is my refuge” is not a magical phrase, like “Open Sesame.” It’s simply a general statement of faith concerning God’s protection. As such, you could say a similar faith statement, like “God will protect me” or “God will deliver me,” and it’s just as effective.
To make God your dwelling simply means to abide in the LORD according to the terms of your covenant. You see, God works with people through covenants; a “covenant” is an agreement or contract in modern vernacular. New Testament believers walk in the superior New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6-7) where the terms are “faith working in love,” which the Amplified Bible translates as faith being activated by love (Galatians 5:6).

Why is faith so important? Because “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).

How is faith activated by love? By the fact that love is the supreme virtue (Colossians 3:14) and therefore fulfilling the first and second greatest commands automatically fulfills all the moral Law (Matthew 22:36-40). These two laws have three applications: LOVE GOD and LOVE PEOPLE as you LOVE YOURSELF.

Anyone who does this abides in the Lord and “makes the Most High [his or her] dwelling.”

Since faith works by love it’s important to walk in love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) because, if you walk out of love, you walk out of faith and thus your faith won’t be effective. I’m not heaping condo on you here, but rather encouraging you to keep brushed up on your love walk (which includes walking in tough love when appropriate), not to mention “keep in repentance” when you miss it (Matthew/Luke 3:8 & 1 John 1:8-9).

For details on this topic see this article (scroll down to the section The New Covenant is Superior to the Old Covenant).

“His Angels Concerning You”

The devil quoted this verse — Psalm 91:11 (which is in the passage quoted above) — to the Mighty Christ when tempting Him in the wilderness. Let’s look at this occasion:

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

⁷Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Matthew 4:5-7

The Greek word for “concerning you” is peri (per-EE), which means “about, concerning, around.” The point is that every person has angels consigned to him/her personally. They’re the angels that are “about” them and “around” them. Why are they around the person? Because angels by definition are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” and they cannot very well do this if they’re not there to do it.

An interesting aside is that these angels won’t just automatically protect the person; the Sovereign God has to command them and this is in response to the person fulfilling the aforementioned conditions of Psalm 91:9: If you 1. make a positive faith declaration using the power of your tongue, like “The LORD is my refuge” (or something similar, such as “God will protect me,” “God will deliver me,” etc.), and 2. “make the LORD your dwelling” then God will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. And angels naturally obey the voice of the LORD (Psalm 103:20).

Something Jesus said also shows that each person has angels dispatched to him or her:

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”

Matthew 18:10

The Lord was referring to children and this shows that children have heavenly angels assigned to them.

Similarly, Christian assemblies are assigned angels to watch over the fellowship and to serve it (Revelation 1:20). Thus each of the seven churches of Asia Minor that Christ addresses in Revelation 2-3 is shown to have an angel consigned to it. Speaking of which, I heard a couple of ministers insist that these angels actually refer to the pastors of these churches. No, if Christ meant the pastor He would have said “pastor” (or the equivalent “shepherd” or “bishop”).

Here are a few additional things to consider concerning angels assigned to specific people and ministries:

It’s unlikely that a single angel is assigned to a person or ministry, although one angel would obviously be in charge of the “operation.”
It stands to reason that angels periodically relieve others in order to return to Heaven and “recharge” or what have you. Angels going back & forth from Heaven to Earth in Genesis 28:12 obviously refers to angels delivering messages or carrying out other services and then returning (Daniel 10:12). Perhaps angels relieve those on Earth so they can go back to the presence of God and “recharge” before returning to duty. Remember, God is the Fountain of Life (Psalm 36:9).
Some people—like apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-13)—have higher callings and therefore greater responsibilities than the average person and, as such, would require more angels for service & protection; and likely stronger As they say: “Higher levels, bigger devils.”

“…To Guard You in All Your Ways”

When you fulfill the conditions of Psalm 91:9 the LORD will command his angels concerning you “to guard you in all your ways” (verse 11). This literally means in any path you take in life; which obviously doesn’t include evil paths, like sneaking out on your spouse to commit adultery. To think that God’s angels will protect you when you willfully break covenant by walking in outright wickedness is arrogant presumption, to say the least. The Book of Wisdom warns against this:

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

Proverbs 11:3

A good example of this is Ted Haggard who founded a mega-church in 1984, started a veritable sect, and was the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals from 2003-2006. He was the prized darling of Evangelicals and Charismatics alike. But it all came crashing down in a blaze of shame in November, 2006, when a serious scandal broke out to which he initially denied the allegations, but later confessed.

I don’t mean any offense to this brother, by the way; I’m just citing this occasion as a well-known example of what happens when a person fails to walk in integrity and is duplicitous. I’ve messed up in lesser ways in the past and had to suffer the ramifications as well; you probably have too. Praise God that Ted was willing to honestly ’fess up and move on with his life. I wish him nothing but the best.

With the obvious exception of evil paths,* God will command his angels to guard you in all your ways. Whether you turn to the right or the left, God will be with you, and his angels will watch over you (Isaiah 30:21 & Genesis 28:15). Make this your positive confession—personalize it and shout it from the rooftops, so to speak. Fear will flee from you as you progress forward and fulfill the LORD’s will.

* Yet even in cases where someone foolishly or ignorantly takes a wrong path the LORD mercifully offers a generous period of grace (Luke 13:5-9). I’ve experienced this and I’m sure you have as well. My point is that we shouldn’t be presumptuous about God’s mercy when stubbornly choosing evil paths.

Pray for the Help of Angels or Simply Speak in Faith?

As noted earlier, Christ said that he could pray to the Father and God would send myriad angels to help him (Matthew 26:53). Yet we never actually see him do this in the Scriptures. What we do see is Jesus miraculously escaping time after time when his life was in danger, presumably with the assistance of angels. Here are four examples:

When the people of Nazareth tried to murder him by throwing him off a cliff (Luke 4:28-30).
When hostile Jews attempted to seize him (John 7:30,44).
When the offended religionists tried to kill him by stoning (John 8:59).
When a murderous group tried to seize him in Solomon’s Colonnade (John 10:31,39).

The only time Jesus allowed himself to fall into the hands of his enemies was in the Garden of Gethsemane when it was actually God’s will for him to be arrested and crucified as our substitutionary death. This is an example of what Peter called “suffering according to God’s will” (1 Peter 4:19). Other than this occasion, the Messiah refused to suffer at the hands of hostile people, aka those with harmful intent, which includes criminals. Rather he escaped, obviously with the aid of angels.

Yet we don’t observe him praying for the assistance of angels, so how did they aid him on these four occasions? Simple: Jesus fulfilled the conditions of Psalm 91:9-11:

He spoke in faith concerning God’s supernatural protection, and believed
He abided in the LORD by walking according to the terms of his covenant.

Jesus was our example. So this is all we need to do in order for angels to guard us in all our ways and save us when our lives are threatened. I’m not saying you can’t pray for the service of angels—do so if led—I’m just saying that it automatically happens when you simply comply with these two conditions, as it did with Yeshua.*

* Yeshua is the Hebraic form of the Greek Jesus, meaning “God saves.”

I want to stress that angels want to be involved in your life—in your home, in your work and in your ministry, which is your service for the Lord, small or great. They want to be involved in any project you take on, as directed of the Spirit. Why? Because they’re “ministering spirits” that God has placed about you to help you and serve you in whatever you do. Needless to say, take advantage of this blessing!

Now let’s get a little more specific about how to do this…

The Power of Words

Angels are ministering spirits sent to serve the people they’re assigned to, but what is it they respond to? Notice what this passage says:

Praise the Lord, you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,

who obey his word.

Psalm 103:20

Angels don’t just obey the bidding of the LORD, they obey His word period. Here’s a more literal translation of the verse:

Bless the LORD, you His angels,

Mighty in strength, who perform His word,

Obeying the voice of His word!

Psalm 103:20 (NASB)

The purpose of angels is to perform God’s Word. You could say that their occupation is to obey the voice of God’s Word. The Hebrew word for voice is qol (kohl), which means “sound, voice.” That’s what angels obey—the sound or voice of the Word of God. But does your Bible make any sounds of itself? Does any passage make a sound when you read it or study it? No, it only makes sound if you speak it! That’s why it’s so important that you get the power of your tongue into play and start speaking the Word of God in faith, particularly the promises of God that apply to the New Testament believer. And, remember, all the promises of God are “yes” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). This means that, if you’re in covenant with God through Christ—i.e. you are “in Christ”—you can claim by faith any general promise of God you find in the Scriptures that strikes a chord in your spirit!

As an example, take the promises of divine protection of Psalm 34. When facing some type of human attack you can claim by faith verses 7, 17, 19-20 & 22, all of which promise God’s deliverance when suffering severe persecution. We’ll look at these verses in more detail momentarily.

Why is it that a person speaking God’s Word in faith is so powerful, literally unleashing the angels to perform it? Because people are the only beings God has created who are created in His likeness and called to be co-heirs with Christ:

So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27

The LORD created the Heavens and the Earth simply by speaking them into existence (Genesis 1). People are created in God’s image and thus have this power as well. Of course, our words only have power corresponding to our faith, as Christ pointed out:

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³“Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.”

Mark 11:22-23

The Douay-Rheims Bible translates verse 22 as “Have the faith of God.” We need to walk in faith as God walks in faith. We are the only physical beings created in His likeness and thus we’re called to imitate our Creator:

Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children.

Ephesians 5:1

Many Christians don’t realize this, but we are called to imitate God! And we can do it because we’re children of God, born of the seed of Christ; we just have to learn how to live out of our new nature.

With this understanding let’s return to Mark 11 above: Jesus goes on to say in verse 23: “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” First of all, he says “if anyone says.” He doesn’t even specify that the person has to be a Christian. This applies to anyone created in God’s likeness, how much more so those born-anew of the seed of Christ? (See 1 Peter 1:23).

He continues: “if anyone says to this mountain.” Obviously there was a mountain nearby and Jesus used it to illustrate his point. “If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” This is an example of hyperbole, which is exaggeration for effect. The “mountain” is figurative, not literal. If there is, say, an obstacle in your way you can utilize the power of words spoken in faith and remove that obstacle. But—and this is an important “but”—you have to believe that what you say will happen and not doubt in your heart.

Jesus doesn’t go into the precise mechanics of how this works, just that it works. But, in view of the other passages in this study, it’s safe to say that the angels assigned to you respond to your words spoken in faith because 1. they are assigned to you, 2. it’s their very purpose to serve you, and 3. you are created in the likeness of God and are co-heirs with Christ. Thus they are released to help you in your situation… or they’re released to not help you in the event that you speak words of death, doubt and unbelief and act accordingly.

On that note, let’s do a quick brush-up on what the Bible teaches about the power of words.

WORDS Have the Power of Life and Death

Proverbs 4:24 instructs: “keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” The root Hebrew word for ‘corrupt’ is luz (looz), which means “to turn aside or depart from what is right or good.” To practice this verse you must realize the power of your tongue:

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:21

The “fruit” of the tongue is good, but only “those who love it will eat its fruit.” This means that only those who realize and value the tongue’s power—and therefore use it accordingly—will partake of its fruit.

You must get a hold of the fact that your tongue is a powerful gift from God, which has the potential to bless or destroy. Only those who realize the incredible value of the tongue will experience the fruit it has to offer.

Exactly how powerful is the tongue? The Bible likens it to the small rudder of a large ship that steers the vessel wherever the pilot wants it to go (James 3:2-6). Think about it: The very course of your life is linked to what you do with your tongue; or what you don’t do. This is so because your words are either creative forces or destructive forces.

Here’s a powerful passage to chew on:

From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, as surely as the works of their hands reward them.

Proverbs 12:14

For biblical details on the power of words see this article.

**God’s Word Is His Will; Your Word Is Your Will**

Now that you have a better understanding of the power of your words, consider this little nugget: God’s Word is His will. They are essentially one-and-the-same. Human beings are created in God’s likeness and thus your word is your will. If your word isn’t your will then why would you give voice to it?

Why do angels obey the voice of God? Because what God speaks is His will. Would not angels assigned to us—the only physical beings created in God’s likeness—take our words as our will and respond accordingly?

Think about it.

Angels Are Listening!

Obviously our words are very important and we disregard what the Bible says on the power of the tongue to our own peril.

One reason our words are so crucial is that the angels around us are listening and respond to our words spoken in faith because we’re created in the likeness of God. Yes, God commands his angels what to do, as shown in Psalm 91:11, but verse 9 shows that this is in response to: 1. our speaking a positive confession based on the promises of our covenant—e.g. “the LORD is my refuge (shelter, protection)”—and 2. abiding in the Lord according to our covenant. This passage offers further insight:

Praise the Lord, you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,

who obey his word.

Psalm 103:20

As you can see, angels obey God’s word. It’s what they do. Are you speaking according to God’s Word? If not, get in the habit of speaking it in faith.

If you’re not familiar enough with the Bible to speak it in faith then get in the practice of reading it daily. Do a Google search for some reading programs and try out a few until you develop one that fits your life. Choose a version of the Bible that you find readable, like the NIV (Nearly Infallible Version*). Since you’re under the New Covenant and not the Old Covenant, I suggest getting to know the New Testament first before delving deeply into the Old Testament (with the exception of Psalms and Proverbs). Why? Because it’s imperative that you understand your covenant with God before familiarizing yourself with the inferior covenant that the Israelites had with the LORD. This will keep you from confusing the two and tripping into the pitfall of sterile religiosity, like the Pharisees did (John 5:39-40).

* Just kidding (lol).

Angels are ministering spirits sent to serve you and so the angels assigned to you are around you 24/7 listening to your words. If your words are in accordance with God’s Word and you believe in your heart then the angels assigned to you will be released to obey—helping to bring to pass God’s Word spoken in faith. You’re a human and human beings are the only beings created in God’s image called to be co-heirs with Christ.

However, if your words are in opposition to the Word of God then they obviously won’t act. They’ll be bound by your doubting, negative, destructive words. And if your angels are hindered from helping you, what kind of spirits do you think will take advantage of the situation? Evil spirits!

Why do you think Jesus gave such weight to our words? Notice:

“But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew 12:36-37

Wow! Our words are being recorded and will be brought up when we stand before God. Believers will give an account of their lives at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10-11 & Romans 14:10,12) whereas unbelievers will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). Either way, our words are being recorded and will either acquit us or condemn us! Christ said so. Why? Because words have the power of life or death! In fact, your very salvation is dependent upon your words spoken in accordance with what you believe in your heart. See Romans 10:9-10 if you find that incredulous.

The bottom line is this: The way we move-to-action angels assigned to us is by speaking in line with the Word of God. Speaking contrary to God’s word will bind them up and prevent them from fulfilling their purpose, which is to serve us in the sense of waiting on our tables. Needless to say, don’t speak fear, worry, doubt and unbelief; speak in accordance with the Word of God! *

* Venting, on the other hand, is healthy and has its place. The Bible thus instructs us to cast all our anxieties and cares on to God (Psalm 55:22 & 1 Peter 5:7). This means to literally go to the LORD in prayer and hurl your burdens on Him. Why cast your cares on the LORD? Because we can’t handle them. Just as we must remove physical waste from our bodies so we must remove emotional waste. No wonder venting is strongly encouraged in the Bible (Psalm 62:8) and we observe example after example of it (Psalm 142:1-3 & Jeremiah 20:7-18). See this article for details.

“Keep This Book of the Law Always on Your Lips”

This provides insight to God’s instruction to Joshua after Moses’ death when Joshua was about to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan to conquer it:

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Joshua 1:8

“The Book of the Law” refers to the first five books of the Old Testament, which was God’s revealed Word at the time. Obviously part of the reason the LORD instructed Joshua to constantly keep the Word of the Law on his lips was so that he’d be careful to “do everything written in it.” However, in light of what we know about angels from the rest of Scripture, speaking in line with God’s Word would move the angels assigned to the Israelites to serve them, which is their very purpose. As such, Joshua and the Hebrews would be “prosperous and successful.”

“Forget Not All His Benefits”

Observe the first five verses of this awesome Psalm:

¹Praise the LORD, my soul;

    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

²Praise the LORD, my soul,

      and forget not all his benefits—

³who forgives all your sins

      and heals all your diseases,

⁴who redeems your life from the pit

      and crowns you with love and compassion,

⁵who satisfies your desires with good things

      so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalm 103:1-5

David praises the LORD and tells his soul—his very self—to “forget not all his benefits.” He then lists several benefits of being in covenant with God:

The LORD forgives sins when we humbly confess (1 John 1:9).
He heals all our diseases.
He redeems our lives from “the pit,” a biblical synonym for death and, in this context, premature death.
He crowns us with love and compassion.
He satisfies our desires with good things.
So that our youth—our vigor—is renewed like the eagles.

At least some of these benefits would require the service of angels and angels only obey God’s Word. So, if you want these benefits flowing in your life on a regular basis, be sure to speak in line with the Word of God. You must remove doubt, fear, worry, unbelief and negativity from your lips! Speak scriptural words of faith that release the angels consigned to you to serve you accordingly!

Forget Not the Benefit of Angels!

Speaking of “forgetting not all his benefits,” the body of Christ in general has forgotten the benefit of angels and their services. Until first studying this subject several years ago I never heard one sermon in my life on the purpose and benefit of angels—not one! That’s incredible when you consider I was almost three decades old in the Lord when I finally looked into the topic.

The purpose of this article and linking articles on this site is for the worldwide body of Christ to rediscover this benefit.

I encourage you to store up God’s Word in your heart through study, memorization and positive confession until you’re so full of it that you speak the Word of God (or speak according to the Word of God) in faith at the drop of a hat. This corresponds to something Jesus said:

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

John 15:7 (NASB)

The Greek for “abide” means to ‘stay.’ All true believers stay in the Lord. Just the same, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you” (Colossians 3:16 NASB). Why? Because, as Christ said:

For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ³⁵A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

Matthew 12:34-35

If your heart is full of God’s Word, and hence the Word of God is abiding in you, you’ll automatically speak accordingly. When you fulfill these two conditions—staying in the Lord and allowing his Word to abide in you—Jesus promises: “ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Now, let me ask you: How is it that whatever you righteously ask for is done for you? Does the LORD come down from Heaven and do it? No, God enlists the services of angels to serve you accordingly. That, after all, is their function—to serve those who are to inherit salvation—us.

Confessing the Word, or Not, Is Transferred to the Angels

Here’s an interesting statement that Christ made:

“And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; ⁹but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

Luke 12:8-9 (NASB)

This obviously means that, whether we confess or deny Jesus Christ before people on Earth, the Lord will do the same before the hosts of Heaven when we stand before the LORD at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10-11) or the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). Each one of us will stand at one or the other depending on whether we’re a believer or unbeliever. This interpretation is verified by a similar passage in Matthew’s gospel:

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.”

Matthew 10:32-33

Both verses are stand-alone statements that we can take at face value, but there’s a principle here that we can extract: Jesus is the living Word of God (John 1:1) and, whether we confess the Word of God or deny the Word of God, it will be transmitted to the angels in Heaven and Father God.

Jesus is the living Word of God and therefore he’s “the truth” (John 14:6). The written Word of God is also “truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). ‘Truth’ in the Greek is alétheia (ah-LAY-thee-ah), which means “reality; the way it really is.” When we confess the Living Word—reality—it is transmitted to the angels and our heavenly Father. If we deny the Living Word—reality—it is likewise transmitted to the angels and Father God. Don’t you think the same principle is at play when we confess or deny the written Word of God, which is also reality?

Make no mistake, whether you confess the Word of God or deny the Word of God it affects the angels concerning you. Remember, angels are “the mighty ones” who do God’s bidding and “obey his Word” (Psalm 103:20). If you ignore God’s Word or, worse, deny it, the angels about you will be hindered from fulfilling their mandate—to serve you—because there’s no Word of God for them to obey.

In the vacuum evil spirits will take advantage of the situation; and more so if your words are in contradiction to God’s Word, such as words of doubt, fear, worry and general negativity (e.g. “I can’t do it,” “We’re screwed” or “God’s not gonna come through this time”).

Needless to say, learn to “loose” your angels and allow them to serve you by speaking God’s Word in faith.

Saved By an Angel in the Fiery Furnace!

A good example of this principle can be found in the book of Daniel when King Nebuchadnezzar erected a 90’ image of gold and commanded the people of his empire to fall down and worship the colossal idol at the appropriate time. Those who refused faced death by incineration in a blazing furnace.

Three extraordinary Hebrews—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—were administers in Babylon during Judah’s exile and they refused to worship the image. Their enemies reported this to the King and so Nebuchadnezzar had them brought before him where he threatened them with death via the fiery furnace if they failed to comply with the edict. Observe their response:

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Daniel 3:16-18

They were obviously respectful to the pagan monarch, but they took a bold stand against his edict because obeying it conflicted with their God-given Law; specifically, the first two of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17 & Deuteronomy 5:4-21). This is a good example of justified civil disobedience. An excellent example in the New Testament is when the apostles refused to obey the Sanhedrin’s order to not preach the message of Christ (Acts 5:27-32).

Notice what the three Hebrews publicly confessed before Nebuchadnezzar: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us.” They were speaking in faith in accordance with their covenant, which promised them protection as they walked in obedience (Deuteronomy 20:4 & 28:1-7).

Thus the infuriated king commanded that they be tied-up and thrown into the blazing furnace. Yet, once this was done, Nebuchadnezzar saw them alive in the furnace, along with someone else whom he described as a “son of the gods” (Daniel 3:19-25). This was such an incredible testimony to him that he referred to the Hebrews as “servants of the Most High God” and called them out of the furnace.

Nebuchadnezzar then said:

“Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants!”

Daniel 3:28

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were saved by an angel sent by God. Keep in mind that angels are “the mighty ones” who do God’s bidding and “obey his Word” (Psalm 103:20). What Word did this mighty angel obey? The three Hebrews’ confession of faith that was in accordance with the revelation of God and their covenant.

By contrast, if they had spoken words of doubt that contradicted God’s Word then it would’ve prevented the angel from saving them. Why? Because angels only respond to God’s Word. They cannot and will not assist those who speak contrary to it. This is why it’s so important that you learn to speak in accordance with the Word of God.

Now, you might be wondering about something the three Hebrews added to their confession of faith when they stood before the king:

“But even if he does not [deliver us], we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Daniel 3:18

This isn’t doubt, but simple defiance in the face of pompous ungodliness. It’s an example of godly bratty-ness! It’s also an example of bold willingness to face martyrdom, if it were the LORD’s will, which they may not have specifically known. We’ll look at cases of God-approved martyrdom momentarily.

Daniel Saved By an Angel in the Lion’s Den

A similar example can be observed three chapters later where Daniel is the protagonist. On this occasion the prophet refused to obey a decree that King Darius put into effect at the pressure of Daniel’s enemies. The decree was to pray to no god except the king for a month. Daniel refused to obey this law, of course, which is another example of justified civil disobedience. Naturally, his enemies wasted no time in reporting this to the king (Daniel 6:10-13).

As with Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego and King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel was brought before Darius where he still refused to obey the edict. So the king was forced to have Daniel executed by being thrown into a den of lions (verses 13-16). The main difference in these two stories is that, unlike the three Hebrews, Daniel had the monarch’s favor and thus the king didn’t want to execute him. He obviously respected the prophet, but was forced to throw him to the lions because of the edict.

After a sleepless night the king went to the den to see what happened to Daniel and was astonished to find him still alive in the lions’ lair. How could he possibly still be alive? Daniel informed him:

“My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

²³The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

²⁴At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Daniel 6:22-24

While it’s unfortunate that the wives & children of Daniel’s enemies had to perish with them this was simply a reality in Babylon’s brutal patriarchal society where wives and kids were considered property.

But this doesn’t take away from the fact that Daniel was saved from the lions via an “angel” because “he had trusted in his God,” which means that he stood in faith according to the promises of his covenant.

Was This “Angel” the Pre-Incarnate Christ?

Was the “angel” who saved the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace and the “angel” who saved Daniel in the Lions’ den an angel or was it Jesus Christ in pre-incarnate form?

There are clear examples of Yeshua making pre-incarnate appearances in the Old Testament, such as these three:

The “man” Jacob wrestled all night (Genesis 32:24,28 & 35:1).
The magnificent Commander of the Army of the LORD who appeared to Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15).
The “Angel of the LORD” who appeared to Gideon (Judges 6:11,14).

While Christ did make pre-incarnate appearances to people on several occasions, there’s no verification that the “angel” who delivered Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego or Daniel was Christ. This “angel” may have been, but—again—it’s not verified in either passage, so it’s best to just go by what the account says—they were saved by a mighty angel.

But, whether it was an angel who saved them or Yeshua, the principle is the same: Those in covenant with the Almighty will be assisted by heavenly beings based on faithfully speaking and acting in line with the Word of God according to their covenant.

What About Cases of God-Approved Martyrdom?

These two examples of miraculous deliverance from fatal persecution understandably raise the question: What about situations where people are martyred for their faith? Could they have been delivered, as were the three Hebrews and Daniel?

It all comes down to the Sovereign LORD’s will on any given occasion. It is God’s general will that His children be delivered from life-threatening persecution, and the Bible contains promises to this effect:

The angel of the LORD encamps around those

    who fear him,

    and he delivers them.

Psalm 34:7

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;

    he delivers them from all their troubles.

Psalm 34:17

The righteous person may have many troubles,

    but the LORD delivers him from them all;

he protects all his bones,

    not one of them will be broken.

Psalm 34:19-20

The LORD will rescue his servants;

    no one who takes refuge in him will be

    condemned.

Psalm 34:22

There are scores of promises like these in the Bible—both Old Testament and New Testament—and they are all “yes” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). In other words, the New Covenant believer can claim them by faith and be delivered from any severe persecution, just like the three Hebrews and Daniel were. Keep in mind though that the LORD didn’t deliver them until after they were thrown into the fiery furnace and the lions’ den respectively. Furthermore, they didn’t turn away from God when the going got tough. It was a test of their faith to see if it was genuine or not (1 Peter 1:6-7). Thankfully, their faith was sincere and they were rescued.

However, there are occasions where it is God’s will that a person die for the cause of Christ. The martyrdom of Stephen is a good example. His death resulted in the mass scattering of believers and thus the spreading of the Word of God in that part of the world (Acts 7:54-8:4). Yet Stephen’s martyrdom offers us an important insight: Just before Stephen was apprehended and stoned, the account points out that he was full of the Spirit and saw Heaven “open up,” palpably viewing the glory of the Father with Christ at his right hand.

This reveals that God will give those He calls to die for their faith the grace to handle it. If you’re in a situation where you’re facing severe persecution and you don’t discern the Holy Spirit leading you to martyrdom then it’s obviously not God’s will that you be martyred. In this event, stand on the promises of God’s Word and the LORD will deliver you, just as he did with Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego and Daniel.

Unfortunately, some Christians are either biblically ignorant or have a martyrdom complex and so have unnecessarily died under persecution when, actually, it was God’s will to deliver them.

We look into this subject in more detail here.

This article was edited from chapters 3-5 of…

You can purchase the print version here for a special low price (345 pages).
Or get the eBook version for just $2.99!

Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Satan (the Devil) — Liar, Slanderer, Thief, Murderer

Demonic Spirits — How to Deflect Them

REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation