Spiritual Warefare
everything you need to know about Angels & Demons and more!
Angels
An angel is a messenger.
Characteristics:
Some characteristics about angels are that they are non-human, immortal, innumerable, invisible, sexless, and they do the will of God.
Biblical References:
There are only 3 Angels, named in the bible. Michael, Gabriel, Lucifer/Satan are the only three mentioned, although it does talk about groups of Angels, Fallen Angels, the Four living creatures, and Archangels in the bible. It is also mentioned, that some types of Angels in the Bible are the Cherubim, and Seraphim. Angels can be at war with people for example in 2 Kings 6, Angels are surrounding Elisha ready for war. They will fight for you, and defend you against demons.
Appearance:
There is a common theme that people picture angels as having wings, or flying. The fact is, everybody has their own personal description of an angel. We do know that they are spiritual. There is not a lot of physical description in the Bible, other than that "looked like an angel".
Demons & Satan
A Demon is a supernatural evil spirit or devil. They are thought to possess a person or act as a tormenter in hell.
Characteristics:
Demons have a name, and they work to destroy people from God's glory. They are assigned various tasks. Some work alone, and some under a leader. Composed of spirit like structure. They have no physical or bodily form, they are shape shifters, they can dwell in and on the earth, they are direct enemies of God and Christians, and they are especially known for imitating or impersonating God, or Christians.
Biblical References:
"You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!" (James 2:19).
Demons are mentioned in the Bible as being blamed for peoples behaviours, possessions and unknown actions.
Approximately 85 biblical references are found of which a majority of them are
possessions.
Demons are afraid of God, because even though they have power, they are still under the power of God, and nothing happens that God can't control or handle, so still they still have limited power.
Satan:
Satan is a big part of this section, only because he is the conductor of the sin in the world and the director of the demons.
Satan's whole purpose is to destroy (Genesis 3&4)
He appears to the very successful, even in the first few years of human history
Humanity has fallen and has a sin nature, we lean towards sin because we are fallen
Sin
Sin is an immoral act considered a transgression against a divine law.
Characteristics:
Sin is a disease, It was acquired by Adam when he was in the garden of Eden and disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. Everybody has it, Sin is what you have, Sins are the symptoms of the disease, it is the doing of Sin.
Biblical References:
"But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" James 1: 14-15
Ultimately Sin leads to death, and because we live in a fallen world, that is our consequence. Jesus, God's son, came down to earth and died for all the sins of the world. Because of this, we are saved. Although we are forgiven, that does not mean we should nurture our sin and do it just because we are forgiven.
Prayer
A- doration
C- onfession
T- hanksgiving
S- supplication
These four words, describe the importance and meanings of prayer perfectly. Although there isn't a right and wrong way to prayer, this is a good guide if you are a beginner, or if you just don't know what to pray about
Another great model of prayer is the Lord's prayer:
"Our father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven,
Give us today our daily bread,
And forgive us our debts,
as we also forgive our debtors,
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. "
Matthew 6: 9-13
Things to remember when your praying:
1. Who am I praying to?
2. Tell God how great he is
3. Align God's will with your will, Seek Him and His will
4. We pray to identify our needs
5. Confess to Him
It is important to elevate Jesus, and confess that you can't do anything without him. You cant do it all by yourself, and when you are praying, you are showing that you care deeply and yearn to change something and seek God. God loves it when you spend time with him, and as a Christian, that is a really important aspect.
Exorcism
A religious practice of evicting demons when they are believed to be possessed.
It is an ancient part of the belief system of many cultures or religion.
You can request an exorcism if you believed to be possessed. Usually conducted by a priest or a bishop