Chapter 31—Agency of Evil Spirits
The connection of the visible with the invisible world, the min-
istration of angels of God, and the agency of evil spirits, are plainly
revealed in the Scriptures, and inseparably interwoven with human
history. There is a growing tendency to disbelief in the existence of
evil spirits, while the holy angels that “minister for them who shall
be heirs of salvation,” [
Hebrews 1:14
.] are regarded by many as the
spirits of the dead. But the Scriptures not only teach the existence of
angels, both good and evil, but present unquestionable proof that these
are not the disembodied spirits of dead men.
Before the creation of man, angels were in existence; for when the
foundations of the earth were laid, “the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” [
Job 38:7
.]. After the fall of
man, angels were sent to guard the tree of life, and this before a human
being had died. Angels are in nature superior to men. For the psalmist
says that man was made “a little lower than the angels.” [
Psalm 8:5
.]
We are informed in Scripture as to the number, and the power and
glory, of the heavenly beings, of their connection with the government
of God, and also of their relation to the work of redemption. “The
Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth
over all.” And, says the prophet, “I heard the voice of many angels
round about the throne.” In the presence-chamber of the King of kings
they wait—“angels that excel in strength,” “ministers of his, that do
his pleasure,” “hearkening unto the voice of his word.” [
Psalm 103:19-
21
;
Revelation 5:11
.] Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands
[512]
of thousands, were the heavenly messengers beheld by the prophet
Daniel. The apostle Paul declared them “an innumerable company.”
[
Daniel 7:10
;
Hebrews 12:22
.] As God’s messengers they go forth, like
“the appearance of a flash of lightning,” [
Ezekiel 1:14
.] so dazzling
their glory, and so swift their flight. The angel that appeared at the
Saviour’s tomb, his countenance “like lightning, and his raiment white
as snow,” caused the keepers for fear of him to quake, and they “became
as dead men.” [
Matthew 28:3, 4
.] When Sennacherib, the haughty
423