Moment of Meditation: Angels and Demons (2 Peter 2:4)

Original Broadcast: November 2008

Monthly Theme: First Article

God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,
putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment.
(2 Peter 2:4)

Angels and Demons

The greatest creation on the invisible side are the angels and demons. Although God did not create the demons as evil, they are angelic beings who were determined not to serve God in Heaven. They thought, as Milton so poignantly put it, "It is better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven" (Paradise Lost).

The demons were not expelled from Heaven to rule Hell. They were expelled from Heaven to be punished in Hell. Jesus reminds His disciples of this reality in His parable of the sheep and goat judgment. In it, the Judge says to the goats on his left, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). Hell was not prepared for human inhabitants. It was prepared for Satan and his demons and devils.

Jesus also said, "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God" (John 3:18).

Angels and demons are real, and like us, on the Last Day the unrepentant will be punished for their stubbornness and the repentant believers will be rewarded for their faithfulness through Christ. May that faithfulness guide you today. Amen.