Greg Laurie - The Unseen Entities (Angels, Demons, and the Afterlife)

TOPICS: Unseen Realm, Angels, Demons, Afterlife

Pastor Greg Laurie reminds us that we are surrounded by invisible angelic forces protecting those who fear the Lord, just as Elisha showed Gehazi the chariots of fire, and warns that demons, as fallen angels, seek to hinder God’s purposes while ultimately believers are secure in Christ and headed to heaven.

Angels Surround and Protect Us

There’s a story in the Old Testament about Elisha and his servant Gehazi. They were surrounded by enemy forces, and Gehazi was starting to freak out. Actually, Elisha had fallen asleep; he was so confident in the Lord. So Gehazi wakes him up and says, «Master, we’re going to die! What are we going to do?» Elisha, wiping the sleep from his eyes, says, «Don’t fear, because those that are with us are more than those that are with them.» Then Elisha prays, «Lord, open his eyes that he may see.» Suddenly, Gehazi got a glimpse into the invisible world, and he saw the angels of the Lord surrounding them.

Imagine if we could see that right now. I think it would freak us out a little bit if we could see it, but it is so real. We have angels around us. So you say, «How do you know, Greg?» Because the Bible says the angel of the Lord surrounds those that fear him. There are a bunch of people in this room and watching who fear the Lord right now, so there are angels among us as well.

The Organization of Angels

Number two: there are not only a lot of angels, but their ranks are well-organized. It’s not unlike the military, where you have various rankings. It’s the same in the angelic world; not only among the holy angels but also among the fallen ones. In fact, 1 Peter 3:22 tells us that Christ has gone into heaven, and on his right hand, there are angels, authorities, and powers. There are three rankings right there: angels, authorities, and powers.

Named Angels in Scripture

Number three: we found that two of the angels, at least, are identified by name. That would be the super angel, the mega angel, the man himself, Michael the archangel, who has played a unique role throughout history and will also be active in the end-time events. Then there’s Gabriel, who is given the unique privilege of announcing the birth of the Messiah to both Joseph and Mary.

The Ministry of Angels

Now, what have the angels come to do? Point number four: the angels sometimes reveal the purposes of God to us. You remember that there were three angels dispatched to tell Abraham about the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah. An angel was dispatched to Zechariah to tell him he would be the father of John the Baptist. Now, I would suggest to you that you may have been spoken to before by an angel, but you probably didn’t know it.

Because here’s another thing about angels: they are God’s secret agents. They operate undercover. They are involved in what we would call special ops, right? You see, they are dispatched to a given place to do a certain task, not unlike the Navy Seals, the Army Rangers, the Green Berets, or the Delta Force special forces that are called to accomplish something. You don’t know when they went in, you don’t know when they left, and you don’t even necessarily know what they did exactly. You just know the job was done. That’s how angels work; they operate undercover doing the work of God. So sometimes they reveal the purposes of God.

Angels Guide and Protect

Also, angels help us come to salvation and occasionally guide us. An angel played a role in the conversion of Cornelius. There may have been times when an angel has actually spoken to you to go do a certain thing, but you didn’t necessarily know it was an angel. Case in point: an angel told Philip to go out to the desert. Maybe an angel has spoken to you as well.

Number six: the angels protect us. Psalm 34:7 says, «The angel of the Lord guards all who fear him, and he rescues them.» So when you’ve had those close calls in life and you wonder how you got through it, no doubt it was your angel doing the work that God had called him to do.

But what about when an accident happens? What about when a Christian dies? Does that mean that somehow the angel failed in his mission? The answer is no. God is the one that determines the date of our death and the date of our birth. In the same way, the angel’s job is to protect us until our time of departure comes, and then the angel’s role changes. They are there to escort us to heaven. You remember that after Lazarus died, in the story of Lazarus and the rich man, the Bible says he was carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom. So there is an angelic escort waiting for you when your time to go to heaven comes.

The Origin and Work of Demons

So where did demons come from? Short answer: demons are fallen angels. Again, demons are fallen angels. As hard as it is for us to believe, there was a rebellion in the angelic world, with many of the angels turning against God and becoming evil. Over in Jude, chapter 6, we read that the angels did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling. They rebelled against God, and that rebellion was led by another high-ranking angel by the name of Lucifer.

More on him in a moment. But Lucifer is the one that led the rebellion of one-third of the angels against God. There are multiple references to this in the Bible. We read of Beelzebub and his demons in Matthew 12:24. We read of the devil and his angels. We read of the dragon and his angels in Revelation 12:7. And, of course, Jesus said hell is created for the devil and his angels.

So what is the objective of a demon? What does a demon come to do? The objective of demons seems to be twofold. Number one, they are here to hinder the purposes of God and extend the power of Satan. You know, the Bible describes the devil as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Like a hungry beast of prey, he’s looking for his next meal. He’s ready to pounce.

He’s always busy with his well-organized network of demon powers, helping him to accomplish his purposes. And what is the purpose of the devil? A lot of things could be said, but let me sum it up this way. In the words of Jesus, he said, «The thief, ” speaking of Satan, „has come only to steal, kill, and destroy.“ That’s his endgame. He may come with some enticing temptation. He may come with something that dazzles you, that might even have an element of enjoyment in it in the beginning, but the endgame, the ultimate result, is to steal, kill, and destroy.

The Devil’s Subtle Strategy

A closing thought about the devil and his demons and his strategy: I’m sure you’ve all heard of C.S. Lewis. If you haven’t, you ought to read the books he’s written. A very prolific, incredible author, and he had an amazing imagination. Of course, he wrote the Chronicles of Narnia and other books that have been used by God to bring people to faith. But Lewis wrote a very unusual book called The Screwtape Letters.

And basically this is a book where C.S. Lewis tried to put himself in the shoes of the devil and the demons and the strategies they use to deceive people. So here’s what Lewis writes in The Screwtape Letters, and I quote: „There is a legend about Satan and his imps—that would be his demons—planning their strategy for attacking the world that’s hearing the message of salvation. One of the demons says to the devil, ‘I’ve got the plan, master. When I get on earth, I’ll take charge of people’s thinking, and I’ll tell them there’s no heaven.’ The devil says, ‘They’ll never believe that. The book of truth is full of messages about the hope of heaven through sins forgiven. They won’t believe that. They know there’s a glory yet future.’

Another demon on the other side of the room says, ‘I’ve got the plan. I’ll tell them there’s no hell.’ ‘No good, ’ the devil says. ‘Jesus, while he was on this earth, talked more about hell than heaven. They know in their heart that the wrong will have to be taken care of in some way.’ Then one brilliant little imp stood up and said, ‘Then I know the answer. I’ll tell them there’s no hurry.’ Lewis concludes, ‘And he’s the one Satan chose.’“

Right? There’s no hurry. The devil comes and says, „There’s no hurry. You’ve got all the time in the world, man. Live it up. Sow your wild oats. Do whatever you want with whomever you want and just have a great time. And you know when you’re really old, you can turn to God, ” knowing that the odds of that happening are pretty low because you might become so hardened in your sin you won’t want to turn to God when you’re older. There’s no hurry! But there is a hurry because the Bible says today is a day of salvation. The devil says tomorrow; the Holy Spirit says now, today.

Demon Possession and Spiritual Warfare

You might ask the question, well can people be demon-possessed today? Sure, they can. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, then you might ask the question: can Christians be demon-possessed? Answer: no, they can’t be. And I’ll tell you why. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, a sign is effectively hung around your neck that says, „Under new management.“ Okay? You belong to the Lord now. And Jesus is not into a timeshare program.

Isn’t that nice to know? It’s not like he says, „Okay, now I’ve got Greg for six months, and devil, you can have him for the next six months.“ No! The Lord comes in; he’s the sole resident in this heart and life. Okay, but can the devil affect us from the outside? Can demons, for instance, tempt us? Can demons oppress us? Can demons buffet us? Answer: yes, they can. Even the Apostle Paul, after he had his vision of seeing the Lord in glory, said, „But there was sent a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure, ” allowed by God and orchestrated by Satan.

By the way, that word „buffet“ means to hit in the face. So Paul’s saying, „Yeah, I’ve come under some demon attack.“ But here’s the good news: God will never give you more than you can handle. So he may allow the devil to tempt you or harass you in some way, but he won’t give you more than you can take. So you say, „Well, you know what? If you’re not a Christian, well, the devil can take you over completely. It could even get to this state. So don’t open your heart up to that. Don’t play that crazy game because you’re vulnerable.“

How are you going to keep the devil away? „I’ll just pull up my crucifix.“ Satan doesn’t care about your crucifix. „Oh, I’ll wear garlic around my neck. That’ll keep your friends away.“ It won’t keep the devil away. The only power that Satan respects is the power of Jesus Christ. And when Jesus Christ is living in your life, you don’t have to be afraid. So when the devil comes knocking, you just say, „Lord, would you mind getting that?“ Oh, but if Christ is not in your life, you’re vulnerable. Satan could take control of you, and it’s a scary thing. But you don’t have to be afraid if you’ve asked Jesus to come into your life.

Grief and Dangers of Contacting the Dead

You know, I think when you lose a loved one unexpectedly, or even expectedly, you know you have no way to mentally prepare for what that’s like. And you know, I know a person who just lost a loved one, and they were doing really well in the immediate aftermath. I thought, you know, hard days are coming because the reality sets in, and that person’s no longer there. Even if you knew they were going to die, even if they were on their deathbed, when they’re finally gone, it’s so hard.

And the result of this is sometimes people try to have communication with people on the other side. You’ll even hear things said like, „Well, I know my loved one is still with me. I sense their presence, ” or even something like, „They speak to me, and they guide me.“ Why is this a dangerous thing for anyone to do, much less a Christian? Yeah, you can’t reach your loved one. The loved one is beyond your reach. If you reach anybody, it certainly won’t be your loved one there. Once a person is dead, they’re in the unseen realm, and they cannot come back. They don’t come back and haunt; they don’t come back and communicate. Not at all.

And the Bible gives the strongest of warnings in Deuteronomy 18: „Don’t learn the way of the heathen, ” which they try to do is communicate with the dead, because we will talk to somebody, but it certainly won’t be that dead relative we’re talking to. They can’t tell us what’s going on because the Lord Jesus has given us enough.

Sickness, Healing, and God’s Sovereignty

So we better be very careful about trying to do something like that. Is it presumptuous to expect that God could and would heal us? So let’s address our first question: Why do people get sick in the first place? Here’s the big answer: sickness and even death itself were never part of God’s original plan. If our original parents had just stayed away from that forbidden tree, we would have never aged, we would have never died, and I would have had hair!

No, but because sin entered the human race, we were barred from the tree of life, which would cause us to live forever. There’s the aging process. There’s illness. There’s sickness. There’s tragedy and all the rest of it. Romans 5:12 says, „Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all have sinned.“ Now I’m not saying that sickness is a result of someone’s personal sin specifically, because I believe sickness is a result of sin in general.

Having said that, it should be pointed out that some sickness, rather, is a result of personal sin. Earlier in Matthew chapter 8, Jesus heals a paralytic man in Capernaum and said, „Son, your sins are forgiven, ” which would indicate in this man’s case at least, that perhaps his paralysis was linked to personal sin. That is not to say that all or even most sickness is connected to personal sin, but it is to say that some is. To another man that was healed in Bethesda, Jesus said, „You’re made well; stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.“

So it is possible God can allow a sickness in your life or an illness. Why? Well, maybe he wants to get your attention. Maybe you don’t listen so well. And as the psalmist said, „Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I have kept your word.“ So it is something, of course, to consider. But then again, there are many times God will allow illness in the life of a man or a woman that is walking very closely with God, and that illness has nothing to do with their sinfulness. In fact, the reality is it’s because of their godliness that they’ve been afflicted.

Paul’s Thorn and God’s Grace

Well, here’s one answer: The Apostle Paul had the glorious experience of being caught up and seeing the Lord in heaven. But then he was given a thorn in the flesh. Remember? And he wrote about it in 2 Corinthians 12. And he said, „To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away.“ And God said, „My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.“

Paul goes on, „So I’m going to boast about my weaknesses so Christ’s power may rest on me. I delight in weakness, in insult, in hardship, in persecution, and difficulty; for when I am weak, then I am strong.“ Maybe you have a thorn in your flesh. And by that, I mean there’s something that keeps you deflated. It keeps you humble. It keeps you dependent upon God. So there are a lot of reasons we can cite, but God does allow sickness.

Now the question is: Does God heal sickness? And the answer is: Well, yes, he does. Does God heal all sickness? No, unfortunately, he does not. But there is a promise of healing in scripture. Isaiah 53 says, „He took our infirmities and carried our sorrows. We considered him stricken by God and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment for our peace was upon him, and by his wounds, we are healed.“ And then in 1 Peter 2:24, he says, „By his wounds, you were healed.“ And the word „healed“ that Peter uses is a verb that always speaks of physical healing. So there is healing available.

Asking in Faith

Now here’s what is holding a lot of people back from being healed. It’s so simple, it’s crazy. The Bible says you have not because you ask not. I suggest to some of you that the reason you may not have what God wants you to have is because you have simply not asked for it. Really? Well, I have a financial crisis. Really? Have you prayed about it? Have you gone to the Lord and said, „Hey, Lord, I’m in a financial crisis. Could you provide for me? Lord, I need a job. Would you provide one for me? Lord, I’m ill. Would you heal me? Lord, I don’t know what to do. Would you speak to me?“

This is totally appropriate and something every believer should do. It may be that you have not because you ask not. And clearly, in the case of both Jairus and the woman, they got what they needed because they asked. Now, I’m not giving the credit to them; Jesus did it. However, they did act out and pray about it. You see, here’s something to consider when we think about healing. Because some will say, „You know, if you’re not healed, it’s because you have a lack of faith. Just speak it into existence, and believe it’s true, and it will be true to you. And if you have a negative thought or say a negative word, then you’ll lose your healing.“ That’s nonsense!

Okay? Because it isn’t always about your faith because sometimes you’re going to lack faith. I mean, sometimes you’re healed because you apply your faith. And in this story, we see that in the case of the woman with the issue of blood. But then sometimes it’s the faith of someone else; because in the story, we also see it was the faith of Jairus for his daughter. Alright? And also, we see in some cases, it’s just the Lord intervening and doing it all by himself without anyone’s faith. How much faith did anyone have the day that Lazarus was raised from the dead? Mary and Martha, his close disciples, were freaking out, accusing Jesus of letting them down. Everyone else was devastated.

So it looks to me like that was just Jesus acting sovereignly and deciding to bring his buddy back from the other side. My point is simply this: God is in control. God is sovereign, and he will do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. But we have our part as well. So here’s what you need to do with as much faith as you have. Just pray, „Lord, I believe.“ And then you can even add, „Help my unbelief.“ Well, that’s in the Bible! That’s what a guy said to Jesus: „Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.“ And Jesus responded to that man’s prayer, and he will respond to yours as well. So call out to him. Jeremiah 33:3 says, „God speaking: Call to me, and I will answer you and I’ll show you great and mighty things which you do not know.“

Hope in Crisis and Eternal Perspective

Are you in a personal crisis right now? Reach out and touch him. Maybe it’s something else. It’s not a child that’s dying, but it’s a marriage that’s failing, or it’s some other problem you’re facing. Reach out to the Lord. Number two: The story is not finished yet. The story is not finished yet. God always finishes what he begins. As I said, he’s the author and finisher of our faith.

Number three: If we trust in Jesus, our stories will all have happy endings. If we trust in Jesus, our stories will all have happy endings. I know some of you are thinking, „Hello, Greg. Earth to Greg. Reality check. What about the person who was not healed? What if the child is not brought back to life?“ Well, life this side of eternity is very hard. But on the other side, in heaven, when we have the whole story, we’ll realize it did have a happy ending. Maybe not on earth, but certainly in heaven.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, „Right now, I see through a glass darkly, but then I will see face to face, and I will know as I am known.“ So we need to come to Jesus. You see, here’s the thing with Jairus. He felt the reality of what was happening, and he knew he had to get help for his daughter. Listen, here’s the thing that we need to remember: Jairus’s daughter was raised from the dead. Guess what? She died again. The woman who was healed of this 12-year infirmity, she died too. And Lazarus, who was raised from the dead, he died.

I think the only thing more depressing than dying would be dying, being raised from the dead, and dying again. Yeah! So here’s my point: I’m not trying to be depressing; I’m just trying to say it’s a good thing when we know that death could come at any moment. Not as a morbid thought, but as a liberating thought. Because only those who are prepared to die are really ready to live. So we realize that this day is given to me from God. No matter if I’ve heard bad news from a doctor or good news from a doctor, this life is from God. It’s not mine; I don’t possess it. I live it for his glory each day.

And as Paul said, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. So if I have many more years, praise the Lord, I’ll use those for his glory. If I have a few more years, well, I’ll use those for his glory. And if this is my last day, then to the best of my ability, I’ll live this for his glory. Because no matter what, if you’re healed or you’re not healed, if you die and are raised, and you’re going to still die again, because life comes to an end, but eternity is forever. And for the believer, death is not the end; it’s a transition from earth to heaven. That’s really what it is, and it’s a glorious thing.

Heaven as Our Ultimate Hope

And Jesus died on a cross and suffered in our place so we don’t have to be afraid to die. The book of Revelation can feel mysterious, even overwhelming. But it wasn’t written to confuse us; it was written to give hope, assurance, and a clear view of what’s to come. There are two destinations beyond the grave: heaven and hell. There’s no purgatory; there’s no stopovers. You go straight into the presence of the Lord. Isn’t that good to know? Right into God’s presence! The moment you close your eyes on earth, you open them in heaven. When you take your last breath on earth, you take your first breath in heaven. It’s so fast; you could hardly even measure it.

Paul writes in Philippians 1:23, „I’m hard-pressed between the two. I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, but it’s important for me to stay here with you.“ Why is heaven better than earth? Well, number one, because I’m moving from a tent to a mansion. Heaven is better than earth because all of my questions will be answered. We all have questions in life; I do. I’ll admit things that have happened to me in life that didn’t really make sense. Some of those things have been sorted out as I’ve gotten older. But then there are other things that have happened to me that make no sense to me at all. But we have serious questions we want to ask God. And we’ll know one day! We’ll know!

But the greatest thing of all—the reason that heaven is better than earth—is not just because I’m upgrading my dwelling place, not just because my questions will be answered, but I’ll be with Christ! I’ll be with Christ! That’s it! Again, as Paul says, „I want to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.“ So what is heaven like? Short answer: amazing, awesome, better than anything you ever imagined! It’s beyond your wildest dreams! But let’s start with this. We need to be reminded that heaven is an actual place. Jesus said in John 14, „I’ve gone to prepare a place for you.“

Awareness from Heaven

Are people who have gone on before us—believers in the Lord—looking down on us right now or looking down on us at any time? What do people in heaven know about what is happening here on earth? I think a good passage to turn to for that is Revelation chapter 6, where you have the martyrs in heaven. They’ve died, they’ve gone home to be with the Lord; they’re with Jesus in the present heaven. You look in Revelation 6, verse 9: „I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.“

Now here’s what they do: This is what life is like for them in the present heaven. They called out in a loud voice, „How long, sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?“ Well, first of all, clearly they remember their life on earth. And some people say, „Well, if we could remember anything of our life on earth in heaven, surely we couldn’t remember the bad things.“ How much worse does it get than having been murdered? And they remember that they were murdered. But see, the key to heaven is not ignorance; it’s perspective on their lives.

So they remember their lives on earth. They remember the bad things, actually, that even happened to them. But now they see them through redemptive eyes. And they’re also aware that God has not yet brought judgment upon their persecutors. They’re not asking, „Lord, have you brought judgment?“ They’re saying, „When will you bring judgment?“ So they know that he hasn’t yet. How do they know that? Because they’re seeing, at least to a degree, at least they’re aware of what’s going on down on earth, and then they’re told that they had to wait a little longer.

Invitation to Salvation

Maybe God has spoken to your heart, and you have seen your need for Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came from heaven to this earth. He was born in a manger. He died on a cross. He rose again from the dead. Why? Because he loves you and he wants a relationship with you. Listen, I’m not talking about religion. I don’t want to be a religious person. I don’t think you want to be one either. I’m talking about a relationship with God.

Jesus, who died and rose again, stands at the door of your life, and he knocks. And he says if you’ll hear his voice and open the door, he will come in. Question: have you asked Jesus Christ to come live inside of you? You might say, „Well, I think so. I’m not sure.“ Hey, if someone moved into your house in the middle of the night, do you think you would be aware of it? I’m sure you would! And in the same way, if Christ has come to live inside of you, you will know. And if you don’t know, maybe he has not come in yet. He’s just a prayer away.

All you need to do is say, „Jesus, I want this relationship with you. I want you to forgive me of my sin. I want to go to heaven when I die.“ Would you like to do that? Would you like Christ to come into your life? If so, why don’t you just pray this simple prayer with me? You can pray it out loud, or you can pray it in the quietness of your heart. But this is a prayer where you’re asking Jesus Christ to be your savior and Lord. Pray this with me now: „Lord Jesus, I know that I’m a sinner, but I know that you’re the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. Now come into my life; I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.“