OF ANGELS AND DEMONS

I. Of the Angels of God and Their Participation in Our Lives

From the author

The book you are holding in your hands consists of two parts: "Heralds of Light" and "Heralds of Darkness". The first part is devoted to the story of good Angels, the second to the story of evil angels, or demons. Demons are also angels (note that we write these angels with a small letter), but they are fallen angels, who have betrayed God, who have rebelled against God.

Angels and demons do the exact opposite. If the former are helpers, friends of man, then demons are fierce enemies. Angels and demons have in common their nature – angelic.

What does the Holy Scripture tell us about angels and demons? Can we feel the participation of these disembodied creatures in our lives? To what extent are we able to communicate with them? — This is what the book is about.

One of its sections, entitled "The Possession and Exorcism of the Devil," was written by my wife, Elizaveta Parkhomenko. It deals with the experience of resisting demonic forces, the essence of which is reflected in the epigraph to the section: "It is better to have an enemy in the devil than a master" (St. Prosper of Aquitaine, 5th century).

In order not to make the exposition of the Orthodox teaching about angels and demons seem like a boring theory, we have cited a lot of authentic1 cases, both from ancient history and from modern life (or recent events). However, I really want this book not just to entertain you, dear reader... Like any religious, or, as they used to say, spiritual, book, it claims to be taken seriously. They would see the Angels as spiritually experienced helpers, mentors and ask them for support and help. In demons, they recognized their worst enemies and would have corrected their lives in such a way as to have nothing to do with them.

Who are the Angels?

Angels are spiritual beings who praise God and carry out His commissions. This is what we can say about the Angels in the first place.

The word Angel itself is of Greek origin, and it is translated as Messenger, Messenger. It can be applied to people when it comes to a person sent on a mission, and it can also be applied to a spiritual being sent on behalf of God. In this latter sense, the word Angel is used today.

According to the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, the Angels were created by God even before the creation of the visible world, created in great numbers as servants of God.

Angels serve God, glorify Him, and bring messages from God to man. By God's command, they are the guardians and defenders of people, the highest creation of God, destined for eternal heavenly glory.

Some of the Angels have fallen away from God. The Holy Scriptures do not say directly why this happened, we have only indirect indications of this and numerous testimonies of the Holy Fathers. According to these more than probable assumptions, one of the highest Angels was darkened by ... envy of God, rebelled against his Creator and carried with him a large part of the spirits. All of them were cast into hell and now represent an extremely evil and hardened God- and man-hating army. But we will talk about demons in the second part of this book.

Should a modern person believe in Angels? Everyone answers this question on their own. In any case, a skeptical attitude towards the biblical and patristic testimonies about angels and demons does not separate a person from God and the Church. We remember that the basis of our faith is faith in the One Lord in Three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And the belief that the Son of God became incarnate for the salvation of people, suffered, redeemed us by death on the cross and rose again!

A Christian, I repeat, may not believe in angels, just as he may not know many mysteries and laws of nature created by God, but in this case he is vulnerable to the influence of dark demonic forces. Imagine, for example, that a person does not believe in the reality of radioactive exposure. How can you believe in it if you can't see it? But such a person risks being in the danger zone, being irradiated and getting sick.