What Are Fallen Angels, and How Should We Respond to Them?

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Updated August 19, 2024

Angels have always held a certain amount of fascination for me. As a child, I once heard a preacher say that angels are drawn to the worship of God, and that our church sanctuary was likely filled with invisible, heavenly onlookers as we sang our praises to Jesus. I distinctly remember praying at that moment, “God, can you let me see them?” After all, I had a biblical foundation for asking. Didn’t Elisha pray the same prayer, so that his servant would take heart and know that God was fighting for them? (2 Kings 6:17).

So far, God hasn’t answered my prayer to let me see angels; at least not to my knowledge. Perhaps I have met an angel or two along the way.

Angels are beings made by God before our world was created (Job 38:4-7). They exist in the spiritual world of God’s kingdom, but they are physical beings often active in our earthly realm. “Are not they all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). Angels are not to be worshipped (Revelation 22:8-9); their role is to point all creation to worship God. God’s heavenly hosts are powerful, supernatural, brilliant servants of God who reflect His glory and carry out His commands in both heaven and earth.

Sadly, not all of God’s angels remained faithful to Him. Evidently, they were given free will to choose, just as Adam and Eve. But in the case of fallen angels, we see no evidence of an offer of redemption.

It would be nice if there was a single passage of Scripture that gave us all the details about these fallen creatures. Instead, we must connect Scripture to Scripture to see things from a wider perspective. What happened? Where are they now? What will their future be? And how should we respond?

Fallen Angels Are Those Who Followed Satan in His Rebellion against God

“The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’ And He said to them, ‘I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning’” (Luke 10:17-18).

Jesus’ comment to the disciples confirms that before Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden, Satan fell from heaven. Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-18 are prophecies against the kings of Tyre and Babylon. But like many Old Testament prophecies, these have a dual interpretation. In this case, they describe Satan, an anointed angel who had a place of authority and privilege, but whose pride caused him to rebel against God and was cast out of heaven, along with what some believe were one-third of the angels who followed in his rebellion (Revelation 12:4).

In Scripture, fallen angels are referred to as evil spirits, demons, and devils (KJV). No longer worshippers of God, their purpose is to do Satan’s bidding, to try to prevent humanity from receiving salvation, and to torment and persecute God’s people (Revelation 12:17). Satan’s fall began the epic spiritual warfare that will not end until he is cast into hell.

Fallen Angels Have Been Active in Our World Since Adam Was Created

In Genesis 6 we learn something of the activities of fallen angels. Also called “sons of God” (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7), they procreated with human women and produced a race of giants, mighty men of renown called Nephilim. This unleashed unspeakable evil and wickedness on the earth, so that every human heart was corrupted, leading to God’s decision to destroy all living creatures, preserving only Noah and his family on the ark.

Jude tells us those who participated in this lost their freedom. “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day” (Jude 1:6; see also 2 Peter 2:4).

We know this place as “the abyss,” a bottomless holding pit which we will learn more of as Scripture unfolds. For now, Satan and many of his demonic angels have freedom to roam the earth, seeking to tempt and destroy God’s people (Job 1:7; 1 Peter 5:8).

In the Old Testament, a disgruntled fallen angel visited Eliphaz, pretending to come with a word from God.

“Now a word was brought to me stealthily, and my ear received a whisper of it. Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, dread came upon me, and trembling, and made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed by my face; the hair of my flesh bristled up. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice: ‘Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? He puts no trust even in His servants; and against His angels He charges error’” (Job 4:12-18).

Jesus encountered many sick and wounded people, possessed and oppressed by these fallen angels, demonic evil spirits who roamed the earth.

In an almost humorous story in the New Testament, we see that fallen angels (evil spirits) were being cast out by Paul, in the authority of Jesus’ name. When others tried to imitate the power of God over these demons, they were surprised, as the evil spirits leaped on them, subdued them, and chased them out naked and wounded! (Acts 19:13-16).

Fallen Angels Know Their Destiny, and Who Controls It

“When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:28-29).

In this encounter with Jesus, we learn that fallen angels (demons who can possess unredeemed men and women) understand God holds authority over them, and their destiny is in His control. They recognize Jesus as the Son of God. See also Mark 5:1-13, where Jesus gave them permission to enter the swine, and in Luke 8:26-39, they were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.

“You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19).

Fallen Angels Will Become More Active as We Approach the Day of the Lord and Christ’s Return

Angels will play a tremendous role in the last days. The word “angel” is mentioned 71 times in the book of Revelation. God’s heavenly hosts carry out His sovereign plans of judgment and tribulation, but we also see fallen angels released and empowered in frightening ways.

In Revelation 9:1-11, the bottomless pit is opened and a horde of fallen angels (demonic forces) described as locusts come out to torment the wicked with scorpion-like stings. Those afflicted will seek to die from the pain but will not be able to escape. “They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon” (Revelation 9:11).

Just after this, four angels who have been bound for millennia are released to kill one third of mankind (Revelation 9:13-15). Later, unclean spirits (fallen demonic angels) are set loose to gather the kings of the world for war against God (Revelation 16:13-14). At the end of the Tribulation, Satan and his angels are bound in the abyss for a thousand years, but afterwards will be released for a short time before being cast into hell (Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10).

Fallen Angels Will One Day Be Denied All Access to God in Heaven

In Job 1 and 2, the angels (sons of God) come to present themselves to the Lord; Satan comes as part of the group. I believe this indicates that God still holds all angels accountable for their actions. Several times in the Old Testament, God sends “an evil spirit” to do His bidding, to accomplish His purposes (Judges 9:23; 1 Samuel 16:14-23, 18:10, 19:9; 1 Kings 22:19-21). But in the last days, during the Tribulation, all access will end, as Satan and his angels are cast down to earth one final time.

“And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:7-9).

At this point, Satan and all the fallen angels will know their time is short. They will be enraged, and make war with God’s people, those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Revelation 12:17). He knows the Word of God better than most Christians, and I’m sure Jesus’ prophetic words about the future ring in his ears every day.

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matthew 25:41).

How Are We to Respond to Fallen Angels?

As human history nears the end, spiritual warfare will increase. The great cosmic battle between the forces of God and the forces of evil will rage. Fallen angels are not to be feared by those who belong to God. “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4b). We are to resist Satan (and his angels), and they will flee from us (James 4:7). We are to keep ourselves pure from sin, devoted only to God and not giving any place to fallen angels to work in our lives (1 Corinthians 10:20-21; Ephesians 4:27). We are to put on the full armor of God, knowing that He will protect us and keep us from the evil one (Ephesians 6; 2 Thessalonians 3:3).

While we do not fear, we are, however, to be aware and vigilant in recognizing the angels who serve Satan — evil spirits who would delight in drawing us away from our faith and causing us to stumble in our devotion to God.

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:1-6).

All created things serve the purposes of God, including fallen angels. May we not be distracted by a fascination with supernatural beings but trust that God has everything securely in His control, and walk faithfully unto the end.

Author Sheila Alewine is a pastor’s wife, mother, and grandmother of five. She and her husband lead Around The Corner Ministries, which serves to equip Christ-followers to share the gospel where they live, work and play. She has written seven devotionals including Just Pray: God’s Not Done With You Yet, Grace & Glory: 50 Days in the Purpose & Plan of God, and her newest one, Give Me A Faith Like That, as well as Going Around The Corner, a Bible study for small groups who desire to reach their communities for Christ. Their ministry also offers disciple-making resources like One-To-One Disciple-Making in partnership with Multiplication Ministries. Sheila has a passion for God’s Word and shares what God is teaching her on her blog, The Way of The Word. Connect with her on her blog, Facebook, and Instagram.