Angels and Demons

Do angels and demons really exist? Well, the Bible says so.

In the New American Standard Bible translation, angels are referred to 111 times in the Old Testament and 176 times in the New Testament.  Sixteen Old Testament books mention angels, while seventeen New Testament books do so, including all four Gospels.

Meanwhile, references to demons are not so numerous as those for angels, but there are still four such references in the Old Testament and eighty-five in the New Testament—including, again, in all four Gospels. And that doesn’t include the many references to Satan or the devil: fifteen in the Old Testament and seventy-seven in the New.

So why can’t we see them or hear them? The answer  is that our five senses are not designed to perceive  spiritual beings. That’s why we can’t see or hear God, at least ordinarily. But that’s not surprising. There are many things our five senses are not designed to detect. For example:

Our eyes can’t see the wind, radiation, molecules, bacteria, viruses, the inside of a pitch-black cave, black holes, or planets that are light-years away.

Our ears can’t hear ultrasonic sound (though dogs can) and some very low pitches.

Our noses can’t smell untreated natural gas, carbon monoxide, or carbon dioxide.

Examples of things we can’t taste: starch (although some animals can), warfarin (a blood thinner), rhubarb leaves, and water (although we can certainly feel it).

We can’t feel magnetic fields, infrared radiation, ultraviolet light, or the rotation of the earth.

Our senses are wonderfully useful, but they are also somewhat limited. Many things exist that cannot be perceived by our unaided five senses—including angels and demons.

Of course, angels can make themselves seen and heard, as they did to Mary and the shepherds (among many others). And Jesus had the ability to perceive demons, as well as the ability to shut them up and cast them out.

So I do believe that angels and demons exist, even though we cannot perceive them with our senses.