Open INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Do spirit beings exist? If they do, where did they come from? Did they evolve, as many people think physical life-forms evolved? Or were they created?

What do you believe about spirit beings? There are countless theories and beliefs, and they can’t all be right. How can we know what the truth is?

There is one—and only one—absolute, 100 percent reliable source that reveals the truth about spirit beings. That source is the Bible—the written revelation of the Creator of the universe.

Here’s what the Bible tells us about the spirit world:

All spirit beings that exist were created by God the Father and Jesus Christ. These two infinitely powerful beings are also spirit, but They have lived eternally and were not created. In the spirit realm, They created angels—sentient beings with individual freedom of choice and with greater might than humans.

One of those angels chose to pursue an alternate way of life and rebelled against God, becoming known as Sata

Open CHAPTER 1: THE ORIGINAL TWO SPIRIT BEINGS

CHAPTER 1: THE ORIGINAL TWO SPIRIT BEINGS

!What scripture provides the earliest snapshot in the timeline of history? Most people might say Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” But there is another passage that precedes this account. It is John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

!This brings us to the first fundamental fact about the spirit world: the existence of two distinct spirit beings who are both “God”! One is revealed in the Bible as God the Father. The One with Him is called the Word. Essentially, the term Word means that He is a spokesman. The Word is also described as God. Like the Father, the Word is also divine—a God being in every way. “In the beginning” both were already there, having existed for all eternity!

!## How God created all things

!At some point, these two great spirit beings began creating all things. The Bible reveals both were involved in creating, but each had a different

Open CHAPTER 2: THE ANGELS

CHAPTER 2: THE ANGELS

Jesus Christ’s role in creating all things is revealed in Colossians 1:16: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible.” So, part of what God created is the invisible realm.

We do not know when God created the angels, but we know it was before He created the earth. When God confronted Job near the end of his ordeal, He asked, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? . . . Who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4, 6-7).

The Bible uses the word stars as a descriptive symbol for angels in several places. The terms stars and sons of God are used here as parallel terms for the angels. They are “sons” in the sense that each of them was created by God as a unique being. Like God’s human creation, angels have intelligent minds with free moral agency (the freedom to make choices). This is an important point to keep in mind.

Open CHAPTER 3: THE ANGELS WHO SINNED

CHAPTER 3: THE ANGELS WHO SINNED

We will now look at the spirit beings who were once a harmonious part of the original angelic realm, but later chose a different path.

Prior to creating the earth, God created the angelic realm. And within that realm, God created a great variety of spirit beings with differing degrees of power and authority. Initially, all of them were in harmony with God; they all sang together and shouted for joy when God created the earth (Job 38:7).

We see in Jude 1:6 that God gave them a “domain” and an “abode” (or, as the King James Version says, an “estate” and a “habitation”). It seems at least some of them were given the earth as their domain.

Ezekiel 28:13 shows Lucifer with God in the Garden of Eden.

Other than these brief references, details of the angels’ activities on earth are not recorded. What is recorded is the tragic choice some of them made. What went wrong in the once peaceful, harmonious world of the holy angels?

**It

Open CHAPTER 4: BE VIGILANT—STAY OUT OF DANGER!

CHAPTER 4: BE VIGILANT—STAY OUT OF DANGER!

As part of a prophecy describing the end of this evil age, Revelation 12:12 informs us, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” We should therefore expect Satan and demons to become more active in the days ahead.

The very next verse shows Satan intensifying his persecution of God’s Church (symbolized here by a woman), as part of his final, desperate attempt to thwart God’s plan. “Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman.” Verse 17 also says, “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

But while God’s saints will recognize Satan’s deception, others will continue to be deceived and will be seeking and even worshipping demons! “But the rest of mankind, who were n

Open CHAPTER 5: HUMANS TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD

CHAPTER 5: HUMANS TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD

This present age is near its end. The deceptive and destructive reign of its ruler, Satan, has once again led the human race down a path of self-destruction. But this time God won’t flood the world to start over (see Genesis 6:5, 13; 9:11).

However, God will intervene before it’s too late. “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:21-22; for details of how this age will come to its end, see our online article “When Will the World End?”).

The Bible teaches us that, beginning with the return of Christ, there will be a series of three resurrections.

It begins with “firstfruits” and the first resurrection

The first resurrection marks the beginning of when humans will be changed i

Open CHAPTER 6: THE FUTURE OF ANGELS AND FALLEN ANGELS

CHAPTER 6: THE FUTURE OF ANGELS AND FALLEN ANGELS

What is the fate of Satan and the demons? After Christ returns, Satan and the demons will be banished, unable to harm or influence humans for 1,000 years. In Revelation 20:1-3 the place of Satan’s imprisonment is called the “bottomless pit” or “abyss” (New Revised Standard Version) or “pit” (New International Version), a place of restraint so that they cannot roam the earth, wreak havoc or deceive humans.

This future binding of Satan is portrayed by one of God’s annual holy days. Leviticus 16:15-22 describes a ceremony on the Day of Atonement. Two goats were involved—one representing Christ, and the other, Satan. The goat representing Christ was slain (as, indeed, Christ was slain). The goat representing Satan remained alive, but was forcefully taken out to the wilderness, away from people. (See our online article “[The Day of Atonement: Removing the Enemy, Reconciling All to God](https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/day-of-

Open CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

The spirit world—the true spirit world—is more fascinating than words can describe. God the Father and Jesus Christ created everything (apart from Themselves) that exists. In the spirit realm, these two eternally living, infinitely powerful beings created angels—sentient beings with individual freedom of choice and greater might than humans.

One of the angels (Lucifer) chose to pursue an alternate way of life and rebelled against God. One-third of the angels eventually joined him, becoming enemies of God and then enemies of His human creation. Satan’s deceitful tactics include perpetrating many fallacies about God and the spirit realm.

God created humans in His own image, with the potential to one day be born into the very family of God, rising above the angels. This is the true, amazing potential of every human being, including you!

What is the formula for entering God’s family? “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the rem