Can Satan, Demons, and Angels Still Show Mercy and Have Feelings like Joy, Sadness, and Fear? By Bodie Hodge, AiG–U.S.

In our secularized culture, there is a lot of mythology surrounding Satan, angels, demons, and so on. This is nothing new when it comes to movies, books, and TV. Even popular television series like Supernatural, portray these characters in an unbiblical light, and sadly, this is the place that many people get their theology.¹

For example, the show portrays angels as having no feelings, being strictly bound to follow orders, or being in rebellion (i.e., fallen angels). In the series, demons are seen as bad, but some are trying to be “good.” Although there is a sprinkling of the Bible throughout the show, God is portrayed more like a distant, deistic God closer to the Hindu “Brahma.” The Bible reveals a loving God came down to save mankind from the mess of sin we brought upon ourselves.

So why is this so pertinent? I had a question come up in an interview recently about Lucifer, his fallen angels, demons, and angels. The person asked if these beings have feelings like joy or mercy and so on. I quickly picked up hints of the type of theology that is being promoted on shows like Supernatural.

My “off the cuff” answer was based on some of the research I used to answer the question for the book The Fall of Satan entitled: “Were Satan and the angels (or other heavenly host) created in the ‘image of God’?” I pointed out that the Bible reveals that angels sang for joy at creation (Job 38:7) and have joy when people become believers (Luke 15:10).

Luke 8:29–36 describes Christ’s encounter with Legion (called this because many demons had possessed the man). They begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss. These demons clearly displayed the emotion of fear, since they did not want to be tormented “before the time” (Matthew 8:29).

For a short interview, these examples were enough to show that angels and demons do have emotions. Of course, there is more on this in the chapter. Angels can worship (Hebrews 1:6) and have desires (1 Peter 1:12). Satan also has desires (John 8:44) and “great wrath” (Revelation 12:12).

One thing we must never forget to do is look to the Scriptures to find these answers, rather than to movies and TV shows. The Bible is the only reliable source of information on Satan, demons, angels, etc., so one would be unwise to neglect it.

We need to be aware that people are being influenced by what they read and watch. We see people in this next generation being blown “to and fro” by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). This is because they have failed to trust in God and His Word as the previous generation did. They have turned to themselves to develop doctrines on Satan, angels, demons, life, salvation, marriage, and a multitude of other subjects—many times being influenced by “Hollywood” or other humanistic philosophies that often appear in the classroom, like evolution and millions of years.

It is time to put God and His Word first in every area of your life so that you may be able to discern the world’s teachings and know how to refute them biblically. Let the Bible be the authority.