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R.C. Sproul, Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons .
ChristianFocus, 2011.
Parts Three and Four: Angels and Demons
The third part of Sproul s book is the longest of the four,
which means, naturally, that for him, it s themost interesting and
the most important. Its topic: angels. He commences with a
discussion of themodern worldview of the subject and while
mentioning Bultmann, he does so without disparagement.He simply
states Bultmann s views and then moves on immediately to his
own.
He further, and I think correctly, suggests that when the Bible
does speak of angels, more often than notthe focus is their
heavenly activity rather than their earthly.
But he errs when he opines that
There is an army of angels who are sometimes called seraphim
andsometimes called cherubim , terms that Scripture seems to
useinterchangeably (p. 97).
This is clearly not the case at all as both words are used in
the Hebrew Bible with distinct meanings.
Overall, Sproul will please those who accept the notion of the
intervention and intrusion into our world of super-human powers.
And he will not please those who reject such ideas. And, to be fair
to him, everyreader should know that Sproul is preaching to the
choir . He isn t interested in persuading agnostics orunbelievers;
he s interested in offering words of encouragement and comfort to
those who share hisworldview.
Judged on those terms, Sproul s treatment of angels has to be
judged a success in spite of the fact that hegets a number of
technical details wrong (for example, the distinction Scripture
draws between cherubimand seraphim).
The final, and shortest section of the book considers Satan and
his underlings.
Karl Barth wisely observed once that speaking of demons and
giving them even a little attention wasprobably a bad idea because
they were hardly worthy of it. And then he went on to do exactly
that,because he had to since Scripture had. And that seems to be
the disposition Sproul has towards thesubject. He recognizes the
existence of Satan and demons (and is surprised by people who
believe inGod but don t believe there s a devil), but he also has
little time to spend on them.
Suffice it to say, Sproul is certain of their existence and
power and he is equally sure that satan and his
hoards are defeated by Christ.
Sproul s work is interesting, engaging, and even enjoyable. Will
it be palatable to most academics?Certainly not. But he s not
writing for that crowd. His audience is something other altogether,
and theywill love his book.
Jim West,Quartz Hill School of Theology
