Do angels and demons really exist, or were they fabricated by the Church in the Middle Ages to frighten the populace into submission? Early Christian writers were clear on the matter. Here’s what they had to say:
Clement of Rome
“Let our glorifying and our confidence be in him. Let us be subject to his will. Let us consider the whole multitude of his angels, how they stand waiting to minister to his will” (Letter to the Corinthians 34:5 [A.D.80]).
Ignatius of Antioch
“Let no one be deceived: Even the heavenly beings and the angels in their glory and rulers visible and invisible–even for these there will be judgment, if they do not believe in the blood of Christ” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:1 [A.D. 110]).
Hermas
“God planted the vineyard, that is, he created the people and gave them over to his Son. The Son appointed the angels to guard over them, and he himself cleansed them of their sins, laboring much and undergoing much toil” (The Shepherd 5:6:2 [inter A.D. 140-155]).
Athenagoras of Athens
“Who, then, would not be astonished to hear those called atheists, who speak of God the Father and of God the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and who proclaim their power in union and their distinction in order? Nor is our theology confined to these; for we recognize also a multitude of angels and ministers whom God, the Creator and designer of the world, by means of his Word, set in their places and gave into their charge the elements and the heavens and the world and what is in it, and the good order of all” (Supplication for the Christians 10:4 [A.D.177]).
Irenaeus
“The devil, however, since he is an apostate angel, is able, as he was in the beginning, to lead astray and to deceive the mind of man for the transgressing of God’s commands. Little by little he can darken the hearts of those who would try to serve him, to the point that, forgetting the true God, they adore him as if he were God” (Against Heresies 5:24:3 [inter A.D. 180-199]).
Tertullian
“The business [of the fallen angels, who are the demons,] is to corrupt mankind. Thus, from the very first, spiritual wickedness augured man’s destruction. Therefore are they everywhere in a moment. The whole world is but one place to them. What and where anything happens they can know and tell with equal facility. Their swiftness is thought of as divine, because their substance is not understood” (Apology 22:4, 8 [A.D. 197]).
Origen
“In regard to the devil and his angels and opposing powers, the ecclesiastical teaching maintains that these beings do indeed exist, but what they are or how they exist is not explained with sufficient clarity. This opinion, however, is held by most: that the devil was an angel and, having apostatized, he persuaded as many angels as possible to fall away with himself; and these, even to the present time, are called his angels” (The Fundamental Doctrines 1:Preface:6 [inter A.D. 220-230]).
Origen
“To every man there are two attending angels, the one of justice and the other of wickedness. If there be good thoughts in our heart, and if righteousness be welling up in our soul, it can scarcely be doubted that an angel of the Lord is speaking to us. If, however, the thoughts of our heart be turned to evil, an angel of the devil is speaking to us” (Homilies on Luke Hom. 12 [A.D. 233]).
Eusebius Pamphilius
“For when God willed it, seeing that he is the only good and the source and beginning of everything, many participants in his treasures were produced. It was just then that every rational creature was sent forth, some as incorporeal, intelligent and divine powers–angels, indeed, and archangels–immaterial and entirely pure spirits; and besides these, there were the souls of men supplied with a nature that is independent and of free will in respect to the choosing of what is noble or its opposite” (Proof of the Gospel 4:1 [inter A.D. 316-322]).
Athanasius
“And while in times past demons, occupying springs or rivers or trees or stones, cheated men by deceptive appearances and imposed upon the credulous by their juggleries, now, after the divine coming of the Word, an end is put to their deceptions. For by the sign of the cross, a man but using it, their wiles are put to flight” (Treatise on the Incarnation of the Word 47:2 [A.D. 318])
Cyril of Jerusalem
“What about this? Someone may say, ‘Is it not written that the angels of the little ones always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven?’ But the angels see God not as he is, but insofar as they themselves are capable. It is Jesus himself who says, ‘Not that anyone has seen the Father, except him that is from God–he has seen the Father.’ The angels, then, behold as much as they are able, and the archangels, as much as is their capacity; and the thrones and dominations, more than the others mentioned, yet less that his true dignity. Only the Holy Spirit, with the Son, can behold him properly” (Catechetical Lectures 6:6 [A.D. 350]).
Cyril of Jerusalem
“After this we make mention of the heavens and the earth and the sea, of the sun and the moon, of the stars; and of all creation, rational and irrational, visible and invisible; of angels, archangels, virtues, dominations, principalities, powers, thrones, of the many-faced cherubim, saying in effect with David, ‘Magnify the Lord with me.’ We make mention also of the seraphim, whom Isaiah, in the Holy Spirit, saw standing around in a circle at the throne of God, with two of their wings veiling their face; with two, their feet; and with two, flying, while they exclaimed, `Holy, holy, holy Lord of Hosts.’ For this reason we recite this theology handed down by the seraphim, that we may be participants with the superterrestrial armies in the singing of their hymn” (Ibid. 23: Mystagogic 5:6).
Cyril of Jerusalem
“‘Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.’ The divine and blessed angels of God do the will of God, as David says when he sings, ‘`Bless the Lord, all you his angels, you that are mighty in strength, doing the things he wills.’ In effect, then, in so praying, you say, ‘`As your will is done in the angels, Master, so also let it be done on Earth in me.'” (Ibid. 23: Mysta-gogic 5:14)
Cyril of Jerusalem
“‘But deliver us from evil.’ If ‘lead us not into temptation’ meant not being tempted at all, he would not have said, ‘But deliver us from evil.’ Evil signifies the demon adversary, from whom we pray to be delivered. Then, after the prayer has been completed, you say, ‘Amen.’ Through this ‘Amen,’ which signifies ‘So be it,’ you set your seal upon the petitions of this divinely-taught prayer” (Ibid. 23: Mystagogic 5:18).