If the fallen angels are imprisoned in Tartarus until Judgement, who are the demons? And why is Satan at large?

Question:

Hi Sumair:
I really liked your slideshow (click here to visit post) outlining a biblical view of Heaven and Hell.  I have one question, though. If the fallen angels are imprisoned in Tartarus until Judgement, who are the demons, and why is Lucifer (Satan) at large? I had always understood the fallen angels to be the demons, but if they are in Tartarus, how can this be so?

Thanks,
Christina

Answer:

Hi Christina,

Thank you for visiting TiS and asking such an insightful question. Often, we tend to do a cursory scan of a given topic and don’t appreciate the nuances or implications of our learning. Your question is one that probes into this topic of demonology, which is an area that has varied views due to the lack of clarity and content on these entities especially in the Old Testament (terminology, historical developments, and theoretical issues). However, there are some insights we can glean from Scripture which will allow us to address some of the themes brought to surface from your inquiry.

Firstly, the fallen angels referenced in 2 Peter 2:4 are not the demons that roam about today - as you correctly pointed out this would be contrary to the fact they are presently chained in darkness. Some scholars posit that the fallen angels are the “sons of God” (Genesis 6) who had relations with human women (corroborated by Jude 6). As we establish our terminology, one must note that “fallen angels” can loosely be called “demons” (the devil’s angels mentioned …

Was Satan an Angel?

Question: Was Satan an Angel?

Answer: Satan is often assumed to be an angel, an archangel, and sometimes in combination with that (as the Mormons believe) he is the brother of Jesus (will discuss this false claim in a future post). We can gain some insight into the nature of Satan from Ezekiel 28. Although different scholars present different levels of certainty that this passage relates to Satan, when reading the text and the level of the description this doesn’t seem to be able to describe a physical king nor does the specific reference to being anointed a “guardian cherub” fit. According to Ezekiel 28:14, we can see that Satan is presented as a cherub. This is significant as it shows the level of creature that Satan was. Cherubs are among the highest ranking and most privileged of the angels, since they have extraordinary access to the presence of God. Cherubs are above angels and held a very high position in the heavenly realms. The cherubim (plural of cherub) weren’t merely angels but were in the inner courts in the presence of God and covered the throne of God. Interestingly, cherubim are often depicted as chubby little cupid-like angels and yet this isn’t what they are. How do we know? Ezekiel 1 and 4 provides several passages that allow us to create a visual profile of these creatures.

• Ezekiel 1:4-8 - “I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north  —  an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like

…