Are Fallen Angels Immortal or are
Satan and His Fallen Angels
Destroyed in the Fires of Hell?

Often Satan is pictured as being in control of Hell where he tends the fires of the agonizing wicked. Thus Satan is pictured as tormenting the wicked. Is that truly what is going to happen? Is that happening now?

This kind of arrangement would seem to make God and Satan partners, because who is it that would have to set up Satan as the one in charge of the punishment of the wicked? Would God be in agreement to this kind of arrangement?

Is Satan actually able to provide a service for God or are they actually true enemies?

Let's look in the Bible to see what kind of relation God has with Satan.

12. How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
13. For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
14. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.
15. Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol (hell), To the lowest depths of the Pit. Isaiah 14:12-15 NKJV

In Isaiah, we find that Satan wanted to be like God. He wanted to have the power and respect that God had. And so He became proud and aggressive in his actions. In Ezekiel we have more information about what happened with Satan who originally was the anointed covering cherub:

14. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Ezekiel 28:14-16

In Ezekiel 28, we see that originally God created Satan as being perfect in all his ways. But because of his becoming proud and wanting to be like God, he became full of violence. He became a profane thing and so God had to cast him out of the Mountain of God. In addition, we find that God is going to destroy this being.

In Jude and 2 Peter we find that Satan and his evil angels could no longer stay in heaven. God cast them down to hell or the Earth. So, they had to leave heaven, their first estate.

6. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Jude 1:6

4. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 2 Peter 2:4

Satan took his fallen angels and came to the earth to deceive Adam and Eve. Today the whole world is attacked and deceived by them.

Now, in Revelation we get a good clue that Satan was actually able to get back into heaven again after he was initially thrown out. But in the last days Satan will be thrown out of heaven again for the last time. Look at this:

7. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:7-9

We can see that Satan was kicked out with his evil angels, but this almost looks like it is a description of when Satan was first kicked out. But look at this:

10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Revelation 12:10-12

This time around, Satan is cast down after he has accused God's people before our God day and night! This happened after he has been accusing us before God! In addition, Satan is now pictured as being really mad, because he now knows that he only has a short time left. There is not much time left for him! This shows us that this is at the end because there is only a short time lift.

Thus, Satan is now even more like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour with the time he has left. So the end of time will be especially hard for God's people.

8. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8

What we see throughout the Bible is that God is going to destroy Satan and his evil angels. We will be looking at more of these texts soon, but for now let's look at the verse we've already seen:

16. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Ezekiel 28:14-16

It should be clear that there can be no real agreement between God and Satan. God is going to destroy him! They are enemies. So, Satan cannot be in charge of Hell by any kind of agreement!

Now, some say that angels are immortal and cannot die. How could God kill and destroy the evil angels if they cannot die and are immortal? So, because of this belief, some believe these angels will be tormented both day and night forever and ever. Is that true?

Let's first find out what is going to happen to the evil angels.

6. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Jude 1:6

4. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 2 Peter 2:4

The evil angels who rebelled against God were not allowed to continue living in Heaven which was their first estate. Now they are reserved in everlasting chains for judgment day!

2. Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

We also find that it is God's people, the saints, who will not only judge wicked people, but they will judge the wicked angels.

So, we can see that these angels are now waiting for judgement. But we need to find out whether this judgement results in death for these angels or to be tormented forever.

To help answer this question, we must turn to 1 Timothy. Basically, it says that God alone has immortality. That means no one else has immortality.

13. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,
14. that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing,
15. which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
16. who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:13-16

If God alone has immortality, that means all others can die. Does that mean the angels too? Are they all going to die?

No, We know that the angels in heaven will live forever, however it is on condition that they do not rebel and sin against God. We know this because of what the Bible says will happen to Satan and the evil angels who followed him. We will see that Satan and his evil angels will indeed die.

Let's first listen to what the evil angels themselves say. Jesus had some conversations with some of these lost evil angels and we can even feel the terror they must feel as the time approaches

33. And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,
34. Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. Luke 4:34

It is very interesting to me that this demon asked Jesus if He was here to destroy them. I believe that their own destruction is on their mind.

29. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Matthew 8:29

It is also clear that the fallen angels have one great fear. They know that their time is coming when they will be destroyed and they view Christ's presence as a tormentation reminding them of it before the time.

James speaks of this fear the demons have of their future:

19. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. James 2:19.

Actually, the Bible clearly does NOT teach that angels cannot die. Nowhere does it suggest that they cannot die. Instead we find that it is only God who is immortal. The Bible also says He will destroy the evil angels. Here are some more of the verses that speak of their destruction.

These first few verses refer to only Satan:

14. Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15. and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Hebrews 2:14

Of course we already saw this next text:

16. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Ezekiel 28:14-16

From the text in Hebrews, we see that one of the reasons why Jesus became flesh and blood was so that through His death, He would be able to destroy the devil. It is specifically through His death that Jesus has power to destroy Satan!

We see the same thing in the next text. Christ was manifested on earth so that He can destroy the works of the devil.

8. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8

Satan and his evil angels are destined to be placed in the same everlasting fire, at the end, that the wicked people will be placed in. We see that in Matthew 25:

41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: Matt. 25:41

So both evil people and evil angels will be placed in the same everlasting fire. The wicked people will experience their second death which is permanent. There is no coming back. Satan and the evil angels, while they have not died before, they will also be permanently destroyed. They will also never live again.

10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:10, 14-15.

In Ezekiel 28 we already saw that God will destroy Satan. But now we will look at a few more verses that describe in more specific language how Satan will be destroyed:

14. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. Ezekiel 28:14-19.

Here we not only see that God will destroy Satan so that he will never be alive anymore, but God says He will set a fire from within Satan that will devour him. Thus the fire will devour him until he is nothing more than ashes.

We already saw that there will be a fire that is prepared for both the devil and his angels:

41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: Matt. 25:41

So, we can see that the evil angels will be destroyed in the same way that Satan will be destroyed. A fire that is set from within them that brings them to ashes.

Malachi helps confirm this idea:

1. For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, Says the LORD of hosts, That will leave them neither root nor branch.
2. But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3. You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this, Says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 4:1-3.

Malachi says that all that do wickedly will be stubble; Not just wicked humans. It is an emphatic statement. "And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble." That includes both people and angels because they have both done wickedly against God!

Jesus often speaks of us being branches that are either attached or grafted in to the vine which is Jesus (John 15:4-6; Romans 11:17-24). In the domain of wickedness, Satan is the root, since he is the root of all evil.

Evil originated with Satan. So when God through Malachi says both root and branch are destroyed, it means that Satan, the root of all evil, will be destroyed along with all his followers of evil which are the branches. Both evil people and angels will be destroyed with Satan their leader.

Let us go back to Revelation and cover something we overlooked:

10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:10, 14-15.

Within the same chapter, and only a few verses apart, this lake of fire is described as lasting for ever and ever and it is also called the second death! How can it be both?

The second death means that there is no coming back. They will never live again. This is the same aspect, that of permanent death, that the wicked angels will also experience.

So, since the second death is well developed in Revelation, there must be something wrong with our understand of the phrase "for ever and ever".

Now lets look at this phrase: "shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever". What does it mean?

To the Hebrew, the word "everlasting," "forever," and "eternal" were like the word "tall". These words describe an unmeasured duration, just as "tall" is used to describe an unmeasured height. The meaning can vary depending on what or who is being described. We can talk about a tall mountain and a tall man. But they are not the same height.

Jonah says that the time he spent in the belly of the whale was "forever", but in another place we find that he says he was in the whale for three days:

6. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. Jonah 2:6

17. Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 1:17

So in Jonah's case, "for ever" means three days.

Here is another example, in Old Testament Hebrew, where forever only means how long a person will live:

12. If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
13. And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;
14. you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD has blessed you with, you shall give to him.
15. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.
16. And if it happens that he says to you, 'I will not go away from you,' because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you,
17. then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. Deuteronomy 15:12-17

Obviously, the person can only be a servant for as long as he or she lives. He or she does not live for eternity. So forever means only his or her life-time. The idea that forever in the Old Testament Bible can be just a limited lifetime of an individual is common.

Coming back to Revelation 20:

10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:10, 14-15.

So, in the case of the wicked, forever is however long it takes for the fire to fully consume them until they are just ashes.

For a more in-depth study on "forever and ever" click on the icon to the right to see more: Do the wicked get tormented day and night for ever and ever? To see the Bible evidence click on the link to the right (A new window will appear).

The next link is a more general study of Hell fire. It looks at the preponderance of evidence all throughout the Bible saying that the Wicked will not burn forever in the flames.

Hell Fire, does it last forever? To see the Bible evidence that the wicked will be destroyed click on the link to the right (A new window will appear).

The individuals which are called beast and the false prophet both represent various talented evil angels that were also forced to leave heaven when Satan was originally kicked out. Of course, the dragon is Satan. They are the angels that left heaven. I don't believe them to be humans. However, either way, we will find out that they are all destroyed.

When the rebellion originally started, Michael fought against Satan, the dragon. Obviously Michael had the true loyal angels of God, but Satan was able to convince 1/3 of the angels in heaven to follow him!

3. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. Revelation 12:3-4

When Satan was kicked out of heaven, all these now evil angels were kicked out with him. Thus, they all left their first estate, their own habitation.

6. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Jude 1:6

4. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 2 Peter 2:4

So they came down to the earth which God had just created and they tempted Adam and Eve. While it is true that God holds the majority of these evil angels in chains of darkness, it also sounds like from the following Scripture that Satan and his angels were still able to go to heaven again:

7. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Revelation 12:7-12

It seems that in the last days there will be war in heaven. Satan will use his army of evil angels to try to fight against Michael and His angels. But Satan will lose the battle and they have already lost heaven anyway, their first estate.

But all these evil angels including Satan are reserved for judgment on that great day. Revelation 20 is where the judgement of the wicked and the evil angels can be seen. We also see where the evil angels are even now, before they are destroyed, they are held in everlasting chains.

In 1 Corinthians below we find that the righteous saints will judge the world. They will also judge the fallen angels who rebelled against God with Satan. These evil angels are already declaired wicked and they are cursed to be thrown into the fire. But the righteous saints will determine how much they will suffer before they die.

For a more in-depth study on "forever and ever" and the righteous judging the wicked: click on the icon to the right to see more: Do the wicked get tormented day and night for ever and ever? To see the Bible evidence click on the link to the right (A new window will appear).

2. Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

In that great day of judgement (Rev 20), the wicked people will be destroyed in the everlasting fire which was prepared for Satan and his evil angels. So Satan's angels will be destroyed.

41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: Matt. 25:41

I told you that I believe these individuals, which are called the beast and the false prophet, all represent various talented evil angels. The verse above says that the fire is prepared for Satan and all his evil angels. That means the dragon, the beast, the false prophet, even hell and death. They will all be destroyed.

Now, this is interesting, in Revelation, the beast is spoken of as a kingdom etc. but later we find there is a demon by the same name. It must be that these special demons are the power behind kingdoms and powers on the earth. In the verse below, both the beast and the false prophet are thrown into the fire.

20. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Revelation 19:20

So, this verse specifically shows that the false prophet is cast into the lake of fire. But the translators were not consistent when they translated these verses. In Rev. 20:14 below, we see that this final destruction by fire is called the second death. This is the death in which there is no return. They will never be raised up again because they will be completely destroyed. Above in verse 20, we saw that both the beast and the false prophet were thrown into the lake of fire. So that would mean they were destroyed.

However in Rev. 20:10 below, we see that the devil is cast into the same place where the beast and the false prophet are. Does that mean the beast and the false prophet are still existing and suffering after 1000 years?

10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:10, 14-15.

Are the beast and false prophet still being tormented after 1000 years? Remember, the beast and false prophet were thrown in the fire when Jesus comes, the second coming of Jesus (Revelation 19:20). That is before the 1000 years. Now Satan is placed where they were placed, after the 1000 years, but are the beast and false prophet still there suffering in the fires of Hell after all that time?

The word "are" is not found in the text at all. It is added according to the opinion of the translators. I have found 9 different version that translate it differently. NIV and New International Reader's Version use "had been thrown"; and Tyndale New Testament, International Standard Version, Weymouth New Testament, Orthodox Jewish Bible, Amplified, and English Standard Version use "were".

This is not an issue that exists because of the differences between the majority text of the early church and the variant Alexandrian texts that are the source of most of the changes in today's modern translations. Because Tyndale was translating from the majority text just like the KJV. I believe that it was a logical assumption by the translators to place "are" because they believe that the soul cannot die. But of course, the soul can die:

20. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

If "are" is used, it suggests that the beast and false prophet is still suffering after 1000 years which would agree with the idea that the wicked suffer for ever and ever and ever, forever. However, if "had been thrown" or "were" is used, it suggests that the suffering is of a shorter period. That the wicked will be destroyed by the fire. Thus forever and ever means until they die just as the "Tormented Day and Night" web page suggests.

There is nothing in the text, in the original language, which says that the beast and false prophet will be still burning and suffering. All that can be said is that Satan is put in the same place that the others had been placed.

So, there is nothing to suggest that evil angels cannot die nor be destroyed. Also, we have seen that all the evil angels will be destroyed and we also see that the false prophet is also thrown into the fire. That is the second death in which there is no return. They are destroyed forever.