This present age is near its end. The deceptive and destructive reign of its ruler, Satan, has once again led the human race down a path of self-destruction. But this time God won’t flood the world to start over.

What is the fate of Satan and the demons? After Christ returns, Satan and the demons will be banished, unable to harm or influence humans for 1,000 years.

The spirit world—the true spirit world—is more fascinating than words can describe. God the Father and Jesus Christ created everything (apart from Themselves) that exists. In the spirit realm, these two eternally living, infinitely powerful beings created angels—sentient beings with individual freedom of choice and greater might than humans.

As part of a prophecy describing the end of this evil age, Revelation 12:12 informs us, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” We should therefore expect Satan and demons to become more active in the days ahead.

We will now look at the spirit beings who were once a harmonious part of the original angelic realm, but later chose a different path.

Prior to creating the earth, God created the angelic realm. And within that realm, God created a great variety of spirit beings with differing degrees of power and authority. Initially, all of them were in harmony with God; they all sang together and shouted for joy when God created the earth.

Jesus Christ’s role in creating all things is revealed in Colossians 1:16: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible.” So, part of what God created is the invisible realm.

Do spirit beings exist? If they do, where did they come from? Did they evolve, as many people think physical life-forms evolved? Or were they created?

What scripture provides the earliest snapshot in the timeline of history?