Who is Satan’s Angel?

In what we call Paul’s second letter to the congregations in Corinth, there is a section in which he was declaring his credentials as an apostle to them (10:12 – 12:13).  There, he mentioned a thorn in his flesh, which he described as an angel, or messenger, from satan.  It was given to him to prevent him from becoming proud over the level of revelation he had received regarding Jesus and His Kingdom.

Paul gave no details about the “thorn” that would reveal how it affected his flesh. Through the years I have heard many people teaching on this section of Scripture identify Paul’s thorn in terms of some annoyance they experienced in their lives. If they were suffering from poor digestion and could not get free from it, that was their “thorn.” Poor eyesight, lusts, etc…

When Paul asked the Lord three times to deliver him from the angel, he was told “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” I am using the word “angel” to describe the thorn because Paul did. The word he wrote is in the New Testament 175 times. 7 of those times, it is translated in the KJV as “messenger,” and the rest it is translated “angel.” That is because they mean the same thing.

Therefore, the identity of the thorn is pretty unclear. I would like to suggest that it is not likely to have been sickness. My reason for believing that includes the idea that I can’t remember any time Jesus told someone “stay sick.” Even the Syro-Phoenician woman, whose daughter was sick, encountered Jesus resisting her request initially, continued to ask until she received. The lesson to be learned seems to be the same as that in Luke 18, when Jesus “taught them a parable so that they would always pray and never faint,” the persistent widow did not stop asking until she received the answer she knew was just.

I suggest that Jesus wants us to be free from the powers of both sin and sickness. If some spirit – some thorn – is tormenting you, continue to ask the Righteous Judge for vengeance against your adversary (Luke 18:1-8).

Don’t surrender to anyone but Jesus.