2-1 Angels
I submit that the Bible teaches that Angels are:
* real, personal beings
* carrying God’s name
* beings in whom God’s Spirit works to execute His will
* in accordance with His character and purpose
* and thereby manifesting Him.
One
of the most common of the Hebrew words translated ‘God’ is ‘Elohim’,
which strictly means ‘mighty ones’. The word can at times refer to the
Angels who, as God’s ‘mighty ones’, carry this name and can effectively
be called ‘God’ because they represent God. Ps. 8:5 speaks of how God
created humanity "a little lower than the Angels"- the Hebrew elohim is translated aggelous ['Angels'] in the Septuagint; and that's confirmed by the verse being quoted in Heb. 2:7 as "Angels". The record of
the creation of the world in Gen. 1 tells us that God spoke certain commands
concerning creation, “and it was done”. It was the Angels who carried
out these commands. “Angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening
unto the voice of His word” (Ps. 103:20). It is therefore reasonable to assume that when we read of ‘God’ creating
the world, this work was actually performed by the angels. Job 38:4-7
hints this way too. Man was created on the sixth day. “God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). Note that
“God” here is not just referring to God Himself in person - “Let us make
man” shows that ‘God’ is referring to more than one person. The Hebrew
word translated ‘God’ here is ‘Elohim’, meaning ‘Mighty Ones’, with reference
to the Angels. They are very real beings, sharing the same nature as God.
In the Bible there are two ‘natures’; by the very meaning of the word
it is not possible to have both these natures simultaneously.
God’s nature (‘divine nature’)
* He cannot sin (perfect) (Rom. 9:14; 6:23 cf. Ps. 90:2; Mt. 5:48; James
1:13)
* He cannot die, i.e. immortal (1 Tim. 6:16)
* He is full of power and energy (Is. 40:28)
This is the nature of God and the Angels, and the nature which was given to Jesus
after his resurrection (Acts 13:34; Rev. 1:18; Heb. 1:3). This is the
nature which the faithful are promised (Lk. 20:35,36; 2 Pet. 1:4; Is. 40:28 cf.
v 31).
Human nature
* We are tempted to sin (James 1:13-15) by a corrupt natural mind (Jer.
17:9; Mk. 7:21-23)
* We are doomed to death, i.e. mortal (Rom. 5:12,17; 1 Cor. 15:22)
* We are of very limited strength, both physically (Is. 40:30) and mentally
(Jer.10:23)
This is the nature which all men, good and bad, now possess. The end
of that nature is death (Rom. 6:23). It was the nature which Jesus had
during His mortal life (Heb. 2:14-18; Rom. 8:3; Jn. 2:25; Mk. 10:18).
It is unfortunate that the English word ‘nature’ is rather vague: we
can use it in various ways, e.g. 'John is of a generous nature - it just
isn’t in his nature to be mean; but he can be rather proud of his car,
which is just human nature, I suppose’. This is not how we will be using
the word ‘nature’ in these studies.
Angelic Appearances
The Angels, being of God’s nature, must therefore be sinless and unable
to die - seeing that sin brings death (Rom. 6:23). Often when angels appeared
on earth they looked like ordinary men.
* Angels came to Abraham to speak God’s words to him; they are described
as “three men”, whom Abraham initially treated as human beings, since
that was their appearance: “Let a little water, I beg you, be fetched,
and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree” (Gen. 18:4).
* Two of those angels then went to Lot in the city of Sodom. Again, they
were recognized only as men by both Lot and the people of Sodom. “There
came two angels to Sodom”, whom Lot invited to spend the night with him.
But the men of Sodom came to his house, asking in a threatening way: “Where
are the men which came in to you this night?”. Lot pleaded: “Unto these
men do nothing”. The inspired record also calls them ‘men’: “The men (angels)
put forth their hand” and rescued Lot... And the men said unto Lot...The
Lord has sent us to destroy” Sodom (Gen. 19:1,5,8,10,12,13).
* The New Testament comment on these incidents confirms that Angels appear
in the form of men: “Remember to entertain strangers; for some (e.g. Abraham
and Lot) have entertained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2).
* Jacob wrestled all night with a strange man (Gen. 32:24), which we
are later specifically told was an Angel (Hos. 12:4).
* Two men in shining white clothes were present at the resurrection (Lk.
24:4) and ascension (Acts 1:10) of Jesus. These were clearly Angels.
* Consider the implications of “the measure of a man, that is, of the
angel” (Rev. 21:17).
Angels Do Not Sin
As Angels share God’s nature they cannot die. Seeing that sin brings
death, it follows therefore that they cannot sin. The original Greek and
Hebrew words translated ‘angel’ mean ‘messenger’; the Angels are the messengers
or servants of God, obedient to Him, therefore it is impossible to think
of them as being sinful. The Greek word aggelos which is translated
‘angels’ is also translated ‘messengers’ when speaking of human beings
- e.g. John the Baptist (Mt. 11:10) and his messengers (Lk. 7:24); the
messengers of Jesus (Lk. 9:52) and the men who spied out Jericho (James
2:25). It is, of course, possible that ‘angels’ in the sense of human
messengers can sin.
The following passages clearly show that all the angels (not just some
of them!) are by nature obedient to God, and therefore cannot sin:
“The Lord has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules
over all (i.e. there can be no rebellion against God in heaven). Praise
the Lord, you His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments,
hearkening unto the voice of His word. Praise the Lord, all you His hosts;
you ministers of His, that do His pleasure” (Ps. 103:19-21).
“Praise him, all His angels... His hosts” (Ps. 148:2)
“The angels...are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister
for them (the believers) who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Heb. 1:13,14).
The repetition of the word “all” shows that the Angels are not divided
into two groups, one good and the other sinful. The importance of clearly
understanding the nature of the Angels is that the reward of the faithful
is to share their nature: “They which shall be accounted worthy... neither
marry... neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels”
(Lk. 20:35,36). This is a vital point to grasp. Angels cannot die: “Death... does
not lay hold of angels” (Heb. 2:16 Diaglott margin). If Angels could sin,
then those who are found worthy of reward at Christ’s return will also
still be able to sin. And seeing that sin brings death (Rom. 6:23), they
will therefore not have eternal life; if we have a possibility of sinning,
we have the capability of dying. Thus to say Angels can sin makes God’s
promise of eternal life meaningless, seeing that our reward is to share
the nature of the Angels. The reference to “the angels” (Lk. 20:35,36)
shows that there is no categorization of angels as good or sinful; there
is only one category of Angels. Dan. 12:3 says that the faithful will
shine as the stars; and stars are associated with the Angels (Job 38:7).
We will be made like Angels; and yet we will be given immortal, sinless
nature. Therefore, Angels can’t sin. Our hope is to enter into the wonderful
freedom of nature which the “Sons of God”, i.e. the Angels, now share
(Rom. 8:19).
If Angels could sin, then God is left impotent to act in our lives and
the affairs of the world, seeing that He has declared that He works through
His Angels (Ps. 103:19-21). God achieves all things by His spirit power
acting through the Angels (Ps. 104:4). That they should be disobedient
to Him is an impossibility. Christians should daily pray for God’s kingdom
to come on earth, that His will should be done here as it is now done
in heaven (Mt. 6:10). If God’s obedient Angels have to compete with sinful
angels in heaven, then His will could not be fully executed there, and
therefore the same situation would obtain in God’s future kingdom. To
spend eternity in a world which would be a perpetual battlefield between
sin and obedience is hardly an encouraging prospect, but that, of course,
is not the case. It also needs to be noted that the idea of angels who
sinned is actually pagan - the Persian myths of a good god and an evil
one also involved the idea of fallen angels; and the early Hindu vedas,
dating from around 1000 BC, likewise had this idea.
Heb.
2:16-18 repays closer reflection in this context of Angels and
possibility to sin. It speaks of the reasons why the Lord Jesus had to
be of human nature: "For verily he took not on him the nature of
angels; but he took on him the [nature of the] seed of Abraham.
Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his
brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in
things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the
people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able
to succour them that are tempted". Exactly because the Lord Jesus had
to be tempted to sin, He did not have Angelic nature but human nature.
His mission was to save humanity from human sin, not the Angels. So, He
had to have human nature so that He could be tempted to sin; and the
Hebrew writer labours the point that therefore He did not have Angels'
nature. Which, by inference, is not able to be tempted to
sin. Note again how the Bible speaks of "Angels" as if there is only
one category of Angel- obedient Heavenly beings.
Even
some of those who believe in a personal Satan figure have been driven
to admit this basic truth: Angels don't sin. Take Augustine in Contra Faustum Book 22 section 28: "And again, angels do not sin, because their
heavenly
nature
is so in
possession
of the eternal
law
that
God
is the only object of its desire, and they obey His will without any
experience of temptation. But man, whose life on this earth is a trial
on account of sin, subdues to himself what he has in common with
beasts, and subdues to
God
what he has in common with angels; till, when righteousness is perfected and immortality attained, he shall be
raised
from among beasts and ranked with angels". In his Commentary on Genesis
section 11 he wrote: "There is in the holy angels that nature which
cannot sin". His views of Satan and his interpretation of Genesis 6
[whereby Angelic beings sinned with women on earth] contradict this
position, however- one of the many contradictions in the orthodox views
of Satan and evil which we will consider in section 3-2.
Angels And Believers
There is good reason to believe that each true believer has Angels -
perhaps one special one - helping them in their lives.
* “The Angel of the Lord camps round about those that fear him, and delivers
them” (Ps. 34:7).
* “...these little ones which believe in me (i.e. weak disciples - Zech.
13:7 cf. Mt. 26:31)... in heaven their angels do always behold the face
of my Father” (Mt. 18:6,10).
* The early Christians clearly believed that Peter had a guardian Angel
(Acts 12:14,15).
* The people of Israel went through the Red Sea, and were led by an Angel
through the wilderness towards the promised land. Going through the Red
Sea represents our baptism in water (1 Cor. 10:1), and so it isn’t unreasonable
to assume that afterwards we, too, are led and helped by an Angel as we
journey through the wilderness of life towards the promised land of God’s
Kingdom.
If the Angels could be evil in the sense of being sinful, then such promises
of Angelic control and influence in our lives would become a curse instead
of a blessing.
We have seen, then, that Angels are beings...
* with God’s eternal nature
* who cannot sin
* who always do God’s commands
* and who are the beings through whom God’s spirit-power speaks and works
(Ps. 104:4).
But...?
Many
Christian groups have the idea that Angels can sin, and that sinful
angels now exist who are responsible for sin and problems on the earth.
Some of the Bible passages misunderstood that way are considered in
more detail in section 5. For the present, let's note the following points.
* It's not unreasonable to suppose that there was a creation previous to our own,
i.e. to that recorded in Gen. 1. It is also conceivable that the present
Angels came to have an awareness of “good and evil” (Gen. 3:5) through
having been in a similar situation to what we are in this life. That some
of the beings who lived in that age did sin is not to be ruled out; but
all this is the kind of speculation which men love to indulge in. The
Bible does not tell us of these things but tells us clearly what we need
to know about the present situation, which is that there are no sinful
Angels; all Angels are totally obedient to God.
* There can be no sinful beings in heaven, seeing that God is “of purer
eyes than to behold evil” (Hab. 1:13). In similar vein, Ps. 5:4,5 explains:
“Neither shall evil dwell with you. The foolish shall not stand” in God’s
heavenly dwelling place. The idea of there being rebellion against God
in heaven by sinful Angels quite contradicts the impression given by these
passages.
* The Greek word translated “angel” means “messenger” and can refer to
human beings, as we have shown. Such human “messengers” can, of course,
sin.
* That there are evil, sinful beings upon whom all the negative aspects
of life can be blamed is one of the most commonly held beliefs in paganism.
In the same way that pagan ideas concerning Christmas have entered what
passes for ‘Christianity’, so, too, have those pagan notions.
* There is only a handful of Biblical passages which can be misunderstood
to support this idea of sinful angels now being in existence. These are
considered in Section 5. Such passages cannot be allowed to contradict
the wealth of Bible teaching to the contrary which has been presented.
Digression 1: Jude And The Book Of Enoch
A rather more detailed argument- and yet a very powerful one- that Angels
don't sin is actually provided by considering the passages in 2 Peter
2 and Jude which are used by some to prove that Angels sin. We have here
what we meet many times in Holy Scripture- a series of allusions to a
contemporary, uninspired, popular piece of literature in order to show
that it is in fact wrong. This point may easily be lost on us, reading
as we do from our distance from the original context. It's been observed
that there are "more than thirty" allusions to the popular first
century BC 'Book of Enoch' in 2 Peter and Jude (1). This book claimed
that 200 Angels were expelled from Heaven and then married beautiful women
on earth. Peter and Jude allude to it in order to show how wrong it is.
Here are some of the allusions:
Jude |
Book Of Enoch |
"Enoch the Seventh from Adam prophesied" Jude 14 |
Enoch 60:8 |
"dry springs" Jude 12 |
Enoch 48:1,96:6 dried up fountains |
"waterless clouds" Jude 12 |
Enoch 18:5,41:4-5,100:11-12 |
| "reserved for blackest darkness" Jude 13 |
Enoch 21:3 "darkness shall be their dwelling" Enoch
46:6 |
"trees without fruit" Jude 12 . |
Enoch 80:3 |
"plucked up" Jude 13 |
Enoch 83:4 |
"raging waves" Jude 12 |
Enoch 101:3-5 |
|
'See the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy
ones to judge everyone and convict the ungodly of all the ungodly
acts they have done'." (Jude 14-15)
|
"See the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of
his holy ones to judge everyone and convict the ungodly of all the
ungodly acts they have done" (Enoch 1:9) |
"reserved unto the judgment of the great day" (Jude
6) |
Reserved unto the day of sorrow Enoch 45:2 |
In the Book of Enoch, it is claimed that the righteous Angel Michael
brings accusation against the 200 supposedly rebellious Angels But Peter
consciously contradicts this by stressing that "angels do not
bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the
Lord" (2 Pet. 2:11), and Jude is even more specific by saying that
this is true of Michael the Archangel (Jude 9). According to the Book
of Enoch, the man Enoch judges the sinful Angels, but 2 Peter 3 warns
that actually Angels will come with Lord Jesus in order to judge men.
We can now understand why Peter claims that "bold and arrogant these
men (the false teachers) are not afraid to slander celestial beings"
(2 Pet. 2:10)- i.e. the Angels. The Book of Enoch slandered Angels by
claiming 200 of them sinned. As Jude 8 puts it, the false teachers "reject
authority and slander celestial beings". The idea that the 200 Angels
had sexual encounters with enticing women was therefore a slander. We
need to reflect on the implications of all this- for claiming that Angels
sin is actually spoken of by Peter and Jude as if it is serious blasphemy.
Those early Christians were returning to their earlier Jewish and Pagan
beliefs, which according to 2 Pet. 2:22 is to be seen as a dog returning
to its vomit. This is how serious the issue is.
It should be noted that the Book of Enoch and other such writings are
frequently alluded to in the Apocalypse- again, to deconstruct them and
show a first century readership the real meaning of the terms
used in the popular uninspired literature of the time. Thus the descriptions
of the Heavenly "Son of man" in Enoch 47:3-7 are alluded to
in the description of the Lord Jesus in Rev. 1:15-17 (2).
Notes
(1) Steven Cox, The Angels That Sinned (Hyderabad: Printland,
2000).
(2) This and many other such allusions are to be found tabulated in Hugh
Schonfield, The Original New Testament: Revelation (London: Firethorn
Press, 1985) .
