ANGELOLOGY: STUDY OF ANGELS, SATAN, DEMONS
James F. Myers
A. Definition
of Angels
1. Angel: Hebrew word malak simply
means "messenger"; may refer to a human messenger (1 Kings 19:2) or
to a divine messenger (Genesis 28:12)
a. As
a divine messenger, an angel is a heavenly being charged by God with some commission.
The word is found more than 100 times in the Old Testament.
b. Greek
word angelos occurs 175 times in the New Testament. Only used six times
of men. Also means "messenger . . . who speaks and acts in the place of
the one who sends him.”
2. Sons
of God: Angels are called "sons of God", in that, in their unfallen
(non-sinful) estate, they
are God's sons by virtue of His creation of them (Job 1:6 38:7).
3. Holy
ones: Psalm 89:5,7 in the sense that they are "set apart" by God and
for God as attendants to
His holiness.
4. Host:
Understood to denote the armies of heaven (Psa 148:2): "Host of heaven;”
Sabaoth (1 Sa 1:11;
1 Sa 17:45), and as the millions of heavenly beings that surround God, they are
called "hosts" in the phrase, "Lord of hosts”: (Isa 31:4; Jam
5:4; Rom 9:29; Jer 5:14; 38:17; Hos 12:5). "Vast number"
B. Existence
of Angels
1. Thirty-four books of the Bible refer to
angels (17 in the OT, 17 in the NT).
2. Critical
to the belief in angels is the relationship of angels to Christ. The existence
of angels is tied to the reliability of the testimony of Christ.
a. He
was helped by angels following His temptation by Satan (Mt 4:11) and during His
agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43), and angels were present at His
resurrection (Matthew 28:5-6) and ascension (Acts 1:10-11).
b. He
referred to the resurrected state as being comparable to that of angels (Mt
22:29-30).
c. He
taught that angels would regather the nation Israel at the time of His return
(Mt 25:31-32, 41).
d. He
said that He could pray, and that the Father would provide for Him more than 12
legions of angels to protect Him (Matthew 26:53).
3. One cannot reject the existence of angels
without rejecting the testimony of Jesus and the Bible.
C. Creation
of the Angels
1. Time of angelic
creation
a. At some point in eternity past, God
created an innumerable host of angels.
b. The
angels had already been created before the earth was created (Job 38:4-7),
hence, they were created in eternity past.
c. The
term “sons of God” in Job 38 refers to angels (cf Job 1:6; 2:1).
d. Job
38:4 uses the Hebrew yasad, which indicates the laying of a foundation
in the initial stages of construction (cf. Exodus 9:18; 1 Kings 5:17; Ezra
3:6). Thus, the angels were created before the events of Gen. 1:1.
2. Nature of
angelic creation
a. Angels
are created beings. The Lord created the angels by His word (Psalm 148:2-5).
Christ created the angels that they might ultimately give praise to Him
(Colossians 1:16).
b. Every
creature, including the angels, was created by God through the Lord Jesus
Christ (John 1:3; Col. 1:16).
c. Since
God is perfect and cannot create anything less than perfect because of to His absolute righteousness, He cannot be
involved in the creation of evil (Hab. 1:13a).
d. Thus,
all the angels were originally created perfect, holy, and righteous.
e. God
did not create the devil or demons as evil beings. They were originally created
as perfect angels, but subsequently sinned.
f. Since
angels are created, they are not the result of transformation from some other
state of being.
1) People who go to heaven do not become
angels. In fact, believers become judges of angels (1 Corinthians 6:3).
2) Angels are not babies who have died.
3) Distinction is made in Hebrews 12:22-23
between the spirits of just men made perfect and an innumerable company of
angels.
3. Number of angels
a. Angels
were created simultaneously and innumerable.
b. The
statement of creation in Colossians 1:16 points to the creation of angels as a
singular act; the act of creating does not continue (Genesis 2:1-2; Hebrews
4:3).
c. Therefore,
angelic numbers remain static.
1) Since they are created, angels are not born.
2) Hence, there is no need for angels to marry (Mark 12:25).
3) They do not die.
4) They do not reproduce (Matthew 22:30).
d. The number of angels is
"myriads" (Hebrews 12:22). The term "myriads" literally
means 10,000, but here it denotes "countless thousands". The
repetition of "myriads" in Revelation 5:11 suggests the number of
angels is countless. (Cf. Psalm 68:17; Daniel 7:10; 2 Kings 6:17; Luke
2:13).
e. Jesus
indicated that more than 12 legions of angels were available to Him. A legion
consists of 4,000-6,000. So this means that, at the very least, He could call
upon more than 50,000 angels.
D. Nature and Attributes of
Angels
1. Angels
are rational, personal beings. They exhibit the traits of personality.
b. Angels
have volition to obey the commands of God (Hebrews 1:6; Matthew 24:31).
c. Angels
can speak, and sing, and shout; therefore, they have capacity to communicate.
2. Angels are spirit
beings.
a. Although
angels may reveal themselves to mankind in the form of human bodies (Gen 18:2;
cf 19:1), they are called "spirits" (Psalm 104:4; Heb 1:7, 14;
Ephesians 6:12), suggesting they do not have corporeal bodies (Luke 24:39).
b. Therefore,
also, they cannot die but are immortal (Luke 20:35-36).
c. Because
they are spirit beings, they are not limited as to space, and many may occupy
the same space (Mark 5:9, 13; Luke 8:30).
d. Being
spirit in nature does not mean omnipresence, nor the ability to travel from
place to place instantaneously (Daniel 9:21-23; 10:12-13).
3. Angels are holy beings
a. Because God is holy, He cannot create
that which is unholy. Therefore, angels were created as holy beings.
b. Some angels rebelled against God and
followed Satan, but the rest are holy and will remain in that state.
c. There will be holy angels at the Second
Advent of Christ (Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; Acts 10:22; Revelation 14:10).
d. Apparently, these angels are no longer
capable of sinning, even as believers in eternity will be incapable of sinning.
4. Angelic ability
a. Compared
to man:
1) Angels are of a higher order than man, and are therefore
superior to man in ability (Psalm 8:4-5). Mankind, including Jesus Christ as a
man, is "lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7).
2) Angels are not subject to death (Luke 20:36).
3) Angels have greater wisdom than man (2 Sam 14:20), but are not
omniscient.
a) Their knowledge is limited (Matt 24:36).
4) Angels have greater power than man (Matthew 28:2; Acts 5:19; 2
Pet 2:11), but they are not omnipotent. Their power is limited (Daniel 10:13).
5) Angels are invisible (usually) Numbers 22:22-31.
6) Angels have limitations compared to man as regards future relationships.
Angels are not created in the image of God, therefore do not share man's
glorious destiny of redemption in Christ.
70 At the end of the age, man will be exalted above angels (1 Cor
6:3) and will become superior to angels (Hebrews 2:5-10; Romans 8:17).
b. Compared
to God
1) Angels, although superior to man, are subject to God’s
authority (2 Samuel 24:16; Revelation 7:1-4).
4) They are not worthy of worship, in spite of their superior
existence (Col. 2:18; cp. Rev. 19:10; 22:8-9).
5. Angelic gender
a. Angels
who appear to men always appear in the form of males, and masculine pronouns
are always used for them (e.g. Genesis 19). Although, when angels are seen in
non-earthly contexts, they do not look like men.
b. It
is likely that angels do not have male/female gender characteristics as we
think of them, or else they all are males.
c. Before
the Flood, not only could angels appear in human form, but at lest some could
procreate with human women (Gen. 6:1-4). Mark 12:25 says that the angels in heaven do not marry. (See addl Gn 6)
6. Angelic appearance
a. When
seen on earth
1) They appear as young men, never as old men, children, or
women.
2) Moreover, the effect of their appearance was generally to
arouse awe and/or fear (Dan. 10:4-9; Mt. 28:2-6; Lk. 1:11-12, 26-30; 2:9).
3) Their facial appearance, judging from Acts 6, is a
distinguishing characteristic—probably some sort of radiant light. When Stephen
was on trial, “all who sat in the
council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel”
(Acts 6:15).
4) Their appearance and clothing like a brilliant light (Daniel
10:5ff; Matthew 28:3; Luke 24:4).
5) When angels visited Abraham in Genesis 18, they walked, sat,
talked, and ate as ordinary men.
6) The men of Sodom sought to have sexual relations with the angels,
whom they assumed to be men (Genesis 19:1, 5).
7) Angels also appeared as men at the resurrection and ascension
of Christ (Mark 16:5; Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10).
b. When
seen in non-earthly settings
When angels are seen in
non-earthly settings, they appear as creatures unlike anything man has ever
encountered.
1) Seraphs have six wings (Isaiah 6).
2) Cherubs are described in Ezekiel 1, 10:
a) One head with four faces
b) Four wings
c) Full of eyes
d) Hoofed feet
e) Wheels beneath so they need not turn
f) Human-like hands under their wings
3) Living Creatures are described in Revelation 4:6-8
a) Six wings
b) Four faces on one head
c) Many eyes
4) A different kind of angel is described in Revelation 10:1-3
a)