No person who truly believes in the word of God as revealed in the sixty-six books of the Bible can reasonably doubt the existence of angels.
Angels are created beings. Scripture implies the creation of angels in Genesis 2:1, Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them (e.g., Ps. 33:6; Neh. 9:6). The word host is probably used here to refer to a multitude or great number of individuals and it is in this sense of the word that angels can be inferred from the text as the individuals who make up the heavenly host, since they are the only indigenous creatures in heaven. The Bible gives clear evidence of angels in heaven in Psalm 148:2, 5 and Colossians 1:15.
Although the Bible does not expressly state when the angels were created, we know from Scripture that nothing was created prior to heaven and earth. But Job 38:7 indicates that angels were present at the founding as were the stars though angels did not exist prior to the primary creation of heaven and earth, only God existed prior to the creation. God first created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1) and the earth at that time was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2). So, the angels likely had been created as part of the heavens. My view is that angels were created when the heavens and the earth were created (Gen. 1:1) and when the earth was without form and void (Gen. 1:2) and thus the angels (i.e., the sons of God) were present to view the rest of creation (Job 38:7). I believe this view is a reasonable inference from the text, nevertheless, we know for certain that angels were created before the seventh day.
The angels are created spiritual, incorporeal (i.e., having no material body or form) beings. They do not possess physical bodies (Luke 24:39), they are invisible, and they can be present in large numbers in a small space (Luke 8:30). We should note here that concerning whether angels have a physical presence, passages such as Psalms 104:4; Matthew 22:30, and 1 Corinthians 11:10 as well as angels’ real or apparent appearance in bodily form do not prove the point. Angels are limited, finite creatures that cannot be in more than one place at the same time, however, they are not as limited as human beings regarding space and time. They are changeable beings that do not possess deity but are merely ministers to such (Heb. 1:7).
Scripture teaches that angels are rational, moral, and immortal beings. We also know from Scripture that they are intelligent beings (2 Sam. 14:20; Matt. 24:36; Eph. 3:10; 1 Pet. 1:12; 2 Pet. 2:11) superior to the intelligence of human beings (Matt. 24:36). The good angels in heaven are powerful beings and they form the army of God (Ps. 103:20; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:14). Their original state was good (Gen. 1:31) and they are referred to as elect angels in 1 Timothy 5:21 and angels of light in 2 Corinthians 11:14.
Several times in the Bible we find that angels are given names. The angel Gabriel appears four times (Dan. 8:15-16; Dan. 9:21-22; Luke 1:19; Luke 1:26). The Archangel Michael also appears four times in Scripture (Jude 1:9; Rev. 12:7; Dan. 10:13; Dan. 12:1). The Bible also refers to Satan using the name Lucifer (Is. 14:12 KJV) when Isaiah uses Satan’s fall from heaven as a picture of Babylon’s plight at the end of the Israelites’ captivity in Babylon. The angel of the bottomless pit we are told is Abaddon (Heb.) or Apollyon (Gr.) (Rev. 9:11).
Evil angels (also referred to as demons) fell from heaven because of their opposition to God probably along with Satan. These fallen angels were not created evil (Gen. 1:31). The Bible tells us that they fell from their original state (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6) but we don’t really know what particular sin caused these angels to fall. The evil angels makeup the army of Satan, intent on destroying the work of the Lord, (Luke 11:21; 2 Thess. 2:9; 1 Pet. 5:8) and they are powers of darkness, a force against all that is good and godly.
The head of the fallen angels is Satan (Matt. 25:41; 9:34; Eph. 2:2). He is the originator of sin (John 8:44). Louis Berkhof writes regarding Satan as follows:
He is also called repeatedly “the prince of this (not, “of the”) world, John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11, and even “the god of this world,” 2 Cor. 4:4. This does not mean that he is in control of the world, for God is in control, and He has given authority to Christ, but it does convey the idea that he is in control of this evil world, the world in so far as it is ethically separated from God. This is clearly indicated in Eph. 2:2, where he is called “the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience.” He is superhuman, but not divine; has great power, but is not omnipotent; wields influence on a large but restricted scale, Matt. 12:29; Rev. 20:2, and is destined to be cast into the bottomless pit Rev. 20:10.”[1]
The Bible makes it clear that angels are created beings that do in fact exist and there are both holy angels and fallen angels. The holy angels serve God and fallen angels serve Satan. God is in control of the world though God allows Satan and his minions to roam the earth. “They are even now chained to hell and pits of darkness, and though not yet limited to one place, yet, as Calvin says, drag their chains with them wherever they go, 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6.”[2]
[1] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (The Banner of Truth Trust, 2021), 140.
[2] Berkhof, 141.
1 comment
Jesse
Thank you for this informative article.