Angels

One of the most common Hebrew words translated "God" is 'Elohim', which really means 'mighty ones'; these 'mighty ones' who carry God's Name can effectively be called 'God' because of their close association with Him. These beings are the Angels.

In Genesis 1, the record of the creation of the world tells us that God spoke certain commands concerning creation, "and it was so." It was the Angels who carried out these commands:

Psalms 103:20, "Angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word."

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. Now is a good time to summarize the events of the creation as recorded in Genesis 1:

Day 1 "God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (verse 3)

Day 2 "God said, Let there be a firmament (sky, expanse) in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters (on the earth) from the waters (in the clouds)...and it was so" (verses 6,7)

Day 3 "God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together (forming seas and oceans)...and let the dry land appear; and it was so" (verse 9)

Day 4 "God said, Let there be lights...in heaven...and it was so" (verses 14,15)

Day 5 "God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature...and fowl that may fly...and God created every living creature" (verses 20,21) - i.e. "it was so"

Day 6 "God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature...cattle, and creeping thing...and it was so" (verse 24).

Man was created on that same sixth day. "God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Genesis 1:26). We want to 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.

Job 38:4-7, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

As we can see, the "morning stars" and the "sons of God" (referring to His angels) were present when the foundations of the earth were created. The angels had a hand in making the earth. YHVH is not mentioned in Genesis 1, but YHVH is mentioned in chapter 2, when He started actually forming man, women, the animals, etc. Therefore, only YHVH formed creation, but He and the angels made creation.

Angelic Appearances

The Angels, being of God's nature, they must be sinless and therefore unable to die - seeing that sin brings death (Romans 6:23).

- Angels came to Abraham to speak God's words to him; they are described as "three men", whom Abraham initially treated as men, since that was their appearance: "Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree" (Genesis 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 thee 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 hath sent us to destroy" Sodom (Genesis 19:1,5,8, 10,12, 13).

- Jacob wrestled all night with a strange man (Genesis 32:24), which we are later told was an Angel (Hosea 12:4).

- Joshua talked to a man with a sword, which we are told was an Angel (Joshua 5:13-15).

- The New Testament comment on these incidents confirms that Angels are in the form of men: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for some have entertained Angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2).

- Two men in shining white clothes were present at the resurrection (Luke 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" (Revelation 21:17).

Angels Do Not Sin

The Angels, being of 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. Thus the Greek word 'aggelos' which is translated "Angels" is also translated "messengers" when speaking of man - e.g. John the baptist (Matthew 11:10) and his messengers (Luke 7:24); the messengers of Jesus (Luke 9:52) and the men who spied out Jericho (James 2:25). It is, of course, possible that 'angels' in the sense of flesh and blood 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:

Psalms 103:19-21, ""The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all ( i.e. there can be no rebellion against God in Heaven). Bless the Lord, ye His Angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye His hosts; ye ministers of His, that do his pleasure."

Psalms 148:2, "Praise him, all his Angels...his hosts"

Hebrews 1:13-14, "The angels...are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"

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" (Luke 20:35-36). This is a vital point to grasp. Angels cannot die. If Angels could sin, then they would also be able to die. The reference to "the Angels" (Luke 20:35,36) shows that there is no categorization of Angels as good or sinful; there is only one category of Angels.

If Angels could sin, then God is left impotent to righteously act in our lives and the affairs of the world, seeing that He has declared that He works through His Angels (Psalms 103:19-21). They are 'made Spirit' by God in the sense that He achieves all things by His spirit/power, acting through the Angels (Psalms 104:4). That they should be disobedient to Him is therefore an impossibility.

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 encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them" (Psalm 34:7). "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me...Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 18:6,10). The early believers in Christ 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 (Exodus 14:19).

If the Angels can be evil in the sense of being sinful, then such promises of Angelic control and influence in our lives 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 channels through which God's spirit-power speaks and works (Psalms 104:4).

But...?

Many "Christian" churches have the idea that Angels can sin, and that sinful Angels now exist who are responsible for sin and problems on the earth.

- There can be no sinful beings in Heaven, seeing that God is "of purer eyes than to behold evil" (Habakkuk 1:13). In a similar vein, Psalms 5:4-5 explains: "Neither shall evil dwell with Thee. 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 men (Revelation 2:12), as we have shown. Such "messengers" can, of course, sin. "Angel" is from the Greek word "aggelos", and is also translated "messenger" in seven verses. Jesus said John the baptist was an angel (messenger) in Matthew 11:10, Mark 1:2, and Luke 7:27. John himself had angels (Luke 7:24). Jesus sent angels ahead of him (Luke 9:52). And the 2 people that the harlot Rahab saved were called angels, or messengers as well (James 2:25). These are all examples of men being called angels.

- 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.

Your Questions Answered

What about Jude 1:6, "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."
Answer: This verse does not tell us from what they fell, or from what cause or for what crime. This verse is vague. However, notice the very next verse, which sheds light on verse 6:

Jude 1:7, "Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."
"In like manner" is describing the acts that the "angels" of verse 6 committed. Again, since spiritual angels did not have flesh and blood, the angels of verse 6 must be referring to men who were messengers of God. It seems this passage (as well as II Peter 2:4) refers to Genesis 6:2, "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose."

Other passages on spiritual Angels

"For we are made a spectacle unto ... angels" (1 Corinthians 4:9).
"I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels" (1 Timothy 5:21).
"And it [the Law] was ordained by angels" (Galatians 3:19).
"Which things [matters concerning salvation] the angels desire to look into" (1 Peter 1:12).
"Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14).

How many angels are there?

"And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;" (Revelation 5:11).
"...an innumerable company of angels," (Hebrews 12:22).