Pastor Jerry Rockwell BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING of ANGELS

Pastor Jerry Rockwell

BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING of ANGELS

Jude 6

Introduction: The title of this study suggests that there will be a full understanding of “angels.” This may not be something that can be completely explained. The best that can be done is explore the scripture and seek some form of understanding of the involvement of angels in God’s economy and in the affairs of man. The involvement of angels in the world and religion is an interesting study. Robert Lightner points out that “Many religions include angels in their belief systems. Some of the world’s religious leaders claim to have received their original messages from angels (e.g., the founders of Islam and Mormonism).” (see footnote 1 for more information.) It should be known what is said about angels in Galatians 1:8 (KJV), “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” This should put a huge question mark on the two religious systems of Islam and Mormonism by those who believe the Bible. God never gave revelation through angels but did use them to communicate some things to people and their message comes from God. The word for angel has the meaning of “messenger” and this is one of the objectives of angels. Yet, a study of the “Apocalypse” (Revelation) reveals that one of the major functions of angels is to direct praise and worship to God. Angels are real! They are not imaginative.

Jude 6 introduces angels and there have been many attempts to identify who they are. They are called by Jude, “. . .angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation. . .” This phrase, “their first estate” suggests their “origin.” That is not too difficult to determine since all angels were created by God according to Psalm 148:5. Charles Ryrie suggests that “all angelic creatures were created holy.” The question comes, when did He create them? That is not too difficult to ascertain either. As the book of Job begins to close, God asks Job a question in Job 38:4-7 (KJV) 4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” We will see later who these “sons of God” are. The “morning stars” are literal stars and can issue sounds. Note that the “sons of God” are separated from the “morning stars.” This statement is an indication that angels and other spirit beings were created before the creation of the universe.

With this problem, it is incumbent on us to explore the nature of angels before we seek to understand what Jude is saying about this group of created beings called “angels who kept not their first estate.” There are several questions that this study will attempt to answer. Dr. Ryrie makes an interesting observation about the study of angels in his book on theology. He says,

“When areas of theology are slighted, this will likely be one of them, at least in standard books of theology. One has only to note the amount of space devoted to angelology in standard theologies to demonstrate this.”

Many mischaracterize angels by giving them “wings” and always making them “female.” According to the Bible, all angels are of the male species. There could be one exception as stated in Zechariah 5:9 (KJV), “Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.” The footnote will explain this phenomenon. Some Bible teachers ignore the subject of angels and refuse to discuss them. Let’s explore the subject of angels.

  1. Who are the angels? Angels are mentioned in the Old Testament 117 times. They can be found in the New Testament 180 times. This makes them a major subject in biblical revelation with them being mentioned 197 times in the Bible. They will occupy a major role in the Tribulation as demonstrated in Revelation.
  1. The Angel of the Lord. The first time an angel is mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis 16:7 (KJV), “And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.” This is in the context of the time when Sarai, Abram’s wife, sent Hagar away because she had conceived a child even after she had advised Abram to have a child with Hagar. Note the phrase “angel of the Lord.” This phrase occurs 56 times in the Old Testament and 12 times in the New Testament. This first time it is found gives some clues as to who it might be. Hagar indicates she has been mistreated by Sarai and she fled. The “angel of the Lord” gives her some assurances that only God could promise (Gen. 16:7-11). There are some incidents where the “angel of the LORD” appeared to others, and they indicated they had seen God and lived since no man could see God and live. In Judges 6:11-24 the “angel of the Lord” appeared to Gideon and in the conversation which followed Gideon begins to call the angel “Lord” (Judg. 6:13, 15). Another event is in Judges 13:3-21 where an “angel of the Lord” appeared to the mother-to-be of Samson. She tells her husband Manoah about it and they met with the angel again and engage in a discussion of the child that would be born and what he would accomplish and that he was to be a “Nazarite” (see explanation in Numbers 6:2-21). After the angel left them, Manoah said to his wife in Judges 13:22 (KJV) “And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.” His wife told him that if the Lord was going to kill them He would have done so before they offered the burnt offering and meat offering (Judg. 13:23). This discussion indicates that the phrase “angel of the Lord” is probably a “pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ” although that is not stated explicitly in scripture.
  2. The Creation of Angels. The creation of the universe and all in it belongs to the activity of God. Jesus Christ is the “agent” of creation according to John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:16. The angels were created in eternity past, before the creation of the “heaven and earth” (Gen. 1:1). It says in Job 38:6-7 (KJV), “6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? This indicates they were in existence before God laid the foundations for the universe. There is no further biblical indication of the creation of the angels. We do know they were created by the statement in Psalm 148:5 (KJV), “Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created” (see Psa. 148:2 for the context). They are called “holy angels” (Mark 8:38) and “elect angels” (1 Tim. 5:21). They stand in contrast to “devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). 
  1. Some Activities of Angels? They are “ministering spirits” (Heb. 1:14). Angels have an interest in the salvation of believers (1 Pet. 1:11-12). They can contain the wind (Rev. 7:1) and believers will “judge them” (1 Cor. 6:3). The Bible indicates that “hell” was created for the “devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). The “angels which kept not their first estate” will spend eternity in the “lake of fire” although the scripture does not say this explicitly, the beast, false prophet, Satan, those who took the “mark of the beast” will all be in the “lake of fire” (Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15) thus it could be concluded that the “angels which kept not their first estate” will be there as well. When you come to the New Testament these angels become “devils” who possess people. This is a subject that could occupy much of the discussion.
  2. III.The Nature of Angels.
  1. Personality of Angels. One truth about angels is that they can be understood as “personalities” (versus “person”). This means they have aspects of intelligence (mind), emotions, and a will. This applies to both good angels and evil angels. Dr. Ryrie tells how this is understood. He says,

“Good angels, Satan, and demons possess intelligence (Matt. 8:29; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Pet. 1:12). Good angels, Satan, and demons show emotions (Luke 2:13; James 2:19; Rev. 12:17). Good angels, Satan, and demons demonstrate that they have wills (Luke 8:28–31; 2 Tim. 2:26; Jude 6). Therefore, they can be said to be persons. The fact that they do not have human bodies does not affect their being personalities (any more than it does with God).”

  1. Creation of Angels. Angels are “created” beings and cannot reproduce among each other. The Bible indicates that the angels do not marry (Matt. 22:20). There is no reference to a “female” good angel and when angels appear they appear as men. There is a passage in Genesis 18 about Abraham sitting in his tent door and “three men” came to him and after two of these men departed the meeting with Abraham and started toward Sodom they are identified as angels (Gen. 19:1, 15). Another illustration is when Samson’s mother-to-be was addressed and explained what was to come to pass and Samson’s life, she told her husband, Manoah, that “A man of God came unto me. . .” (Judges 13:3).
  2. Good and Evil Spirits. There are “good” angels and “evil” angels or as sometimes designated as “evil spirits.”
  1. Good Angels. They are very prolific with activities in the Tribulation. While the Tribulation is active with angels, there are many times in the Old Testament (117 times) and New Testament (180 minus 76 times in Revelation making 104) they are active. They are mentioned 76 times in Revelation. The first time an angel is mentioned is Revelation 1:1. From there we find an angel assigned to each church of Revelation 2-3 (not the pastor but an angel). From there they are very active in the affairs of the Tribulation and in many roles. There was an angel which sounded a trumpet call for each of the “trumpet judgments” (Rev. 8-11).
  2. Evil Angels. There is only one time where “evil angels” are mentioned and that is in Psalm 78:49 when the people refused to believe God after their deliverance from Egypt and in the “wilderness” travels (Psalm 78:40-54). These are the people mentioned in Jude 5. It is important to note the mention by Jude 6 of the “angels which kept not their first estate.” These are ::mentioned by Peter in 2 Peter 2:4 and indicate these angels “sinned.” These angels are a group that rebelled with Satan when he decided he could take God’s place (Ezek. 28:11-19; Isa. 14:12-17). 
  1. IV.The “Sons of God.” This is a much-disputed phrase among those who study the Bible and seek to make meaning of what it says. There is an important principle of Bible study that must be mentioned here. That is the principle of Bible study called “first mention.” That means the first time a word or phrase is mentioned will usually give meaning to it. Also, there is a principle of Bible study called “rightly dividing” the Bible. This is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 2:13 (KJV), “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” The phrase “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” is the key to this principle. If you note that the discussion is about “words” in the context of this verse. The first phrase “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth” introduces how man’s wisdom is taught, “by words” and when you connect this with the rest of the verse, “but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” you understand the activity of “teaching” is being explained and the vehicle which teaching takes place is by “words.” Man teaches with words and the Holy Ghost teaches also, with words. Where are these words, since we do not communicate with the Holy Ghost as we would with each other? This is why the principle is called “comparing spiritual words [the Bible] with spiritual [words].” With this principle, we can explore the meaning of “sons of God” as stated the first time in Genesis 6:2. This subject will be delayed to a later date.