THE
DOCTRINE OF ANGELS
T.P.
Simmons
It
is reasonable that there should be an ascending scale of life from man upward
toward God, just as there is a descending scale of life from man downward. A
contemplation of the vastness and the wonder of this universe
may well raise the question, Is man the only creature that "has a mind to
appreciate and contemplate this workmanship of God" and to praise Him for it?
Without the Bible we should be left to blind conjecture. But in the Bible we
have clear revelation of an order of beings above man, existing in ascending
orders and ranks, called angels.
I.
THE NATURE OF ANGELS
1.
They Are Created Beings.
In
Psa. 148:1-5 angels are among the things exhorted to praise
the Lord on the ground that "he commanded and they were created." That angels
are created beings is also proved by Col. 1:16, which reads: "For in him were
all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers."
2.
They Are Pure Spirits.
We
do not mean to affirm here that all angels are sinless; for, as we shall see
later, some are evil. We mean that the nature of angels is spirit unmixed with
materiality. Angels do not possess bodies as a part of their being; even though they may assume bodies for the execution of
certain purposes of God, as in Gen. 19. We affirm that angels are pure spirits
because in Heb. 1:14 they are called spirits. Man is never thus unqualifiedly
designated. Christ said "a spirit hath not flesh and bones" (Luke 24:39).
3.
They Constitute an Order of Creatures Higher than Man.
Of
man it is said that he was "made a little lower than the angel" (Heb. 2:7).
Angels are said to be greater than man in might (2 Pet. 2:11). Their superior
power is also implied in Matt. 26:53; 28:2; 2 Thess. 1:7. Yet angels are
ministering servants to believers (Heb. 1:14), and shall be judged by them (1
Cor. 6:3). This last fact would seem to indicate that man,
though now inferior in nature to angels, shall in his glorified state, as a
trophy of God's redeeming grace, be exalted with Christ far above angels (Eph.
1:20,21; Phil 2:6-9).
4.
They are Sexless.
Matt.
22:30 declares that angels do not marry, which proves them sexless. "Sons of
God" in Gen. 6:2 are not angels, but descendants of Seth: the true worshippers
of God, as distinguished from the descendants of Cain.
Luke
20:36 declares that angels cannot die, which means they cannot cease to exist.
II
CLASSES OF ANGELS
The
angels consist of the elect angels and the fallen angels. The following
Scriptures allude to and distinguish these two classes:
"I
charge thee in the sight of God, and Christ Jesus, and the elect angels, that
thou observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing by
partiality" (1 Tim. 5:21).
"God
spared not angels when they sinned but cast them down to hell and committed them
to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment" (2 Peter 2:4).
"And
angels that kept not their own principality, but left their
proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the
judgment of the great day" (Jude 6).
The
elect angels are those whom God chose to preserve in holiness. The others He
permitted to fall and for them no redemption or possibility of escape has been
provided.
III.
ORGANIZATIONS, ORDERS, AND RANKS AMONG ANGELS
In
Jude 9 we have Michael mentioned as an archangel. See also 1 Thess. 4:16.
Archangel means the chief of angels. Gabriel seems also to occupy a relatively
high place among the angels. See Dan. 8:16; 9:16,21; Luke
1:19.
The
mention of thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers among the invisible
things in Col. 1:16 implies rank and organization among the angels. And in Eph.
1:21 and 3:10 we have the mention of rule, authority, power, and dominion in the
heavenly places. Of the orders named in Col. 1:16, E. C. Dargan, in his commentary, represents "thrones" as "being the
highest next to God and so called either because they are near and support the
throne of God, or because they themselves sit on thrones approaching nearest to
God in glory and dignity; next 'dominions,' or 'lordships,' those who exercise
power or lordship over the lower ones or men; then 'principalities,' or
'princedoms,' those of princely dignity; and lastly 'powers,' or 'authorities,'
those who exercise power or authority in the lowest angelic
order, just above men."
We
consider it more satisfactory to view the "cherubim" of Genesis, Exodus, and
Ezekiel with which we would identify also the "seraphim" of Isaiah and the
living creatures of Revelation, not as actual beings, but as
symbolic appearances, illustrating truths of divine activity and government. The
"living creatures" of Revelation seem to symbolize praise arising from God's
lower creation because of its being "delivered from the bondage of corruption
into the liberty of the glory of the children of God" (Rom 8:21). The
twenty-four elders associated with the living creatures seem to represent
redeemed humanity. And it is well to note that the living creatures do not include themselves among those redeemed to God. The
living creatures, as representative of the lower creation giving praise to God,
fulfill Psa. 145:10, which says: "All thy works shall praise thee, 0 Lord."
*
*
Note: We do not agree with Brother Simmons on his symbolic interpretation of the
verses in the paragraph above, but rather we believe these
are literal angels.
IV.
ANGELS ARE NOT TO BE WORSHIPPED
"And
when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet
of the angel that showed me these things. And he saith unto me, See thou do it
not: I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren the prophets, and
with them that keep the words of this book" (Rev. 22:9).
This
is also condemned in Col. 2:18
V.
THE EMPLOYMENT OF ANGELS
1.
Of Holy Angels.
(1)
They praise the lord and do His commandments.
Psa.
103:20; 148:2.
(2)
They rejoice in the salvation of men. Luke 15:7,10.
(3)
They minister to the heirs of salvation.
Heb.
1:14; 1 Kings 19:5-8; Dan. 6:22; Psa. 84:7; 91:11,12; Acts 12:8-11.
(4)
They are messengers of Cod to men.
Gen.
19:1-13; Num. 22:22-35; Matt. 1:20; 2:13, 19, 20; Luke 1:11-13, 19; Acts 8:26;
10:3-6; 27:23, 24.
(5)
They execute God's purposes.
2
Sam. 24:16; 2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chron. 32:21; Psa. 35:5,6; Matt. 13:41; 13:49,50;
24:31; Acts 12:23; Rev. 7:1,2; 9:15; 15:1.
Acts
7:53; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2.
(7)
They ministered to Christ.
Matt.
4:11; Luke 22:43.
(8)
They will accompany Christ at His second coming.
Matt.
25:81,32; 2 Thess. 1:7,8
(9)
They are present at church services.
1
Cor. 11:10.
(10)
They take a great interest in divine truth and learn through the church.
1
Pet. 1: 12; Eph. 3:10
There
is nothing in the above to show that there is a constant intervention of angels
between God
and man. They are not in any sense regularly constituted mediators between God
and man. Their intervention is occasional and exceptional. And their activity is
subject to the command and permission of God.
But
it is evident that the average believer has not attached sufficient importance
to the ministry
of angels. However, on the other hand, the notion of a special guardian angel
for each individual finds no certain foundation in the Scripture. J. P. Boyce
says:
"Guided
by rabinical fables, and led by the peculiar views of Oriental philosophy, some
have conceived that on each person in this life an angel attends
to guard and protect him from evil. This theory of a guardian angel has been
held in various forms. Some have confined his presence to the good; some have
extended it also to the wicked; some have supposed two angels instead of one,
the one good and the other bad. In like manner has the theory been held of
guardian angels over nations; some confining that also to good nations, others
extending it to all. That such views existed among the Jews, and
that they were also prevalent among earlier Christians may be admitted; but
scriptural authority for them is wanting" (Abstract of Systematic Theology, p.
179).
There
are really but two passages that even suggest this doctrine of a guardian angel
for each individual. These two passages are Matt. 18:10 and Acts
12:15. On Matt. 18: 10 John A. Broadus says: "There is in this no sufficient
warrant for the popular notion of 'guardian angels,' one angel especially
assigned to each individual; it is simply said of believers as a class that
there are angels which are their angels; but there is nothing here or elsewhere
to show that one angel has special charge of one believer" (Commentary on
Matthew).
On
Acts 12:15 H. B. Hackett says: "It was a common belief among the Jews, says
Lightfoot, that every individual has a guardian angel and that this angel may
assume a visible appearance resembling that of the person whose destiny is
committed to him. This idea appears here, not as a doctrine of the Scriptures,
but as a popular opinion that is neither affirmed nor denied"
(Commentary on Acts). On this passage Broadus also says: "The disciples who
were praying for Peter during his imprisonment, when the girl insisted that he
was at the gate, sprang to the conclusion that he had just been put to death and
this was 'his angel' (Acts 12:15), according to the notion that a man's guardian
angel was apt to appear to friends just after his death, with his form and
voice. But the views of these disciples were erroneous on many
subjects, and are not an authority for us unless sanctioned by inspiration."
We dismiss the subject with this further comment from Broadus: "It cannot be
positively asserted that the idea of guardian angels is an error, but there is
no Scripture which proves it true, and the passages which merely might be
understood that way do not suffice as a basis of a doctrine."
2.
Of Evil Angels.
The
work of evil angels will be considered more extensively in the next chapter,
which deals with Satan, their ruler and leader. It will suffice here to say that
evil spirits or angels war against God and His saints. This is
seen in Eph. 6:12 and in the demon possession of early New Testament
days.
As
to demon possession, it needs to be said that the record is too clear and
decisive to admit of a mere accommodation on the part of Christ and the apostles
to popular but erroneous notions of the Jews. It is very
probable, however, that demon possession was more prevalent in the days of
Christ's earthly ministry than now. We can see that, according to the record, it
was more prevalent in early than in late New Testament times; yet it was not
entirely absent in later New Testament times (Acts 16:16-18); and it is probably
not absent now. Some physicians today believe that some experiences and actions
of the insane are best explained by the supposition that the
patient's mind is under the control of a foreign power. J. P. Boyce gives a
good reason for the greater prevalence of demon possession in the days of
Christ's earthly ministry: "The great struggle was about to take place between
Christ and Satan, and uncommon freedom was doubtless granted to the Devil and
his assistants."