Introduction
At present, Protestant Westerners live in a secular age. It is still common, however, to hear talk of angels. From John Milton’s angelic characters in Paradise Lost (1667) to Danielle Trussoni’s contemporary Gothic thrillers, Angelology (2010) and Angelopolis (2013), angels, and their fallen counterpart, the demons, remain a perennial object of artistic attention and imagination. Sadly, much that is written, depicted in the arts, and put forth as a “biblical view of angels” is not fully Scriptural. Considering this, Reformed Protestants should lament the lack of contemporary, biblically sound resources on angels. Simply recall books you’ve read or sermons you’ve heard in your own lifetime, and I trust most readers would agree that there is currently both a famine of good Protestant preaching as well as popular writing on the biblical doctrine of angels, including its commensurate sub-topic demonology.
Doctrine of Angels and Demons
What does the Bible teach about angels? The biblical material can be generally summarized under four headings: their nature, their commission, their designation, and their rank.
To begin, in Scripture angels are called “spirits.” Regarding the spiritual nature of angels, Hebrews 1:14 says, “Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” Regarding the creation of the spiritual realm that angels inhabit, in Colossians 1:16, the Apostle Paul explained, “For in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers – all things have been created through him and for him.” The Greek terms ὁρατὰ and ἀόρατα, respectively translated “visible” and “invisible”, pertain to the realm, and its inhabitants, that can be seen, and the realm, and inhabitants, that are unseen. Thus, we learn that angels are created, spiritual beings, and they inhabit an unseen realm. Regarding their life and knowledge, we infer from Scripture angelic-life is immortal and that the concurrent angelic-knowledge is exceedingly excellent. In Matthew 22:30, Jesus sought to illuminate the future state of man in the resurrection through a comparison to angelic-life: “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” And in Matthew 24:36, there appears to be an implicit type of argument from the lesser, human knowledge, to the greater, angelic knowledge, to emphasize the secret knowledge of God: “But about that day and hour [referring to verse 30, when the Son of man shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory] no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Hebrews 1:14 highlights that a particular employment of angels is to minister to God’s children. These “holy angels” (Mark 8:38) are to be distinguished from fallen angels. The former are servants of God’s kingdom in its most general sense: that is, angels worship God (Psalm 148:2; Matthew 18:10; Luke 2:8-14; Revelation 5:11-14), are servants executing God’s will (Psalm 103:20; Matthew 2:13), are involved in both the interests of state, kingdoms and empires, as well as the church (Daniel 10-11; Acts 12:23; 1 Corinthians 11:10), and, as already mentioned, they minister to, lead, instruct, as well as protect the children of God (Acts 5:19; 10:3-7; 12:3, 9). Scripture is replete with examples like those mentioned above of the ordinary ministration of angels. However, Scripture additionally reveals that angels were, and will be again, employed by God for extraordinary events pertaining to God’s redemptive purposes; the Law was given to Israel by angels (Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19), angels were active at the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Luke 1, 24), and angels will also be employed for the extraordinary second advent of Jesus Christ (Matthew 13:49-50; 25:31-33). The Scriptures reveal God’s employment of angels, that it is integral to the development of redemptive history. As A.A. Hodge (1823-1886) observed, “God employs [angels] as his instruments in administering the affairs of his providence.”[1]
The Scriptures reveals two angelic designations. On the one hand, there are angels that we can characterize as good and moral. The morally obedient angels persisted in their first estate. These “holy angels” (Matthew 25:31; Luke 9:26) and “elect angels” (1 Timothy 5:21) are the same designation of angels the author of Hebrews referred to as “spirits in the divine service” (1:14). On the other hand, Luke 4:33-36 mentions an “unclean demon,” a designation for immoral, disobedient angels. The immoral angels rebelled against God and ceased to persist in their original estate (Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4). Scripture indicates the unclean spirits have a leader and master (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). In Luke 10:18, Jesus prophetically revealed, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.” The name “Satan” is a title, and in the Scriptures the one designated “Satan” is “spoken of as a person, and personal attributes are predicated of him.”[2] In John 8:44, we can infer that the personal attributes which Jesus attributes to a particular “devil” is the selfsame adversary (Satan) who in the beginning appeared in serpent-form and lied to Eve (cf. Genesis 3:4).
Finally, regarding the rank of angels, as much of creation enjoys division and rank, it appears likewise angels. As mentioned above, “angel” describes the office and employment of “spirits in the divine service” and it is a general term of designation without regard to the particulars of angelic rank or division. However, Scripture briefly mentions “seraphs” and “cherubim.” The former are mentioned only in Isaiah 6. The term means “burning one.” The “seraphs” are associated with the throne of God, where they are described as chanting “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts.” The latter, cherubim, are mentioned in various passages throughout the Old and New Testaments, e.g., Hebrews 9:5 mentions “cherubim of glory.” The cherubim are associated generally with holy-spaces and places: Eden (Genesis 3:24); the Mercy Seat over the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:18; Hebrews 9:5); the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:1). These holy-spaces and places were associated with God’s special presence, so perhaps the cherubim are indicative of God’s special presence with his chosen people. Cumulatively considered, all the OT and NT passages describe both seraphs and cherubim as majestic and powerful angels. Also, regarding rank and division, the following passages suggest angelic organization and the like: 1 Peter 3:22, Ephesians 1:20-21, Colossians 1:16; 2:10. The respective verbiage “principality / principalities,” “authorities and powers / powers / powers in heavenly places”—are possibly evidence of angelic rank and division. In addition to this, in Scripture two angels are referred to by personal names: Gabriel (Daniel 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26) and Michael (Daniel 10:21; 12:1; Jude 9; Revelation 12:7). Also, in Jude 9 the angel Michael is given the specific title “archangel,” which is additional evidence of rank and distinction of angels.
A Doctrine that is Timely and Compelling
In the 1989 “Preface” to the second edition of his book, Satan Cast Out, Frederick Leahy highlighted the need for biblical instruction on the doctrine of angels and demons.
Since this book was first published in 1975, the need for biblical instruction in matters pertaining to Satan’s activities and to the demonic in our culture has in no way lessened. Quite frequently I have been asked to address groups of church elders, school classes and youth fellowships on this subject. Invariably I have found not only a measure of confusion, but also much evidence of the involvement of young people from a Christian background being caught up in this dangerous activity with alarming results and I have noted the distress of their parents in such situations and their uncertainty concerning what to do. Many young people are now at great risk. Scores of books and television programmes continue to provide a poisonous cocktail of sex, violence and occultism. This is spiritually and morally lethal.[3]
Since the 1980s, these spiritual and morally lethal circumstances have not abated. I sympathize with Leahy’s concerns. From 2002-2006, I attended a conservative Christian liberal arts college, and based on what I observed and heard from among my peers, I can attest there was both “a measure of confusion” and “much evidence of the involvement of young people from a Christian background” in the demonic. One of my classmates, the son of a Wesleyan pastor, recounted curiosity in and dabbling with occultism during high school, and another college friend, who attended another Christian university in the vicinity, confessed to participating in various wiccan ceremonies during his teenage years. Truly there is a pressing need for biblical instruction concerning the doctrine of angels, not just for the sake of instruction but particularly as a means of warning for the demonic.
In the fog of spiritual war, a Christian’s conception of the enemy, and the nature of the fight, should not be vague or erroneous. As Frederick Leahy warned, “Christians who are virtually oblivious of the malignant opposition of fallen angels, are to some extent deficient in caution and dependence upon God . . . It is foolish and dangerous to wander, blind and deaf, along the firing line.”[4] Many who wander along this firing line experience horrific sin and miseries. Regarding a believer’s need to understand the enemy and the nature of the fight, missionary John Nevius (1829-1893) explained:
Actual communication with unseen spirits; their influence on the acts and destinies of individuals and nations; and demon-possession, are taught clearly and unmistakably in both the Old and New Testaments. These teachings are not occasional and incidental, but underlie all Biblical history and Biblical doctrine. The Bible recognizes not only the material world, but a spiritual world intimately connected with it, and spiritual beings both good and bad, who have access to, and influence for good and ill, the world’s inhabitants.”[5]
Nevius’s observation is perceptive. Believers with deficient or false views of angels will be tempted to either overemphasize or underemphasize the influence of angels and demons, and this will warp appropriate caution of our enemy, as well as our dependence upon God. Many of these errors can be avoided if one begins to give their attention to examining introductory biblical material pertaining to the doctrine of angels and demons.
In Ephesians, the Apostle Paul exhorted his original audience to “Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (6:11-12). As Isaac Ambrose (1604-1664) aptly noted, “All God’s people are to be in the fight. Our enemies are more than flesh and blood.”[6] Paul’s sobering exhortation illumines unseen spiritual hostility, and it ought to be a figurative Reveille, a spiritual wake-up call, to spiritual warfare. Believers have been commissioned to a theater of war, spanning from the original Edenic Garden to the consummation of the Garden-City depicted in the Book of Revelation. Until Jesus Christ’s second advent, believers must be armored for battle “against the spiritual forces of evil.” Spiritual warfare is the backdrop to Christian living, and it is precisely why believers ought to study the doctrine of angels. It is always timely and compelling for pastors and theologians to urge their respective audiences to not be found ignorant nor naïve about the ferocity of spiritual enemies. Likewise, it is always timely and compelling to exhort believers to remember that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
[1] A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972), 251.
[2] A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology, 254-255.
[3] Frederick S. Leahy, Satan Cast Out (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2017), 10.
[4] Frederick S. Leahy, Satan Cast Out, 11.
[5] John L. Nevius, Demon Possession and Allied Themes (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1896), 243.
[6] Isaac Ambrose, War with Devils: Ministration of, and Communion with Angels (Glasgow: Joseph Galbraith and Company, 1769), 9.