THE CREATION OF ANGELS [ANGELS, GOD'S SPECIAL AGENTS SERIES]
PSALM 148: 2-5 / COLOSSIANS 1: 15-17
Don’t believe everything you hear about angels. Some would have us believe that they are only spiritual wisps. Some view them as celestial beings with beautiful wings and bowed heads. Others would have us think of them as feminine weirdos. Others have painted them as soft, cloud-clothed babies floating around. What are angels like?
The Bible states that angels, like men, were created by God. At one time no angels existed; indeed there was nothing but the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Colossians 1: 16, says, “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible.” Angels indeed are among the invisible things made by God, for “all things were created by Him, and for Him.” This Creator, Jesus, “is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:17), so that even angels would cease to exist if Jesus, who is Almighty God, did not sustain them by His power.
I. THE FACT OF THEIR CREATION
II. THE AGENT OF THEIR CREATION
III. THE TIME OF THEIR CREATION
IV. THE STATE OF THEIR CREATION
I. THE FACT OF THEIR CREATION
What is the origin of Angels? Where do they come from? Angels are created beings. That they were created is clear in Psalm 148:2, 5. Let’s look briefly at the first few verses of Psalm 148.
After the psalmist exclaimed Praise the Lord (halelû-yāh) he summoned all creation above the earth to praise the Lord. This praise is to come “from the heavens.” It is transcendent; it is to come “from the heights!”
In verse 2 the great angelic hosts gathered before God’s throne as a choir to God’s praise. “Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His heavenly hosts!” These “hosts” are the angelic armies of the Lord (Ps. 103:20–21). All these angels in the heavens are called on to praise Him (103:20).
In verse 3 the celestial creation is also called to join in this worship. “Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!” As they shine in the heavens, they give their Creator glory. The heavens—the sun . . . moon . . . stars are all personified as capable of worshiping the Lord.
In verse 4 the highest heavens are called upon to praise the Lord. “Praise Him, highest heavens, [Lit heavens of heavens]. And the waters that are above the heavens!”
“And you waters above the heavens” indicate that the heavenly oceans above the firmament or the great expanse are to praise God [see Gen. 1:7]. Implied in verse 4 are the gradations in the heavenly realms. [This idea is supported by Paul’s reference to the “third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2). Thus the heavens created in the creation account in Genesis means at a minimum the earthly heavens.]
Why is there to be this outburst of praise? All the heavens and all the angels are to worship God because in verse 5 He commanded and they were created. [5 “Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created.”]
The angels, as well as the celestial objects mentioned in verses 3 and 4, are declared to have been created by the Lord. They owe their existence to Him. All Creation should praise . . . the Lord because He created it all by His command and has established it all by His decree. His Word is powerful, sure and everlasting.
[Furthermore, we learn in verse 6 that they were created for His pleasure and for His glory. They find their destiny then in praising their Creator. They have been “established … forever and ever” (permanently). God not only creates them; He also upholds them, and “He has made a decree [or, ‘gave their boundaries’] which shall not pass away” (v. 6). He orders their order. Yahweh, rather than laws of physics, determines their destiny, and they are held in His hand. No wonder that they are to praise Him. [Williams, Donald; Ogilvie, Lloyd: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Vol 14: Psalms 73-150. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1989. P. 522]
This means they did not evolve from some lower or less complex form of life. That they did not evolve is reinforced by the fact that angels do not procreate (Matt. 22:30). When they were created, they were created as angels.
II. THE AGENT OF THEIR CREATION
Angels have not always existed, God and Christ created them. Nehemiah 9:6 states, “You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens the heavens of the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them. And the heavenly host bows down before You” (nasb).
The prayer in 9:5b-31 [longest in the Bible] was voiced by the Levites on the people’s behalf. It confesses major events in biblical history from creation through the time of Nehemiah. It begins with the recognition of the unique Creator God and His Creation of the universe [“the heavens the heavens of the heavens”]. Part of God’s created order to whom He gave life are the heavenly host or angels.
In fact, all things were created by Christ (John 1:1-3). Specifically, angels were created by Him. Turn to Colossians 1:16. Colossians 1:16 asserts that all things including the angels have been created by the Lord. “For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.”
Not only were “all things were created by Him” [di’ autou, instrumental Cause] they were created “for Him” [eis auton, final Cause] or for His purpose, and in Him [en autō] they hold together (He is the binding or conserving Cause) as verse 17 declares. Christ is not only the One through whom all things came to be, but also the One by whom they continue to exist. Two other New Testament verses parallel this description of Christ: “Through Him all things were made” (John 1:3), and Christ the Son is the One “through whom [the Father] made the universe” (Heb. 1:2). The Father, then, is the ultimate Source, and the Son is the mediating Cause of the world. The Son was the “master Workman” of Creation, “the beginning (archē -head) of the Creation of God” (Rev. 3:14).
The Son’s Creation includes as Colossians 1:16 proclaims, “all” things in heavens and on earth, visible and invisible. These indicate the entire universe, both material and immaterial. The hierarchy of angelic beings are list by thrones (thronoi) or powers (kyriotētes), or rulers (archai), or authorities (exousiai), indicate a highly organized dominion in the spirit world, over which Christ reigns supreme (Eph. 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Phil. 2:9-10; Col. 2:10, 15). [Walvoord, John & Zuck, Roy. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, S. 673.]
All things were created by Christ (John 1:1-3). Specifically, angels were created by Him (Col. 1:16).
III. THE TIME OF THEIR CREATION
Trying to determine when God created the angels is somewhat tricky because anything God did “before the foundation of the world” puts the event outside of time itself. Time and space are characteristics of our world, not God’s existence. He is not limited by hours, days and years as we are. In fact, the Bible tells us that “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8).
The Bible does not undebatably state the time of their creation. So to the question, “When were the angels created?” we can return only a general answer.
When were Angels created? Since Scripture does not explicitly state that angels were created in the creation account in Geneses 1-2, it is implied that they existed before the creation of man. [Of this event Moses has given us no certain information unless we suppose angels to be included in “the host of heaven” (Genesis 2:1); but this phrase seems to signify the celestial luminaries, the sun, moon, and stars.]
It is understood by most conservative scholars that God spoke of the angels when He was creating the world. God said to Job in Job 38:4, 7. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? .... When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” If by the morning stars, and the sons of God, the angelic host is meant, which seems most probable, it will follow that the angels were present when the mighty fabric of the physical universe was completed, and that they celebrated, on that occasion by praising the Divine Architect.
[Apparently the angels were all created directly at one time, since they presumably do not have the power to propagate themselves in the normal fashion (Mt. 22:30), and we are told of no new direct creations by God after the original creative effort was completed (Gen. 2:2-3). [Erickson, Millard. Christian Theology. 1983, 1998. Baker Books: Grand Rapids, MI. P. 463.]
[The time of their creation is not definitely specified, but the latest possibility occurred in connection with the creation of the heavens in Genesis 1:1. It may be that God created the angels immediately after He had created the heavens and before He created the earth (Job 38:4-7 could fit here also]. We also know they existed prior to the Garden of Eden, because Satan, who was formerly the angel Lucifer, was already present in the Garden in his fallen state. However, because the main function of angels is to worship God around His throne (Revelation 5:11-14), they may have been in existence millions/billions/trillions of years, as we reckon time, worshiping Him and serving God before He created our world.
So, although the Bible does not specifically say when God created the angels, it was sometime before the world was created. Whether this was a day before, or zealions of years before, [again,] as we reckon time. We cannot be sure.
IV. THE STATE OF THEIR CREATION
[A. Holy]
Originally all angelic creatures were created holy when they came from the hand of the Creator. Their Creator was absolute holiness. God, therefore, could not create sin or evil. Even after sin entered the world, God's good angels, who did not rebel against Him, are called holy (Mark 8:38). These are the elect angels (1 Tim. 5:21) in contrast to the evil angels who followed Satan in his rebellion against God (Mt. 25:41).
Therefore Jesus calls them “the holy angels.” Mark 8:38 reads, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
In addition to being created holy, all the angels were surrounded by holiness. [This holiness of angels may be inferred from their place of residence.] Heaven is a holy place, and no unholy being can ever dwell or live in that holy habitation. These angels are holy because they have continued in that state of holiness or moral purity in which they were originally created. They were no doubt tempted for angels have free will; but they indignantly, resolutely resisted the solicitation of rebellious counsel and example. Though down through the ages they have witnessed many a foul display of human and angelic depravity, but they have not received the slightest immoral taint.
The atmosphere in which they lived and served was, without the imperfections and taint of sin until the sin of Satan or Lucifer, the anointed Cherub made the chose to rebel against God. And those angels who became apostate are distinguish as “angels which kept not their first estate” in 2 Peter 2:4.
[B. Creatures]
We will look into their nature next week but suffice it to say that angels are creatures, not the Creator nor creators. Yet they are a separate order of creatures, distinct, for example, from human beings (1 Cor. 6:3; Heb. 1:14). There are various types of angels such as seraphim, cherubim, and arch-angels and they are highly organized. [We will look at the various types of angels and their organizational structure in latter in this study.] As creatures or created beings they are limited in power, knowledge, and activity (1 Pet. 1:11-12; Rev. 7:1). Like all responsible creatures, angels will be subject to judgment (1 Cor. 6:3; Mt. 25:41).
IN CLOSING
The creation of angels has SEVERAL IMPLICATIONS. Although we have no scriptural certainty it would seem that all angels were created simultaneously at one time and that no new angels have been added to their number since their creation. In contrast to man, angels do not propagate and have families; there have no ancestors, no descendants, or baby angels. Angels are not subject to death or any form of extinction (Lk. 20:34-36); therefore they do not decrease in number. Though there are probably multiplied millions if not multiplied billions of angels, their number is finite.
[The empire of angels is as vast as God's creation. As to their NUMBER, David with his limited vision, impressively notes in Psalm 68:17 that those angels in chariots are myriads, thousands upon thousands, coursing through the skyways of the stars. Their number must be very large: 1 Kings 22:19; Matthew 26:53; Hebrew 12:22.
How many angels were created? Study Daniel 7:10, Psalm 68:17, Hebrews 12:22, and Revelation 5:11. Millions and millions of angels were created. It seems reasonable to conclude that there are at least as many spirit beings in existence as there will be human beings in all their history on earth.]
Another implication from our study answers the question, “Do people become angels after death?” No, angels are not glorified human beings. Hebrews 12:22-23 says that when we get to the heavenly Jerusalem, we will be met by “myriads of angels” and “the spirits of righteous men made perfect”—two separate groups.
Angels were created by Jesus Christ. They are not departed spirits of deceased human beings nor can human beings ever become angels.
Another deduction is that angels are a company or association, not a race descended from a common ancestor (Luke 20:34-36). We are called “sons of men,” but angels are never called “sons of angels.” [Matthew 22:30 explains that they do not marry or reproduce like humans.]
So in contrast to man, angels do not propagate and have families; they have no angel ancestors, no descendants, or baby angels. They were created to worship God, to bear the message of God, protect the people of God, and implement the judgement of God.
If you would like to come to know the Creator of the angelic host, I invite you to come and let us introduce you to Jesus Christ. He who created the angels wants to recreate you and fit you for an eternal existence in the eternal abode of God and His holy angels. You come as the Spirit leads.
