THE NATURE OF THE ANGELS

 

By Gary Ray Branscome

 

          Because angels are spirit beings, having a body is not part of their nature, although, in a few cases, they seem to have appeared as men. The words, “Look at my hands and my feet, and see that it is really me: handle me, and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see me have,” tell us that spirits do not have  “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39). We see that again in the words, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). The first phrase in that sentence, the words, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood,” tell us that the forces we “wrestle” against are spiritual, not corporeal. And, because the Bible refers to Satan as “Your adversary the devil,” we know that the spiritual forces that oppose us are “the angels who did not keep their first estate” (1Peter 5:8, Jude 1:6).

 

          Although the words, “God is a Spirit: and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,” tell us that God is a spirit, the difference between God and angels is incomprehensibly great (John 4:24). It is the difference between infinite and finite, the difference between knowing everything, and knowing only in part etc. And, we know that the angels are limited in knowledge because the words, “Reporting the things, that have now been proclaimed to you by those who are preaching the gospel to you with the Holy Spirit sent from heaven; things which angels long to look into” tell us that the angels want to learn about the grace God has given unto us (1Peter 1:12). The words, “That the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the principalities and powers in heavenly places,” tell us that the heavenly angels learn through what is proclaimed in the church (Ephesians 3:10). And, because angels think, speak, will, and learn we regard them as “persons,” not just forces.

 

          Although men have a spirit, those spirits are incomplete in that they exist in union with a body. In contrast, angels are complete spirits in that they exist as spirits, without “flesh and bones” (Heb. 1:14, Luke 24:39).

          The words, “The devil took Him up onto a very high mountain, and showed Him all of the kingdoms of the world, and their splendor; And said to Him, I will give you all of this, if you will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Go away, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve,” tell us that even the fallen angels have a will and intelligence (Matthew 4:8-10). And, the words, “Your adversary the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour,” tell us that the fallen angels want to destroy us (1Peter 5:8).

          Although any knowledge that angels possess is far less than that of God, the words, “My lord is wise, like the wisdom of an angel of God, knowing everything on earth,” tell us that angels know far more than any man (2Samuel 14:20). The words, “The angel said, I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and have been sent to speak to you, and to tell you this good news,” tell us that angels are capable of becoming acquainted with each other and with men (Luke 1:19). And, the words, “Be careful that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I am telling you, That in heaven their angels continually behold the face of my Father who is in heaven,” tell us that the holy angels “continually” look upon the face of God (Matthew 18:10). However, the words, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness,” warn us that Satan and his followers can outwardly appear to be righteous (2Corinthians 11:14). The words, “The Spirit specifically says, that in the future some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils,” warn us against being deceived by them (1Timothy 4:1). The words, “The things that the Gentiles sacrifice are sacrificed to devils, and not to God,” equate worshiping idols with worshiping devils (1Corinthians 10:20). And, the words, “If we, or an angel from heaven, preach any gospel to you other than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed,” warn us that those who preach any other gospel [or another testament of Jesus] are under God’s curse, even if they outwardly look like righteous men (Galatians 1:8).

 

          Because angels are spirits, they do not have body parts (such as arms, legs, lungs etc.), they are ordinarily invisible, and they are not subject to physical decay. The words, “In the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven,” tell us that angels do not marry or produce young (Matthew 22:30). The word “continually,” in the phrase, “Their angels continually behold the face of my Father who is in heaven,” tells us that holy angels do not die [if they did it would not be continual] (Matthew 18:10). And, the word “everlasting,” in the sentence, “The angels who did not keep their first estate… have been kept by Him in darkness bound with everlasting chains,” tells us that evil angels will not cease to exist (Jude 1:6).

          Because angels are spirits, they can be present without occupying physical space, just as God is present without taking up space. And, the words, “My name is Legion: for we are many,” tell us that because they do not take up space, a great number of them were able to indwell one man (Matthew 5:9).

          The words, “The angels who did not keep their first estate, but went outside their bounds,” tell us that angels have a will, and were not created evil, but some choose to do evil (Jude 1:6). The words, “The angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were terrified. And the angel said to them, Do not be afraid: for, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that will be for all people… And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God,” tell us that angels can appear, move about, speak, and praise God (Luke 2:9-13). And, the words, “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,” and “Praise the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength,” tell us that angels are mighty (2Thessalonians 1:7, Psalm 103:20).

          The words, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how you are cut down to the ground, O you who laid the nations low! For you said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit on the mountain of the congregation, on the sides of the north: I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will be like the most High. But you will be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit,” tell us that Satan or Lucifer fell from his first estate because of his desire to exalt himself (Isaiah 14:12-15). Those who do not think that this passage is talking about Satan need to realize that the sin described here is the prototype for every sin. Like this sin, every sin is an attempt by the sinner to make himself God by exalting his will over God’s will. And, the words, “You are of your father the devil, and you will do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not abide in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it,” and “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?” tell us that even though those who sin imagine that they are doing what they want, they are actually doing what Satan wants (John 8:44, Acts 5:3). As it is written, “Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34)

 

          The words, “Blessed is the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things,” tell us that it is God alone who performs miracles (Psalm 72:18). Therefore, whenever the Bible speaks of prophets, apostles, or even angels performing miracles it is God who is doing the miracles through them.

          The words, “They could not drink the waters, for they were bitter… and the LORD showed him [Moses] a tree, which he threw into the waters, and the waters were made sweet,” tell of God working a miracle through Moses (Exodus 15:23-25). The words, “As one was felling a log, the axe head fell into the water… And he [Elisha] cut down a stick, and threw it in at that place; and the iron floated,” tell of God working a miracle through Elisha (2Kings 6:5-6). The words, “Then Peter said, I have no silver or gold; but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise and walk… And he jumped up stood, and walked, and went into the temple with them, walking, and jumping, and praising Godtell of God working a miracle through Peter (Acts 3:6-8). The words, “My God has sent His angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me,” tell of God sending an angel to work a miracle (Daniel 6:22). The words, “The angel of the LORD reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and fire rose up out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight,” again tell of God using an angel to work a miracle (Judges 6:22). And, all who trust in Christ have God’s assurance that, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7).

Even though Satan has some strength, just as we have strength, because it is “the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things,” Satan cannot perform miracles (Psalm 72:18).” However, the words, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,” tell us that like the magicians who opposed Moses, Satan is able to deceive people with “lying wonders” (2Thessalonians 2:9).

 

The Folly of Reading Man’s Word into Scripture

          The words, “Do not go beyond what is written,” // “We have not written anything to you, other than what you read” // “No truth of scripture comes from any private explanation,” tell us that God wants us to believe and teach exactly what the words of Scripture say, not made up explanations (1Corinthians 4:6, 2Corinthians 1:13, 2Peter 1:20). Yet because the “heart is deceitful above all things,” men usually do the opposite (Jeremiah 17:9). And, one such fairy-tale doctrine is the bogus claim that angels have in the past mated with humans.

          Those who make this claim have to assume that these angels had bodies [man’s word].  However, God tells us that angels do not have bodies by saying “Are they [angels] not all spirits who serve Him?” // “A spirit does not have flesh and bones,” (Hebrews 1:14, Luke 24:39). Nevertheless, those who want to believe that angels have mated with humans usually try to counter those passages by pointing out that angels have sometimes appeared as men, and were even thought to be men, such as when they appeared to Lot (Genesis 19:1 and 5). What they fail to see is that looking like men is a far cry from actually being human. In order to support their fairy-tale doctrine they have to assume that these angels not only looked like men, but had functioning sex organs [man’s word]. They also have to assume that those sex organs had sperm with human DNA [man’s word]. They also have to assume that God created those bodies [man’s word], because angels do not have the knowledge or ability to create human bodies. Then, having fabricated a doctrine by piling one assumption upon another, they have to explain away what the Bible plainly says. For example: God created us to reproduce after our own kind, and the very fact that the sin of Adam brought death “upon all men,” tells us that all men are the descendants of Adam (Romans 5:12). The Bible also tells us that God “has made of one blood all nations of men” (Acts 17:26). And, the words, “When the dead rise, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are like the angels who are in heaven,” tell us that angels do not marry (Mark 12:25). Furthermore, because angels are spirits (not physical beings), and do not reproduce, there is no reason to believe that they have DNA.

 

The passage this controversy centers around says, “It came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, That the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took them wives of all whom they chose… And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth” (Genesis 6:1-5). These verses should warn every son of God [saved person John 1:12] of the importance of not just choosing a wife on the basis of looks, but choosing a godly wife. And, the fact that those “sons of God” married [“took them wives”] when the Bible plainly tells us that angels “neither marry, nor are given in marriage,” tells us that those “sons of God” were men, not angels (Matthew 22:30).

          Of the “great-ones” or “Nephilim” spoken of in Gen. 6:4, The Keil and Delitzsch Commentary, which is generally regarded as the best in regard to the Hebrew, says, “Luther gives the correct meaning, ‘tyrants:’ they were called Nephilim because they fell upon the people and oppressed them” (Page 137).

 

“In whatever matter Holy Scripture has definitely spoken the Christian theologian must suppress his own views, opinions, and speculations and adhere unwaveringly to the divine truths revealed in Holy Scripture. In no case is he permitted to inject into the body of divine truth his own figments and fabrications.” (Christian Dogmatics, by J.T. Muller, page 39.)