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As we have seen, Scripture is clear that angels minister to God around His throne. Thus, heaven is one of the two places in which we see angels ministering in the accounts we have in Scripture. But angels also minister in the physical realm. In this chapter, I want to turn our attention to the way in which angels function with respect to this world and to the created order.
The book of Job tells us that angels were present at the time of the creation of the universe as we know it. In chapter 38, after Job has, in some sense of defiance, demanded answers of God about his circumstances, God poses a series of questions for Job by way of rebuke. So the chapter opens with these words of God:
Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (vv. 2-7)
Note the allusion in this poetic discourse to the morning stars singing together with the sons of God. Traditionally, interpreters of the book of Job see the reference to the sons of God who were present during the time of creation as a reference to angels. That interpretation has provoked a lot of speculation and controversy. In the early chapters of Genesis, after Cain kills his brother Abel, we read the list of the descendants of Seth and then the descendants of Cain, and we see a radical expansion of evil; and then we read that the daughters of men intermarried with the sons of God and produced a race of very deviant people (Gen. 6:2). Many commentators have taken that text to mean an intermarriage between human women and
angelic beings, because the angels are referred to as "the sons of God" elsewhere. Personally, I believe that what was involved there was intermarriage between the descendants of Cain and the descendants of Seth; this intermarriage created the final corruption of the whole race. But we do see the term "sons of God" used in the Bible to refer to angels.
If we look again at Job 38:7, we read, "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." This is an interesting poetic image, because it involves the personification of stars, attributing to the stars in the sky personal characteristics, such as singing. This suggests that at the earliest stages of creation, when God set the stars in the sky, the stars celebrated creation along with the sons of God, who shouted for joy.
So we know that the angels were present at some time during creation, and we know that the angels themselves are created beings. That's important, and it will become even more important later on when we look at fallen angels, and especially at the biblical concept of Satan, because in our day the tendency is to attribute to Satan divine attributes, and to forget that Satan is a creature. Even though the angels that we've been examining so far are attending the immediate presence of God and therefore are heavenly beings, they are still creatures who were there during the creation of this natural world.
Now we know that after creation, God sustains everything that He made in this world and that He rules over the created sphere. The laws of nature are His laws, and the outworking of history follows the pattern of His sovereign rule. We do not believe God created everything and then, like the god of deism, stepped out of the picture: that He wound up the clock and now is simply letting it run down according to its own internal, mechanical operation. Rather, we believe that the God who created the universe also sustains that universe. He keeps it in existence and rules over it. One of the ways in which God mediates His providential supervision and rule over history and over creation is through the mission of these creatures that He formed to carry out His will, namely, the angels.
The first appearance of angels in the Bible happens early in the book of Genesis (apart from the appearance of Satan, the fallen angel whom we'll treat separately). We see a strange phenomenon after Adam and Eve fall and are expelled from the Garden of Eden. They are forced to live east of Eden, and they are not permitted to seek sanctuary or residence back in the garden. They may have had a strong desire to regain the enjoyment of the
Edenic paradise, but they were not able to come back into the garden. Why not? Because God posted sentries at the entrance to the Garden of Eden, and the sentries who were carrying out God's providential government at that point in history were angels with a flaming sword (Gen. 3:24).
Although this is just a brief mention of the function of certain angels in the early chapters of Genesis, it's pregnant with significance for our understanding of the doctrine of providence. First of all, we need to see that this incident, when God posted the angels at the entrance to the Garden of Eden, is the first representation of government in Scripture, at least in terms of law enforcement. The first law enforcement officers in human history were not even human beings, but angels who bore the sword against potential evildoers.
This glimpse of angelic activity, along with other passages that we'll look at in this chapter, has provoked some fascinating studies about the role of angels in human government. One of the most respected biblical scholars of the twentieth century was a Swiss by the name of Oscar Cullman, and while many theologians spend little time studying the role and the function of angels in redemptive history, Cullman broke that mold and did extensive studies of angels and wrote essays concerning the concept of angelic powers in Scripture. His idea was that there is a providential rule of each government in the world by angelic powers, some of which are good and some of which are evil. The Scriptures tell us that God raises up kingdoms and tears down kingdoms, but Cullman was getting at the way in which He raises them up or tears them down; he said God does it through the mediation of angelic beings. When Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God in the New Testament, he tells us that we need to do so because our struggle in this world is not with flesh and blood, but against "principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12). That is, in the heavenly spheres there are evil powers that have evil influence mediated through powers and principalities, which are earthly governments. So Paul is saying that the people of God need to have the whole armor of God, because their struggle is not just against people but against governments that have been or can be demonized; that standing behind these worldly forces and authorities are supernatural powers that for the most part remain invisible to us.
But we do not have only these demonic powers involved in world governments, such that governments can become empires of evil. There are also agents of God for good who are involved in nations and in governments. We find an example of that in the book of Daniel, where we read: "At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people, and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered ..." (12:1a).
Michael is identified earlier in the book of Daniel as an archangel. We distinguish levels of authority among the angelic hosts in Scripture, and the difference between an archangel and an angel is simply a difference in rank and authority. The word arche in Greek means "in the beginning," "chief," or "ruler." John uses it in the first verse of his Gospel when he writes, "In the beginning was the Word ...." Usually, however, the word is used to refer to that which is in the highest place of authority. It comes across into English as the prefix "arch." We have enemies and we have archenemies. In football, we have rivals and we have archrivals. The Roman Catholic Church has bishops and archbishops. In construction, we have builders and we have architects, which literally means "chief builders." So we see this word frequently used in the English language.
Well, it also functions that way in the Greek, and we can distinguish between an angel and an archangel. The angels who are archangels are commanders of the heavenly host, who are seated in positions of authority to exercise God's rule and authority over creation. And one of those who is named in Scripture is Michael, who appears here in the book of Daniel as the angelic manifestation of the power of God to redeem His nation. Also, Gabriel is understood in biblical history to be an archangel, and we will look at his activity later on, as he serves as the chief messenger of God in Scripture.
The angels that we encounter in the Old Testament often manifest themselves in human form. Let's take an example that we find in Genesis 18. The passage says, "Then the LORD appeared to him [Abraham] by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, 'My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant'" (vv. 1-3).
There is something a little difficult here. Angels are not to be worshiped, and yet the response of Abraham to these three who come to him by the oaks of Mamre is a response of worship. He falls on his face before them, which causes many commentators to believe that what we have here are two regular angels plus the Angel of the Lord, who is so closely connected with God that he wears, as it were, the very mantle of God and can be seen as either a theophany or as a christophany, that is, an outward manifestation of God Himself or as an outward manifestation of the preincarnate Christ.
Many people believe that Melchizedek (Gen. 14) was really Christ appearing in the Old Testament in human form, and the commander of the LORD's army in Joshua is also often seen as a christophany (Josh. 5).
In any case, we find these three, who appear here in Genesis to consult with Abraham, and Abraham says: "Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts" (vv. 4-5a). They go on to have a conversation in which Abraham intercedes for the future of Sodom.
Then, in chapter 19, we read:
Now the two angels [presumably the two angels without the Angel of the Lord] came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, "Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the open square." But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house.
Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight. Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally." (vv. 1-5)
Apparently, these angels are so magnificently attractive that the Sodomites seek to use them sexually. As the story progresses, Lot, trying to protect the angels, offers his daughters to the crowd instead. They'll have none of that, but what's significant for our concern is in verses 9-11: "And they said, 'Stand back!' Then they said, 'This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.' So
they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door."
So these angels, who are supposed to receive biblical hospitality in the house of Lot, intercede to save Lot and his family, pulling him away from the mob, into the safety in the house, and then using their powers to strike the wicked Sodomites blind. In this case, the angels are there to minister to Lot and to his family in a time of crisis. That's a key that we want to hold onto for future consideration, because that also is one of the functions of the angels that God sends to work out His providential rule over history.