Angels (and Demons)

Chapter 16

Are Angels Real?

 

Have you ever heard someone tell you a story that might have been easily dismissed as untrue, but the person telling it could not possibly have been untruthful?

 

There was an elderly lady in her eighties (or maybe nineties) who recounted the following story when she had been asked if she had ever encountered an angel.  I will repeat it as best I can from my fallible memory.  The details are shaky, but the gist of the story is memorable.

 

One Friday afternoon, her gas stove stopped working.  She called an appliance repair service.  The person who answered the phone informed her that, since it was late in the day, and all the repairmen were out on calls, no one would be available until Monday morning.  The person on the phone said, don’t use the gas stove until then.

 

The lady said she was upset, because she lived alone, and would not be able to cook until Monday.  Resigning herself to her fate, and looking forward only to cold meals for the weekend, she hung up the phone and went to her pantry.

 

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and when she opened it, there stood a man with a toolbox and wearing a repairman’s garb.  I’m here to fix your stove, he said.

 

At this point, you had to have been there to see the lady’s demeanor as she seemed to relive her confusion.  But, she said, I was told that no one could get here until Monday.

 

Well, I’m here now.  Can you show me the stove?

 

So, she said, she took the man to the kitchen.  He then pulled the stove from its position at the wall, looked downward, and said, well, there’s the problem right there.  It’s the regulator.  I’ll replace it for you.

 

Kneeling down, he opened his small toolbox.  The only thing it contained was a new regulator, and the two or three tools needed to disconnect it.  Soon, the job was finished.  He pushed the stove back into its position, and tested it.  It worked perfectly.

 

The lady then said, how much do I owe you?

 

The man said, well, wait until you get the invoice.

 

He then left, and the lady enjoyed the weekend.

 

Monday morning, there was a knock on the door.  When the lady opened it, there stood a different man than before, with a toolbox, and wearing a repairman’s garb.  I’m here to fix your stove, he said.

 

Oh no, she replied.  It was repaired last Friday afternoon.

 

Again, you had to have been there.  The man, the lady said, had a confused look on his face, and said, did you call another repair service?

 

No, but right after I hung up the phone, someone was at the door, and he fixed it.

 

As the lady told this story, I got the impression that she did not realize that the repairman either did not believe her, or else, he thought she was mentally confused.

 

So he said to her, well, would you mind if I have a look, just to make sure that the stove is safe to use?

 

She then led him to the kitchen, and allowed the man to pull the stove from its place.  There, the lady said, she noticed that the previous repairman had left the old regulator on the floor, near the newly installed one.

 

The repairman then picked up the old regulator, and said in amazement, I haven’t seen one of these in many years.  I don’t think they even make them anymore.  It’s a good thing he replaced it when he did, because a gas leak from this could be dangerous.  Where did he get it?

 

The lady replied that the previous repairman had had it in his toolbox, with only the necessary tools.

 

I got the impression (from the way the lady told it) that the repairman either did not believe her, or thought she was confused.  He remarked how unlikely it was to have this rare item, and only those tools, in his toolbox.

 

He then asked her where the previous repairman had come from, what company?  The lady said she did not know, but that he had told her to wait for a billing invoice.

 

When you receive the invoice, the man said, could you give me a call?  I’m really curious to talk to this guy.

 

The lady promised to call, as soon as she got the bill.  And I would have, she said, but no bill ever came.

 

Chapter 17

Angels and Demons

 

Angels (and demons) are the subject of much misunderstanding.  In order to clear up those misunderstandings, this chapter will rely on the Bible, as taught by the Baptist Faith, and by sources attached to the Roman Catholic Church^[1] and Jewish tradition.  Any errors in this chapter are mine, not those of the sources.

        The first misunderstanding to clear up is to understand the similarities and differences between humans and angels.

        Angels are not human, and never were.  No human ever becomes an angel, and no angel ever becomes a human.  Angels are of spirit, not of material substance, although some of them can, at times, assume physical appearance, perhaps even to the point of eating material food.  Humans are spiritual beings with a physical component.  Upon death we are temporarily separated from our bodies, but after a future event called the Rapture, we will become forevermore both of spirit and of physical substance, although that future physical substance will be incorruptible.

        Like humans, angels have life, consciousness and free will.  Unlike humans, angels are of several different kinds, and these ranks and choirs, as they are called, are very different from each other, vastly more different than are the races of humans.

        One vital fact to recognize is that one-third of the angels rebelled against God and are as a consequence fallen, having transfixed themselves permanently into evil.  The other two-thirds of angels remained loyal to God, and are now permanently sanctified such that no sin can ever corrupt them.  They are eternally and forevermore, sinless.

        It is important to note that angels are never to be worshipped.  The fallen angel, Satan, sought to be worshipped in place of God.  Angels loyal to God refuse to be worshipped, and instead, themselves worship God and only God.

        How many angels are there?  The Bible tells us that there are myriads of them, but this does not reveal to us a precise number.  It is believed by some scholars who study “angelology” that the number is so large that it is beyond counting.  The question of whether there are an infinite number of angels is perplexing, but the reference in the Bible to one-third of the angels makes better mathematical sense if the number of angels is finite rather than infinite.  In any case, the number of angels is likely beyond human comprehension, possibly greater than the number of grains of sand on the earth, and possibly orders of magnitude greater than that.

        Angels are neither male nor female.  They do not reproduce, nor do they die. The names by which they are referred to, may sometimes coincide with the names of men, such as Michael and Raphael, but this does not mean that the angels themselves have gender, at least nothing that resembles human genders.

        The angels are classified by scholars into three levels, called spheres, and within each of the three spheres, there are three levels called choirs.

        The three spheres are not given specific names, except to order them by number as the first (highest) sphere, the second sphere, and the third (lowest).  Within each sphere there are three choirs, and these are named as follows, from highest to lowest rank:

1.       Seraphim

2.       Cherubim

3.       Thrones

 

4.       Dominions

5.       Virtues

6.       Powers

 

7.       Principalities

8.       Archangels

9.       Angels

Other names for the ranks of angels are used by some scholars.

        The ranks of angels have been diagrammed by some as consisting of circles surrounding God, with the highest order of angels (the Seraphs) being closest to the throne of God, and the lower ranks farther out.  While the higher ranks might be assumed to have authority over the lesser ranks, it is probably incorrect to equate this with earthly authority.  Instead, each sphere and choir has a separate purpose and function in the hierarchy of heaven.  For example on earth, a high government official may have authority over a low ranking technician, but the prime minister does not tell the jet engine mechanic how to do his job, at least not if he intends to safely fly on that aircraft.

        In heaven, the angels have been sanctified, eternally perfected by God Himself, and therefore, no jealousies or conflicts ever arise between angels.  Of course, they never question God, and they worshipfully obey His every command, based on the mutual love between them.

        The God Paradigm diagrams reality as an outer circle, an inner circle, and the center.  The outer band (a doughnut shape) represents the physical world, and also represents, very loosely speaking, the realm of Jesus, who took on physical form to save humans from self-destruction.  I speculate that this outer band is also the realm of the third sphere of angels, which are the Principalities, the archangels and the angels.  I must emphasize that this speculation is only a very loose analogy, for of course Jesus is not restricted, and the angels of any rank go where God directs them.

        The inner disk of the diagram is then, by very loose analogy, the realm of God the Father (who is not restricted), the realm of natural law, and if I may speculate, the realm of the second sphere (Dominions, Virtues and Powers). 

        Finally the absolute center of the diagram, a center which itself has no center, that is, neither a beginning nor an end, represents (very loosely, I continue to emphasize) the Holy Spirit, the Alpha and the Omega, and the realm of the first sphere of angels, the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones.

        Although scholars have arranged angels into nine categories, it should be noted that Fr. Pariente taught that each angel is personally unique, not merely in minor detail, but in the very core of its being.  He said that one might go so far as to say that each angel is its own kind of angel.  The spheres and ranks merely group the angels into functions and duties.  Also, there is no possibility of overlap among the spheres— they are as widely separated from each other as is the highest mountain top from the lowest depths of the ocean, and more so.

        Now for a very unpleasant subject, that of the fallen angels, the demons.  We shall touch only on a very few points, ones that in my personal and biased opinion should be important to every Jew and Christian.

        The obvious and painful question is, how was it possible that angels, living in heaven, could rebel against the God who created them?  Even if they thought that such a rebellion had a chance of success, why would they ever even consider it?

        I must begin by saying that there is no answer.  Only those who do rebel against God can give any answer, and certainly that answer must be irrational, and worse than irrational, beyond comprehension.

        The rebellion seems to have begun with Lucifer, and Lucifer seems to have been the highest of all the angels.^[2]  As such, he was closest to God.  Tradition holds that Lucifer was overcome by avarice and jealousy, by a hunger for power that led him to attempt to usurp God and seize the throne for himself.  While these motives may be common among humans who are close to the seat of power in their nations, my suspicion is that Lucifer was not led by temptation, but actually tempted himself.  His free will alone, his decision, his choosing, led him to do the unthinkable, to rebel against the loving God who had given him everything he could ever legitimately desire.  Again, there is no understanding of this, and frankly, I hope never to understand it.

        Just as with Lucifer, those who joined him in the rebellion were not the victims of Lucifer’s powers of persuasion, nor by his powers of deception.  They victimized themselves, each seeking to aggrandize himself with whatever perceived benefit they had deceived themselves into coveting.

        Since heaven exists outside of space and time, there is probably no human way of expressing the events of the rebellion.  We tend to think in terms of, first this happened, and then that happened, which finally led to this result.  In the spiritual realm, however, these might not apply, at least not in any manner we can comprehend.  Nor need we to comprehend any sequence of events, but only the Biblical account.

        After his defeat in heaven, Satan had not learned anything.  He had already transfixed himself into eternal, irreversible evil, and therefore, placed himself beyond ever accepting God’s forgiveness.  He came down to earth, and continues to wage war against God, even knowing that he can never succeed.  One preacher I listened to explained this by saying that although Satan knows that he can never undo the work of salvation by Jesus, although he can never take away our salvation, he can deprive us in this lifetime of the joy of that salvation.

        Imagine if you had been informed that a month from now, you will inherit a billion dollars, but imagine also that nobody believed you when you told them.  Therefore, you could not borrow against the inheritance, nor enjoy any monetary benefit at all from it until you actually get the money, and that there was no possible way to get around these conditions.  You had to live, financially speaking, just as you always have.

        Even though you had not yet received the money, you would probably be overjoyed just knowing that in a short time, you would have all the money you could ever have dreamed of having.  That month might seem like a long time, but even so, you knew that your every financial need would be taken care of.

        This is by no means a perfect analogy, but it represents what every saved Christian should experience, the joy of eternal salvation.  We have an inheritance in heaven that is worth far more than all the money in the world.

        Imagine then that some spiteful person brings great suffering into your life, ruining the joy that you otherwise would feel, making you even forget the promised inheritance, perhaps even causing you to doubt that you would ever receive it.

        That spiteful person is Satan.

        Satan cannot cause you to lose your salvation.  Jesus already paid the price.  Salvation is yours forever.

        Only the saved person himself can cause him to lose his salvation, and that is by accepting the mark of the beast.  This sin is also called, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  It is not a sin that is easy to commit.  It requires exact knowledge of what one is doing, it requires persistence over a long period of time, and it requires a strenuous act of free will.  During that process, the soul will, figuratively speaking, howl and shriek and try everything to prevent its eternal damnation.  It is easier to walk slowly into a raging furnace than to accept the mark of the beast.

        Even so, many people will accept it.  Why?  Again, no one can explain it.  The self-damning soul must reject God, must reject His love, must refuse His forgiveness.  There is no answer, except that some people will do it.

        Satan may think that it is he who is doing this to so many humans, but he is not.  They do it to themselves.

        The angels in heaven will rejoice at each and every soul who repents of his sin and accepts Jesus as his savior.  The demons will rage and weep, because they know that they can never destroy a soul who has loved Jesus.  When you willfully accept Jesus as your savior right now, Jesus ensures that you will never accept the mark of the beast.  Please pray to Jesus now, to forgive your sins, and to seal you forever as His own.

 

        In heaven, as we said before, the angels know no strife among themselves, but instead, fully cooperate in every way to serve God, and to do His will.  The heavenly angels seek nothing for themselves.

        In Hell, by contrast, the fallen angels, and the condemned humans, have no such motives.  Not only do they hate God, they hate each other.  Not only is Satan jealous of God’s throne, but so is each and every demon and fallen human— jealous not only of God, but of Satan as well.  Each seeks only for himself, each seeks as much as he can get, and each will be satisfied with nothing short of everything.

        They have deprived themselves of every spiritual nourishment, and so they are in a constant state of hunger, but hunger for that which they detest:  love, faith, and charity.  Spiritual needs can be satisfied only by God, only by joyful worship of Him, only by seeking to please Him, even at the cost of one’s own life.  Without these, the human soul is in a state of eternal starvation.  The condemned soul is in a wretched state, and yet it forever refuses redemption.

        Rejoice in your salvation, in the salvation of your brothers and sisters, and in the love of God.

 

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[1] The Catholic source primarily used here is the book, Beyond Space, by Fr Pascal P Pariente, TAN Books and Publishers, Inc, Rockford IL 61105, ISBN 0-89555-053-9 copyrights 1961 and 1973.

[2] There is some dispute about this, since in Ezekiel 28:14 there is a passage that seems to identify Satan as a Cherub, the second highest rank of angels.  One attempt to explain this is to say that Cherubs were formerly the highest sphere, now superseded by the Seraphs, but to me this seems awkward and unlikely.  In any case, I will not attempt to resolve this issue, as it seems clear that Lucifer was the highest of all angels.