1. Did God create the angels?
Yes.
Ps. 104:4. Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire.
Col. 1:16. By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers.
But on what precise day God created them, the Holy Scriptures do not expressly mention; and our ignorance of this matter will not prove of the least disadvantage to us. (Hunnius.)
2. What are angels?
Spiritual beings whom God has created after his own image in transcendent perfection, wisdom, justice, and holiness; so that they may serve him, watch over his elect, and enjoy eternal happiness.
3. From what material were the angels created?
They could not have been created from the essence of God, for then they would be gods. Neither could they have been created from the original crude and chaotic mass, for then they would be corporeal. But God, by his almighty power, produced them from nothing.
4. In what condition were the angels created?
The angels were created holy and with a free will; but in such a manner also that they had the power to abuse their freedom of will, and incline themselves to evil.
5. How many kinds of angels are there?
Two kinds: Good and bad. Those are called good who not only have retained that character in which they were originally created, but also have become so confirmed in good that there is no longer any possibility for them to fall.
6. How great is the perfection of the angels?
It is indeed great, but in many ways inferior to that of God. For although the kind of holiness which they possess is perfect, yet it is not of such a nature that they can communicate it to any one. On this account, they could not accomplish the work of redemption. So also their knowledge is unspeakably great; but yet this is of such a character as to be capable of being increased by the revelation of the mysteries of the Gospel, concerning which, previous to its publication, according to the eternal counsel of God, even the angels were ignorant. So, also, their power is indeed great, yet it is limited in such a manner that it is in every way inferior to the power of God; neither do they derive this power from their own nature.
7. Are there different orders of angels?
That there are different orders is evident from the fact, that Scripture calls Michael an archangel, and one of the chief princes (Dan. 10:13); and mentions some as thrones, and others as dominions, and others as principalities, and still others as powers (Col. 1:16). But, whether there be nine orders of angels, as the schoolmen taught, or what the distinction between these orders is, we cannot state with any certainty, as on this subject Scripture observes a profound silence.
8. What is the office of the good angels?
- Perpetually to praise God.
Isa. 6:3. And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.
- To execute God’s commandments, and to announce his will. This is evident from the history of Hagar, Abraham, and Jacob, and that of the conception and birth both of John the Baptist and of Christ our Saviour.
- To guard the safety of the pious.
Heb. 1:14. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.
Ps. 91:11. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
- After death to carry the souls of the pious to Abraham’s bosom, or everlasting life.
Luke 16:22. The beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom.
- Finally, on the last day to attend Christ, the universal judge, to separate the wicked from the righteous, and to consign them to the lake of fire.
Matt. 13:40-42. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Matt. 13:49, 50; 25:31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.
1 Thess. 4:16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.
Matt. 24:31. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the elect from the four winds.
9. Dare we adore angels, or pray to them?
No. For they themselves earnestly refuse to receive such worship.
Rev. 19:10. And I fell at his feet to worship him, And he said unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God.
10. As you have said before, that there are bad angels, please to state what they are?
Bad angels or devils are spirits, originally created by God in the same integrity, righteousness and holiness as the other class of angels; but who from their own free will having turned away from their Creator, and become his enemies, have been cast from this state and shut up in eternal condemnation.
11. Whence do you prove this?
From the Scriptures. For Christ himself spoke thus, John 8:44: The devil abode not in the truth. So also, 2 Pet. 2:4: God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. Jude in his Epistle, verse 6, writes that the bad angels did not keep their first estate.
12. What caused the sin of the devils?
The devils sinned not on account of any inherent depravity, neither were they induced thereto by any irresistible impulse, or any decree of God; but Satan sinned of his own. John 8:44. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh it of his own.
13. But whence did the sin of the devil originate?
It originated from the abuse of that free will, with which he was created. This will was moved from its object when, deceived by the contemplation and extravagant admiration of its own angelic dignity and excellency, it deemed obedience to any authority unworthy of itself.
14. Did the devil in this manner contract the guilt of sin?
He did. For by this very admiration of himself, giving to the creature that obedience which was due to the Creator, he sundered from God, both himself and as many others as he carried away with him into the fellowship of sin. Pride therefore was Satan’s sin: this is evident from the fact that in accordance with his old disposition, he instilled into the souls of our first parents the same sin, i.e., the desire to become gods.
Gen. 3:4, 5. And the serpent said, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Luther on Genesis.)
15. What are the works and desires of bad angels?
They are in all things contrary to the works and desires of the good angels. For
- They do not praise God; but slander him.
- They pervert the commandments and desires of God; or at least hinder men from performing them.
- They endeavor to prevent the spread of the Gospel.
- They lay snares for the pious.
- They exult over the crimes and eternal punishment of the wicked.
16. What knowledge do devils possess?
As the foreknowledge of future events is an attribute belonging only to God, the devils do not possess it, except only in so far as they learn it from divine revelation; or by reasoning from conjectures.
Neither have they any a priori perception of the thoughts of men; for this is also an attribute belonging only to God. Neither do they know those thoughts which the Holy Ghost suggests to the pious.
17. What power have they?
Their power is indeed great, but so circumscribed by God’s government, that without his permission, they cannot even possess swine (Matt. 8:31), or create lice (Ex. 8:18).
Matt. 8:31. The devils besought him saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
Ex. 8:18. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not.
18. Have they any hope of redemption?
None whatever. For they cannot make satisfaction for their own sins; neither does Christ’s satisfaction belong to them, as “he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham,” Heb. 2:16; neither will any other price be sufficient for their redemption. Therefore they remain “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness,” Jude 6; and although they now suffer punishment, yet on the last day they will have to endure sufferings far more severe.
Matt. 8:29. What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before our time?
Matt. 25:41. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
2 Pet. 2:4. See answer, Quest. 11.