Job 38:3-7 “Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me. (4) "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. (5) Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? (6) To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, (7) when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
After God created the heavens He then created all the angels, and according to scripture their number is innumerable (Hebrews 12:22). The above quoted passage of scripture is one of the few passages that mention all the angels of God being together at the same time, i.e. when Lucifer and his angels were still part of God’s kingdom. Unlike men that God has added to His creation individually over millennia, God created all the angels at the same time. Scripture reveals to us many different types of angels that God has created, and all of them have different functions to perform in God’s creation. One example of the angels that God has created are the Seraphim i.e. angels that have six wings (Isaiah 6:2). Another type of angel mentioned in scripture are the Cherubim i.e. angels that have four wings (Ezekiel 10:20-21) of which Lucifer was one, for God described him as being the anointed Cherub (Ezekiel 28:14). The bible also mentions the Archangels, of which Michael is one (Jude 1:9). The list of the different types of angels revealed in scripture are too numerous to mention here, and I’m convinced that there are many more than have been recorded in scripture. Scripture mentions both winged angels and angels without wings. With regards to the winged angels, what is implied in scripture, is that the more powerful and senior angels are either six or four winged angels, for both Seraphim and Cherubim are mentioned as being around the throne of God. Although the bible is silent on the issue, it seems reasonable to assume that as there are angels with six and four wings in heaven, so there must also be angels that have two wings. Not all angels have wings however, and in fact all angels in scripture that appeared to men, did not have wings.
Daniel 8:15-17 “Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. (16) And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, "Gabriel, make this man understand the vision." (17) So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
There are only six angels that are named in the bible. Of the six named, two are angels of God and the remaining four are all “fallen” angels. The above passage of scripture reveals to us one of the six angels named, i.e. Gabriel, which is a name that most believers recognise as the angel that appeared to Mary. The second angel named is Michael (Daniel 10:13), who is mentioned in scripture as an Archangel tasked with watching over the nation of Israel. The third angel named is Lucifer, however he has not retained his name since he was created, because he rebelled against God and God has since changed his name to Satan (Isaiah 14:12 and Job 1:6). The fourth angel named is Death (Revelation 6:8). This angel falls under Satan’s domain and is the last angel that will be destroyed by God. The fifth angel named is Apollyon (Revelation 9:11). This angel also falls under Satan’s domain and is the angel that rules over the bottomless pit. The sixth angel named is Legion (Mark 5:9). This is the angel that possessed the madman of the Gadarenes and that our Lord Jesus cast out. The bible tells us that there are an innumerable number of angels and yet each angel has a unique name, i.e. unlike men, no two angels have the same name (Isaiah 40:26). The reason for that is because God is the one who names the angels, whereas God has allowed men to name their children born to them. In the ages to come however, each man and woman will also have their own unique name, because God will once again name each one (Revelation 2:17).
Colossians 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (16) For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. (17) And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
The above quoted passage of scripture describes all of creation that has been created by God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. This passage speaks of both the visible and the invisible realms. The visible realm that it speaks about is the observable universe, which obviously includes the earth. It is this realm in which men dwell physically. The invisible realm is the realm of the spirit, and that realm includes all the heavens and the parallel spirit realms on the earth and under the earth. It is in these various realms of the spirit where the angels dwell. When the angels were created, it was at that time that God gave them their thrones, dominions, principalities and powers. Those thrones, etc have never changed and will remain in place until the end of the age, when God will finally put an end to all rule and dominion (1 Corinthians 15:24). That principle is also true for Satan and his angels, for even though God has banished Satan from the temple of God and he no longer serves there as the anointed cherub that he once was, he still retains the throne and dominion that God initially gave to him when he was created by God. There is another truth that is revealed to us in this passage of scripture, which is that angels are not free to move around in God’s creation as they choose, but rather they are bound to their own domains given to them by God. There were a group of angels that learned this lesson the hard way. For before the flood in the days of Noah, there were a group of angels that were a part of Satan’s kingdom, which rebelled against his authority and left the second heaven to dwell on the physical earth where men dwell. In other words they left their proper domain and intruded into a realm that transgressed the commandment of God. As a result, those angels were judged by God and are currently being held in chains of darkness under the earth, waiting for their day of judgement (Jude 1:6). And so, just as there are angels that dwell in heaven, so there are also angels that God created to dwell in the spiritual earth, and as such they also fell under Lucifer’s domain. Since the rebellion of Satan’s kingdom against God, these angels have become more commonly known as demons.
Revelation 12:3-4 “And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. (4) His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.”
When God created the angels, He divided them into two separate groups. The first group consisted of two thirds of the angels and the scripture refers to these as the elect angels of God (1 Timothy 5:21). The reason these angels are referred as the elect angels, is because these were the angels that were predestined by God not to take part in Lucifer’s rebellion against God. He placed these angels in the third heaven. The second group, which consisted of the remaining one third of the angels, He placed in the second heaven, on the earth and under the earth. This second group of angels were placed under Lucifer’s domain. Of these angels it was only Lucifer, as their leader, who was allowed into the heaven of heavens. And so, subsequently Lucifer is the only one among them who has ever seen God. We know this to be the case, because the apostle James informs us that the demons, who are fallen angels, believe that there is one God and tremble. The reason they believe that there is one God is because they have never seen Him, for if they had, they would not need to believe it for they would know it (James 2:19). And so, the angels were also created by God in ages past that exceed any human understanding.
Michael E.B. Maher
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