Behold-Angels

While it sounds crazy to the contemporary mind, God does not hate Satan. God’s love encompasses even Satan, as it extends to all beings without exception. However, God condemns what Satan is doing and abhors what Satan has done to himself. Love doesn’t mean approval of another’s thoughts and actions.

Sometimes we misconstrue God’s condemnation of Satan and the other fallen angels/demons to hell as somehow cruel or unloving. The following is this author’s speculation:

It stands to reason that if Satan and the demons reject God…then if God forced them to be in his presence in heaven, he would be forcing them, in a way, to suffer even more than by sending them to hell. While it is true that God is, metaphysically speaking, present in hell – since nothing can exist outside of God sustaining it – those in hell have no sense of his presence whatsoever. In a way, God sending Satan and the demons to hell was an act of mercy. Satan and the demons do not want to sense God’s presence.

Both humans and angels are made for God, they have an inbuilt desire and need for God to be happy. To be without God forever is misery. Additionally, sins have their own consequence (see the article “Why God Can’t Forgive and Forget”). Because sin is contrary to both human nature and angelic nature, one cannot escape the punishment for sin. A habitual liar is deeply wounded and cannot appreciate the truth; others do not trust a habitual liar and he is, in many ways, alone. Hell is a state of existence where each creature is totally self-absorbed, blaming God, and ready to devour or dominate the person next to him.[2] The suffering is double: eternal separation from God and the suffering caused by one’s sins.[3]

In the end, God is simple, meaning, he isn’t made of parts. You cannot say this is one part of God and that is a different part of God. For that reason, God’s mercy is his justice. They are not opposites; it is we humans who perceive them as opposites as they affect us. Purgatory for humans is simultaneously God’s healing us (mercy) for the self-inflicted damage through sin and divine justice, the consequences of our sins. We will be judged just as a doctor makes a judgment of his patient’s condition. For example, if you eat gluttonously and put on fifty pounds, it is going to take measured eating and exercise to lose those fifty pounds. Hence the expression from the gym: no pain, no gain.

Is hell a punishment? Yes, and a horrific one at that. It results from the rejection of God that is sin; yet, that punishment is effectively built into creation itself. God sent Satan and all the demons to hell; can he do that to us? Yes.

Unlike Satan who will not and cannot repent, we humans can repent. We should recognize the insane love of God who cherishes all his creatures, and we should repent of all our sins. We should recognize that if we wind up in hell, it is because we have rejected God despite all he has done and does to animate us to return to him. C.S. Lewis’s characterization of hell quite well: “hell is locked from the inside.”[4]

[1] Why humans condemned to hell will not change their minds and repent even when in hell is a closely related, but different topic.

[2] This author sometimes asks in preaching: what would happen if God transported us to heaven, right now, just as we are? Would heaven be wonderful? The answer is universally “no.” Because we are sinners with sinful tendencies. We are the ones who gossip about each other, lie to each other, and steal from each other. If we were to suddenly arrive in heaven together without being transformed in Christ Jesus to be perfectly holy, then heaven would be a wonderful way to exist forever. That is why God is so good as to purge people after death. Purgatory is an amazing gift for those who are not bound for hell, but not yet ready for heaven.

[3] The Catechism teaches that there is “chief” punishment (separation from God), and hence secondary punishment of hell: “The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death, the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire.’ The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.” (CCC #11035)

[4] “To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called ‘hell’”(CCC #1033, italics added).

In contemporary American culture, we tend to think of hierarchy as a bad thing; it is one person or party holding power over another. Today’s mainstream culture tends to insist any “archy” is bad: monarchy, patriarchy, oligarchy, anarchy, etc. At least in terms of hierarchy, we have something that, when properly understood and lived, is very good. It is built into creation: the angelic realm.

We know that they exist in a hierarchy, not only by the fact that St. Michael is named as an Archangel, but also by the way they are referenced in scripture. Names/titles such as thrones, dominions, and principalities all imply order, governance, and levels of power.

The exact ordering of the hierarchy, however, isn’t entirely clear in the Bible. For this reason, different writers have had slightly different listings of their rank and order. This article will focus on the writings of Dionysius the Arreopagite and his work De Coelesti Hierarchia (On the Celestial Hierarchy).[2] He groups them in three groups of three, reflecting the Trinity:

Seraphim     Dominions      Principalities
Cherubim    Virtues             Archangels         
Thrones        Powers           (Regular) Angels

A contemporary reader may wonder if an angel in the lower part of the hierarchy is somehow “less” than an angel higher up in the order. In a sense, no. Granted, angels higher up have more power, but that does imply less dignity or less importance.[3] (H)ieros meant holy (a hieros was a priest, a holy one), and archia meant to rule. The one above you is empowered by God to elevate you toward him, to lift you up. God empowers or capacitates a hierarchy to look after and be responsible for the one(s) below. Thus, while our guardian angels are “above” us, they take care of us.

For Dionysius, hierarchy is not an oppressive thing, but to the contrary, a responsibility to God and others in the hierarchy. Fans of Spiderman may appreciate the idea that: “with great power comes great responsibility.” This applies to any hierarchy: the military, the family, or the Church. When lived authentically, it is a reflection of the God who took on our humanity in Christ and suffered and died on a cross to save us, in service of humanity. The Church, as the Body of Christ, is supposed to be like a human chain that extends from earth up to heaven, with anyone above, a hierarch, lifting up (the chain) the one below him. Hence, one title of the Pope is the servant of the servants of God.

The hierarchy of angels, as created by God, reassures us today when our culture maligns all hierarchy as a form of oppression. Authentic hierarchy is a beautiful and good thing. If it were not, we would not have guardian angels. Ultimately, we want to live in a monarchy under Christ the King. If you don’t want to live in such an order, there is always anarchy.

[1] In the Bible, as in the Nicene Creed that we say on Sundays, we refer to the fact that God made everything, the visible and invisible. While the hierarchy of angels is the main thing we reference as “invisible,” it does include anything that God created that we cannot see as part of this universe. Thus, heaven is likewise included, as is hell and purgatory. It also allows for the fact that God may have created other things of which we are not yet aware. God could have numerous other realms of creation which we do not know.

[2] He has previously been referred to as Pseudo-Dionysius. He is thought to be a fifth or sixth-century author, most probably a Syriac monk, who took the moniker of Dionysius, whom St. Paul converted at the Areopagus in Athens, Greece in Acts 17:34.

[3] See St. Paul’s explanation (1 Corinthians 12:12-26) about how the Church, the Body of Christ, is hierarchically organized. All parts are essential, even those we deem less: “Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another (1 Cor 12:22-25).

If you asked what species President George Washington is/was, the answer would be: human. If you asked what species the Archangel Michael is, the answer would be: Michael. As humans, we are soul-bodies, part physical and part spiritual. Yet, our awareness is dominated by the physical universe in which we live. For that reason – just as we think of labradors, poodles, and shelties as all examples of the species we call “dog” – we incorrectly think of archangels, cherubim, and seraphim as examples of the species called “angel.” To the contrary, each angel is its own species, and the term “angel” is a description of what that creature does. Angelos, in the original New Testament Greek, means “messenger.”

Similar to how each human soul is unique, each angel as a pure spirit, is unique. In effect, each angel is its own species.[2] Thus, while we group all angels together as we do humans, cats, and dogs, it is best to appreciate the fact that the angelic world is a massive world of individual, unique spirits. A starting point for understanding the angelic realm is to distinguish between what different groups of angels do. For example, guardian angels protect humans. Archangels are leaders among them who: fight against fallen angels (St. Michael), announce messages from God (St. Gabriel), or bring healing (St. Raphael).

A further point for understanding is that some angels are more powerful than others. For example, seraphim are more powerful than guardian angels. Such power is not physical, such as a bear being able to overpower a wolf. It is more like one human having more “brain power” than another. Bishop Fulton Sheen once described angels as being like “pure minds;” this applies very much to what angels do.

Since each angel is its own species, there are, in effect, billions of species of angels. While scripture doesn’t give a number, it does give indications that there are many of them:

“Thousands of thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him” (Daniel 7:10).

Then Jesus said to him, “…Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels?” (Mt 26:52-53).

While you can calculate what twelve legions would equal (at about 5,000-6,000 per legion), the biblical point is that there are many of them. One can infer that, if each human being has a guardian angel, and presuming that one angel only guards one human instead of four or a hundred at a time, then there must be at least 8 billion angels working on the planet right now.

God is the Creator; his glory is infinite. We see the manifestation of his infinite glory in the multiplicity and variety of creation. In terms of flowers, we not only have roses but also daffodils, orchids, daisies, etc. So too, God’s glory is reflected in an immense angelic realm where each angel is unique. It helps us appreciate how much God rejoices in his creation and that he is attentive to each one of us.

[1] Even with identical twins, who have the exact same DNA, their bodies are slightly different from each other, including a slightly or vastly different neuron arrangement in the brain.

[2] The term “species” properly belongs to the biological/physical world. I use it here to help the reader understand what an angel really is.

Contrary to the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, every time a bell rings, an angel does not get its wings. Furthermore, contrary to countless books, TV shows, movies, and famous paintings: angels cannot become human by “falling” (e.g. City of Angels); aren’t adorable (e.g. the cherubs of baroque art); and don’t engage in physical style battles with vampires and other supernatural creatures (e.g. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Mortal Instruments).

Angels are pure spirits; they are not physical. Full stop. In terms of the order of creation, angels were first.[1] They are pure spirits. Second, in terms of creation, is that which is physical; this includes the universe (spacetime) and everything in it. Humanity is the pinnacle of physical creation in that it sits at the boundary between the spiritual and the physical. That is why C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters referred to humans as “spiritual amphibians.”

To be human means to be the unity of body and soul; that is what we are. We are not souls trapped in bodies that escape at death. Death, rather, is the destruction of humans, the separation of soul and body; that is why, to properly live forever, we need to be resurrected. [2] An angel, in contrast, is a pure spirit. [3] An angel is not a soul without a body; an angel is its own type of creature. For that reason, an angel can no sooner become human than a cat can become a dog. Humans and angels are two different types of creatures.

While angels can manifest themselves to human visual perception; it is something merely for our senses. Angels don’t have bodies, and thus they don’t have wings. In the Bible, there are many descriptions of angels having wings (e.g. Ezekiel 1:6).

The descriptions are meant to help people conceptualize the non-physical characteristics of angels. Angels are swift, both in terms of action and decision and able to go between heaven and earth. Thus, the image is that angels have wings. The highest angels (seraphim) are depicted as having six wings and the second highest angels (cherubim) have four. While they can go between heaven and earth, it is much more like traversing parallel dimensions, than going from one place to another in the universe. Heaven is more of somehow else than somewhere (in this universe) else.

When angels manifest themselves in the Biblical narrative, it is as “messengers” of God, reflecting the literal meaning of the word in both Hebrew, malach, and Greek angelos.

There is a whole realm of God’s creation that we do not regularly perceive, that of the angels. Yet, these servants of God regularly assist and help us humans. As pure spirits, they are their own proper creation and show that God’s infinite creativity expresses itself in many ways. We should be aware of this realm, particularly as our life in this universe is still one marked by a spiritual battle, even if we cannot see it.

[1] God as God is eternal: he is outside of time; he is outside of all temporality. Thus, for God, there is no “before,” as all of time is present to him as if it were one moment. He created time – or more specifically spacetime – itself. Even the angels live in a temporality, though different from the sense of time in this universe, called “aeviternity.”

[2] What happens to a person in the “time” between death and the Resurrection at the end of time would be a different Behold article.

[3] This is also why we shouldn’t call God, “pure spirit.” God created the angels and thus is “above” them existentially. He who created the pure spirits is beyond the category. Please see Behold article, “What God Is Not”

[4] We often forget that there is a proper place for the “fear of the Lord,” not because God is out to get us, but because he is Being itself: infinite, eternal, omniscient, omnipotent. Furthermore, the “fear of the Lord,” is not a servile fear, that of a slave dreading a beating from its master. It is a filial fear, that of a son who loves his father and is afraid of doing something that would cause him to lose his relationship with his father. Tragically, modern translations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit from (Is 11:2) speak of “awe and wonder,” when the real translation is “fear of the Lord.”

[5] An angel can “fall” only in the sense of losing his relationship with God by choosing evil. He cannot “fall” and become human.