The angels of God.

Introduction

HE Angels of God ! " What/' it may be x asked, " do we know about them ? What can w r e know?" We often think of them, speak and hear of them ; of their ranks and orders, their numbers and ministries, their wonderful powers and their rapturous songs. Nor can we wonder at this ; for when we open the pages of the word of God, we behold their bright forms, or their outspread wings, or their chariots and horses of fire ; and we read of their power to protect God's chosen people when they are persecuted or endangered ; or to inflict vengeance upon their enemies. Our first vision of them is at the gate- way of Paradise, when, with the flaming sword, they kept " the way of the tree of life ; " and our last, in the revelation of the divine word, is when we behold them in the apocalyptic vision, in uncounted multitudes, uttering their everlasting songs of joy. And when we think that these holy beings, with all their vast powers, and superior intelligence, are interested in our race, we learn to love them, although we have never yet seen the brightness of their form, nor the beauty of their face.

Often we have sung in the sanctuary with the assembled multitudes,

" Angels now are hovering round us,

Unperceived amid the throng ; Wondering at the love that crowned us,

Glad to join the holy song,"

until we have fancied that we have heard their songs and the rustle of their wings. And how frequently have we been soothed into quiet and conscious security, when we have lain down at night surrounded by perils and dangers, with the blessed assurance, " The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them ! "

We have stood by the bedside of the dying saint, and have heard him exclaim in holy triumph, " The angels have come for me ; they are around my bed ; they are filling my room : M and have then known him to break forth in the strain,

" ' Lend, lend your wings ! I mount ! I fly ! O Grave, where is thy victory ? O Death, where is thy sting ? ' "

Thus, the fact of the existence of these celestial beings is kept constantly before us, and we cannot, if we would, help thinking of them. It has, therefore, occurred to the author of the following treatise that a volume, embracing the best thought of the Church concerning the angels, might be written, which would not merely interest, but also profit, a large class of readers. Very little, indeed, has been written upon this subject ; and much that has been published is merely traditional, and deserving only of being classed among the " old wives' fables which the Apostle Paul condemned. I Tim. iv, 7. The mass of Jewish literature upon this subject is unworthy of reproduction.

We have merely given a few specimens of this literature to show to our readers how little it can be relied upon. The writings, also, of the schoolmen, and of many of the doctors of the Roman Catholic Church, are not only without foundation in the word of God, but are mere conjectures or vagaries.

At present, it is true, our knowledge of the angels is very incomplete. They are invisible to us. However near they may be, still we do not see them, nor do any of our senses discern them. We behold them only in the light of the divine Word — we believe in their existence, orders, and ministrations, upon its authority alone. But that authority is all-sufficient. " The word of the Lord is truth." His "word endureth forever." Whatever is clearly written therein we can with confidence accept, and with all our hearts embrace. And no doubt can be had of its teachings on this subject. The existence of angels is just as clearly stated upon its sacred pages as that of any other fact. To doubt, therefore, or deny it, would be to unsettle our faith in every other truth of the Bible. This volume does not treat of myths, or imaginary beings ; but of existence as real as any that are made manifest to us by our senses. We rejoice, then, in the revealed facts of their existence, and of their relations to us.

Passing by the conjectures and vagaries referred to in another paragraph, the author has purposed to take only the torch of eternal truth in his hand, in the examination of the various questions related to this subject ; and to present nothing except what is revealed in the word of the Lord, or what seemed to him to be in entire accordance with its teachings. How far he has succeeded in doing this, his readers can best judge. He has been the more encouraged to prepare this volume for publication because of the kindly reception and somewhat extended circulation of the volumes which he has already sent forth from the press. Allow him to bespeak for this little book the same kind consideration and careful perusal which has been given to his former books.

Dear Christian reader, the time is drawing near when, if faithful, we shall be admitted to the society of angels and archangels, seraphim and cherubim. We shall then " see as we are seen, and know as we are known." The darkness which now rests upon many questions concerning these wonderful beings will then be removed ; our knowledge of them will be perfect ; and, we trust, will abundantly confirn? what we have written here.

Lewis R. Dunn.

Elizabeth, N. J., 1880.

LIST OF AUTHORS CONSULTED AND QUOTED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS BOOK.

Alford's Greek Testament

Allen's Modern Judaism.

Angels of God. By Rev. T. Timpson.

Bickersteth's Yesterday, To-day, and Forever.

Clarke's, Adam, Commentary.

Conybeare and Howson.

Daemons and Guardian Angels. By Rev. Dr. Berg.

Dwight's Theology.

Edwards' Works.

Gill's Works.

Hall, Bishop.

Hall's, Robert, Sermons.

Harman's Introduction to the Holy Scriptures. Henry's Commentary.

Horsley, Bishop.

Kitto's Works.

M'Clintock and Strong's Cyclopaedia.

Melvill's Sermons.

Meyer's Commentary.

Miller's, Hugh, Testimony of the Rocks.

Milton's Paradise Lost.

List of Authors.

Motley's Dutch Republic.

Rawson's Nature and Ministry of Angels.

Systematic Theology. By Charles Hodge, D.D.

Trench on Miracles,

Watson's Institutes and Commentary.

Wesley's Sermons.

Whately's Good and Evil Angels.

Whedon's Commentary.

Withrow's Catacombs of Rome,

Contents

PAGE

I. The Angels — Their Origin and their

Confirmation 13

Chapter I. The Angels — Their Origin And Their Confirmation

T S there such an order of beings as the angels ? Have we any warrant to believe that they have a personal existence ? that they are intelligent ? and that they are vastly superior in their powers to the human race ? Or, is the faith of the Church in their existence, during the ages past, unfounded, and are they, after all, only a myth, like the genii, dii, and fairies of classic story, or merely a childish dream? Very much, as to our comfort, our hope, our peace, and our real happiness, depends upon the way in which these inquiries are answered.

One thing is very certain. That is, that the word of God, from its earliest to its latest revelations concerning angels, speaks of them as persons, as intelligent beings ; as inhabitants of

T4 The Angels of God.

the heavenly world, although often appearing among men ; as beings possessed of wondrous powers, as existing in almost countless numbers, as having various orders and names, and as being entirely and constantly employed by God in the accomplishment of his purposes in the world. That word alone gives us an authoritative statement of their existence and of the facts referred to. If we, like too many have done among the Jews, the Schoolmen, and others, go out into the regions of dreamy speculation, fancy, or conceit, we shall soon lose ourselves amid the wildest vagaries, and disgust ourselves and all intelligent persons with the fruits of our folly. But we cannot go far astray while we hold the lamp of eternal truth in our hands as we proceed in our investigations. To this " sure word of prophecy " we shall endeavor " to take heed ; " and in all the future pages of this book shall present nothing but what we honestly believe is taught therein, or is in harmony therewith.

It may not be amiss, right here, to consider that, independent of what is taught us in the book of God, it is probable that there are intelligent beings higher in their order, their in-

The Angels — Their Origin, 15

telligence, and their powers, than man. " We see, in all departments of nature, a regular gradation from the lower to the higher forms of life ; from the almost invisible vegetable fungus in plants to the cedar of Lebanon ; from the minutest animalcule to the gigantic mammoth. In man we meet with the first, and to all appearance the lowest, of rational creatures. That he should be the only creature of his order is, a priori, as improbable as that insects should be the only class of irrational animals. There is every reason to believe that the scale of being; among- rational creatures is as extensive as that in the animal world. If the distance between God and man be infinite, all analogy would prove that the orders of rational creatures between us and God must be inconceivably numerous." * The fact of their existence being clearly revealed, and that fact being in entire harmony with the highest probabilities, the questions arise, From whence did this order of intelligences spring ? When were they created ? And by whom ? Various answers have been given to these questions. Many of the Jewish writers have

* Hodge : " Systematic Theology," vol. i, p. 637.

contended that they were created with all the other parts of the visible universe. Rabbi Jochanan says : " The angels were created on the second day ; this is what is written : 'Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters ; who maketh the clouds his chariot ; who walketh upon the wings of the wind ; who maketh his angels spirits.' " Psa. civ, 3, 4. Rabbi Chanina says : u The angels were created on the fifth day ; this is what is found written : 1 And fowl that may fly above the earth ; . . . and ' with twain he did fly/ H Gen. i, 20 ; Isa. vi, 2. On the other hand, Rabbi Bechai, in endeavoring to harmonize these views, says : M There are some angels who continue forever, namely, those who were created on the second day ; but others perish, according to the explanation of our rabbies of blessed memory, who say, 1 That the holy and blessed God created daily a multitude of angels, who sing an anthem to his praise and glory, and then perish ; and they are those who were created on the fifth day.' " This daily creation and daily perishing of angels is the doctrine taught in the Jewish Talmud.

Many Christian expositors have expressed

The Angels — Their Origin, 17

the opinion that they are included in the Mosaic account of the creation, among whom are Dr. Gill, Dr. Lightfoot, and others equally distinguished. We must concede, at the very outset, that the word of God does not give us any definite information regarding the period when they were created. The general concensus, however, of Christian teaching upon this question is, that they were created a long time anterior to the creation of the material and visible universe, and that, when that great work was accomplished, they not only beheld the laying of its foundation-stone, but were there also uttering their songs of joy.

If, however, we cannot know certainly when they were created, we have the most clear and definite knowledge as to who created them, and to w T hom they owe allegiance. John declares that "All things were made by him,"— that is, Christ — " and without him was not any thing made that was made." If, therefore, angels are created beings, our only conclusion must be that he made them. In Col. i, 15-17, we read of Christ, " Who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature ;

for by him were all things created that are in 2 heaven, h> role ovparolc, in the heavens, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers ; all things were created by him, and for him : and he is before all things, and by him all things consist." The Apostle Peter, speaking of Christ, says : " Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God ; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him." I Pet. iii, 22. Of course, as he is their Creator they are under his authority and control. So St. Paul declares that Christ is set at the right hand of God in the heavenly places, " far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." Eph. i, 21. In Philippians ii, 9-1 1, it is said : " Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name : that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of tilings in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." It is very true that Christ was "for a little while made lower than the angels." But it was for a purpose. It was ik for the suffering of death : that he by

The Angels — Their Origin. 19

the grace of God should taste death for every man," which he could not have done had he not assumed our nature.

H aving been created by Christ, all these ranks and orders of intelligences worship him as their Creator and Lord. " When he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." Heb. i, 6. In the vision which Isaiah had in the year King Uzziah died, he saw the six-winged seraphim, as they covered their faces and feet, and flew through the vast expanse, worship him. That this is so, is evident from the language of the Apostle John, when, in referring to this vision, he says, " These things spake Isaiah when he saw his [Christ's] glory and spake of him." xii, 41. In the apocalyptic vision they also appear before us as worshiping him in the highest heavens. Rev. v, 11-14. Once only have human ears heard the rapturous song»s of the angels. And let it never be forgotten that these songs were sung in praise of God at the advent of the blessed Christ. The privilege of hearing these angel chimes was accorded to the humble shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem, as they fed their flocks by night. Never was the advent of any human being heralded by such demonstrations of joy. Cannon have thundered from tower and castle, from fortress and vessels of war, and bells have rung out their merry chimes and peals, while multitudes have shouted when a prince has been born ; but now the countless multitudes of the heavenly host — outnumbering all the armies and navies of the world, and all the subjects of any human government — uttered their songs of praise, until the heaven of heavens rang again with joy. The echoes of those angel-chimes still linger upon earth's mountains and valleys, and may yet be heard above the din and noise, the bustle and confusion of the world, by eager, listening ears. There can be no doubt, then, that the angels worship and adore Christ. If so, then he is their Creator and Lord, and so divine — very and eternal God ; or else they, in rendering this worship, are idolaters. A conclusion, this, too monstrous to be believed.

We have now seen the angels present at the creation, and when the morning stars sang together they, " the sons of God," shouted aloud for joy. We have also seen them at the ad-

The Angels — Their Origin. 21

vent of their Lord and our Saviour, uttering songs of rapturous delight. There was one other grand occasion — when God came down on Mount Sinai to give his law — when they were present in large numbers, and, probably, acted as mediators in the dispensation of that law. The royal psalmist says, " The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels : the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place." Psa. Ixviii, 17. Stephen, the angel-faced, standing in view of the glories of the heavenly world, in his terrible invective against the Jewish people, says, " Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it." Acts vii, 53. So St. Paul declares, in his Epistle to the Galatians, (iii, 19,) " And it — the law — was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." They did not, of course, give the law ; but they were God's " ministers and instrumental enactors." So in the Epistle to the Hebrews we read, " For if the word — [that is, the law] — spoken by angels was steadfast." Thus in the three grandest events known to man — the creation of the world, the giving of the law, and the advent of Christ for the redemption of man

- — angels have appeared, singing their songs, ministering the law of their Lord, and proclaiming the wondrous story of his birth.

The fall of angels will be considered in another place. But it is important that we notice here the fact that, while many — how many no one can tell — broke their allegiance and fell from their " first estate," countless numbers maintained their loyalty to their Creator, and having, probably, passed through a period of probation, for a longer or shorter period, were confirmed in their character and allegiance, and fixed in their everlasting abodes of purity and bliss. These are " the elect angels" of whom the apostle speaks in his charge to Timothy. Of this the goldenmouthed Chrysostom speaks, when he says, " Neither may we doubt that the angels themselves need the grace of Christ, the Redeemer, that is to say, the grace of confirmation and exaltation, though not the grace of reconciliation. For, as they are creatures, they cannot, of their own nature, be beyond danger of falling. . . . Hence, therefore, it is evident, that the grace of Christ, the Mediator, is necessary for the happiness even of angels; not that by

The Angels — Their Confirmation. 23

it they should be justified and absolved from sin, but that by it they may be confirmed in the divine love."

With this view all the most eminent divines in the Church are in hearty accord. The eloquent Melvill in one of his sermons, says, " If the angels are now secured against falling away, what has made them secure ? What has thrown around them such a rampart against the incursions of evil that there is a certainty of their continuing the obedient and the happy? We know of no satisfactory answer to these questions, but that which supposes the whole universe interested in the suretyship of Jesus and affected by his mediation. Of course, we do not mean that where no sin had been committed there could be need of the shedding of blood. But those who required not expiation, required the being confirmed and established ; they required to have their happiness made permanent through some connection of its natural mutability. When, therefore, the Son of God undertook to link the created with the Uncreated, the finite with the Infinite, in his own divine person, he probably did that which gave stability to unfallen orders,

The Angels of God.

as well as wrought the recovery of a fallen. He raised the disobedient and maintained the obedient ; and by the same act rendered it impossible that those then pure beings should be polluted, and possible that men, though polluted, might be cleansed. And now, if you tell me of glorious worlds, where the inhabitants have no sins of which to repent, I cannot, on that account, conclude that they cannot join with me in gratitude to a Mediator. While I thank and bless him for my restoration, they may thank and bless him for their preservation. His the arm which has raised me from ruin ; his may be the arm which has retained them in glory. And equally may the Son be occupied with every home of intelligent being, ministering throughout the broad sweep of the spiritual creation, to the rendering those in obedience who are by nature in constant danger of apostasy. Hence, just as we refer it to the immediate agency of God, that stars and planets retain their places, and perform their revolutions, so we should refer it to the immediate agency of Christ, that the successive ranks of the heavenly hosts pre-

The Angels— Their Confirmation. 25

serve their glory, and walk their brilliant circuits. ?

This certainly gives a broader sweep to our views of Christ's Mediatorial work, that it not only comprehends the race of fallen beings, but that it reaches, also, those who are unfallen, and keeps them secure in their allegiance to the throne of the Most High. No wonder, then, that the songs of angels blend so harmoniously with those of the redeemed and glorified sons of men. It may be that when our eyes are opened to more fully comprehend the mysteries of redemption, we shall see that the cross of Christ is not only upreared in the center of the physical world, but also in the center of the physical universe ; and that to it the eye of every intelligent being is turned — " in the heavens " as well as in the earth.

* Melvill's Sermons, p. 300.

11 In the apocryphal Book of Maccabees, it is related that Heliodorus resolved to invade the temple of Jehovah, and plunder its treasury. On proceeding to execute his impious purpose ' there appeared to him a horse with a terrible rider upon him, and adorned with a very fair covering, and he ran fiercely and smote at Heliodorus with his fore-feet ; and it seemed that he that sat upon the horse had complete harness of gold. Moreover, two other young men appeared before him, notable in strength, excelle7it in beauty, and comely in apparel, who stood by him on either side.' "

4 1 But who is he, in panoply of gold,

Throned on that burning charger ? bright his form, Yet in its brightness awful to behold,

And girt with all the terrors of the storm ! Lightning is on his helmet's crest, and fear Shrinks from the splendor of his brow severe.

"And by his side two radiant warriors stand, All armed and kingly in commanding grace —

O, more than kingly ! godlike ! sternly grand ! Their port indignant, and each dazzling face

Beams with the beauty to immortals given,

Magnificent in all the wrath of heaven."

Chapter II

THE NATURE AND FORMS OF ANGELS. ^HERE is evidently a broad distinction made in the word of God between the nature of angels and the nature of men. In the Epistle to the Hebrews we read, (ch. ii, 16,) " For verily he took not on him the nature of angels ; " — in the sense of helping and succoring them ; — " but he took on him the seed of Abraham. " The argument here is this, that Christ took on him the nature of those whom he would redeem — of those who needed help, succor, and redemption. The elect angels did not need redemption, as they are unsinning and unfallen ; but the seed of Abraham — of humanity — needed it, for they are sinful and fallen. What, then, is the nature of the angels ?

They are spiritual beings. " He maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." We have no sympathy with the rationalistic interpretation of this beautiful verse — " Who maketh the winds his angels, and flaming fire his ministers." This maybe all true in a modified sense ; but it is too much of a toning down of God's word to be acceptable to those who believe in a divine revelation. Again we read, " Are they not all ministering spirits ? " By this we understand that they are of a spiritual nature, not compounded of parts, as our bodies are ; and yet not so simple and pure spirit as God is, who is absolutely and eternally " a Spirit." It is difficult, and, indeed, impossible, for us to understand what is meant by a spiritual being. All our ideas of existences are associated with more or less of materialism. Even those bodies which formerly were termed imponderable — as light, electricity, etc. — are found to be sufficiently material and tangible to be caught, unbraided, analyzed, yoked to the car of human progress, and made to minister to the wants, conveniences, and necessities of mankind. And man, the highest form of being with which we are brought into direct contact, is very material in all that we see or know of him. Although we must recognize in him faculties which are far above the most refined materialism of which we l<now any thing — faculties which ally him to the angels and to God, and which give the angels and the Lord of the angels the deepest interest in him — still this is the human spirit acting through visible and tangible forms, and displayed through material instruments. And so. it must be admitted,, when the angels have appeared among men,, that it has always been in a human form,, as seen by mortal eyes ; and in bright, celestial forms, when seen in the rapt vision of the prophet or the apostle. Indeed, material and mortal eyes cannot look upon pure spiritual beings.

The question arises here. Do the angels appear in heaven as they have appeared when seen by men and women on the earth, or as they have appeared when seen in vision ? We do not believe that this question can be satisfactorily answered. The opinions held by the great names of the Church, and by its great councils, have varied widely, and they will, probably, continue to do so as long as the dim veil of mortality hangs between us and that heavenly world. kk It was decided by the Council held at Nice, A. D. 7S4, that angels had bodies composed of ether, or light ; an opinion which they thought was favored by Matt, xxviii, 5 : Luke ii. 9. and other pas-ages in

30 The Ayigcls of God.

which their form and glory are spoken of. The Council of Lateran, in A. D. 1215, decided that they were incorporeal, and this has been the common opinion in the Church. As such, therefore, they are invisible, incorruptible, and immortal." *

This opinion, however, is very far from being universal : many great expositors holding that they have some material vehicle with which they are united, highly refined in its nature, and at a great remove from the flesh and blood which compose our bodily frames. For our own part, we cannot possibly conceive that any created being in the universe can exist as a pure spirit. We are strongly of the opinion that all the angels, and all redeemed spirits, up to the period of the resurrection, have some kind of investiture, c< enswathement," as Joseph Cook, in his lectures, denominates it, in which it appears before God. Light, ethereal as eliminated ether, it may be, but still an organic vehicle suitable to their nature and employments. It would be dogmatic and unphilosophical to say that it is impossible for the angels to exist and act as pure spirits ; but

* Hedge : "Systematic Theology," vol. i, p. 63S.

our limited capacities cannot grasp the thought or form the idea of such existences. When we speak of them, therefore, as spiritual beings, it is in the same sense in which the apostle speaks of the spiritual body — under the dominancy of the glorified spirit — a body exempted from the grosser forms of earthly bodies which men now possess.

There are two things especially which lead us to this view. First : Our Saviour says that at the resurrection, when these corruptible, mortal, weak bodies shall be made incorruptible, powerful, immortal, and spiritual, then we shall be " as [or like] the angels of God in heaven!' Secondly : Whenever they have appeared on earth it has been in some form in which they could be seen, conversed with, heard, and touched. We now come to regard the manner of their appearances among men, or how they have looked as seen by mortal eyes. To Adam and his more immediate descendants the cherubim appeared in forms to us unknown, with " a flaming sword which turned every way," guarding the tree of life. To Abraham the angels appeared as men, having feet which were washed, bodies which stood, sat, and ate, one of the three being recognized and worshiped as the Angel of the Covenant, Jehovah of Hosts. These men were made known to Lot as angels, although they appeared as men, having human wants of shelter, lodging, and food. Not only so. They had hands : for while Lot lingered they laid hold upon his hands, and upon the hands of his wife, and upon the hands of his two daughters." The angel which appeared in the way of Balaam was recognized by the ass before he was seen by the false prophet. But, when Balaam saw him, " he stood in the way with a drawn sword in his hand," having a voice, and addressing him in words which he distinctly understood. It is not said in what form the angel appeared to Gideon. But from the narrative we conclude that he must have had a human form ; for he sat under the oak at Ophrah and talked with Gideon familiarly, so much so, indeed, that it was some time before the chosen leader knew that he was an angel. To the wife of Manoah the angel appeared, speaking in words which she understood ; but " his countenance was like an angel of God, very terrible." And yet his whole appearance must nave been that of a man : for when she ran to tell her husband of his second appearing, she said, " Behold, the man hath appeared unto me that came unto me the other day." Notwithstanding this, both of them recognized him as an angel of God, who departed from them in a flame of fire. It was thus indicated to them that while he had the form of a man he had powers of transformation unaffected by the laws of gravitation, which enabled him to ascend toward heaven, and to become invisible to them. We have no definite information of the form of the angel who appeared to David. All we learn of him is, that he stood by the threshing-floor of Araunah, the Jebusite ; and afterward that David saw him with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, standing between the earth and heaven. Of course, he must have appeared in some form, becanse he stood by the floor of Araunah, and had a drawn sword in his hand. And yet, so light, self-supporting, and ethereal was he, that he stood upon the elastic air between the earth and heaven.