Why Are “Angels in the Outfield?”
Although I greatly appreciate and am thankful for the knowledge I have regarding this subject, I was not particularly interested in writing anything regarding it. My reason is simple, not all knowledge is edifying, or even purposeful for that matter. I simply didn’t believe this knowledge fulfilled either criteria. For this reason, I shunned to follow through on prophetically working out this knowledge. But then, while working out another interpretation, I received some dutiful knowledge with regards to this subject, and after working with its contents for a while; I received what I believed to be some interesting knowledge.
After this, I decided to put this knowledge in the back of my mind, still without the intention of writing on the subject. Then, out of the blue, on two separate occasions, the Lord prompted me to work out this interpretation. So, after fully believing the Lord wants this interpretation written, I purposed to obey and write it. The below interpretation, considering the knowledge “why aren’t angels offered Salvation,” is what I have been able to formulate so far.
What needs to be understood first and foremost is that the Levitical law, given to the prophet Moses by God (Exodus 20, Leviticus), is the law that establishes righteousness. This is proven by this verse of scripture below:
Galatians 3:21-22
For as many as are of the
works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to
do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is
evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but,
The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every
one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the
Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit
through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a
man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds,
as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was
confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty
years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it
to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because
of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made;
and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but
God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if
there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might
be given to them that believe.
And by this scripture in the book of Romans:
Romans 7:12
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy,
and just and good.
But for whom is the law just and holy and good, and for what purpose? Well, for man the Law is good and just and holy because it shows us our true sinfulness and draws us to the Lord. This is clearly stated in Romans chapter 7 as well as in Galatians 3. The law was added to show humanity their sinfulness, like a mirror to help man see who they really are. God used the law to humble us, to show us we couldn’t keep his commandments, all in the hopes we would understand our true sinfulness and run toward his perfect justice for that sinfulness, Jesus Christ. But here’s the thing, even though the Law was added to humble us, it would never be imputed unto us. This is the reason why:
Galatians 3:21-22
Is the law then against the promises of God? God
forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily
righteousness should have been by the law.
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise
by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Man is a sinful being by nature. His entire nature is sin (Romans 7). For this reason, the perfect law cannot judge man. It would be like judging imperfection by perfection, it would never add up; it would be unrealistic and contrary to what is actually sound judgment. Plain and simple, the only reason man is not perfectly judged by the Ten Commandments is because he cannot keep them. Man has been concluded, even judged, under sin.
Now, we know that because of this situation there is a way for man to be saved, the latter end of the above verse bears witness to this:
…that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might
be given to them that believe.
Man has a way to salvation because God has provided Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ bore humanities sinful nature, and when man believes this by faith he is offered Salvation in Jesus Christ’s name. Man has a way to the Father for one simple reason; because Jesus Christ died for man, because man’s nature is sinful.
Now, the perfect Levitical law is not imputed when sinful man is concerned. But by rereading the scripture again we see:
Galatians 3:21-22
Is the law then against the promises of God? God
forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily
righteousness should have been by the law.
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by
faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
So we can clearly see that the law is good, and the only reason the law is not imputed to judge man is because man has been concluded under sins burden. Let me ask a question. Is this true with angels? Were angels born sinners? Are angel’s natures fallen or even sinful?
Holiness of Angels
Well we do know a few things. Number one, angels were righteous or holy enough to be the ones to ordain the Law as well as speak the word of God (Hebrews 1, 2, Galatians 3:19). Now you might say, “Well Christian sinners speak the word of God too!” Yes, but only through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 12:3, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 1 John 4:1-3). These angels spoke with all the authority of God (Luke 1:19-20), making their actions and authority comparable to that of the Holy Ghost.
Consuming Fire
Number two, God, who is the Holy Ghost, is often called in the bible a consuming fire or a flaming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24, 9:3, Hebrews 12:29, Isaiah 4:5, Lamentations 2:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:8). Look what the bible says about angels:
Psalm 104:4
Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers
a flaming fire.
Hebrews 1:7, 13-14
And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels
spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.
But to which of the angels has He ever said:
"Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"?
Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to
minister for those who will inherit salvation?
Judges 13:19-20
So Manoah took a kid with a
meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did
wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the flame
went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD
ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it,
and fell on their faces to the ground.
It is clear that these angels, the ones who ordained the Law (Galatians 3:19), and who at various times spoke the word of God (Hebrews 2:2), are able to become ministers to sinful humanity through both the integrity and the status of a flaming fire, a nature that is characteristic and comparable to Gods. What I am trying to prove is that while sinful man was created out of the earth which is now cursed, angels nature, much like God’s nature, is of fire. If this fact is true, it would make the nature of angels holy, the exact opposite of sinful humanity. Whereas man was ordained from the dust of the earth, angels were born in heaven within the presence of God himself, and were born most likely from God himself. Man was created in the image of God, angels were created of God. What this means is that while man’s nature would be characterized as sinful, angels nature would be characterized as holiness to the Lord. What we must remember is that angels were made to be prepared ministers and servants to the most high God; angels were born unto perfection and unto complete holiness to the Lord.
Now, for this reason, it is likely that God would require that the angels fully adhere to the holiness of the Levitical Law, which consequently they ordained (Luke 12:47-48, Romans 9:15, Galatians 3:19). In Galatians it clearly states that the reason the Levitical Law is not imputed unto mankind is because all of mankind has been concluded under sin… but angels have not been. Since angel’s natures are different, then by default, it is likely the holiness of the Levitical Law might be imputed unto them. Below is further evidence regarding this.
Holy Nature
This passage is referring to Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 2:16-18
For verily he (Jesus
Christ) took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed
of Abraham (the nature of man, born of a woman). Wherefore in all things it
behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted,
he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Number three: The above verse is telling us that when Jesus came to earth to live as a man he did exactly that, lived as a man. He didn’t take on the nature of an angel, a holy nature; he took on the nature of a man, a sinful nature. This was all done so that he would clearly understand our temptations and, in understanding our temptations, would become a compassionate high priest and minister. This scripture proves that the nature of angels is entirely different than the nature of man. I believe we can effectively conclude that since Jesus refused the nature of angels, then it was because angels, within their nature, are not tempted to sin in the same way that man is tempted. That doesn’t mean that an angel can’t sin or transgress or have iniquity within him, this is entirely possible (Ezekiel 28:15), but that desire doesn’t come instinctively or naturally. A bird instinctively flies; that is its nature. A dog instinctively barks; that is his nature. A cow instinctively moo’s; that is his nature. A man instinctively sins; that is his nature. Now, I have heard a dog moo before, but I’m pretty sure it was trained to do this. I have never heard a cow bark. The point is that we follow our nature instinctively, and we usually will not stray unless trained beyond the norm.
I believe we can also assume the substance of angels is holy (fire) and they were created and not born on the earth; hence… their substance is not fleshly (from the earth) but heavenly (of fire/light). Over and over in the bible it says that man’s flesh is what entices him to sin (Romans 7). If angels possessed no fleshly body, because their nature was fire, not only would angels not be enticed to sin instinctively or naturally, but because their overall nature was fire, they would burn up any such enticement or desire (Numbers 28:6, Deuteronomy 9:21). Later, I will get into the subject of angels allowing themselves to take on the form of man (appearing human).
Then how could an angel fall or sin or transgress and,
in doing so, not be able to be redeemed?
1 Corinthians 6:3
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more
things that pertain to this life?
This passage clearly states that Christ’s church will indeed judge angels. In order for the church to judge angels, there must be something within the angels to judge. The debate whether or not this includes all angels, or simply the angels who transgressed according to the revelation we have from the bible is not clear. The bible does say that all angels (sons of God) are not discerning into the matters pertaining to the church, and rely on the church for the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:9-11, 1 Peter 1:12, 1 Corinthians 2:6-8). This reliance might eventually equate to a judgment on their part. I am not trying to infer that Christians will harshly judge those whom God has ordained to minister and assist in our salvation (Hebrews 1:13-14), essentially Christians judging their own ministers. I believe any judgment toward those ministers would be redeeming in nature, meaning such a judgment would actually go well with them, simply becoming a foundation for edification. But nevertheless, the judgment factor infers that there must be something for us to judge. The bible then offers us more revelation into the matter.
Ezekiel 28:14-17
Thou art the anointed
cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy
Many believe the above reference is referring to Satan or Lucifer. I agree, especially with regard to the verses in Isaiah 14. It clearly says in the above verses that Satan both possessed iniquity and also sinned.
Understanding the Fall
We must first understand that Satan went from perfection to falling. How was Lucifer tempted to sin? Who tempted Satan? There was no temptation present in heaven when Satan sinned. It came from inside, just like the verse says, till iniquity was found IN you (John 8:44). Here is the thing. We do know from Hebrews 2:16-18 that an angel’s nature is different, but the above bible verse also shows that angels can in fact be prone to fall within that nature. This is my argument. Although an angel is prone to fall, the difference is vast between an angel falling and a man falling. For an angel to go from holiness to falling, and in doing so breaking the levitical law or the first commandment, is like a born again Christian going from understanding and knowing who God is (by revelation of the Holy Spirit) to committing wanton acts of transgression and sinfulness and abandoning the Lord altogether (Hebrews 6:4-6). In other words, it is like going from one end of the spectrum to the other; it is not some subtle bump in the road. If this comparison is accurate, then we can assume that Satan falling was no simple careless mistake or even some basic laziness or wantonness, his fall was a self-promoted focused and calculated plan. When Christians possibly judge the righteous angels in heaven, I believe that none will fall as a result of that judgment. All of them will remain in heaven but will possibly suffer some minimal loss. Possibly, these angels will not be perfect, perhaps far from it, but they will not go to hell forever either for any mistakes or small infractions. But the Devil, and those who were cast down with him (Revelation 12:4), will indeed be lost forever. This means that whatever they did was not just some error to be redeemed from; it was a major offense and transgression.
We know that the Devil fell because of pride, because he wanted to be worshiped himself. This action goes against the first commandment; thou shall have no other Gods before me. I believe that this action was not a one-time event. It was a calculated journey, it was a miss diagnosis of his original nature and it was ill treated by the offender himself, Satan. In other words, Satan allowed himself to fall so far and for so long that he eventually became the possession of himself, instead of what God had created him to be. So it was not him waking up on the wrong side of the bed and then having some bad day. It was a conscious and continual war plan against God, which remains to this day. We must also remember that Satan, etched within his original nature, was created for one purpose… to worship God only. Simply put, by worshipping himself Satan forfeited that purpose.
Jude 1:6
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
See this verse. They left their post, their very own beings as well as who they were created to be. There is also a belief that the above verse describes angels who allowed themselves the right to take on the human form in order to do as they please (which is the equivalent of self worship, thus breaking the first commandment). Consider the next few verses:
Genesis 6:1-5
And it came to pass,
when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born
unto them, That the sons of God saw
the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which
they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for
that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There
were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of
God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same
became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually.
You see, the angels …kept not their first estate. They left their …
own habitation. Presumably, in
order to do as they please with the daughters of men. This sinful choice polluted the human race
with giants and became the major reason for the flood (2 Peter 2:4-6) mentioned
in the very same chapter. Had the sons
of God (angels) kept their first estate (remained hidden and invisible within
their angelic nature) and not left their habitation (the heavens) then they
never would have mingled with the daughters of men (women) on the earth. Their decision to manifest as humans and take
wives for themselves became the equivalent of an officer going AWOL (absent
without leave – or leaving their own habitation) and then committing grave
crimes against humanity (breaking the first commandment).
I believe another aspect needs to be addressed in relation to the above
information. It is obvious angels or
“sons of God” have the ability to manifest in the likeness of humans. This is confirmed by a passage in the new
testament where it says that some of us Christians have entertained angels
unawares (Hebrews 13:2). Also, in the
passage I quoted above with regard to Samson’s parents and the angel of God who
manifested himself, the bible says:
Judges 13:15-16
And Manoah said
unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall
have made ready a kid for thee. And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though
thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt
offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an
angel of the LORD.
As you can clearly see, Manoah was talking with an angel, but by the
angel’s appearance, Manoah thought he was talking to a man. It is obvious from these verses that angels
have the ability to manifest themselves in the likeness of humans though they
retain their angelic nature. But more on
this after the next key points…
Judges 13:17-21
And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is
thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? And the
angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it
is secret? So Manoah took a
kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the
angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when
the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD
ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it,
and fell on their faces to the ground.
But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then
Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
It wasn’t until after the angel did wonderously that Manoah understood
it was indeed an angel, simply because the angel appeared to Manoah as a man. The key I want to stress is this angel
was doing God’s work solely. The angel
would not receive praise or dignity and would not even allow himself to eat,
instructing Manoah instead to offer his worship and obligation directly to
God. This demonstrates that even when an
angel manifests as a man, angels are still to put themselves under strict
guidelines and not infringe upon the inner workings of God’s sovereign
relationship to man. Now, to expound on
my previous explanation, angels who manifest themselves as humans still retain
their holy nature. I firmly believe that
angels never surrender their holy natures, even if they do manifest as
humans. The above passage should be evidence
enough. One minute the angel appeared as
a man and the next second he was a flame of fire ascending into the heavens (as
an offering no less). It would be
difficult to conclude that sitting, he was a man, and ascending, he was an
angel. The truth is he was always an
angel; he never forfeited his angelic nature in order to perform God’s
purposes. He was simply in stealth as he
sought to perform that work. You could
also reference this to Genesis 19 where two angels came to save Lot before
destroying
The Faith Question
Now this is a small bit of information that is not weighty or even complete but I am including it because it is interesting. God established salvation because we as humans were found to be sinners. But it is also known that until we show faith, that salvation will not be offered unto us. So there are two criteria to fulfill salvation as it applies to this question; a sinful nature and faith. Angels, by nature, cannot meet either criteria. Angel’s natures are different, like I have said before (Hebrews 2:16-18), they have no flesh and were born in heaven so they were not born sinners. Angels also cannot offer God faith that pleases him (Hebrews 11:6) because all angels have seen God face to face and therefore cannot exercise faith (Hebrews 11:1) with respect to the idea of a holy God.
Now, it is true that salvation was established simply because we are sinners, actually having nothing to do with a faith relationship initially, but salvation itself can only be imputed once we confess Jesus by faith. This means that faith was not the motivating factor that prompted God’s salvation by grace, mans sinfulness was. But it is interesting to note that faith is necessary in order to fulfill the salvation requirement ordained by God for man.
Conclusion
Luke 12:47-48
And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and
prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with
many strips. But he that knew
not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.
For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to
whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Romans 9:15
For he (the Lord) saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion.
By faith I have represented all the knowledge I have worked out with regards to this interpretation. I believe by faith the major reason Satan and the other fallen angels cannot be offered entrance back into heaven is because they were already there in the first place. They saw God, they knew God, and they experienced God; all without faith and all without any kind of notion or innate internal desire to sin against him. I believe God is going to require this of them. I truly believe in the information I have worked out regarding the Levitical law and the holiness of angels but I also believe my knowledge in this area is not complete, nor do I actually care for it to be. I can’t really care for angels because I’m to busy worrying about myself.
The last thing I want to include refers to this verse.
Jude 1:9
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the
devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a
railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
In this interpretation I have tried to bring the truth out in simplicity, prophetically, and not according to my own opinion. This basically means that I do not tie myself to what I have said. If what I said is the truth, then glory be to God. And if what I said is inaccurate, then I have written what I have written by faith, and I mean no ill will toward Satan or any of the other offenders. Trust me when I say that God has given me other insights regarding angels, totally separate from this interpretation, and I do not care to bring any kind of accusation against Satan or any other created being for that matter. This has not been my purpose at all in this interpretation.