The Angels that Sinned

1st Corinthians 6:2-3 “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels?”

How do the Churches of God explain this statement made by the Apostle Paul? Is it the teaching of our ministers that the angels who followed Lucifer in his rebellion have already been condemned; are they truly destined for the lake of fire? If the angels that sinned are already committed to certain destruction, the only angels remaining would be the angels of God -- but surely God’s angels have never sinned and are in no need of our judgment. Why then does Paul say quite clearly “...that we shall judge angels”?

Q...How well do we truly understand the fate of the angels that once sinned?

Q...If these angels are destined for a fate “other than destruction,” how prepared are we to serve in their judgment and in their governance?

Before the original creation of the Earth (science shows this to have been more than 13 billion years ago) God created angels. The Scriptures suggest there are many millions, perhaps even billions of angels and at some point in time the Archangel Lucifer was placed in a position of authority over one third of them.

At some point in time Lucifer began to covet the position and power of God. He led the angels over which he governed in a rebellion against God; and the war which ensued completely destroyed the surface of the Earth and caused the massive destruction still evident throughout the cosmos.

Approximately 6,000 years ago God recreated the face of the Earth to make it habitable for mankind; and on the sixth day “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” From that time until this, the Archangel Lucifer, whom we now know as Satan, has done whatever he could to disrupt the plan that God is working out here upon the Earth.

Q…When God created angels did He not foresee the possibility that hundreds of millions of them might one day follow Lucifer in a rebellion?

Q…If God did not foresee such a possibility, does this suggest a wisdom that is somewhat short of perfection?

Q…If God did foresee the possibility of such a rebellion, would He in His infinite wisdom condemn those untold millions of angels to what we have come to believe is their certain destruction in a lake of fire; with no chance for a future reconciliation? Is this the God of wisdom, mercy, and compassion we have come to know and love?

Q…We are told in Hebrews 1:14 that the angels are “all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation”; does this speak only of God’s initial purpose at their creation? Was that purpose somehow misdirected by the rebellion of Lucifer; or may “the angels that sinned” still have an important part to play in the destiny of mankind?

One third of God’s angels followed Lucifer in his rebellion. From the time of their rebellion they could no longer be thought of as righteous angels before God; and yet I believe there is no longer any good reason to continue thinking of them all as demons. I believe that the vast majority of the angels that sinned have long since repented of what they did and are waiting, as we are waiting, for a day of judgment to arrive.

Q...Can there be any hope of redemption for those angels, “...which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation…reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto judgment of the great day”? This is a question I believe needs to be answered with far more thought and consideration than it has so far received.

The passage quoted in the previous paragraph is from the Book of Jude; it tells us that these angels have been “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto judgment of the great day.” This does not say they have already been judged and condemned; only that they have been “reserved unto a future day of judgment”!

In Matthew 25:31-46 when speaking of those humans who shall be accepted by Jesus at his return, we are told that those who are rejected are to: “...depart…into everlasting [or unquenchable] fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” From this we can know that at least some of the angels that followed Lucifer have indeed already been condemned; but can we assume this statement from the Book of Matthew includes all of them?

Q...The Lord of the Old Testament was the one who gave up his exalted position to become the human we know today as Jesus. Did he simply waste his time and energy when he: “...went and preached unto the spirits in prison which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was a-preparing” (1 Peter 3:19-20)?

God had made up his mind to destroy life from the face of the Earth by means of a great flood; for more than one hundred years he ignored mankind and went to preach to those angels who had sinned when they followed Lucifer in his rebellion. If Satan and all his angels are destined for this everlasting (or unquenchable) fire, then why waste time preaching to them? The implication I take from this is that “not all of these angels” are without hope of redemption; there must be at least an element of hope for some of them.

Q...If God did actually preach to these angels for 120 years, what was His message? If their fate was already assured, do you truly believe He simply went from one angel to the next telling each and every one of them they were doomed to the lake of fire? Was that the message of His preaching? Does such a belief make any sense to you?

The Bible makes it clear that some of these angels are hopelessly lost; incorrigibles that are beyond redemption. These are those demon spirits that can, and one day shall, cause much trouble for mankind -- and for the “church” of God! However, my main interest in this discussion lies with those angels the Bible seems to indicate have not yet been condemned. It is my belief that God has decreed a most wonderful, if not yet fully understood part for many of them to play in the world to come.

Q...How prepared are you for the return of our Saviour? If you should be asked to take part in the judgment and governance of the angels that sinned, how prepared would you be to accept this responsibility? If your entire effort as a Christian has been designed around “the hope of your own salvation” then I truly wonder about your personal readiness to serve!

There is already more than enough concern about individual salvation in the teaching of the Churches of God. Having already received from God “the promise of our salvation” we need to be more concerned with preparing ourselves to serve and to govern in the soon-coming Kingdom of God.

Q...Do you truly understand that “to this very day” Satan maintains the authority and the governance which God gave to him so very long ago? The angels that were placed under his rulership have never been released from his authority!

If the possibility exists that some, if not most, of the angels that sinned can be redeemed, that redemption cannot truly begin until Satan has been taken out of the way. On the day which fulfills the prophecy of the Day of Atonement, when Satan is finally removed and incarcerated in the bottomless pit, these angels will be without a governor for the first time in more millennia than the mind of man can properly imagine.

It is my belief that during the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and His brethren, the saints will be given a form of governance over these angels. In the original creation they were created “to serve those who would be heirs to salvation” and that is precisely what they will be required to do! For 1,000 years we will be able to watch, and work, and learn from them; so that when their time for possible redemption finally arrives we will be far more able to sit in judgment over them.

Q...When will the final day for judgment of these angels take place?

The answer is that I really do not know -- but I wonder about the day following the 1,000 years of Satan’s incarceration. When Satan is once again released from the abyss everyone remaining on the Earth, man or spirit, will have to make a fateful decision as to where his or her allegiance really lies.

Note: This evening begins the day of the Feast of Trumpets. To all who are my brethren, wherever you may be, I wish you peace and joy on this holy day. Next week, I hope to share with you some excerpts from my study-paper entitled “Mohammed and the Scriptures.” As much as nominal Christianity has misunderstood and misapplied the teachings of the Bible; so has nominal Islam misunderstood and misapplied many of the teachings of their Prophet. In next week’s posting of “Words of the Prophet” you may come to a better understanding of what Mohammed really tried to do.