Course Objectives:
1)
Review what follows from the fact that angels are immaterial, pure spiritual
beings
2)
Overview of the basic biblical approach to angels
3)
Consideration of various biblical names given to the spirits
4)
Brief study of several passages in which angels appear in the Old and New
Testaments
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A Course
on the Angels: Session 3, Angels in the Old and New Testaments
Fr Ryan Erlenbush
I. Review
of last sessions – leaving being our imagination
A.
Angels have no bodies, they are incorporeal and immaterial
B. Angels are each their own
species, and the perfection of that species
C.
Angels are not outside of time, but they are not restricted to continuous
material time
D. There are many angels were created in the state of grace, but not in glory
D. There are many angels were created in the state of grace, but not in glory
E. Some angels fell through
rebellion against God’s order, others were exalted and gained eternal bliss
through humility.
II. Overview
of angels in the Old and New Testaments
A. Scripture is about human
salvation, not angelic life
B. The existence of angels is
taken for granted
C. There is no real “development”
of the Biblical vision of angels
III.
References to angels in the Old and New Testaments
A. Terms
1. Angel – messenger
2. Sons of God – compare Genesis
6:4 with Job 1:6
3. The Lord – sometimes, an angel
appears in the person of God himself
4. Prince (Daniel 10:13) –
guardians of nations, or the prince of the world, the devil
5. gods – both referring to the
“gods of the nations” as demons, and to the heavenly Host
B. Some references to “angels” do
not necessarily refer to angels
1. “For the sake of the angels” –
means the priests (1 Cor 11:10)
2. “The tongues of angels” –
means missionaries (1 Cor 13:1)
3. St John the Baptist,
represented as an angel – “I will send my angel before you.”
C. Sometimes singular, sometimes
plural
1. Performing a particular work:
Always singular, one angel
2. Worshiping God: Always plural,
an heavenly host
IV. Four
classes of angelic references in the Bible (see Anscar Vonier)
A. Historical
B. Liturgical
C. Theological
D. Prophetic
V.
Particular Passages
A. Jacob and the angel (Genesis
28:12ff)
B. The seraphim in Heaven (Isaiah
6:2ff)
C. Angels with Abraham and Lot
(Genesis 18:2ff)
D. The angel in the fiery furnace
(Daniel 3:25)
E. The angelic hierarchy
(Ephesians 6:12)
F. The angelic hierarchy
(Colossians 2:15)
G. The Angel and the Host of
Angels with the Shepherds (Luke 2:8ff)
H. The Angel in the Garden of
Gethsemene (Luke 22:43)
A Course
on the Angels: Session 3, Angels in the Old and New Testaments
Fr Ryan Erlenbush
I. Review
of last sessions – leaving being our imagination
A.
Angels have no bodies, they are incorporeal and immaterial
B. Angels are each their own
species, and the perfection of that species
C.
Angels are not outside of time, but they are not restricted to continuous
material time
Read
poem from Newman, pg 30-31 of Vonier.
D. There are many angels were created in the state of grace, but not in glory
D. There are many angels were created in the state of grace, but not in glory
E. Some angels fell through
rebellion against God’s order, others were exalted and gained eternal bliss
through humility.
II.
Overview of angels in the Old and New Testaments
“There is
no uniform way in the Bible of representing the angels. The most elaborate
descriptions are completely baffling to the art of the painter. It is extremely
difficult for us to visualize the scenes described so carefully by the
prophets, as we are entirely without experience in such matters.”
A. Scripture is about human
salvation, not angelic life
The
Scriptures “ever narrate anything about them as a revelation of their mysterious
existence; the inspired writes take them for granted and mention them only in
connection with human history, the history of the people of God, and the
history of Christ.” (Vonier)
“It could
not be said that through all the angelophanies of the Bible we learn anything
personal about any one of the angels.” (Vonier)
B. The existence of angels is
taken for granted
“Nothing
is more casual and unexpected than the mention of angels in every portion of
the Scriptures; you never know when to expect an angel; there is no set of
events which you could predict with certainty that they would bring an angel
from heaven to earth.” (Vonier)
C. There is no real “development”
of the Biblical vision of angels
“There is
a great oneness in the presentment of angelic character in the various books of
the Bible, from Genesis to Apocalypse; the angelic type never alters, we may
even venture to say that it never develops as the divine revelation in other
matters goes on and gains momentum from century to century; what the angels do
at Bethel they do also in the days of Christ. […] There is not, therefore, in
our angelology that progressive revelation of a mystery which is the
characteristic of our Christology […] not so that of the angels; they are made
completely manifest from the very beginning, and though in the course of the
centuries of the faith, angels show forth now one kinds of activity now
another, their essential behavior is always the same.” (Anscar Vonier)
“Spirits
are not the theme of the Bible.” (Vonier)
Comparison
of the revelation of angelic life to the relation of stories of foreign peoples
III.
References to angels in the Old and New Testaments
A. Terms
1. Angel – messenger
2. Sons of God – compare Genesis
6:4 with Job 1:6
3. The Lord – sometimes, an angel
appears in the person of God himself
4. Prince – guardians of nations
(Daniel 10:13), or the prince of the world, the devil
5. gods – both referring to the
“gods of the nations” as demons, and to the heavenly Host
B. Some references to “angels” do
not necessarily refer to angels
1. “For the sake of the angels” –
means the priests (1 Cor 11:10)
2. “The tongues of angels” –
means missionaries (1 Cor 13:1)
3. St John the Baptist,
represented as an angel – “I will send my angel before you.”
C. Sometimes singular, sometimes
plural
1. Performing a particular work:
Always singular, one angel
2. Worshiping God: Always plural,
an heavenly host
IV. Four
classes of angelic references in the Bible (see Anscar Vonier)
A. Historical: All those
assertions found in the Bible that spirits did a work, bore a message, or lent
their help to humanity. These activities are narrated as ordinary historical
events. Only individual angels.
B. Liturgical: Angelic presence
in divine worship. Especially in the psalms. Praising God.
C. Theological: Where the
heavenly spirits are mentioned, not in connection with worship or missions, but
as a portion of the supernatural world. Example: Christ is raised above the
angels, or made for a time less than the angels. Or the angels have joy over
one repentant sinner. Or man in heaven will not marry, like the angels.
D. Prophetic: Where angels do
great things in the mysterious future. Especially, in the book Revelation. Also
in the Gospels, when Jesus speaks of the angels being sent on the day of
judgment to separate the good from the bad.
V.
Particular Passages
After
overviewing all the Biblical references to angels, we see: “Their character is
clearly marked form the beginning and does not change; their readiness to do
God’s bidding is as great as their power to perform it; nothing can resist
their will, and they never fail; they are always spoken of as being God’s own,
and at no time is there any fear as to their future.” (Vonier)
A. Jacob and the angel (Genesis
32:24ff)
B. The seraphim in Heaven (Isaiah
6:2ff)
C. Angels with Abraham and Lot
(Genesis 18:2ff)
D. The angel in the fiery furnace
(Daniel 3:25ff)
E. The angelic hierarchy
(Ephesians 6:12)
F. The angelic hierarchy
(Colossians 2:15)
G. The Angel and the Host of
Angels with the Shepherds (Luke 2:8ff)
H. The Angel in the Garden of Gethsemane
(Luke 22:43)
“The
angel who comes nearest to human sentiment is the angel who comforted Christ in
his agony in the Garden”
Course Objectives:
1)
Review what follows from the fact that angels are immaterial, pure spiritual
beings
2)
Overview of the basic biblical approach to angels
3)
Consideration of various biblical names given to the spirits
4)
Brief study of several passages in which angels appear in the Old and New
Testaments
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BIBLICAL PASSAGES
Gen
6:4, “Now giants were upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God
went in to the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the
mighty men of old, men of renown”
Genesis
18:1ff “And the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he was sitting at
the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day. [2] And when he had lifted
up his eyes, there appeared to him three men standing near him: and as soon as
he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to
the ground. [3] And he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass
not away from thy servant: […] 16] And when the men rose up from thence, they
turned their eyes towards Sodom: and Abraham walked with them, bringing them on
the way. [17] And the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am about to do:”
Gen
28:12ff “[12] And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the
top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and descending by
it; [13] And the Lord leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: I am the Lord God
of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land, wherein thou sleepest, I
will give to thee and to thy seed.”
Gen
32:24ff “[24] He remained alone: and
behold a man wrestled with him till morning. [25] And when he saw that he could
not overcome him, he touched the sinew of his thigh, and forthwith it shrank. 26]
And he said to him: Let me go, for it is break of day. He answered: I will not
let thee go except thou bless me. [27] And he said: What is thy name? He
answered: Jacob. [28] But he said: Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but
Israel: for if thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou
prevail against men? [29] Jacob asked him, Tell me by what name art thou
called? He answered: Why dost thou ask my name? And he blessed him in the same
place. [30] And Jacob called the name of the place Phanuel, saying: I have seen
God face to face, and my soul has been saved.”
Job
1:6 “6] Now on a certain day when the
sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Satan also was present among them.”
Isaiah
6:2ff “[2] Upon it stood the seraphims:
the one had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they covered his
face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew. [3] And they
cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all
the earth is full of his glory.”
Daniel
3:91, “91] Then Nabuchodonosor the king
was astonished, and rose up in haste, and said to his nobles: Did we not cast
three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered the king, and said:
True, O king. [92] He answered, and said: Behold I see four men loose, and
walking in the midst of the fire, and there is no hurt in them, and the form of
the fourth is like the Son of God.”
Daniel
10:13ff “[13] But the prince of the
kingdom of the Persians resisted me one and twenty days: and behold Michael,
one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the king of
the Persians.” *[13] "The prince": That is, the angel guardian of Persia: who
according to his office, seeking the spiritual good of the Persians was
desirous that many of the Jews should remain among them.
Eph
6:12, “For our wrestling is not against
flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of
the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high
places.”
Col
2:15, “[15] And despoiling the
principalities and powers, he hath exposed them confidently in open shew,
triumphing over them in himself.”
1
Cor 11 “[7] The man indeed ought not to
cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the
glory of the man. [8] For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the
man. [9] For the man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man.
[10] Therefore ought the woman to have a power over her head, because of the
angels.”
1
Cor 13 “1] If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not
charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”
Luke
22:43 “[43] And there appeared to him
an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony, he prayed the
longer. [44] And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the
ground.”
Luke
2:8 “[8] And there were in the same
country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock. [9]
And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone
round about them; and they feared with a great fear. […] [13] And suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and
saying: [14] Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good
will.”
