Glorification – Fall of Angels

Estimated time to read:

25 – 30 minutes

The Angels

The English word “angel” is derived from the Greek word “angelos,” and the Greek word, in turn, comes from the Hebrew word “Mal’ akh,” which stands for messenger. Throughout Scripture God’s angels are described as heavenly messengers, that act under God’s divine command to serve His perfect purposes and designs and to reflect His goodness, His majesty and His holiness. Angels are pure spirit creatures, created very good by God on the day that He created the heavens and the Earth, ex-nihilo. 

Pure Spirits

To say that angels are pure spirit beings is not to say that angels are of the same substance or essence of God. God is not an angel, and angels are neither an extension of God nor are they gods themselves. Scriptural passages that describe individuals who saw “the angel of the Lord”, as having seen God are best understood as theophanies or Christophanies, manifested appearances of God (Judges 13:21-22). 

Therefore, to say that angels are pure spirit beings is simply to say that angels are incorporeal creatures that inhabit the spiritual realm and as all creatures – having a beginning – angels are subject to both some form of time and space and are therefore neither Omnipresent nor eternal, as in having always existed.

Without Body

No created being brought into existence ex nihilo can withstand the full glory of God. Furthermore, Scripture appears to indicate that creatures possessing physical bodies are able to endure even less (Hebrews 2:6-7) of God’s manifested glory than created beings who exist without physical bodies. Humans for example consistently collapse under manifestations of God’s glory:

• Exodus 33:20 (“no man shall see me and live”)
• Isaiah 6
• Ezekiel 1
• Daniel 10
• Revelation 1

Although angels are capable of being temporarily manifest in various physical forms, angels – by the nature of spirit – (could be said to have a soul) are without bodily form and are therefore invisible. Hence, angels are genderless, they do not marry nor do they procreate and while angels are neither immortal nor incorruptible, neither do they -naturally – die or decay. Angels were given to have the attributes of personhood, will and emotion and they were endowed with wisdom, intelligence and power nearer in perfection and nature to God, than any other being created from nothingness. The implication of Hebrews 2:6-7 is not that man will become like or equal to the angels. Humans will never become angels after they die, and angels will never become humans.  Instead, the implication is that man will surpass the angels in glory and honor, in relationship, worship and service to God.   

Therefore, for the present age, the heavenly creatures known as angels—created as incorporeal spirit beings—appear, by their very nature, to possess greater knowledge of and exposure to God’s glory than mankind, whose experience is mediated through physical bodies of flesh.

Angels Have Limitation – Not Perfect

On the premise that God cannot create from nothingness – not derived of Himself – something that is equal to or greater than Himself,  it follows then that angels may be considered the greatest being God can create ex-nihilo. Many of the early church fathers – like Thomas Aquinas – understood angels to be the highest in hierarchy of God’s created beings. With this said, let’s say that the heavenly creatures known as angels – “for now” –  have greater ability to withstand, endure and draw nearer – have greater exposure – to God’s full glory than we as mere fleshly humans. However, even their exposure to and comprehension of God’s infinite full glory is limited (1 Peter 1:12).  These limitations are equally illustrated in Isaiah’s prophetic vision in which he saw seraphim – a type of angel – standing in close proximity to God and covering their faces and feet with their wings (Isaiah 6:2). This passage not only expresses their reverence and awe of God, but it also denotes their act of having to shield themselves from the radiance of God’s glory.

The Angel Lucifer

As an angel, Lucifer is traditionally understood to have been the greatest among the angelic host and may well have represented the highest order of being that God created ex nihilo. While Ezekiel 28:12–15 is addressed to the king of Tyre, many Christians have long understood the passage to extend beyond its immediate historical context, providing a glimpse into the origin and fall of Lucifer.

The description of Lucifer as the “seal of perfection” should not be understood to mean that he possessed the absolute perfection that belongs to God alone. Rather, it signifies that Lucifer was the consummate example of a created being—created very good, without flaw, and perfectly suited to fulfill God’s perfect design and purpose (cf. Ezekiel 28:15; Genesis 1:31). Like Adam, Lucifer was without sin, yet unlike God, he remained a finite, created being capable of moral choice and therefore capable of falling.

Furthermore, Scripture describes Lucifer as having walked “in the midst of the stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:14). While the precise meaning of this expression is not explicitly explained, it may reasonably suggest that, among all created beings, Lucifer enjoyed the greatest proximity to God’s glorious presence. If so, he possessed the highest degree of access, privilege, and exposure to the glory of God afforded to any created being.

The Fall of the Angels

Lucifer became consumed with pride. While Scripture does not explicitly reveal the precise cause of that pride, I believe it may have arisen from God’s determination to create mankind in His own image and to entrust humanity—not the Lucifer—with dominion over the earth. Although mankind was created “a little lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7–9), humanity alone was created in the image and likeness of God and given authority to rule over the earth as God’s vice-regent. Furthermore, the angels themselves were commissioned to minister to mankind, a creature lower than themselves in the created order.

If this understanding is correct, Lucifer’s pride may well have been fueled by dissatisfaction with God’s sovereign purposes and jealousy over the unique honor and destiny God had bestowed upon mankind. Refusing to accept the order established by his Creator, he rebelled against God and persuaded many of the angels (One third) to join his revolt.

His subsequent fall, therefore, was not the result of ignorance but of a deliberate misuse of the extraordinary position, privilege, authority, and knowledge that God had entrusted to him.

Yet this highlights an important theological truth of the limitations of that which is created. After all, if Lucifer had possessed perfect unlimited knowledge of God and unlimited exposure to the fullness of His glory, how could rebellion against God ever have appeared to be a rational course of action? Likewise, how could one-third of the angelic host have been persuaded to join him?

Unless one is prepared to argue that angels possess less intelligence, less understanding, or less awareness than mankind—a conclusion few would be willing to accept—it becomes exceedingly difficult to explain how such exalted beings could have imagined that rebellion against the omnipotent Creator could ever succeed. A creature possessing perfect knowledge of God and unlimited exposure to His infinite glory could scarcely conclude that mutiny against Him was anything other than utterly futile.

This observation suggests that, although angels possess knowledge and access to God’s presence far surpassing that of mankind, they nevertheless remain finite creatures. Their knowledge, like their nature, is finite. Consequently, biblical passages describing angels as beholding the face of God should not be understood to imply exhaustive knowledge or unlimited exposure to God’s infinite glory. Rather, such expressions are best understood as idiomatic language describing their privileged (greatest but still limited) access to God’s immediate presence and unmediated communication with Him (cf. Matthew 18:10).

Indeed, finite creatures—even the highest of angels—cannot fully comprehend or exhaust the infinite glory of God. Lucifer’s rebellion therefore demonstrates not that he possessed complete knowledge and still rebelled, but that even the greatest created being remained finite, capable of pride, self-deception, and the misuse of the freedom God had entrusted to him.

Lucifer Is Now Satan and Fallen Angels Are Now Demons

Lucifer, having rebelled against God, became known as Satan, and the angels who joined his rebellion became what Scripture commonly refers to as demons or unclean spirits. The English word Satan is translated from the Hebrew word śāṭān (Strong’s H7854), meaning “adversary,” “opponent,” or “accuser.” It is one of the names or titles given to Lucifer after he became God’s adversary—an enemy in open rebellion against his Creator.

Many people speak of Satan as though he were the opposite of God, but such language can create serious misconceptions. Satan is not God’s opposite in the sense of being an equal and opposing counterpart. God has no equal. Satan is a created being, whereas God is the eternal, uncreated Creator of all things. Satan should therefore never be thought of as God’s evil twin, but rather as God’s opponent, enemy, and adversary. The distinction is significant. Satan stands in opposition to God, but he is utterly incomparable to God in power, authority, wisdom, or nature. Just as darkness is overcome by light, so Satan’s power is ultimately overcome by the infinitely greater power of God.

Scripture also refers to Satan as “the evil one“ (1 John 5:19). This title provides important context for understanding how the Bible sometimes uses the word evil. Allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture, references to fallen humanity as “evil,” such as Jesus’ words, “If you then, who are evil…“ (Matthew 7:11), should not be understood to mean that human beings are evil in exactly the same sense or to the same degree as Satan. Rather, they describe mankind as sharing in the fallen condition brought about by sin and, apart from God’s saving grace, living in opposition to God’s righteous will.

Jesus expressed this same principle when He told certain unbelieving Jews: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.” (John 8:44)

He was not teaching that Satan was their literal father, but that their unbelief, rebellion, and conduct reflected the character of the one whose will they had chosen to follow. In this sense, Scripture identifies fallen beings with Satan’s rebellion, just as those who are born of God are called children of God because they bear His character and seek to do His will.

Understanding this distinction is essential. Scripture does not present evil as an eternal force existing in opposition to God, nor does it portray Satan as God’s equal rival. God alone is eternal, self-existent, and uncreated. Satan remains a finite creature, entirely subject to God’s sovereign authority.

Evil is therefore not a “thing” that God created, but the corruption, distortion, and misuse of that which God originally created good. It arose when created moral beings freely rebelled against their Creator. Lucifer became the first to do so, followed by the fallen angels and – as we will soon see – later by mankind. Consequently, evil has no independent existence apart from the good that it corrupts. It is not a created substance, nor an opposing power existing alongside God, but a parasitic corruption of God’s good creation.

This truth is evident throughout Scripture. Lucifer was not created evil but was created “the seal of perfection“ and “blameless“ until unrighteousness was found in him (Ezekiel 28:15). Likewise, Adam and Eve were not created sinful but were created “very good“ (Genesis 1:31). In both cases, evil was not something God created, but something that arose through the willful misuse of the freedom and moral agency God had entrusted to His creatures. Evil, therefore, is not an eternal principle competing with good, nor does it possess an independent existence of its own. Like darkness, which is the absence of light, evil is the corruption and absence of the righteousness for which God’s creation was originally designed.

Consequently, Satan should never be understood as God’s equal rival. He is a finite, created being whose rebellion is already judged and whose ultimate destiny is certain. The same sovereign God who created all things good will ultimately judge evil, destroy death, cast Satan and his demons into the lake of fire, and forever abolish every corruption introduced by sin. In the end, God’s goodness, righteousness, and glory alone will remain, vindicating His perfect purposes from the very beginning.

Fallen Angels Cannot be Redeemed

Although Satan and his demons are fallen angels, no longer serving as God’s messengers or existing in communion with Him, they nevertheless remain spirit beings. The holy angels have no need of salvation, while Satan and his fallen host are presented in Scripture as having no possibility of redemption.

From the beginning, angels were created as spirit beings to enjoy a greater degree of access to God’s presence than creatures of flesh. With that greater privilege came greater knowledge, greater understanding, greater awareness, and consequently greater responsibility. As Scripture teaches, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required“ (Luke 12:48). Greater privilege necessarily carries greater accountability and greater liability.

This distinction also appears to bear directly upon the question of redemption. Unlike mankind, angels were not created with physical bodies. Being incorporeal, they possess no physical life that can be offered in death as a sacrificial payment for sin. Throughout Scripture, atonement is accomplished through the shedding of blood, for “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins“ (Hebrews 9:22), and “the life of the flesh is in the blood“ (Leviticus 17:11).

For this reason, it is significant that the Son of God did not assume the nature of angels but the nature of man. As the writer of Hebrews declares: “For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.“ (Hebrews 2:16, ESV)

By taking upon Himself a true human body, Christ was able to suffer, shed His blood, and die as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind.

It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the very nature of angels places them outside God’s redemptive plan. Had the Son become incarnate as an angel, He would have assumed the nature of an incorporeal spirit being rather than a mortal man of flesh and blood. Such a nature could not accomplish the kind of sacrificial death that Scripture presents as necessary for atonement. Consequently, fallen angels, by virtue of their created nature as spirit beings, are not presented in Scripture as redeemable.