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It is written:
Psalm 104:3-4-He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, 4 Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.
It is important that we learn from the Word of God about angels. There is a great deal of misunderstanding about what these beings are, and what they are not. In the next few articles, we are going to carefully examine the Bible teaching regarding these fascinating creatures.
Let’s study.
The first thing in to notice is our definition of the word “angel.” The Hebrew word used here is very interesting to consider.
“As noted above, the Hebrew word malʾak means “messenger.” 43 It is therefore not surprising that the related noun melāʾḵah refers generally to a “business journey” or “trade mission” in the Hebrew Bible. 44 In terms of the word’s form, it is very likely that malʾak derives from the Semitic verb lʾk (“ to send”), though this verb is not attested in the Hebrew Bible. This has led some scholars to suspect malʾak was brought into Biblical Hebrew vocabulary from an external Semitic language. 45 The meaning of “messenger” for Hebrew malʾak is quite apparent from passages where human messengers are sent to deliver a message (Gen 32: 3, 7; Deut 2: 26; Neh 6: 3; 2 Sam 11: 19) or to bring back a message or report (Josh 6: 17, 25). Human beings sent from God are also described with malʾak (prophets: Hag 1: 13; 2 Chron 36: 15; priests: Mal 2: 7). These examples (e.g., priests, those initially sent out without a message to deliver) show us that the primary idea behind the term is not a message but being sent out to serve God. Supernatural spirit beings sent from God are the most frequent referent of the term. The English translation “angel,” which is actually drawn from the Greek New Testament (angelos) serves to distinguish supernatural messengers from human ones.” (Michael S. Heiser, Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host, 33-34 (Kindle Edition): Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press)
So angels are “messengers” that are “sent” by God. Sometimes this word can have reference to human “angels.”
Obadiah 1:1-The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the LORD, And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”):
Haggai 1:13-Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, spoke the LORD’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you, says the LORD.”
2 Chronicles 36:15-16-And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy.
Malachi 2:7-For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
However, often times angels are non-human. While they are also messengers of the Word of God, they are specifically shown to be non-human. Here in Psalm 104:3-4, we are told that angels are “spirits.” The word spirit in the Bible often has reference to the non-physical nature of a being. For example, are told in 1 Corinthians 2:11 that the spirit is that part of a being which “knows,” i.e., his personality or being. As such, angels are by their nature non-physical, showing their difference from humanity.
We must remember, however, that while angels are primarily “spirits” they can also take the form of physical flesh. Several Scriptures indicate that they are able to do such. In defending how the fallen angels in Genesis 6:1-4 were able to take the form of flesh, Heiser writes:
“Jewish thinkers in the Second Temple Period understood that original Mesopotamian context, which is why they overwhelmingly viewed the Nephilim of divine sons of God as giants. This perspective includes the translation of the Hebrew term with gigas (“giant”) in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament….In reality, it doesn’t matter whether “fallen ones” is the translation. The Nephilim and the Anakim/Rephaim who descend from them (Numbers 13:33; Deuteronomy 2:20–21; 3:1–11) are still described as unusually tall. Consequently, insisting that the name means “fallen” produces no escape from a supernaturalist interpretation….The primary objection to this approach is the sexual component. The modern enlightened mind simply can’t tolerate it. Appeal is usually made to Matthew 22:23–33 in this regard, under the assumption that verse 30 teaches that angels cannot engage in sexual intercourse:…The text does not say angels cannot have sexual intercourse; it says they don’t . The reason ought to be obvious. The context for the statement is the resurrection, which refers either broadly to the afterlife or, more precisely, to the final, renewed global Eden. The point is clear in either option. In the spiritual world, the realm of divine beings, there is no need for procreation. Procreation is a necessity for perpetuating the human population. Life in the perfected Edenic world also does not require maintaining the human species by having children—everyone has an immortal resurrection body. Consequently, there is no need for sex in the resurrection, just as there is no need for it in the nonhuman spiritual realm. Genesis 6 doesn’t have the spiritual realm or the final Edenic world as its context. The analogy breaks down completely. The passage in Matthew is therefore useless as a commentary on Genesis 6:1–4….That angels—and even God—can have true corporeality is evident in the Bible. For example, Genesis 18–19 is quite clear that Yahweh Himself and two other divine beings met with Abraham in physical flesh. They ate a meal together (Genesis 18:1–8). Genesis 19:10 informs us that the two angels had to physically grab Lot and pull him back into his house to avoid harm in Sodom, something that would be hard to do if the two beings were not truly physical. Another example is Genesis 32:22–31, where we read that Jacob wrestled with a “man” (32:24), whom the text also describes as elohim twice (32:30–31). Hosea 12:3–4 refers to this incident and describes the being who wrestled with Jacob as elohim and mal’ak (“angel”). This was a physical struggle, and one that left Jacob injured (32:31–32). While visual appearances in human form are more common, the New Testament also describes episodes in which angels are best understood as corporeal. In Matthew 4:11, angels came to Jesus after He was tempted by the devil and “ministered” to Him (cf. Mark 1:13). Surely this means more than floating around before Jesus’ face. Angels appear and speak (Matthew 28:5; Luke 1:11–21, 30–38), instances that presume actual sound waves being created. If a merely auditory experience was meant, one would expect the communication to be described as a dream-vision (Acts 10:3). Angels open doors (Acts 5:19) and hit disciples to wake them up (Acts 12:7). This particular episode is especially interesting, because the text has Peter mistakenly thinking the angel was only a vision.” (Michael Heiser, Reversing Hermon: Enoch, The Watchers, And The Forgotten Mission Of Jesus Christ, 302-379 (Kindle Edition))
Furthermore, the designation in Psalms of angels as “flames of fire” is interesting. Several times in Scripture, angels are associated with “fire.”
For example:
2 Kings 2:11-Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
2 Kings 6:17-And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Ezekiel 1:13-As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning.
The comparison of angels with “fire” teaches us a great deal about these beings. Fire had extremely important connotations in the Old Testament. The Jewish rabbis wrote extensively about the connections between God’s creation of fire and of angels.
“Fire: (/ aish, Ara, nura). Fire is one of the four elements in classical physics, and is sometimes grouped as one of the three foundational elements of Creation: The rabbis taught: “Three things were made before the creation of our world: Water, Wind, and Fire. Water birthed darkness, Fire birthed light, and Wind birthed wisdom.” (Ex. R. 15: 22) Fire is both a symbol of beneficence and destruction, as well as a manifestation of the numinous. It is also a symbol of passion and regeneration. According to one rabbinic tradition, fire was created on the second day of Creation (Pes. 54a). Another tradition claims that a primordial fire preceded light, and gave birth to it. Talmud teaches that there are “six varieties” of fire, some natural and some supernatural (Yoma 21b). It is, along with water, the material that makes up the heavens. Fire was first introduced to humanity at the end of the Sabbath, when God taught Adam how to use a flint (Pes. 54a; Sanh. 38b). 1 Fire is frequently a manifestation of divine wrath, but also of divine Presence (Deut. 5: 4). God makes the promises to Abraham in the form of fire (Gen. 15). Sodom and Gomorrah meet a fiery end (Gen. 19). God appears in a burning bush (Ex. 3), rains fiery hail down upon the Egyptians (Ex. 8), and sends a fiery angel to protect the Israelites from pursuit by their former masters (Ex. 13) and later to guide the people in the desert. Elijah is closely linked to fire, being able to smite soldiers of King Ahaziah (1 Kings 1) and ignite offerings (2 Kings 18) with heavenly fire. The theurgic sacrificial offerings of ancient Israel were performed using the medium of fire. Aish zara, “alien fire,” however, was forbidden in the sacrificial cult. The exact nature of this fire, whether it was fire introduced from an outside source or fire offered at unsanctioned times, is not clear. Its use by Nadav and Abihu triggered their fatal punishment by divine fire from heaven (Lev. 10: 1–2). According to the Midrash, subsequent to this disaster, the altar fire descended from heaven to consume the sacrificial offerings (Yoma 21a–b). This celestial fire transferred to the Temple and burned uninterrupted, rain or shine, until the apostasy of King Manasseh, a positive manifestation of the same power that killed Nadav and Abihu. Sages experiencing revelatory moments appear to be ringed in fire (Lev. R. 16: 4; Zohar II: 14a–15a). The Bible describes God as a “consuming fire.” In the seven heavens, fire serves in the place of matter as the fundamental substance that gives form to reality. The divine chariot is wreathed in fire. Many angels, such as Metatron and Gabriel, are composed of fire. There is a special class of fiery angels called serafim, and the sweat that pours from them in their labors creates the river of Light that flows around heaven. The palaces of heaven are made of supernal fires. Even the primordial Torah itself is made of white fire and letters of black fire. Torah study is compared to fire in that one who stays too far from it freezes, but one who draws too close is burned. When a person has a revelatory experience, that event may be accompanied by manifestations of supernal fire (Deut. 5: 4; III Enoch; Zohar III: Naso; Lev. R. 16: 4; Chag. 14b; Zohar I: 94b). On the infernal side, the fire of Gehenna burns sixty times hotter than earthly fire. There are five different kinds of fire in Gehenna: fires that consume but do not drink; fires that drink but do not consume; fires that drink and consume; fires that neither drink nor consume, and a fire that consumes fire (BhM 1: 147). Demons also can have a fiery appearance, while RaSHI claims that fire is one of the things demons eat for sustenance. Fire may be used as part of a cursing ritual (burning up the written name of the intended victim) or for divination. As a source of light, fire drives away demons. Salamanders are a creature born out of fire and, according to some traditions, their blood provides protection from burns (Pes. 54a, 118a–b; Zev. 61b; Sanh. 38b; Ber. 57b; PdRE 4; Chag. 27a; Ex. R. 15: 22; Num. R. 2: 23; J. Shek. 6: 1; SCh 547–48).” (Geoffrey W. Dennis, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic & Mysticism, 150-151 (Kindle Edition): Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications)
Thus, fire would represent to the Jewish people extreme images of holiness, judgment, suffering, and punishment. Yet there was another powerful imagery at work of “fire” within the Jewish context: purification. This imagery was not only found in the Old Testament and in Jewish extra-biblical writing, but also in pagan and Christian thought.
“In the days of Solomon’s Temple, the laver was called “the molten sea” (1 Kings 7:23). When gold has been refined to its absolutely pure state, molten gold is as clear as crystal. If Solomon would have filled the Temple’s laver with pure gold and melted it, it would have looked like “a sea of glass like crystal” (Rev. 4:6). In Revelation 15:2 John described it as “a sea of glass mixed with fire.” What John saw in heaven was the laver, the lake of fire, as pictured in the Tabernacle and the Temple of Solomon. The laver was used to wash (baptize) in order to be cleansed, or purified ceremonially. The purpose of the law was to teach righteousness to the inhabitants of the world. The purpose of fire is to purify. So it does not strain our imagination in the least to consider both the laver and the lake of fire to be for the purpose of divine purification, rather than a place where men are tortured forever. The lake of fire is portrayed in Scripture as the final place where the great Refiner sits to purify the hearts of men and prepare them to dwell in the divine presence in fellowship with God. This is the true purpose of the laver. At present only the true priests of God and of Christ (Rev. 20:6), that is, Christians in this present age, have access to that great laver. Even as the Levitical priests of the Old Testament purified themselves daily at the laver, so also are we baptized to signify that God has purified our hearts. In that final Age, the Lake of Fire shall be applied universally to those in need of purification…Does the “brimstone” prove that this is a literal fire that tortures men? Actually, the very opposite is true. Brimstone is sulfur, as any concordance will show. The original Greek word for sulfur, or “brimstone,” is theion. Its root is theo, which is the same word usually translated “God.” (Note: Theology is the study of God.) Sulfur, or theion, was considered to be sacred to the ancient Greeks. It was used to consecrate for divine service, to PURIFY, and to cleanse. They used it in religious rites to purify their temples. They would even rub it on their bodies to signify consecration to God. In its verb form the word theou means “to hallow, make divine, or to dedicate to God.” And so, to a Greek reader, a lake of fire and brimstone (sulfur) would signify a lake of divine purification or consecration to God. Consequently, in Virgil’s classic Roman epic, The Aeneid, 741-742, 745-747) we read: “Therefore we souls are trained with punishment And pay with suffering for old felonies–Some are hung up helpless to the winds; The stain of sin is cleansed for others of us In the trough of a huge whirlpool, or with fire Burned out of us-each one of us we suffer The afterworld we deserve.” This “fire and sulfur,” taken symbolically by the more educated or by the higher degrees of religion, was only literalized by the uneducated. The priests generally allowed them to be deceived, of course, because they also believed that fear of fire was a good religious motivator. The early Christian Church of the first few centuries after Christ knew this. This is shown by their writings. Unfortunately, some also believed in “the doctrine of Reserve.” That is, they would withhold some teachings from the novices until they were mature Christians. They did this specifically with the teaching on the lake of fire, allowing novices to take their words literally, rather than spiritually, so that they would be better motivated to turn to Christ. Exactly how much this contributed to the rise of hellfire teaching is hard to say, but it certainly was a factor. They may have justified such a practice in their minds, but with our modern 20/ 20 hindsight we can see where it led the Church in later years. The Early Church’s Teaching on Fire The essential view that we will present here was held by most of the early Christian Church as well. In support of this statement, we shall endeavor to present to the reader a few samples from the most influential of the Christian leaders in the first few centuries. Our purpose is to show that our view is not strange or out of step with at least most of the early Church fathers. 1. Clement of Alexandria (150-213 A.D.) Clement’s full Latin name was Titus Flavius Clemens and was related in some way to the Roman Emperors, though it is not known just how. He was born in Athens and later moved to Alexandria, the hub of Greek culture and religion. Being very well educated, he started a Christian school there, with the aim of explaining Christ to the Greek world. He also wrote a book called Miscellanies, in which “the task Clement had set himself was to make a summary of Christian knowledge up to his time” (Donald Attwater, Saints of the East, p. 37). As we saw in Chapter Two, Clement believed the fire to be an instrument of God leading to conversion. He considered the Greek idea of fire to be far more scriptural than the Egyptian view, which one writer described as follows: “The Egyptian Hell was particularly impressive and highly refined . . . Confinement and imprisonment played an important role. The tortures were bloody, and punishment by fire was frequent and terrifying. . . . When it came to the topography of Hell, the Egyptian imagination knew no limits. . . Intermediate states or phases in the other-worldly process of purification did not exist.”( Jacques de Goff, The Birth of Purgatory, pp. 19, 20) On the other hand, the Platonic Greek view had some remarkable likenesses to the Hebrew view. The above author attributes Clement’s view on purification to Plato, who in turn got it from Virgil and other early Greek poets. However, the view of fire as a lawful cleanser from sin, rather than a means of torture, is well established in the Old Testament as well as the New. Jacques de Goff continues by writing on page 53, “From the Old Testament, Clement and Origen took the notion that fire is a divine instrument, and from the New Testament the idea of baptism by fire (from the Gospels) and the idea of a purificatory trial after death (from Paul).” In Clement’s own words, he says plainly: “God does not wreak vengeance, for vengeance is to return evil for evil, and God punishes only with an eye to the good.” (Stromata, 7, 26) Clement headed the Christian school of thought in Alexandria from 190-203 A.D. He had to flee for his life during the persecution of Serverus in 203, and he spent his remaining years teaching in Antioch and Palestine. And so his most brilliant student in Alexandria took his place as head of the school. His name was Origen. 2. Origen of Alexandria (180-253 A.D.) Like his predecessor, Origen was not the bishop of the city, and yet he was by far the most influential Christian for the next century. He was the first to write a systematic theological commentary on the whole Bible. He took great pains to learn Hebrew, not only that he might better argue the case for Christianity among the Judeans, but also that he might correct some of the mistranslations of the Septuagint Greek version. Around 230 A.D. he visited Antioch, Caesarea, and Jerusalem, and though he was only a presbyter (not even a priest), he was asked to speak from the pulpit. He accepted. When Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria back home, heard of it, he was filled with envy and rage, demanding that he cease immediately and return to Alexandria. Origen meekly returned, and the incident was forgotten. A few years later, Origen again went on the same trip and was this time prevailed upon to be ordained a priest, so he could teach from the pulpit. He accepted. When Demetrius heard of it, he was again filled with rage and envy. Origen was excommunicated from Alexandria on the grounds that he had emasculated himself in his youth and was therefore not allowed to preach from the pulpit. (Origen had taken Jesus’ words in Matt. 19: 12 a bit too literally in his youthful zeal, but had repented of it afterward.) Demetrius quoted Deut. 23: 1 to support his case, although he had never raised the issue in the 20 years prior to that time. Yet the bishop of Rome at the time agreed with the verdict, though none of the other Palestinian or Greek churches did. Soon the issue died down and was forgotten for another 150 years. And so Origen spent the last twenty years of his life in Palestine, where a wealthy patron hired six secretaries to help him write his books. His writings were the most influential in the whole Greek world, though he was relatively unknown in the Latin West. In his book, Against Celsus IV, 13 Origen continues the teaching of Clement by writing: “The Sacred Scripture does, indeed, call our God “a consuming fire” (Heb. 12: 29), and says that “rivers of fire go before His face: (Dan. 7: 10), and that “He shall come as a refiner’s fire and purify the people” (Mal. 3: 2,3). As therefore, God is a consuming fire, what is it that is to be consumed by Him? We say it is wickedness, and whatever proceeds from it, such as is figuratively called “wood, hay, and stubble” (1 Cor. 3: 12-15) which denote the evil works of man. Our God is a consuming fire in this sense; and He shall come as a refiner’s fire to purify rational nature from the alloy of wickedness and other impure matter which has adulterated the intellectual gold and silver; consuming whatever evil is admixed in all the soul.” We dealt with the topic of the Great White Throne Judgment earlier. In his book On Prayer XXIX, 15 Origen further writes: “They are purged with the “wise fire” or made to pay in prison every debt up to the last farthing . . . to cleanse them from the evils committed in their error . . . Thus they are delivered from all the filth and blood with which they had been so filthied and defiled that they could not even think about being saved from their own perdition . . .” The teachings of Clement and Origen were NOT unusual. The basic view of the divine Fire restoring sinners was the majority opinion for many centuries in the Greek-speaking Christian Church.” (Dr. Stephen E. Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, 55-62 (Kindle Edition): Fridley, MN: God’s Kingdom Ministries)
Think of some of the many passages in the Bible which equate fire with purification.
Isaiah 6:5-7-So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.”
Malachi 3:2-3-But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.
Daniel 11:35-And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.
Zechariah 13:9-I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’ “
Going deeper, consider the reference to the “molten sea” made above.
1 Kings 7:23-And he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.
We see here a “Sea” that is made of “cast bronze.” This is translated as “molten sea” in the KJV. It has the idea of a large basin that has been melted down (purified) and reshaped into its new form. This is the “sea of glass” that John sees (Revelation 4:2). Interestingly enough, the same “sea of glass” is described in Revelation 15:4 as being “mingled with fire.”
What was the purpose of this large pool?
“The Sea and Baptism There was also something called the Great Sea (1 Kgs 7: 23). It was made of bronze. The Great Sea was tremendously large; some seven feet high and fifteen feet in diameter, holding about 10,000 gallons of water and weighing between 25-30 tons when empty. As Beale notes, “Priests would have had to climb a ladder to wash in it.” (Beale 2004b: 34, n. 11). There were also ten additional washing basins (1 Kgs 7: 38) added to the temple for various washings. All of the lavers were surrounded by animal figures, further illustrating the earthly theme of this part of the temple. These washings (especially in the Great Sea) were later called by the Jews “mikvehs.” A mikveh is a ritual bath in a pool of fresh water. It is necessarily an immersion.[ 78] These baths have been practiced since before the times of Christ, and they are still practiced today. Josephus refers to his master Banus (an Essene) as ritually “bathing himself in cold water frequently by night and by day.” (Josephus, Vita §2). Jews refer to the baths of the priest into temple ministry (2 Chron 4: 6) or tabernacle ministry (Ex 29: 4) as mikvehs.[ 79] The ceremonial idea comes from Lev 15: 13, “When the one with a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes. And he shall bathe his body in fresh water and shall be clean.” Fresh water could come from an ocean, a river, rain, snow, or a place created to hold any such fresh water. Solomon had gigantic aqueducts and cisterns of water running right up to the temple so that all of the water could be fresh water, because this is what the law demanded. The Letter of Aristeas (2nd Century B.C.) apparently is an eye-witness report about this as it continued in the second temple, The whole foundation was decked with (precious) stones and had slopes leading to the appropriate places for carrying the water which is (needed) for the cleansing of the blood from the sacrifices… There is an uninterrupted supply not only of water, just as if there were a plentiful spring rising naturally from within, but also of indescribably wonderful underground reservoirs, which within a radius of five stades from the foundation of the Temple revealed innumerable channels for each of them, the streams joining together on each side. (LetAris 88-90) The origin of mikveh is primordial. Gen 1: 10 describes the gathering of the waters away from dry land. The word “gathering” is mikveh. This is salient because the previous verse also talks about a “gathering,” but it uses a different word (qavah). In Ex 7: 19 and Isa 22: 11, mikveh is used for a reservoir, which is a collection of fresh water. A curious play on mikveh occurs in Jer 17: 13 where the word is translated “hope.” “O Lord, the hope [mikveh] of Israel, all who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord.” Our Mikveh is the “Fountain of Living Water.” This, of course, is fulfilled in Christ who gives us living water to drink (John 4: 10).[ 80] Jews who practice mikvahs recognize that the equivalent word in Greek and English is baptism. If true, then the immersion practice of baptism has Jewish and OT roots beginning right here in the Temple. If true, then we also have new evidence that original creation was a baptism.” (Douglas Van Dorn, Waters of Creation: A Biblical-Theological Study of Baptism, 51-52 (Kindle Edition): Erie, CO: Waters of Creation Publishing)
Within this large pool, the area was purified. Indeed, the molten sea took the place of the Jewish laver, which is where the Jewish people practiced ritual baptism.
Please observe all of these connections between “fire” and “purification.” The oldest Book of the Bible, Job, also makes this comparison:
Job 23:10-But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
The links between angels and fire are fascinating. It would also help us to remember here the connections between “Hell” fire and purification that are taught throughout Scripture (cf. Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:49 with Leviticus 2:11-13, etc.).
We may also learn valuable important lessons related to this from pagan religions. For example, within Islamic thought, it is believed that there are angelic like spirits that were made by Allah called jinn. These beings are primarily made of fire, as the Bible says angels are. Indeed, many of the teachings of Islam regarding the jinn are similar to what the Bible teaches about angelic beings.
“Angels were created first, then djinn, who were placed on earth as stewards and masters. They were most loved by God. The djinn are made of fire, and have long life spans and great power. They are able to manipulate matter and change form. As a djinni becomes older, it acquires more knowledge and power. No one knows how long they live, but like all things, they eventually die and are answerable to Allah at the Day of Judgment. In their time in the physical universe, the djinn built great cities ruled by powerful kings. The number of djinn who existed during their time on earth is unknown, but it could have been in the billions. Each group of djinn belonged to clans rather than states or countries, neither of which they had. According to the holy man, the clans frequently fought, often going to war over trivial matters. The wars lasted for thousands of years and polluted the environment. Before the djinn wars, earth was a paradise but their conflicts were turning it into a wasteland. The djinn grew more powerful, using great and terrible weapons, eventually reaching the point of irreversibly damaging the physical universe. Allah knew that unless the wars were stopped, the djinn were also in danger of destroying themselves. Allah ordered an army of angels to stop them, but the djinn gathered their armies and engaged the angels in a war that lasted a thousand years. As the war drew to an end, the older and more powerful djinn finally fell. The djinn were cast into a parallel world close to our own. It is said that most went willingly, but some did not. They remain in this parallel dimension today. Some of the djinn were allowed to stay in the physical universe to help repair the damage done by their race so that Allah’s new creation, Adam, could populate the earth. These remaining djinn were ordered to help hu “Angels were created first, then djinn, who were placed on earth as stewards and masters. They were most loved by God. The djinn are made of fire, and have long life spans and great power. They are able to manipulate matter and change form. As a djinni becomes older, it acquires more knowledge and power. No one knows how long they live, but like all things, they eventually die and are answerable to Allah at the Day of Judgment. In their time in the physical universe, the djinn built great cities ruled by powerful kings. The number of djinn who existed during their time on earth is unknown, but it could have been in the billions. Each group of djinn belonged to clans rather than states or countries, neither of which they had. According to the holy man, the clans frequently fought, often going to war over trivial matters. The wars lasted for thousands of years and polluted the environment. Before the djinn wars, earth was a paradise but their conflicts were turning it into a wasteland. The djinn grew more powerful, using great and terrible weapons, eventually reaching the point of irreversibly damaging the physical universe. Allah knew that unless the wars were stopped, the djinn were also in danger of destroying themselves. Allah ordered an army of angels to stop them, but the djinn gathered their armies and engaged the angels in a war that lasted a thousand years. As the war drew to an end, the older and more powerful djinn finally fell. The djinn were cast into a parallel world close to our own. It is said that most went willingly, but some did not. They remain in this parallel dimension today. Some of the djinn were allowed to stay in the physical universe to help repair the damage done by their race so that Allah’s new creation, Adam, could populate the earth. These remaining djinn were ordered to help humans in their early years, teaching them language, the sciences, and the will of Allah. These groups of djinn were known as amir to the human race and interacted with men and women quite frequently. As time passed, many of the djinn who were allowed to remain behind began to isolate themselves from humans and became resentful. After many centuries, their resentment turned into hate and instead of helping humankind, they set out to destroy us. The holy man said that these djinn were influenced by Iblis, an evil djinni who made it his mission to destroy all the beings in the physical universe who were not djinn. The amir were then quarantined (by angels) into certain geographic locations, where they remain today. These areas became their home, and is the reason why many places on the planet are thought to be haunted. These places are actually occupied by djinn who can shapeshift into almost any form they please. The amir djinn’s main purpose is to keep humans out by terrifying them and preying upon their impressionable nature.” (Rosemary Ellen Guiley & Philip J. Imbrongo, Vengeful Djinn: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies, 36-37 (Kindle Edition): Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications)
Guilty and Imbrongo go on to document how within Islam, it is believed that the jinn are responsible for many deceptions and terrible misfortunes that humans face, such as calamity, hauntings, and “alien abductions.” Being primarily spirits, they are able to manifest in all of these different forms and interact with humanity in any way that they desire.
“Demons, fairies, ghosts, demonic possession, and even sightings of extraterrestrial aliens are believed to be the work of djinn, or in some cases, spiritually corrupt humans who have joined Iblis. If we take into account the reality of the existence of djinn, we can understand the paranormal’s great diversity. Rarely do djinn present their true identity to us. Instead, they enjoy taking on many disguises. Many djinn merely play a harmless game with us for their amusement, but some have a more deadly agenda. Stories about the djinn reveal a long history of perceived injustices and indignities from their perspective, creating valid reasons (in their minds) for many of them to plot against humanity. Believing themselves to be wronged by God in favor of human beings, some djinn have carried a deep grudge for millennia. Add to that the abuses they believe they’ve suffered at the hands of one of the few men to ever have dictatorial control over them—King Solomon.” (Rosemary Ellen Guiley & Philip J. Imbrongo, Vengeful Djinn: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies, 18 (Kindle Edition): Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications)
Adding all of this together, we can learn some very important lessons about angels from this text.
First, angels are primarily messengers sent out by God.
Second, angels are primarily spiritual beings (although they have the ability to take the form of flesh).
Third, angels are associated with fire, showing us that they are messengers not only of God’s Word, but messengers of His wrath and also of His work in somehow purifying sinful mankind.
In our next lesson, we will consider another important from Psalms regarding angels.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.