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Theology II:
The Study Of Man And Angels
Theology II is a detailed course which continues the Theology series by Rev. LeRoy Davis by looking at the place of angels and man in God creation. We will discover what the Bible teaches about both.
We begin by looking at the Spirit World and see the purpose of angels, who satan is, and how both good angels and evil angels work. We also look at various viewpoints concerning the angelic realm.
The majority of the course; however, looks at the place of mankind in God's creation. We see who he is meant to be as well as the Fall into sin and how that has since affected his position in creation and relationships with God and man.
Except from Lesson One:
B. Existence of Angels
The existence of the spirit world is recognized by all religions. Mythology has its gods, spirits, etc. The doctrine of angels was especially developed among the Persians and many critical scholars believe that the Jews received their ideas of angels from them. This doubtful theory is unproven. Other scholars who have made a special study of the matter felt Persian angelology was developed from the Hebrews. Certainly the Scriptures show angels appearing from the very beginning.
Christians have always believed in the existence of angels. Modern liberal theology has ignored or thrown away the idea of the existence of angels, but feel the idea is good as it illustrates God's special care for His people. Some admit the possibility of the existence of angels and have tried to prove it by rational argument. Philosophy; however, can neither prove or disprove the existence of angels.
The Bible makes no formal attempt to prove the existence of angels. It simply assumes that everyone knows they exist and shows them actively ministering. Those who accept the scriptures as the Word of God know that angels exist.
C. Nature
1. Created Beings
Angels do not exist from eternity, so they must be a creation of God. This is the teaching of the Bible. Some passages which speak of the creation of the hosts of heaven (Gen.2:1;Psa.33:6; Neh.9:6) may refer to the starry host rather than angels. However there are scriptures that clearly refer to the angels.
Read Psa.148:2,5, Col.1:16
compare with
1 Kings 22:19, Psa.103:20,21, 1 Tim.6:16
The time of their creation is not clear. It would seem they were there at the creation of the world, although not necessarily before the heavens were created. Probably the only prudent statement seems to be that they were created before the seventh day. This would seem to be supported by the scriptures.
Read Gen.2:1, Ex.20:11, Job 38:7, Neh.9:6
God alone is uncreated and eternal.
2. Incorporeal
The spirituality and corporeality of angels has always been in dispute. Some Jews and many early Church Fathers attributed airy or fiery bodies to them. In the Middle Ages the church concluded they were pure spiritual beings. Later some Lutheran, Catholic, Arminian and Reformed theologians attributed certain corporeality to them. They felt that a pure spiritual incorporeality being was inconceivable with the idea of a creature.
They also believed that angels are subject to spatial limitations and move from place to place and some times seen by men, therefore there must be some form or corporeality.
The scripture gives some plain statements regarding angels.
Read Psa.104:4, Mt.8:16, Mt.12:45, Lk.7:21, Lk.8:2, Acts 19:12, Eph.6:12,
Heb.1:7,14
They have no flesh nor bones, do not marry, can be present in large numbers and are invisible.
Read Lk.24:39, Mt.22:30, Lk.8:30, Col.1:16
Symbolic representations of angels such as those in Ezekiel and Revelation, and their appearance in bodily form does not indicate they are corporeal. It is difficult to determine if in these appearances their bodies were real or only apparent. They are creatures and consequently finite and limited. They are spiritual creatures therefore stand in freer relation to time and space than human beings. They cannot be in two or more places at the same time.
Angels are spirit beings but not glorified human beings. In Heb.12:22,23 innumerable hosts of angels is distinguished from the spirits of just men made perfect. Angels are not spoken of as a superior order of being. 1 Cor.6:3 speaks of us judging angels and an inferior never judges a superior.
Below you may sign up for the complete free Student's Notes of this course on the Study of Angels and Man, although it is recommended that you complete Theology I first. They are detailed lessons and will lead you to a good knowledge of this subject. You will receive one lesson every 7 days until you complete the course or unsubscribe. Theology II has a Feed Yourself component for students to practice what they learned in that course.
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