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It is not the intention of this writing to give a full examination of the creation of the heavens and the earth, rather only to comment on that which is important for our theme of Salvation History. Hence many of the details of Genesis 1 will not be dealt with. The two aspects of creation that are of interest to us here are:
1. The Population of the Heavens.
2. The Population of the Earth.
These will be our main focus.
(1) The Creation story is beautifully structured:
| Day | Act - Preparation | Day | Act - Population |
| 1 | Night/Day | 4 | Sun, Moon, Stars |
| 2 | Sea/Sky | 5 | Fish & Birds |
| 3 | Land/Sea Plants | 6 | Animals & Man |
(2) Here we see the Hebrew idea of naming in its greatest power.
Naming something:
(i) Calls it into existence.
Naming is a prophetic act – it brings into being that which is named.
(ii) Makes it a permanent fixture.
What is named exists in the spiritual realm and cannot disappear until it is “Unnamed”.
(iii) Gives it a function or personality described by the name.
(iv) Implies the Namer has power over the thing named.
The naming of things expresses graphically God's claim of Lordship over the creation.
THE CREATION OF THE HEAVENS.
Genesis 1:1.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
(1) The Heavens Were Created First.
It seems that the heavens were completed and populated before God began work on creating the earth. No mention is made here of the process of the creation of the heavens and what happened in that creation, but elsewhere we find indication that they were completed before creation of earth began. This is indicated in the speech of God in Job.
Job 38:4-7.
"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone - while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”
"morning stars" i.e. angels, i.e. the inhabitants of the heavens witnessed the creation of earth. There is a sense here that the earth was to be the apex of God's creation. What was happening here was to be the greatest of all God's creation. God therefore got everything else finished so he could concentrate on his greatest work.
(2) How Many Heavens?
As we noted last chapter, the word “heavens” is plural.
"Heavens" implies there are more than one heaven.
Jewish tradition taught of seven, but in the Bible we only find mention of three.
(a) The first heavens are the physical universe we see, consisting of the earth's atmosphere and the galaxies beyond.
(b) The third heaven is revealed to us in 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 12:1-4.
“I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know- God knows. And I know that this man- whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows - was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.”
Clearly Paul is talking about an experience of his own, as he goes on to explain, and he identifies the “third heaven” as the heaven God lives in.
In the “third heavens” there appears to be other divisions.
H.A. Baker's book, "Visions beyond the Veil" is suggestive. This is a very interesting book and worth reading if you can get a copy.
It appears from the book of Hebrews that the Tabernacle was made according to the pattern Moses saw of the third heaven.
Hebrews 8:5.
“They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."
In the OT tabernacle there were three divisions:
(i) An outer court.
(ii) A holy place.
(iii) A Holy of Holies.
It may be that this indicates three distinct areas in heaven and this may have given rise to the Jewish belief of seven heavens. We don’t know for sure.
(c) The second heavens are nowhere in the Bible identified as such, but logically are not physical but spiritual. We identify them with the area of spiritual reality in which conflict is now going on and in which Satan has his headquarters.
Ephesians 6:12.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Paul is clearly not indicating that there are rebellious spirits in God's heaven, so this must be another area of "the heavens".
Revelation 8:13.
“As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair (literally “mid heavens”) call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!"
Though some translations, including the NIV here used, translate it as "midair" I feel that retaining the KJV "mid-heavens" is more accurate, more in keeping with the thought of the writer of Revelation. In later chapters we will discuss the flow of the book of Revelation but for now a brief comment will suffice. I feel that the fact that this "eagle" is flying in the "mid-heavens" indicates that we are looking at an event after that of Revelation 12:8 where Satan and his angels are expelled from the mid- heavens. But more about that later.
(3) The Population of the Heavens.
The population of the heavens seems to be made up of two creations, that which we can see and that which we cannot see, i.e. stars and angels.
There seems to be a connection between the stars and angels - not that we are to strictly identify the two - but it appears that each star, and every other body in the heavens, has an angel (spiritual being) assigned to it as guardian, or caretaker, for God.
The Bible uses the same term, the "Hosts of Heaven" to describe both the stars and angels, suggesting some form of identity between them.
(a) The Physical Universe:
Deuteronomy 4:19.
“And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars - all the heavenly array (literally “host”) - do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshipping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.”
Isaiah 34:4.
“All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shrivelled figs from the fig tree.
Jeremiah 8:2.
“They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars (literally “hosts”) of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground.”
(b) The Angelic Hosts:
1 Kings 22:19.
“Micaiah continued, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left.”
Luke 2:13.
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,…”
(c) Both angels and stars at Once:
Psalms 148:1-6.
“Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.
He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away.”
Isaiah 24:21-23.
“In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously.”
Job 38:7.
“… while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”
Revelation 1:20.
“The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
In Revelation 1:20 the seven stars referred to are clearly to be understood as the seven planets known to ancient man, so the idea goes beyond the stars to other heavenly bodies. These seven are later identified with the seven archangels in some way.
It is clear that this connection is not just a figurative comparison, but is a real and actual connection, although one whose details are still obscure to us.
Hence the statement "the heavens declare the glory of the Lord, day to day they pour forth speech" (Psalms 19) can be understood in a fairly literal way. There are spiritual beings in the heavens who do sing forth God's praise, but the words go beyond that, as we shall see in later chapters.
This leads to two important suggestions:
1. Earth is possibly not the only populated planet in the universe. Other parts of the created universe are populated, even if only by spiritual / angelic forces. However as these angels are there to be "principalities and powers", and they have some form of meaningful dominion over their appointed territories, we could assume fairly safely that other forms of life exist elsewhere in the universe which are under their rule.
2. There may be other populated Creations. We are already aware of two realities that co-exist in the same “space”, yet do not impinge on each other - namely the world we live in and the "spiritual" realm. It is therefore possible that there are other realms that exist parallel to our own in different dimensions. These could in some way have been intended to be under man’s rule, and hence were affected by the Fall of man, and by Christ’s redemption.
(The idea in the TV series "Star Gate" that somehow mankind was to be the "salvation" of the universe is probably not too far off. It is more than significant that the actual act of "salvation" that defeated the forces of evil in that programme was brought about the voluntary death of a man who, it appears, later comes back to life).
From the above analysis we see that the Heavens was the first area God devoted his attention to. It would seem that this refers to the greater universe. The rest of Genesis chapter 1 deals with earth, and the part of the heavens that immediately affects the earth.
4. The Structure of the Angelic Kingdom.
Little is known about the angelic realm, but several scriptures suggest that there is a high degree of order. The word “hosts”, used of the angels, is actually a military word, and is the Old English word for “armies”. Any army must be well ordered and have structures of command suitable for it. Such a structure may be suggested in Colossians.
Colossians 1:16.
“For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”
This appears to be a description of the Angelic hierarchy in the heavenlies. It was, in fact, a fairly common belief in the ancient word that the angelic hosts were arranged into a hierarchy, and this particular structure was also found in Persian beliefs.
Some writers feel that Paul is just using here a popular idea (originating in Persia) and not necessarily endorsing it. Thus his point is that, "No matter what spiritual powers there are, Christ is Lord of them all", so it is not important that he actually agree with the angelic hierarchy he outlines.
While there is some truth in this interpretation, I feel that is a bit weak. Paul came from a background where there was very definite ideas on the angelic realm and he had other ideas he could have used instead of this one. I do not believe he would have used this idea unless he beleived it was actually true. I think we can accept that Paul, writing under the influence of the Spirit of God, is giving us here a revelation of what the angelic hierarchy is like.
There are several lists of angels in the NT - some are in different orders to this, thus we cannot construct a hierarchy with certainty. However Paul here seems to be endorsing the idea of this structure and gives these orders of angels:
1. Thrones.
2. Dominions.
3. Principalities.
4. Powers.
We do not know much about these. The following is about as much as we can piece together:
Thrones.
Jewish tradition (in Testaments Patriarchs Levi 3) put these beings in the seventh heaven, around the throne. There seems to be only two books in scripture with direct references to them, Isaiah and Revelation.
Revelation 4:4
“Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.”
Various theories exist on who the “24 elders” are.
Two questions seem to be important:
(i) Are they men, or an angelic band?
(ii) Do they represent Israel alone, or the Church as well?
Three main theories have been suggested:
(i) They are Men. They are the representatives of Zion, the faithful of Israel and the Church. Hence they are the 12 Patriarchs and the 12 Apostles.
(ii) They are men. They represent the church only. They are 24 apostles, 12 from the early church, 12 from the last days church.
Hence if this is so John is here found to be looking at himself as he is one of the 12 apostles.
Both of these theories assume that the Church is complete and has been raptured by this point in time. This position I do not feel is sustainable from Scripture.
(iii) They are a group of spiritual beings (angels) which represent the people of God from all ages before God's throne until these people get to Heaven in the completed Bride, Zion. I believe this is correct.
Reasons for this theory:
(1) 24 = 12+12, or 12 X 2.
12 symbolises the kingdom of God, Zion (Revelation 21,22).
2 symbolises Witness.
i.e. 24 speaks of a double witness to God's purposes, Israel and the Church. Hence the 24 elders are the representatives of Zion, the people of God; they represent the 12 patriarchs and the 12 apostles.
(2) Their song in Revelation 5:9,10 indicates they are not men.
Revelation 5:9,10.
“And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
The KJV identifies them with men by translating the pronouns "Us, we". This translation follows the Latin Vulgate translation, which is generally agreed to be corrupted. At the time of translating the KJV only the Latin text of Revelation was available so it was used as the basis of the English translation. The Greek texts discovered since the translation of the KJV read as in the modern versions, "them, they". This is generally agreed by Scholars to be the original and correct text.
This indicates that the elders are not part of the group they sing about, hence are not men and must be some other form of creature, hence spiritual, hence angelic.
(3) However they function as priests and wear victor's crowns thus identifying them with the people of God in some way. The functions they carry out are primarily angelic:
Revelation 5:8 - worship, and they offer the prayers of the saints, implying they are not the saints themselves.
This verse indicates that the rapture has not yet taken place as the prayers of the saints, and the saints themselves, are still awaiting fulfillment.
Revelation 7:11-14.
“All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"
Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes- who are they, and where did they come from?"
I answered, "Sir, you know."
And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
* They are listed here among a list of other angelic beings and act in concert with other angelic groups in heaven – the angels and the creatures, thus indicating they belong to the same general grouping. They would hardly be sandwiched between two other angelic groups if they were not angels.
* John calls an elder "Sir", a title of respect not applicable if the elder is a man, considering John's own position as an elder and apostle. If the elders were the apostles John might here be addressing himself as “Sir.” This would be very odd indeed! John does not seem to see the elders as being equal with himself nor does he seem to see himself as being one of them.
* Here in Revelation 7 the great multitude of the redeemed, i.e. the Church, is clearly a different group of beings to the elders.
(4) 24 suggests a connection between them and the 24 orders of priests in the OT (1 Chronicles 25). This indicates their priestly role. However the tabernacle and temple institutions were but a "shadow" of the reality of heaven (Hebrews 8:1-5, 9:23,24 10:1). This indicates that the 24 orders of priests were actually a copy of something existing in Heaven when Moses had the tabernacle revealed to him. Hence the 24 elders were in heaven then and could not possibly be resurrected men from a later age.
(5) Satan also knew of the existence of the 24 elders. In his counterfeit religion set up in Babylon around 3000 BC he duplicated the role of the 24 elders with the 24 star gods of Astrology. This could indicate the existence of the 24 elders in prehistory, before the fall of Lucifer.
(6) Isaiah 24:21-23.
"In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously."
I am not keen on the NIV translation here as it identifies the elders with Mt Zion and Jerusalem in a worng way by calling them "its elders". The RSV translation "his elders" is better, and identifies them with the group we are talking about here.
This probably refers to the same beings, indicating the presence of the 24 elders in heaven in the days of Isaiah. Possibly Isaiah saw them in his vision in Isaiah 6.
(vii) Colossians 1:16 "thrones". These are a part of an angelic hierarchy under which are the “principalities”, i.e. archangels. The elders seem to be the highest angelic form in heaven, and this order was untouched by the rebellion of Lucifer.
Conclusion: It appears that these 24 elders are 24 angels who represent the people of God. They would then possibly correspond to the guardian angels as mentioned in 1:16. Israel had 12 tribes, hence 12 angels, the church has 12 spiritual tribes (Revelation 7) hence has 12 angels.
Their ministry is exercised on behalf of men and so presumably ceases when the men come to whom the ministry belongs. They are possibly the seraphim mentioned elsewhere in the Bible as being closest to the throne along with the Cherubim, or living creatures of Revelation Ch 4, which are the base of the throne of God.
Principalities.
The word “archangels” is an Old English word meaning “Prince angels”, or “Ruling angels”. The archangels make up the level of “Principalities”.
This suggests that the prime function of this level of angelic beings is to rule an area of God’s creation.
Revelation 8:2.
“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.”
"the seven angels who stand before God" - A specific group is intended. The Bible says nothing else directly about them except to refer to their actions in REVELATION, but John expects that the reader will know who he is talking about.
The Book of Revelation indicates that they play a major role in the judgements of God at the end.
In Jewish tradition there is several references to this group and they are named in tradition.
Enoch 20 tells us they had special tasks in creation and ongoing functions in maintaining creation.
Tobit 2:15 - an angel identifies himself as "Raphael, one of the seven angels who stands in attendance on the Lord". They present the prayers of God's people.
Enoch 20, 40 name them all - "Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Phanuel, Uriel, Saraquel, Remiel." Enoch identifies them as the archangels.
2 Esdras 4:36 c/f Revelation 6:9-11 identifies this angel as an archangel, Jeremiel. He would be an eighth.
There may be more than eight. Apparently Lucifer was one before he fell. It is possible that nine was the total number of archangels, as nine is the number related to the Holy Spirit, and these archangels appear to have some sort of special relationship to the Holy Spirit in the Book of Revelation.
Some of these are named in the Bible:
Michael.
“Michael” means "Who is like God", or “God-like”.
He seems to have a special role as the protector of God's people. He may be the chief of the angels, ranking just below the cherubim and seraphim. He seems to have command of the “armies of heaven” in a special way, and uses those armies to wage God’s battles.
Daniel 10:13.
”But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.”
* Michael is here called "One of the chief princes" - indicating there are other archangels equal to him. Presumably this angel talking is an archangel, probably Gabriel.
Daniel 10:21.
“… No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.”
* The angel talking is clearly fighting evil “principalities and powers in the heavenly realms”. This seems to be his responsibility primarily.
* At times, as here in Daniel 10, Michael helps him.
* Michael is called “your prince”, i.e. Michael has a special relationship to the nation of Israel and the people of God and is the “principality” God has assigned to his people to protect them.
Daniel 12:1.
"At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people- everyone whose name is found written in the book- will be delivered.”
* This is talking about the end time “great Tribulation”.
* “your people” are identified as those whose names are written in the book of life. So it is not referring to Israel as a nation but to those who have personally received God’s covenant.
Revelation 12:7.
“And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.”
* Again this is the end time Tribulation, and Michael is fighting Satan who is persecuting the Church.
Jude 9.
“But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
* Michael’s care of God’s people extends even to after they are physically dead.
Other possible references to Michael:
* Old Testament references to the “Angel of the Lord.”
* According to Jewish tradition, Michael gave Moses the law. This idea is based on Deuteronomy 33:2.
* Probably referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
* Probably Revelation 20:1--3.
Gabriel
“Gabriel” means, “God is great” or “Man of God.”
He seems to have a special task of bringing Divine revelation to men.
Daniel 8:16.
“And I heard a man's voice from the Ulai calling, "Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision."
Daniel 9:21,22.
“…while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding…”
Luke 1:18,19.
“Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
* Identifies Gabriel as one "Who stands in the presence of God".
Because the angel in Daniel 10:4 (above) is involved in bringing revelation I suspect he is probably Gabriel.
Possibly also referred to Judges 13:3.
Summary:
Michael is the great warrior prince, the captain of the armies of heaven. Gabriel is the interpreter of God to men.
Lucifer.
Lucifer is generally believed to have been originally an archangel, possibly equal to Michael and Gabriel in status.
We will look at this later on in this book.
THE ANGELIC HOSTS.
Under these ruling archangels are myriads of angels of varying ranks and functions. Most of what they do we know nothing about. They are servants of God and work to fulfill God’s purposes.
There are different types of angels. The Bible mentions cherubim and seraphim and there are certainly other types. This is beyond the scope of the purpose of this writing so we won’t develop it here, but for the sake of completeness I mention it.
We do know that:
1. Every person has guardian angels assigned to them by God. There is no indication there is only one.
Matthew 18:10.
"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”
2. The nations have guardian angels assigned to them.
It seems that every position of authority in human society has an angel assigned to it by God (and by Satan). It is generally agreed that the idea of “principalities and powers (Colossians 1:16)” has two levels – the spiritual/angelic and the natural/human.
3. The angels are ministering servants, assisting the Church in performing God’s purposes.
Hebrews 1:14.
“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”
Question: If God has placed legions of angels in the world at this time to serve the church, then there must be a way we can access their service. After all, they are not serving us if they are not doing what we want them to do. This all presumes that we know what we want to do in God and can call on angels to assist us in doing it.
It is worth thinking about.
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