Angels_Spirits

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Hi M____,

You ask about ‘fallen angels.’

The truth is that the word translated ‘angel’ is better translated messenger. And that is how it is used. It does not mean ‘a spirit being’ as it is commonly understood in today’s English.

Here is just one of many scriptures in the Bible that demonstrate this fact:

Num 20:14 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:
Num 20:15 How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:
Num 20:16 And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:

The word translated ‘messenger’ in verse 14 is the exact same Hebrew word translated ‘angel’ in vs. 16. That word is “malak.” It is Strong’s Concordance number 4397.

Here are a few other places where it is translated ‘messenger:’

Num 21:21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,
Num 22:5 He [ Balak, king of Moab] sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
Jos 6:17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
Jdg 7:24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.

So while this word many times in scripture is speaking of spiritual messengers, ‘angel’ as understood as a spiritual messenger, is by no means the exclusive definition of the Hebrew word ‘malak.’

Now you quote:

Jdg 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Jdg 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Jdg 1:8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
Jdg 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

Notice these pre- flood messengers “as Sodom and Gomorrha … IN LIKE MANNER gave themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh.”

2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels [ messengers] that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
2Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2Pe 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those [ flesh and blood humans] that after should live ungodly;

These two events have so much in common in that they are both said to be the result of “in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh.“

The ‘angels’ here in Jude and 2 Peter should definitely not be understood as spirit beings. Christ Himself tells us that the angels “do not marry.”

Mat 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

So who then are the “sons of God who chose for themselves the daughters of men?”

Gen 6:2 … The sons of God [ angels- messengers] saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

The word ‘men’ is used in scripture as a contrast to those who are supposed to be God’s people:

1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [ there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
Mat 21:25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?

There are a couple of scriptures that reveal that God had called a people out for Himself before the flood just as He did with the descendants of Abraham after the flood. Who were those people? They are referred to in Gen 3.

Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust [ men] shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed [ the people of God before and after the flood]; it [ the seed of the woman] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Very few people ever notice that Eve was called Eve “because she was the mother of all living.”

Gen 3:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

So “the woman” was the mother of both the “seed of the woman” and the “seed of the serpent.” This has great significance in understanding the signs and symbols of the book of Revelation. But more to the point, it explains for us who God’s “messengers” were before the flood. Abel was to be the type of the ‘second Adam,’ the seed of the woman. Cain was to be the type of the natural man, who is always ‘first’ and is always ‘rejected,’ even though he is annointed of God. Here is that principle as it is given to us:

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural [ in type, Cain]; and afterward that which is spiritual [ in type, Abel, replaced by Seth].
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

The types are full of this principle. Cain is God’s firstborn of Adam, the rightful natural heir, but is rejected for the second, the type of the spiritual. Abraham’s first son, Ishmael, though his beloved son, is rejected for his second son, Isaac. Isaac’s first son, the rightful heir, is rejected for the type of the spiritual, that is, Jacob. Jacob’s first wife, Leah, is rejected for his second, Rachel. Israel’s first king, Saul, is rejected for the second, David, who is a type of Christ, as are all these second types. And finally, the first Israel “according to the flesh” is rejected for “the Israel of God,” which is based on this rule: In Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature (Gal 6:15).

Gal 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Gal 6:16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

So Abel was to be ‘the seed of the woman.’ But Cain killed Abel. What would God do for a seed of the woman now? Someone would have to be put in Abel’s stead. So God gave Adam and Eve a son to replace Abel as ‘the seed of the woman.’ The name Seth means ‘in stead of.’ Seth and his descendants were now to keep themselves separated from the descendants of Cain. This was because they were to be God’s ‘messengers’ and His ‘sons’ on this earth for that dispensation. But just like Israel of later days, they did nothing of the kind. Except for a very “few,” they all intermarried with the daughters of men (Cain’s descendants), and forsook God and His precepts. Here in nine short verses is that story:

Gen 6:1 And it came to pass, when men [ the descendants of Cain] began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
Gen 6:2 That the sons of God [ Righteous Seth’s descendants] saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose [ forgetting that they were God’s separated people].
Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God [ God’s people, Seth’s children] came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown [ in this world].
Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Gen 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Gen 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

There it is; Noah and his family were the only family who, by this time, had not married into the line of Cain. Noah was… perfect in his generations…

The messengers, “angels which kept not their first estate” as God’s chosen people, were the descendants of righteous Seth who had replaced “righteous Abel,” and was the father of “just [ righteous] Noah.”

Now is there a verse anywhere in the Bible that will give us a ‘second witness’ that carnal men are said to be, in the mind of God, “in prison?” Yes, there happens to be just such a scripture:

Isa 24:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
Isa 24:22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

This is one of the earliest prophecies of a resurrection in the scriptures. “The pit” is always typical of the grave. Here we have the grave pictured as a “prison.” And we are told that God will visit them “after many days.” But these were “spirits in prison.”

What do the scriptures reveal “in prison” means? Let’s look at a few of the many verses which tell us what is meant by this phrase:

Psa 142:6 Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
Psa 142:7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
Ecc 4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
Ecc 4:14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
Isa 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Isa 42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

It should be obvious by now that preaching to “spirits in prison” is witnessing to “them that sit in darkness [ and bringing them] out of the prison house” and “the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” In other words, the “spirits in prison… in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, were the spirits of those men who heard the witness of Noah and his family, during the 120 years the ark was “a preparing.” These were the descendants of both Cain and Seth, who were “in [ the] darkness” of rebellion against God, who were “bound” by the bondage of a life of sin.

And when does Peter tell us that this witnessing to “spirits in prison” occurred?

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noa h, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

The “spirits in prison” as shown above, are those who are separated by their deeds from the true people of God, Noah and his family. It was by and through the preaching of Noah and his family, inspired of God, that Christ “went and preached unto the spirits in prison.”

You ask about Job 4:17-19:

Job 4:17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
Job 4:18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:
Job 4:19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

These angels, just as their leader, did not ‘become’ “charged with folly” as the result of some bad decision they made. As with Adam, and as with their leader, Satan, they made bad decisions because of how the Creator had made them. The word translated ‘charged with’ is the Hebrew word ‘sum‘ or ‘siym‘ (Strong’s #7760). It is generally translated ‘put,’ ‘place’ and ‘appoint.’ Here are a couple of typical examples of how this word is used in the Hebrew scriptures:

Gen 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put [sum, siym] the man whom he had formed.
Psa 78:5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed [ Heb.- sum, siym] a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

In other words, just as Adam was created of the corruptible dust and in a sinfully naked condition, so the Adversary was also created to do what he does, to serve as an adversary. The Adversary has his messengers who are “appointed” to do whatsoever Satan requests of them. They were “charged with folly” to be the messengers of the adversary. In this case it is obvious that these ‘messengers’ are spirits.

Now for Mat 25:41:

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

This verse alone, if only believed, would prove that the “angels that left their first estate” are men and not spirit angels. Christ is here saying that those who are cast into the ‘everlasting [ eonian] fire’ are men who are ‘messengers’ of Satan.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

What does this verse say about the ‘Satan was once an angel of light’ theory? What does it say about the theory of a ‘gap’ between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis chapter one? Christ said Satan was “a murderer and a liar from the beginning.” The meaning of “beginning” is given in the following verses:

Luk 11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
Luk 11:51 From the blood of Abel [ This is the time of “the foundation of the world.” This is “the beginning.”] unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

Now for Rev 12:

The ‘woman’ in this chapter is the church. But remember, scripturally ‘the woman’ is the mother of both the “seed of the woman” and “the seed of the serpent.” Such we find is true here in the book of Revelation. Christianity teaches that this woman is the opposite of the woman in chapters 17 and 18. Nothing could be further from the Truth. If that were the case, ‘the woman’ herself would be “caught up unto God and unto His throne.” Instead, where are we told she goes?

Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

This just happens to be the exact same period of time that ‘the two witnesses’ witness to a ‘woman.’ And where do we find that woman?

Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

This entire book is a letter to a ‘woman.’ It is a letter to ‘the seven churches.’ ‘The seven churches’ are supposed to be “a chaste virgin unto Christ.”

2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

But what is the truth of the situation? Instead of being ‘a chaste virgin,’ we have the very ‘throne’ (seat) of Satan right in the church.

Rev 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat [ Greek – throne] is:
Isa 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: [ but] Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head [ there is] no soundness in it; [ but] wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isa 1:7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
Isa 1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
Isa 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, [ and] we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Isa 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

Look at all of this. This is how God views those who profess to know Him yet have no regard for His Word. It is a perfect description of the Christian church. Some are literally ordaining homosexuals to be Bishops. And those who are objecting to that practice are just as guilty of spiritual fornication, with doctrines like eternal torment, a clergy- laity structure, once in grace always in grace, you must tithe regardless of your financial circumstances, the immortality of the soul, etc. Read the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation for the complete list.

So the ‘woman’ goes into the ‘wilderness’ for 3 1/2 years while her ‘manchild,’ who is to rule the nations,’ is caught up unto God and his throne.’

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

And where are we told these “overcomers” are found at this very moment?

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

You say this is a promise for the future? Well, it certainly is. But this is also a present truth in spirit:

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

So it is only “the manchild” who is “caught up unto God and unto his throne” while ‘the woman’ herself goes into the ‘wilderness’ to fight against homosexual ordinations, the removing of the 10 commandments, the aborting of millions of unborn babies, etc. while at the same time teaching that God Himself will not simply abort, but will keep alive for the sole purpose of eternally tormenting the vast majority of His own creation. And this is but one (the depth of Satan) of the many sins within ‘the woman.’

>Rev 2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak [ in their teachings]; I will put upon you none other burden.

Now for the next thought here in Rev 12:

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The character of scripture is not what we have been taught. The scriptures are Christ. I am not saying that Christ is a book with letters in ink on paper. I am saying that the thoughts conveyed by those words in ink on paper do indeed reveal for us who Christ is. Here is the scripture:

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Do you see that? “Words… are spirit and they are life.” Now who is “the Word?”

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Now what is the character of ‘the Word?’ Is ‘the Word’ something that was true yesterday, but now it is past? Is ‘the Word’ something that only has future application? Or is ‘the Word’ only to be applied in the present?

It is incredible the number of books that have been written espousing one or the other of these views to the exclusion of the others. Which is true? Were all the prophecies of Mat 24 fulfilled in 70 A. D. with no present application? Is the book of Revelation a prophecy for the future with no relevance for the day in which they were penned or for the present? Are all these prophecies neither past nor future, but only to be applied inwardly in the present? There is a school of thought for every one of these beliefs. Which one is right? WHAT SAITH THE SCRIPTURES? Let us set aside our ‘idols of the heart’ and believe the Word of the Word about Himself:

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Until you come to understand this completely Biblical and scriptural truth, you will never have a proper understanding of any “prophecy of the scriptures.”

2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private [ Greek – idios- self] interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

No scripture is ever to be taken by it self. It is always to be understood in the light of all the rest of scripture.

Deu 19:15 One witness [ scripture] shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses [ scriptures], or at the mouth of three witnesses [ scriptures], shall the matter be established.

Yes, of course, the subject here is sin, but the principle of ‘two or more witnesses’ is established and applies especially to the Word of God, as Peter affirms.

But once a truth is established in the light of all the scriptures, it will ALWAYS have the character of Christ about it:

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty

Now when we read:

1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

How could John say that 2000 years ago? When we read:

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

“It is the last time,” “the time is at hand,” now makes sense for the first time because, “… your life… is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (Jas 4:14), and we all live in our ‘last time’ and ‘the time is at hand’ for every generation as it come and as it goes.

Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly [ to every life that “is as a vapor”]; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last[ and everything in between].

Talking to pagan Greeks Paul makes this statement:

Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Again he tells us:

Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

If you can only grasp the truth of those two verses and put that together with the “is, was and is to come” quality of the scriptures, you will have a handle on the scriptures that the entire clergy of Christianity is lacking.

I hope this is of some help to you in your efforts to come to know the mind of Christ better.

In His service,

Mike

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