What are celestial beings? - an overview

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “Rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.
Introduction

The typical Christian probably doesn't pay much attention to celestial beings. We recognize they exist, but that's probably where it stops. However, the Bible records a substantial variety of supernatural beings, both in heaven and cast to the earth. And there are numerous, often pivotal encounters with them recorded in Scripture.

Some of the are described in terms which can only be deemed as bizarre. Many eyes, wings, and faces, depending on the being. Others look like men. All of them invoke awe, fear, or even unconsciousness (Da. 10:8).

We do not intend an extensive analysis of angelology, so much as we desire to bring to the reader's attention an awareness of this significant company, the heavenly hosts. Nor is it within the scope of this post to discuss demons.

The Angel of the Lord

The Angel of the Lord is mentioned many times in the OT, and a few times in the NT. We examined this in detail here. We shall only say that almost always the mentions of the Angel of the Lord are appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ. When the Angel of the Lord arrives, it is usually to effect a major exercise of God's power, or to deliver a big message to some human.

Cherubim

There are ninety one mentions of cherubim in the OT. In the throne room of God it seems they attend to the glory of God; they accompany Him (perhaps metaphorically) as He moves through the heavens; and they are represented in physical form upon the Ark of the Covenant. Their rank appears to be very high, as they stand to the right and the left of the throne of God, both in heaven and on the mercy seat of the Ark.

Ge. 3:24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

He. 9:5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

Ps. 99:1 The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.

Ps. 18:10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.

God commands Moses to make two Cherubim in a very specific way. Ex. 25:18-22: 

And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 19 Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upwards, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking towards the cover. 21 Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. 22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

As we mentioned, the Cherubim appear to attend to the glory of God, for they are positioned to be focused on where the Glory rests on the mercy seat. Their wings are outstretched over the place of the Glory on the mercy seat. The mercy seat is also the place of atonement, where the blood was sprinkled for the sins of Israel. So the Cherubim also attend to the mercy of God as he covers over their sins. See our detailed discussion of the atonement here.

So we can imagine the heavenly throne room where the Cherubim are positioned with their wings shading God, who is seated in glory with the Lamb. The rainbow above (Re. 4:3) and surrounding Him, and the other heavenly hosts encircling Him. This must be quite an amazing scene.

Seraphim

Also in the throne room of God are Seraphim. There are seven occurrences of the untranslated word in the OT. they are the Burning Ones:

Psalm 104:4 He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.

Their fiery glory is displayed in Is. 6:2:

Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

Isaiah's encounter with the glory of the Lord included these beings, one of which took a coal from the fire and touched Isaiah's lips (Is. 6:7). 

For some reason they are associated with serpents. Nu. 21:6:

Then the LORD sent venomous (Seraphim, burning or fiery) snakes  among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.

God instructed Moses to fashion a Seraphim as a remedy to being bitten by the Seraphim.

Four Living Creatures

We find the four living creatures in the throne room as well, spread around the throne:

Re. 4:6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and behind.

These creatures appear to be the leaders of worship in the throne room, for every time they said "holy, holy, holy," the twenty four elders fall down (Re. 4:9-10). 

We suspect the creatures in Ezekiel are the same as the four living creatures, since there is an expanse that looks like glass:

Ez. 1:22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome.

They are burning ones as well. Ez. 1:4-6, 13:

4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north — an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings.

Ez. 1:13 The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it.

Ezekiel tells us about all sorts of indescribable phenomena, like wheels, sounds like the roar of rushing waters (Ez. 1:24), and brilliant lights. There is enough information here to make comparisons with the Seraphim, for fire goes out from them. This theme of fire plays out not only with celestial beings, but with the Holy Spirit (Mt. 3:11) and even Jesus Himself (2Th. 1:7, Re. 1:14-15, Re. 19:12)

There was Glory above them (Ez. 1:26), and within that glory was one who looks like a man, and His likeness is the glory of the Lord (Ez. 1:28). Word fail us here as we are confronted with the magnitude of the glory of the LORD. The fact that Ezekiel survived this encounter baffles us.

The Twenty Four Elders

The only mention of the twenty four elders is in Revelation chapter four:

Re. 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.

Re. 4:9-10 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever.

They have thrones and wear crowns, so they are of very high position. Who they are, we cannot guess.

The Archangels

Archangels are messengers and commanders of the heavenly hosts. Their message is always big, and their appearance is glorious. They are the highest order of the beings called angels:

arxággelos (from 758 /árxōn, "of the first order, chief" and 32 /ággelos, "angel") – an archangel; an angel of the highest rank

They are well-suited for delivering messages and for warfare. Their voices must be awesome to hear:

1Th. 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

The Archangel Gabriel

These are the only two archangels mentioned in Scripture, Michael and Gabriel. Daniel had several encounters with Gabriel:

Da. 8:16 And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”

Da. 10:5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold round his waist...

Da. 10:12-13 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 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.

This last verse describes some sort of warfare with a principality (Ep. 6:12), a fallen being with power over a certain region. We discuss fallen beings later.

Zechariah also met Gabriel, and he came bearing a magnificent message. Lk. 1:19:

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.

He stands in the presence. In other words, he has authority, and his message is one of authority. Zechariah should not doubt or question this angel, to be sure.

Mary are also received a message from Gabriel. Lk. 1:26:

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

The Archangel Michael

It seems that Michael is more of a warrior than a messenger. 

Re. 12:7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.

Da. 12:1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise.

Celestial Beings - Doxa

The next category of beings are cryptically known as Celestial Beings (literally, "glorious ones"): 

doxa: angels are called doxa as being spiritual beings of preeminent dignity... opinion, estimate, whether good or bad, concerning some one; good opinion concerning one, and as resulting from that, praise, honor, glory.

They are beings arrayed in splendor, magnificent in appearance. But they are not necessarily holy: 

Jude 8-9 In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. 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!”

Zec. 3:2 The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you!

2Pe. 2:10-11 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.

So it seems these celestial beings possess glory (doxa), but even though they aren't as powerful as the angels, the angels respect them. And clearly these beings are not holy, for otherwise, why would angels have the potential to bring slanderous accusations against them?

"Slander" is blasphémeó, which is in this context means, to be evil spoken of, reviled, railed at... Whether good or bad, it is clear that the celestial beings are not to be slandered. Imagine, an evil celestial being should not be slandered. 

Both Jude and Peter are writing in the context of arrogant men. These "dreamers" who "despise authority" are not slow to slander celestial beings, even though the angels dare not do so. Michael himself, an archangel, would not even do so with the devil! 

We would conclude that the devil is one of the celestial beings, who has a glory (doxa) even in his fallen state. This suggests that Christians should not engage in slander, taunting, or disrespect against the enemy.

Aliases

A Man

We frequently find that celestial beings are disguised as men. Jacob's encounter with a man left him with an injured hip and a blessing (Ge. 32:24). The man did not identify himself, but Jacob was of the opinion he wrestled with God (Ge. 32:30).

Here's another:

Mk. 16:5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

Two Men

Lk. 24:4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

Jn. 20:11-13 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

Ac. 1:10-11 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Three Men

Abraham ministered to three men, who also did not identify themselves:

Ge. 18:2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

The narrative changes between the three men (verses 18:2, 18:5, 18:9, 18:16, and 18:22), and the LORD (18:1, 18:10, 18:13, 18:17, 18:20, 18:22, and 18:33). It appears that two of the men said nothing, and of course the third was God. 

The LORD told Abraham He was going to destroy the evil city of Sodom (verse 21). The other two men left towards Sodom (verse 22), and Abraham commences negotiating with the LORD, who remained. After the LORD agreed not to destroy the city if there were righteous men there, He left (verse 33).

The two men were going to destroy Sodom.

Ge. 18:22, 33, The men turned away and went towards Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

 It just so happens Lot meets the two men.

Ge. 19:1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

We know about the evil townspeople, Lot's escape, and his wife's unfortunate yearning to stay.

This was not only an angelic encounter, Abraham met the LORD.

Miscellaneous

We think it is quite possible that we encounter disguised angels:

He. 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Paul writes to the Ephesian church to explain why we wear our spiritual armor. Ep. 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.

There are spiritual entities at work in the heavenly realms (epouranios, the heavenly regions... the lower heavens, or the heaven of the clouds... We discuss this passage in some detail here. For our purposes for today's post, it is sufficient to note that this warfare is primarily prayer.

Ps. 8:3-5 

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings...

"Heavenly beings" is elohim (God).

Conclusion

There is quite an array of celestial beings, with glory, power, and position. Even evil powers have some version of these things. We shall not fear the power of the dark forces, but shall rather worship the Living God in the presence of His glory, and pray for the final defeat of the evil celestial ones.