Notebook for
Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host
Heiser, Michael S.
Citation (APA): Heiser, M. S. (2018). Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host [Kindle Android version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com
Introduction
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That language isn’t a cryptic reference to the Trinity. God is speaking to his heavenly host. He is sharing a decision with them— decreeing his will, as it were.
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Imaging God is about representation— acting on God’s behalf at his behest. Humans image God on earth. The heavenly host images God in the spiritual, non- terrestrial world. The two are connected by design—
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We image God by doing what he would do, when he would do it, and with the motivation he would have for doing it.
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First, “heaven” will be on earth. This is where Revelation 21– 22 locates the eternal state, but that fact often is missed by Bible readers. Eternal life will be lived out in a new Eden— a global paradise that fulfills God’s original intention. The presence of God and the glorified messianic king, Jesus, will be there. We’re there, too, but we’re not passive (or bored).
Chapter 1: Old Testament Terminology for the Heavenly Host
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the Hebrew word rûaḥ can also mean “wind.”
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The fact that biblical writers label a range of entities as ʾelōhı̂m that they elsewhere take pains to distinguish as lesser than Yahweh tells us quite clearly that we ought not understand ʾelōhı̂m as having to do with a unique set of attributes possessed by only one Being.
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Biblical writers also assign unique qualities to Yahweh. Yahweh is all- powerful (Jer 32: 17, 27; Pss 72: 18; 115: 3), the sovereign king over the other ʾelōhı̂m (Psa 95: 3; Dan 4: 35; 1 Kgs 22: 19), the creator of the other members of his host- council (Psa 148: 1– 5; Neh 9: 6; cf. Job 38: 7; Deut 4: 19– 20; 17: 3; 29: 25– 26; 32: 17; Jas 1: 17) and the lone ʾelōhı̂m who deserves worship from the other ʾelōhı̂m (Psa 29: 1). In fact, Nehemiah 9: 6 explicitly declares that Yahweh is unique— there is only one Yahweh (“ You alone are Yahweh”).
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To summarize our findings thus far, Old Testament writers describe the nature of the members of Yahweh’s heavenly host with terms such as “spirits,” “heavenly ones,” and “gods, divine beings.”
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Many scholars have pointed out that there is a discernible hierarchy within the divine council. All council members, including Yahweh, are heavenly spirit beings (rûḥôṯ; šamayim; ʾelōhı̂m). 36 However, a careful comparison of the council terminology sketched here with texts from ancient Canaan, particularly Ugarit, and the terms “sons of God” (benê [ha] ʾelōhı̂m/ ʾēlı̂m) and “angel” (malʾāk), allows one to discern three tiers within the council.
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“Sons of God” is familial language. “Angel” is the English translation of Hebrew malʾak (“ messenger”). This language is intentional. Sonship language in the context of royal ideology conveyed the notion of high- ranking administration. The children of the king were not mere messengers; they outranked messengers. The sons of the king were an elite level of authority; they were extensions of kingly authority,
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It is interesting to note that angelic messengers are at times explicitly described as “men” (ʾănāšîm) in the Old Testament (e.g., Gen 18: 1– 8, 16, 22; 19: 1– 22). 46 Human form can more or less be assumed in other passages, as it would seem necessary for a human being to be able to comprehend that divine beings were present (e.g., Gen 28: 12; 32: 1). 47 There are exceptions to this template (Gen 21: 17; 22: 11), and so it cannot be said that human form was necessary for angelic interaction with people. Human form for God himself is also common in the Old Testament.
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The result is that Job 33: 23 puts forth the concept of angelic mediation for human beings. As we will learn in the next chapter, mediation can be understood as “turning” to someone for an explanation of God’s activity.
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These terms could be considered as describing the nature of heavenly beings, since cherubim and seraphim are divine creatures. Both are said to have wings, though the number varies (Exod 25: 20; 37: 9; Isa 6: 2). Cherubim are at times assigned four faces and both human and bovine body parts (Ezek 1; 10). Seraphim is the plural form of śārāp̱, a Hebrew word also translated “snake” (Num 21: 6, 8; Isa 14: 29). These descriptions are reflected in iconography from the biblical period. 73 Neither is ever qualified with the term malʾāk, and so it is incorrect to think of cherubim and seraphim as angels.
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Our brief overview of Old Testament terms for God’s heavenly host and its members ought to make clear that talk of “angels” in the Old Testament is both too simplistic and incomplete. We are of course accustomed to that term, but it fails to do justice to the how an Israelite would have thought about the spiritual world.
Chapter 2: The Heavenly Host in Service to God
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As noted in the last chapter, the label “angel” is just a job description— a particular service rendered on God’s behalf by certain members of the heavenly host. The same is true of “cherubim” and “seraphim,” both of which describe guardianship of the divine presence. But there is more to what angels and other members of the heavenly host do in God’s service than these terms convey.
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Consequently, the members of the heavenly host aren’t eternal since they had a beginning.
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The ʾelōhı̂m spirit beings in rebellion against Yahweh will have their existence terminated in God’s own time and at God’s discretion. These beings “are gods (ʾelōhı̂m), sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” The theological point is transparent. God is the single being whose existence is entirely under his own control. No other being can take it away. That is not true of other spirit beings.
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The ben ’ādām [“ son of man; human one”] is like the ben ’ēlîm [“ son of God; divine one”], a notion expressed explicitly also in Psalm
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The image of the divine ones is placed on earth to embody and represent the divine ones in subduing, ruling, and governing the earth.
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We die after a brief existence in the world God made for us. It is only at that point that we experience the presence of God, presuming we are part of his family through redemptive grace.
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God wasn’t searching for ideas, as though he couldn’t conceive of a plan. He allowed those who serve him the latitude to propose options. In other words, the members of the host were involved in the divine decree.
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The seated (v. 9) Ancient of Days is obviously the leader of the council. But “thrones” are set in place for at least some members of the council (“ court”; v. 10). 13 The council members occupying the other thrones are part of the decision- making process. This is quite evident from Daniel 9: 26: “But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.” The verdict on the fourth beast is connected to the court sitting in judgment. The seated council in Daniel 7: 9– 10 is therefore not just window dressing.
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The seated posture of the council expresses a participatory role. But the other details of 1 Kings 22: 19– 23 and Daniel 7: 9– 10 are equally significant. The council neither acts alone nor without a Head. The members of the heavenly host partner with God in carrying out his will. They are not autonomous.
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In addition to participating in divine decisions, members of God’s heavenly host also bear witness to God’s decrees. We have already encountered two such instances. In Job 38: 4– 7, the morning stars/ sons of God bear witness to the majesty of the creation event. In Genesis 1: 26 God announced to the assembled council host his decision to create humankind. That the purpose of the declaration “let us create” was to announce intention, not solicit help in creating, is evident in Genesis 1: 27, where the verbs of creation are all grammatically singular. 15 The members of the heavenly host perform an endorsement role, not in terms of authorizing God’s decision, but rather validating or confirming its goodness, wisdom, and desirability.
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Perhaps less well known, but just as transparent in the biblical text, is the idea that the law was delivered by angels (Acts 7: 53; Gal 3: 19; Heb 2: 2).
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The ultimate expression of this idea was the Sinai covenant between Yahweh and his own people.
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Commentators agree that Isaiah 6 and 40 have a number of connections. In Isaiah 6, only God, Isaiah, and the divine throne guardians (seraphim) are in the room. God addresses the assembled divine host by asking a rhetorical question: “Who will go for us?” (v. 8). God isn’t asking Isaiah directly; the prophet is a spectator. A conversation ensues within the council in Isaiah 40: 3– 6, wherein the prophet becomes a participant (reading “and I said” with the Dead Sea Scrolls text of the passage at v. 6). This is very similar to Isaiah 6, where, after the “Who will go for us?” question, the prophet responds, “Here am I, send me” (v. 8). 26 In that passage, one of the seraphim purifies Isaiah’s mouth for service as the spokesman for Yahweh (Isa 6: 6– 7).
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Unfortunately, church tradition has produced a myopic understanding of the well- known episode in Job 1– 2, where a challenge is issued against God’s assessment of the righteous Job by a heavenly adversary (śāṭān) reporting in a divine council meeting. 29 The focus on this figure distracts readers from a larger point of biblical theology— the role of the heavenly host in God’s governance of his terrestrial creation.
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In Zechariah 1: 10 we learn that God sends angels “to patrol the earth.” Those angels report to the angel of the LORD, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest” (Zech 1: 11). 32 In Psalm 82 the council ʾelōhı̂m under God’s indictment are being judged because of their failure to administrate the nations according to the principles of Yahweh’s justice (Ps 82: 2– 4). The result is chaos on earth (“ all the foundations of the earth are shaken”; Ps 82: 5).
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The divine ones, the gods who are supposed to provide for order/ righteousness among the peoples of the earth, have utterly failed to do so. They have shown partiality to the wicked and failed to maintain the right of the poor and the weak. The consequence of this is stated to be a shaking of the foundations of the world.…
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Indeed its consequence is a decree against the divine world that relativizes it and renders the divine ones mortal. The gods are condemned to death. The fate of the divine world, of gods as well as of human beings, is determined in the divine council.
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According to Deuteronomy 32: 8– 9, members of the heavenly host were assigned as administrators of the nations: When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. 34 But the LORD’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. We learn from Genesis 11: 1– 9 that humanity was divided up into the nations at the Tower of Babel event.
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Yahweh’s division of humanity into the nations listed in Genesis 10, which descended from Noah’s sons after the flood, was a punitive act. God had decided to put his relationship with humanity as a whole on hiatus.
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After the nations were divided and allotted to lesser divine beings (“ sons of God”), God called Abraham to form a new people— his “inheritance” as described in Deuteronomy 32: 9.35 Through this new people, God planned to bless the nations in the future (Gen 12: 3; cf. Acts 17: 26). 36 Deuteronomy 32: 8– 9 is foundational for understanding the remainder of the Old Testament.
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Though readers are given no timeline, eventually the sons of God charged with this task turn adversarial, seducing the Israelites into idolatry (Deut 32: 17) and abusing their populations (Ps 82: 1– 5). God’s response is to pronounce their eschatological deaths at the day of the Lord (Ps 82: 6– 8; Isa 24: 21; 34: 1–
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The notion that heavenly beings were presumed to function as mediators between the leadership of the divine council and mortal humans, in effect functioning as witnesses for humans to plead their case in the context of unjust suffering, is a very ancient one, perhaps going back to divine assemblies at Sumer.
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Rather, angels can fail because God allows them to make decisions and they are lesser beings than the perfect God. We saw this in 1 Kings 22: 19– 23, where God allowed debate within his council. By definition not all the spirit beings came to the same conclusion, which means that some thought errantly or, at the very least, less optimally than others.
Chapter 4: The Language of the Heavenly Host in Second Temple Judaism
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The word ʾelōhı̂m occurs over five hundred times in the scrolls, seventy of which are semantically plural. 20 These instances are not references to idols. It’s evident that the Qumran authors, in concert with the Hebrew Bible, considered them spirit beings based on phrases like “spirits of the gods” (rûḥôt ʾelōhı̂m) and “spirits of the living gods” (rûḥôt ʾelōhı̂m ḥayyı̂m). 21
Chapter 6: The Heavenly Host in the New Testament
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The New Testament uses “holy ones” only once of celestial, non- human beings (Jude 14), and that instance is drawing on material from a pseudepigraphical book (1 Enoch 1: 9). This infrequency of usage would not lead us to the conclusion that New Testament writers didn’t think the members of the heavenly host were holy or that God’s presence was void of other heavenly beings. New Testament references to “sons of God” or “children of God” refer to human believers (glorified or not). 4 We would be quite wrong if we concluded that New Testament writers thought that angels were not created by God (as spirit “children”) or that they thought there was something theologically amiss about the phrase “sons of God.” 5 New Testament writers had their own focus points. There was no need to rehearse Old Testament angelology in their writings.
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Ontological language (e.g., “spirits”) is frequently employed and qualified with adjectives (“ evil spirits”) to describe demons, a term that is itself ontological. “Demon” is actually a transliteration of the Greek daimōn (or the related daimonion), which in classical Greek literature describes any supernatural being without regard to its disposition (good or evil).
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Consequently, daimōn is semantically akin to Hebrew ʾelôhı̂m. 7 Gospel writers use daimōn in combination with descriptive phrases like “evil/ unclean spirits,” 8 and so daimōn/ daimonion in the New Testament nearly always point to a disembodied entity hostile to God. 9 These supernatural fallen spirits are also cast as fallen or wandering “stars” (Matt 24: 29 [cf. Isa 34: 4]; Mark 13: 25; Jude 13).
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Ontological vocabulary is occasionally used to describe God’s servants. They are occasionally described as “spirits” (Heb 1: 14; Rev 1: 4; 3: 1; 4: 5; 5: 6), 11 “heavenly ones” (epouranioi; 1 Cor 15: 48), “glorious ones” (doksai; 2 Pet 2: 10; Jude 8); “lights” (phōtōn; Jas 1: 17); “holy ones” (hagiais; Jude 14); and (possibly) “stars.” 12 New Testament writers seldom qualify the term “angel” with “holy” (Mark 8: 38 [cf. Luke 9: 26]; Acts 10: 22; Rev 14: 10). However, angels are associated with heaven (Matt 22: 30; 24: 36; Mark 12: 25; 13: 32; Luke 2: 13, 15; Heb 12: 22; Rev 10: 1; 14: 17; 18: 1; 20: 1).
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For New Testament authors, angelos is a catchall term for the supernatural agents who faithfully attend God. The varied vocabulary of the Old Testament and Second Jewish literature is therefore largely conflated into angelos.
Chapter 7: Special Topics in New Testament Angelology
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Given the other textual merits of understanding the angels in Revelation 1– 3 as supernatural beings, it seems best to understand them as members of the heavenly host assigned to the churches in a surrogacy role. 14 Angelic mediation of God’s will and word to believers— which involved both praise and admonition, as we saw in the Old Testament— seems to be operative in this relationship.
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In Colossians 1: 20, “reconciliation” means the return to creation order and the re- installment of Christ to his position of rulership at the right hand of God (Acts 7: 55– 56; Eph 1: 20; Col 3: 1; Heb 1: 3, 13; 1 Pet 3: 22; Rev 5: 1) after his incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension. An offer of salvation to angels is not in view. Instead, the aberration of their dominion over the affairs of men is corrected. Their authority is now illegitimate. 22 Of course, they will not willingly surrender power, and so that must be— and will be— taken from them. Humans still estranged from God are thus deceived and enslaved by powers unauthorized by the true king. That is the point of the Great Commission— setting captives free.
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The Second Person of the Godhead became a man because the object of the atonement was fallen humanity (Luke 19: 10; 2 Cor 5: 21). Jesus became a human because he needed to save humans. Becoming human was necessary because its ultimate purpose was a death that atoned for humans. Becoming human had no necessary link to angels, who are not human. Christ’s death for sin substituted for our death for sin (Gal 3: 13; Rom 4: 25).
Chapter 8: Myths and Questions about Angels
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Zechariah 5: 9 is often offered as an exception to both the human (and male) portrayal of angels: Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. Despite the fact that even some scholars speak about these women with wings as angels, there is no textual basis for identifying the women as angels. The “women” (Hebrew, našı̂m) are never described as angels. In the very next verse the prophet speaks to an angel (malʾāk), a figure distinct from the women (Zech 5: 10). When the angel speaks (Zech 5: 11), the writer used the masculine form of the verb (yōʾmer), not the feminine form (tōʾmer). The text is clear. Zechariah 5: 8– 11 therefore provides no biblical evidence for the notion that angels have wings or come to humans in female appearance. 1 While it is clear that wings mark the women as being from heaven (as opposed to earth), the point is not “these are angels.” Rather, the point is to highlight their contrast with the wicked woman in the basket a few verses earlier (Zech 5: 5– 8).
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There are two reasons why Hebrews 1: 14 does not give Christians authority to command angels— one grammatical, the other contextual.