
Gen 1:1 In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Isa 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high and look: Who has created
these? Who brings out their host by number? By greatness of vigor, and might of
power, He calls them all by names; not one is lacking.
Col 1:16 For
all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on
the earth, the visible and the invisible; whether thrones, or lordships, or
rulers, or authorities, all things have been created through Him and for Him.
The Bible repeatedly maintains
that human beings are not the only intelligent, moral creatures in the
universe. The whole cosmos is teeming with myriads of moral creatures. They are all called Sons of God. They are not limited to our material
dimensions. No doubt there are other
material beings in the universe. But
beyond that there are other beings in other realms and dimensions. For lack of terminology they are called
Spirit Beings. None the less they are
moral beings like us.
Eph 6:12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and
blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the
world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places.
In many places we are given
graphic descriptions of the angelic domains of heavenly beings called
"seraphim" (Is. 6:2,3), "cherubim" (Ezek. 10:1-20), and
"living creatures" (Ezek. 1:5-22; Rev. 4:6-11). and even names two of
them Michael (Dan. 12:1; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7) and Gabriel (Dan. 8:16; Luke 1:19).
We usually lump all these beings
into one group normally termed as Angels.
In time the word Angel has come
to mean many things. But it should be
taken as a generic term of life beyond the terrestrial life as we know of. It is evident that these beings are not all
machines, but is given varying degrees of freedom of will. Free Will is a quality which God gave to all
consciousness. But the degree of this
freedom varies from creature to creature. This degree of freedom empowers the
beings with power. Within the
terrestrial realm itself animals and humans represent a part of the
spectrum. People usually refer to the
human freedom in terms of human soul.
Human soul alone has this special privilege of making a choice in
opposition to the external forces material or spiritual. This is because each
being is given a space of itself which is inviolable. It is this what makes man
an image of God and so a Son of God. It
is this that distinguishes matter and
persons. God is a person. So are all the created beings of God. They are generally called Sons of God
because of their freedom. Even Satan is
referred repeatedly in the Bible (Book of Job) among the Sons of God. All cosmos, material and immaterial – heaven
above heavens in multi-dimension are teeming with hosts created by God.
Neh 9:6 You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens,
even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is
on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the
multitudes of heaven worship you.
The
Scriptures don't explicitly tell us when the angelic realm was created. It is because the Biblical revelation is for
us humans. It does not give all the
details of other realms and affairs of heaven which are not relevant to us. However, the following passages seems to
indicate that the angels were created
on the first day of creation, after God created the heavens but before he made
the earth (Gen. 1:1).
JOB 38:4
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you
have understanding, 5 Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who
stretched the line on it? 6 On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its
cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God
shouted for joy?
The casual reference to the “morning stars”
and “Sons of God” who were in existence
before the creation of man is self evident.