Good Angels–Evil Angels

Who is Satan anyway?

I often hear that Satan is in charge of the world, that Satan is the god of this world and that all the trouble that comes against us is because of Satan and his followers, but to what extent is this true? And if it is, perhaps it is for a good cause and not as is suggested.

The concept of the New Testament or Christian Bible is that Satan is a power opposed to YHVH. That Satan’s power is immense for evil, that he rebelled and fell from heaven as the archenemy of God—yet, do we realize that when we accredit him with a power almost equal to the power of the Creator, that we make him into a lesser god? I have often chuckled that for some religions, Satan holds the fourth position in the Trinity. Joking aside, it seems to be the level in which he is exalted among these groups.

The Jewish belief, based on the Torah and Tanakh does not support this. What is an angel, but a messenger? Does a messenger have the ability to change the message he was sent to deliver? As the scriptures portray angels, and as I will attempt to show; they do only what they are sent by God to do. They do not exercise their own judgement.

But, some will say, Satan is too evil to be part of God’s kingdom. But what about this verse in Isaiah?

Isa 45:60-7: “that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am YHVH, and there is none else, I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I, YHVH, do all these things.”

Now if we take this at what it says, then YHVH creates evil and if we look at other verses, we will know that He created angels as adversaries to test the righteous or bring about His will in this world even when the angel does a destructive work.

Check out the case of Balaam. (Num 22:22), an angel was sent as an adversary (a Satan שָׂטָן ) to block his path. Who sent him?

In the case of King Saul, after he had refused to obey the specific command to destroy the Amalakites and their king, etc. A very strange verse follows:

1 Sam 16: 14: “וְר֧וּחַ יְהֹוָ֛ה סָ֖רָה מֵעִ֣ם שָׁא֑וּל וּבִעֲתַ֥תּוּ רֽוּחַ־רָעָ֖ה מֵאֵ֥ת יְהֹוָֽה׃ But the spirit of the YHVH departed from Sha᾽ul, and an evil spirit from the YHVH tormented him.” (A good spirit and then a bad one?) Clearly both spirits were from YHVH, the latter one was not from another source.

Jdg 9:23 “Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech” It says God sent the evil spiritרוּחַ רָעָה.

But are angels spirits?

Psa 104:4: עֹשֶׂ֣ה מַלְאָכָ֣יו רוּח֑וֹת מְ֝שָׁרְתָ֗יו אֵ֣שׁ לֹהֵֽט׃ “Who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a flaming fire.” (We see that angels are used by God to carry out his will, they are not in opposition to Him. Also note that they are transformed at the will of YHVH into spirits or flames of fire.)

Did God create evil angels?

Psa 78:49: speaking of the Angels who wreaked havok upon Egypt bringing the plagues: “And he sent upon them the wrath of his indignation: indignation and wrath and trouble, which he sent by evil angels.”

Hebrew for evil angels: מַלְאֲכֵ֥י רָעִֽים (literally: angels of evil). The question arises, did God create them as evil? Many versions use “destroying angels” but this is not the meaning of the Hebrew. Is it possible that an angel can do whatever work he is assigned to do? Can a good angel carry out an evil purpose that the Eternal designs and still be a good angel? Isn’t goodness about carrying out the will of the Eternal? I do not know if there are separate groups of angels; some that carry out destructive jobs and others that do things such as speak to prophets and bring blessings upon the righteous. And perhaps it does not matter.

Are there biblical examples of angels sent to work for mankind?

Psa 91:11-12: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” (Here again, the angels are not self-directed nor do they use their own wisdom).

Gen 24:40: “And he said to me, The Lord, before Whom I walk, will send His angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:” (And again, the angel is sent to do God’s bidding, it is YHVH who decides what the angel will do).

Dan 6:22 “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.”

Dan 8:16 “And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.”

Dan 9:20-23 “And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. (Daniel had been praying ferverently for an answer to his question about the restoration of his people to the land of Israel based on his understanding of the prophecy of Jeremiah. Gabriel is despached from Heaven, flying faster than any can imagine, to give him an answer. He is commanded to speak to him and to show him the meaning of what he did not understand. Here again is an example of an angel being despached to do a work on earth. Also look at the part that says he was “caused to fly swiftly.” Is this not an example of the power of YHVH to make an angel into a spirit to be able to arrive just in time to answer the prayer of Daniel? Was this some kind of jet-pack power, or transformer power that made space travel faster than the speed of light. Was it thought power? Interesting passage for sure!)

So God’s angels do what they are sent to do and nothing more?

Psa 103:20-21: “Bless the Lord, you angels of his, you mighty ones who perform his bidding, hearkening to the voice of his word. Bless the Lord, all his hosts; you ministers of his, who do his pleasure.

בָּרְכ֥וּ יְהֹוָ֗ה מַלְאָ֫כָ֥יו גִּבֹּ֣רֵי כֹ֭חַ עֹשֵׂ֣י דְבָר֑וֹ לִ֝שְׁמֹ֗עַ בְּק֣וֹל דְּבָרֽוֹ׃” (All the host of powerful angels do God’s pleasure….none does his own will ).

Jdg 13:13-20 “And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. 14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe. 15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. 16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. 17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? 18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? 19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.” (The angel came to do a job, not to be entertained. In the story of Abraham and the angels who came as guests, they ate his food. Here this was not part of the plan.)

Are there levels of hierarchy among the angels that God directs?

In Daniel 10 we see a being that is so awesome, and at the same time in human likeness, that Daniel fell on his face. This is apparently an angel or celestial potentate highly exalted for dealing with the great matters of humanity. Look at the passage:

Dan 10:10-21: “And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. 15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. 16 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. 18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, 19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. 20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. 21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.” (This shows angels or heavely potentates dealing with the leaders of the nations. One is sent to Daniel but has to wait to finish a job with the king of Persia, and when he leaves the one in charge of Greece will be dispatched. These beings had a tremendous effect on Daniel, more so than other angels that ministered to him. Michael is shown in this passage as being “the prince” perhaps higher than the other angels.)

There may be many more examples in the Scriptures of angels and their work, but here we see enough to make us understand that angels are sent to do the jobs for which they are sent, they do not come to do what they think they should do or feel like doing. They can be sent great distances in a matter of seconds, they control kingdoms and fight with leaders of nations, they have levels of status as seen in the book of Daniel. There is apparently a prince of the angels called Michael who is apparently head angel and possesses some kind of super knowledge. Angels are sent to answer the prayers of the righteous and to be obstacles for people like Balaam. Angels also do the work of evil spirits, bringing depression upon those who have chosen to defy God’s will such as King Saul. They brought destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah.

There are many questions that could arise about angels, such as were they the ones that Elohim spoke of when He said, let US make man in OUR image? If they were present at the creation as indicated in the following verse, then perhaps this is the meaning. Perhaps.

Job 38:4-7 “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Who would these morning stars and sons of God be?)

Job and HaSatan

If angels can do good or evil from the perspective of mankind—evil being that which harms things on the earth or places obstacles or trials, then who was the Satan who appeared in the heavenly court to tempt God to afflict Job? Let’s examine this passage again:

Job 1:6-12: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.”

Finally…

With what we have studied, the Satan (adversary in Hebrew—not a given name), is an angel created for a specific purpose (ever heard the term “devil’s adversary”? Sort of like that. He appears at the general conference of the sons of God and brings an evil report against Job. He has to get permission to persecute him. God gives him permission. So what does that say to us? That God has all kinds of agents. It is like the Satan goes around spying on people to see if they are who they claim to be. And he incited the Eternal to let him persecute him. And Job passed the test.

Maybe this explains a lot about the world today. We see the agenda of evil dominating the world scene. We see abominations against the Eternal Covenant of YHVH wherever we look. And some see this as proof that the devil is in control of the world, but let us think for a moment. If the Satan was sent to cull off the ones who do not love God and his Covenant, then would it not be according to the plan of the Eternal to separate His people from them and gather the wicked ones together for some kind of punishment? Is this not the Divine Plan? Is the Supreme One, Ruler of all, in charge of the universe or is He not? Is He in any way made inferior by the one appointed to orchestrate evil? I say no!

In Zechariah we find an interesting passage where YHVH rebukes the Satan.

Zec 3:1-7: “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. 5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. 6 And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, 7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.”

So what is this saying? That the Satan, doing what he was made to do, was overdoing it and had to be rebuked. Isn’t this similar to what finally happened in the book of Job, when he passed the test and was rewarded doubly? Though there is no mention of the Satan after Job was tested, it is clear that he was no longer testing and persecuting him.

So the lesson for those of us in these trying times is shown in the command to Joshua (above)… “If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge…” then we too can have the adversary taken away and we will be enabled to “walk among these that stand by (Holy angels).”

So, Angels all are on the work force of the Eternal.

Whether they do evil work or good, angels collaborate to get things wrapped up on this earth to bring about an eternal reign of peace under appointed King Messiah, who is, by the way as I see it, soon to come.

Yours awaiting that moment with bated breath!

Ariella Tiqvah