The Angels That Sinned.
“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”— 2 Peter 2:4.
“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto judgment of the great day.”— Jude 1:6.
Many erroneous ideas have obtained in the Christian Church in regard to the angels here referred to by these apostles. Some have supposed that angelic beings in heaven, animated by an unholy ambition and a sinful spirit, actually rebelled against Almighty God; a war on the heavenly plains ensued, and after a severe contest the rebellious spirits in heaven were conquered and hurled from their former exalted state of purity and bliss, and consigned to the regions of dark despair! It is also believed that the “commander-in-chief” of these rebellious forces will ultimately drag down to the regions of dark despair a large portion of the human race, and torment them endlessly. These views, so dark and dismal, and so unworthy an infinitely wise and good God, we cannot accept; and therefore seek an interpretation that will be more rational and more in harmony with the nature and perfections of Almighty God. In our present investigations we should bear in mind the following considerations:
1. The Old and New Testament Scriptures are entirely silent in regard to a battle having ever been fought in heaven, as the theology of the sacrificial church affirms. We do not find the least proof that holy angels in heaven sinned against their Maker, and were thrust down to an endless hell! We are not informed that the angels here alluded to were ever in heaven. We read, “And if God spared not the angels that sinned,” etc., but this passage does not inform us that they were ever in heaven. The angels sinned, but not in the region of eternal bliss, as many suppose.
The passage in Jude affirms that the angels kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation; but it does not say that heaven was their first estate, nor that the habitation they left was immortal felicity. Not the slightest hint is given in the Old Testament of a war among the celestial inhabitants. If such a rebellion ever took place in heaven, it is fair to presume that some record would have been made of such an important event. The absence of such a record is strong presumptive evidence that no such event ever occurred.
2. The prevailing doctrine concerning angels sinning in heaven is utterly and irreconcilably opposed to the Scriptures which speak of the purity, holiness, and bliss of the heavenly state. Heaven is spoken of as a state of happiness and purity. No unclean thing shall go up there; but the redeemed shall walk there. We cannot think that the heavenly state was ever turned into a great battle field; and that really there was a war in heaven, a war in the realms of everlasting purity and love! According to this idea, sin originated in heaven among the pure and holy angels! Such a sentiment is too absurd to require any labored refutation.
3. If heaven was once converted into a battle field, and there really was open hostility in the abodes of bliss, may there not be another war in heaven? If pure and holy angels could once sin in heaven, may they not again and again? What security have we against another insurrection?
These considerations indicate the absurdity of the prevailing sentiment concerning fallen angels; and we now pass to give what we regard as a more rational view of the subject.
In the Scriptures, human beings are often called angels. Angel signifies messenger; and a person employed in the character of a messenger is called an angel. Solomon says that “A wicked messenger falleth into mischief.” Prov. 13:17. In the Hebrew, it is angel. The prophet Malachi calls the priest a messenger of the Lord, i.e., an angel of the Lord.
Again: “When the messengers of John were departed,” etc. Luke 7:24. The original word translated in this passage “messenger,” is ángelos [ἄγγελος], and is elsewhere rendered “angels,” and is the same word as is rendered angels in 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6.
When Jesus was on earth, he “sent messengers before his face; and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.” Luke 9:52. The original word here rendered “messengers,” is ángelos.
Ministers were called angels, as follows: “The angels of the seven churches.” Rev. 1:20. That is, the ministers of those churches. “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus.” Rev. 2:1. “Unto the angel of the church in Smyrna.” Rev. 2:8. “To the angel of the church in Pergamos.” Rev. 2:12. “And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write.” Rev. 2:18. In all these passages, reference is made to those who presided over those churches. This term was applied to human, as well as celestial beings.
There is such a striking similarity between the language of Jude and Peter, that many learned divines have regarded them as referring to the same events. Peter alludes to certain false teachers, who privily brought in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, while Jude speaks of certain men that crept in unawares, denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Both speak of the angels that sinned, of the destruction of the antediluvian world, and the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. Peter was speaking of the condemnation and punishment which would come upon certain false teachers who were then in their midst. They would bring upon themselves swift destruction. This language was penned a short time before the destruction of Jerusalem, and at a time when there was great commotion in the land; hence he speaks of the judgments soon to come upon them as lingering not, and their damnation, or condemnation, as slumbering not.
To impress these truths more deeply upon the mind, the apostle refers to severe temporal judgments which came upon the sinful and disobedient in former times; and hence those false teachers should not think of escaping merited punishment — the antediluvian world had been swept away by a flood, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by divine judgments, and these false teachers could not escape. They were soon to meet with overwhelming destruction. In past times, God had punished the sinful, and would always hold the disobedient accountable.
The apostle enforced his teachings by historical allusions, and his examples are all scriptural, except the reference to the angels that were cast down to hell (tartarus.) This, too, was clearly a historical allusion, with which the people must have been familiar, or else no important truth would have been conveyed to their minds. As there is no record of such an event in the Old Testament, the only sacred writings then extant, it must have been recorded in another book.
It is proper to observe here that a tradition existed among the Jews, previous to the birth of Christ, that the “sons of God,” mentioned in Genesis 6:2, were angels, who, previous to the flood, fell in love with the daughters of men, and left their high and lofty stations in the skies, to dwell with beautiful women on earth. According to the tradition, God destroyed them all with a flood for their sinfulness. It is evident that such a tradition prevailed among the Jews, as it is referred to by Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, although we know not with whom it originated. Josephus refers to this tradition in the following language:
“For many angels of God accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that the men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians called giants.”— Antiquities, Book I, Chap. 3.
In a note Josephus adds the following: “This notion that the fallen angels were, in some sense, the fathers of the old giants, was the constant opinion of antiquity.”
An extended account of this tradition is found in the “Book of Enoch,”¹ a work written probably by some Jew before the Christian era, as it is frequently referred to by the early Christian fathers, and undoubtedly Peter and Jude referred to this tradition, recorded in this book, as there is a striking similarity between their language and the language of this book.
We ask the reader’s attention to the following extract from the learned article before alluded to in the Quarterly, in connection with the extracts from the Book of Enoch, made by the author of that paper:
“Respecting the age of this remarkable book, there is little diversity of opinion. Dr. Lawrence and Dr. Hoffman agree in dating its composition at thirty or forty years before Christ; that is, in the early part of the reign of Herod. Professor Stuart says it must have been written subsequent to Herod’s reign; and Professor Luecke, of Gottingen, sets it down as having been composed subsequent to the destruction of Jerusalem; in which opinion substantially agrees Professor Nitzsch, of Bonn. But whether they date it thus earlier or later, they all agree, I believe, in the opinion that it was written before the epistle of St. Jude. Nay, further, it is generally believed that this apostle actually quoted from the Book of Enoch.¹ Not only the moderns are forced to this opinion, but it seems to have been universally adopted by the ancients. ‘Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Anatolius (Alexand.) and Hilary,’ says Professor Stuart, ‘all of whom refer to the book before us, and quote from it, say nothing which goes to establish the idea that any Christians of their day denied or doubted that a quotation was made by the apostle Jude from the Book of Enoch. Several, and in fact, most of these writers do, indeed, call in question the canonical rank or authority of the Book of Enoch; but the apologies which they make for the quotation of it in Jude, show that the quotation itself was, as a matter of fact, generally conceded among them.’ There are, it is true, some individuals who still doubt whether Jude quoted the Book of Enoch; but while as Professor Stuart suggests, this doubt is incapable of being confirmed by any satisfactory proof, it avails nothing to deny the quotation; for it is evident if Jude did not quote the Book of Enoch, he did quote a tradition of no better authority.
But the most remarkable feature of the Book of Enoch is, that it contains a particular account of the fall of the angels, and if I am not greatly deceived, the identical history of this astonishing event to which both Peter and Jude refer. To exhibit this reference in its true light, it will be necessary to present an outline of the history as we find it in this book, introducing such passages in full as bear most directly on the point before us. It will be seen that the whole story is made to rest on the interpretation before mentioned, of Genesis 6:1-4. The history relating to our subject begins with chapter vii., thus: ‘It happened after the sons of men had multiplied in those days, that daughters were born unto them, elegant and beautiful. And when the angels, the sons of heaven, beheld them, they became enamored of them, saying to each other: Come, let us select for ourselves wives from the progeny of men, and let us beget children. Then their leader, Samyaza, said to them: I fear that you may, perhaps, be indisposed to the performance of this enterprise; and that alone shall suffer for so grievous a crime. But they answered him and said: We all swear, and bind ourselves by mutual execrations, that we will not change our intentions, but execute our projected undertaking. Then they swore all together, and all bound themselves by mutual execrations. Their whole number was two hundred, who descended upon Ardis, which is the top of Mount Armon.’ Here follow the names of their chiefs or prefects, eighteen in number, of whom Samyaza was their leader.
Chapter viii. gives an account of what these angels taught men — such as making swords, knives, mirrors, the use of paints, and of precious stones, sorcery, astrology, signs, astronomy, etc., and adds that ‘impiety increased; fornication multiplied; and they transgressed and corrupted all their ways.’ Chapter ix. informs us how the angels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Suryal, and Uriel looked down from heaven, and seeing what was done, they offered a sort of an address to the Almighty, setting forth the conduct of the sinning angels, and the misery brought upon the human race by it. Chapter x. carries forward the story thus:
‘Then the Most High, the Great and Holy One spoke; and sent Arsayalalyur to the son of Lamech, saying: Say to him in my name, Conceal thyself. Then explain to him the consummation which is about to take place; for all the earth shall perish; the waters of a deluge shall come over the whole earth, and all things which are in it shall be destroyed. And now teach him how he may escape, and how his seed may remain in all the earth. Again the Lord said to Raphael: Bind Azazyel hand and foot; cast him into darkness; and opening the desert which is in Dudael, cast him in there. Throw upon him hurled and pointed stones, covering him with darkness. There shall he remain forever; cover his face, that he may not see the light. And in the great day of judgment let him be cast into the fire.’ Gabriel was sent to destroy ‘the children of fornication’ from among men, by exciting them one against another that they might perish by mutual slaughter. ‘To Michael likewise the Lord said, Go and announce his crime to Samyaza, and to the others who are with him who have been associated with women, that they might be polluted with all their impurity. And when all their sons shall be slain, when they shall see the perdition of their beloved, bind them for seventy generations underneath the earth, even to the day of judgment, and of consummation, until the effect of which shall last forever be completed.’
The latter part of the chapter gives a very glowing description of the blessing which was afterward to be granted to the earth. The saints were to live, to have ‘a thousand children;’ the earth was to be ‘wholly planted with trees and filled with benediction;’ every seed planted was to produce a thousand fold, and one measure of olives was to produce ‘ten presses of oil.’ Chapter xi. informs us that before all these things Enoch was concealed, none of the sons of men knowing where he was, for he was wholly engaged with the holy ones and the watchers in his days. The story goes on:
‘I, Enoch, was blessing the Great Lord and King of Peace. And behold the watchers called me Enoch the scribe. Then the Lord said to me, Enoch, scribe of righteousness, go tell the watchers of heaven who have deserted the lofty sky, and their holy everlasting station, who have been polluted with women; and have done as the sons of men do, by taking to themselves wives, and who have been greatly corrupted on the earth; that on the earth they shall not obtain peace nor remission of sin,’ etc. Chapter xiii.: ‘Then Enoch passing on, said to Azazyel, Thou shalt not obtain peace. A great sentence is gone forth against thee. He shall bind thee; neither shall relief, mercy, and supplication be thine, on account of the oppression which thou hast taught; and on account of every act of blasphemy, tyranny, and sin which thou hast discovered to the children of men. Then departing from him, I spoke to them all together; and they all became terrified and trembled; beseeching me to write for them a memorial of supplication, that they might obtain forgiveness; and that I might make the memorial of their prayer ascend up before the God of heaven; because they could not themselves thenceforward address Him, nor raise up their eyes to heaven on account of their disgraceful offense for which they were judged.’
This Enoch undertook, and after writing the memorial of their prayer, he fell asleep and saw a vision of punishment, that he might relate it to the sons of heaven, and reprove them. Chapter xiv. contains what he said to them, the sum of which was, that they should never ascend into heaven, but that God would bind them as long as the world endures. The latter part of the chapter is occupied with an account of the vision, at the close of which the Lord said to him:
‘Go, say to the watchers of heaven who have sent thee to pray for them: You ought to pray for men, and not men for you. Wherefore have you forsaken the lofty and holy heaven, which endures forever, and have lain with women; have defiled yourselves with the daughters of men; have taken to yourselves wives; have acted like the sons of earth, and have begotten an impious offspring?”
We desire now to call the attention of the reader to a few particulars indicating the striking similarity between this traditional account of the fallen angels, found in the Book of Enoch, and the Biblical account, as set forth by Peter and Jude.
1. The passage in Jude informs us that “the angels kept not their first estate.” In the Book of Enoch, these angels are called “watchers,” probably from the fact that they were supposed to have some charge of others. Being in love with the daughters of men, as the story goes, they left their high and lofty positions, and became sinful and degraded. In this immediate connection, we again call the reader’s attention to the 11th chapter of this Book of Enoch, which reads as follows: “Then the Lord said to me, Enoch, scribe of righteousness, go tell the watchers of heaven, who have deserted the lofty sky, and their holy, everlasting station,” etc. The “watchers” are here represented as leaving their “everlasting station.” This corresponds very nearly to Jude’s account, who undoubtedly was familiar with this tradition recorded in this Book of Enoch, as he employs very similar phraseology. Peter says that God spared not the angels that sinned. They became sinful. This agrees with the tradition of Enoch, which informs us that “impiety increased and they transgressed and corrupted all their ways.”
2. Jude informs us that the angels left their own habitation.” He does not say that they were thrust out of heaven, by a superior power, as the theology of the sacrificial church teaches, but he speaks as though their act of leaving was voluntary — that they left of their own choice. By comparing this with the tradition of which we speak, we shall find such a remarkable coincidence of thought and expression, that it will appear evident, we think, to every reflecting mind, that each refers to the same thing. In the 11th and 14th chapters of the Book of Enoch, we are informed that the watchers of heaven deserted the lofty sky and forsook the lofty and holy heaven which endures forever. They are represented as acting perfectly free in deserting the lofty sky. There is a remarkable similarity in the accounts. Jude says that they “left their own habitation,” while the tradition teaches that they “forsook the lofty sky.”
3. These angels that left their own habitation, were kept in chains of darkness, reserved unto judgment, or, unto the judgment of the great day, as Jude has it. Similar phraseology is found in the Book of Enoch, which contains this tradition; in fact, almost the identical language is employed! In the tenth chapter, we read thus: “Again the Lord said to Raphael: Bind Azazyel hand and foot; cast him into darkness; and opening the desert, which is in Dudael, cast him in there. Throw upon him hurled and pointed stones, covering him with darkness. There shall he remain forever; cover his face, that he may not see the light. And in the great day of judgment, let him be cast into the fire.” They were to be bound there for “seventy generations underneath the earth,” according to the tradition, “even to the day of judgment.” This is the same as being bound in “everlasting chains, reserved unto judgment.” Being bound for “seventy generations” underneath the earth, is the same as being cast down to tartarus — hell, as spoken of by Peter.
We regard this as a correct exposition of the Biblical account of fallen angels. Many believed the tradition to be true, and hence it was very naturally referred to by way of illustration. If such were punished as those believed who accepted the tradition, then they should expect that God would deal justly with all offenders, and punish the false teachers of that age, as He had before punished the wicked and disobedient. The object of the apostle was to show that those false teachers should experience merited retribution, and not to endorse the tradition of the fallen angels, recorded in the apocryphal Book of Enoch, which probably had its origin in heathen mythology. Peter does not say that the history to which he refers is true; but made reference to it to illustrate a particular point and enforce an important truth, just as the Savior referred to Mammon, the god of riches, to illustrate an important truth. When Jesus said, “Ye cannot serve God and Mammon,” (Matt. 6:24,) he did not design to teach the existence of such a god, although the people once worshiped the god of wealth under this name. Neither did Peter design to teach that the apocryphal account of the fallen angels was correct; but many accepted the tradition as true, and if what they accepted was correct, the false teachers of that day should take warning, as the disobedient would certainly be punished, as they themselves acknowledged. If, as they believed, certain angels who sinned, met with merited retribution, how could they expect to escape?
Peter could appropriately make an appeal to those who believed the story; “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, (as those around him professed to believe,) but cast them down to tartarus,” etc. On the supposition that this is so, and that they are bound in everlasting chains, why then you, false teachers, need not expect to escape the just judgments of heaven.
We think that Peter made a quotation from the Book of Enoch, just as Joshua quoted from the apocryphal Book of Jasher, in his account of the standing still of the sun and moon. After saying that the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the people avenged themselves upon their enemies, he asks the following question: “Is not this written in the Book of Jasher?” Joshua 10:13. No one supposes that Joshua designed to vouch for the correctness of the Book of Jasher, neither did Peter intend to vouch for the correctness of the story concerning the “fallen angels,” as recorded in the Book of Enoch.
The writers of the Scriptures occasionally made quotations from ancient works to illustrate important truths. In Jeremiah 48:45, we read as follows: “But a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon.” Dr. Adam Clarke says, that “Jeremiah has borrowed this part of his discourse from an ancient poet, quoted by Moses.” No one supposes that because Jeremiah and Moses quoted from an “ancient poet,” that they necessarily regard that poet as infallible. So Peter referred to the tradition recorded in an ancient book, without intending to affirm its truthfulness. True, Peter does not say in so many words that he quoted from the Book of Enoch; neither did Jeremiah say in so many words that he quoted from an “ancient poet,” as Dr. Clarke contends; but the phraseology which Peter employs corresponds so exactly with that found in the tradition of Enoch, that we cannot doubt his acquaintance with that work. He addressed those who believed the tradition; and with propriety he could refer to it by way of illustration. As though he had said, “If God spared not the angels, as you believe, but reserved them unto judgment, then you should take warning from God’s dealing with them as you profess to believe, and not think that you can escape the judgments of heaven, which will soon be upon you, false teachers.” The main purpose of the apostle was not to teach any thing concerning the fallen angels, but to impress the certainty of merited retribution upon the minds of the false teachers about him.
Die In Your Sins.
“Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.”—John 8:21.
This passage is often incorrectly quoted thus — “If ye die in your sins, ye can never go where God and Christ are,” and is supposed to teach the doctrine that all who die in their sins can never enter the abodes of eternal felicity.
According to this sentiment, the man who has long lived a true life — been exercised by kind and benevolent emotions, governed by high-toned moral principle, and been interested in the welfare of humanity, if he should die while committing a single offence in his old age, he must be endlessly miserable. And such, too, must be the melancholy fate of a child that dies in the commission of its first sin, however trivial may be its error.
Again: if all are to suffer eternally who die sinners, who then can be saved? All are imperfect and sinful, and pass from earth more or less contaminated with sin; and the advocate of the eternity of suffering does not believe that death has any renovating power upon the soul, that it delivers man from any moral impurity. Then, as all die more or less sinful, all must eternally perish, for it is contended that the passage under consideration teaches that all who die in their sins can never be saved!
Again: if the language employed here was originally designed to exclude the individuals addressed from heaven, then Christ’s own disciples can never reach the shores of a blessed immortality, for he employed similar phraseology when addressing them; and if it teaches the endless destruction of the Jews, with equal propriety we may say that it teaches the eternal damnation of the disciples.
Jesus said, “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me; and, as I said unto the Jews, whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.” John 13:33. In the passage before us, Jesus said to the Jews, “Whither I go, ye cannot come.” John 7:34. And to his own beloved disciples, called by the endearing name of “little children,” Jesus said, “As I said to the Jews, so say I to you, whither I go, ye cannot come.” Here Jesus employed precisely the same language when addressing his followers as when speaking to the Jews, and consequently if it excludes the Jews from heaven, it will also the disciples.
Does the objector affirm that Christ did not say that the disciples should die in their sins as he did to the Jews. This we readily concede, for the obvious reason that they believed on him; but he did say to them, “Whither I go ye cannot come;” and it is this expression, as is contended, that shows they can never reach the world of blessedness. It is said that Christ went to heaven, and the expression, “Whither I go, ye cannot come,” excluded the Jews from the heavenly state; but if so, it would exclude the disciples also, for the same language was applied to them.
But replies the objector, the promise was made to the disciples that they should follow him afterwards; and when he said to them, “Whither I go, ye cannot come,” he intended to say simply that they could not follow him at that particular time, but at a subsequent period should follow him, and there is no such promise to the Jews. In reply, we would say, that Jesus says to the disciple Peter, “Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards.” This language was addressed to but one disciple, and not to all; hence it follows, to use the argument of the objector, that if the Jews cannot be saved, because there is no promise to them that they should follow him afterward, then the other disciples must be excluded from the heavenly kingdom, for the promise is made to but one, viz., Peter. But there is a promise to the Jews: the time is to come when they shall say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” “And so all Israel shall be saved.” And this time was after their house was to be left unto them desolate.
The scripture we are considering, was originally addressed to the Jews, who rejected Christ and pronounced him an impostor. We think the Savior referred to some particular sin in the passage before us. And some contend that a better rendering of the original would be — “Ye shall die in your sin,” instead of “sins.” The sin of rejecting him seems to us to be the particular sin referred to. The Jews rejected Jesus, pronounced him an impostor, and hung him upon a cross. The context shows that this rejection of the Savior was the sin spoken of. Jesus said to the Jews, “Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” The Jews would not believe that Jesus was the true Christ; they rejected him and the evidence he presented that God was with him. In John xv., we find the following language of the Savior: “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin;” that is, they would not have committed the particular sin of rejecting him, had he not come and spoken unto them, though they would have been guilty in other particulars. “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” The Jews believed not; they rejected him. Jesus came to his own and they received him not. “Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way; ye shall seek me, and shall not find me.”
As much as to say: “Now you have an opportunity to seek me; to become acquainted with my doctrine and religion; I am the Messiah of the prophets, but I cannot remain here forever; I have an important mission to perform, by my life and my death; I have wrought miracles before you, but you believe not that I am the Christ of God; I cannot remain long with you; you are stubborn and unbelieving; I go my way, and the time will come when you will seek me, and desire an acquaintance with me, but I cannot remain till it arrives; you will continue to look for the Messiah of the prophets, and though now he is before you, still you believe not; but the time will come when you will be convinced that I am he; but at that time I shall not be with you. Then you will say, ‘Lord, Lord, open unto us.’ You will seek me and will not find me; that is, you will keep looking for the true Messiah, and will not find him.” The Jews rejected Jesus and died in their sins. His language — “Whither I go, ye cannot come,” could not have been designed to exclude them from heaven, for similar phraseology he employed when he addressed his disciples. He simply meant that they could not follow him at that time. Then was the time to seek an acquaintance with him, for he was going where they could not follow him when they should desire it. The promise is extended even to the Jews, for God hath concluded all in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all. (Rom. 11:32).