Devotional #3 - Creation
THE CREATION OF ANGELS
Have You Ever Wondered?
1. When did God create angels?
2. Why did God create bad angels called demons?
3. What are angels supposed to do?
This Is What God Says: (Scripture Reading)
Job 38:6,7 ; Matthew 18:10 ; Ephesians 6:11,12
This Is How We Understand It:
We know that God created angels, and Job 38:6,7 gives us a little idea about when He created them. God is asking Job who he thought “laid the corner stone” of the earth or, in other words, “Job, who do you think created the earth?” But in the next verse God gives us a small look behind the scenes of creation. God told Job that when He created the world, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy,”. God did not create the stars in heaven until the fourth day of creation. Right? Then how could the stars be there to praise God’s handiwork if they had not even been created yet? Unless He was talking about someone else.
Most of the time, in the Bible, the phrase, “sons of God”, refers to angels. Perhaps they are called the sons of God because: 1. they were the first of His creation, 2. they show His divine glory, and 3. they serve Him personally. We also believe that the name “morning stars” is a name for the angels in heaven that were there in the beginning of time shining forth the glory of God. So, God is telling us that when He laid the foundation of the earth in preparation for His great creation, the angels were singing together and shouting for joy in praise of Him! What a glorious and breathtaking experience that would have been. I wish I could have been there! But then again, man wasn’t created until the sixth day, was he?
For a very brief time, things grew sour in heaven. I know we are shocked by that, but in the beginning of time, God must have given the angels a free will to choose whether they wanted to serve God faithfully, or not. Some of them made their decision, and it wasn’t the right one. In Isaiah 14:12-14 we are told of a very beautiful angel by the name of Lucifer. Lucifer had great power, and after a time, he thought that his power and beauty should be worshipped. He wanted to be like God. He even said, “I will be like the Most High!”
God could not have pride in heaven, and so He cast Lucifer out of heaven along with a whole host of “fallen” angels who chose to serve Lucifer, and defy their Creator. This great angel we have come to know as “Satan”, or the “Devil”, and the fallen angels are his “demons”. You see, God did not create demons, they were good angels who chose to rebel against God. It is still Satan’s desire to be “like the Most High”, and so he sends his demons forth across the world to keep men and women from believing in God and trusting His Son Jesus Christ. He seeks to discourage and distract God’s people from doing God’s will. He is very good at what he does, and those Christians who are weak may not even realize that Satan is behind their trials and testings.
No, there are no more angels choosing to serve Lucifer instead of God. That was a one time event, and now all of God’s angel’s in heaven serve Him faithfully. They also serve us faithfully. “What? Angels are serving us?” you might be asking yourself. Yes, they do. We are told in Hebrews 1:13,14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” If you’re a Christian, then God has sent angels to serve you! We’re not sure how, but it could be to keep you safe, help you to do right in some way, or even give you some encouragement. God certainly does care for us!
Think About It:
1. The New Testament has a lot to say about angels. Why don’t you look in the back of your Bible, find the concordance, find the word angel, and read all the verses you find.
2. Did you know that according to I Corinthians 11:10 and I Peter 1:12 the angels watch what goes on in the church?
3. Do you think that Satan and His demons tempt you to do wrong? What do you think you can do to defeat them? (read Ephesians 6:10-18)
4. What did you learn in this devotional that you didn’t know before?