The Spiritual World
In the depths of the oceans, there is a world quite different from anything we see living on land and the surface of the waters. Their conditions of life are completely different from ours. They have never seen the light of day or felt the touch of air. Think about their lives for a moment. They could not, in their wildest imagination, conceive of air, and light, and dry land. We may visit them, and although it is probably startling, we do not communicate with them. We leave them totally without knowledge of our world.
Based on that scenario taken from our life, what about the possibility of another world existing that is equally beyond our imagination? Could not a spiritual world peopled with persons with entirely different natures exist beyond our comprehension? They would be living in conditions we could not understand if it were described to us. Occasionally, a visitor from that other world might touch our life here and although we would be startled, he would leave us without knowledge of his world.
It is something of this sort which we mean when we talk about angels. They are not disembodied spirits. We do not become angels when we die – in spite of the impression frequently planted in the minds of children. They are another order of creation, quite distinct from us in the human sphere. They are spiritual beings, possessed of different properties from ours, and serving a different purpose in God’s universe. Is there any reason to think that creation ceased with man? Could there be other created beings of which we are capable of knowing little or nothing?
Anyone who takes the Bible seriously cannot escape the angels. They frequently visit our world to perform some mission for God. The word “angel” means messenger, one who is sent. Just as God uses human agents for certain aspects of His work, so He uses angelic agents for other purposes. We are part of God’s creation, but not necessarily all of it nor the summit of it. When we consider whether other planets are inhabited, we always assume they would be human like ourselves. Conditions in other planets might not be at all suitable for our kind of life and yet eminently suitable for a different kind of life. Furthermore, there may be other worlds in God’s universe not dependent on any planet or other place, but of a spiritual character unknown to us.
Angels are God’s agents from a spiritual world and God’s Will may be expressed to us through them. It may happen more frequently than we realize. An angel encouraged Joshua when he was ready to enter Canaan. An angel helped Elijah when he was hiding to save his life. The Annunciation of Mary was through an angel. Paul was urged to carry the Gospel into Europe by an angelic messenger. Cherubims guarded the Garden of Eden to prevent mankind’s return. A Seraphim touched Isaiah lips with a live coal from the altar. Some are called archangels, and a few are given personal names like Gabriel or Michael.
Out of all this three hierarchies of angels have been deduced: first, Seraphim, Cherubim, & Thrones; second, Dominions, Virtues, and Powers; third, Principalities, Archangels and Angels. We must admit that all of this is fanciful and poetic. We frequently imagine a female figure with flowing garments and large wings. It is more likely that angels are sexless beings. We do not know what angels look like or if they have any “looks” as we know them.
In speaking of little children, our Lord said, “I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” It has been surmised from this that every child is assigned a Guardian Angel to safely conduct him into the future life. The likelihood of this may be questioned but it does fit into the general scheme of God’s providential care over His people.
We cannot consider the question of angels on any Scriptural authority without giving consideration to the more somber references to spiritual powers of evil. On this side, lies an even more confused mass of hysterical superstitions. Man’s inhumanity to man is filled with unreasoning fright over evil spirits, devils and hobgoblins. The stain left on mankind’s history by the fear of a darker side of life is one we would like to forget. A popular reaction today is to throw the whole concept overboard and deny the existence of any powers of evil. We laugh away the devil as the product of a fevered imagination and evil spirits are consigned to the fictitious realm of childish ignorance.
Frankly we cannot tell much about the world of darkness. Still we cannot shut our eyes to it just because we have a sweet tooth for the lighter things in life. Reading the Revelation of Jesus Christ to St. John is not easy nor does it lead to a clear understanding of the spiritual world. It is clear, however, that the contest between right and wrong is relentlessly waged in the world of spirits. Our Lord made reference to “the Devil and his angels.” St. Peter remarked about “the angels that sinned.” How, when, or under what circumstances, some angels fell from God’s grace, we may not know. But we are clearly told they constituted an opposition to God’s will and a menace to human welfare. Good angels surround men and women with helpful influences while bad angels entice them into evil ways and afflict them for evil purposes. God will be victorious but in the meantime, our souls will be tried and our courage tested.
There is a tendency to minimize our Lord’s casting out of “unclean spirits” as some primitive demonology which is discredited by modern knowledge. Surely these were merely mental cases with varying degrees of insanity. Perhaps they were. However, while such a diagnosis may explain the condition, it does not account for it. A deeper understanding of mental irregularities makes us far less dogmatic about them. Strange things continue to happen. There are spiritual forces which baffle us and in some manner we must address them. Our Lord wrestled with “unclean spirits,” and we do not change the situation by using other terms that mean much the same thing.
When it comes to the Devil, we do well to walk with some circumspection. He is pictured as a dark, naked figure with a cloven hoof, a long tail, and a pair of wicked horns. It is not a picture of him but it is symbolic. As the white robe of the angel stands for purity, the dark, naked body indicates impurity. The hoof, tail and horns represent a carnal, bestial character with strength and power. The word “Devil” is Greek for “adversary” as “Satan” is Hebrew with the same meaning. Our Lord speaks of him as “the prince of this world.” “World” in this case means the sphere of discord with God. Whatever we call him, he is the instigator of evil, even presuming to tempt Christ himself at the beginning of His ministry. Our Lord recognized him as a serious contender and we cannot ignore him in our human lives without disregarding the whole of the Christian Gospel.
To summarize so many unclear references is difficult. We must be careful not to overstate or understate the issue. There is a spiritual world which penetrates our human world bombarding us with influences both good and bad. The choice rests upon us to make alliance with one or the other. Using the means which God gives us, we develop an increasing sensitiveness to the powers of light and a stronger resistance to those of darkness. As we lean more to the light and right, we are more sensitive and more receptive to God’s messengers.
We begin to learn the significance of St. Paul’s advice, “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Just before the Sanctus, we declare, “with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Thy glorious Name.” Our Advent petition is just as clear, “give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness.”
“O everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of Angels and men in a wonderful order; Mercifully grant that, as Thy holy Angels always do Thee service in heaven, so, by Thy appointment, they may succour and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”