A Short Analysis of both Holy and Fallen Angels.

Paul Rolland, Night Watchman, Night Watchman Ministries

‘Guardian’ Cherubim and ‘Worshipping’ Seraphim

Ezekiel 10 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight. Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. …

Genesis 3:24 “After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”

Ezekiel 10:20-21 “These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim. Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like human hands.” 

Isaiah 6 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. …

Lucifer / Satan was ORIGINALLY a ‘CHERUB’.

Ezekiel 28:14-16 “You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.” – 

Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Powers

Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Ephesians 6:12 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.

Ephesians 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Archangels

An archangel is simply an angel with a higher rank. This implies there is some layer of hierarchy when it comes to angels. 

Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Luke 1:19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

Holy Angels

Twenty-four Roles of Holy Angels:

1. Warn man.
2. Administer wrath.
3. Instruct other angels.
4. Blow trumpets.
5. Pour vials.
6. Worship God/Jesus.
7. Witness/testimony to Christ.
8. Signify prophecy.
9. Refuse to be worshipped.
10. Battle Satan and fallen angels.
11. Loosen fallen angels from imprisonment.
12. Chain Satan in bottomless pit.
13. Throw Antichrist, False Prophet into lake of fire
14. Prophecy.
15. Command nature, birds, fire, water, weather, winds.
16. Give offerings to God (prayers of saints).
17. Given a key to open the bottomless pit.
18. Fellow servant.
19. Proclaim/Declare/Announce.
20. Rejoice.
21. Command John.
22. Proclaim the Gospel.
23. Measure.
24. Command demonic creatures.

Commentary: In most cases, it is clear that an appointed angel is making the statement or proclamation. This is one of the roles or duties (among many) of selected angels throughout the Bible. Why would angels be making statements or proclamations? They are instructed and authorized to do so. They proclaim Christ’s rulership and reign on earth. They proclaim blessings on those martyred during the combined Tribulation period. They identify attributes of the Lord God Almighty. They proclaim the righteousness of his judgements. They issue a command and warning to people in Babylon. They instruct all men to praise God. They proclaim that God loves his people and wants to be with them and dwell with them. In the most simplest of words, they communicate directly with mankind, on behalf of the Triune God. Interestingly, some Holy angels seem to have a role of interceding with fallen angels, to fulfill the will of God. Michael and his angels war against Satan and his angels. A Holy angel grabs and chains Satan in the bottomless pit. An angel lets loose the four fallen angels at the Euphrates River. Christ gives one of his angels the key to the bottomless pit in order to let loose the demonic locusts. Holy angels throw the antichrist and false prophet into the lake of fire.

Some Holy angels have a role of interceding in nature, on behalf of God. They have some degree of control over the weather, water, fire winds, animal kingdom, sun, moon and earth. With the exception of Christ opening the first seven (7) book seals, Holy angels are directly involved in administering God’s will through the seven (7) trumpet and seven (7) vial plagues wich affect the earth and nature. For the diligent Bible students among you, notice that the Holy angels most prominent role is to declare/pronounce or to proclaim, in addition to providing prophecy. These two angelic functions are mentioned more times throughout the book of Revelation, than any other angelic function. This is not to say that these functions are more important than other functions. Most (if not all) Holy angels seem to have one (or several) role or job functions in the administration of God’s creation. However, in the context of the book of Revelation being mostly prophetic, it makes logical sense that most angelic involvement would be communicative and prophetic in nature. It is believed that a class of holy angels have a specific role of being messengers or communicators with mankind, when it is the will the God for them to do so. Discerning students will also notice that angels also share in the worship of Christ (The Lamb) and of God. Holy angels are very busy creations functioning on earth and in heaven, and most people think that angels just sit on clouds playing harps.

Lastly, it is interesting to note that John, the Apostle, one of Christ’s key Apostle’s was twice inclined to worship a Holy angel who was communicating with him. The Holy angel sternly told John not to worship him, but to instead worship God. If one of the holiest, most obedient of Christ’s servants was inclined to worship a Holy angel, what would this suggest about evil men (who have no restraint) living during the Tribulation period worshipping evil, fallen angels who are satanically motivated deceive them? Could these fallen angels have a part to play in the “Great Deception” that God allows to occur on earth during the Tribulation and Great Tribulation?

Fallen Angels

These are the angels that fell with Satan when he attempted to overthrow God’s throne. Fallen angels are also referred to now as demons.

“He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” – Luke 10:18

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into (5) the eternal fire prepared for (5) the devil and his angels.” –Matt. 25:41

Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Only one reference to ‘Abaddon’ or ‘Apollyon’: (He is the ‘king’ or ‘military leader’ of the demonic locusts from the bottomless pit. Presumably, he was a high ranking angel that rebelled along with Lucifer. Satan has now put Abaddon/Apollyon in ‘charge’ of the demonic locusts.

Revelation 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had a king over them, which is the (5) angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Five-fold Descriptions / Names of the Evil One:

1. *Lucifer. (Isaiah 14:13)
2. dragon. (12X). (Rev. 12:3, 12:4, 12:7, 12:9, 12:13, 12:16, 12:17, 13:2, 13:4, 13:11, 16:13, 20:2)
3. Satan. (7X). (Rev. 2:9, 2:13, 2:24, 3:9, 12:9,  20:2, 20:7)
4. serpent. (4X). (Rev. 12:9, 12:14, 12:14, 20:2)
5. D(d)evil. (5X). (Rev. 2:10, 12:9, 12:12, 20:2, 20:10) Three lowercase devil, two uppercase Devil. The distinction is important.

Commentary: There is a lot to comment on regarding these four words. There is even some hidden truth within these four words. When the term is capitalized, it refers to a name or title. Satan and Devil (capitalized twice) are the names of the evil one. dragon and devil (lower case, three times) are descriptive references to the evil one. D(d)evil is the only term that is used interchangeably as a name and also as a descriptive reference. God’s word is so precise, logical and mathematically arranged that even the use of capitalization and the sequencing of a name/description has meaning within meaning. In the use of the word D(d)evil; the first instance of it being used is in Rev. 2:10 and is not capitalized and is represented with a small ‘d’. Every following instance of this word alternates between the capital ‘D’ and the lowercase ‘d’, as such; d – D –d – D – d.  When referencing the evil one, the Word of God alternates, in exact sequence, to the name of the evil one and a description of the evil one. Amazing.

Notice that the descriptive term of dragon (lowercase) is mentioned twelve (12) times throughout the book of Revelation. In keeping with God’s consistency of mathematical perfection and meaning, twelve (12) refers to his divinely constituted organization either in heaven or on earth. Even in regards to the most evil of entities, God is in omnipotent control … even down to the level of how this entity is so named and described with mathematical and sequential perfection. Satan (uppercase) is used seven (7) times by the Holy Spirit. Once again, seven (7) denotes God’s divinely determined completeness as to his purpose or plan. Naming the evil one as a Satan (uppercase) occurs exactly seven (7) times in the book of Revelation, no more no less. This is the exact number times God’s chooses to use this word in naming the evil one, and underscores his divine purpose or plan in dealing with the evil one. When combining both the naming and descriptive references of Satan and D(d)evil, there are a total of twelve (12) combined uses of the these worlds (7+5=12). Twelve (12) refers to God’s divinely constituted organization either in heaven or on earth. This is entirely accurate since the evil one has access to heaven and earth, until such time as he is permanently removed from heavenly access and is cast down to earth at the midpoint of the Tribulation period.

*Lucifer; this evil one’s name is not found in the book of Revelation. The only time it appears in the Bible is in the description of the evil one’s fall from his lofty position in heaven (Isaiah 14:13). This angelic name was given to him before he was corrupted by his sin of Pride and desire “to be like the most high.” Once he was found to have the spirit of iniquity in him, he received two new names and two new descriptions. Now, he is the serpent and dragon, and is also called Satan/Devil. Numbers within numbers, truth within truth, meaning within meaning, layers upon layers. God’s wisdom, preciseness and mathematical accuracy keeps revealing itself, over and over and over to those who will look and attempt to understand his ways.

Five-fold Evils Born (5) of the Spirit of Iniquity:

1. P … “I will ascend into heaven.” (position)
2. R … “I will rule at my throne above the stars of God.” (rule)
3. I … “I will be idolized or worshipped.” (idolized)
4. D … “I will be dazzling.” (dazzling)
5. E … “I will be equal to God.” (equal)

… “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:12-15).

Commentary: Satan’s five (5) “I WILLS,” have his evil fingerprints over everything evil in the book of Revelation. His desire to counterfeit everything that God accomplished through his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, is manifested in the Babylonian system (compared to heaven), Babylonian City (compared to New, Heavenly Jerusalem), Babylonian False Mystery Religion (compared to the true worship of God/Jesus Christ), beast/antichrist (compared to Jesus Christ), false prophet (compared to John the Baptist), lake of fire death (compared to eternal life through Jesus Christ). Satan is the consummate ‘puppet master’, pulling the strings of the beast/antichrist and the false prophet to deceive mankind with his false, evil promises compared to the truth of salvation provided and offered by Jesus Christ.

50,000,000 Fallen / Evil Angels under Satan’s Authority:

1. … “And his tail drew a third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour he child as soon as it was born.” (Rev. 12:4). (Emphasis added).
2. … “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Rev. 12:7-9). (Emphasis added).

Commentary: Five (5) x 10 (ten) = (evil number of Satan) X (allness or physical completeness on earth). = 5 x 10m = 50,000,000. The double emphasis in the two verses solidly confirms the fact that Satan is kicked out of heaven along with his evil angelic cohorts. Interestingly, all these evil angels are no longer given access to the heavens, along with Satan. Instead of being allowed to reside in heaven, they are ‘kicked to the curb,’ otherwise known as the earth and have to reside here, until their lake of fire judgement.

Rev. 12:7 indicates that “Michael and his holy angels” fought “Satan and his evil angels“.  Satan did not prevail because Michaels forces far surpassed those of Satan’s, by a 2:1 ratio.

Here’s the math on the number of angels (Rev. 5:10); ten thousand (10,000) times (x) ten thousand (10,000) = one hundred million (100,000,000) plus (+) thousands (1,000) times thousands (1,000). 1,000 x 1,000 = 1 million (1,000,000). Thus, we arrive at 101,000,000 (100,000,000 + 1,000,000). The description of this number by John, indicates that he “beheld and heard” this number. Rev. 7:11 indicates that this number is “all of the angels”, not some … not a few … not a group of special angels or some subset of the angelic realm, but … ALL angels. I interpret this litrally means 101,000,000 million angels surrounding the throne. The throne room of God is big enough to accommodate this many angels, creatures and the immeasurable multitudes of redeemed souls. The scene John describes is the largest spiritual gathering of God’s creation in history, either side of heaven.

An interesting side note of mathematics, for contemplation or consideration. Rev. 12:4 indicates that a third (1/3 or 33% or .33) of the angels of heaven rebelled against God and were thrown out of heaven, along with the ringleader or instigator of their coup … Satan. If we know 101,000,000 ‘good or holy’ angels are still in heaven worshipping God, then they must (mathematically speaking) be roughly equivalent to two thirds (2/3 or 66% or .66) of the total number of angels created by God. So, what is the original number of angels created by God, before the Satanic/Angelic rebellion? Answer: 151,000,000.

151,000,000 x .6666666 (decimal equivalent to the number of holy angels)  = 100,666,656 or 101,000,000  holy angels (rounded).

151,000,000 x .3333333 (decimal equivalent to the number of fallen angels) = 49,999,995 or 50,000,000 rebellious angels (rounded).

For the mathematically inclined, please notice that I calculated these total numbers using seven digit spaces to the right of the decimal point. We know that, mathematically speaking, the number seven (7) indicates divinely determined completeness as to God’s purpose or plan. Using a multiplier seven digits to the right of the decimal point, gets as close as we can to being able to understand the completeness of God’s decision to create the number of ‘good, holy’ angels stated in Rev. 5:11. All of my calculations are based upon my very literal interpretation of the number of angels indicated in Rev. 5:11.

For mathematical nit-pickers, numbers these large are usually rounded the nearest million. Even if the original number of total angels was much greater or significantly higher… say 100 billion, or 100 trillion, the percentages (%) of holy and fallen angels stay the same. In any case, the number of ‘good guys’ outnumber the ‘bad guys’ by an easily to understand ratio of 2:1! Two good, holy angels for every one bad, rebellious angel. Why would God only create 151 million angels, or more? Everything in creation is finite in nature (no matter how it is measured). This is true, no matter how big the number of something seems to be to us. Our view of size or greatness of number, is a matter of perspective. We are finite creatures and have a finite perspective. The only thing infinite is God. God does not create anything greater than himself, thus, everything has to be limited or finite in which he creates. This is true considering the number of created angels. I believe the number of created angels to be a fixed number, as we are given no indication that angels procreate in heaven. While mankind is based on earth and has mortal bodies, we have to procreate to replace each generation of man that dies off. Not so with angelic beings. Once we receive our glorified bodies at the rapture/harpazo and see Jesus as he is, our bodies will have become eternal and will never die or breakdown, hence, there will be no need for us to procreate in heaven. Both holy and fallen angels were created with an eternal existance.