TEEN TREE 
OF LIFE
THE DOCTRINE OF ANGELS
Part 4
February 25, 2018
BEFORE we begin, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, take a moment to name your sins to God the Father. This will allow you to be filled with the power of The Holy Spirit as you read this booklet (EPH 5:18 & 1JO 1:9). IF YOU HAVE never believed in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have that opportunity right now. Simply tell God the Father that you are believing on His Son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you make that decision, you are now a believer and will always be a child of God! When you die, you will spend eternity with Him forever in heaven! (JOH 3:16 & ACT 16:31).
Now we are going to look at Elect Angels. Elect angels remain in the service of God, unlike the Fallen Angels who now serve Satan. 1TIM 5:21 mentions elect angels: I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen [elect] angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. The elect angels are most likely those who stayed true to God during the original angelic rebellion when half of all if of the angels decided to follow Satan. It seems the elect angels were under probation for a period of time. Their election was revealed by their remaining true to The Lord. These angels, who did not stray from The Lord, have confirmed their goodness. They are constantly loyal to Him. This is a permanent quality of their character.
The Bible teaches a hierarchy of authority among the angels, both elect and fallen. COL 1:16 talks about angels with respect to their different classification: For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. This hierarchy includes Thrones, Principalities, Rulers, Authorities, Powers, and Dominions, meaning those who occupy places of authority, rule, govern, exercise supremacy, and those invested in royal responsibilities. There is a specific meaning to each classification. Rulers are Generals. Powers/Authorities are Officer Corps. World Forces are Ambassadors.
There are three titles that have been given to angels: Cherubim, Seraphim, and Living Creatures. Cherubim angles have four wings and are said to be defenders of God’s Holy Character and Presence. Seraphim are also defenders of His Righteousness in relation to Jesus Christ’s Perfect Sacrifice. They demonstrated this in the Garden of Eden, protecting the Holy Presence there from man polluting it with sin: So God expelled them [Adam and the woman] from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they’d been made. He threw them out of the garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree-of-Life. (GEN 3:23-24) The Message Bible.
It is also demonstrated that they are defenders of God’s Holy Character and Presence by their symbolic appearance on top of the Ark of the Covenant. EX 25:8-9 tells us what God says to Moses with respect to building the Ark of the Covenant: Let them [the sons of Israel] construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it. So, God wants the Sons of Israel to build a place for Him to dwell and His Directions include the use of two cherubim in its design: “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel. (EX 25:17-22)
Interestingly enough, Satan was a Cherub angel. This is taught in EZEK 28:14-19:
“You had everything going for you.
You were in Eden, God’s garden.
You were dressed in splendor,
your robe studded with jewels:
Carnelian, peridot, and moonstone,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald,
all in settings of engraved gold.
A robe was prepared for you
the same day you were created.
You were the anointed cherub.
I placed you on the mountain of God.
You strolled in magnificence
among the stones of fire.
From the day of your creation
you were sheer perfection . . .
and then imperfection—evil!—was detected in you.
In much buying and selling
you turned violent, you sinned!
I threw you, disgraced, off the mountain of God.
I threw you out—you, the anointed angel-cherub.
No more strolling among the gems of fire for you!
Your beauty went to your head.
You corrupted wisdom
by using it to get worldly fame.
I threw you to the ground,
sent you sprawling before an audience of kings
and let them gloat over your demise.
By sin after sin after sin,
by your corrupt ways of doing business,
you defiled your holy places of worship.
So I set a fire around and within you.
It burned you up. I reduced you to ashes.
All anyone sees now
when they look for you is ashes,
a pitiful mound of ashes.
All who once knew you
now throw up their hands:
‘This can’t have happened!
This has happened!’”
What a powerful verse!!
Seraphim angels have six wings. The root of their name – Seraphim – means, burner or burners in plural. In other words, these angels are on Fire for God! Their job is to worship unceasingly. They have a ministry of purification and humility which means that they administer judgment for the purpose of cleansing and humility to bring about salvation.
Living Creatures/Beings are closely related to the Seraphim and Cherubim but are identified separately and uniquely. In Ezekiel, they are the “Living Beings,” said to be Cherubim, because they each have four wings. They each had four faces (Man, Lion, Bull and Eagle) in REV 4-6; but in EZEK 10:14, the Bull was replaced with the face of a Cherub and placed first in order. (This may represent Jesus Christ, the sacrifice, as the Angel of Jehovah.) They had a wheel each and were under the throne of God. In REV 4-5, they are the “Living Creatures” said to be Seraphim, because they each have six wings. They have unceasing activity, lead angelic creatures in the worship of God and call forth the Judgments at the beginning of the Tribulation.
{to be continued}