Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
Do Angels Have Everlasting Life?

Do Angels Have Everlasting Life?

December 29, 2021 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - angels and everlasting life, Hebrews 1:7, Hebrews 2:5-9

Buddy asks this super question:

My question is about angels. Do obedient angels, after all is said and done in the eternal state, have eternal life? When a believer is born again, he becomes a child of God and is adopted as a son. Hebrews seems to indicate that angels minister to sons but are not sons themselves. As such, is it possible to conceive of angels living forever and eternally secure, yet not having the life of the Son through adoption?

We need to distinguish between the angels who did not fall and the angels who fell with Lucifer. The fallen angels do not have everlasting life. They will spend eternity in the lake of fire (cf. Matt 8:29; 25:41; 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6-7; Rev 20:10).

Unfallen angels will serve God forever (Heb 1:7, 14). We do not know what their role will be in Christ’s kingdom. But they do not share the fate of the fallen angels.

Here are some important but often not considered facts about unfallen angels:

  1. Once unfallen angels did not sin, they were evidently sealed such that future falling would be impossible. There is no hint anywhere in the Bible of any angels falling after the initial rebellion.
  2. Jesus did not die for angels, fallen or unfallen. His shed blood was exclusively for humans, the descendants of Adam and Eve (John 1:29; 1 John 2:2).
  3. Unfallen angels never had and never will have everlasting life, which is only for humans who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for that life (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47). They have an eternal relationship with God. But there is no verse in the Bible that says that unfallen angels have everlasting life.
  4. Sonship, as Buddy suggests, is exclusively for humans. Unfallen angels aren’t children of God and never will be.
  5. Currently unfallen angels are of superior rank to humans; but in the eternal state unfallen angels will be of inferior rank to humans (1 Cor 6:3; Heb 2:5-9).
  6. Not all unfallen angels have equal rank. Michael is identified as an archangel and is called Israel’s prince (Dan 10:21; Jude 9). Evidently, he was one of the angels that ruled over the other angels. Paul said that the Rapture will be preceded “with the voice of an archangel” (1 Thess 4:16). We do not know how many archangels there are. There are only a few angels whose names we know. One is Gabriel. He is mentioned by name in both testaments (Dan 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26). It is reasonable to conclude that he too is an archangel, though no text directly says that. There are also different types of angels. Some are called cherubim (Gen 3:24). The four living creatures mentioned in Revelation (6:3-7; 7:11; 14:3; 15:7; 19:4) evidently are a type of cherubim (Ezek 10:15-20). Other angels are called seraphim (Isa 6:1-7). Some suggest that they are the highest order of angels since they serve at God’s throne in heaven and constantly praise him (Isa 6:1-7). However, the four living creatures do that as well (Rev 4:8).

The bottom line is that we do not know much about unfallen angels. But what we do know should give us great respect for them as fellow servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that in the eternal state we will be permitted to get to know them.

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Bob_W

by Bob Wilkin

Bob Wilkin (ThM, PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the Founder and Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society and co-host of Grace in Focus Radio. He lives in Highland Village, TX with his wife, Sharon. His latest books are Faith Alone in One Hundred Verses and Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

May 26, 2023

Romans–Part 22–Romans 8:38-39

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Kathryn Wright and Ken Yates are at the end of Romans chapter 8. These last two verses of...
May 26, 2023

Laying Down Your Life (Acts 21:13)

One of the most interesting men of World War II was a high-ranking German officer named Henning von Tresckow. He came from a well-respected family,...
May 25, 2023

Romans–Part 21–Romans 8:29-30–Golden Chain

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Kathryn Wright and Ken Yates are continuing to look at the many (sometimes difficult) issues of Romans chapter...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • The Gospel Under Siege: Faith and Works in Tension $16.00 $10.00
  • A Gospel of Doubt: The Legacy of John MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus $22.00 $11.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
  • Romans: Deliverance from Wrath $24.99 $15.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube