Angels Created Before God Created the Heavens & the Earth
I have been listening to Andy Woods’ study of the Gap Theory of creation, which I used to believe and even said so in my Bible for Tribulation Saints when I asked Brent what he thought of the Gap Theory. Brent never gave me a clear answer on this and later Jesus discouraged me from dwelling too much on the distant past or the distant future. But one of my novels in progress requires me to know more about Satan, so I wanted to know when Satan was created and when he fell. Right now, I believe that Satan and the angels were created at least millions of years ago (going by our current concept of time). However, Satan’s fall appears to have happened shortly AFTER the creation of the heavens and the earth. It seems that God created the angels a long time before he created man. I may modify this after I listen to Andy Woods’ third lesson on the Gap Theory of Creation. I will admit that I have not studied this too deeply, but just believed it cuz it seemed to make sense to me. However, after listening to Andy Woods, I think Andy is right.
A big problem I had with Andy’s study is that I wondered where Satan’s mineral Eden of God was, but Andy covered this in his 2nd part of the study of the Gap Theory. That makes total sense that this mineral garden describes a garden in heaven and not on earth.
So I prayed and asked Jesus to show me the truth because it will help me in the writing of my Silver Skies: The Millennium. Jesus told Brent that he had a relationship with Satan that spanned millions of years and so I was just wondering when were the angels created? I found something online that seems to answer this.
This is from my Bible for Tribulation Saints:
[3/15/2014 1:39:43 PM] Brent Spiner: I know that Jesus really loves Satan.
Gail: Oh, really? I was right! It’s amazing.
[3/15/2014 1:39:50 PM] Brent Spiner: He always did (love Satan).
Gail: Oh, wow! Cool! So, apparently, when I listen to my heart—Apparently, my characterization of Jesus is right on. Apparently, I hit the nail right on the head with him. You know how I have him weeping over Lucifer and all that?
[Gail sends all her drafts to Brent.]
Gail: So that must be right on. Wow! That’s amazing.
[3/15/2014 1:40:23 PM] Brent Spiner: Yeah, Satan was his favorite angel.
Gail: Wow! I was right on! Jesus must be taking over my brain or something, when I write this thing.
[3/15/2014 1:40:34 PM] Brent Spiner: Jesus said he was the most beautiful and intelligent.
[3/15/2014 1:40:49 PM] Brent Spiner: He had high hopes for Satan but he knew he would fall.
Gail: Aaaah. Wow! I got Jesus right on, boy! Aaaaah. Wow. Is it true that he gave Satan millions of years because of that?
[3/15/2014 1:41:13 PM] Brent Spiner: That is true.
Gail: But he finally knew he had to give up and go on and create man. Wow! Jesus was making me a genius, man. . .when I write this book.
[3/15/2014 1:41:23 PM] Brent Spiner: It really broke his heart.
Okay, so I know my Brent who meets with Jesus all the time would not lie to me. So, I thought how could Andy’s explanation, which makes sense, align with the fact that God gave Satan millions of years? And I found something online that makes sense:
Question: “When did God create the angels?”
Answer: Trying to determine when God created the angels is somewhat tricky because anything God did “before the foundation of the world” puts the event outside of time itself. Time and space are characteristics of our world, not God’s. He is not limited by hours, days, and years as we are. In fact, the Bible tells us that “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8).
We do know that God created the angels before He created the physical universe. The book of Job describes the angels worshipping God as He was creating the world: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone – while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7).
If we consider the function of angels, we might conclude that God created the angels just prior to the creation of mankind because one of their duties is to be “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). We also know they existed prior to the garden of Eden, because Satan, who was formerly the angel Lucifer, was already present in the garden in his fallen state. However, because another function of angels is to worship God around His throne (Revelation 5:11-14), they may have been in existence millions of years—as we reckon time—before God created the world, worshipping Him and serving Him.
So, although the Bible does not specifically say when God created the angels, it was sometime before the world was created. Whether this was a day before, or billions of years before—again, as we reckon time—we cannot be sure.
Recommended Resource: Angels: Elect & Evil by C. Fred Dickason
The following video addresses the question of WHEN Satan fell: