AngelicArtistry's GoToHeaven Jophiel's Game Question 53
The Creation of Angels
Psalm _____ in the Old Testament declares:
"Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host....Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded that they were created."
This passage reveals the fundamental truth concerning the origins of the heavenly host: every angel, from the mightiest seraph and cherub to the humblest guardian angel, was created by God.
They continue to exist, function, and serve the Lord entirely at his will and pleasure; without his eternal consent, the angels would disappear, a fact noted by theologians throughout much of Christian history, from St. Thomas Aquinas to Billy Graham.
On these facts virtually every major religion accepting the presence of angels agrees, although there is considerable room for disagreement as to exactly when and how the choirs of angels were brought into existence.
Some argue that angels were around before the Creation of the world, seemingly supported by the declaration in the Book of Job (38:7): "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?....when the morning stars sang and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
Others amend this to state that the seven great angels of Creation were made first to assist God in the mammoth creative work of the cosmos.
These angels then were joined by the remaining members of the heavenly host.
Some Jewish sources....such as the Second Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees, and 3 Baruch....assure us that all the angels were made on the first day of Creation.
Other works give different days, namely the second, fourth, and fifth.
Still other Jewish writings and traditions posit a radically different view.
According to these, the angels were not made in one sweeping gesture, but rather come into existence every morning through the breath of God; after fulfilling their purpose, especially in singing the praises of the Lord, they are reassumed into the fire of God's eternal light, to be reborn the next morning.
The Catholic Church teaches that all the angels were created at once, before God made the world and humanity, most likely on or before the second day.
Which psalm is quoted in the first paragraph above?