Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

IV. Creation of the Spiritual World
A. THE DOCTRINE OF THE ANGELS IN HISTORY
There are clear evidences of belief in the existence of angels from the very beginning
of the Christian era. Some of them were regarded as good, and others as evil. The
former were held in high esteem as personal beings of a lofty order, endowed with
moral freedom, engaged in the joyful service of God, and employed by God to minister
to the welfare of men. According to some of the early Church Fathers they had fine
ethereal bodies. The general conviction was that all angels were created good, but that
some abused their freedom and fell away from God. Satan, who was originally an angel
of eminent rank, was regarded as their head. The cause of his fall was found in pride
and sinful ambition, while the fall of his subordinates was ascribed to their lusting after
the daughters of men. This view was based on what was then the common
interpretation of Gen. 6:2. Alongside of the general idea that the good angels ministered
to the needs and welfare of believers, the specific notion of guardian angels for
individual churches and individual men was cherished by some. Calamities of various
kinds, such as sicknesses, accidents, and losses, were frequently ascribed to the baneful
influence of evil spirits. The idea of a hierarchy of angels already made its appearance
(Clement of Alexandria), but it was not considered proper to worship any of the angels.
As time went on the angels continued to be regarded as blessed spirits, superior to
men in knowledge, and free from the encumbrance of gross material bodies. While
some still ascribed to them fine ethereal bodies, there was an ever increasing uncertainty
as to whether they had any bodies at all. They who still clung to the idea that they were
corporeal did this, so it seems, in the interest of the truth that they were subject to
spatial limitations. Dionysius the Areopagite divided the angels into three classes: the
first class consisting of Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim; the second, of Mights,
Dominions, and Powers; and the third, of Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. The
first class is represented as enjoying the closest communion with God; the second, as
being enlightened by the first; and the third, as being enlightened by the second. This
classification was adopted by several later writers. Augustine stressed the fact that the
good angels were rewarded for their obedience by the gift of perseverance, which
carried with it the assurance that they would never fall. Pride was still regarded as the
cause of Satan’s fall, but the idea that the rest of the angels fell as the result of their
lusting after the daughters of men, though still held by some, was gradually
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