Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

disappearing under the influence of a better exegesis of Gen. 6:2. A beneficent influence
was ascribed to the unfallen angels, while the fallen angels were regarded as corrupting
the hearts of men, as stimulating to heresy. and as engendering diseases and calamities.
The polytheistic tendencies of many of the converts to Christianity fostered an
inclination to worship the angels. Such worship was formally condemned by a council
which convened at Laodicea in the fourth century.
During the Middle Ages there were still a few who were inclined to assume that the
angels have ethereal bodies, but the prevailing opinion was that they were incorporeal.
The angelic appearances were explained by assuming that in such cases angels adopted
temporal bodily forms for revelational purposes. Several points were in debate among
the Scholastics. As to the time of the creation of the angels the prevailing opinion was
that they were created at the same time as the material universe. While some held that
the angels were created in the state of grace, the more common opinion was that they
were created in a state of natural perfection only. There was little difference of opinion
respecting the question, whether angels can be said to be in a place. The common
answer to this question was affirmative, though it was pointed out that their presence in
space is not circumscriptive but definitive, since only bodies can be in space
circumscriptively. While all the Scholastics agreed that the knowledge of the angels is
limited, the Thomists and Scotists differed considerably respecting the nature of this
knowledge. It was admitted by all that the angels received infused knowledge at the
time of their creation, but Thomas Aquinas denied, while Duns Scotus affirmed, that
they could acquire new knowledge through their own intellectual activity. The former
held that the knowledge of the angels is purely intuitive, but the latter asserted that it
may also be discursive. The idea of guardian angels found considerable favor during
the Middle Ages.
The period of the Reformation brought nothing new respecting the doctrine of the
angels. Both Luther and Calvin had a vivid conception of their ministry, and
particularly of the presence and power of Satan. The latter stresses the fact that he is
under divine control, and that, while he is sometimes the instrument of God, he can
only work within prescribed limits. Protestant theologians generally regarded the
angels as pure spiritual beings, though Zanchius and Grotius still speak of them as
having ethereal bodies. As to the work of the good angels the general opinion was that
it is their special task to minister to the heirs of salvation. There was no general
agreement, however, respecting the existence of guardian angels. Some favored this
view, others opposed it, and still others refused to commit themselves on this point. Our
Belgic Confession says in Article XII, which deals with creation: “He also created the
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