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The
Fallen Host & The War in Heavens
The
Fallen Host
These are angels
that have fallen from God's grace. Although rarely mentioned in biblical
scripture these beings serve as a warning to the reader of what the wrath of
God can bring. Angelologists have a certain interest in these creatures
because they have quite an air of shadowy mystery which surrounds them.
Fallen angels can be split into two main groups namely:
The angels who sided
and allied with Lucifer during the war in Heaven and the fallen Watchers or
Grigori.
In both of these cases the angels tuned on God, their creator, by misusing
the free will that had been granted to them by God.
The War
in Heaven
Generally there
is a belief that at some point in time Lucifer joined forces with a third of
the divine host in an attempt to place themselves as rulers in the Kingdom
of Heaven, by overthrowing God and the faithful angels.
One theory about the
cause of the conflict is that when God created man he called upon all of
angelic forces to bow before his new creation. Lucifer at that time being one
of the highest Archangels found this too humbling by far and refused to
debase himself in this manner and duly asked if
"a son of fire should be
forced to bow before a son of clay?".
A similar theory and one very much
like the latter suggests that Lucifer should bow before Jesus the son of
man. Whatever the reason for the conflict Lucifer appeared to be outgrowing
his post as highest of the Seraphim and chief of Angels.
It somewhat
unclear how many angels were actually engaged in the war in Heaven and the
exact number of the host open to conjuncture for many.
In the 15th century though it was estimated that 133,306,668 angels fell
from the Heavens in a total of 9 days according to the Bishop of Tusculum
(c. 1273), and this was reaffirmed by Alphonso de Spina (c. 1460).
I am sure that this number astounds even the most open minded. I my self was
not surprised by the total figure of the fallen angels, I expected the
number to be very big for the simple reason that it is reported that the
number of angels is very big and that one third of them fell, so this third
should be a very large figure also, but I was and still am very
skeptic about the accuracy of this number when I first came upon it.
There is also a question as to
when the war took place. In the Old testament and Hebraic writings there is
no mention of Hell or fallen angels. However because of the role that Satan
plays in the bible, perhaps the most likely time for the battle to have
happened, lies somewhere between the Old and New Testament. Whatever the
case, Christ made it clear that Lucifer/Satan is the enemy.
Indeed Satan is
described in the book of Revelation as a creature which takes the form of a
ten headed dragon as he does battle with the armies of God, led by Archangel
Michael. Another belief suggests that the battle lasted for several days with
Satan's armies building great war machines and even gaining a temporary
advantage over the divine forces. However, there is a tale of a Final Battle
between the two forces where the Angelic Armies will finally crush the
fallen for once and for all.
Revelation
12:7-10 (KJV):
Michael the Archangel Defeats the Great Dragon
Revelation 12:7-10:
A supernatural battle occurs between the Angels of God and the Fallen Angels
of Satan.
The Angels of God
prevail:
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And there was war
in Heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon; and the Dragon
fought and his angels,
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And prevailed
not; neither was their place found any more in Heaven.
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And the Great
Dragon was cast out, that Old Serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceived the whole world: he was cast out into the Earth, and his angels
were cast out with him.
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And I heard a
loud voice saying in Heaven, 'Now is come Salvation, and Strength, and the
Kingdom of our God, and the Power of His Christ: for the Accuser of our
Brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God Day and Night.'
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