What about the angels?

Do the angels have a material form, or are they spirit beings?

I ask, as I am wondering how 1,000 demons (fallen angels) in material form could possess a single person back when Christ cast those 1,000 demons out of one person.

Good question.
Where does the concept of "spiritual beings" come from?
What exactly does one picture when speaking of a spiritual being?

Is there anything in the Bible speaking of a "spirit being"?
Could spirits have material bodies of some sort?
Is our concept of "spirits" based more on greek philosophy, not Bible at all?
Are spirits disembodied wisps looking for a body into which to be reincarnated?

Satan was once a heavenly angel.
He was very beautiful, or handsome, so much so he became very vain.
Ezek. 28:12 Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty
Ezek 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty,
He was a master singer and had the physical equipment to sing. (28:13)
He wore clothing of jewels.

Seems angels have material bodies.
The question however, is "what kind of material bodies.
Different materials have different properties.

As Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 15:39 All flesh [is] not the same flesh: but [there is] one [kind of] flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, [and] another of birds.
15:40 [There are] also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial [is] one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial [is] another.
15:41 [There is] one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for [one] star differeth from [another] star in glory.
15:42 So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.
15:46 Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
15:47 The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [is] the Lord from heaven.
15:48 As [is] the earthy, such [are] they also that are earthy: and as [is] the heavenly, such [are] they also that are heavenly.

The Holy Spirit and our bodies.

Is there a danger of misunderstanding the idea that the Holy Spirit is within us?
The big thing in the new age movement is thinking God is within, we just need to look inside ourselves to find God and know God's will. Is this what these texts are saying?



The way I understand it, the Holy Spirit communicates with us through our minds (our minds are part of our body and dependent upon the rest of the body to function properly)
For the Holy Spirit to be in connection with our spirit (our minds and thoughts) the pathways need to be clear.
When we abuse our bodies through bad health habits, through filling our minds with garbage, through any hurtful activities that damage our capacity to be alert and clear minded, then the Holy Spirit has a hard time getting through.
He can't get inside to communicate with us, even though God has given us the Holy Spirit, we can block Him out and grieve Him away.

We want the Holy Spirit to be in connection with our spirit (mind) and our bodies need to be kept, as far as we are able, in a condition where the pathways are clear. And the Holy Spirit will help us, if we let Him.

The gnostic idea was that the body was evil, and the soul or spirit was a separate thing, trapped inside. To abuse the body was considered a good thing to do, for it facilitated the release of the soul or spirit.
But Paul is saying, No, a person's body and spirit are components of the whole person which operate together. For the HOLY Spirit to be connected with our minds, we need to take care of the "temple" that houses our minds, or the Holy Spirit won't be able to be in us connected to our minds.

We -- that is our whole person, were bought with a price. God is glorified when we are transformed by the Holy Spirit, and that includes clearing away the garbage that destroys the body and clutters the pathways through which the Holy Spirit seeks to work in us.

"Read 2 Peter 3:14 and 1 John 3:1-3. What difference do you see between preparing ourselves for the Second Coming and being ready for that glorious event?"

Getting ready is not the same as being ready.
Getting ready is working to get everything together with the ultimate goal to be ready sometime in the future.
To be ready is to have the qualities needed right now.

What if He came today?
What if life ended today?
Would we be ready.

What does it mean to BE ready?

"From the biblical perspective, the time of salvation is always "today" and never tomorrow (see Psalm 95:7-8; Hebrews 3:7-8, , Hebrews 3:15; Hebrews 4:7)" Today, harden not your hearts. Today is the day of salvation, tomorrow may be too late.

Today's lesson was on the sanctuary

Cleansing of the sanctuary and the investigative judgement are terms often used for the same event. The two terms help us better understand what it's all about.
Like someone suggested earlier, the understanding leans quite heavily on the old testament sanctuary shadows.


The ancient Day of Atonement was also known as the day of the cleansing of the sanctuary/temple.

With what was the sanctuary/ temple defiled? This is not dealing with mere physical hygienic issues; this is dealing with the principle of being cleansed from sin.
Leviticus 16:16 states that this atonement for the holy place must be made because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins, ? that is why the Priest must make this atonement for the tabernacle of meeting which stands in the midst.
Obviously, the tabernacle has been defiled by the sins of the people, and on the day of atonement, the scriptures clearly state an atonement must be made for the tabernacle itself, it would be cleansed.

During the Jewish year, there was an ongoing experience of sins being brought to the temple. The sanctuary needed to be cleansed because of the sins of the people which had been transferred from the confessing sinners upon the sacrificial animals throughout the year, and then transferred into the sanctuary, either by the priest sprinkling the blood, or eating the flesh of the sacrifice. On the day of atonement, an atonement is made for the tabernacle, to cleanse the sanctuary because of these sins accumulated there.
The sins of the repentant people were then taken out into the wilderness, while the unrepentant were cut off from the congregation.

It is therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified (#2511) with these: but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.?
Hebrews 9:22-23
?Almost all things are by the law purged (#2511) with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.



So how do we understand this for us today?
If we repent and confess our sins. We are forgiven, BECAUSE Christ's blood covers our sin.
Psalm 32:1
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered!
Romans 4:7-8?Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.?

Yet those sins have been transferred into the heavenly sanctuary. When those books are opened and the heavenly court is seated (Daniel 7) the first person who comes in is Jesus, the Son of man. He presents our names before the Father see Revelation 3:5 "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."
How do we get white robes? Rev. 7:14 They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

So when those books are opened, we may shudder because we have sinned, BUT all who repented and confessed their sins, (If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1:9) will NOT face their sins, for they are covered by Christs blood, their sins will not be counted against that person. They have walked with Christ, they have trusted in Christ's blood to cover their sins,. they have been led by the Holy Spirit. Christ will confess their names before the Father and the Holy Angels and their names will stand in the book of life!

The whole universe is watching, millions of angels are watching, to see whose names will remain in the book of life? Who will have their sins blotted out when the sanctuary is cleansed.
But others will have their names removed, for their sins are not covered? Why? Because they never responded to God's love, with repentance and confession of sin, so Christ could not cover their sins.

Biblical investigative judgment -- what happens?

Daniel 7:9-10 gives us a picture of the judgment, and it comes right after the blasphemous horn played its role.
The contrast here is important as well, for the "horn" claims to be Christian, in fact it claims to represent Christ, while persecuting the saints.

The question arises in this context -- who are the real Christians?

I beheld till the thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, its wheels as burning fire.
7:10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

But surprisingly the one to be brought before this court is the Son of man -- Christ is brought before the Father as the representative for the human race.

7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion [is] an everlasting dominion,

So, as the representative of the human race, Christ, having been declared worthy, (see also Rev. 5:12) is given the dominion which Adam lost.
And next He presents the names before the Father and the angels of all who will inherit the earth thanks to His wonderful sacrifice and salvation.

He presents the names of the overcomers, the believers in Him, whose sins are now blotted out of the books.
But the ones who claimed to be Christians but had not repented and been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb will have their names blotted out.

Rev. 3:5,4 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. ...they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

Matthew 10.32-33
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Exodus 32:33
And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Acts 3.19
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

And back to Daniel we see the result

Daniel 7:22 vindicating judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

This week's study is a very important one.

Yes it sure is!!!!

I have a question. In the preadvent judgement when your name comes up, assuming you have repented will the angels and other worlds see you before and after you give your heart to the Lord, or just after?

Hi TheophilusOne,
This is quite a complex subject to study and I don't claim to know all the answers, so just sharing what I have found.
First, I don't think it's sealed on a one time "giving our hearts to the Lord" event, as in once saved always saved, and you probably don't mean that either. On the other hand it's not based on an occasional misdeed either, but on the genuiness of our commitment to God.

It seems to be based on whether we have "sent our sins before hand to the judgment" to be "covered" or not.
Thus it seems to me, when our names come up, the angels see whether or not our sins are covered, pardoned and forsaken. If they are, the angels see that we are redeemed, our hearts are changed, with no sins standing against us.|
Those angels are aware of what we do, they are watching things on earth. Our guardian angels probably know, better than we ourselves know, what we've done and not done. But angels are not all knowing, they are just witnesses. Only Christ knows the true condition of the heart. That's why He is not only our judge, but also our advocate, as well as our Savior.

It's partly for the angel's benefit that the investigative judgment takes place because they've seen some pretty terrible things on this earth and need the assurance that those coming to heaven are genuinely followers of God's ways.

If, after we've made our commitment to the Lord, we've lost interest in walking with Christ in that "newness of life" He offers, and become careless thinking we are saved but are no longer in connection with saving grace, they'll see that as the reality of our condition and it won't pass in the investigation.
They will see the trend of our lives since we professed to follow Christ as to whether or not we are in a committed genuine relationship with Christ.