Welcome to Sonday Life, where we live daily as the Son’s Day. Whether this is your first time with us or joining us from previous videos or podcasts, it’s great to have you here as we study God’s word together. In the two earlier episodes of “Spiritual Forces in the Heavens,” we discussed the Angelic Assistants and the Angelic Sanctifiers. These two classes of angels assist God and humanity and display and protect the holiness and supremacy of God to mankind. In this episode, which I’ve entitled Spiritual Forces in the Heavens – Angelic Authorities, we will discuss the movers and shakers in the heavens and earth.
As I said in the previous episode, the Apostle Paul told us about an Angelic Hierarchy in Ephesians 6:12: Our struggle is not against Flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of darkness, against evil, and spiritual forces in the heavens. I’ve broken the Angelic Hierarchy into four groups of 4 angel types in each group. Please understand that I’m only scratching the surface because this video doesn’t have enough time to get as deep as I want. I’m giving you only the most essential details about these celestial beings. So, let’s look again at the Angelic Hierarchy:
Assistants: these are the divine beings that assist Yahweh and humanity. [Ministers, Messengers, Watchers, and Witnesses.]
Sanctifiers are the angels that display and protect the glory of Yahweh. [Worshippers, Cherubim, Seraphim, and Morning Stars.]
Authorities: these are the divine council members, the movers, and the shakers.
Principalities & Powers: The Great Powers of all existence.
In this episode, we’re talking about the third group of angels called the Authorities: The Greek word for “authority” here is ‘exousia.’ Exousia is the title of my first book. I used exousia for John 1:12, which says, “To all who did receive him, he gave them the authority (right, privilege, delegation) to be children of God, to those who believe in his name.” To all who believe in Jesus Christ, God gave the authority – the right, the privilege – to be children of God. In this sense, God is designating believers as a particular group – his children – and delegating to them the rights and privileges of his children. It is the same for this group of angels. They have received “Authority” from God for particular tasks, and with their authority, they have special rights and privileges.
The first in this group of Angelic Authorities are called the Holy Ones – the divine council of God (Psalm 89:7). This verse isn’t talking about human ‘saints’ because there aren’t any doubts he’s more awe-inspiring than any human. This is an assembly of “Holy Ones.” Like a board meeting. Everyone knows who the chairman is – God – and they’ve come together to conduct the business of heaven and earth. There are many such meetings in scripture, and I can’t go through all of them, but let’s look at two examples: Daniel 8:13 and Revelation 14:10. In this passage, the “Holy Ones” are involved with the Lamb as judgment comes to the beast who has tormented the followers of the Lamb. These “Holy Ones” are God’s council members involved in deciding the timing and judgment of evil. They’re delegated with this authority from God.
The second in this group of Authorities is called the Mighty Ones—heavenly soldiers and the enforcers of God’s judgment (Psalm 103:20). Psalm 29:1 and Joel 3:11 also describe the function of the Mighty Ones.
The third group is called Archangels – messengers, leaders, chief princes, and prominent protectors of the heavenly realm. Michael (Who is like God) and Gabriel (the strength of God), 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (REF. Revelation 12:7-9). We’re familiar with this battle in heaven between the army of God and Satan and his angels. From these passages, we see the authority given to “Archangels” to lead the armies of angels and the “Mighty Ones” in executing the council of the Holy Ones. Here, the Divine Council decided that Satan and his angels would be evicted from heaven, and the Archangels and the Mighty Ones carried out that order.
Finally, the fourth group in the Angelic Authority class is the Sons of God – this is a designation for angelic beings who are given the privilege and right to be part of the royal family and assemble before God (Job 1:6). The title “Sons of God” is a designation, not a biological description. Remember, all divine beings are “elohim”- gods – just like “The Most High God” is elohim. Technically, they are all related to the spiritual family. But these angels serve a specific purpose in the kingdom of heaven. It’s vital for our understanding to think like the ancient Hebrews when reading this. To them, the most significant power on earth was a king and his kingdom. Heaven was a kingdom, and God was the king. When the king’s family presented themselves to him in ancient times, it displayed loyalty, unity, and strength. If a member of the family didn’t appear, it meant trouble. The kingdom was at peace when the king’s family was in harmony. There was unrest in the kingdom when there was dissension in the royal family. Jesus said that the Sons of God are Peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). When we tie this statement to what Jesus said in Luke 6:35, we see that the Sons of God love their enemies, do what is good, and lend and expect nothing in return. These are the children of God.
Jesus said the sons of God are peacemakers. Sons of God show love toward their enemies, do good, and are gracious to the ungrateful and evil. The Sons of God are the counterbalance in the kingdom of God to the divine judgments and righteous actions against evil. As the Authority Class in the Celestial realm, the Holy Ones, Mighty Ones, and Archangels make the necessary judgments against all evil rebellion. Still, the Sons of God can offer love, goodness, and grace to every circumstance before judgment. Do you see the similarity between the Sons of God in heaven and the Sons of God on earth?
