Angels vs Man

Spiritual warfare is a term that most Believers are familiar with. The very utterance of those two words can cause any hearer to experience vivid imaginations of divine angelic beings, warring against fearsome evil ones. It is the ultimate matchup between good and evil expressed in the most climactic way. The supernatural realm engulfed in an array of flashing lights and thunder. A psychedelic display of powers we can only imagine dancing across the heavens and the earth.

But there’s another picture that is easily painted within our minds when we hear those two words. And that’s a portrait of pain, anguish and oppression instigated by an unknown dark force that only finds satisfaction in its labor. This type of heaviness reminds us of the world we live in and that we need our Lord’s strength to become victorious over any and all spiritual evil that exists in our lives. ”Wear the armor we tell ourselves”. Ephesians 6:10 becomes our war chant and we proceed into the battlefield cloaking ourselves with God’s metal.

And while so many of us are familiar with these concepts, not many are familiar with the cause of the fight. Why in fact, do these supernatural beings hate us?

Sibling Rivalry

I can recall some of my sibling angst I had against my younger sister when I was a child. At times I would loathe her very presence. Sometimes it was due to jealously. Other times it would be my own insecurities that stirred up my emotions. I’d argue most siblings have had moments of hatred towards one another. And while you and I may experience these types of moments as humans, the same type of hostility took place, and I’d argue is still taking place today between supernatural beings and the human race. But the big question is why? I believe the impetus for hatred towards humans stems from jealously. And not of God, but of us. I believe we get a glimpse at what’s behind their jealously in 1 Enoch.

1 Enoch 6:1-2

What we see are the children of God - the angels - lusting after what man had. At first glance you may think the angels were simply after women. Somehow mesmerized by their beauty. But that’s really not what caught their attention. The key to what the angels wanted was in their decree, ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ The angels wanted children. They wanted to propagate after their own kind, to bear children in their own image. Just like humans. We get more evidence of this later in the book of Enoch when the fallen angels send Enoch to intercede in front of God on their behalf as they now faced judgement for their corruption.

In response, God delivers a decree for Enoch to give to the angels, outlining the reason behind His judgement. God calls out their different nature and explains why He blessed humans the way He did. And why angels did not receive the same design.

1 Enoch 15 4-7

These angels weren’t content with how God created them or their dwelling in heaven. Despite being holy spiritual beings with immortality, they grew unhappy with their current state. Isn’t that something? So many people throughout the existence of the human race have desired supernatural power in an effort to be less human. And here are angels leaving their appointed place (Jude 6) to be more like humans.

What we can discern from the Corruption event as well as The Fall, is that there are supernatural beings that are jealous of humanity. They harbor angst and hatred towards their sibling creation. And while neither of us are better than the other by design, isn’t it odd how we often desire to be less like ourselves in order to be more like one another?

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