Angels were created by God. Therefore, they had a beginning. They are not eternal in the past tense. However, they will exist forever after their creation (Luke 20:36). There are no such things as eternal angels who have always existed (not from the biblical perspective). The only being who is eternal is God himself. He is without beginning and without end. Psalm 90:2 says, “Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Also, Jeremiah 10:10 says, “But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath, the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.“
Angels are very powerful (Psalm 103:20) and numerous (Hebrews 12:22). They are subject to God (1 Peter 3:22) and are not to be worshiped (Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:7; 22:8-9). They obey God. Psalm 103:20, “Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word!” In fact, there are elect angels. “1 Timothy 5:21, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.” This means they were chosen by God…but for what? Perhaps it was to not fall in the angelic rebellion. Since there are elect angels, they must have been elected by God. So, He is sovereign over them. However, they will live forever. So they are eternal in the future sense, but not the past.
Luke 20:36, “for neither can they die anymore, for they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”
God alone is eternal in the past and the future. God is the only being who has always existed.
If angels were eternal in the past tense
It is not possible for angels to exist eternally in the past, according to the Christian worldview, as stated above. Not only that, there would be logical problems with the idea of multiple beings eternally existing. Which one, if any, would be the ultimate source of truth? Which one, if any, is the ultimate authority? There can only be one ultimate. An ultimate is that which nothing is equal or greater. So, if there are thousands of beings that are equally ultimate, then that would make no sense. Could there be disagreements between these distinct eternal beings? If there were, which one would be right if there is no ultimate authority above them? Do they all possess the same knowledge? Are they different beings with different characteristics and properties? If so, why? Why would there be differences if they are eternal? And, if there eternal, would that mean they have infinite knowledge? If that’s the case, would there be multiple beings with infinite knowledge? There would be no ultimate truth. But that doesn’t make sense. So, the idea of multiple beings who are eternal in the past tense raises more questions than there are answers.
