Do Angels have Free Agency?

This post is based off of a recent conversation that I had with a friend. I thought about asking as the opening question, "Do angels have free will?" But I know that some people would assert, with some merit, that no one except God truly has free will as no one, except God, can truly will anything to happen. Knowing that answer fails to address the intent of the actual question, I decided to avoid any such controversial debate and distraction and substitute "agency" for "will." In other words, do angels have the ability to decide their own actions? Do they have the capacity for choice?

Before I give you my answer, I want to make one qualification, and then one clarification. First, although I believe my answer is based upon Scripture, I have had to use deduction and logic to arrive at a conclusion based upon inference from textual examples rather than direct statements of fact or reality. The Bible doesn't clearly state that angels do or do not have free agency. Second, when I speak here of angels, I am referring to the Judeo-Christian concept of heavenly beings. I clarify this point because there are multiple definitions of the word "angel" found within English dictionaries, including "messenger" or person of virtue. Also, there are a number of other religious concepts of angels found outside of the Biblical text and the Judeo-Christian tradition. Even within Judaism and Christianity there are different concepts, opinions, and understandings, especially when studying theology throughout the centuries. Without getting too distracted by these considerations, I will assume that my readers have an idea of what I mean by the term angel. By the way, I am planning to write a more detailed post in the future regarding angels, demons, and other beings, which will give greater insight into the nature of such entities. For now, I will state that for the purposes of this writing, an angel should be understood to mean a being of intelligence that is on a different order of creation than humanity; still a creation of, and therefore subject to, God almighty. There are numerous examples of angels in the Bible, some of whom even have names, such as Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer.

Regarding the initial question, I have heard teaching both ways. So, many years ago, I reasoned through it. Herein, I will provide four passages from Scripture, and my short thoughts on them (quotes from the New King James Version). In so doing, I will provide my answer to the question posed. Then I will summarize at the end. I encourage you to read the text of the passages I reference on your own, in addition to reading my thoughts.

Ezekiel 28:12-19: This passage starts as a lamentation for the king of Tyre but quickly and obviously becomes something else, which I believe is about Satan. Normally, I prefer to interpret scripture at face value, but when there is a noticeably deeper meaning, I dig deeper. For example, the king of Tyre was not in Eden (verse 13), but Satan was. When you compare this to Isaiah 14, there is enough similarity to make it obvious to me that this passage is about Satan. Verse 12 indicates that he was "the seal of perfection," verse 14, "the anointed cherub who covers," and verse 15, "perfect in your ways... until iniquity was found." This indicates to me that, like Adam and Eve, Lucifer was created in perfection, without sin, and something happened that caused a change. Verse 13, by the way, describes his (the person being discussed in the passage) musical instruments. This could indicate that Lucifer (assuming my interpretation is correct), as a cherubim (anointed cherub), could have been responsible for the worship around the throne of God.

Isaiah 14:12-17: This passage is directed towards Lucifer by name. Verse 12 states that he is "fallen from heaven." Verses 13 and 14 detail his pride and desire for self-glorification. So Ezekiel (the previous passage) indicates that Lucifer was perfect when he was created, and possibly in charge of the angelic worship at God's throne, but somehow fell when iniquity manifested itself in him. Isaiah indicates that he became prideful and sought to exalt himself equal to or above God. So rather than continuing in service of glorifying God, he chose to attempt self-glorification. The former being his created purpose, the latter being his choice, made of his own volition. At least that's how I interpret it. I do not believe that God created him as evil, or else he (Lucifer) would not have been described as perfect. I also believe that there is plenty of scriptural support to indicate that God does not create evil things, nor is He responsible for evil thoughts or actions. Evil comes about when His creation willfully rebels; be it angels (which I view as the 2nd order of sentience), or humans (the 3rd order, with God being the 1st).

Jude (a very short book; no chapters) verse 6: This passage mentions (almost as in passing, as if it is assumed that the intended audience would already have a knowledge of such) "angels who did not keep their proper domain (or estate, or place)" being kept in chains until judgment day. God is sovereign and can do as He purposes, but why judge unless wrong has been committed? How can judgment be just if the perpetrator literally had no choice? I'm not talking about circumstances, but actual choice. Also, these angels were in one domain and left it for another. I also see this as indicative of choice; unless they were acting upon orders, but then, God would not judge them for following His orders. If following the orders of another (Satan), then again their decision involved choice to disobey God, as they (angels) were created to serve God, not Satan.

Revelation 12 (the entire chapter is wonderful, but give special attention to verses 4 and 9): In verse 4, the "dragon" (obvious imagery, symbolic of another; Satan is referred to throughout scripture as a dragon) "drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth." This sentence to me is a clear telling of the story of one-third of the angels falling with Lucifer. In case someone were to take issue with my interpretation, I would just look to verse 9, which clears things up; the dragon is identified as "the Devil and Satan" and "his angels were cast out with him." I think it is pretty clear that Satan and some other angels are cast out of one domain, or state, and are fallen to another.

If angels don't have free agency, how did Satan rebel, and lead one-third of the Angels to rebel with him? As a result of this reasoning, I have rejected the teaching against free agency and support the teaching in favor of free agency. That is rather simple, but the essence of my position. Part of the problem with the teaching that angels don't have free agency is that I know of nowhere in the Bible that indicates such. Therefore, somewhere in history, someone came up with that idea, taught it, and it stuck. However, there are numerous passages in the Bible that, to me, indicate otherwise, therefore, I align with the alternative.

Angels might not be created in the image of God, as humans are, but I do believe that they have the capacity of choice. However, I do not believe that they have an inherent sin nature (depravity) as humans are born with (inherited from the rebellion of our ancestors, Adam and Eve), because I do not believe angels are born as we are, but were directly created by God all at once (just my understanding; scripture doesn't really give much information on the creation of the angelic host). So the angels that chose rebellion did it with full understanding of the potential consequences, unlike Adam and Eve, who were tempted by Satan, and their descendants, who are all born with a proclivity to sin and rebel. This is also one reason why I believe God made provision for human salvation (through the sacrifice of Christ) but not for angel salvation (never mentioned anywhere in scripture).

Thanks for reading. Grace and peace to you.