What Happened on the Cross. Nick Peros

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      In this passage, Daniel is visited by an angel who was sent by God to explain to Daniel the meaning of a vision God had given him. The angel tells Daniel he, the angel, was sent by God on the first day he, Daniel, was seeking wisdom to understand the vision. We are told in Daniel 10:2 it took that angel twenty-one days to reach Daniel. The angel then tells Daniel he, the angel, was resisted, or held up, by a powerful fallen angel, here described as the Prince of Persia, and that this fallen angel prevented him from getting to Daniel. Next, the angel tells Daniel that one of God’s great angels, Michael, here described as one of the chief princes, came to his aid and, implicitly, defeated the fallen angel called the Prince of Persia, at which time Daniel’s angel was able to continue and finally come to Daniel. This angel tells Daniel this whole episode took twenty-one days.

      This entire account teaches us, and affirms, some very specific qualities about the nature of angels. First, they have to physically move through space to go from point A to point B (in this case, to go from Heaven to Daniel). Second, it shows us as an angel moves through space it also moves through time—in this case, it took twenty-one days for the angel to reach Daniel. Third, it shows us, as an angel moves through space and time to reach his destination, the angel can be held up, or can be met with obstacles on his journey.

      In every respect, this account in Daniel clearly shows that angels are creatures of time and space, and as such are subject to it. The definition of being physical is to be subject to time and space. Since angels are very clearly subject to time and space, we know angels are physical beings. An angel may be able, for now, to move through time and space a lot faster than you and I currently can, but they are, no less, still subject to it.

      A Different Kind of Physical

      Although angels are physical beings, they are a different kind of physical than are human beings. You and I are creatures of flesh, bone, soul, and spirit, whereas angels have a different kind of physical nature.

      Why, then, would anyone teach that angelic beings, or spirits, are not physical? It is the result of a wrong understanding of what it means to be physical, being the result of a Greek philosophy understanding of physical. The argument, stated in a very basic, colloquial way, would go something like this: “Angels, or spirit beings, are invisible, we can’t see them, and they can go through walls, and as a result, they are not physical beings.” Again, that argument is based on a wrong understanding of what it means to be physical.

      If it is true that something is defined as “spiritual” because it is invisible and can go through walls, then we have to ask about x-rays and gamma rays. Both x-rays and gamma rays are invisible—we cannot see them with our eyes. Also, both x-rays and gamma rays can go through walls, and yet we know for a certainty both gamma rays and x-rays are absolutely physical things, even though they are both invisible and can go through walls.

      Yet no one, anywhere, describes x-rays or gamma rays as spiritual entities. Why not? It is because we have discovered ways to measure and observe x-rays and gamma rays and therefore we can, indirectly, see they are a part of the physical creation. They are a part of the physical universe that we, for now, in our current physical state, are not able to perceive without the aid of equipment and machinery, but they are nonetheless physical. Both gamma rays and x-rays are absolutely physical, being fully subject to time and space as are we, but they are part of the physical realm which, for now, without machinery or equipment, we cannot perceive.

      Angels are exactly the same kind of thing. Like x-rays and gamma rays, they are invisible to us, and they can do things you and I (for now) cannot—such as go through walls, travel at great speed, and more. But that is only because they are, like x-rays and gamma rays, a different kind of physical than are you and I—no less physical than you and I, just a different kind of physical. Our physicality is one of flesh, bone, and spirit—that is what defines a human being, whereas angels would have a physicality whose substance is something other than flesh and bone, just as gamma rays and x-rays are a substance that is something other than flesh and bone. This is further affirmed when we consider Heaven is itself a physical place—if the physical Heaven is the abode of angels, then the angels themselves must also be just as physical as Heaven.

      For the time being, we cannot perceive that particular physical realm of angels, just as we, for now, cannot perceive the full spectrum of light. Light is, in fact, made up of a whole spectrum of different colors, and it is also a spectrum that includes radio waves and the infrared spectrum. With our eyes, we cannot see radio waves, the color spectrum of light, or the infrared spectrum of light. The reason is currently we are not physically tuned to see those physical spectrums—our perception is limited. For now, we are limited to seeing only white light. We experience the same limitations in regards to the physical realm of angels. For now, we are not currently tuned to see that physical realm of angels. The Bible speaks of these limitations of our perceptions in the following verses:

      For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (1 Cor 13:12 NKJV)

      For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Cor 4:16 NKJV)

      By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Heb 11:3 NKJV)

      Each of these verses describes things which are seen and things which are unseen, and 1 Corinthians 13:12 specifically tells us that, for now, when we look at the universe, at God’s creation, we see it only dimly, unclearly, that is, our perception of it is limited. Together these verses affirm there are whole aspects of God’s physical creation that, for now, we are just not tuned to perceive. One day, however, that will change and we will be able to perceive what is currently imperceptible to our eyes. This is in fact contained within 1 Corinthians 13:12 when it continues to tell us that, for now, we only know, or perceive, in part, but later we shall perceive, or know, even as we are perceived. All of this affirms that in our full redemption we will see God’s physical creation in all of its fullness, including those aspects of God’s physical creation that currently are invisible to us, which includes the realm of angels.

      The day is coming when we will at last see the physical creation for what it actually is, in all of its fullness. We are given a glimpse of this in 2 Kings 6:1–17, when the prophet Elisha and his scribe were surrounded by an armed force, facing what seemed like certain death. Elisha’s scribe was fearful for his life, and then we are told: “And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kgs 6:17 NIV).

      When God opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant, he saw that he and Elisha were surrounded by a great host of mighty, angelic warriors and chariots of fire, ready to do battle on their behalf. That great host of God was always there, but until God opened the eyes of the servant they were invisible to him, he could not perceive them, even though they were physically all around him. The angelic army was the physical reality that surrounded them, but Elisha’s servant was not able to see it because it was part of the physical realm that is currently beyond our perception. When Elisha prayed God would “open his eyes,” Elisha’s servant was given the ability to perceive that aspect of the physical creation that is invisible to us, but which is no less real and no less physical. As a result, we know every aspect of God’s creation, including what we call the spiritual realm—Heaven and angels—is a part of God’s physical creation, being itself physical and subject fully to time and space.

      In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, creating them perfect in every respect, a glorious creation without blemish or fault. Yet, in the very second verse of the Bible, we encounter a creation under a curse.

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