The Bible does NOT tell us exactly when the angels were created, but we do know they were created before the physical universe. God revealed this in Job 38:4-7, “Where were you (Job) when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurement? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all THE SONS OF GOD shouted for joy (NKJV)?  God is asking Job, who at this point in the narrative was thinking quite highly of himself, where he was when He created the earth. Of course he was NOT there at the time of creation, but ANGELS WERE THERE! We know this because the phrase “the sons of God” most definitely speaks of angels. Earlier in Job 1:6 we read, “Now there was a day when THE SONS OF GOD came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan (the highest of all angels, albeit a ‘fallen angel’) also came among them.” In light of this passage in Job 38 we can safely say that they had already been created before “God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). How long before? We cannot say, for Scripture is silent on this point and it’s best for us to remain silent as well.

Perhaps I should mention that many who agree with the view that angels were created BEFORE the heavens and the earth go on to teach that “it must have been immediately before the physical universe was created.” They base this view on scriptures such as Colossians 1:16, “For by Him (the Son of God) all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” Angels are surely referred to in the words…invisible (for they are “spirit-beings”…see Hebrews 1:13-14)…thrones, dominions, principalities and powers (for there are various RANKS of angels…see Ephesians 1:21; 3:10 and 6:12). It would seem, in their thinking, that God created ALL THINGS at approximately the same time, though as stated earlier angels were CREATED FIRST.

Some who hold this view also teach that the account of creation in Genesis Chapter One dates back a mere 6,000 years. This view is based on the various genealogies in scriptures which do indeed place the creation of Adam around 4,000 B. C. Those who espouse this view refer to it as “the Young Earth Theory.” Others, including the writer of this piece, believe that Genesis 1:1 was the “original creation of the heavens and the earth” and that some catastrophic event led to the chaos and disorder mentioned in Genesis 1:2 which says, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.” Mr. William Kelly, a well-known Hebrew scholar, said the word “was” can be translated “became” and thus he translated that verse “the earth BECAME waste, and empty, and darkness upon the face of the deep.” Isaiah 45:18 seems to support this view, for it declares, “For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who established it, Who DID NOT CREATE IT IN VAIN, Who formed it to be inhabited.” When you put these two verses side by side it seems evident that God created the heavens and the earth in perfection (in perfect order and ready to be inhabited), but something occurred that caused the earth TO BECOME WASTE AND EMPTY. If this is true, then from verse 3 to the end of Genesis chapter 1 we have God “remaking the earth to make it habitable for man” (and for the vegetable and animal kingdoms as well).

What this catastrophic event was, we can’t say with any certainty. But there is a prominent view which states that Lucifer, the highest of all created angels, was given dominion over the original earth and yet he rebelled against God (see Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:11-1) resulting in the earth being cursed (just like the earth was cursed when Adam, who had dominion over the earth, sinned against God…see Genesis 3:1-6, 17-18). If this view is correct, then it is possible that the angels, as well as the original heaven and earth, were created much longer than 6,000 years ago. This SEEMS to line up more with scientific findings that conclude that the earth is perhaps MILLIONS, if not BILLIONS, of years old.  (380.3)  (DO)