When were angels created by God? --Aleteia

These spiritual messengers appear throughout the Bible, but their origin is very mysterious.

Biblically speaking there is little written about angels. These spiritual messengers appear throughout its pages, but their origin is very mysterious.

Does the Bible mention when angels were created by God?

Strictly speaking, no, the Bible does not say, “God created angels at this point in history.” However, there are some clues that could point us in the right direction.

The first “angelic creature” to appear in the Bible is Satan. Called “the serpent” in the book of Genesis, Satan is later revealed to be a spiritual creature who disobeyed God in the beginning. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: ‘The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing'” (CCC 391).

It is clear from this statement that the fall of Satan and his demons occurred before the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This naturally places the creation of the angels before the sixth day of creation.

One of the most plausible theories claims that all the angels were created on the first day of creation and that the fall of Satan occurred when God separated the light from the dark.

St. Augustine explains part of this theory in City of God.

For when God said, “Let there be light, and there was light,” if we are justified in understanding in this light the creation of the angels, then certainly they were created partakers of the eternal light which is the unchangeable Wisdom of God, by which all things were made, and whom we call the only-begotten Son of God; so that they, being illumined by the Light that created them, might themselves become light and be called “Day,” in participation of that unchangeable Light and Day which is the Word of God, by whom both themselves and all else were made.

This appears to make logical sense as the “Sun” and “Moon” were not created until the fourth day.

Regardless of which “day” the angels were made, the Catechism affirms that, “Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation.” They remain active in the world today and continue to affect our lives, even though we may never see them with our eyes.

Read more:
Do we become angels when we die?