FALL OF ANGELS


Michael Archangel casting away bad angles
Michael Archangel casting away bad angles 

By Edward Matulanya

According to Roman Catholic doctrine, God created the angels as purely spiritual beings endowed with intellect and free will. Although they were created good, some angels made a definitive and irrevocable choice to reject God. This primordial event is traditionally called the “fall of the angels” or the angelic rebellion.

1. Nature of the Sin

The Catholic Church teaches that the sin of the fallen angels was a radical and irrevocable rejection of God. The Catechism states that the angels’ decision was not due to any flaw in their nature but to the misuse of their freedom. Their sin is generally understood as pride—a refusal to serve and an attempt to be “like God” apart from Him (cf. CCC 392). Catholic tradition often links this to the words in Isaiah 14:12–15 (“I will ascend to heaven… I will make myself like the Most High”), though the Church does not define this passage as a literal historical account.

2. Irrevocability of Their Choice

Because angels are pure spirits who know truth intuitively and are not subject to time and change as humans are, their choice against God was final and cannot be undone. The Catechism emphasizes that there is no repentance for the fallen angels; their decision was made with full knowledge (CCC 393).

3. Leadership of Satan

Catholic doctrine identifies the leader of the rebellion as Satan (the Devil), a fallen angel who “was at first a good angel, made by God” but became “evil by his own doing” (cf. CCC 391). Satan and the other fallen angels, now called demons, actively oppose God’s plan and seek to lead humans into sin (CCC 394).

4. Cosmic Consequences

The rebellion introduced a spiritual warfare into creation. Demons tempt humanity, but their power is limited by God’s providence. Christ’s death and resurrection have definitively defeated Satan, though the final destruction of evil will occur at the Last Judgment (CCC 395).

References

Aquinas, T. (1265–1274/1947). Summa Theologica (Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Trans.). Benziger Brothers. (Original work published ca. 1265–1274)

Catechism of the Catholic Church. (1997/2019). 2nd ed. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved from https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

John Paul II. (1986, July 23). Catechesis on the Angels [General audience]. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved from https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/audiences/1986/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_19860723.html

The Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. (1989). National Council of Churches.



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