Bible Answer Man: Why Does God Gives Humans, but Not Fallen Angels, a Chance at Redemption?
Hank Hanegraaff, the man behind the Bible Answer Man radio program, has admitted that he has no answer to the mystery why God chose to love humans so much.
Hanegraaff, an Eastern Orthodox Christian author who heads the Christian Research Institute, admitted to a listener in a clip posted on Facebook on Thursday that it is beyond his comprehension why God, in all His power and perfection, has chosen to share His love with people.
The question in full asked about why humans are given so many chances at redemption, while fallen angels are not treated with the same redemptive quality in the Bible.
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"Angels, they had requisite knowledge, they were in the presence of God. They had the opportunity to serve him, but also they had the opportunity to serve themselves. They were created as volitional beings," Hanegraaff began in his explanation.
"And this is the essence of love. God creates those who have volition, and thus love becomes something meaningful. Whereas if they didn't have a choice, love would not be meaningful. God did not create angels, nor did he create people in such a way that they had to choose Him. They could choose against Him, and that is what happened with fallen angels."
But as to why God was willing to send his Son, with Jesus suffering so badly on the cross, so that people can be brought into His communion, the Bible Answer Man admitted:
"It is a question I have no answer for. It is beyond my ability to articulate, or even fully contemplate. It is a mystery. Why would God, who is sufficient in the love relationships of the Trinity — the Father loving the Son, and the Son loving the Father, and the Father and Son loving the Holy spirit — why in that perfect love relationship would God create humanity?" he wondered.
"Why was He willing to bring us into that love relationship? I can't answer that question."
Hanegraaff reflected that God is not building simply an individual kind of redemption, but that Christ is "building a body."
"He is building a majestic tapestry — it's called the church. And so He is developing a perfect bride out of humanity," he added.
"God's love is beyond my comprehension. Why God would include me in his providential care, I cannot fathom," he said, reflecting on the peace he has found despite being diagnosed with a form of cancer back in 2017.
Other theologians, such as biblical scholar and U.S. author Michael Heiser, have also argued that the Bible does not leave much room for the possibility of fallen angels to be redeemed.
In a 2017 blog post on his website, Heiser challenges several interpretations that claim that there is hope for fallen angels, countering them with arguments that the Bible shows otherwise.
He noted that angels are absent from the end-times global Eden statement in Hebrews 2:5-8, and said:
"Are the angels Jesus' brothers and sisters — his brethren? By definition they cannot be. They are created; he is uncreated. They might be described as 'made of something;' he cannot be so described. He has attributes they do not possess. He is Yahweh incarnate; they are not. He was never made like them — never made at all. Jesus and the angels are not, as it were, of the same 'stock.'
At the same time, he argued that "amazingly, Jesus and humans are of the same stock. How? God the Son became human. And so he is not ashamed to be called our brother."
