This week, we come to the end of our study of Unmasking the Powers by Walter Wink. [1] In this analysis, I wish to begin where we began last week—with the vision of the risen Christ in Revelation:

I turned around to identify the voice speaking to me. When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and among them was someone resembling a son of man, dressed in a robe that reached down to his feet, with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes blazed like fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice resembled the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand, he held seven stars, and a sharp, double-edged sword came out of his mouth. His face shone like the sun in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if dead. Then, he placed his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades (Rev. 1:12-18).

This is a vision of the Risen Christ, the Word of God incarnate given to John. What John describes in visionary language, the Apostle Paul describes in theological language:

 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things; in him, all things hold together (Col. 1: 15-17).

In this passage, Paul concurs with John that the Word made flesh is the very image of the invisible God, through whom all things were created. The Word is not something created—a power or element of the universe. The Word is the personal presence of God that existed before our created universe and everything in it, both visible and invisible. In other words, the Word of God is not part of creation. This is important as a foundation for properly understanding what will be discussed in this blog. The basis for a Christian relationship with God’s creation is Christ, the wisdom and love of God.

Elements of the Universe and Angelic Beings

An element of the universe is a fundamental unit of creation. In Greek, the word is “Stocheia tou Cosmos.” The Stocheia (fundamental elements) are not angelic beings. For Wink, spiritual beings fall into two basic categories: those that arise out of the inner life of people and those that arise out of social forms:

Whereas Satan, the demons, and the gods manifest themselves primarily in the human psyche, the angels of churches and nations are encountered in the interiority of corporate systems, and the elements of the world encompass us at every level of existence. They are the ubiquitous building blocks of reality. [2]

For Wink, personal angelic beings are revealed within the depths of the human psyche, while social angelic beings manifest as the inner workings of social systems. The schema, in contrast, represents fundamental principles of the universe.

As the foregoing makes plain, the stocheia do not need to be material. Many are not. For example, Euclid named his book on geometry Stocheia of Mathematics. As the title indicates the stocheia are fundamental axioms or principles that underly rationality in any discipline, scientific, mathematical, artistic, theological musical, etc. [3] In the language of modern physics, tee stocheia are the irreducible invariant laws that govern reality.

In ancient Greece, various explanations existed regarding the fundamental units of creation. “Earth, Fire, Air, and Water” was one explanation. Later, material atoms were considered the basic components of the universe. Plato regarded the noetic forms as the essential elements of the created order. The writers of the New Testament do not venture a guess about what the fundamental elements of the universe might be. They are content to affirm that, whatever they may be, God created them, who brought all things visible and invisible into existence, as stated in the Nicene Creed.

This brings us to the stocheia of the modern and emerging post-modern world. In the contemporary world, the fundamental elements of the universe were understood as material particles and the forces acting upon them. These material particles existed independently of human observers and could be quantified using the principles of mathematics. When translated into social life, this doctrine of force and matter led to our society’s materialistic and power-oriented nature. In contrast, the postmodern world perceives things differently. Today, the fundamental elements of the universe are subatomic entities, such as quarks and muons, which are not considered material at all. [4]

Elements and Worldview

Every age embodies a worldview that impacts how we see and react to the world. In many ways, what we conceive of the fundamental elements of the world impacts that view. In the modern world, the fundamental units of reality were conceived to be atoms that acted on my forces, such as gravity.  (infinitely small particles). As modern physics developed, we became aware of particles smaller than atoms, so-called subatomic particles. While realizing that these subatomic particles were not material, many scientists continued to believe that a more profound understanding would still allow us to see a “material universe.” A material universe can easily be seen as a gigantic machine.

Nevertheless, even the first generation of quantum physicists realized that the picture induced by calling subatomic entities “particles” is deeply misleading. What we call subatomic particles are something like ‘ripples” in a universal quantum field. Even more disturbing to the modern “atomistic” world view, these particles appear to be deeply related to one another. In some way, the universe is deeply related both on a quantum and everyday level.

Wink is well aware of this fact. He is also profoundly impacted by the work of the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead and the so-called “process theologians.” Whitehead, who was a mathematic physicist, among his many accomplishments, tried to express the insights of quantum physics and relativity theory in philosophical terms. For Whitehead, the universe should not be fundamentally conceived as a machine but as an organism, not a material organism. Instead, the universe should be conceived as made up of experienced occasions, some of which have a duration significant enough to be called actual entities.  More importantly, societies of actual occasions make up the material world. These societies can be of many different kinds. Still, like all of reality, they have an exterior observable character and an inner being that can be understood and expressed in natural language or mathematics and the language of the sciences.

I have taken time to render the substratum of Whitehead’s thought to give meaning to Wink’s notion that there are angels of churches, nations, societies, and even creation are the interiority of social phenomenon. A church is a society. A business is a society. A nation is a society. A government is a society—and ultimately, creation is a society that has its own inner spirituality. No society can be reduced to simply its outer, observable nature. All societies, whether simple or complex, have an inner spiritual reality. This has significant ramifications for Wink:

1. Reality cannot be reduced to the functioning of smaller components; in technical terms, reductionism is only one strategy for understanding it.
2. Larger societies cannot be understood or reconstructed by science or technology solely on a “bottom-up” basis.
3. Reality as a whole, and societies in particular, are not granular or atomistic; they are complex and relational. They have their own independent reality. [5]

Christ, Angels, and a Postmodern Worldview

It is at this point that we return to the beginning. In a Christian view of the world, the God of Love and wisdom, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bound together by eternal love is the ultimate reality. The Word of God is the Truth and Love of God by whom and through whom all things were created (John 1:1-14). We cannot understand the world by reducing it to matter and force as the modern world tried to do. We can only understand the world holistically, which means, in some ultimate way, religiously. This Word was with God before the beginning and through whom the world was made (Proverbs 8:22-31; John 1:1). Thus, the ultimate inner meaning of the universe is to be found in Christ. [6]

In this context, what sense can we make of angels of nature? Following Wink’s fundamental analysis, angels of societies, including creation, are their inner spiritual reality. This inner spiritual reality (unlike Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8) is that inner spirituality that can be perfected or impaired by human actions. Thus, the angels of creation are an inner spirituality that human beings can make better or worse.

Angels of Creation and the Environment

Capitalism, Socialism, Communism, and National Socialism—all the isms of our day—have in common their fundamentally materialistic view of the world. They hold in common an atomistic view of reality in which autonomous human beings are held in check by the power of economic forces and the power of the state. Interestingly, all allow untrammeled greed, environmental exploitation, and the abuse of creation in the lust for power, pleasure, and position. In some of its forms, it allows completely irrational positions to be adopted under the guise of the will to power.[7]

Amid this, God’s love constantly lures human beings to achieve an appropriate harmony with nature and a sense of its holiness as a creation of a holy God, sustained in constant intimate love and wisdom. [8] When humans achieve sustainable harmony with creation, they also achieve a measure of justice in society and with creation. [9] On the other hand, when we abuse the environment in unsustainable ways, using creation for our selfish purposes, we take creation away from that harmony which God intends. In Wink’s view, we either bring the angel of creation closer to its fulfillment or drive such wholeness (shalom) further away.

Conclusion

The ancient and Medieval worlds saw creation as organic and alive with spiritual and mental meaning. The modern world reconceived this unity as a dualism between matter and force and human minds outside of creation. In so doing, they created an estrangement between human beings and their home—creation. [10] Part of Wink’s project is to re-establish a unified and ultimately spiritual sense of the holiness of creation as a theophany, a physical representation of God’s hidden and invisible nature. A proper understanding of the holiness of that which a holy God created is bound to produce a sense of worship and of the infinite value of our environment. One does not have to agree with all of Wink’s arguments to accept the need to develop a unified worldview in which the value of creation is understood and acted upon. Creation is not god, but it is the work of a holy God. As such, it is to be nurtured, respected, and wisely used.

Copyright, 2025, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved.

[1] Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces that Determine Human Existence (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1986).

[2] Id, at 128.

[3] Id, at 131.

[4] Id, 160.

[5] Id, at 142-143.

[6] Id, at 144-146.

[7] Id, at 153, 163.

[8] [8] Id, at 163.

 I have recently published a sustained argument that justice is fundamentally tied to achieving social harmony through an ongoing process of adapting to social changes and perceptions of social injustice. G. Christopher Scruggs, Illumined by Wisdom and Love: Essays on a Constructive Post-Modern Political Philosophy (College Station, TX: Virtual Bookworm, 2025).

[10] Id, at 155.

 

After discussing the angels of the churches, primarily from the early chapters of Revelation, Walter Wink examines the “Angels of the Nations.’ He centers his argument on the appearance of the Archangel Michael in the book of Daniel. In this context, Daniel, nearing the end of his life, serves as a wise counselor who fasts and prays for his nation, the people of Israel, before being visited by a vision of an angel:

I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore, I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words, I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and the palms of my hands. And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”

When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. And suddenly, one with the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength.  For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”

Then again, the one with the likeness of a man touched and strengthened me.  And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!” So when he spoke to me, I was strengthened, and he said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; when I have gone forth, the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael, your prince (Daniel 10:5-120).

This interesting passage suggests that an angel, Michael, who is the defender of God’s people, has been battling the angel of Persia, who opposes them. Moreover, and most importantly for Christians, the message is delivered to Daniel by “one like a son of man,” whom Christians consistently identify with Christ. Thus, one interpretation of the passage is that it represents a visitation from the word of God to a prophet, providing insights about angelic messengers.

The Context of Daniel

To interpret the passage, one must form an opinion about when it was written, by whom, and for what purpose. Many evangelicals believe that the book was written between 586 and 531 B.C. In contrast, liberal scholars argue that it was composed much later, around the time of Antiochus Epiphanes IV, possibly around 167 B.C. Traditionally-minded scholars view the book as a source of encouragement for the Jewish people from the period of the fall of the Babylonian Empire and the rise of Cyrus of Persia to the time of the Roman Empire. Meanwhile, more liberal scholars consider it the work of a later author. Lastly, there is a perspective that I find appealing: the story of Daniel originates from the time of the Babylonian captivity (605-531 B.C.), but it was later revised and adapted by another writer to address the challenges faced by the Jewish people during the Hellenistic Era.

The most straightforward question raised between the two groups is whether we should understand these angels as genuine angelic beings who revealed themselves to the prophet Daniel or as literary metaphors conveying God’s message to a later time. In Daniel’s case, I lean toward viewing the angelic language as primarily metaphorical, intended to communicate God’s word to the audience the author is addressing. The “vision” language suggests a need to express in human words a divine encounter that was not physical but rather mental or noetic in nature. This should not be interpreted as indicating that the words received by Daniel are not words from God.

Wink’s Analysis

In line with his underlying theory that views angelic beings as the true inner essence of a social entity, Wink aligns himself with the second group of interpreters while adding a unique twist to his interpretation. For Wink, Michael embodies Israel’s spirituality and serves as its “guardian angel.” The same can be said for the angel of Persia or any other nation. As the inner spirituality of a social entity, this angelic being holds the potential for both good and evil. Nevertheless, the concept of angels represents the nation’s brightest future, symbolizing an idealized personal perfection of that nation. This becomes especially evident as he discusses what he believes the angel of the United States might represent and what God might communicate to such an angel. Thus, for Wink, angels embody both the unrealized potential of a society and its current state.

Nevertheless, Winks wants to underscore that the angels are real:

The angels of the nations, who have already exacted upwards of 100 million human sacrifices in less than a single century, are not personifications. They are real. But their reality cannot be grasped as if it is projected onto the sky. They are not “out there” or “up there” but within. They are the invisible spirituality that animates, sustains, and guides a nation. And we reckon with them, whether we acknowledge their reality or not. [1]

The dual nature of angelic representations of nations—created good yet fallen from perfect alignment with God’s purpose—conveys a truth we observe all around us: the institutions that provide meaning and purpose to our lives, along with many of our actions in the world, are imperfect and often operate contrary to what even their supporters consider right. Recognizing the angel of a nation as distinct from the people and institutions that constitute it allows us to understand the complexity of change, the inevitable slowness of improvement, and the limitations of our best efforts. It encourages us to view our social endeavors as reflections of our personal and collective limitations, fostering a sense of fallibility in our social projects (or at least it should).

Wink warns:

The angels of the nations are not static, changeless entities, nor are their vocations irrevocably fixed in their foundations. God’s will, for the nations is continually being modified, in accordance with God’s primary objectives, in order to encompass the nations’ latest infidelities and achievements. [2]

Wink also wants to warn us against trivializing angels or nations. [3]We are all familiar with national characterizations: the Scottish are dour, the French unreliable allies, the British overly concerned with formalities, the Chinese inscrutable, and so on. These are not angelic spiritualities; they are characterizations. Their only utility is in pointing us to a deeper truth: all nations and cultures are not alike. Human beings from different cultures are not the same. To understand the human race and the conflicts of human history, it is necessary to consider the vast differences among people as well as our common humanity. We believe that the language of angels and nations helps us analyze and peacefully reconcile these differences.

Just as the angels of the nation should not be trivialized, they should also not be rendered excessively static. The angel of the social entity, like the social entity itself, evolves over time. A good way to understand this is by considering the United States of America and its beginnings as a small, rural nation. Today, it is a large, powerful, and primarily urban nation. The angel of America today is not the same as the angel of America in 1789. This serves as a warning against overly romanticizing the past or making misguided attempts to reclaim a history that cannot be recreated within human experience. While Americans should remain loyal to the principles and central institutions of our political life, adjustments must be made to adapt to vastly different circumstances.

Vocation of Israel, the Church, and Others

If the angels of the churches have fallen and failed to fulfill their vocation, it shouldn’t be surprising that the institutions they represent also fail. Wink allows Martin Buber to speak for him when discussing Israel’s failure to fulfill its vocation as a light to the nations and a beacon of justice.[4] Similarly, in Wink’s view, the church, and particularly the American church, has failed to fulfill its divine calling.[5]

There is a hint of bitterness in Wink’s analysis as he discusses the church’s failure to fulfill what he believes to be its prophetic destiny, as if it were a form of blasphemy. I’m not sure he should feel disappointed in any tangible manifestation of the church in this regard. It is the nature of human institutions to overvalue themselves and their opinions. Naturally, when any established institution seeks to critique the current state of society, it does so from a particular and inevitably flawed perspective. The failures of the churches, like the failures of Israel, should not surprise us in the least. Instead, they should warn us of the fallibility of our own positions.

If the churches and Israel have failed, Wink believes that secularism has also failed. Secularism has taken the worst position of all:

Secularism has simply insured that, in the absence of any divine constraints whatever, nations are free to behave as if they had complete autonomy, as if the nations were indeed absolute: as if it itself were God, deciding the fate of nations.[6]

Israel and the church have indeed failed, but fundamentally, they recognize the limitations of their own institutions. Ultimately, they are self-correcting. Secularism contains no such self-correcting boundaries. It imagines humans as gods and those in power as entitled to act as they please, driven by a Nietzschean certainty of their right to impose their will on others. Ultimately, to use religious language, secularism inevitably becomes demonic.

Conclusion

At his best, Wink understands that the language of angels ultimately speaks to self-correction and self-judgment. When people use patriotic language, including an idealized concept of their own national righteousness, they are, at their best, reflecting on a goal—a future state the nation seeks to achieve. To assert that the angel of a nation can embody both positive and negative aspects allows for critique of the current state of the nation or its administration, as well as the potential for future restoration. In the language of our Constitution, it is about achieving a “more perfect union.”

Copyright 2025, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

[1] Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces that Determine Human Existence (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1986), 93.

[2] Id, 94.

[3] Id, 93.

[4] Id, 95.

[5] Id, 96.

[6] Id, 100.

I have noticed that several readers of several of my posts on political philosophy have read and downloaded those related to C. S. Peirce and his notion of “agapism.” For those interested, I recently gathered as a group, edited, expanded, and published a series of related essays entitled Illumined by Wisdom and Love: Essays on a Sophio-Agapic Constructive Philosophy. Those who are reading my essays on Peirce may want to purchase the book, which brings my meditations into one organized group of essays covering Peirce, Josiah Royce, Alfred North Whitehead, John Dewey, Herbert Mead, Michael Polanyi, David Bohm, and others. As the named authors reveal, this is not a religious work. It is philosophical.

Illumined by Wisdom and Love is also not an ideological work supporting the views of one of the various parties to political life in our democracies. I have attempted to write a book that those on the political left and right can use to improve their service to justice and the public. Instead, it focuses on the role of community and dialogue in public life. I hope it is helpful to anyone interested or involved in public life and wishes to preserve and make our institutions more effective.

I do not pretend to be a professional philosopher. I wrote these essays to honor my parents, whose lives were devoted to public service out of a deep concern for the quality of our nation’s political life and the stresses one sees on democracy and freedom worldwide. I am sure it will be only one drop in the sea and not a very important drop at that, but it seemed the least I could do.

It is available on Amazon and through other outlets.

One of the most interesting discussions in Unmasking the Powers concerns the angels of churches and the application of this idea in contemporary life.[1] This particular discussion is also one of the most Biblically grounded portions of the book, consisting of an extended commentary on Revelation 2-3. Wink believes that the so-called angels of the churches in Revelation introduce a way of looking at institutional spirituality that has application to governments, businesses, and non-profit organizations, which have certain spiritual characteristics that transcend a particular leader, group of leaders, or other institutional embodiment.

Not long ago, I talked to a friend about an organization I have known for over thirty years. He described it as having an atmosphere like a pirate ship! More than thirty years ago, I would have described the organization similarly under different leadership, with different employees, and even in another business climate. This story has an important lesson: One reason leaders must be careful about their spiritual character is that the spiritual component of their leadership may leave wounds or distortions that take many years to heal—if ever. One reason pastors should understand and deal with the spirituality of their congregations is that it matters more than next week’s sermon. The spirituality a pastor creates will outlive you for better or for worse. One reason businesses of all kinds need to address the spirituality of their organization is that the spirituality will be with the organization long after everyone involved is gone.

The Seven Churches

At the very beginning of the so-called “Letters to the Churches,” John writes: To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands (Rev. 2:1). The formula “To the angel of the church write” appears at the beginning of each letter. Earlier, John introduces the concept by writing:

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day, I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches (John 1:9-20).

The vision is of the risen Christ, who was dead but is now alive and has defeated death’s power. He holds seven stars in his hands and walks among seven lampstands. As the ending makes clear, the seven lampstands are the seven churches, and the seven stars are the angels of those churches.

Following his thesis on the nature of angelic beings, Wink sees seven church angels as the inner spiritual reality of the visible, concrete congregation being addressed. [2] It should be more or less evident to the reader that John’s use of the term “angels” in this context may be strictly metaphorical. That is to say, in this particular case, he is, in fact, directly stating that these churches have an inner spiritual reality. There is no separate “angelic person” involved.

One’s opinion about this matter depends upon one’s general feeling about the nature of the book of Revelation and about precisely who is being addressed. Many commentators have noted that the number seven was considered a perfect number to the Hebrews and that the churches mentioned may simply be representative of all of the churches of Asia Minor or, indeed, all the churches of the world. I favor the view that the book demonstrates in its entirety a kind of symbolic representation that leads credence to the view that the seven churches symbolize a larger number of churches. The seven churches represent the whole church of John’s Day and, by extension, speak directly to the church today.

This observation does not cancel Wink’s basic thesis. It is consistent with the notion that organizations have an inner spiritual reality. One reason it is important to understand the idea of an “angel of the churches” is that the concept of a church’s inner spiritual reality applies to other social organizations, including transnational corporations, military establishments, university systems, and government bureaucracies—every kind of social organization. [3]

This inner spirituality (or angel) is not separate from the institution but represents its spiritual totality. Yet, it is also personal. People create organizations, yet organizations reflect a separate, organic, individual nature distinct from those who make them up. This nature can only be described as a personality, i.e., a personal spirit.

 The personal address in Revelation suggests more than mere personification of an organization. [4] It is the actual spirituality of the congregation as an entity. As an organization’s corporate personality, it represents its spiritual totality. This spirituality does not exist separately from the institution but is not identical to any specific concrete expression of such an institution. [5] The angel of an institution, including a church, is connected with the material expression of the church’s life as its interiority.

I belong to a neighborhood association and serve on some of its committees. It was formed in 1973, just about the time I graduated from college. Most of the founders are either quite elderly or gone. Nevertheless, the inner spiritual reality of our neighborhood association is evident in nearly every meeting we have. Deep inside the DNA of our association is the notion that the neighborhood needs to be preserved in its original state as far as possible. There is a great fear of change or accommodation for new developments, such as solar electric units seen from the street. The fear of some people that this change is but the beginning of a series of changes that will compromise our status as one of San Antonio’s premier historic neighborhoods impacts every decision. That inner spiritual commitment affects everything we do. [6]

The Ambivalent Nature of Angels of the Churches

In ordinary language, we often speak of “guardian angels.” We think people have guardian angels. Sometimes, people talk of churches or other institutions having guardian angels. Indeed, the archangel Michael is seen as the guardian of Israel, the people of God, and the Christian church in general. It should be evident that when John talks about the angels of the churches, he is not talking about quite the same phenomenon. [7] Michael is entirely holy and good. Michael is wholly a servant of God. It’s evident from the message to the churches that the angels of the churches do not have this status. John consistently speaks of both aspects of the churches that are good and by God’s will and compromises the churches made that have taken it out of God’s will. In other words, the angels of the churches are a good bit like human beings in general. They have a capacity for good and for evil. [8] This is an aspect of social angels that Wink will discuss not just in Unmasking the Powers but in his final book, Engaging the Powers. His point is that the angels are fundamentally the creation of a good God, but like human beings, they have the capacity for diversion from their created potential.

Discerning the Angelic Spirit

A significant problem implicit in Wink’s analysis is the question, “How does one discern the inner spirit of a congregation or other organization?” We human beings have no direct access to the inner spirituality of any organization. We must rely upon external observation of the organization to understand its inner spirituality. Most helpfully, Wink does try to give some guidance in this area as regards congregations. He suggests the following areas of inquiry:

1. What is the nature of the congregation’s regular physical space for worship, prayer, and study?
2. What is the social status of the congregation? Is it primarily working class? Office workers? Executives? Retirees?
3. Where is power located in the congregation? The pastor? The governing board? The women of the church? The wealthiest member? A particular family?
4. How is power exercised in the congregation? Is it a dictatorship? Is it democratic? Do people compromise to reach decisions?
5. How is conflict handled? Is it submerged? Is it vocalized at the slightest opportunity? Is it healthy, or is it unhealthy?
6. What is the structure of any denomination? Is it connectional or centralized? Is there a bishop, or are the higher courts of the church democratic? How much input is given to local congregations?
7. How does the congregation see itself? Is it growing, helpless, declining, missional, inbred, or outgoing? [9]

Naturally, no simple analysis of one factor to the exclusion of others can give us a complete picture of the inner spirituality of a congregation or any other institution. No simple list can provide us with such insight. One of the problems with consultants is that they come in and gain a very superficial view of a congregation based on interviews, questionnaires, and other analyses. Inevitably, the perception of the current pastor plays a more significant role than any other perception. It takes time and effort to perceive the inner spirit of a congregation. I might add that a wise pastor takes the time to understand this inner spirit, not to criticize it, but to understand how to serve the local congregation best.

Healing the Spirit of a Congregation

As John’s introduction to Revelation and his letters to the churches exemplify, all churches have positive and negative characteristics. The question for leadership is how to maximize the positive elements of the spirit of the congregation and how to minimize the negative aspects. We have John’s letters to the seven churches but do not have John’s personal reflections garnered over time. We can assume that John regularly received reports about the congregations of Asia Minor. He probably also talked to visitors from many places and learned how their churches were doing. Ephesus was a major center of the Christian faith and a seaport. Before his captivity on Patmos, we can be sure he was aware of the condition of the churches. He prayed and reflected on what he ought to say to the churches. This gives us some insight into how faithful leaders can heal the angel of a church.

1. Courage to Speak Wisdom. First, there is the element of courage. John had to decide whether to send his revelation to the churches and how to say what needed to be said. Part of what he had to say was difficult to say without risking hurt feelings. John had to decide what to say and how to say it.
2. Praise for Accomplishments. The revelator found something in every church to praise. The churches in Ephesus had been faithful, long-suffering, patient, and persevered through testing. (Rev 2:1-2). The church in Smyrna had done excellent work despite poverty and oppression (v. 9). The angel of the Church of Pergamon had worked hard despite opposition from pagan deities (v. 13). The church at Thyatira had been hard-working, loving, faithful, service, and patient in tribulation (v. 19). The church at Sardis had a great history and name (.3:1). The church at Philadelphia had been a faithful congregation in every way.
3. Areas for improvement. The church in Ephesus had grown tired and lost its first love. The church of Smyrna tolerated the intolerable out of fear (2:8-11). The church in Pergamon permitted harmful teachings to infiltrate and was experiencing decline (2:12-15). The church in Thyatira allowed itself to be seduced into sexual immorality from which it needed to repent (vv. 20-21). Despite its history, The church at Sardis was a dead church and needed to be renewed (3:2). The church in Philadelphia needed to persevere (vv.10-11).

Those who lead churches or other organizations can learn much about their spirituality by pondering Walter Wink’s analysis of local congregations. It may not be perfect, but it is certainly illuminating. Ultimately, any leader’s most important legacy, for better or worse, is the spirituality they encourage in the church or organization they serve. At the same time, this spirituality profoundly impacts what can be accomplished in any organization. Next week, I will deal with the angels of the nations.

Copyright 2025, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

[1] Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces that Determine Human Existence (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1986).

[2] Id, at 70.

[3] Id, at 70.

[4]  Last week,  one reader found some of what I said regarding the personalities of angelic beings (particularly Satan and fallen angels) objectionable. When discussing the “personhood” of heavenly beings, it’s important to note that this concept isn’t easily understood. Human beings have bodies, physical emotions, and similar traits, highlighting that angelic personhood differs from human personhood. The key idea is that persons exist independently of one another and cannot be reduced to, for example, the writer’s or perceiver’s psychological states. I believe this is what Wink is addressing. The nature of angelic personhood is ultimately founded in the personal nature of God, who created a world in which personhood can develop.

[5] Id.

[6] I would not want my neighbors to think I am speaking against historic preservation. Indeed, one reason we purchased in our neighborhood was its historic character.

[7] Unmasking the Powers, 70.

[8] This particular insight is why I believe that the term “angels of the churches” reflects the use of “angel” metaphorically distinct from the use of the term when referring to “the Angel Michael,” who I take to referring to a personal revelation of the being of God in the form of a messenger to the human race.

[9] Unmasking the Powers, 71-78.