ASK FR BITAJU | KAIROS GLOBAL | OCTOBER 2019

Author: Fr Bitaju

Q. The Holy Bible says that it's pride that turned angels to demons. If that's the case, what's the source of evil in heaven? Or how did pride enter heaven where all the beings are in complete communion with our Lord? And if Angels sinned against the love of God in heaven, is there a possibility of sinning again, when a human soul enters heaven from this earthly realm?

Bince George, Bangalore

Angels and humans were created with the gift of free will to choose to serve God. Evil came into heaven because one of the angels chose not to serve God by disobeying the authority of God as Lord and Creator. St. Thomas Aquinas says that the angel sinned by seeking his own good from his own free will, defiant to the rule of the divine will (Summa Theologiae I:63:1:4). That angel is known as Lucifer and he took about a third of the angels with him in rebellion (Rev. 12:4). It was pride (Is 14:12-14, Ez 28:17, Pro 16:18) and envy (Wis 2:24) that caused Lucifer/Satan to rebel against God. In other words, he did not want to be second to God in honour and so he chose not to serve his master.  

The Lateran Council IV (1215) states that all angels were created good by God, according to their nature. Now the question is whether any goodness still exists within these demons and can they repent since God is merciful to sinful humans who repent of their evil? According to Catholic Church teaching – no; because they chose to sin against God with their full intellect and will. “It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels’ sin unforgivable. There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death” (CCC 393).  

In the same manner, there is an irrevocable character to the choice made by the angels who remained loyal to God, and as a result they can’t give into sin because their wills are now so attuned to God’s will. Therefore, as per this doctrine of the Catholic Church, it is now impossible for a second rebellion of angels to ever take place. Knowing this fact, Satan chose to attack God indirectly through His most precious sons and daughters. If Satan could damn humans with him to hell for eternity, he thought he could still win his war against God. Through our unrepented sin, we condemn ourselves to hell forever.  

It was in order to defeat the power and dominion of Satan that God became man in Jesus Christ; He suffered, died on the Cross and rose again from the dead for the same reason. All who believe in Jesus Christ, follow His commandments, repent of their sins and fight against Satan will not be condemned to hell, but will be in heaven with God forever. 

Summing up, we can say that the nature of eternity or heaven is such that a choice made is made forever. A choice made in eternity is like an eternal saying of yes or no and not like an action that was made in the present, which later becomes the past. Therefore, the angels fallen are eternally fallen, and the saints of heaven are eternally saints. In other words there is no possibility of sin in heaven.