Vs. Turretin #7: Intercession & Veneration Of Angels

François Turretin (1623-1687) was a Genevan-Italian Reformed scholastic theologian and renowned defender of the Calvinistic (Reformed) orthodoxy represented by the Synod of Dort, and was one of the authors of the Helvetic Consensus (1675). He is generally considered to be the best Calvinist apologist besides John Calvin himself. His Institutes of Elenctic Theology (three volumes, Geneva, 1679–1685) used the scholastic method. “Elenctic” means “refuting an argument by proving the falsehood of its conclusion.” Turretin contended against the conflicting Christian perspectives of Catholicism and Arminianism. It was a popular textbook; notably at Princeton Theological Seminary, until it was replaced by Charles Hodge‘s Systematic Theology in the late 19th century. Turretin also greatly influenced the Puritans.

This is a reply to a portion of Institutes of Elenctic Theology (Vol. 2, Seventh Topic: Angels; IX. Are angels our intercessors with God, and is any religious worship due to them? We deny against the Romanists ). I utilize the edition translated by George Musgrave Giger and edited by James T. Dennison, Jr. (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, Phillipsburg, New Jersey: 1992 / 1994 / 1997; 2320 pages). It uses the KJV for Bible verses. I will use RSV unless otherwise indicated. All installments of this series of replies can be found on my Calvinism & General Protestantism web page, under the category, “Replies to Francois Turretin (1632-1687).” Turretin’s words will be in blue.

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First, he alone can intercede for us who died for us. He alone can be our Paraclete (paraklētos) and advocate who is our only sacrifice (hilasmos) and propitiation.

Turretin is thoroughly confused. Obviously, we intercede for each other. The Bible states that the Holy Spirit is our Paraclete:

John 14:16, 26 And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, . . . [26] But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 15:26 But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me;

John 16:7 . . . if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

“Counselor” in these passages is the Greek paraklétos (Strong’s word #3875), and describes the Holy Spirit in all four cases. Thus, Jesus is not our only Paraclete. The same word is applied to Jesus (“advocate” in RSV) in 1 John 2:1. But Turretin’s point is that no one else but Jesus fills this role. That has been decisively disproven above. Nor is Jesus the only Divine Person Who intercedes for us. He does (Rom 8:34), but so also does the Holy Spirit:

Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. [27] And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Why is it that the learned Turretin couldn’t figure this out? Was he unable to look up Bible passages, as I just did? Granted, he didn’t have computer searches, but there were concordances available. I used them for fifteen years before I was ever online with all the fancy searching tools available.

Christ alone satisfied for us and therefore he alone can intercede for us (cf. Rom. 8:34, 35; 1 Jn. 2:1, 2 where these two functions are ascribed to Christ alone to the exclusion of others).

Romans 8:34-35 states that Jesus intercedes for us. It does not state that he is our only or exclusive intercessor; nor does 1 John 2:1-2. And Romans 8:26-27 above proves that the Holy Spirit also intercedes for us. It’s simple logic. Again, then, one is left scratching one’s head and wondering how Turretin can miss such obvious biblical facts? It’s downright embarrassing.

Second, to present the prayers of others to God is a part of the mediatorial and priestly office, which Scripture claims for the Son of God
alone (who is the sole Mediator between God and men, 1 Tim. 2:5).

This is dead wrong, too. The Bible shows that Moses and Samuel are still interceding for us, after their death:

Jeremiah 15:1 Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!

And that both angels and departed human beings are doing that in heaven, presenting our prayers to God:

Revelation 5:8 . . . the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints;

Revelation 8:3-4 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; [4] and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.

It also massively occurs among intercessors who possess exceptional righteousness, as I have documented. See, for example:

Genesis 20:7 Now then restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you shall live. . . .

Numbers 11:2 Then the people cried to Moses; and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire abated.

Numbers 21:7-8 And the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. [8] And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

1 Samuel 7:8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry to the LORD our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 12:19 And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.”

1 Kings 13:6 And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the LORD; and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as it was before.

Job 42:8 Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

Jeremiah 42:1-2 Then all the commanders of the forces, . . . and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near [2] and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our supplication come before you, and pray to the LORD your God for us, for all this remnant (for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes see us),

James 5:14-18 Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; [15] and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. [16] Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects. [17] Eli’jah was a man of like nature with ourselves and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. [18] Then he prayed again and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit. (cf. 1 Ki 17:1)

Third, he alone can carry up our prayers to God who can wash off their corruption and expiate their impurity and imperfection and sanctify
them (which belongs to no created angel).

This is sheer nonsense, as all of the above Bible passages prove. Turretin shows himself, amazingly enough, astonishingly ignorant of biblical teaching.

Fourth, the angels ought either to offer all or only some. If all, then they ought to offer those also which are only mental (which they could not do because they are not “searchers of the heart” [kardiognōstai]). If only some, they ought therefore to be determined by them and not to be offered indefinitely. But no reason can be given why some should be carried up rather than others.

We don’t need to know the reason. Why would — and how could — Turretin assert that we have to know that, let alone that “no reason can be given . . .”?? We can never fully understand everything that God does:

Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

1 Corinthians 13:9, 12 For our knowledge is imperfect . . . [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, . . .

If God chose to involve angels or departed saints in the process of prayer and intercession in some cases and not others, then His reasons are His own, perfectly sufficient because they are His, and none of our business. What we know from Holy Scripture is that they are as a matter of fact sometimes involved. Turretin is being presumptuous towards God.

Fifth, the opinion concerning the intercession of angels is drawn from the heathen, among whom demons were constituted mediators (who performed the office of interpreters and ferrymen . . .

I see. Why is it then, that Lot made two petitionary requests of an angel and both were granted? The angel obviously presented these to God for His answer:

Genesis 19:15, 18-21 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.”. . . And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords; behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me, and I die. Behold, yonder city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there — is it not a little one? — and my life will be saved!” He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.

Why is it that Jesus Himself taught that Abraham could receive intercessory requests (Luke 16) if only He Himself could intercede for us?

The angel who prays for the people (Zech. 1:12) is not a created, but an uncreated angel (the Son of God who interposes his own intercession both here and elsewhere with the Father on behalf of the church; . . .

He offers a great prooftext for the intercession of angels:

Zechariah 12:1 Then the angel of the LORD said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these seventy years?’

But then he rejects it by asserting that the angel of the Lord is Jesus. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, a standard Protestant reference source (“Angel” / “Angel of the Theophany”) states:

This angel is spoken of as “the angel of Yahweh,” and “the angel of the presence (or face) of Yahweh.” The following passages contain references to this angel: Ge 16:7 ff–the angel and Hagar; Ge 18:1-33–Abraham intercedes with the angel for Sodom; Ge 22:11 ff–the angel interposes to prevent the sacrifice of Isaac; Ge 24:7,40–Abraham sends Eliezer and promises the angel’s protection; Ge 31:11 ff–the angel who appears to Jacob says “I am the God of Beth-el”; Ge 32:24 ff–Jacob wrestles with the angel and says, “I have seen God face to face”; Ge 48:15 f–Jacob speaks of God and the angel as identical; Ex 3:1-22 (compare Ac 7:30 ff)–the angel appears to Moses in the burning bush; Ex 13:21; 14:19 (compare Nu 20:16)–God or the angel leads Israel out of Egypt; Ex 23:20 ff–the people are commanded to obey the angel; Ex 32:34 through Ex 33:17 (compare Isa 63:9)–Moses pleads for the presence of God with His people; Jos 5:13 through Jos 6:2–the angel appears to Joshua; Jg 2:1-5–the angel speaks to the people; Jg 6:11 ff–the angel appears to Gideon.

A study of these passages shows that while the angel and Yahweh are at times distinguished from each other, they are with equal frequency, and in the same passages, merged into each other. How is this to be explained? It is obvious that these apparitions cannot be the Almighty Himself, whom no man hath seen, or can see. In seeking the explanation, special attention should be paid to two of the passages above cited. In Ex 23:20 ff God promises to send an angel before His people to lead them to the promised land; they are commanded to obey him and not to provoke him “for he will not pardon your transgression: for my name is in him.” Thus the angel can forgive sin, which only God can do, because God’s name, i.e. His character and thus His authority, are in the angel. Further, in the passage Ex 32:34 through Ex 33:17 Moses intercedes for the people after their first breach of the covenant; God responds by promising, “Behold mine angel shall go before thee”; and immediately after God says, “I will not go up in the midst of thee.” In answer to further pleading, God says, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” Here a clear distinction is made between an ordinary angel, and the angel who carries with him God’s presence. The conclusion may be summed up in the words of Davidson in his Old Testament Theology: “In particular providences one may trace the presence of Yahweh in influence and operation; in ordinary angelic appearances one may discover Yahweh present on some side of His being, in some attribute of His character; in the angel of the Lord He is fully present as the covenant God of His people, to redeem them.” The question still remains, Who is theophanic angel? To this many answers have been given, of which the following may be mentioned: (1) This angel is simply an angel with a special commission; (2) He may be a momentary descent of God into visibility; (3) He may be the Logos, a kind of temporary preincarnation of the second person of the Trinity. Each has its difficulties, but the last is certainly the most tempting to the mind. Yet it must be remembered that at best these are only conjectures that touch on a great mystery. It is certain that from the beginning God used angels in human form, with human voices, in order to communicate with man; and the appearances of the angel of the Lord, with his special redemptive relation to God’s people, show the working of that Divine mode of self-revelation which culminated in the coming of the Saviour, and are thus a fore-shadowing of, and a preparation for, the full revelation of God in Jesus Christ. Further than this, it is not safe to go.

It briefly entertains the possibility that this angel might be Jesus, but immediately clarifies that guesses as to his exact nature or identity “are only conjectures that touch on a great mystery.” John Calvin, in his Commentaries on this verse, — less dogmatic than Turretin about it –, writes:

The Prophet now shows that the angel who was his guide and teacher, became even a suppliant before God in behalf of the welfare of the Church. Hence the probable opinion is, that this angel was Christ the Mediator. . . . it is nothing new, that Christ should exercise care over his Church. But if this view be disapproved, we may take any one of the angels to be meant. It is certain that it is enjoined them all to minister to the salvation of the faithful, according to what the Apostle says in the first chapter of the Hebrews Hebrews 1:1; and indeed the whole Scripture is full of evidences, which prove that angels are guardians to the godly, and watch over them; for the Lord, for whose service they are ever ready, thus employs them: and in this we also see the singular love of God towards us; for he employs his angels especially for this purpose, that he might show that our salvation is greatly valued by him.

There is then nothing wrong, if we say that any one of the angels prayed for the Church. . . . for as it has been stated, the case of the faithful has been committed to angels, and they ever watch over the whole body, and over every member of it. It is then nothing strange that they offer prayers for the faithful . . . celestial hosts contend for us, according to what appears from many examples. For when the servant of Elisha saw not the chariots flying in the air, he became almost lost in despair; but his despair was instantly removed, when he saw so many angels ready at hand for help, (2 Kings 6:17) so whenever God declares that angels are ministers for our safety, he means to animate our faith; at the same time he does not send us to angels; but this one thing is sufficient for us, that when God is propitious to us, all the angels have a care for our salvation.

One might observe about Zechariah 1:12, that the angel shows that he is not omniscient, as Christ is, since He asks God, “how long wilt thou have no mercy on Jerusalem . . .?” One might retort that this was rhetorical or otherwise non-literal, but I don’t recall (I might be wrong) Jesus ever saying anything like this anywhere else.

The angel who is said “to stand at the altar, having a golden censer; and to whom was given much incense, that he might offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne” (Rev. 8:3) cannot be a created angel, but the uncreated (to wit, Christ who performs this office).

This is exegetical nonsense as well, and implausible to the highest degree, when we look at how Jesus Christ is referred to throughout the rest of the book of Revelation:

1) “Jesus Christ” (1:1-2, 5)

2) “him who is and who was and who is to come” (1:4)

3) “him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (1:5)

4) “to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever” (1:6)

5) “he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him” (1:7)

6) “Jesus” (seven times)

7) “one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast; [14] his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, [15] his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters; [16] in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” (Rev 1:13-16)

8) “I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (1:17-18)

9) “the first and the last, who died and came to life.” (2:8)

10) “him who has the sharp two-edged sword” (2:12)

11) “the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze” (2:18)

12) “I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve” (2:23)

13) “I myself have received power from my Father” (2:27)

14) “him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars” (3:1)

15) “I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you” (3:3)

16) “I will not blot his name out of the book of life; I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels” (3:5)

17) “the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens” (3:7)

18) “you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (3:8)

19) “I am coming soon” (3:11)

20) “Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten” (3:19)

21) “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” (5:5)

22) “a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain” (5:6)

23) and they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, . . .” (Rev 5:9-10)

24) “saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, “To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!” (5:12-13)

25) “lamb” (25 more times from Revelation 6 to the end of the book).

26) “their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water” (7:17)

27) “a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne” (12:5)

28) “Christ” (11:15; 12:10; 20:4, 6)

29) “a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand” (14:14)

30) “he who sat upon the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped” (14:16). Right before and after this, “another angel” was referred to (14:15, 17), but Jesus is distinguished from them. Rather, he is called “one like a son of man” (14:14), which is a messianic title of Jesus (the one He mostly called Himself).

31) “Lord of lords and King of kings” (17:14)

32) “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.” (19:11-13)

33) “From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords.” (19:15-16)

34) [the city of heaven’s] “lamp” (21:23)

35) [the one who possesses the] “book of life” (21:27)

36) “One Who sits on ] “the throne” (22:1, 3)

37) “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Rev 22:12-13)

38) “I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.” (22:16)

39) “Surely I am coming soon.” (22:20)

40) “Lord Jesus” (22:20)

We see all of this rich data of the names that Jesus is called (probably the largest collection of His various names in all of Scripture), and descriptions of Him, but Turretin would have us believe an utterly implausible thing: that Jesus — in the middle of all of this — was referred to merely as “another angel” (8:3) and “the angel” (8:4-5). It makes no sense at all, and even borders on blasphemous.

Turretin cites the great St. Augustine (always claimed by the Reformed as one of their own) to the effect that we should honor and love angels (of course we should). What he doesn’t cite are the following examples where Augustine espouses the angelic intercession (partly based on the data from a deuterocanonical book that Protestants reject), a thing that Turretin flatly denies:

For, even when His angels hear us, it is He Himself who hears us in them, . . . (City of God, x, 12)

[T]hey [prayers] may be made known also to the angels that are in the presence of God, that these beings may in some way present them to God, and consult Him concerning them, and may bring to us, either manifestly or secretly, that which, hearkening to His commandment, they may have learned to be His will, and which must be fulfilled by them according to that which they have there learned to be their duty; for the angel said to Tobias: “Now, therefore, when you prayed, and Sara your daughter-in-law, I brought the remembrance of your prayers before the Holy One.” [Tobit 12:12] (Epistles, 130 [9, 18]: to Proba [412] )

Thrēskeia or “the worship” of angels is expressly condemned by Paul: “Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind” (Col. 2:18). . . . Paul condemns all worship (thrēskeian) of angels absolutely, not what is rendered to them as to the supreme God . . .

We agree with the first part, and teach that they are to be honored and venerated, not worshiped or adored. We disagree with the second part, because Scripture does:

Genesis 18:1-4, 22(RSV) And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. [2] He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself [shachah] to the earth, [3] and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. [4] Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, . . . [22] So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham still stood before the LORD. (cf. Heb 13:2: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”)

The text in-between goes back and forth, referring to “men” or “they” or “them” (18:9, 16) and “The LORD” or first-person address from God (18:10, 13-14, 17-21) interchangeably, for the same phenomenon and personal / physical / verbal encounter. But there are three men here; they can’t all plausibly be God. Two of them were angels (indicated by 18:22 and 19:1). Thus, Abraham venerated them, too. St. Augustine argued that all three men were angels, but this seems ruled out by the presence (twice) in the text, of “the LORD”.

Judges 13:15-22 Mano’ah said to the angel of the LORD, “Pray, let us detain you, and prepare a kid for you.” [16] And the angel of the LORD said to Mano’ah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food; but if you make ready a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD.” (For Mano’ah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.) [17] And Mano’ah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” [18] And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” [19] So Mano’ah took the kid with the cereal offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD, to him who works wonders. [20] And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar while Mano’ah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. [21] The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Mano’ah and to his wife. Then Mano’ah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. [22] And Mano’ah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”

This passage is remarkable in that it goes back and forth between God (13:16, 19, 22) and the angel of the Lord (or of God) as His direct representative (13:15-18, 20-21 and in the larger passage, 13:3, 6, 9, 13). The angel is honored (v. 17), they fall on their faces to worship (v. 20) and at length the angel is equated with God as His visible manifestation (v. 22). But the difference between the angel and God is highlighted by the angel being described as a “man of God” (13:6, 8) and “the man” (13:10-11).

The Angel of the Lord is also equated with God (theophany) in Gen 31:11-13; Jud 2:1; but differentiated from God as well, as a representative: (2 Sam 24:16; 1 Ki 19:6-7; 2 Ki 19:35; Dan 3:25, 28; 6:23; Zech 1:8-14).

Lot also clearly venerated two angels, who appear by the text (again, 18:22 cf. 19:1) to be the same angels whom Abraham had talked to and venerated:

Genesis 19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth,

They distinguish themselves from the LORD:

Genesis 19:13 for we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”

Vs. Turretin #7: Intercession & Veneration of Angels