When were the angels first created?

At the very least, before Adam & Eve were expelled from The Garden, per

"So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life." Genesis 3:24 NKJV

Before the universe (and time) began.

Time and space have no boundaries. If we were to slap a number, say 1 billion years, as to the age of angels, what was going on 10 billions of years ago? What about 10 trillions of years ago? Trying to define the beginning of time is like trying to estimate the beginning of the universe.

Romans 8 said:

Some think it goes back to Genesis when God created the heavens and the earth, others say the angels witnessed the creation of the universe. If they were made before time, I suppose we can't measure it?

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The best answer I see in Scripture is Day 1 of Creation.
Job says the angels sang for joy while they watched God create the Earth. (Job 38:7) The Earth was created on Day 1, after the heavens but before the light. I believe God created the Angels along with the heavens on Day 1. There are 3 heavens: The 3rd "Heaven of Heavens" (Nehemiah 9:6), the 2nd Heaven (outerspace) and the 1st heaven (the sky). I know that fallen angels rule everything from the 2nd Heaven down, and there are Holy Angels that are still in the 3rd Heaven around the throne of God. I believe when God says He created Heavens (Day 1) He means the 3rd Heaven and the 2nd Heaven. This would have to also be when God created the angels.

Jonathan Mathews said:

The Earth was created on Day 1, after the heavens but before the light.

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Earth was created on [Day] Zero.
Light Day was considered Day One.

Actually, we don't know.

Oscarr said:

Actually, we don't know.

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Yes, we don't know when they were created, but we know that they were created, therefore they cannot be "before creation."

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, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1

To say all angels were created is to say that God dwelt eternal ages before that alone.

rockytopva said:

To say all angels were created is to say that God dwelt eternal ages before that alone.

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To say that any angels were not created is to say that they are equal to God. I just quoted the scripture that asserts God (through the Son) created everything that exists in our universe, and it explicitly includes all spiritual beings.

And God did dwell before creation. "How long" has no meaning because He had not yet created time.

RDKirk said:

And God did dwell before creation. "How long" has no meaning because He had not yet created time.

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I find the concept of eternal pre-existence to be even more mind-boggling than eternal continued existence...

Romans 8 said:

Before creation He was known as the Word.

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That means that He still existed.

Romans 8 said:

The son didn't exist until creation was in full swing. Before creation He was known as the Word.

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Mox nix to what I said.

Before the creation of earth, i.e. cca 5 billion years ago, if our planet is meant or cca 3 billion years ago, if a landmass is meant.

Not necessarily before the creation of the universe.

"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation...while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?"
Job 38:4,7

rockytopva said:

Time and space have no boundaries. If we were to slap a number, say 1 billion years, as to the age of angels, what was going on 10 billions of years ago? What about 10 trillions of years ago? Trying to define the beginning of time is like trying to estimate the beginning of the universe.

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Time was created at Genesis 1 You cannot have time without space and matter.

myst33 said:

Before the creation of earth, i.e. cca 5 billion years ago, if our planet is meant or cca 3 billion years ago, if a landmass is meant.

Not necessarily before the creation of the universe.

"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation...while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?"
Job 38:4,7

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Well Scripture calls the earth and universe much much younger! c. 6-8K years at most!

But the angels were created sometime between day 1 and day 4

The angels had to be part of the creation week as Genesis declares:
Genesis 2 King James Version (KJV)
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

Host is tsaba and there is no reason to assume that it is the tertiary or fourth definition. No where else in Scripture is there a hint of of the angels preceding Gensis 1:1

nolidad said:

Well Scripture calls the earth and universe much much younger! c. 6-8K years at most!

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Bible never states the age of the Universe.

myst33 said:

Bible never states the age of the Universe.

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Well it doesn't state that it was created on Sept 4,000 B.C. but just looking at the plain normal reading of the text shows that the heavens and the earth were created on the first day and man on teh final or sixth day of teh creation week. Taking the genealogies in the bible we get approx. 6,000 years. The only time frame we cannot know is the gap between the creation of Adam and Eve and their fall. It could have been days, years or even centuries! We just know how long Adam live from the time Cain was born!