What
does the Bible teach about angels?
What
does ‘Angel' mean?
- The Bible was written in Hebrew (Old
Testament) and Greek (New Testament)
Both use the words 'angel' and it
means messenger. It also means an
ambassador of human affairs, that is
speaks in the place of one who has
sent him.
- Extra Info.
Homer used the word 'angel' to be the messenger
of the gods. And who escort the soul
to Hades.
What
else are angels called?
Sons of God - Job 1:6; Psm 89:6 Dan
3:25 (A better English translation
may be heavenly beings)
Hosts of heaven - 1 Kings 22:19
God's ministers - Psm 103:21
Categories
of angels?
Yes. archangels, powers, dominions,
thrones, lords, authorities, serving
angels,
Romans 8:38f; 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21;
Col 1:16
Where
did angels originate?
The
Scripture speaks about the creation of
angels, therefore, it is clear that
they have not existed from all
eternity (Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm
148:2,5). Colossians 1:16-17 explains:
"For
by Him all things were created, both
in the heavens and on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or rulers or authorities -
all things have been created by Him
and for Him. And He is before all
things, and in Him all things hold
together."
The
time of their creation is never
definitely specified, but it is most
probable that it occurred in
connection with the creation of the
heavens in Genesis 1:1. It may be that
God created the angels immediately
after He had created the heavens and
before He created the earth - for
according to Job 38:4-7, "the
sons of God shouted for joy" when
He laid the foundations of the earth.
How
Many Angels Are There?
We can only guess how many angels
there may be. Some people have tried
to guess exactly. In the fourteenth
-century mystics arrived at a precise
figure - 301,665,722 - by
employing elaborate but obscure
calculations. Wild speculation like
this governed theological studies
during the middle centuries. Some of
the early Lutherans, in a work called
Theatrium Diabolorum, estimated that
there were 2.5 billion devils, a
number later raised to 10,000
billion.
Millions
of spiritual creatures walk the earth
unseen, both when we wake and when we
sleep. Milton, Paradise Lost,
IV
The
Bible, like everything else is says
about angels, discloses the numbers of
heavenly beings only in generalities.
When Jesus was about to be arrested,
He announced that, if he wanted to, He
could call twelve legions of angels to
His aid (Mt
26:53). In the time of Augustus
Caesar, a legion numbered some six
thousand men, so Jesus was talking
about tens of thousands of angelic
beings.
Do
Angels Have Bodies?
Angels
are essentially "ministering
spirits," (Hebrews 1:14) and do
not have physical bodies like humans.
Jesus declared that "a spirit
hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me
have" (Luke 24:37-39).
The
Bible does, however, make it clear
that angels can only be in one place
at a time. They must have some
localized presence.
Angels
can take on the appearance of men when
the occasion demands. How else could
some "entertain angels
unaware" (Hebrews 13:2)? On the
other hand, their appearance is
sometimes in dazzling white and
blazing glory (Matthew 28:2-4).
Hum, what do angels look like?
Since
angels are spirits rather than
physical beings, they don't have to be
visible at all (Colossians 1:16).
Elisha once prayed that his servant
would see the armies of angels
surrounding the city, and the young
man discovered that he had overlooked
a lot of invisible beings (2 Kings
6:17)!
When angels do appear, they generally
appear in the form of men. In Genesis
18, Abraham welcomed three angelic
guests who appeared at first to be
nothing more than some travelers. In
the following chapter, two angels went
to Sodom where they were assumed to be
simply a pair of human visitors.
With
the possible exception of one
debatable passage in Zechariah 5:9,
angels always appear as males rather
than females (Mark 16:5).
Sometimes
an angel appears to be a man with
unusual features. Daniel saw an angel
with arms and legs resembling polished
metal and precious stones, and a face
like lightning
(Daniel 10:5-6). The angel that rolled
back the stone from Christ's tomb was
radiating dazzling light (Matthew
28:3; Luke 24:4). The book of
Revelation describes some highly
unusual beings who may be a variety of
angel in Revelation 4:6-8.
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These
are not the Cherubim that are
portrayed in the Bible
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Cherubim
And Seraphim
"Seraphim
stood above Him, each having six
wings: with two he covered his face,
and with two he covered his feet, and
with two he flew."
- Isaiah 6:2
"And
at the east of the garden of Eden He
stationed the cherubim and the flaming
sword which turned every direction to
guard the way to the tree of
life."
- Genesis 3:24
"Angels
are everywhere!" This is true,
both because we know that they are
God's servants to protect us (Psalm
91:11-12), and because they are
extremely popular in art and in books.
When they are pictured, they
invariably have wings. Rafael has a
famous painting in which several
"cherubs" are pictured as
adorable, chubby little babies.
The
image of a cherub looking like a baby
comes from Eros of Greek mythology or
Cupid of the Romans, not from
Scripture. The Bible has them as more
powerful, even warlike. It is cherubs
who guarded Eden so that Adam and Eve
or their descendants could not return.
The seraphs in Isaiah make up the
heavenly host, calling out before the
LORD in His temple: "Holy, holy,
holy!"
Two
well-known hymns contain the phrase
"cherubim and seraphim."
(One is called "Holy, Holy,
Holy," and the other is,
"Holy God, We Praise Your
Name.") The -im ending is
one of two plural endings in Hebrew.
(The other is -oth, as in Sabaoth.)
The hymn writers picture the cherubs
and the seraphs, the cherubim and
seraphim, before the throne,
worshiping the LORD in His holiness.
The roar of their voices is deafening.
These
mighty angelic beings give us a good
example to follow. We might feel more
like Isaiah when he witnesses the
scene in the LORD's temple: "Woe
to me, for I am a man of unclean
lips." But a seraph knows about
atonement and forgiveness, and with
the touch of a live coal he tells
Isaiah, "Your guilt is taken
away." Our guilt is taken away
with a touch, not of fire, but of
water, in Holy Baptism. Neither the
fire nor the water has power in
itself; the power comes from Jesus'
death on the cross and His
resurrection from the dead. Because of
His great mercy, let us join voices
with the cherubim and seraphim and
praise His name!
Prayer:
O LORD, we praise You for creating all
the heavenly host and for making us
worthy to join their song of praise:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of
Sabaoth!" May Your praise always
be on my lips. In Jesus' name. Amen.
This
devotion is Copyright © 1998 Rev.
John M. Young
Are
people angels after death?
No, angels are not glorified human
beings. Matthew 22:30 explains that
they do not marry or reproduce like
humans, and Hebrews 12:22-23 says that
when we get to the heavenly Jerusalem,
we will be met by "myriads of
angels" and "the spirits of
righteous men made perfect" - two
separate groups.
Angels
are a company or association, not a
race descended from a common ancestor
(Luke 20:34-36). We are called
"sons of men," but angels
are never called "sons of
angels."
Angels
will gather the righteous
And
he will send his angels with a loud
trumpet call, and they will gather his
elect from the four winds, from one
end of the heavens to the other. (Mat
24:31)
And
he will send his angels and gather his
elect from the four winds, from the
ends of the earth to the ends of the
heavens. (Mark 13:27)
Are
all angels good?
Nope! Not all angels are good.
The
Bible classifies some angels as
"elect" (1 Timothy 5:21) or
"holy" (Matthew 25:31; Mark
8:38). All angels were originally
holy, enjoying the presence of God
(Matthew 18:10) and the environment of
heaven (Mark 13:32).
Other
angels oppose God under the leadership
of Satan (Matthew 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4;
Jude 6; Ephesians 6:12). We often call
these "demons."
There is actually a great unseen
conflict raging that goes beyond
anything we can imagine. It is not,
however, a fight between two equal and
eternal forces. God who created all
beings is still in charge, and once He
has used wicked angels to accomplish
His purposes, He will bring them to a
final defeat.
What
is an angels job description?
Angels
are ministers and dispensers of the
divine bounty toward us. Accordingly,
we are told how they watch for our
safety, how they undertake our
defense, direct our path, and take
heed that no evil befalls us.
The
primary work of angels, then, is in
heaven, ministering to God. Secondly,
angels work in time and space, a labor
which falls into at least eight broad
categories.
-
Protection
and Deliverance -
Carrying notes from God, however,
is not the angels' only labor of
love. Angels protect us, and
deliver us from dangerous
situations. The best known
scripture for this can be found in
Psalm 91:11,
" For He will command His
angels concerning you to guard you
in all your ways."
-
Messengers
- They serve as messengers
to communicate God's will to men.
They bring good tidings( Luke
2:10). In the first two
chapters in Revelation, seven
"angels" are sent to the
seven churches of Asia Minor. Each
angel bears a message of
encouragement and correction,
targeted for the unique situation
of each of the churches.
-
Supernatural
Provisions- On several
occasions in the Bible, angels
provided for the physical needs of
people in urgent situations. In Genesis
21, Sarah in a fit of
jealousy had her handmaid Hagar -
who was also Abraham's concubine -
thrown out of the house. Hagar was
given provisions to go nowhere.
When the water in her leather
canteen ran out, she put hr little
son Ishmael under a
bush.
Then
she went off and sat down nearby,
about a bowshot away, for she
thought, " I cannot watch the
boy die." And she began to
sob.
God
heard the boy crying, and
the angel of God called to Hagar
from heaven and said to her,
"What is the matter Hagar? Do
not be afraid; God has heard the
boy crying as he lies there. Lift
the boy up...for I will make him
into a great nation."
Then
God opened her eyes and she saw a
well of water. So she drank and
filled the skin with water and
gave the boy a drink. (Genesis
21:16-19)
-
Ministering
Spirits
- Another angel assignment
is the ministration of comfort and
mercy. Perhaps the best known
Scripture is this regard is Hebrews
1:14: " Are not
all angels ministering spirits
sent to serve those who will
inherit salvation?" The Greek
term for "ministering "
a word from which we get
"liturgy," refers to
service, especially sacred service
of God. "Ministering angels
are sent "to
serve" the saints. In the
service of God, angels serve God's
people. Perhaps that could also
mean simply to care for. Angels
care for us according to our
needs. They are somewhat like
heavenly pastors.
Angels
Ministered to Jesus after his
horrible temptation in the
wilderness (Mk
1:13). And under very
similar circumstances, an angel
ministered comfort and strength to
the prophet Daniel, who for three
weeks had been in spiritual
travail for the release of Israel
from her exile in Babylon and
alienation from Yahweh.
-
Bringing
of Bad News
- Angels play a significant
role in carrying out the
judgements of God, especially in
the last days and at the end of
the world. Not all good angels
bring good news. It's not that the
angels are angry. They are just
doing their job. God is the judge,
and his angels are the
executioners. In fact, the role of
angels in the administration of
God's justice is second only to
their assignment as messengers.
The Bible contains dozens of
references to angels of judgement
- from death angels assigned the
task of taking the life of a
single, reprobate
individual...
On
the appointed day Harod, wearing
his royal robes, sat on his throne
and delivered a public address to
the people. They shouted,
"This is the voice of a god,
not of a man." Immediately,
because Harod did not give praise
to God, an angel of the Lord
struck him down, and he was eaten
by worms and died. (Acts
12:21-23)
The
third angel sounded his trumpet,
and a great star, blazing like a
torch, fell from the sky on a
third of the rivers and on the
springs of water - the name of the
star is Wormwood. A third of the
waters turned bitter, and many
people would die from the waters
that had become bitter. (Revelation
8:10-11)
-
Answers
to Prayers - Another
category of angel labor, very much
related to others. Angels assist
God in answering our prayers. God
of course, gets all the credit and
glory, but angels mysteriously
assist in the process. Peter's
miraculous deliverance from prison
is a case in point. He had been
jailed for refusing to stop
preaching to the Jewish community
about Jesus. In the middle of the
night, an angel entered the Roman
prison and escorted Peter , much
to his amazement, out of his cell
into the deserted streets of
Jerusalem.
(Acts 12:12)
-
Caring
for believers at the moment of
death - In the story of
Lazarus and the rich man, we read
that angels carried the spirit of
Lazarus to "Abraham's
bosom" when he died (Luke
16:22).
-
Never
Change Scripture - The
messages of good angels never
supersede or contradict the Bible.
If they do, they are messages of
deception. It is true that
significant portions of Biblical
revelation were delivered by
angels - the entire book of
Revelations, for example, is
probably the result of angelic
messages. John tells us that"
He (Jesus) made it ( in
Revelation) known by sending his
angel to his servant John" (Rev
1:1)
Things
angels DON'T do!
It
might be helpful to point out some
things that angels don't do, or more
precisely, what good angels don't do.
If an angel looks good and does any of
the following things, it is not good.
It's a dark angel in disguise.
-
Good
angels never try to change
Scripture. The
messages of good angels never
supersede or contradict the Bible.
If they do, they are messages of
deception. It is true that
significant portions of
Revelations we delivered by angels
- the entire book of Revelation,
for example is probably the result
of angelic messages. John tells us
that "He [Jesus] made it [the
revelation] known by sending his
angel to his servant John"
(Rev 1:1).
Yet
that same book pronounces a curse
on anyone who adds to or takes
from the words of the book
(Rv22:18-19). This indicates
clearly that subsequent revelation
would always be subject to
biblical authority. In our day,
God continues to lead us, to speak
to us, to give us a deeper
understanding of Himself and His
ways, but God is finished adding
to the Bible.
-
Good
angels refuse to be worshipped.
Respected? Yes. Adorned like God?
Never. Very early in the church
history, Origen wrote, " We
find that because [angels] are
divine they are sometimes termed
'god' in the sacred Scriptures,
but not so that we are commanded
to honor and worship - in place of
God - those who minister to us,
and bear to us His
blessings."
Nor
are angels objects of prayers.
Angels may help God answer prayer,
but never does the Bible suggest
that we direct our intercession to
any heavenly beings other than
God. Good angels never draw
attention to themselves. They can
sure get your attention, but they
do it for God's sake, not
theirs.
In
the grand scheme of things, angels
are positioned somewhere between
God and man, but this does not
mean that they are
intermediaries.
-
No
person in the Bible, ever
initiates conversations with an
angel.
People talk to angels, but angels
always talk first. New age angels
and dark angels are different. You
can talk to them like you call a
friend on the phone; they're just
waiting for you to ask them to
serve you. The authors of Ask Your
Angels, for example tells us
confidently, "People in our
[angels] workshops are amazed at
how easy it is to contact their
angels. Now that you have mastered
the first three steps [Grounding,
Releasing and Aligning] in opening
to your angel, you are prepared to
speak directly to your celestial
friend."
I
have many friends that believe in
contacting their angels
[beckoning]. All I can say is to
be very careful on who you are
contacting. What might seem to be
a good angel may not be what you
think you are getting. Even Satan
came as an angel of light. So
please be careful and please don't
allow yourself to be
deceived.
-
Angels
do not violate the free will of
humans.
Angels play a very active role in
the purpose of God and the affairs
of men, but do not control human
events or violate the free will of
human beings.
 
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