Many people believe in angels but have difficulty in believing in God.  Some are sure they have been rescued or guided from peril by them.  Throughout the history many people of different faiths and cultures speak of divine messengers, but what does the Bible tell us angels?  In this post, I examine Scripture on the subject of angels.

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. ‘Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.(Acts 12:7)

They are spiritual beings but, as the passage above shows, they can fully manifest as corporeal beings and interact with the material world.

The Greek word that was transliterated to the Old English engel is ἄγγελος aggelos (Strong’s 32), which means ‘messenger’ or ‘envoy’.  We see the same root in evangelist, eu(good)- aggelos, ‘bringer of a good message’, ie. the Gospel.  The Hebrew is מַלְאָך mal’ach (Strong’s 4397) and also means ‘messenger’.  The Bible affirms something else:

Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?   (Hebrews 1:14)

Angels are sent from God to minister to humankind.

Angels, then, are creations of God, not of mankind’s imagination; and as the writer of Hebrews was at pains to state, they are not gods.

So, he (the Son) became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

The Son superior to angels

For to which of the angels did God ever say,

‘You are my Son;
today I have become your Father?’ (Hebrews 1:4-5)

Angels figured large in the minds of the Jews of the early church because they were instrumental in God’s purpose throughout the Torah.  An angel appears to Hagar and Sarah; another to Abraham, whose hand he stays from executing Isaac.  Jacob wrestles an angel.

In the Prophets, Ezekiel encounters four creatures, (chayot or cherubim).  Few are identified and deliberately so.  The father of Samson asked and was denied:

Then Manoah enquired of the angel of the Lord, ‘What is your name, so that we may honour you when your word comes true?’

 He replied, ‘Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.’ (Judges 13:17-18)

And Manoah’s understanding was poor, certainly compared to his wife, it seems!

(When) Manoah realised that it was the angel of the Lord.

 ‘We are doomed to die!’ he said to his wife. ‘We have seen God!’

 But his wife answered, ‘If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.’  (ibid 13:21-23)

Angels could appear as men, but they were not made in God’s image, that is reserved for humankind, and because of this they also know nothing of grace or mercy; therefore, they cannot not benefit from the Gospel.  Hence, Peter tells us of the gospel of salvation that ‘the angels yearn to look at these things’ (1 Peter 1:12).

Nevertheless, angel-kind as humankind have free will; or at least the agency and freedom to rebel; however, as the gift of salvation is not extended to them, fallen angels are not afforded the gift of mortality or the hope of redemption but are cast directly to hell.

God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment… (2 Peter 2:4 – also Jude 6)

When Adam sinned, he and Eve were expelled from God’s presence and also from their eternal existence.  Death entered the world at this point, yet mortality provides an existence in which humankind can regain righteousness through faith – as Abraham did (Genesis 15:6).

Angels therefore have a choice to serve under or rebel against their Creator.  Isaiah tells us of one such being that most understand to be Lucifer.

How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!  You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:12-14)

So what does the Bible tell us concerning angels?  What manner of creatures are they? Scripture provides sufficient knowledge (to which nothing need be added!)

THEY ARE:

Numerous – Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.(Revelation 5:11)

Various –  Seraphim: (means ‘burning ones’, but also serpent; plural of שָׂרָף saraph Strong’s 8314) appear to Isaiah:

I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. (Isaiah 6:1-2)

Cherubim: (plural of כְּרוּב kerub Strong’s 3742) guard the gates of Eden:

After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.  (Genesis 3:24)

Ophanim: (meaning ‘wheels’; plural of אוֹפָן ophan Strong’s 212) – they are also called:

Thrones: (כָּרְסֵא korse Strong’s 3764 derived from the Aramaic corresponding to the Hebrew כִּסֵּא kisse 3678)

As I looked, thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.  (Daniel 7:9)

Paul seems to speaking of angels when he speaks of: dominions and powers (Ephesians 1:21) rulers or authorities as says they are creatures

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. (Colossians 1:16)

Archangels: (‘chief-angels’, a translation of rav-mal’akh; in Greek archangelou) are barely mentioned in the Bible, there are two references in the New Testament (1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Jude 1:9).  Two angels are mentioned by name are Gabriel (Luke 1:19 & 26; Daniel 8:15-26 and 9:21-27) and Michael (Jude 1:19), the latter in specifically as an archangel.

 

Some, at least, are winged (Seraphim) – while some are indistinguishable from men…

 Abraham looked up and saw three men(אּישׁ anashim Strong’s 376) standing nearby. (Genesis 18:2)

 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.(Hebrews 13:2)

… Though they seem to be asexual:

At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. (Matt 22:30)

Messengers: Angels appear to men and women as can they endure the sight of angels while not that of God.  They carry messages of great import.

The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you. (Luke 1:28)

 Guardians:

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; (Psalm 91:11 also quoted by Luke, 4:10)

Servants of God and humanity  – as we already read:

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?(Hebrew 1:14)

Witnesses:

There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.  (Luke 15:10)

Fallen – and are demons: As mentioned above; foremost of the fallen is Lucifer, or Satan, one Jesus identifies above all demons:

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’

 He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. (Luke 10:18-19)

Not to be venerated: God would have it known that angels are creatures, they should not be objects of worship.  Many people in the past and now misplace their adulation to the handiwork rather than the hand and revere angels.

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.  But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!’  (Revelation 22:8-9)

That great instructional book of the Bible, Job says this:

A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end.  It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice:  ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?  If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error… (Job 4:15-16)

But the heavenly host is holy, nonetheless, because only the righteous can abide the presence of God; therefore, humanity being ‘a little lower than the angels’, but with the qualification ‘for a while’ (Hebrews 2:6 and 2:9); whereby we live in sinfulness – in this we are lower than angels.  But Jesus imputed us with righteousness so we can become holy as the angels.

For whatever reason – known entirely to God – humankind was offered redemption, and those who are redeemed get to proclaim this to the angels.

(God’s) intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:10-11)