What the Bible Says About Angels
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY SAYS an angel is: 1. a typically benevolent being that acts as an intermediary between heaven and earth, especially in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism. That’s not bad for a general, worldly definition, but…
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ANGELS? Are angels real? What exactly are angels? What do angels do? Are angels eternal like God? Or were they created? Where do angels come from? Is Jesus an angel? Do I have a guardian angel? I hope to answer these and a number of other questions you may have about angels in this week’s blog.
I WANT TO BE SENSITIVE TO THIS SUBJECT. Many dear people hold very strong beliefs about angels. Some people claim to have seen an angel. Some people claim to have been miraculously saved from physical danger by an angel. We will talk about “guardian angels” in a few moments. It is certainly not my intent to upset anyone. But, and please hear me carefully, it is my purpose, as it is each time I preach or teach, to clearly and without compromise declare what the Word of God says, about angels or anything else. I ask you to consider your preconceptions about angels in light of what the Bible says about angels. If your beliefs about angels stand up to the verses from Scripture I will be reading to you, fine. That’s good. Your beliefs are accurate. If, on the other hand, there is a deviation, I pray you will gladly trade you old beliefs for the truth of the Bible…
EVEN MANY CHRISTIANS who should know better have been led astray by the worldly craze of attributing to angels fanciful and occult powers. Some Christians even pray to angels, much as Catholics do with the “venerated saints.” Other Christians think of angels as some kind of personal pets. Angels should be regarded as to their position as God’s special messengers, and nothing more…
OUR IDEAS OF ANGELS MUST COME FROM SCRIPTURE, not our culture or our emotions. As Herbert Lockyer, a great conservative theologian of time past, ably said as he expounded on Psalm 103:20, “Let us try to classify what Scripture reveals regarding those great and glorious beings who ever bless the Lord, excel in strength, obey God, and harken unto His Word; and who occupy an intermediate sphere between the heaven and earth”…
WHAT EXACTLY DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ANGELS? The Bible has a lot to say. One thing it says clearly: angels are real. The Scriptures unequivocally reveal the certainty of the existence of angels. Because God’s inerrant Word declares it so, the fact that angels exist is equally as certain as the fact that God Himself exists. Of the sixty-six books of the Bible, thirty-four have something to say about angels; seventeen in both Testaments. Angels are mentioned almost 400 times in the Bible (213 in the O.T.; 186 in the N.T.) in almost 300 different situations. In the Old Testament, angels are presented as genuine personal beings serving as messengers and ministers of God. Through the biblical account it is possible to determine in some detail their character, position, power, and activity. These fascinating supernatural creatures of God are so intimately woven into the fabric of Scripture that to remove them would be cripple the cause and continuity of many significant historical events, such as, no less climactic historical events as the Incarnation and Resurrection of the Jesus.
AS IT WOULD BE EXPECTED, OF ESSENTIAL IMPORTANCE IS THE RELATIONSHIP OF ANGELS TO JESUS HIMSELF. The existence of angels is closely associated to the very reliability of the testimony of Christ. For example…
ANGELS CLOSELY ACCOMPANIED THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. Angels appeared both to Joseph and Mary at the Incarnation…
KJV Matthew 1:20-25 But while he (Joseph) thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
AND YOU’LL REMEMBER IT WAS ANGELS WHO BROUGHT THE NEWS OF JESUS’ BIRTH TO THE SHEPHERDS…
KJV Luke 2:8-15 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host (angels) praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
ANGELS MINISTERED TO JESUS DURING HIS TEMPTATION…
KJV Matthew 4:11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
JESUS SAID HE COULD HAVE CALLED ANGELS TO HIS SIDE…
KJV Matthew 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels
KJV John 20:11-12 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
FINALLY, ANGELS WERE PROMINENT IN THE ASCENSION OF JESUS…
KJV Acts 1:10 And while they (the apostles) looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
SO, WHAT EXACTLY IS AN ANGEL? A good place to start is with the word itself. We get our English word from the Greek word ἄγγελος (ahng-gel-os). Its basic meaning is “messenger.” An angel is a heavenly spiritual being who is sent with a message or commission…
HERE IS A MORE COMPLETE DEFINITION: Angels are spirit beings created by God and sent out by Him to minister to and on behalf of believers.…
ANGELS ARE CREATED BEINGS. They are not eternal, like God. Angels must never replace God to us. Angels must never be prayed to or worshipped. Angels are not “little gods” as I once heard someone say…
KJV Psalm 148:1-5 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
THE VAST NUMBER OF ANGELS WAS PROBABLY CREATED ON DAY TWO before the creation of the world. Scripture does not give us an exact time. Angels were created all at once, simultaneously by God. The number of angels today is as it was the moment He created them. Angels do not die; they are immortal…
NAS Job 38:4-7 “Where were you (Job) when I (God) laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements, since you know? (sarcasm) Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars (another term for angels) sang together, And all the sons of God (another term for angels) shouted for joy?
NAS Psalm 104:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with splendor and majesty, Covering Thyself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind; He makes the winds His messengers (angels), Flaming fire His ministers (angels). He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever.
WHEN YOU READ THESE PASSAGES CAREFULLY, it seems to clearly say that the angels were in existence before the creation of the world
JESUS, AS GOD’S AGENT OF CREATION, CREATED ANGELS…
NAS Colossians 1:16 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. (Col 1:16 NAS)
ANGELS ARE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH FIRE IN SCRIPTURE. We just read one verse…
NAS Psalm 104:4 He makes the winds His messengers, Flaming fire His ministers.
IT IS, THEREFORE, NOT SURPRISING TO LEARN FROM THE BIBLE THAT THEY WILL ASSIST GOD IN THE JUDGMENT OF THE WORLD…
NAS Matthew 25:31 “But when the Son of Man (Jesus) comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. (Another example of the close association of Jesus and angels. Fascinating, isn’t it?)
KJV Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
FIRE IS OFTEN CONNECTED METAPHORICALLY AND PHYSICALLY WITH JUDGMENT IN SCRIPTURE…
NET Isaiah 29:6 Judgment will come from the LORD who commands armies, accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise, by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.
NAS Matthew 3:12 “And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
IT FIRST MAY SOUND INCREDULOUS, BUT WE BELIEVERS WILL JUDGE ANGELS!
KJV 1 Corinthians 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels?
AS WE’VE ALREADY SEE, ANGELS ARE FOUND THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE BIBLE.
ANGELS WERE PRESENT AT THE FALL OF ADAM…
NLT Genesis 3:24 After banishing them from the garden, the LORD God stationed mighty angelic beings (called “cherubim) to the east of Eden. And a flaming sword flashed back and forth, guarding the way to the tree of life.
CHERUBIM AND SERAPHIM ARE, I BELIEVE, SPECIAL CLASSES OF ANGELS, although they are never specifically called angels in Scripture. They are amazing spirit beings. You can read about cherubim throughout much of the O.T.
ISAIAH ENCOUNTERED SERAPHIM WHEN HE HAD HIS VISION of the throne of God (this, along with probably Revelation 4:8)…
KJV Isaiah 6:1-3 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
AMAZING! That awesome, beautiful passage never ceases to amaze me…
ANGELS APPEARED TO LOT, and in spite of his reluctance to leave the doomed city, compelled him to do so…
KJV Genesis 19:15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
ANGELS CAME TO JACOB AT BETHEL when he dreamed of the mystic ladder…
KJV Genesis 28:12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
ANGELS HAD AN INTIMATE ASSOCIATION WITH THE PROPHET ELIJAH…
KJV 1 Kings 19:5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
A SPECIAL “ANGEL” COMFORTED HAGAR, the banished bondwoman who had Ishmael by Abraham against God’s will…
NKJ Genesis 16:10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”
THAT WAS A VERY SPECIAL ANGEL. When the O.T. refers to the “angel of the Lord” it is usually referring to the preincarnate appearances of Jesus. That is an entire blog. Jesus is not technically an angel, yet He appeared as an angel many times in the O.T. as He interacted with His creation and His creatures. We will move on for now…
ANGELS WERE CONTINUOUSLY INVOLVED WITH THE NATION OF ISRAEL IN THE O.T.…
ANGELS IN THE BIBLE… (from Lockyer)
- drive spirit horses (2 Kings 2:12; 6:13-17; Zech. 1:7-11; 6:1-6)
- guard gates (Rev. 21:12; cf. Gen. 3:24)
- wage war in actual bodily combat (Rev. 12:7-9)
- execute judgments (Gen. 19; 2 Sam. 24; 2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chr. 32:21)
- minister to saints (1 Kings 19:5-7; Dan. 6:22; Matt. 4:11; Acts 10; Heb. 1:14)
- rule nations (Dan. 10:13-21; 12:1)
- are highly organized like armies (Matt. 26:53)
- are innumerable (Rev. 5:11)
- sing, praise, worship God (Luke 2:13; Psalm 103:20; 148:2; Rev. 5:11)
- appear in dreams (Matt. 1:20-24; 2:13-19)
- bind Satan and guard his abyss (Rev. 9:1; 20:1-3)
- receive departed spirits (Luke 16:22)
- regather Israel (Matt. 24:31)
- witness confessions (Luke 15:8-9)
- bring answers to prayer (Dan. 9:21-23; 10:12-13; Acts 10)
- are present as observers in church services (1 Cor. 11:10; Eph. 3:10; 1 Tim. 5:21)
- and angels direct preachers…
NAS Acts 8:26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Arise and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
IT IS ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE BOTH GOOD ANGELS AND BAD ANGELS… While God created all angels, and all angels were originally good, Satan’s rebellion enticed some angels to follow him, thus these became the “bad” angels or “fallen” angels…
NAS 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants (fallen angels) also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds.
NAS Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven, Michael (archangel) and his (good) angels waging war with the dragon (Satan). And the dragon and his (bad) angels waged war,
BAD ANGELS ARE DEMONS…
ANGELS NEITHER MARRY NOR ARE THEY SEXUAL. They can take the form of humans and have human characteristics in addition to their supernatural spiritual condition, but they do not have sexual gender, nor do they procreate…
KJV Mark 12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead (referring to believers dying and going to heaven), they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.
NOW, WHAT ABOUT “GUARDIAN ANGELS”? One of the most cherished notions held by many people is the idea that each Christian is assigned a “guardian angel” to watch over them. While the Bible doesn’t actually use the term, there are several references in the Bible to angels being assigned to protect human beings. It is this pastor’s humble opinion that the following verses argue strongly in favor of “guardian angels”…
NAS Psalm 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.
NAS Psalm 91:11-12 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, Lest you strike your foot against a stone.
NAS Daniel 12:1 “Now at that time Michael, the great prince (archangel) who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
NAS Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven.
NAS Acts 12:12-15 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. And when she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. And they said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. And they kept saying, “It is his angel.”
NAS Hebrews 1:13-14 But to which of the angels has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine enemies A footstool for Thy feet “? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
I DON’T KNOW HOW ELSE TO TRANSLATE THESE VERSES, other than to say that “guardian angels” are biblical.
BILLY GRAHAM ONCE SAID, “One of the most comforting truths in all the Bible to me as I travel from one part of the world to another is to know that God has stationed His heavenly guards to protect me through life’s dangerous way. I cannot see these beings with my physical eyes, but I sense they are present every day.”
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT ANGELS? I believe we have learned a lot about what the Bible says about angels. Angels are real. They were created by God on Day Two. Angels are amazing beings. They are powerful supernatural spirit beings dispatched by God to constantly interact with His creation. Yes, powerful beings, much more powerful than we are. But there is something we can do that angels never get an opportunity to do. We can experience the incomparable, unspeakable joy of salvation. Angels cannot get saved. We can.
“HOWEVER POOR A PREACHER, I can preach the gospel better than Gabriel can, because Gabriel cannot say what I can say, ‘I am a sinner saved by grace.'” – A.T. Pierson
MY OPINION ON GUARDIAN ANGELS? I believe in them because I believe they are taught in the Bible. I thank God for them and I can think of times in my life when I wouldn’t be surprised if God sent one to help and protect me. But I do not, in all honesty think all that much about them. I don’t believe the Christian life is lived by reliance upon angels. It is lived by reliance upon the Holy Spirit. I believe the Bible teaches that if we are in submission to the Holy Spirit, everything we need will be provided by God. If that provision sometimes includes guardian angels, that’s certainly all right with me, but that’s God’s business. I trust Him and Him alone.
ALL BELIEVERS IN JESUS CHRIST SHOULD BE THANKFUL FOR ANGELS!
– Professor Thomas . A. Rohm
