ANGELS

What does the Bible have to say about angels?

For centuries, before Jesus, people felt protected, guided and advised by the angels of God—not only Jewish people, but those of many races and cultures. There were primitive superstitions and oriental imaginative stories, and other divine inspirations from all cultures depicting the presence of angels. Throughout history, the more simple and humble-minded Christians have felt that they enjoyed the guidance, comfort and protection of angels.

Do they exist? If you believe in the Bible, you must also believe in angels. They are mentioned repeatedly in the scripture. Jesus referred to them often. Angels appeared in virtually every part of the life of Jesus, from His birth to His resurrection. Angels are mentioned 273 times in 34 books of the Bible, but only four are actually named: Gabriel, Michael, Satan, and Abaddon.

Although the Bible never once questions their existence, for some reason many Christians tend to ignore them. Catholics teach their existence, their pure spirituality and their creation before that of mankind, and Eastern religions are on the whole far more aware of the presence of angels. But some Christians shy away from discussing them at all.

Yet, Jesus spoke of angels: He said:

• they rejoice when sinners repent;
• they escort souls to paradise;
• the guardian angels of little children always see the Father’s face;
• and the angels neither marry nor are given in marriage.

Angels:

• announced the births of John the Baptist and of Jesus,
• sang at Jesus’s birth in the fields of Bethlehem,
• ministered to Jesus during His temptation in the wilderness,
• strengthened Him during His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane,
• rolled away the stone from the tomb and announced His resurrection,
• encouraged the apostles after His ascension and supported His followers,
• and an angel led Peter out of prison and stood by Paul throughout his shipwreck off the island of Malta.

So how can we as Christians ignore all of these scriptural referrals to angels?

So what is an angel? (The original word for ‘angel’ in Greek meant ‘messenger’) A spiritual being God sends as His special messenger or helper to human beings. They are not to be confused with God Himself because God created them. Although scripture does not tell us the exact time of their creation, through scripture we know it was certainly before the creation of man, and they were created as holy beings. They serve under God’s direction and obey His commands.

Although they have sometimes revealed themselves to man in bodily form, they are spirits with no actual bodily organism.

Some functions of angels are:

• delivering God’s message to human beings;
• communicating the will of God & Christ;
• executing the purposes of God & Christ;
• executing the judgments of God;
• assisting, protecting, & delivering God’s people;
• relieving human hunger and thirst;
• celebrating the praises of God;
• and praising the name of the Lord.

Before the creation of the world, some angels revolted against God and were cast out of heaven. The leader of this revolt was Satan. Another of these ‘fallen angels’ was Abaddon (also known as Apollyon, the ‘angel of the bottomless pit’.

According to scripture, there are “ranks” of angels.

An archangel is a chief angel or spiritual being higher in rank than an angel. In the end times, Michael the archangel will contend with Satan and proclaim the Lord’s return.

Other than Satan and Abaddon, there are only two other angels named in the Bible:

Gabriel: (Hebrew for ‘man of God’): an archangel that appeared to Daniel, Zacharias, and the Virgin Mary.

Michael : (Hebrew for ‘who is like God’) One of the four great archangels, he was the special protector of the Hebrews & guardian over Israel.

Notice all four of those named are men. No women angels are mentioned in the Bible, so why is it we always picture angels as women?

• Angels are NOT omnipotent (all powerful), nor are they all-knowing.
• They do not marry, nor do they die.
• They are innumerable, examples of meekness, and are NOT to be worshipped.
• Angels can sin and be removed from God’s presence.
• Good angels stand in the presence of God and worship Him.
• Angels are knowledgeable and delight in the gospel of Christ and will attend Christ at the Second Coming.

Hebrews 13:1-2 tells us we sometimes entertain angels without realizing it, so those stories you hear are not all fiction.

And contrary to popular belief, humans do not become angels upon death. Angels are NOT glorified human beings, but are completely distinct from man.

When God created man, He created us lower in rank than angels. But as saints (believers), 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 says we shall judge angels, which is what leads me to believe the saints are slightly above angels in rank.

I've listed a lot of facts here, but how do I know these things? The next lesson will reveal scripture verses to back up all of these statements.

Don't take my word for it; check back after Valentine's Day to learn EXACTLY what the scriptures say about angels.