Hebrews 1:7: And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
The Spiritual World
All around us, there are spiritual realities unseen to the human eye. In II Kings 6, the servant of Elisha awakes early one morning to find a great military host of Syrian horses and chariots compassed about the city, coming to capture Elisha: “Alas, my master! how shall we do?” Without any fear or hesitation, Elisha replies, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” He then prayed, “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.” Immediately, the servant could see a mighty angelic host of spiritual horses and chariots of fire around the encroaching Syrian army (II Kings 6:15-17). The false prophet Balaam was also given a temporary glimpse of an angel who was standing in the way to withstand his covetous plot (Numbers 22:21-35). The spiritually minded Christian understands that there is a significant spiritual aspect to our world (see Hebrews 11:3; John 5:3-4). Those who are ignorant of the spiritual side of the world err as the Saducees did, who “say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit” (Acts 23:8).
Hebrews 13:2: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Orders of the Spiritual Beings
Just as there are many different beings in the natural realm, so there are diversities of beings in the spiritual realm. Paul on a few occasions gives allusion to hierarchies in the heavenly places (see Romans 8:38; Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Colossians 1:16; 2:10, 15). Michael is one of the few angels named in the Bible, who is always seen doing spiritual warfare (Daniel 10:13, 21; Revelation 12:7), and is called “the archangel” (Jude 9), “the great prince” (Daniel 12:1). Another important angel whose name is revealed is Gabriel, who always relays very important information, usually related to the Messiah (Daniel 8:16-27; 9:21-27; Luke 1:13-37). Christians know these beings popularly as “angels,” but angels are actually just a subset of the heavenly host. Nevertheless, what is said of angels generally is probably true of all spiritual beings.
Angels are created beings (Psalm 148:5; Colossians 1:16). They are “spirits” (Psalm 104:4; cf. Hebrews 1:7, 14), and have a nature distinct from mankind (Hebrews 2:14, 16)—man is made “a little lower than the angels” (Psalm 8:5). Angels “excel in strength” (Psalm 103:20), and are “greater in power and might” than humans (II Peter 2:11). The angels who smote the Sodomites with blindness (Genesis 19:11), the angel destroying disobedient Israel with a pestilence (I Chronicles 21:15, 27), the angel which single-handedly rolled away the massive stone of Jesus’ grave (Matthew 28:2), and the angel which will cast Satan into the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-3) are examples of the ability and power of the angels. Whereas humans have physical relationships with other humans and produce offspring (Genesis 1:22, 28; 9:1), angels “neither marry, nor are given in marriage” (Matthew 22:30/Mark 12:25). Man after his fall in sin became mortal (Romans 5:12), but angels are immortal (Luke 20:36). Angels have limited knowledge and are therefore not omniscient (Matthew 24:36/Mark 13:32), but they are extremely wise, more so than mankind (II Samuel 14:17, 20; 19:27; see also, of Satan, Ezekiel 28:3; Revelation 12:12). Whereas most angels are morally good beings (see I Samuel 29:9)—the “holy angels” (Matthew 25:31; Revelation 14:10)—there are many angels who apparently defected from God’s will and authority and have become the “evil angels” (Psalm 78:49), otherwise called “devils” (e.g., Matthew 4:24; 8:16; James 2:19), “unclean spirits” (e.g., Matthew 10:1; Mark 3:11; Acts 8:7), or “evil spirits” (I Samuel 16:14-15; Luke 7:21; Acts 19:12; see also I Kings 22:23). Chief among these evil angels is Satan, the “prince of the devils” (Mark 3:22) and the “god of this world” (II Corinthians 4:4).
The Holy Angels
Classes of the Holy Angels
In heaven, there are “an innumerable company of angels” (Hebrews 12:22; see also Psalm 68:17). God is often seen with his angelic host (I Kings 22:19; Matthew 16:27; Matthew 25:31; Mark 8:38/Luke 9:26; II Thessalonians 1:7). Throughout scripture, God has given us stories of and descriptions about just a few of these fascinating creatures. It is important that the Christian admire the angels only so much as they admire the animals or the celestial bodies (Deuteronomy 4:19; Romans 1:21-23, 25), and we must guard ourselves against the “worshipping of angels” (Colossians 2:18; see also Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9). As with animals, we should observe angels for two primary purposes: (1) to marvel and be amazed at God’s wisdom, power, and creativity (e.g., Job 40:15-41:34; Proverbs 30:24-31), and (2) to learn lessons and grow in Christian virtue (e.g., Proverbs 6:6-8; Job 12:7-9; Matthew 6:26-30). There are a variety of angels in the Bible. One is described as massive in size so as to stand upon earth and ocean at the same time, wearing a cloud for clothing and a rainbow for a hat (Revelation 10:1-3). Others look almost exactly like men, so much so that they are mistaken for humans (e.g., Genesis 19:1-5). Some are terrifying to imagine, like the four beasts of Revelation 4:6-9, each with a distinct animal/human face and six wings “full of eyes within.” There are a couple classes of angels that are important to take note of:
Cherbuim. Cherubim are winged angels (Ezekiel 10:5; 11:22) that God uses to sit on (Ezekiel 10:1) and to ride on (II Samuel 22:11/Psalm 18:10). Graven and molten cherubim play an important decorative part in the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:18) as well as in both Solomon’s Temple and the Second Temple (I Kings 6:23, 29; Ezekiel 41:18, 20). Interestingly, the devil is once called “the anointed cherub that covereth” (Ezekiel 28:14). These observations indicate that cherubim may be, in some sense, the heavenly guards of God and his throne room (see also Genesis 3:24), because these earthly holy places were merely “figures of the true” (Hebrews 9:24). Just as God guards his holy hill with obedient cherubim, we ought to guard our hearts (Proverbs 4:23) and lives (Proverbs 1:10) from the influence of sin.
The four living creatures. In Ezekiel 1, Ezekiel is given a very vivid and in-depth vision of four unique angels, which he calls “the likeness of four living creatures” (Ezekiel 1:5). Though they are later called cherubim (Ezekiel 10), there are some interesting things about them specifically. They resembled men in appearance (v. 5), but had four faces each—of a man, lion, ox, and eagle (v. 10)—and four wings each (v. 6). Instead of man’s perpendicular foot shape, they had the parallel foot shape of a calf. They were all joined together, wing-tip to wing-tip, with their other two wings covering their bodies (v. 9, 11, 23). This is a symbol of being united in Christian fellowship with the brethren (see Psalm 133:1; Ephesians 4:3). How they moved was according to the spirit of God’s direction, and when they moved, “they turned not when they went” (v. 12, 17; see also v. 20). This is an example to us to always obey God’s direction in our life as we see taught by his Spirit in the scripture, and to not “turn aside from the way” that God commands us (Deuteronomy 31:29). They had each of them “a wheel in the middle of a wheel” which permitted their movement in any direction without turning (v. 15-20), and they were so fast that they “ran and returned as a flash of lightning” (v. 14). This instructs the Christian to be fast and without delay as they serve God: “I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments” (Psalm 119:60; see also Genesis 18:2, 7; Numbers 16:47; I Samuel 17:48; I Kings 19:20; Luke 24:12 and John 20:4; Acts 8:30).
Seraphim. Only explicitly described in one place of the Bible, the seraphim are angels which have six wings: “with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly” (Isaiah 6:2). They are powerful symbols of service to God and reverence for God. They ever worship God as a Trinity, proclaiming “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”
Work of the Holy Angels
The chief work of the angels, as with all of creation, is to worship and glory God (see Revelation 5:11-12; Psalm 148:2; see also Revelation 7:11-12). Beside this most important of ceaseless operations, the holy angels operate in three ways: as messengers, ministers, and warriors.
- ANGELS AS MESSENGERS
As a great King (I Samuel 12:12; I Timothy 6:15; Malachi 1:14), God has very often used his angelic host as message-bearers. There are many times where God himself brings a message to man (e.g., Genesis 17:1; 46:2), but he more often used the angels instead. The term “angel” actually means “messenger.” Angels relay all kinds of messages: prophetic (e.g., Revelation 1:1; 22:6, 16; book of Zechariah), warning (e.g., Matthew 2:13; Revelation 14:6-7), judgment (e.g., Judges 2:1-4; Daniel 4:23-26), and informative (e.g., Genesis 16:7-12; Luke 1:11-20). For example, the angel of the Lord tells Phillip to go towards Gaza so he could preach to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26; see also Acts 10:2-6). An angel gives a message of hope to Paul that he and the entire ship’s crew would be brought to Rome unharmed (Acts 27:23-24). The law of Moses was given to Moses by God (Exodus 31:18), but the Bible indicates that God used angels to ultimately dispense it (Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19; see also Hebrews 2:2).
As well as relaying messages from God to man, angels also seem to act as witnesses of events that happen (I Timothy 5:21; see Luke 12:8-9; see also Ecclesiastes 5:6). In I Corinthians 11:10, Paul invokes the witness of angels in the church of God as a reason why women ought to have the covering of long hair. Angels take great interest in the work of the people of God (I Corinthians 4:9; Ephesians 3:10), most especially of their preaching of the gospel (I Peter 1:12). God communicates with the angels, and even asks them (in a qualified sense) for advice about things (I Kings 22:19-22).
Luke 15:10: Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
- ANGELS AS MINISTERS
Angels are “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14; see also Psalm 103:21). In this way, angels are very active in aiding the children of God as they live lives pleasing to him and in service for him. In all of our godly endeavors, God sends angels to prepare our ways, establish our plans, and ensure success (see Genesis 24:7, 40; 48:16; Exodus 23:20-23; 32:34; 33:2-3; Isaiah 63:9; see also Genesis 32:1-2). There are many times where the Christian will come into harm’s way, but God has given his angels charge over us to protect us (Psalm 91:9-12; see also Daniel 3:28; 6:22). In the book of Acts, angels deliver the apostles (Acts 5:19) and, later, just Peter (Acts 12:4-11) from prison. God has appointed angels to watch over the believers, and especially little children (Matthew 18:10).
Psalm 34:7: The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Throughout the ministry of Jesus, we see the work and aid of the angels (see I Timothy 3:16):
- Announcing his birth (Matthew 1:20-25; Luke 1:26-38).
- Rejoicing at his birth (Luke 2:8-15).
- Ministering to him after his temptation (Matthew 4:11/Mark 1:13).
- Strengthening him in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43).
- Proclaiming his resurrection (Matthew 28:2-7; Mark 16:5-7; Luke 24:4-7).
- Witnessing his ascent to heaven (Acts 1:9-11).
Angels will gather the souls of the believers to heaven (Matthew 24:31/Mark 13:27; Luke 16:22) and the souls of the unbelievers to hell (Matthew 13:39-41, 47-50). At the gates of the New Jerusalem, there are angel guards who will welcome us in (see Revelation 21:12). At the end of the world, we will “judge angels” (I Corinthians 6:3). Perhaps we will have a say in the divine courts against the demons, but also may have the chance to evaluate how effective the holy angels were in ministering to us.
- ANGELS AS WARRIORS
The Bible declares that “the LORD is a man of war” (Exodus 15:3), and “the LORD shall fight for you” (Exodus 14:14). Behind the scenes of this world, there is an all-out spiritual battle occurring (see Ephesians 6:11-13). Although we can only see the devil’s proverbial pieces of the chess board (ungodly rulers, wicked people, false prophets, etc.), there are clearly more sinister powers behind them (see Ephesians 2:2-3; Revelation 13:2; Daniel 10:13, 20; see also Luke 4:5-7). Behind every wicked potentate or sinful plot there is a spiritual influence (see John 13:2; Acts 5:3). Because of the danger of the evil angels and their destructive behavior, God has equipped and commissioned some of his angels as warriors in the cause of his kingdom. The most powerful angel fight scene is read in Revelation 12:7-17, where Michael and his angels defeat the devil and his angels.
When Peter acted in zeal to try and circumvent the arrest of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus stopped him, saying, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). God protected Israel from the oncoming Egyptian army with the help of “the angel of God” travelling with them (see Exodus 14:19-20). When Rab-Shakeh came against Judah and mocked the people of Judah and the Lord, God sent the angel of the LORD to slay 185,000 Assyrians in one night (II Kings 19:35). When Herod refused to give God the glory for his excellent speech, an angel killed him (Acts 12:23). God will protect his people and defeat his enemies, and he routinely uses his angels to do so.
Psalm 35:5-7: Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them.6 Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.
The Evil Angels
There are a great many evil angels, demonic beings that are working against God’s kingdom. From various Biblical passages, we can discern that there must have been some angelic rebellion (led by a very powerful angel who is once named “Lucifer”) sometime after the creation week (see Isaiah 14:4-23; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Revelation 12; see also II Peter 2:4 and Jude 6)—“his angels he charged with folly” (Job 4:18). It is clear from the Bible that this host of wicked spiritual beings is responsible for much evil in our world. Those who sacrifice to false gods and idols are said to be offering sacrifice to “devils” (Leviticus 17:7; Psalm 106:37; compare Deuteronomy 32:17 with I Corinthians 10:20-21). Demon-possessed individuals are characteristically self-destructive (Mark 5:2-5, 13; Mark 9:20-22, 25; compare John 13:27 with Matthew 27:5; see also Matthew 9:32-33).
The head of the evil angels is their prince and leader, known by many names, but most commonly as “the devil” or “Satan” (which means “adversary”). Satan is “the enemy” (Matthew 13:39), “a murderer from the beginning,” and the father of lies (John 8:44). He is to blame for some of the troubles we face (e.g., Job 1:9-12; 2:4-6; Luke 13:16; I Thessalonians 2:18), and certainly is involved in the persecution of Christians (Revelation 2:10). Satan uses two main weapons: temptation (I Chronicles 21:1; I Corinthians 7:5; Mark 1:13) and deception (Revelation 12:9; II Corinthians 11:13-15). He is first introduced in the garden of Eden as “the serpent” who both tempts (“in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened”) and deceives (“Yea, hath God said…?”; “Ye shall not surely die”) (Genesis 3:1-6). The devil’s dark work has been and continues to be so successful, probably due in large part to his excelling wit and devious cunning (see Ezekiel 28:3)—note the first description of the devil, in a serpentine form, in the Bible: “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field…” (Genesis 3:1).
Those who are not saved are under “the power of Satan” (Acts 26:18) and are in “the snare of the devil” (II Timothy 2:26), having been blinded by him (II Corinthians 4:4; see also Luke 8:12). Once we put our faith in Jesus, we are delivered from the devil’s clutch (Hebrews 2:14-15). Satan still is working to lure us into sin and make us ineffective servants of God (Luke 22:31; I Peter 5:8), and therefore Christians are commanded to not “give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27; cf. II Corinthians 2:10-11), to “resist the devil” (James 4:7; I Peter 5:9).
Luke 10:17-18: And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Jesus’ first coming signals an impending end to hell’s reign of terror. The demon-possessed would often come and bow before him in fear: “What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). Jesus frees many afflicted by Satan and his minions (Acts 10:38), and proclaims that “the gates of hell” will not prevail against his church (Matthew 16:18; see also Romans 8:38-39). It is in the cross of Christ that we see the great triumph over the spiritual forces of evil (Colossians 2:15; see also Genesis 3:15), and Christ is the “strong man” who can enter into Satan’s house to “bind” and “spoil” him (Matthew 12:29). The ultimate and eternal abode of the devil and his angels will be the lake of fire (see Matthew 25:41), where they will be forever tormented (Revelation 20:10).
Matthew 12:28: But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
Romans 16:20: And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.