Angels in the Bible

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Old Testament

The term itself

  1. The Hebrew malach (the book of Malachi means “My messenger”) and the Greek is angelos (both can mean “messenger” or “angel”).
  2. They are a special creation of the Creator God to serve Him (cf. Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:6, 7,14).
  3. They can exist and manifest in both the spiritual realm and the physical realm.

The heavenly council

  1. It is possible the “Us” passages, such as Gen. 1:26; 3:22; 11:7, refer to a “heavenly council of angelic beings.”

SPECIAL TOPIC: HEAVENLY COUNCIL

Categories of angelic beings

  1. Angels come in a variety of forms and categories:
    1. Guardian angels (SPECIAL TOPIC: GUARDIAN ANGELS, I. A.)
    2. Cherubim (SPECIAL TOPIC: CHERUBIM)
      1. Of the Garden of Eden (SPECIAL TOPIC: EDEN)
      2. Of the Holy of Holies (SPECIAL TOPIC: ARK OF THE COVENANT)
    3. Seraphim – The throne of YHWH (SPECIAL TOPIC: SERAPHIM)
    4. Warriors – Michael, archangel protector of Israel (also note 1 Thess. 4:16).
    5. National angels (cf. LXX of Deut. 32:8)
      1. Michael, Prince of Israel (Dan. 10:21; 12:1)
      2. Prince of Persia (Dan. 10:20)
      3. Prince of Greece (Dan. 10:20)

Messenger angels

  1. To Abraham – Gen. 22:11,15; 24:7
  2. To Hagar – Gen. 16:7-11; 21:17
  3. To Lot – Gen. 19:1,15
  4. To Jacob – Gen. 28:12; 31:11; 32:1; 48:16
  5. To Moses – Exod. 3:2; Acts 9:30-38
  6. To Gideon – Jdg. 6:11-22
  7. To Manoah – Jdg. 13:3-21
  8. To David – 1 Chr. 21:12-30
  9. To Elijah – 1 Kgs. 19:5-7; 2 Kgs. 1:3,15
  10. To Zechariah – Zech. 1:9-19; 3:1-6; 4:1-5; 5:5-10; 6:4-5
  11. Possibly Balaam – Num. 22:31-35

Guiding and guarding angels

  1. Abraham – Gen. 24:7,40
  2. Tribes of Israel – Exod. 14:19; 23:20,21,23; Num. 20:16
  3. Joshua – Jdg. 2:1-4
  4. Faithful followers – Ps. 34:7; 91:11; Isa. 63:8-9
  5. David – Ps. 35:1-8
  6. Ezekiel – Ezek. 8:2-3; 40:3-4
  7. Daniel – Dan. 3:28; 6:22; 7:16; 8:16-17; 9:22; 10:18-21
  8. Zechariah – Zech. 1:9,19; 2:3; 4:1,4,5; 5:5,10; 6:4

SPECIAL TOPIC: GUARDIAN ANGELS

Destroying angels

  1. In David’s day – 2 Sam. 24:16-17; 1 Chr. 21:12-30
  2. In Hezekiah’s day – 2 Kgs. 19:35; 2 Chr. 32:21; Isa. 37:36
  3. Israel and Judah in general – Ps. 78:49-50

SPECIAL TOPIC: DEATH ANGEL

The devil and his angels

  1. In OT (SPECIAL TOPIC: SATAN and SPECIAL TOPIC: DEMONS (fallen angels))
  2. His fall – SPECIAL TOPIC: WAR IN HEAVEN

SPECIAL TOPIC: FALL OF SATAN AND HIS ANGELS

Two special occasions (see exegetical notes online):

  1. An evil spirit – Jdg. 9:23
  2. An evil spirit came upon Saul – 1 Sam. 16:14,15,16; 18:10,11; 19:9
  3. A spirit – 1 Kgs. 22:21,22

Named angels

  1. The Angel of the Lord (SPECIAL TOPIC: Angel of the Lord)
  2. Michael – Dan. 10:13,21; 12:1; Jude v. 9; Rev. 12:7
  3. Gabriel – Dan. 8:15-16; 9:21-22; Luke 1:19,26
  4. Apollyon – Rev. 9:1,11 (SPECIAL TOPIC: ABADDON. . .APOLLYON)
  5. In 1 Enoch there are several named angels (i.e., the seven angels of the presence):
    1. Uriel
    2. Raphael
    3. Raguel
    4. Michael
    5. Saraqael
    6. Gabriel
    7. Remiel

Other ways and terms referring to angelic beings in the OT

“A spirit of the holy gods” (Nebuchadnezzar) – Dan. 4:8,9,18

“Elohim” – Ps. 82:1; SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C. 3

“Sons of God” – SPECIAL TOPIC: “sons of God” IN GENESIS 6

“Holy ones” – Ps. 89:5,7, SPECIAL TOPIC: GODLY ONES, HOLY ONES

“An angelic watcher” – Dan. 4:13,23

“Ministers” – Ps. 103:21

“Commander” – Josh. 5:14

“Heavenly host” – Ps. 89:8; 103:21; SPECIAL TOPIC: Lord OF HOSTS

“A son of the gods” (Nebuchadnezzar) – Dan. 3:25

New Testament

Angelic Conflict

  1. There is tension involved in the angelic conflict of:
    1. The serpent in Genesis 3.
    2. The “evil spirit from YHWH” mentioned in Jdg. 9:23 and 1 Kgs. 22:21,22.
    3. National angels trying to stop an angel of YHWH from his assigned task ‒ Daniel 10.
    4. The war in heaven ‒ Rev. 12:7-9.

SPECIAL TOPIC: WAR IN HEAVEN
SPECIAL TOPIC: FALL OF SATAN AND HIS ANGELS

  1. All of these point toward a spiritual battle/conflict (cf. Matthew 4; Luke 4; Romans 7; Eph. 2:2; 4:14; 6:10-18; see SPECIAL TOPIC: SPIRITUAL WARFARE) in which the angelic world is fully involved (see SPECIAL TOPIC: DEMONS [fallen angels], III).

Angels in the New Testament

  1. Angels appear often in the Gospels, less so in Acts and the NT Letters.
  2. Many different angelic beings reappear in John’s Revelation.

Occurrences of Messenger Angels

  1. In the Gospels:
    1. Joseph ‒ Matt. 1:20-24; 2:13,14,19.
    2. Zechariah ‒ Luke 1:11-19.
    3. Mary ‒ Luke 1:26-38.
    4. Shepherds ‒ Luke 2:9-21.
    5. Jesus ‒ Matt. 4:11; 26:53; Mark 1:13; Luke 22:43; John 12:29.
    6. Jesus’ angels (idiom for His Deity) ‒ Matt. 13:41,49; 24:31,36; 25:31; Mark 8:38; 13:27,32; Luke 9:26; 12:8-9; 15:10; John 1:51.
    7. Mary Magdalene ‒ Matt. 28:2-5; John 20:12.
  2. In Acts:
    1. Peter ‒ Acts 5:19; 11:13; 12:11-15.
    2. Philip ‒ Acts 8:21.
    3. Cornelius ‒ Acts 10:3.
    4. Paul ‒ Acts 23:8-9; 27:23.
  3. In the Letters:
    1. Good angels:
      1. New believers’ angels ‒ Matt. 18:10; Acts 12:15.
      2. Angels in worship services (or possibly visitors) ‒ 1 Cor. 11:8.
      3. Language of angels ‒ 1 Cor. 13:1 (possibly related to 2 Cor. 12:4).
      4. Jesus’ angels ‒ 2 Thess. 1:7; Rev. 22:6,16.
      5. Angels in heaven ‒ 1 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:12.
      6. Angels in God’s creation ‒ Heb. 1:4-7; 2:5-9.
    2. Evil angels ‒ Matt. 25:41; 2 Cor. 11:14; Gal. 1:8; Col. 2:18; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude v. 6; Rev. 12:9.
  4. In Revelation:
    1. Rev. 1:1; Angels of the seven churches ‒ Rev. 1:20; 2:1,8,12,18; 3:1,7,14.
    2. Seven angels of the seals, bowls, trumpets ‒ Rev. 17:1.
    3. Jesus’ angel ‒ Rev. 22:8,16.
      (See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE SEVEN SPIRITS IN REVELATION.)

Categories of Angels

  1. There seem to be two kinds of angels:
    1. Holy angels
    2. Evil, fallen angels (see SPECIAL TOPIC: DEMONS (fallen angels) and SPECIAL TOPIC: PERSONAL EVIL).
  2. Paul lists several terms that may refer to ranks of evil angels. However, due to the historical setting of Gnosticism, they may refer to eons.
    SPECIAL TOPIC: ANGELIC LEVELS IN PAUL’S WRITINGS
  3. Much of the theological problems with discussing the spiritual realm stem from the Bible’s reluctance to discuss this area in detail or systematic ways.
    1. Humans made in YHWH’s image and likeness are to:
      1. Trust Him.
      2. Worship Him.
      3. Not be drawn away into discussions about things they cannot understand or affect!
    2. Believers know all we need to know!

Recommended Resources

Also see Walter Martin’s YouTube video entitled “UFO’s ‒ Friend, Foe, or Fantasy.”

In connection to the Heavenly Council, see Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm.

In connection to the spiritual battle, see Clinton Anton, Three Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare.

In connection with the demonic, see Merrill F. Unger, Biblical Demonology and Demons in the World Today.

In connection to UFOs, see Gary Bates, Alien Intrusion (updated and expanded).

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