Angels

In recent years, the subject of angels has generated intense interest. From angel paraphernalia to TV shows (Touched by an Angel, Angel, Highway to Heaven, Lucifer, Supernatural, Shadow Hunters, Dominion, etc.) to movies (It’s a Wonderful Life, Gabriel, Heart and Souls, Heaven Can Wait, Angels in the Outfield, Dogma, Michael, Frailty, Legion, The Prophecy, Damiel and Cassiel, etc.), angels have become very popular.
Some of these are somewhat accurate but most of them are pretty inaccurate. So, in light of this, I decided to do a frequently asked question (FAQ) on angels. Hope you like it. Enjoy!

Who or What are angels?
-angels are personal spirit beings with minds (2^nd Samuel 14:20), emotions (Hebrews 12:22) and their own wills (Revelation 22:8,9).
-they, like is, move from place to place (Daniel 9:21-23). Only God is omni-present. He can be anywhere at any time.
-they are very powerful beings (Genesis 3:24 & Psalms 103:20).
-they normally don’t have physical bodies (Hebrews 1:14 & 2^nd Kings 6:17) but can when the need arises (Genesis 18:1-8, Hebrews 13:2, Daniel 10:4-21 & Zechariah 2:1-4)
-they are not like the little cupid baby angel type that we see on Valentine’s Day. Every time a human sees an angel in the bible, the angel has to tell the human to not be afraid. Angels are awesome beings. (Judges 13:6, Matthew 1:20 & 28:2-7, Luke 1:11-13, 26-30 & 24:4,5).

What is their origin?
-they were created by God before the creation of the earth (Job 38:4-7 & Psalm 148:2-6).
-all angels were created by God (Genesis 1:31).
-There was a rebellion in heaven, lead by Lucifer, the head angel. One-third of the angels followed him (Ezekiel 28:11-19, Isaiah 14: 12-17, 2nd Peter 2:4 & Revelation 12: 3,4,7-10). Lucifer became Satan, the Devil. The rebellious angels became demons. The other two-thirds of the angels remained and are complete obedient to God (Psalms 103:20).
-once angels are created, they, like us, will live forever (Luke 20:36).

What do angels do?
-they are ‘ministering spirits’. They render aid to believers according to God’s plans (Hebrews 1:14).
-they bring answers to our prayers (Acts 12:7-11).
-they bring announcements and warnings to believers (Luke 1:13 & Acts 10:3-33).
-they bring encouragement to believers (Acts 27:23, 24).

-they protect us (Psalms 91:11) and deliver us from evil (Acts 5:19, 20 & 12:7-11).
-they give us guidance (Genesis 19:17, Exodus 23:20 & Acts 8:26 & 10:30-33)

-they escort dying believers into God’s presence (Luke 16:22).
-they will accompany Jesus at the 2^nd Coming (Matthew 16:27 & 2^nd Thessalonians 1:7).

Among unbelievers, they;
-restrain evil (Genesis 19:1-15)
-announce God’s judgments (Revelation 14:6-10).
-execute God’s judgments (Acts 12:23 & Revelation 16:1-18).
-at the end of time when they cast all unbelievers into hell (Matthew 13:37-43).

How many angels are there?
-ten thousand times ten thousand, or 100 million if this is to be taken literally (Daniel 7:10 & Revelation 5:11), but it seems like this is just a way of saying there’s a LOT of them.

Do humans ever become angels?
-NO, humans and angels are two separate entities (1^st Corinthians 6:3 &13:1). I know there are several movies, TV shows and the Mormon religion that promote this, but it is a false teaching that humans can become angels.
-we will judge angels in the afterlife (1^st Corinthians 6:3). I don’t know how, but we will.

Do believers each have a guardian angel?
-Yes, we do (Psalms 34:7 & 91:11 & Matthew 18:10, Acts 12:15).

Do unbelievers have guardian angels?
-No, Hebrews 1:14 says angels are sent only to people who are or will become believers.

Are angels organized by rank?
-yes but the specifics have not been revealed to us (Ephesians 1:20, 21 & Colossians 1:16)
-there are cherubim (Genesis 3:24 & Exodus 25:20).
-there are seraphim (Isaiah 6:2-4).
-archangels Michael (Daniel 10:13, 21 & 12:1, Jude 9 & Revelation 12:7) and Gabriel (Daniel 8:16 & 9:21 and Luke 1:19, 26).
-living creatures (Ezekiel 1:5,6 and Revelation 4:6-9).

Should we worship angels?
-No, absolutely not (Revelation 22:8,9).

Is Jesus superior to the angels?
-Yes, Hebrews 1:1-14 & 2:5-9, 16).

Do angels have wings?
-some due but not all are described this way. Only these scriptures list angels having wings (Exodus 25:20, Isaiah 6:2, Ezekiel 1:6 and Revelation 4:8). These are only 4 places out of more than 100 places in the Old Testament and over 165 places in the New Testament.

Are angels male or female?
-in the bible, gender is never assigned to angels but the word ‘angel’ in both Hebrew and Greek is masculine. The only two angels identified in scripture (Michael & Gabriel) are both males.

May we have entertained angels, manifested in human form, without being aware of it?
-yes, Hebrews 13:2 says just that.

I hope this has been beneficial. If you have any other questions that I didn’t answer here, let me know.

For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com