Let's talk about the Angels in the Bible!
What are they? What does the Bible say about them?
There are over 300 references to angels in the Bible! Angels are "deputies" of God... Strong's Hebrew dictionary: Angel = mal'ak (mal-awk'); from an unused root meaning to dispatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically, of God, i.e. an angel.
- Some of the things we'll discuss, that we find in the scriptures are:
- The scriptures show us that angels are spirits, created beings, like us.
- They were created to serve God, and to serve us...
- God is referred to as the "Lord of spirits" and the "Lord of hosts" in the scriptures...
- Enoch calls the angels watchers and shepherds...
- Angels can sin...
- They can take on pretty much any form...
- They protect those that fear and love God...
- They have power, limited, but they have supernatural powers that God has given them...
- They provide prophetic understanding to the prophets...
- There are different types of angels...
- The number of angels is innumerable...
Where do we see that angels were created like everything else?
Psalms 104:4 Who maketh his angels spirits...
Enoch says they took on many forms, not just the form of men...
Jasher shows how Satan made himself into a “large brook of water” to block Abraham...
Most angels are good!
Satan only draws 1/3 to rebel in Rev 12...
Angels can sin...
Genesis 6:4 shows us angels sinned...
2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 quote from Enoch...
The 200 angels that sinned in Genesis are reserved in chains in the lowest abyss of Hades until judgment...
They left their intended function...
1 Timothy 5:21 the angels are also "elect"...
Some go into eternity, some destruction...
The blood of Jesus is for us, not angels....
Angels that sin are lost, period, because they are “of heaven”...
In some cases, evil angels are sent by God to do His will...
Psalms 78:49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
The Sixth Trumpet: Revelation 9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
Sometimes when we see the angel of the Lord, it's God Himself...
Genesis 3; God walked in the garden...
It was the Divine Expression (the Word) before He became a man in Jesus Christ...
Other times He sent angels to do His will or brought them with Him...
Genesis 18 through 19; two angels are brought with the Lord to visit Abraham...
Three men appeared to Abraham... Two were angels, one was God in an angelic form...
The two angels appeared also to Lot and were so beautiful that the homosexuals wanted to "have" them...
Genesis 28:12; Jacob sees angels of God ascending and descending a ladder from earth to heaven...
Enoch's description of angels as "watchers" seems to fit this very well...
The angel of the Lord wrestled with Jacob...
Genesis 24:7, 40; The Lord sent His angel before Abrahams servant to find a wife for Isaac, to make it happen supernaturally!
Genesis 32; Jacob has angels of God meet him and he says "this is God's host"...
God is the Lord of hosts... 2 Samuel 6:18 And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
Genesis 22:11; God spoke to Abraham concerning Isaac as "the angel of the Lord" from heaven...
Exodus 3:2; the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the bush as a flame of fire...
So far God manifest himself (the Divine Expression) as a man, a voice from heaven, and a burning fire...
All are "angelic" forms...
Angels appeared with God to Abraham...
Angels appeared other times doing the work of God...
Exodus 13:21; A pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud in the wilderness to guide the Israelite's...
This was the angel of God...
Exodus 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
Angels are sometimes sent as guides...
Joshua 5:13 through 15; the angel of the Lord appears to command the army... "Holy ground" shows this was actually God in this instance...
Numbers 22:22 through 35; the angel of the Lord stopped Balaam and spoke to him and commanded him...
The ass spoke! the Lord opened the mouth of the ass!
The angel of the Lord appears many times throughout history and gives instruction, help, etc.
Judges 6; an angel of God appeared to Gideon...
2 Samuel 24:16; an angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem but God stops him ...
David saw the angel and prayed, then God sent the prophet Gad to instruct David...
1 Kings 19:1 through 7; an Angel came and woke Elijah and made food appear for him...
2 Kings 1:15; the angel of the Lord instructed Elijah...
2 Chronicles 32:21; An angel of the Lord stopped an army...
Psalms 34:7; The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Psalms 78:25; Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.
Mana was angel food!
Psalms 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Isaiah 37:36; The angel of the Lord smote 185,000 soldiers...
Daniel 3 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are thrown in a furnace...
The fourth man in the furnace was an angel God sent, that saved them...
Daniel thrown in the lions den...
Daniel 6:22; God sent his angel to shut the mouths of the lions...
Daniel 7:16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
Daniel 8:16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
Gabriel, the Archangel, was sent to Daniel to give him the interpretation of the vision
Daniel 9:21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
Daniel 10:5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl (a gem, maybe topaz), and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamPsalms of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
Daniel 10:10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
Daniel 10:18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me...
Daniel 12:6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
Zechariah 1:9; An angel talked with Zechariah and showed him prophetic visions...
Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10, and Is 6:2, same as Revelation 4; Cherubims (a class of angel)...
Matthew 1:20, 2:13, 2:19; An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and gave him information...
Luke 1:11; An angel appeared to Zacharias to instruct him about John the Baptist...
He struck Zacharias dumb until the baby was born and he named him as instructed...
Luke 1:26; The angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her about the virgin birth she was about to be blessed with...
Luke 2:9; The angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds...
A multitude of angels appeared praising God...
Matthew 4:11; Angels came and ministered to Jesus when He finished His 40 day fast...
Matthew 13:39; The angels are the reapers that gather the elect to the Lord...
Matthew 13:49; The angels will sever the wicked from the just...
Matthew 18:10; Jesus speaking of children said "their angels" are in heaven reporting to God what they see...
Matthew 22:30; We will be like the angels after the resurrection... likely means we'll be able to transform like the angels, and like Jesus did after His resurrection walking through walls and appearing differently, but still have a heavenly "body" that is our own...
Matthew 24:31; The angels are sent with the 7th trumpet to gather the elect (the rapture)...
Luke 15:10; Angels rejoice when a sinner repents!
Luke 16:22; When saints die they are carried away by angels to the good part of Sheol (the bright spring of water where all the righteous dwell)...
Matthew 28:2; an Angel rolled away the stone from Jesus' grave...
Their countenance was as lightning and white clothing...
John 5:4; An angel went to the pool of Bethesda and would stir the water and heal the first one to enter...
Acts 1:10; Two men (angels) asked why they were staring up at the sky when Jesus went up into heaven...
Acts 5:19, 12:7; The angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought Peter out...
Acts 10; Peter was shown a vision while the angel of the Lord went to Cornelius and told him to send for Peter to teach him...
Acts 12:23; The angel of the Lord smote Herod and he died...
Acts 27:23; The angel of God saved all those who remained in the ship with Paul...
1 Corinthians 6:3; We will judge angels... the ones that sinned...
1 Corinthians 13:1; The gift of speaking in tongues could be the tongues of men or angels...
2 Corinthians 11:14; Satan appears as an angel of light to deceive...
1 Timothy 5:21; The angels are also "elect" (some who sinned go with Satan, 1/3 of them)...
Again, the angels that sin are lost...
Hebrews 1:4, 2:9, 2:16; Jesus was made so much better than the angels. But in the flesh he was made a little lower in order to die...
For He (God manifest in the flesh) took not on the nature of angels but of the seed of Abraham (so He could die)...
Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Hebrews 12:22; The number of angels is innumerable...
Hebrews 13:2; We never know when we might be dealing with an angel in the appearance of a person...
In the Revelation of Jesus Christ the angels have many, many parts to play in the events God set forth...
- Showing John the visions...
- Offering incense with the prayers of the saints...
- Blowing the trumpets...
- Pouring the vials...
- Setting up the gathering of the saints with Jesus...
- Jesus on the cloud...
- Other angels with sickles...
- Giving warnings...
- Opening the bottomless pit...
- 4 angels loosed from the river Euphrates to slay the third part of men...
- Fighting Satan and the angels who follow him and beating them and casting them to earth...
- Binding Satan at the end...
Conclusion:
- Angels are created spirits...
- They take on many forms...
- They Serve God and man...
- They Protect God's people...
- They Administer God's power...
- They Help us in many ways...
- They are Watchers and/or Deputies of God...