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There are countless stories of people being helped in a crisis by an unknown stranger. Could they be angels and if so, what does the Bible have to say about them?
An Angel, from the Hebrew word "malak" and the Greek word "angelos" simply means messenger. They are much, much more than mere messengers though. Angels are mentioned in every book of the Bible except Ruth, Nehemiah, Esther, James and the epistles of John. They are mentioned within the interaction of God and man, but we do not seem to see them in action in our lives.
We know angels are spirit beings and are invisible, but they can make themselves known to humans. We know they are more intelligent than humans and they can speak any language, it seems. The Bible says mankind was created "a little lower" than the angels (Psalm 8:5, Hebrews 2:9). Biblical references are fascinating, but once we have examined them, we are still left somewhat bewildered and in wonderment. Angels have not always existed, but were created with spiritual bodies and will live forever (Luke 20:36). Since they are deeply involved in the history of God and will be in the future, it is good to know something about them. The only knowledge we have about angels comes from the Bible. Let us see what we can understand from what is written.
Angels were created in huge numbers (Revelation 5:11) and as we have read were… given spiritual bodies that never die. This verse in Revelation indicates the number of angels was too numerous to count and thousands more were created. It is not clear if that number included all of the angels. This number is only a guess from the verse that describes the numbers around the throne of God. There may be many more in other locations within God's creation.
Angels were given free moral agency and able to make decisions or think on their own. God did not program angels so they were automatons. He gave them varying degrees of wisdom, beauty, power and authority. Some were put into positions of servitude to God. Some were His messengers, some hovered about the throne and some were in His army. Lucifer is depicted as corrupted by his thoughts and actions (Isaiah 14:12-14). He chose to sin and managed to convince about one third of all the angels to follow him in that sin-so we can see that God allowed them to think and to make decisions.
Three great angels that are named are Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer. They had different responsibilities, but Lucifer was one who had the task that seemed to be very special, that of being the covering angel at the throne of Almighty God (Ezekiel 28:14). Lucifer became dissatisfied with his position, wanted more and led one third of the angels in rebellion against God. This appears to have caused God to remove them from their positions and responsibilities and chain them to the earth. They are called fallen angels or demons led by Satan (Revelation 12:3-4, Revelation 12:7-9). They had all been created sinless, but one third of them chose to believe Lucifer and became dissatisfied with their God-given calling (Isaiah 14:12-15).
When the great harvest of God's followers is taken, angels will be involved as they are now. It seems God places angels to watch over each little one who He calls (Matthew 18:10). All the holy angels will come with Christ when He comes in all of His glory (Matthew 25:31). Jesus Christ also had the authority to call on help from the angels whenever He desired (Matthew 26:53). But He was always mindful of the Scriptures, the words of God, of prophecies and of events that were to happen.
As the plan of God continues to unfold and events that are prophesied take place, certain angels will be assigned tasks at God's command. At specific times they were and will be given specific tasks such as the task assigned to four angels in Revelation 7:1-3. Here we read about 4 four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. They are awaiting a signal that another angel will bring. God has planned all this in advance-though He may not have chosen exactly which angel to use in the event that will take place.
Angels can war with one another and God appointed Michael to be the leading angel in the war with Lucifer who became Satan (Revelation 12:7). Gabriel told Daniel that Michael came to help him and Michael seems to be a warrior angel (Daniel 10:13).
Angels do the bidding of God without question. God placed such an angel over Israel and warned the people not to rebel because this angel had no mercy and would strike out quickly. The angel kept on working until it was told to stop. God warned Israel about the angel that would accompany them. That angel would not pardon their transgressions (Exodus 23:21). We refer to an angel as "it" although in many places in the Bible, angels are referred to with "he." Angels are not male or female so they are not attracted to one sex or the other. Angels do not marry (Matthew 22:30).
Angels rejoice when one sinner turns to God (Luke 15:10). Angels know of the confrontation between Satan and God-and are deeply involved. They love and respect humans who stand up against Satan. Angels can talk and communicate-sometimes gently and sometimes with great power (Revelation 14:6, Daniel 10:11-12).
Angels seem to have emotions. We do not know the full range of emotion, but they apparently feel joy and concern. Not much is said about this subject, and we are left to guess just a little. They shouted for joy when the earth was created (Job 38:7).
Angels can appear as a man. Angels are not recorded to ever appear as a woman, but they are neither male nor female. When they appear to humans with a message, though, they usually do appear as a man (Genesis 18:2-4, Genesis 19:13.) It seemed normal that the feet of the angels would be washed and they would be offered a meal. We can wonder about the digestive systems-but that is another story. In this encounter with Abraham and Lot angels are referred to as men and with the pronoun 'he'.
Angels rejoice knowing that for eternity, they will be ministering to and serving the family of God (Hebrews 1:14) These angels understand the tremendous future God has planned and rejoice in their part of that future.
You may have met an angel already without knowing it, or you may meet an angel some day (Hebrews 13:2).
For more interesting reading, request the free study aid: Heaven And Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach?
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