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I. The origin of angels.
II. The nature of angels.
III. Other names for angels.
IV. The number of angels.
V. The position of angels.
VI. The duty of angels.
VII. The power of angels.
VIII. Angels and saints.
IX. Angels not receiving worship from men.
X. Archangels.
XI. Gabriel.
XII. Cherubim.
XIII. Seraphim.
XIV. The four living creatures.
XV. Sinful angels.
XVI. Angels being judged.
Angels are a big topic in the Bible. As we consider the crucial truths in the Bible, we cannot avoid studying this topic. We should know this topic because angels have a close relationship with the believers.
1. “God, who made heaven...and all things in them” (Acts 14:15).
God is the Creator of heaven and all things in it. Heaven and everything in it were created by God. Since angels are in heaven, they were created by God. They exist because they were created by God. God’s creation is the origin of angels.
1. “Are they not all ministering spirits?” (Heb. 1:14).
Angels are spirits, so their nature is spiritual. Their nature is different from physical things. Our physical eyes cannot see them, and our physical senses cannot sense them.
2. “They neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matt. 22:30).
Angels are spirits, so they do not have differences in gender and thus are not involved in matters such as marriage like humans who have physical bodies.
1. “The sons of God” (Job 1:6; 2:1).
Angels are called the sons of God because they were created by God. Although they were not born of God and do not have the life of God, they were created by Him, and God is their source. Therefore, they are called the sons of God, just as Adam was called the son of God because he was created by God (Luke 3:38), even though Adam was neither born of God nor had the life of God. The status of angels is different from the status of regenerated believers, who are the children of God. Believers are born of God and have the life of God. Angels were created by God but do not have God’s life. Even though angels do not have God’s life, they are still from God and thus can be called sons of God. The Bible considers all who are from God to be sons of God, regardless of whether they were created by God or are born of God.
2. “The host of heaven” (1 Kings 22:19).
In the Bible the angels are called the host of heaven because they are God’s heavenly army. As God’s army, they fight for God against the enemy (2 Kings 6:14-18; Dan. 10:18, 20-21; 12:1; Rev. 12:7; Matt. 26:53; John 18:36). This army of angels is in the heavens and is exceedingly numerous; therefore, the angels are called the host of heaven.
1. “Ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands” (Rev. 5:11 see also Heb. 12:22; Dan. 7:10).
The Bible says that the number of angels is ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands. This is a number that we cannot count. We know that the universe is very large. Just the angels alone, whom we cannot see, number ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands. There are so many, that we have no way to count them! There are so many angels because in this immense universe there are many matters that require their attention.
1. “What is mortal man...? / You have made Him a little lower than angels” (Psa. 8:4-5).
In this verse the psalmist says that God made man a little lower than the angels. According to the context of this portion, this speaks of the order in God’s creation. In the order of God’s creation, angels are higher than man, and men are lower than angels. Therefore, even the Lord Jesus in His incarnation was lower than the angels with respect to His humanity (Heb. 2:9). But in God’s salvation we are children of God, whereas angels are servants of God and serve us (1:14); therefore, we are greater than the angels.
1. “Ministered to Him...stood before Him” (Dan. 7:10 see also 1 Kings 22:19).
It is the duty of angels to minister to God; therefore, they always stand before Him. God does many things in the universe through angels. Apart from His salvation and His gospel, God carries out most of the affairs of the universe through angels. God accomplished His salvation through His Son, and God preaches His gospel through His children. God carries out almost every other matter in the universe through angels.
1. “Angels...are greater in strength and power” (2 Pet. 2:11 see also Rev. 5:2; 18:21).
The power and strength of angels are very great. Many portions in the Bible tell us this fact. We cannot know exactly how great is the power and strength of the angels, but they have enough power to do whatever God wants them to do, no matter how much power it requires. If they did not, they would be unable to carry out their commission from God to do many things in the universe.
1. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth for service for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14).
Saints are children in God’s household who inherit His salvation; angels are servants in God’s household who serve the saints. They are ministering spirits, sent forth by God to serve those who inherit God’s salvation in every matter.
2. “The angel of Jehovah encamps / Around those who fear Him, and He delivers them” (Psa. 34:7).
When God sends angels to work for the saints, their principal job is to save and protect the saints. Here the psalmist says that the angel of Jehovah encamps around those who fear God and delivers them. In 2 Kings 19:35 an angel of Jehovah went out and killed a hundred and eighty-five thousand soldiers. The angels of Jehovah do not come only when we encounter difficulties; they encamp around us to deliver us. They are always encamped around us to protect and deliver us. It is as if we have our own personal bodyguards. Therefore, we who fear God should not worry, because in every situation we have angels encamped around us to protect us.
3. “He will give His angels charge concerning You / To keep You in all Your ways. / They will bear You up in their hands” (Psa. 91:11-12).
God charges His angels to protect us not only in one matter but in all our ways. They bear us up in their hands. This is something that we should believe as we follow the Lord. This should free us from anxiety in all our ways.
4. “It is his angel” (Acts 12:15).
According to this verse, Peter had “his angel.” This shows that every child of God has his angel. Although we do not see or feel the angels, we should believe that each one of us who have inherited God’s salvation has an angel who serves and cares for us. We each have our own angel. Since we each have our own angel, the angel who protected Peter was called Peter’s angel.
5. “Their angels” (Matt. 18:10).
We may think that Peter had his own angel because he was an apostle, but in Matthew 18:10 the Lord said that each of the little ones who believed in Him had their angels and that these angels continually behold the face of the Father in heaven. Therefore, we should know and believe that each believer has an angel.
1. “I fell to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. And he said to me, Do not do that! I am your fellow slave...Worship God!” (Rev. 22:8-9).
People may have the thought that angels should be worshipped since they are heavenly, spiritual, and much higher than earthly, fleshy men. We are not the only ones who have this thought; even the apostle John had this thought. He wanted to worship the angel who showed him the visions on the island of Patmos, but the angel said, “Do not do that! I am your fellow slave...Worship God!” The angel said that he should not be worshipped. This word was spoken very clearly and definitely, and it shows that the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching concerning the worship of angels is heresy. The angels themselves say that we should not worship them but should worship only God. Although angels are spirits in heaven, who are continually before God’s face and who protect and care for us, they are still creatures. They are not the Lord Creator. They are servants, not the Master, so they cannot receive worship from men. If angels receive worship from men, they usurp God’s position, and if men worship angels, they blaspheme God.
2. “Let no one defraud you by judging you unworthy of your prize, in self-chosen lowliness and the worship of the angels” (Col. 2:18).
In Colossians 2 the apostle Paul shows that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ in order to be received by us (vv. 9-10, 2-3). After we receive Christ, we should walk in Him, having been rooted and being built up in Him (vv. 6-7). If we hold on to Him, we will enjoy all the riches of the Godhead in Him and grow with the growth of God (v. 19). If we were to follow others to worship angels, we would leave Christ and lose the prize we obtained through faith in Him, which is all the riches of the Godhead. Because Christ is the mystery of God, the embodiment of God, and the One in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells, we should worship Him. Angels are merely the servants of God. Today they are inferior to us who inherit God’s salvation, possess Christ, and are one with Him. To us, they are only ministering spirits, sent forth by God to serve us. For these reasons, how could we, who are one with our Head, Christ, the Lord of all, worship these ministering spirits? If we worship them, we lose the divine riches and the honor that we have obtained in Christ. This is truly inexcusable! It is a great error and sin for the Roman Catholic Church to teach people to worship angels. Since we possess Christ and have obtained all the riches of the Godhead in Him, we must not participate in such practices.
1. “The archangel” (1 Thes. 4:16).
This verse speaks of the archangel and shows that there is a hierarchy among the angels. There are ordinary angels, and there are archangels. The word archangel is singular in the Greek. Since the Bible does not tell us, we do not know how many archangels there are.
2. “Michael the archangel” (Jude 9 see also Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Rev. 12:7).
The Bible refers to an archangel named Michael, which means “Who is like God?” We do not know if the archangel in 1 Thessalonians 4 refers to Michael, but whenever the Bible mentions his name, it always speaks of his fighting or disputing with the devil or the devil’s angels. Therefore, Michael must be the one who fights. Furthermore, the Bible clearly says that he is the great prince of Israel who protects the people of Israel. He also disputed with the devil over the body of Moses. This shows that Michael is the protector of God’s people and that he fights for God’s people against the devil and his angels. In the hierarchy of the angels, Michael was lower than the former archangel, the devil, because Jude 9 indicates that he dared not rebuke the devil but let the Lord rebuke him.
1. “The angel Gabriel” (Luke 1:26, see also v. 19; Dan. 8:16; 9:21).
The Bible also mentions an angel (but never calls him an archangel) named Gabriel, which means “mighty man of God.” Every time the Bible mentions Gabriel, he is bringing news to the people of God, and the news he brings is good. Therefore, he must be an angel who brings good news to the people of God.
1. “The glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub” (Ezek. 9:3 see also ch. 10; 1:5-25; Gen. 3:24; 1 Kings 6:23-28).
The Bible also speaks of a group of God’s angels called cherubim. They are especially close to God, and the glory of God is upon them. They are also called the cherubim of glory (Heb. 9:5); therefore, they are a group of angels who are especially related to God’s glory. We can say that they are a symbol of God’s glory. They manifest God’s glory.
1. “Seraphim...saying: / Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah of hosts” (Isa. 6:2-3).
The Bible also speaks of another group of angels called seraphim, which means “burning.” When the Bible speaks of them, it particularly mentions God’s holiness. They are before God, crying to one another, “Holy, holy, holy.” Therefore, they are a group of angels especially related to God’s holiness. They manifest God’s holiness. The seraphim and the cherubim are two groups of angels before God. The cherubim are related to God’s glory, and the seraphim are related to God’s holiness. As the cherubim manifest God’s glory, the seraphim manifest God’s holiness.
1. “This was the living creature that I had seen beneath the God of Israel...They were cherubim” (Ezek. 10:20, see also v. 15; 1:5-25).
The Bible also speaks of another group of angels before God called the four living creatures. The four living creatures in Ezekiel are cherubim. They are especially related to God’s glory, which is manifested upon them.
2. “The first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings apiece, are full of eyes around and within; and they have no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God the Almighty” (Rev. 4:7-8 see also Ezek. 1:10; 10:14; Isa. 6:2-3).
In Revelation there is reference to the living creatures, but there is a difference between this and what is spoken about them in Ezekiel. Ezekiel mentions only cherubim, but Revelation mentions both cherubim and seraphim. In Revelation the four living creatures have not only the four faces of the cherubim but also the six wings of the seraphim; moreover, like the seraphim, they stand before God crying, “Holy, holy, holy.” This means that the four living creatures in Ezekiel are for God’s glory, whereas the four living creatures in Revelation are for both God’s glory and God’s holiness. They have the cherubic function of glory and the seraphic function of holiness.
1. “God did not spare the angels who sinned but delivered them to gloomy pits, having cast them down to Tartarus, they being kept for judgment” (2 Pet. 2:4 see also Jude 6).
Some of the angels sinned. They did not remain in their position but sinned and offended God. God’s righteousness could not spare them. Therefore, God cast them into gloomy pits where they wait for judgment.
2. “His tail drags away the third part of the stars of heaven” (Rev. 12:4).
The great red dragon mentioned in verse 3 is the devil. His tail dragged away one-third of the stars of heaven. The stars of heaven refer to the angels (1:20). Thus, this verse refers to the devil dragging away one-third of the angels in heaven. This third part of the angels must be the sinful angels who followed the devil to rebel against God.
3. “His angels” (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:7).
Because some of the angels followed the devil to sin and rebel against God, the Bible says that the devil has his angels. The devil’s angels are evil spirits who help him tyrannize this dark world from the air. They are sinful angels.
1. “The angels who sinned...being kept for judgment” (2 Pet. 2:4 see also Jude 6).
The sinful angels will be judged by God. All who oppose God, whether men or angels, will be judged by God.
2. “Do you not know that we will judge angels?” (1 Cor. 6:3).
God will not judge the angels by Himself; He will let the believers judge them. God will let His children represent Him to judge the angels who rebelled against Him. This is a special authority that God gives to His children, and it is a shame to the sinful angels. God surely gives grace to His children. Today He gives us the right to enjoy being served by the angels, and in the future He will give us the authority to judge the sinful angels. Therefore, we should live and act in holiness and godliness “for the sake of the angels” (11:10).
