“Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
“Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God,’” Revelation 22:8-10.
There are creatures who for the most part we do not see, who, like us, are servants of God. Nearly everything we know about them is told to us incidentally; very little is told to us directly. This doesn’t mean that we know little about them, however, for there is much we may learn by virtue of the missions we see them carry out.
The Hebrew word “mal’ak” in the Old Testament and the Greek word “angelos” in the New Testament are the two words which underlie the English word “angel” in our translations. In both cases the words mean “a messenger”, and are applied to human messengers as well as the order of heavenly creatures. It is the case with the word angel as it is with the word baptism; neither is a translation, but rather both are transliterations. What this means, is that instead of supplying the English word which had the same meaning as the Greek word, the translators carried the sound of the original word over into the English, giving us a new word. In the case of baptism, the underlying Greek word means ‘immersion’, so that when the English says that “we are baptized into Christ,” the Greek says that “we are immersed into Christ.” Likewise with angels; the English calls them ‘angels,’ when the Greek calls them ‘messengers’ (and we have applied the same English word to the OT passages about them).
Out of the 213 occurrences of “mal’ak” in the Old Testament, 102 times it is applied to other than angels, and out of the 186 occurrences of “angelos” in the New Testament, 7 times it is applied to other than angels. Some examples of the use of the these words as applied otherwise:
OT examples:
- Message-bearers, Numbers 20:14, 21:21
- spies, Joshua 6:25
- to carry out a mission, 1Samuel 19:11
- to give a report, 2Samuel 11:19
- the prophets called messengers, 2Chronicles
36:15-16, Haggai 1:13
- nations as destroyers for the Lord, Ezekiel 30:9
- John the Baptist, Malachi 3:1
NT examples:
- In regard to the mission of John the Baptist, Mark
1:2
- Jesus sends men ahead of Him, Luke 9:52-53
- Paul’s thorn in the flesh, 2Cor 12:7-8, “a
messenger of Satan.”
An example of where the word is applied to both man and angel, from the narrative about Balaam:
- Num 22:5-6, the messenger sent to him by Balak
- Num 22:22-23, the messenger sent to him by God.
So then angels, as they are messengers, carry out similar duties to human messengers:
- Message-bearer
- Human, Numbers 20:14, 21:21
- Angel, Judges 2:1, 2 Kings 1:3
- Spy out, investigate
- Human, Joshua 6:25
- Angel, Genesis 19:1
- Give God’s law
- Human, 2 Chronicles 36:15-16
- Angel, Acts 7:53, Hebrews 2:2
- Carry out a mission
- Human, 1 Samuel 19:11
- Angel, Matthew 13:49
- Destroyers
- Human, Ezekiel 30:9
- Angel, 2 Samuel 24:16
They are the messengers of God, sent “to minister for those who will inherit salvation,” Hebrews 1:14. This is the role they were created for, and as with human messengers, they carry the will and authority of the one sending them, 2 Kings 6:32.
Being as they were created to minister to us, it is reasonable to think they were created around the same time as us, but we are not informed as to when they were actually created. At the current time, they are higher than man, Psalm 8:4-5, yet in the age to come man shall be higher, 1Corinthians 6:3, for without doubt the judge is higher than the one judged.
They are innumerable, Hebrews 12:22, (which makes sense, for if there are billions of men, and each christian has an angel, then there must be at least as many angels as there are saved men). Whether their full number was created once for all at the beginning, or whether they continue to be being created, is unknown. They are divided into legions, Matthew 26:53, and have rank, Daniel 10:13, Jude 9. The terms “archangel” and “chief princes”, which are designations of high rank, seem to be interchangeable, Daniel 10:13, Jude 9, 1Thess 4:16. Whether there is one angel over all the archangels and those of lower rank, or whether the archangels are the highest rank and God is their commander, is also not known. The cherubs and seraphs also appear to be different classes of angels.
What are they? They are created beings, Gen 2:1
Why are they? They minister for us, Hebrews 1:14
Do they have a body? Yes, for they eat, Ps 78:25 (whether when in heaven, or only when they’re here, is unknown) (when they’re here, it seems they’re given the body of a man, generally)
Can they sin? Yes, 2Peter 2:4, Jude 9 (therefore they have free will)
Can they be forgiven? No, 2Peter 2:4
Do they marry? No, Matthew 22:30
How many? Innumerable, Hebrews 10:22
There are ranks, 1 Thess 4:16, Jude 9, Dan 10:13, Matthew 26:53 (archangel and chief prince seems to indicate the same rank)
They are lower than Christ, higher than man, Hebrews 2:7-9, Jude 9
Are mightier than man, 2Peter 2:11
Have power over men & physics, Gen 19:11, Acts 12:7-10
Have killed men at God’s direction, 2Sam 24:16, 1Chr 21:15-16, 2Kings 19:35, Ex12:29 (w/ Ps 78:49), Acts 12:23, Rev 7:1-2, 9:15
Do they have gender? Yes, they are always referred to as male, Judges 6:22, 13:6-21, 1Chr 21:15, 27, Acts 12:7, Gen 19:5-12
Are they eternal? Yes, Gabriel appeared over a long stretch of time, Daniel 8:15, Luke 1:19.
Their missions:
- To destroy, 1Chron 21:15
- To bring a message, Luke 2:8-14; Matt 1:20-21;
- To bring the Law, Hebrews 2:2
- To lead in battle, fight for Israel; Michael, Dan 10:21, 12:1; Rev. 12:7, possibly Michael, Exodus 23:21.
- To release Peter, Acts 12:5-8
- To strengthen, Dan 10:21, Luke 22:43
- To gather the saints at the end of the world, Matt 24:31
- To winnow out the unrighteous from the kingdom of God, Matthew 13:41-42, 49-50
- To carry the righteous dead to Paradise, Luke 16:22
- Release Christ from the tomb, Matthew 28:2
- Guard the way to the tree of life, Gen 3:24
- Act on behalf of the Lord, Gen 19 18:22
Their desire:
- The repentance of man, Luke 15:10
- To know the truth, 1Peter 1:12
- The upholding of God’s law, 1Cor 11:10, Exodus 23:21
Are there angels with Christians? Yes; Christians are referred to by Christ as little ones, Matthew 10:42 & 18:10, and in 18:10 he says, “for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” We have angels that are with us, but whether there is only one, or more than one, assigned to each christian, and whether they stay with a christian for his life or rotate on assignment, as it were, is unknown. What we are told is that “their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” See Mathew 18:2-5, 10-11, Matthew 10:42.
The Rebellion
At some point some number of the angels rebelled from God. Satan is the leader of this rebellion. The exact number who went with him is unknown; Rev 12:7-9 seems to imply there were more than a few, but all we know is there was more than one, Matthew 25:41, Jude 6. When this rebellion took place also is unknown. We also are not informed of when the fall of Satan occurred, whether it was in the tempting of man, or whether he had already fallen and the incident in the garden was but the beginning of his role as deceiver and tempter.
The angels who fell are under “chains of darkness,” Jude 6. I don't think this means they are physically bound somewhere, but rather are judicially placed under darkness of heart; similar language is used in Romans regard to man, “…although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened,” Romans 1:21. Also, Rev. 12:7-9 states that, “the dragon and his angels fought,” showing they were physically free to fight, and the demons, who are the fallen angels, had some free range, as evidenced by their ability to possess men at the time of the gospel.
The named angels
Michael - Jude 9; Rev 12:7-8; Dan 10:13, 10:20-11:2
Gabriel- Dan 8:15-17; Dan 9:20-23; Luke 1:19; Luke 1:26
Apollyon - Rev 9:11
Satan – See attached
The angel of the Lord
In the Old Testament, there is a being who is called variously the Angel of the Lord, the Angel of God, and the Angel of His Presence. There are many who consider this being to be the pre-incarnate Christ, but I don’t believe this to be the case. It is the case in Scripture that the messenger is sometimes put for the one sending the message; hence, Exodus 33:11 reads, “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend,” but we know that it was in fact an angel he spoke with, for Hebrews tells us this, “For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast…,” Hebrews 2:2.
In Revelation it reads, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches,” Revelation 22:16, indicating that the Lord has an angel who is in personal service to him; for we know there are many angels, and he doesn’t say “I sent an angel,” rather, he says, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel.” I believe it to be much more likely that the angel spoken of in the Old Testament, the Angel of the Lord, is in fact this angel.
That being said, I also believe that it might just be a figure of speech, the angel of the Lord, that is, that the one speaking, in describing the angel, may have put the definite article for the indefinite, that is, any angel of the Lord may be rightly described as the angel of the Lord, for that is what he is (see Acts 8:26 & 12:7); that is, saying “the angel of the Lord” may be the same as saying “an angel of the Lord.” For example, saying “an angel of the Lord was there” and “the angel of the Lord who was there” are both saying the same thing.
The Cherubim
Cherubim is the plural, cherub the singular.
The cherubim seem to be associated with God personally. They were woven into the design of the veil and the curtains of the tabernacle, and carved into the walls and doors of the temple, as design elements. There were carved statues of them in the Most Holy Place, filling it in its breadth, and two made to be of one piece with the mercy seat, overshadowing it. God spoke with Moses from above this, hence later on God is referred to as the one “who dwells between the cherubim.” They also carried the throne of God in Ezekiel, when the glory departed from the temple. They also guarded the entrance into Eden after man had been cast out, Genesis 3:24, and the way to the tree of life.
How did the artisans of the temple know what the cherubim looked like? Moses was shown the pattern of the tabernacle, so he might have been shown the design to weave. Or, as the artisans were miraculously given the skill to build the tabernacle, Exodus 35:30-36:1 (31:1-11), they may also have just “known”.
The Demons
The demons are in all likelihood the fallen angels. We see in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man that the unrighteous dead are confined to Gehenna, which they cannot leave. And as the demons know they are going to be punished, this shows that at one time they were right with God, but fell from this station (meaning, they were not created as wicked beings to perform wickedness, for then God would be unjust in punishing them for their wickedness. But we know He is just, therefore, they were righteous, but fell).
The only other beings other than us (that we know of) who fell are Satan and the angels who went with him, Rev. 12:7-9. Therefore, the demons are likely the fallen angels. Additionally, in Matthew 12:24, Beelzebul is generally considered to be a reference to Satan, which if so, makes him prince of the demons, which would confirm beyond doubt that the demons are fallen angels.
Their current state is “in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day,” Jude 6. These chains are not physical chains, for they are still able to fight, Rev 12:7, and possessed men. Therefore, the darkness is judicial darkness of heart.
The doctrines of demons of which Paul speaks in 1Timothy 4:1, I don’t believe it means that the demons came and presented a doctrine to a man, and he accepted it as church doctrine and followed it, but I think it is meant in the sense of how Eve fell. She was presented a different doctrine by the serpent, Satan, and she followed it; this is true. But she was tempted by what she could see, and her desires, and the result of this brought the doctrine of Satan, the prince of demons, full born into the world. The New Testament speaks of those who pervert the faith, whose god is their bellies, that is, their own desires; does not Satan tempt us away from truth according to our desires, James 1:14? So then, if we allow fleshly desire into our doctrine of faith, have we not listened to the doctrine of demons? For how does it come in? “By means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” These men, so ignoring their own conscience to the point it became of no use to them, brought in destructive doctrines according to their own desires.