ANGELS - HEAVEN

So shall it be
at the end of the world;
the angels shall come forth,
and sever the wicked
from among the just,
Matthew 13:49

The Bible uses the term " angel" (a Heavenly body) clearly and primarily to denote messengers or ambassadors of God with such scripture references as Revelations 4:5, which indicates their duty in heaven to praise God; (Psalms 103:20) to do God' Will; (Matthew 18:10) to behold his face. But since heaven must come down to earth, they also have a mission to earth. The Bible indicates that they accompanied God in the creation, and also that they will accompany Christ in his return in Glory.

WHAT ARE ANGELS?
An angel is a pure spirit created by God. The Old Testament theology included the belief in angels: the name applied to certain spiritual beings or intelligences of heavenly residence, employed by God as the ministers of His will. The English word "angel" comes from the Greek angelos, which means 'messenger'. In the Old Testament, with two exceptions, the Hebrew word for "angel" is malak, also meaning 'messenger'. The prophet Malachi took his name from this word. He was himself a messenger, and he prophesied about the coming of "the messenger of the covenant", Jesus Christ (Malachi 3:1).   Although the word "angel" in the Bible, meaning a messenger, nearly always applies to heavenly beings, it can occasionally apply to human messengers. Malachi himself said a priest was a messenger (malak) of the LORD of hosts (Malachi 2:7), and in the Book of Revelation the elders of the seven churches of Asia were called angels (1:20; 2:1 etc.). But when we meet messengers doing supernatural things, there is no doubt they are heavenly beings - God's messengers, working for Him and for the ultimate benefit of mankind.

HOW DO WE KNOW ANGELS EXIST?                                                      The Scriptures give us no indication of the precise time of the creation of angels; their existence is assumed at the earliest times. Our Lord often spoke of angels; in the New Testament they are numerous and seven orders are mentioned: Angels, Powers, Principalities, Dominions (ations), Thrones and Archangels the Old Testament specifically mentions two others Seraph (im) and Cherub(im). God bestowed upon angels great wisdom, freedom, and power, and their many appearances in the New Testament are indication of the lead role assigned to them. Both the New Testament and Old Testament refer also to the fallen angels. The Temptation of Adam and Eve presupposes the existence of bad spirits or demons who were cast into hell from which they have no hope of redemption. Angels are purely spiritual or bodiless persons, some of whom behold the face of God and thus are in bliss (Mt 18:10). These spiritual beings comprise the celestial court and are called angels (from the Greek for "messenger") because, according to the Bible, they carry out missions at God's command. In order to complete these missions, they can at times assume bodily form. According to the Bible, their missions are sometimes of great importance - eg, the Annunciation (Lk 1:26; 2:9-14). Like us , the angels are the objects of God's grace and love. But because, unlike us they are non-bodily creatures, their response to God's love did not require time and reflection to grow and mature. As soon as they were created and received grace, they had the opportunity to respond to God's love and thus be welcomed into bliss.

WHY DID GOD CREAT ANGELS?
The Creator Himself is so powerful and glorious that He cannot be approached in person by human beings. He alone "hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto: whom no man hath seen, nor can see (1 Timothy 6:16). Angels do not have man's shortcomings, and can therefore act for God and represent Him when communicating with men and women. They bridge the huge gap between the holiness and perfection of God in heaven and the shortcomings of dying people on this planet. Angels were made immortal (that is, never to die). Their eternal quality was spoken of by Jesus when he said: "They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God. being the children of the resurrection." (Luke 20:35.36) Jesus was saying that, in the same way as the angels (the children or "sons" of God) live for ever and are of one gender, so those who will be called the "sons" and "daughters" of God when Jesus returns will also live for ever and will not marry.

ANGELS WITH NAMES
Only occasionally are the angels given names. "Michael", for instance, was "the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people (Israel)" (Daniel 12:1). Undoubtedly, among the most significant of angelic appearances were those by the angel whose name was "Gabriel". He was sent twice to the prophet Daniel. On the second occasion Daniel was at prayer, and Gabriel, "being caused to fly swiftly, touched me ... and talked with me" and proceeded to prophesy the date of the first coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Daniel 9:21-27). There was therefore great expectation among the Jews at the time when Jesus Christ was about to be born, and this was heightened by the personal appearance of Gabriel again, firstly to Zacharias the priest while on duty in the temple, and then to Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph. To Zacharias, the angel announced. "I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God: and am sent to speak unto thee" (Luke 1:19). We notice that angels can stand in the glorious presence of the LORD. whereas men cannot. and angels are sent to do whatever God wishes. His mission here was to announce the miraculous birth of John the Baptist. Six months later, Gabriel appeared to Mary, who was in the royal line of King David. Her prayer, said the angel, had found favour with God, and she would be the mother of the expected Messiah. Gabriel told her that she would conceive through the power of the Holy Spirit and her son would be Jesus, the Saviour, and he would be the Son of God and would occupy the royal throne of David (Luke 1:26-33). It was an extraordinary meeting because Mary was not yet married. Nothing is impossible with God! Joseph, her husband-to-be, also received angelic messages advising him what steps to take in this unique situation.   When Jesus came to be born in Bethlehem, the birth was the signal for a glorious witness of divine approval, seen by shepherds: "An angel of the Lord (could this have been Gabriel?) appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear ... And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!'" (Luke 2:9-14, RSV)

ANGELS OF THE EARLY CHURCH
Revelations the Lord addresses each of the seven Churches by means of instructing angels to record His dictation. These 'secretary' angels are the angels of the Churches:

Church of Ephesus (Rv 2:1)
of Smyrna (Rv 2:8)
of Pergamum (Rv 2:12)
of Thyatira (Rv 2:18)
of Sardis (Rv 3:1)
of Philadelphia (Rv 3:7)
of Laodices (Rv 3:14)

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MAN MADE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS
When the first man was being created, the angels gave him a form resembling their own: "Let us make man in our image. after our likeness ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:26-27) This does not mean that the first of the human race had exactly the same physical nature as the angels, for the angels were made to live for ever. Adam and Eve were not made never-dying: they did sin, and they suffered death as the punishment for it. That is why the whole human race has been dying ever since. The fact that man was created in the image of the angels speaks of God's ultimate intention for His creatures. Psalm 8 is a Psalm in which the creation of the earth is extolled. Here we are told that man's position is lower than the angels: "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? ... For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour." (Psalm 8:4,5)   The New Testament quotes this passage, and tells us that mankind - including the Lord Jesus himself - was made a little lower than the angels, "for the suffering of death" (Hebrews 2:9). Angels do not die, but men and women do. Even Jesus, the Son of God, was mortal, but has now received the glory and honour which was his due when, as he said after his resurrection, "all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18).

THE FALLEN ANGELS (DEMONS)
These beings, because of pride, did not return God's love. God did not destroy them, but permits them a limited scope of activity. Their condition is permanent for no creature can turn away from the perfect good of the beatific vision once he has come to enjoy it, and no additional reflection could change the mind of a purely spiritual being who has turned away. Demons are fallen angels under the command of Satan, those who are still free after the Gen. 6 affair. Satan is called the Prince, or Ruler, of all demons in Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15. Demons are also called the ministers, or ambassadors of Satan, Luke 4:35; 9:1,42; John 10:21. Satan is brilliant, an administrative genius. He has an excellent organization, mentioned in Eph. 6:10-12 (READ) The Bible also makes a distinction between demon possession and demon influence. Demon possession occurs when an actual fallen angel, a demon, enters and occupies the body of an unbeliever. Demons cannot enter the bodies of Christian believers because the Christian's body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Demon Influence is the residence of evil in the soul; can be unbeliever (ROM. 1:23) or believer. This is the method that Satan uses to trap and neutralize the believer, by introducing, if allowed, the Doctrine of Evil inside the soul of the born-again believer.

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TYPES OF ANGELS

SERAPHIM These are the highest order or choir of angels. They are the angels who are attendants or guardians before God's throne. They praise God, calling, "Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts". the only Bible reference is Isaiah 6:1-7. One of them touched Isaiah's lips with a live coal from the altar, cleansing him from sin. Seraphim have six wings, two cover their faces, two cover their feet, and two are for flying.

CHERUBIM Cherubim rank after the seraphim and are the second highest in the nine hierarchies or choirs of angels. The Old Testament does not reveal any evidence that the Jews considered them as intercessors or helpers of God. They were closely linked in God's glory. They are manlike in appearance and double-winged and were guardians of God's glory. They symbolized then, God's power and mobility. In the New Testament, they are alluded to as celestial attendants in the Apocalypse (Rv 4-6). Catholic tradition describes them as angels who have an intimate knowledge of God and continually praise Him.

ARCHANGELS  Archangels are generally taken to mean "chief or leading angel" ( Jude 9; 1 Thes 4:16), they are the most frequently mentioned throughout the Bible. They may be of this or other hierarchies as St. Michael Archangel, who is a princely Seraph. The Archangels have a unique role as God's messenger to the people at critical times in history and salvation ( Jn 5:4; Rv 12:7-9) as in The Annunciation and Apocalypse. He is described as the "chief of princes" and as the leader of the forces of heaven in their triumph over Satan and his followers. The angel Gabriel first appeared in the Old Testament in the prophesies of Daniel, he announced the prophecy of 70 weeks (Dn 9:21-27). He appeared to Zechariah to announce the birth of St. John the Baptist (Lk 1:11). It was also Gabriel which proclaimed the Annunciation of Mary to be the mother of our Lord and Saviour. (Lk 1:26)

ANGELS These angels are closest to the material world and human begins. They deliver the prayers to God and God's answers and other messages to humans. Angels have the capacity to access any and all other Angels at any time. They are the most caring and socius to assist those who ask for help.

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What About Angels?

The interest in angels (like the interest in dinosaurs) has really increased in the last few years. Unfortunately, some web sites and books contain very little factual information about angels. This is unfortunate, since the facts about angels are more interesting than the "fantasized" accounts any day! Although the bible refers to angels in many ways, for now, we will consider three forms of angels:

God Appearing as an Angel
Angels as God’s Messengers to People
Angels Who Remain in God’s Presence

GOD APPEARING AS AN ANGEL

This happens many times in the bible. Most translations refer to this as the "Angel of the LORD." The first example occurs in Genesis, chapter 16 where the Angel of the LORD appears to a servant of Abraham (the person whose story the Bible is relating at that time). How do we know this angel we meet in verse 7 is actually God? We have two sources of evidence. First, if you read the language, it sounds like God. After all, a normal (or angelic) person would not say "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude" (verse 10). The second reason we think the Angel of the LORD is God, is because the servant says so in verse 13. Now, we admit that if this was an isolated incident that our argument would seem weak—but meetings of this type occurred many times. That being said, we realize that it is possible to get the wrong idea that the angels and God are about the same—only looking different because they are taking on different forms. This is a illogical jump in thought that the Bible does not support. It is one thing for God to appear as an angel and it is something quite different for God to be an angel. If you would like to look into this further, find a concordance (a listing of the words of the Bible) and look up the word angel. Under "angel," you will find angel, angel of God, angel of the LORD, and so forth—each referencing a text in the Bible. Read each text and make your own decision! For your convenience, we have an online Bible with a word search feature that acts as a concordance. By the way, angels are not called "angels" every time they appear in the Bible. See Ezekiel Chapter 8, verse 2 (Ezekiel 8:2) for an interesting example.

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    2.   ANGELS AS GOD'S MESSENGERS TO PEOPLE

This is the most commonly stated purpose of angels in the Bible—and now we are talking about "regular" angels, too! Although God sometimes communicated with people personally (as above), He usually communicated with them through an angel. Sometimes the Bible text tells us the angel’s name. This happened three times with the angel Gabriel, who visited Daniel, Zechariah, and Mary. (See Daniel chapter 8, and Luke chapter 1.)   One of the most interesting encounters with angels occurred in chapters 10-12 of the book of Daniel. Here, the angel is referred to as a "man clothed in linen."* Although Daniel stood his ground when the angel appeared, the men accompanying Daniel were overwhelmed with terror and fled the scene! The message this angel had for Daniel (all of chapter 11 and more) was a revelation of the future. Although this revelation is difficult to interpret (many have tried and we have not read a convincing one yet) what happened in the encounter itself gives us some insight into what angels are like. The description of this man in linen (his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, and so forth) does not resemble that of a normal man. Still, he is referred to as a "man in linen." Therefore, this type of angel (we will describe others later) has a human form. (And humans have a godlike form, since humans were created in God’s image according to Genesis 1:26.) *Note: Some scholars believe that this "man clothed in linen" was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. (That is, appearing as He existed before being born as a baby in Bethlehem.) If true, this would be a variation of "God appearing as an angel." We agree that the Bible text allows for this possibility. A second interesting feature of this encounter is the fact that the angel could float (see Dan 12:6,7). There are several places in the Bible that describe how angels do not obey the law of gravity. The most striking example occurs twice in the book of Ezekiel, which describes a different type of angel. See Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10.

     3.   ANGELS WHO REMAIN IN GOD'S PRESENCE

There are celestial beings who are constantly in God’s presence. One type of these beings is called the cherubim. The vision many of us have today when we hear the word "cherub" is a chubby little two-year-old with wings. Yet, the Bible’s description of a cherubim will shock anyone who has not already read the Bible’s description. Although once again described as having "the likeness of a man," cherubim also:

Have four different faces.
They have four wings.

Read Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10 to see what we mean. (These are definitely two of the coolest chapters in the Old Testament.) By the way, Ezekiel 10:20-22 confirms that the "living creatures" in chapter 1 and the "cherubim" in chapter 10 are the same thing. The Bible refers to another type of angel, the seraphim, in Isaiah chapter 6. The description reveals that seraphim have six wings, a face, feet, hands, can fly and speak, and can be stationed at God’s throne. That still leaves us without knowing what the seraphim’s normal responsibilities are or what one looks like. (With the description we have, seraphim could physically resemble humans with six wings, cherubim with one face and two "extra" wings, or something else.)

MORE INTERSTING INFORMATION ABOUT ANGELS

Angels Are "Single" We know from the Bible that angels do not get married. For example, in Matthew 22:30 Jesus spoke about people after they die and compared them to angels. That not only gave us a look at what heaven will be like for us, but also told us something about angels. He said, "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven." For most of us, that is a "good deal," since we prefer that angels watch over us instead of paying attention to one another!

NON "BABY" ANGELS Since angels neither marry nor are given in marriage, it makes sense that there are no baby angels (like those that many artists draw as "cherubs"). Also, the Bible never mentions the existence of any childlike angels. Although such "artistic" cherubs are cute, the reality is that such angels only exist in the artist’s imagination.

DON'T ANGELS LOOK LIKE WOMEN? Many paintings of angels show them as pretty women with wings, wearing flowing gowns. Yet, if you read the Bible, only one sentence (Zechariah chapter 5, verse 9) describes female beings with wings. They are not identified as angels, although these beings may be angels. All of the rest of the references to angels in the Bible (hundreds of them) describe angels as looking like "men" or having "human form." Yes, we admit that the description of the cherubim (above) seems to stretch our concept of "human form." Still, if we consider that man is made in God’s image, perhaps the angels are also! Therefore, if we all resemble God, a human (who does not have another visual point of reference) could describe an angel as having human form.

Although we would not enter a debate over this point, angels seem to be a "creation" just as the living creatures here on Earth are a "creation." In this way, angels can have different appearances from each other, just as a lion, an eagle, and a human look different from one another. There is no question about it, things are not boring in Heaven!

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ANGELS HAVE RANKS

Angels Have Ranks The angel talking with Daniel, in Daniel chapters 10-12, refers three times to Michael, who is obviously an angel. He calls him a "one of the chief princes" in Daniel 10:13, a "prince" in Daniel 10:21, and "the great prince" in Daniel 12:1. Michael is also described as an archangel in Jude. In Revelation chapter 12, "Michael and his angels" appear in a battle, implying that Michael is a military leader. (Note: the angels referred to in Daniel, Jude, and Revelation may refer to different angels named Michael.) We will not attempt to classify any "ranks," but it is apparent that there are greater angels that perform special services. It is also interesting to note that the Bible never records Michael talking with people, like Gabriel does.

IS JESUS AN ANGEL? Some folks would lead you to believe that Jesus is sort of an "advanced angel," (perhaps even implying that Jesus is sort of a "good version" of the fallen angel Satan). This false belief has been circulating since the first century AD. (The writer of the book of Hebrews took the time to refute this error—and Hebrews was written around 68 AD.) It is clear that Jesus is completely different from and superior to the angels. Read Hebrews, chapter 1, verses 1-6    It is obvious that if angels are to worship Jesus Christ, that Jesus is not an angel. (Angels are not to be worshiped. See Revelation chapter 19, verse 10 for one example.)    A variation of this same false belief is that Jesus and the Archangel Michael are the same being. That is also not the case. To learn more, click on the link below.

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ANGELS ARE TOUGH Angels are also used to carry out God’s judgment. When they are on a mission of this type, you do not want to be on their "to do" list! There are numerous examples of this type in the Bible, including some that show the tremendous strength of an angel. See the example in 2 Kings chapter 19, where an angel destroys 185,000 Assyrians in one night.

ANGELS MIGHT NOT SING There is a great deal of singing in the Bible. The Psalms mention singing often. Mark 14:26 and Matthew 26:30 record a time when Jesus and His apostles sang. The heavens and mountains "cry out" or "sing" in Isaiah 49:13, and even trees "sing" or "rejoice" in 1 Chronicles 16:33. (Note: different Hebrew words—ranan and rinnah—are used for the "singing" of inanimate objects, instead of shiyr and zamar—the words normally used for human singing in the Old Testament.) Although there is a lot of singing going on, it is interesting that the Bible never states that angels sing. Yes, many Christmas songs have lyrics indicating that the angels sang when Jesus was born—and we suspect that angels have the ability to sing. Still, it is interesting that the Bible never actually reports that angels do sing. Note: the text in some English translations of the Bible contain verses stating that angels sing, but they are poor translations of the original Greek word lego, which means "to say" or "to speak." Typically, this happens in Luke chapter 2, verse 13 and in Revelation chapter 5, verses 12 and 13.

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Clarifying Christianity

SCRIPTURE CONCERNING ANGELS

There are 92 verses of scriptures in the Holy Bible concerning angels. These are only a few of them, to find more go to http://www.crosswalk.com

Ge 19:1 - Show Context

And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

Ge 19:15 - Show Context

And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

Ge 28:12 - Show Context

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

Ge 32:1 - Show Context

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

Job 4:18 - Show Context

Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:

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Ps 8:5 - Show Context

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Ps 68:17 - Show Context

The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

Ps 78:25 - Show Context

Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.

Ps 78:49 - Show Context

He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.

Ps 91:11 - Show Context

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Ps 103:20 - Show Context

Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

Ps 104:4 - Show Context

Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

Ps 148:2 - Show Context

Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.

Mt 4:6 - Show Context

And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Mt 4:11 - Show Context

Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Mt 13:39 - Show Context

The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Mt 13:41 - Show Context

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

Mt 13:49 - Show Context

So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

Mt 16:27 - Show Context

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Mt 18:10 - Show Context

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

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