ANGELIC BEINGS – ANGELS - ARE THERE ANGELS WALKING ON EARTH

ANGELIC BEINGS – ANGELS

ARE THERE ANGELS WALKING ON EARTH

Stes de Necker

Angels have been the subject of numerous news magazines, countless books, movies, television shows, poems, essays and a myriad of written novels. You can find them on the internet, postcards, T-shirts, calendars, and even sunglasses. In fact, entire seminars, newsletters, and boutiques have been devoted to these beings.

The world is experiencing a wave of angel-mania.

Polls have shown that most people do believe angels exist. Many people also believe that they have personal guardian angels, or that they have felt an angelic presence at some time. Even the majority of teenagers say they believe there are angels.

The word angel comes from the Greek word meaning "messenger." The matching Hebrew word mal'ak has the same meaning. Sometimes, the Bible uses these words for human beings: ordinary people who carry messages (Job 1:14; Luke 7:24; 9:52) prophets (Isaiah 42:19; Malachi 3:1) priests (Malachi 2:7) church leaders (Rev 1:20) Sometimes, it speaks figuratively of things or events as “messengers”… the pillar of cloud (Exodus 14:19) pestilence or plagues (2 Samuel 24:16-17) But it usually describes the whole range of spirits whom God has created, including both good and evil angels, and special categories such as cherubim, seraphim, and the archangel. Angels are mentioned at least 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 times in the New Testament.

Angels have superhuman intelligence and powers. People today often describe angels as kind, non-judgmental, wise, and loving beings. But do they take into account that there are also fallen angels who may not be so nonthreatening and loving? In many cases, the answer is no.

Let's examine what the Bible teaches us about these angelic beings.

Angels were created by God.

In Colossians 1:16 we read: "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him". So we can safely assume that God Not only created man, but also angels.

So, do people then become angels after death? I believe the answer is No.

Angels are not glorified human beings. Matthew 22:30 explains that they do not marry or reproduce like humans, and Hebrews 12:22-23 says that when we get to the heavenly Jerusalem, we will be met by “myriads of angels” and “the spirits of righteous men made perfect”—two separate groups. Angels are a company or association, not a race descended from a common ancestor (Luke 20:34-36).

Origin of angels

The Scripture speaks about the creation of angels, therefore, it is clear that they have not existed from all eternity (Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 148:2,5).

Colossians 1:16-17 explains: “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

The time of their creation is never definitely specified, but it is most probable that it occurred in connection with the creation of the heavens in Genesis 1:1. It may be that God created the angels immediately after He had created the heavens and before He created the Earth—for according to Job 38:4-7, “the sons of God shouted for joy” when He laid the foundations of the Earth.

How many angels are there

While the Scriptures give no definite figures, we are told that the number of angels is very great (Daniel 7:10; Matthew 26:53; Hebrews 12:22). It appears that all angels were created at one time. No new angels are being added to the number. Angels are not subject to death or any form of extinction; therefore they do not decrease in number. It seems reasonable to conclude that there are at least as many spirit beings in existence as there will have been human beings in all their history on Earth.

Angels are numerous. The world of angels is mysterious and, to a large degree, unknown to us. The Bible does not precisely say how many angels exist. It was a "multitude" of the heavenly host that told the shepherds of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:13). Daniel 7:10 tells us, "A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him." That would mean there are more than 100 million angels—a number almost too vast to imagine. Perhaps that is why Job asks, "Can His forces be numbered?" (Job 25:3 NIV).

Do angels have bodies

Angels are essentially “ministering spirits,” (Hebrews 1:14) and do not have physical bodies like humans. Jesus declared that “a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:37-39). 

The Bible does, however, make it clear that angels can only be in one place at a time. They must have some localized presence. Angels can take on the appearance of men when the occasion demands. How else could some “entertain angels unaware” (Hebrews 13:2)? On the other hand, their appearance is sometimes in dazzling white and blazing glory (Matthew 28:2-4).

What do angels look like

Since angels are spirits rather than physical beings, they don’t have to be visible at all (Colossians 1:16). Elisha once prayed that his servant would see the armies of angels surrounding the city, and the young man discovered that he had overlooked a lot of invisible beings (2 Kings 6:17)

Abraham was visited by three heavenly messengers. When angels do appear, they generally appear in the form of men. In Genesis 18, Abraham welcomed three angelic guests who appeared at first to be nothing more than some travellers. In the following chapter, two angels went to Sodom where they were assumed to be simply a pair of human visitors. With the possible exception of one debatable passage in Zechariah 5:9, angels always appear as males rather than females (Mark 16:5).

Sometimes an angel appears to be a man with unusual features. Daniel saw an angel with arms and legs resembling polished metal and precious stones, and a face like lightning (Daniel 10:5-6). The angel that rolled back the stone from Christ’s tomb was radiating dazzling light (Matthew 28:3; Luke 24:4). The book of Revelation describes some highly unusual beings who may be a variety of angel in Revelation 4:6-8. No Biblical angels ever appeared this way. Angels in the Bible never appear as cute, chubby infants! They are always full-grown adults. When people in the Bible saw an angel, their typical response was to fall on their faces in fear and awe, not to reach out and tickle an adorable baby!

Do angels have wings

Some special angels do (seraphims) had wings, but the most never had wings. Some Bible passages picture angels with wings (Isaiah 6:2,6). Other verses talk about angels flying, and we assume that the wings would be useful for that flight (Daniel 9:21). However, I suspect that angels can move around without having to depend on wings. Most references to angels in the Bible say nothing about wings, and in passages like Genesis 18-19, it is certain that no wings were visible.

How do angels compare to human beings

Angels never die (Luke 20:36). Angel deliver divine messages.

They are stronger than man, but not omnipotent (Psalm 103:20; 2 Peter 2:11). They are greater than man in knowledge, but not omniscient (2 Samuel 14:20; Matthew 24:36). They are more noble than man, but not omnipresent (Daniel 9:21-23, 10:10-14).

Angels can take on the appearance of men when the occasion demands. How else could some “entertain angels unaware” (Hebrews 13:2)? On the other hand, their appearance is sometimes in dazzling white and blazing glory (Matthew 28:2-4). Angels do not marry or reproduce like humans (Matthew 22:30). Angels are a company or association, not a race descended from a common ancestor (Luke 20:34-36). We are called “sons of men,” but angels are never called “sons of angels.” Angels are spirits (Hebrews 1:14), like the soul of man, but without a physical body. Such expressions as “like the angels” (Luke 20:36), and the fact that whenever angels appeared to man it was always in a human form (Gen. 18:2; 19:1, 10; Luke 24:4; Acts 1:10), and the titles that are applied to them (“sons of God,” Job 1:6; 38:7; Dan. 3:25; compare 28) and to men (Luke 3:38), all seem to indicate some resemblance between them and the human race.

Are all angels good

Sorry to say but you can’t trust every angel!

The Bible classifies some angels as “elect” (1 Timothy 5:21) or “holy” (Matthew 25:31; Mark 8:38). All angels were originally holy, enjoying the presence of God (Matthew 18:10) and the environment of heaven (Mark 13:32). Other angels oppose God under the leadership of Satan (Matthew 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Ephesians 6:12). We often call these “demons.”

There is actually a great unseen conflict raging that goes beyond anything we can imagine. It is not, however, a fight between two equal and eternal forces.

The battle of good and evil. It never stops. A perpetual war from the time you were born.

Never mind the war has gone on for thousands of years behind the scenes in a realm we cannot see. It has always been a war and it is always been a war for your soul, and yet few people understand the depths of it, fewer realize their own role in it.

God who created all beings is still in charge, and once He has used wicked angels to accomplish His purposes, He will bring them to a final defeat.

What is the job description for an angel

The Bible does speak about classes of angelic beings like cherubim (Ezekiel 1) and seraphim (Isaiah 6). We also know the names of two notable angels: Michael (Daniel 10:13; Jude 9) and Gabriel (Daniel 9:21; Luke 1:19,26).

Michael, the Archangel

The term "archangel" occurs just twice in the New Testament (1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Jude 1:9). In both instances, it is used in the singular and is preceded by the definite article "the." This would indicate that there is only one archangel. It would appear that Michael is the top-ranking angel in God's heavenly host. He will play a special role in the rapture of the church:

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)

As powerful as Michael is, he does have his limitations—as well as a healthy respect for his adversary, Lucifer. "Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'"(Jude 1:9). Ultimately, however, Scripture says that Michael and the angels will prevail over Satan and cast him out of heaven forever (see Revelation 12:7–9).

Gabriel

This high-ranking angel brought special messages to God's people. He appeared to Daniel and revealed the future to him (Daniel 8:16; 9:21). He appeared to Zacharias regarding the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:19). He appeared to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:26–38).

The Cherubim

The Bible depicts these beings as powerful and majestic angelic creatures, servants of God, which surround God's throne (see Ezekiel 1:5–14; Psalm 99:1). They appear as winged human-animal forms (Revelation 4:6–8). God sent them to guard Eden after the expulsion of Adam and Eve: "So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24).

The Seraphim

These angelic beings seem to hold a special position of worshipping and praising God. The prophet Isaiah vividly describes them in his vision of God:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory! (Isaiah 6:1–3).

We don’t know whether every angel carries out the same tasks, or whether some of them specialize in certain areas.

The unnamed angels who appear most often in Scripture carry out a variety of tasks—all designed to serve God… Worship and praise—This is the main activity portrayed in heaven (Isaiah 6:1-3; Revelation 4-5).

Messengers—They serve as messengers to communicate God’s will to men. They helped reveal the law to Moses (Acts 7:52-53), and served as the carriers of much of the material in Daniel, and Revelation.

Guiding—Angels gave instructions to Joseph about the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1-2), to the women at the tomb, to Philip (Acts 8:26), and to Cornelius (Acts 10:1-8).

Providing—God has used angels to provide physical needs such as food for Hagar (Genesis 21:17-20), Elijah (1 Kings 19:6), and Christ after His temptation (Matthew 4:11).

Protecting—Keeping God’s people out of physical danger, as in the cases of Daniel and the lions, and his three friends in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3 and 6).

Delivering—Getting God’s people out of danger once they’re in it. Angels released the apostles from prison in Acts 5, and repeated the process for Peter in Acts 12.

Strengthening and encouraging—Angels strengthened Jesus after His temptation (Matt 4:11), encouraged the apostles to keep preaching after releasing them from prison (Acts 5:19-20), and told Paul that everyone on his ship would survive the impending shipwreck (Acts 27:23-25).

Answering prayer—God often uses angels as His means of answering the prayers of His people (Daniel 9:20-24; 10:10-12; Acts 12:1-17).

Caring for believers at the moment of death—In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, we read that angels carried the spirit of Lazarus to “Abraham’s bosom” when he died (Luke 16:22).

Executioners—Angels are sometimes used by God to punish sin. An angel of the Lord went forth and smote an Assyrian camp (2 Kings 19:20-34)—“behold, they were all dead corpses.” The Assyrian army was annihilated. A destroying angel was sent, but later withheld, to punish David for his vanity in taking a census of the great number of his people. At the time of Moses and the Exodus, the Egyptian firstborn where killed by an angel of death.

Angels have a special work and ministry in the lives of Christians. Angels are all around us, taking care of us and ministering to us even when we are not aware of their presence. "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14). 

Angels are sent by God to deliver us from our troubles. "The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them" (Psalm 34:7). God also sends angels to bring His messages to guide us in our own ministry (Acts 8:26).

Angels do not seek our worship. If an angel were to appear to us right now, we might be tempted to worship it. This happened to the apostle John. "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 22:8–9). The angel would not accept John's worship.

There are not only holy angels, but also unholy ones (fallen angels or demons). If an awe-inspiring angel were to appear to us right now, we would be inclined to believe just about anything he said—even if it were a different gospel! That is why Scripture tells us to test any so-called angel's message with what we find in God's Word. "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8).

Angels in Our Lives

We probably will never know how many times angels have delivered us, gotten us out of tight situations, protected us from harm, or even directly spoken to us. Does that mean that each of us has a guardian angel? Matthew 18:10 seems to indicate that possibility: "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 18:10).

God dispatched an angel to personally escort Peter from prison in response to the prayers of believers (Acts 12:5–11).

In Numbers chapter 22, we read the story of Balaam, who was asked by the king of Moab to place a curse on the Israelites. When Balaam began his journey to the king, his donkey saw an angel standing in their path and refused to go on. After several beatings from Balaam, God enabled the donkey to talk and protest Balaam's beatings. At that point, the Lord opened Balaam's eyes to see the angel. The angel then explained that he had come to stop Balaam because he was headed for destruction.

One of the most dramatic and well-known stories about angels in Scripture is the story of Daniel in the lions' den (see Daniel 6:16–22). The aged prophet found himself in this dilemma because God had raised him up to a position of honor in the kingdom of Darius. His enemies scrutinized his every move, but they could find no inconsistency in his life. So they baited a trap. They had the king unwittingly sign a decree that no one could pray to any god but him. Daniel prayed to the true God, as his enemies expected, and his punishment was to be thrown into a den of hungry lions. Just when it appeared that all was lost, God dispatched one or more of His angels to deliver him by shutting the mouths of the lions.

Angelic activity in Daniel's prayer

Daniel chapter 10 gives us a rare glimpse into what happens behind the scenes when we pray. In that story, Daniel's prayer is heard in heaven, and an angel is dispatched with a special message for Daniel. The angel encountered opposing forces, and he became engaged in supernatural combat, delaying the message for 21 days! Michael, the archangel, was finally dispatched to help the other angel, who then gave the message to Daniel. This incident makes it clear that delays in God's answering of our prayers are not necessarily denials.

Yet, it is unclear whether we actually have personal guardian angels. One thing is certain: God promises His protection to those who closely follow Him. In Psalm 91:1, God promises, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1).

The Hebrew word used for dwell literally means "in quiet and resting; enduring and remaining with consistency." The phrase shall abide literally means "to stay overnight," much like someone being offered the protection and comfort of home. When we follow this condition, we are also promised angelic protection: "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways" (Psalm 91:11).

For our part, we are to stay as close to Jesus as possible. To "abide under the shadow of the Almighty" would indicate extreme closeness.

Have you ever tried to walk in someone's shadow? You have to stay very close.

We are not to test the Lord, but to trust the Lord.

If we do our part, God will do His.

His promise of angelic protection and guidance stands.