Angels: what are they in the Bible and what purpose they serve in our lives today

Angels are supernatural heavenly beings created by God. While Scripture does not give a time of creation, but Job 38:7 implies they were created before the creation of man as they “shouted for joy” at God’s work. There are only two angels specifically named in the Bible. Gabriel, the messenger, and Michael, the archangel. While Scripture as a whole is silent regarding details of the time and cause of a rebellion leading to fallen angels, there are a few verses which reference it. 2 Peter 2:4 says that God sent the fallen angels to be bound up in hell. There is so much information about angels out there. I will try to be as concise and clear as I can. I will discuss what the Bible says about the angels’ descriptions, their work in heaven as well on earth, and their appearances in the Old and New Testaments. Lastly, I will cover evil angels and their purpose.

First, the descriptions of angels are limited; however, Scripture does give some details. There are a vast multitude of angels (Revelation 5:11). They are without a bodily organism; they often appear as men on multiple occasions. Jesus said they do not marry or die (Luke 20:34-36). They constitute a company rather than a race developed from an original pair. They possess superhuman intelligence; however, they are not omniscient. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus says that angels do not know the day or hour of his return and 1 Peter 1:12 says that the angels long to see what believers experience through Christ. They are stronger than man but not omnipotent. In 2 Thessalonians 1:7, Paul writes that powerful angels will appear with Christ at his second coming. 2 Peter 2:11 describes the angels are stronger and more powerful than man. Angels are distinct beings and are not glorified human beings. Hebrews 1:14 says that angels are ministering angels who will serve those who inherit salvation.

Second, angels work toward believers include a variety of tasks. They guide as described in Genesis 24:7 as an angel guided Abraham’s servant to find Isaac’s wife. They provide as described in 1 Kings 19:5-8 as angels provided Elijah food and drink as he fled from King Ahab and his queen, Jezebel, plot to kill him. They deliver men from harm. As in Daniel 6:22 as an angel protected Daniel from harm in the lion’s den. In Acts 12:7-10, an angel helped Peter escape from prison. They direct. In Acts 8:26, an angel sent Philip into the desert where he encountered the Ethiopian who needed help understand Scripture. They comfort. In Acts 24:23-24, an angel is sent to give Paul comfort as he sailed for Rome and trial before Caesar.  Angels work toward non-believers as well. Angels were sent to destroy Sodom for their sins (Genesis 19:13). When the Lord sent a plague on Israel and an angel stretched his hand out to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord told him to stop (2 Samuel 24:15-17). An angel struck down Herod Agrippa I when he did not praise God (Acts 12:23).

Third, angels had an important role in Jesus’ life too. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and announced Jesus’ conception (Matthew 1:20-21). Angels heralded his birth to shepherds in the field (Luke 2:8-15). Angels attended to Jesus after his temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:11). Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:16 that the angels witnesses his resurrection. In Matthew 28:1-7, an angel appeared to Mary Magdalene and Mary to proclaim his resurrection and show the women the empty tomb. Lastly, angels accompanied Jesus on his ascension to heaven (Acts 1: 9-11). Angels will play an important role in Jesus’ return to earth. Jesus said that angels will help “weed out everything that causes sin and all who do evil (Matthew 13:41) when he gave the explanation for his parable of the weeds. In doing so, angels will separate the wicked from the righteous (Matthew 13:49). An angel will be instrumental in binding Satan for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3).

Angels appeared to people many times in the Old Testament. Including the Old Testament instances I mentioned previous paragraphs, there are many stories of angels appear to individuals. Three angels came to Abraham and proclaimed that the same time the following year, his wife, Sarah, will have a son in her old age (Genesis 18:1-15). An angel appeared to Hagar, the maidservant, when she ran away from Sarah’s mistreatment (Genesis 16:7-8). Angels appeared to Lot at the Sodom city gate (Genesis 19:1) and hurried Lot and his family out of the city before its destruction (Genesis 19:15). Jacob has a dream of stairway of heaven which angels were ascending and descending on it (Genesis 28:12). An angel appeared to Moses in the flames of the burning bush (Exodus 3:2). An angel came to Joshua to give him God’s instruction to attack the city of Jericho (Joshua 5:13-15). An angel appeared to all Israelites to remind them of God’s deliverance and his covenant (Judges 2:1-4). Gideon was given a special message from God by an angel (Judges 6:11-13). An angel appeared to the wife of Manoah to proclaim the coming of their son, Samson, after years of childlessness (Judges 13:2-5). Angels were active in the New Testament as well. Luke 1:26-38 states that the angel, Gabriel, appeared to Mary to deliver the message that she will give birth to a son. In Acts 5:19-20, an angel appeared during the night and opened the jail, freeing the apostles to continue to spread Jesus’ message. An angel appeared to a Roman centurion named Cornelius and told him to seek out Peter (Acts 10:3-8). The apostle John writes that the vision documented in Revelation was given to him by God through the angels he sent (Revelation 1:1).

Evil angels or demons are spirits whose purpose is to oppose God and try to defeat his will and frustrate his plans. Romans 8:38-39 states that nothing, not even demons, can separate believers from the love of God. The book of Job is a perfect example of demons hindering man physical and eternal welfare by a limited control over natural phenomena. In Job 1:12 states that the Lord allowed Satan to take everything from Job, but he was not allowed to physical touch him. His cattle was carried off by attackers (Job 1:13). Then the house where his children were feasting was destroyed by a mighty wind, killing everyone (Job 1:18-19). Demons often will inflict disease on believers. In Luke 13:11, 16 tells the story of Jesus healing a woman who had been “inflicted with a spirit for eighteen years (verse 11) and Jesus states it was Satan who bound her (verse 16). Demons will often be sent to tempt man to sin. In Matthew 4:3-10, Satan attempts to tempt Jesus to use his power to make bread from rocks. Whatever power demons have is limited by the permissive will of God.

In conclusion, angels are mentioned over 300 times in the Bible. Both good and bad angels, they serve a purpose in the will of God. You may be asking “well that’s great but does angels have to do with me?” Do you think God would stop using angels as his messengers? I don’t think so. Hebrews 13:2 says “do not forget to entertain strangers; for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” As I discussed above, many from the Bible entertained angels without realizing it until it was revealed to them. Entertaining or being hospitable is simply helping others feel comfortable and at home. With people coming in and out of our lives, never to be seen again, you never know if one of them was really an angel.  A customer, someone you pass on the street may be an angel passing through with a message, a reminder.

References

Zondervan New International Bible Dictionary

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

The Fallen saga: angels, demons and eternal love

The Fallen series by Lauren Kate takes the reader on a fantastical journey of love through time, fallen angels and a coming battle.

Fallen is the first book in the series where the reader meets Lucinda “Luce” Price, a new student at the Sword and Cross boarding school. A school with other misfits who don’t fit anywhere else. She is running from a tragedy at her former school and her own terrifying visions. There she is Daniel Grigori and there is an instant connection she cannot explain. But Daniel makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her. No matter how hard she tries, Daniel keeps pushing her away until one day he stops fighting. Why was he running from her? What is he hiding? Does it have anything to do with her visions?

Torment is the second book in the series which picks up right after the events of Fallen. The angels and demons have called an 18 day truce. Daniel needs to find a safe hiding place for Luce as she attracts celestial beings like a beacon. He chooses a school in California, Shoreline where other angels can look after her. At the school, Luce meets other extraordinary teens. These teens are the children of Nephilim, a class of angels. There she learns that she has powerful abilities which both sides want. She learns that the struggles between angels and demons has always been at a stalemate until now. Daniel can tip the scales if he were to choose a side. Will Daniel chose?

Passion is the third book in the series which, again, picks up right after the events of Torment. This time Daniel and the other angels are chasing Luce through time as she travels back to her past lives. Luce is able to see her relationship with Daniel and her ultimate death through the ages. From WWII Russia to Victorian England to Ancient China and beyond. But someone else is chasing Luce too. Someone with a plan that the angels and demons do not want to come to pass. Who is this mysterious person? What does he want with Luce?

Fallen in Love is a side novel which takes place between the events of Passion and Rapture. It contains four short stories featuring the love stories of Shelby and Miles, Luce’s friends from Shoreline, Roland, Daniel’s friend and fellow angel, and Arriane, another angel. As well as a story of Luce and Daniel. Love and heartache through the ages.

Rapture is the fourth and final book in the series. Daniel, Luce and their friends are in a race against time as they need to find three angelic relics in order to thwart evils plans and break the curse which haunts Daniel and Luce’s love. They must battle those who do not want them to succeed. They have 9 days to get the relics and join them together on Mount Sinai before everything they know and everyone they love is wiped out.

I was given the first book by my sister and I was interested in the premise. After I finished Fallen, I looked to find the other novels. And I was disappointed. Fallen was great with an interesting premise and started the series strong. Unfortunately, as the novels progressed, I felt as if the author wasn’t really sure where she wanted to the series to go and put in filler in order to stretch the series to the four novels. As I read, I had a nagged feeling that that series reminded me of something and it hit me the Twilight series. I realized that this series had all the elements that Twilight had that I come to hate by the time I read the last book. If you are a fan of the Twilight series, you may enjoy Lauren Kate’s Fallen series.

The Fallen series is available at all major booksellers

The first book, Fallen, was made into a film released in 2016 

If Tigers were Angels: a story of faith and God's calling

If Tigers were Angels by Tom Tatum is an inspirational story which challenges what we believe by faith or by sight and God’s calling in our lives that many people take for granted. The tigers in the title are the Tiger Shallowtail butterflies which are the state butterfly of South Carolina as well as six other eastern states.

The story opens with Benjamin “Ben” Taylor, who is a middle aged man, married with three children. He was addicted to his work and with the pressures of providing for his growing family, he filled his time with more work and less home. With his children grown and gone, he befriends a young neighbor, Andy Dobson. Andy is caught by Ben watching the butterflies in Ben’s garden. Something strange happens. Andy is in a mysterious coma and when he wakes up, he was an amazing story to tell. The story causes a media frenzy and the events that follow will cause Ben to question what he knows about God and His calling in Ben’s life. He will soon make a decision which will turn his life upside down.

The subtitle of this book was “With God, all things are possible” which is from Matthew 19:26 and challenges the reader’s understanding of how limited we are but how unlimited God is. I could really relate to this story because my faith has been challenged in many ways. Many people wonder with all that I’ve been through how I can still believe in God. While I have many examples, I will illustrate one that the book brought to mind. In one scene, a pastor is illustrating Jesus presence in our lives. He asks, “How has Jesus made His presence known to us?” I remember vividly when I was in the hospital after having emergency caesarian section and losing my daughter, Ziva Rae at 24 weeks gestation. I was visited by my aunt who prayed for me before she left. She prayed that Jesus would lay His hands on me and give me comfort and peace. Later, as I was falling asleep, I felt pressure on the top of my head as if someone had placed his hand on me. I knew it was Jesus. I love this book. It has great moments and Ben goes through a great transformation from a selfish, so-so Christian to a fully committed servant of God. I highly recommend this book. If Tigers were Angels is a great example of how all things are possible with God.

If Tigers were Angels is available on Amazon

for the Kindle for $3.03 and in paperback for $17.95