First and foremost, the Bible never really explains angels, and when the Bible makes reference to angels it is usually in a casual manner, or a matter of fact record of their actions in heaven and on earth. I do believe that they play an important role in our lives, but for the most part, we never see or hear them. For the next 3 or 4 articles I will try to put together some information on angelic beings, both good and evil.
The Bible teaches us that angels are created beings, and they do not have attributes of deity such as omniscience or omnipresence. They have not always existed, but they have been around a long time. Job 38:6-7 says that when God laid the foundations of the earth the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for Joy. So the angels were there when God created the universe. Nehemiah 9:6 says, “You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.” The Bible clearly teaches that God created the angels!
The Bible never teaches that angels are to receive worship, in fact, every time someone tried to worship them, they always refused to be worshipped and directed all worship to God. An example of this is when the apostle John was going to worship an angel and the angel said, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10, cf. Revelation 22:8-9).
Psalm 148:1-5 teaches us that angels are created beings and they worship God: “Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created.”
Many times the apostle Paul refers to the angels as “principalities and powers” who dwell and rule in heavenly places (cf. Ephesians 6:12). The angels are organized in a God-ordered chain of command. Jesus Christ is at the Father’s right hand, “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:21). Over and over again, Scripture plainly teaches the difference between Jesus Christ, who is eternal (John 1:1), and the angels, who are only created beings. Jesus Christ, “is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17).
Speaking of Jesus, Paul said, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 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. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:15-17). This tells us that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and that He created everything in heaven and in earth, the angels included.
Taking our information only from the Bible, we find that there are many unanswered questions concerning angels. We do know that angels minister to humans, and at times, even intervene into human affairs. But we know very little about how or why this happens. I don’t like to dwell into spiritual matters beyond what is revealed for us in the Bible, and I think that anyone that does is treading on dangerous ground (read Revelation 22:18-19). There are some things we will learn after we get to heaven. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever” (Deuteronomy 29:29).
From our earthly position, there are many things we can never learn about angels, but there are several places in the Bible that teaches us about these amazing creatures. And since we are going to spend eternity with them in heaven, it might help us to learn all we can from Scripture about the angels and their role in our lives. Angels are called “the sons of the mighty” in Psalm 89:6, “sons of God” (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:1); “holy ones” (Psalm 89:5); “morning stars” (Job 38:7), “Princes” (Daniel 10:13); and “principalities and powers” (Ephesians 3:10). Angels are somewhat like humans; they are beings with intellect, feelings, and choice. They have personalities, just like we do.
How many angels are there? The Bible doesn’t tells us, but when Jesus was born there appeared “a multitude of heavenly host” (Luke 2:13). Jesus said that He could call twelve legions (somewhere between 78,000 and 148,000) of angels to be with Him, but the Bible teaches us that the total number is much higher. Hebrews 12:22 says, “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels.” Like the stars of heaven and the grains of sands on earth, only God knows the precise number, and it is probably a number so high that our human mind cannot comprehend it.
When we speak of angels, we cannot ignore Satan and the demons, because they are fallen angels. We don’t know when this happened, but there are a couple of places in the Bible that seem to tell us the reason that Satan was kicked out of heaven. Both Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 tell of this and we will discuss both of them later. The Bible also indicates that a third of the angels rebelled with Satan (Revelation 12:4). More next time.