The Doctrine of Angels

The Doctrine of Angels

I.      Summary Information

A.    Seraphim

1.      Seraphim, meaning “fiery ones or burning ones”. They appear only by name in Isaiah 6:2-6.

2.      They are a special class of angels whose chief duty appears to be that of praising God. They stand or hover above the throne of God.

3.      In Jewish tradition and art they are usually represented by serpentine flashes of lightening.

4.      Rev. 4:6-8 may be a possible reference to these creatures as well.

B.     Cherubim

1.      Cherub or Cherubium, the meaning of the word is unknown; one suggestion has been “intercessor” because of the words similarity with other near eastern words.

2.      There are 81 references in the O.T. to Cherub and only 1 reference in the N.T. (Heb. 9:5), where the Ark of the Covenant is described.

3.      They are the ones that guarded the gates of paradise when Adam and Eve were expelled.

4.      They decorate the top of the Ark of the Covenant and are used throughout Solomon’s Temple.

5.      In Jewish Tradition cherub are always represented as having the likeness of youths, although there is no such suggestion in scripture. Also, in Jewish art they are usually represented by storm clouds.

6.      They are often pictured in the Psalms and Ezekiel as bearers of God's throne chariot which are usually identified as clouds.

II.  The Ministry of Angels

Heb. 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.”

This verse is a summary concerning the doctrine of angels, describing their chief purpose and reason for existence. They are “ministering spirits”, who stand ready to carry out the commands of God on behalf of those who will “inherit salvation”. The salvation spoken of is that future salvation, or glorification, from the presence of sin, when Christ returns to receive us unto Himself.

A.    The word Angel in the Old Testament

1.      The Hebrew word “malak” is the primary word used for angel in the Old Testament.

2.      It can either mean messenger or representative.

3.      It occurs 213 times in the OT and is translated as angel 108 of those times. The remaining occurrences refer to human messengers.

4.      Other terms used in the O.T. to refer to angels are:

a.)   “Sons of God”, which only means that they belong to God, Gen: 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7 - (Job 1:6) “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.”

b.)   “Sons of the Mighty”, has the same meaning as the previous term, Psa. 29:1; 89:6:

“Ascribe to Yahweh, you sons of the mighty, Ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.”

c.)    “Holy Ones”, Job 5:1; 15:15; Psa. 89:5, 7; Dan. 4:17; Zech. 14:5; Jude 14 - (Psa. 89:5)

“And the heavens will praise Thy wonders, O Lord; Thy faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.”  

d.)   “Watchers”, although there is no specific passage in scripture that says that people have guardian angels, the concept of Guardian Angels appears in this term. 

(a)     In the apocryphal literature, the doctrine of the "watchers" is much elaborated.

(b)    In Jubilees they are regarded as angels sent to instruct mankind in righteousness.

(c)     In Enoch they sometimes appear as archangels. Dan. 4:13, 17, 23 - (Dan. 4:13)

a.      “I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.” ..

5.      Angels are Collectively Referred to as:

(1.)   “Council”, this may have reference to an inner circle of exalted angels, Psa. 89:7

“A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, And awesome above all those who are around Him?”

(2.)  “Congregation or Assembly”, same meaning as previous term, Psa. 82:1; 89:5

“And the heavens will praise Thy wonders, O Lord; Thy faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.”

(3.)  “Host or Hosts”, Gen. 2:1; Jos. 5:14; 1 Kgs. 22:19; 1 Chr. 12:22; 2 Chr. 18:18; Neh. 9:6; Psa. 33:6; 103:21; Luke 2:13

“Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will.”

B.    The Word Angel in the New Testament

1.      The Greek word translated angel is “angelos” which has the same meaning as the Hebrew word “messenger.”

2.      Of the 176 occurrences of the Greek word in the N.T. it is translated as angel 167 times.

3.      Other terms in the N.T. to refer to angels are:

a.)   “Heavenly Host” found in Luke 2:13

b.)   “Angels of Heaven” found in Mat. 24:36

4.      Our English word “Angel” is simply a transliteration of the Greek word and thus has no other significance attached to it other than it refers to “heavenly messengers”.

5.      For the word Angel does not refer to these heavenly beings nature but simply their function as being God's messengers to man.

III.          Classification and Names of Angels

A.    Their Nature

1.      They are created beings and were present at creation. Jewish tradition usually assigns their creation to the second day.

2.      They are called spirits and thus have no bodily form. They only have the appearance of a bodily form when sent to communicate with man so that we can see them and they are often not recognized as even being angels.

3.      Since they are created beings, they are not perfect and can and have fallen into temptation. When this happens they are referred to as fallen angels.

4.      Angels are superhuman in strength, but are not omnipotent.

5.      They are endowed with superior intellect and wisdom but are not omniscient.

6.      Jesus, when refuting the Sadducees argument against angels and the resurrection, said that angels were neither male or female and did not marry. However, when angels do appear the scripture always portrays them in a male form. There is no hint in scripture that they ever appeared in female form.

B.    Hierarchy of Angels

1.      From some of the various terms that we have seen applied to angels and other suggestions in scripture as to their nature, there appears to be some since of a hierarchy among angels. Because at least one of them is referred to as an Archangel, which means “a chief angel”.

2.      In Eph 3:10 Paul seems to allude to what many believe is a ranking of spiritual beings:

”To the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,”

3.      And again in Col 1:16 he says, 

“For by him were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.”

4.      Besides just the term angel there are classes of angels referred to as Seraphim and Cherubim.

5.      And to that list Christians believe that everyone has a “Guardian Angel”. Here are some of the passages used to support this belief. 

(Heb 1:14)  "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"

(Mat 18:10)  "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."

(Psa 34:7)  "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them."

(Psa 91:11)  "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;"

(Isa 63:9)  "In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old."

(Dan 3:28)  "Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God."

(Dan 6:22)  "My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."

6.      Jewish tradition usually assigned the rank of angels as Seraphim, Cherubim, Archangels, and Angels.

C.    Names of Angels

1.      There are only two angels that are named in the Bible, which may imply that all angels have names that are only known to God.

2.      The two named are Michael and Gabriel.

a.)   Michael, who is the only angel referred to as an archangel in scripture, means “who is like God” and is referred to, by name, five times in scripture.

Dan. 10:13. "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.”

Dan. 10:21 “However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.”

Dan. 12:1 “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.”

Jude 1:9 “But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you."

Rev. 12:7 “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war.”      

(1.)   In Dan. 12:1 Michael is mentioned as “the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people. Michael is regarded by the Jews as the patron angel of the Jews. But since he is called “the guard of the sons of thy people” he would stand guard for all God's people.

(2.)  Also in Daniel, besides Michael being referred to as a prince, we also have references to “the prince of Persia” and the “prince of Greece”. These are angels who are apparently entrusted the charge of, and possibly the rule over these nations. And so the concept has arisen that every nation has its specific prince angel.

(3.)  In the apocryphal book of Tobit three other angels are mentioned by name: Raphael, Uriel, and Jeremiel.

(4.)  Also in Tobit it says that Raphael “is one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints to God” Because of this verse Jewish tradition teaches that there are seven archangels, besides the ones already mentioned there is also Raguel, Saraqael and Remiel.

(5.)  Revelations 8:2 may support the possibility of this tradition.  “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God; and seven trumpets were given to them.”

b.)   Gabriel, which means “mighty man of God” is referred to four times in scripture. In each instance he is bringing an announcement to someone.

(1.)   In Daniel he is also seen as the angel who helps bring understanding to the vision that Daniel saw.

Dan. 8:16 “And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, "Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision."

Dan. 9:21 “While I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.”

Luke 1:19 “And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.”

Luke 1:26 “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth.”

D.    The Angel of the Lord

1.      Another angel of interest in the Old Testament which does not have a personal name, but is always referred to as “The Angel of the Lord”.

2.      The word translated Lord is the Hebrew word Yahweh, which is the personal name of God. It occurs about 54 times in the Old Testament.

3.      The “Angel of the Lord” is usually referred to by scholars as a “theophany”, which simply means a divine manifestation.

4.      He usually introduces himself as God, but in some instances he appears to be distinct from God.

5.      However in Exodus 3:2 when he appears to Moses he is definitely identified as God.

“And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, ‘I must turn aside now, and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up. When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said, "Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said also, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”

6.      Many scholars suggest that perhaps this is the divine manifestation of Jesus Christ before his incarnation.