Angels: What the Bible says about them

Have Angels really existed since the creation of the world? Who are they? Were they created by God and when were they created? How do they really look like and are they visible to us? These are some of the questions we ask when the issue of angels are raised or talked about.

The word ‘Angel’ comes from the Greek word ‘Angelos’, which means ‘messenger’. The Hebrew word ‘mal’akh’ has the same meaning (Wikipedia). They are often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles and the Quran. They are regarded as spirits in a variety of religions.

The book of Hebrew 12:22 says that we will see Angels when we get to the heavenly Jerusalem. This means that Angels really do exist. They are not glorified human beings and do not marry or produce like humans do (Matt. 22:30). Angels are a company or association, not a race descended from a common ancestor (Lk. 20:34-36).

The scripture explains that the world, and everything in it were created, both the seen and the unseen things (Col. 1:16-17), but it is most possible that the creation of Angels occurred in connection with the creation of the heavens in Gen. 1:1. It is therefore clear that they have not existed from all eternity (Neh. 9:6; Ps. 148:2, 5).

According to Chafer, Systematic Theology II, 3, Angels are mentioned at least 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 times in the New Testament.

Angels are referred to as ‘sons of God’ whiles humans are referred to as ‘sons of men’. The book of Job 38:4-7 states that, the sons of God shouted for joy when He laid the foundation of the earth. There have not been a definite figure or number of Angels in the Bible but it is stated that there are a great number of them (Dan. 7:10; Matt. 26:53; Heb. 12:22).

 Angels are essentially ministering spirits (Heb. 1:14) and do not have physical bodies but can take the form of human beings when situation demands (Heb.13:2). One may ask, how do Angels really look like? Since they are spirits, they are invisible (Col. 1:16) but when visible, they mostly appear in dazzling white and blazing glory (Matt. 28:2-4). An example is when Elisha prayed to God to open the eyes of his servant to see the army of Angels (2 Kings 6:16-17).

The issue of gender comes into mind when angels are mentioned. Most Angels mentioned in the Bible appear as males than females (Mk 16:5) with exception of one debatable passage in Zech. 5:9. The Book of Revelation describes them as unusual beings (Rev. 4:6-8).

We see in most books and hear in most stories that Angels are cute, chubby infants, but we see in the Bible that they are full grown men. They have wings (Is. 6:2, 6) and they fly (Dan. 9:21).

What then are the works of Angels? The work of an Angel is to worship and praise God (Is. 6:1-3, Rev. 4-5), reveal certain things to us (Acts 7:52-53), guide (Acts 8:26, 10:1-8), Provide (Gen. 21:17-20; 1 Kings 19:5-9; Matt. 4:11), Protect and deliver (Dan. 3:19-25; 6:20-24; Acts 5:17-21; 12:6-11), strengthen and encourage (Acts 5: 19-20; 27:23-25; Matt 4:11), help us to understand certain things (Dan. 9:20-24), answer prayers (Dan. 10:10-12), care for believers at the moment of death (Lk. 16:22) and help those who are to receive salvation (Heb. 1:14).