Angels

In short

In the Bible, they don’t have wings, they don’t sing, nor are there any female angels (unlike that show you used to watch). Real angels are not what they are like in popular culture.

Fun fact: the book of the Old Testament that mentions the word “angel” the most? The book of Judges (22 times). In the whole Bible, the only books to surpass that are Luke (23 times) and Revelation (79 times – you’re not surprised).

Why they are important

They are messengers from the Lord and members of God’s heavenly staff of spiritual beings.

What angels (in the Bible*) are NOT

1. Angels do not have wings
2. Angels do not sing. Crazy, right? They shout. Even at the birth of Jesus.
3. Angels are not female. They only named angels are Gabriel and Michael, and other times they are described as “a man” or men.
4. Angels are not EVERY spiritual being. I’ll explain this more in a minute.

What angels are

1. Spiritual beings – not humans. But very often (maybe most often?) they appear like men. Sometimes people in the Bible don’t even realize they are “entertaining angels” (Heb 13:2; likely referring to Abraham in Genesis 18).
2. “Ministering spirits” (Heb 1:14)
3. Messengers; that’s the meaning of the word. This might overlap with the previous point.
4. Sometimes, agents of mass destruction (Ps 78:59; 2Sa 24:16-17, and maybe v. 15 also)
5. Sometimes guardians – yes, really (Ex 23:20; Ps 91:11; Ps 34:7; Matt 18:10 [probably])
6. Sometimes scary (Luke 2:8-10)
7. Some are part of “the end of the age” (Matt 13:37-42)
8. Some sin (2Pe 2:4)
9. Limited in knowledge (Mk 13:32, 1Pe 1:12)

The Angel of the LORD

Oh, this is a huge topic. 67 times the phrase “angel of the LORD” is found in the Bible (57 start with “the”).

I can’t do this topic justice, and I am out of time, but just know that there is TREMENDOUS overlap with God Himself in the stories where this angel appears. Moses and the burning bush (Ex 3) is the classic example. There is NO transition from the angel being there to the LORD Himself speaking. Also read when Jacob wrestles with God (Gen 32, and descriptions of it in other books).

Footnote

* So, you might be thinking, “Well, maybe angels do sing (or whatever) but we just don’t know about it.” Well, sure, I mean, maybe they drive Mustangs. My point is, it is blasphemy to assert that angels do things that the Bible never says they do.