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Who or what are angels?
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How did angels originate?
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How many angels are there?
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Do angels have bodies?
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What do angels look like?
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Do people become angels after
death?
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How do angels compare to human
beings?
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Are all angels good?
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What is the job description for an
angel?
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DO PEOPLE BECOME ANGELS AFTER DEATH?
No, angels are not
glorified human beings. Matthew 22:30
explains that they do not marry
or reproduce like humans, and Hebrews 12:22-23
says that when we get to the heavenly Jerusalem,
we will be met by “myriads of angels”
and “the spirits
of righteous men
made perfect”—two separate groups.
Angels are a company or
association, not a race descended from a common ancestor (Luke 20:34-36).
We are called “sons of men,”
but angels
are never called “sons of angels.”
WHO OR WHAT ARE ANGELS?
The word “angel”
actually comes from the Greek
word aggelos, which means “messenger.” The matching Hebrew
word mal'ak has the same meaning.
Sometimes, the Bible
uses these words for human beings:
▪
priests (Malachi 2:7)
Sometimes, it speaks
figuratively of things or events as “messengers”…
▪
the pillar
of cloud
(Exodus 14:19)
▪
pestilence or plagues
(2 Samuel
24:16-17)
But it usually describes
the whole range of spirits
whom God
has created, including both good and evil angels, and special categories such
as cherubim,
seraphim,
and the archangel.
Angels are mentioned at
least 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 times in the New Testament
(Chafer, Systematic Theology, II, 3). Hence,
there is ample information available in Scripture
to allow us to build a foundation for our knowledge of angelic being.
HOW DID ANGELS ORIGINATE?
The Scripture speaks about
the creation
of angels,
therefore, it is clear that they have not existed from all eternity (Nehemiah 9:6;
Psalm 148:2,5).
Colossians
1:16-17 explains:
“For by Him all things
were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by
Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold
together.”
The time of their creation
is never definitely specified, but it is most probable that it occurred in
connection with the creation of the heavens in Genesis 1:1.
It may be that God created the angels immediately after He had created the heavens
and before He created
the earth—for according to Job 38:4-7,
“the sons of God
shouted for joy” when He laid the foundations of the earth.
HOW MANY ARE THERE?
While the Scriptures give no definite figures, we
are told that the number of angels is very great (Daniel 7:10;
Matthew 26:53;
Hebrews 12:22).
It appears that all angels were created at one
time. No new angels are being added to the number. Angels are not subject to
death or any form of extinction; therefore they do not decrease in number.
It seems reasonable to conclude that there are at
least as many spirit beings in existence as there will have been human beings
in all their history on earth.
DO ANGELS HAVE BODIES?
Angels are essentially “ministering spirits,”
(Hebrews 1:14)
and do not have physical bodies like humans. Jesus declared that “a spirit hath
not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:37-39).
The Bible does, however,
make it clear that angels can only be in one place at a time. They must have
some localized presence.
Angels can take on the
appearance of men when the occasion demands. How else could some “entertain
angels unaware” (Hebrews 13:2)?
On the other hand, their appearance is sometimes in dazzling white and blazing
glory (Matthew 28:2-4).
WHAT DO ANGELS LOOK LIKE?
Since angels are spirits
rather than physical beings, they don't have to be visible at all (Colossians 1:16).
Elisha
once prayed
that his servant would see the armies of angels surrounding the city, and the
young man discovered that he had overlooked a lot of invisible beings (2 Kings 6:17)!
When angels do appear,
they generally appear in the form of men. In Genesis 18, Abraham
welcomed three angelic guests who appeared at first to be nothing more than
some travellers. In the following chapter, two angels went to Sodom
where they were assumed to be simply a pair of human visitors.
With the possible
exception of one debatable passage in Zechariah 5:9,
angels always appear as males rather than females (Mark 16:5).
Sometimes an angel appears
to be a man with unusual features. Daniel
saw an angel with arms and legs resembling polished metal and precious stones,
and a face like lightning
(Daniel 10:5-6).
The angel that rolled back the stone from Christ's tomb
was radiating dazzling light
(Matthew 28:3;
Luke 24:4).
The book of
Revelation describes some highly unusual beings who may be a variety
of angel in Revelation 4:6-8.
Angels in the Bible never
appear as cute, chubby infants! They are always full-grown adults. When people
in the Bible saw an angel, their typical response was to fall on their faces in
fear and awe, not to reach out and tickle an adorable baby.
Some Bible passages
picture angels with wings (Isaiah 6:2,6).
Other verses talk about angels flying, and we assume that the wings would be
useful for that flight (Daniel 9:21).
However, I suspect that angels can move around without having to depend on
wings. Most references to angels in the Bible say nothing about wings, and
in passages like Genesis 18-19,
it is certain that no wings were visible.
HOW DO
ANGELS COMPARE TO HUMAN BEINGS?
▪
They are stronger than man, but not omnipotent (Psalm 103:20;
2 Peter 2:11).
▪
They are greater than man in knowledge, but not
omniscient (2 Samuel 14:20;
Matthew 24:36).
ARE ALL ANGELS GOOD?
Sorry! You can't trust
every angel.
The Bible classifies some
angels as “elect”
(1 Timothy 5:21)
or “holy”
(Matthew 25:31;
Mark 8:38).
All angels were originally holy, enjoying the presence of God (Matthew 18:10)
and the environment of heaven
(Mark 13:32).
Other angels oppose God
under the leadership of Satan
(Matthew 25:41;
2 Peter 2:4;
Jude 6;
Ephesians 6:12).
We often call these “demons.”
There is actually a great
unseen conflict raging that goes beyond anything we can imagine. It is not,
however, a fight between two equal and eternal forces. God who created all
beings is still in charge, and once He has used wicked angels to accomplish His
purposes, He will bring them to a final defeat.
JOB DESCRIPTION FOR AN ANGEL?
We don't know whether
every angel carries out the same tasks, or whether some of them specialize in
certain areas. The Bible does speak about classes of angelic beings like cherubim
(Ezekiel 1)
and seraphim
(Isaiah 6).
We also know the names of two notable angels: Michael
(Daniel 10:13;
Jude 9)
and Gabriel
(Daniel 9:21;
Luke 1:19,26).
The unnamed angels who
appear most often in Scripture
carry out a variety of tasks—all designed to serve God…
▪ Worship and
praise - This is the main activity portrayed in heaven
(Isaiah 6:1-3;
Revelation 4-5).
▪
Revealing - They serve as
messengers to communicate God's will to men. They helped reveal the law to Moses
(Acts 7:52-53),
and served as the carriers of much of the material in Daniel,
and Revelation.
▪
Guiding - Angels gave
instructions to Joseph
about the birth of Jesus
(Matthew 1-2),
to the women at the tomb,
to Philip
(Acts 8:26),
and to Cornelius
(Acts 10:1-8).
▪
Providing - God has used angels to
provide physical needs such as food
for Hagar
(Genesis 21:17-20),
Elijah
(1 Kings 19:6),
and Christ after His temptation
(Matthew 4:11).
▪
Protecting - Keeping God's people
out of physical danger, as in the cases of Daniel
and the lions,
and his three friends in the fiery furnace
(Daniel 3 and
6).
▪
Delivering - Getting God's people
out of danger once they're in it. Angels released the apostles
from prison
in Acts 5,
and repeated the process for Peter
in Acts 12.
▪
Strengthening and encouraging - Angels
strengthened Jesus
after His temptation
(Matt 4:11),
encouraged the apostles
to keep preaching after releasing them from prison (Acts 5:19-20),
and told Paul
that everyone on his ship
would survive the impending shipwreck (Acts 27:23-25).
▪
Answering prayer - God
often uses angels as His means of answering the prayers
of His people (Daniel 9:20-24;
10:10-12;
Acts 12:1-17).
▪
Caring for believers at the moment of death - In the
story of Lazarus
and the rich man, we read that angels carried the spirit
of Lazarus to “Abraham's bosom”
when he died (Luke 16:22).
My personal opinion is that we have, and will always have Angels amongst us. I think that they help guide us through the good times and tough times. I believe that God places certain people in our lives, right when we need them. We are human and each of has beliefs that may differ from each other.
I think the real question for all of us is: Do we belief that Jesus Christ died for us. That through Him we are made whole....
As for me I believe in Angels.
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