What Does The Bible Say About Angels?

May 27, 2021

By Jason Fetko

Have you ever met an Angel? What do they look like? When were they created? How many are named in the Bible? Man has always been fascinated with Angels.

Artists have painted them for centuries; musicians sing songs about them; books, television shows and movies depict them. However, most of these are devoid of God's revelation, The Bible. Did you know there are 273 references to Angels in the Bible?

WHAT IS AN ANGEL?

Angels are spiritual beings created by God to serve Him, though created a little higher than man. There are the good angels, who have remained obedient to Him to carry out His will, while others, fallen angels, disobeyed, fell from their holy position, and now stand in active opposition to the work and plan of God.

WHAT DO ANGELS REALLY LOOK LIKE?

1. Angels often appear like men.

Even though angels take on human appearance and become visible on occasion, they are spirit beings who do not have flesh and blood.

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it." — Hebrews 13:2

When necessary, God will direct one of His invisible angels to become visible in the life of a believer in order to accomplish a divinely ordained purpose.

In Genesis 19:1 two angels came to Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting in the gate and invited them into his house to spend the night.

They had taken on human form, because in verse 5 the men of the city came to his house and called out to Lot where are the "men" who came to you tonight?

"And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”" — Genesis 19:5

2. Angels often appeared in an awe inspiring presence.

Daniel saw this stunning visual of one angel:

"I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze..." — Daniel 10:5-6

Daniel said that the men with him didn't see the angel, yet sensing the presence he saw, they ran away in terror. He himself turned pale and all his strength left him.

"So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength." — Daniel 10:8

3. Angels often appeared with the appearance of light.

When an angel came to Peter's cell to release him:

"And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell." — Acts 12:7

In Matthew 28, an angel of the Lord descended from Heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

"His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. " — Matthew 28:3

4. The Seraphim order of Angels have 6 wings.

The Bible indicates that the seraphim order of angelic creatures have 2 wings to cover their face, 2 wings to cover their feet, and 2 wings to fly with.

Two wings covered their faces because they dared not to directly gaze at God's glory.

Two wings covered their feet to acknowledge their lowliness even though they engaged in divine service.

The last two wings they flew in serving the One on the throne. Thus, four wings related to worship, emphasizing the priority of praise.

"Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew." — Isaiah 6:2

WHEN WERE ANGELS CREATED?

Now in Colossians 1, Paul writes, “By Him were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created by Him.”

In this verse the words "thrones, dominions, principalities and powers" is referring to titles for the angels. It says there in Colossians 1:16 that God created angels. All the angels were created at the same time by a direct act of God.

Now we do not know when angels were created, because the Bible does not specifically state it.

However, we can look at some verses to give us clues as to a possible time frame.

We also know by reading Genesis 1:1 that God created the heavens and the earth on the first day of the creation week.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."—Genesis 1:1

During his answer to Job, God asked this question:

"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" — Job 38:4-7

The "sons of God shouted for joy” in response to God’s wonderful creative work!

The "sons of God" were the angels who sang together in celebration of God's creation. We know these are the angels because in Job 1:6, the "sons of God" who included Satan, came to report to God on his throne.

"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them." — Job 1:6

These verses tell us that the angels rejoiced when God laid the foundations of the earth. This could be a reference to day 1, when God made the earth; or it could be a reference to day 3, when God made the dry land. Either way, the angels were in existence before day 4 of the Creation Week.

We find more info on the creation of Satan in Ezekiel 28 who when he was created had not yet sinned.

"You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you." — Ezekiel 28:13-15

Verse 15 mentions that Satan was created on a specific “day.” Since time did not exist before day 1, this means that Satan was created during the Creation Week.

So we can speculate that the angels were created at some point during the Creation Week before God made man on Day 6.

HOW MANY ANGELS ARE NAMED IN THE BIBLE?

Only 3 Angels have names in the Bible.

1. Micheal — The Archangel

The name Michael means “who is like God?”

God sent to Daniel a heavenly messenger and a demon held him up, so God then sent Michael to go down there and knock that demon out of the way so that the holy angel could do what he was sent to do in Daniel 10:13

"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia." — Daniel 10:13

Michael is the defender of Israel who will wage war on behalf of Israel against Satan and his hordes in the Tribulation in Revelations 12:7-8

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven." — Rev 12:7-8

Michael also disputed with Satan about the body of Moses, but Michael refrained from judgment, leaving that to God in Jude 1:9

"Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." — Jude 1:9

2. Gabriel — God's Special Messenger

Gabriel name means “man of God” or “God is strong.” Gabriel seems to be God’s special messenger of His kingdom program in each of the four times he appears in the Bible record … He reveals and interprets God’s purpose and program concerning Messiah and His kingdom to the prophets and people of Israel.

In a highly significant passage, Gabriel explained the events of the seventy weeks for Israel in Daniel 9:21–27.

"Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation." — Dan 9:21

Gabriel explained to Daniel the succeeding kingdoms of Medo-Persia and Greece as well as the untimely death of Alexander the Great in Daniel 8.

"And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision." — Dan 8:16

Gabriel also announced the birth of John the Baptist to Zacharias (Luke 1:11–20).

“I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.” — Luke 1:19

Gabriel told Mary that the One born to her would be great and rule on the throne of David.

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin . . . and the virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:26–27).

3. Lucifer — The Fallen Angel

Lucifer means “shining one” or “star of the morning.” He may have been the wisest and most beautiful of all God’s created beings who was originally placed in a position of authority over the cherubim surrounding the throne of God.

He is mentioned in Isaiah 14:12 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Satan is another name given to him which means “accuser” or “adversary” in Hebrew

He is mentioned in several places including Matthew 4:10 "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

Apollyon/Abaddon, is another name given to him which means "destroyer"

He is mentioned in Revelations 9:11 "They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon."

7 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ANGELS

1. There are too many angels to be counted.

The Bible indicates that angels are too numerous to count.

"And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;" — Rev 5:11

"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,"— Hebrews 12:22

2. Angels have rank and order.

Michael is the only angel designated archangel in the Bible in Jude 9. The mission of the archangel is protector of Israel. The word "archangel" comes from the Greek word "archangelos" meaning "a chief angel." It refers to an angel ranked highest or in charge of other angels.

There were chief princes (Dan. 10:13), of whom Michael was one, as the highest ranking angels of God.

3. Cherubim are the highest order of angels.

Cherubim are angelic beings of the highest rank, and they have absolutely indescribable beauty and power. The character and appearance of those angels is so far beyond our imagination, and so absolutely incomprehensible to us, that we could never even begin to realize what they are like. Their beauty is beyond anything that humanly is within the conception of man’s mind.

They were the protectors of the holiness of God. They always appear surrounding God’s presence. They protect His holiness, and they are sometimes seen proclaiming His grace. They are incredibly magnificent beings. Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer are the 3 named cherubim in scripture.

Cherubim are mentioned in several places throughout Scripture:
They guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24).
God is enthroned above them (Ezekiel 10:1–22).
God rides on them (Psalm 18:10)
Two golden figures of cherubim sit above the Ark of the Covenant, where God promised to dwell among his people (Exodus 25:22, see also verses 18–21).

4. Seraphim are another class of angels.

Seraphim meaning “burning ones,” are only mentioned once in the Bible. They appear around God's throne in Isaiah 6:2–7, where they continually worship the Lord and say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3).

They are described as each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly.

5. Angels never die.

They are immortal and they never die. They will live forever; from the moment of their creation on, they will live. But unless you’re uninitiated in terms of understanding this, that’s true also of men, isn’t it? So it wouldn’t be any problem. We will live forever as well, either with God or without Him.

6. Angels are not to be worshipped.

In the book of Revelation, an angel warns John not to worship him: “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God” (Revelation 19:10).

7. Believers will judge Angels.

In the book of 1st Corinthians Paul when warning Christians not to take each other to court says:

"Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, matters of this life?" — 1st Corinthians 6:3