What Does the Bible Say About Angels?

The subject of angels is an interesting topic, and people have many differing opinions about angels.

In this article, we are going to take a look at some of what the Bible says about angels. Not everything people believe about angels can be found in the Bible. But God’s word says quite a bit about the angels.

First of all, angels are “spirits” (Psalm 104:4; Hebrews 1:7, 14). They are not physical beings with flesh and blood (Luke 24:39). As spirit beings, the angels are included in the “invisible creation” of God (Colossians 1:16).

Angels are a separate group of beings from God and man. They have been made a little “higher” than man (Psalm 8:4-5), perhaps in reference to their greater power (2 Peter 2:11). But, they are not God and resist being worshipped as God, instead calling themselves our “fellow servants” (Revelation 22:8-9).

Also, the angels do not marry, nor do they die (Luke 20:34-36).

When angels appear to human beings in human form, they are usually described as masculine (Genesis 18:1-2; Judges 13:6-8; Daniel 9:21). However, Zechariah 5:9 mentions “two women” carrying a basket in a vision that some interpret as angels.

While angels are sometimes shown as “childlike cherubs” in art, there is no reference in Scripture to angels appearing in this fashion. Also, the halo over their head isn’t something we find in Scripture, unless Revelation 10:1 is the exception.

Sometimes when angels appear in Scripture, they do have wings, such as when God’s prophets saw visions (Isaiah 6:2; Ezekiel 10:5), or when God gave Moses instructions for the mercy seat (Exodus 25:17-22). But they are not always depicted with wings.

Sometimes angels glowed brightly when they appeared to people (Daniel 10:6; Matthew 28:3; Acts 12:7). When human beings saw angels, a common reaction was fear (Numbers 22:31; 1 Chronicles 21:16; Daniel 10:10; Luke 1:12, 29; 2:9; Matthew 28:4).

The angels are not eternal beings like God. They were created by Him (Psalm 148:1-5; Nehemiah 9:6; Colossians 1:16). If they can properly be included with the creation of the “heavens,” then the angels would have been created at the beginning of the creation (Job 38:6-7).

Although we don’t know all the reasons God created angels, we do know He created them to hear and do His word (Psalm 103:20-21). The angels are servants of God, who carry out His will in His creation.

We’ll notice more about what the angels do in a moment.

Angels have greater power than human beings, and their “superhuman” strength is often shown in Scripture (Daniel 6:22; Matthew 28:2-4; 2 Thessalonians 1:7). However, unlike God, they cannot be everywhere at once - angels must be sent to reach a location (Daniel 9:21).

Angels also have greater knowledge than human beings (Daniel 9:22-23), and were commonly used to help individuals understand the visions they received from God (Daniel 10:10-11; Zechariah 1:9; Revelation 1:1). However, unlike God, angels do not know all things (1 Peter 1:12).

Angels can choose to do God’s will or sin against Him. The Scripture reveals that some did rebel against God at some point (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6).

Angels experience emotions, such as joy (Luke 15:10). Angels must also be capable of feeling pain of some sort, since the angels who sinned were cast into hell (2 Peter 2:4).

The angels worship God (Isaiah 6:3; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 148:2). The angels praised and worshipped God when Christ was born (Luke 2:13-14), and they are involved in the worship of the “Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 5:11-12; 7:11-12).

The angels were also used quite often to reveal God’s will to mankind (Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2). The word “angel” refers to a “messenger.” As we have already noticed, angels were typically used by God to help reveal and explain visions seen by the prophets and apostles. The angels played an important role in our receiving the fully completed word of God (1 Peter 1:22-25; James 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:15-17).

The angels are used as God’s warriors, fighting against His enemies and protecting His people (Genesis 19:13-14; 2 Kings 6:17; Daniel 10:13, 20-21; Ephesians 6:10-12).

The angels are used by God to “minister” or “serve” His people (Hebrews 1:13-14). While we may not know all that this entails, we can take great comfort in knowing the angels are servants of our Lord Jesus Christ and minister to us. The angel’s ministry for us extends to our death, as Jesus described Lazarus being carried to Paradise by the angels (Luke 16:22-23).

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A helpful resource, and one that helped me in preparing this material, is The Hosts of Heaven: A Biblical Study of Angels by Travis L. Quertermous.