The
word angel is the translation of words meaning “messenger”
or “agent” (Young’s); “messenger” (Strong’s).
These may be spirit or human creatures. The former had the power to
materialize in human form (Gen. 18:2; Heb. 13:2), a privilege denied
to those who fell. (2 Pet. 2:4) Michael, the archangel (chief messenger)
(Dan. 10:13, margin; 12:1; Jude 9; Zech.3:2), has been identified as
our Lord Jesus, The Word (Logos) of God. Rev.19:13
SPIRIT BEINGS CALLED ANGELS
HEB.
1:7: “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits,
and his ministers a flame of fire.”
HIGHER
THAN MAN
PSA. 8:4,5: “What is man...and the son of man...? For thou hast
made him a little lower than the angels....” Cf. Heb. 2:6,7.
OUR
LORD PASSED BY THE NATURE OF ANGELS TO REDEEM US
HEB. 2:16: “For verily he took not on him the nature of angels....”
SEEN BY MATERIALIZATION AS MAN
GEN.
19:1-5: “And there came two angels to Sodom...and Lot...said,...turn
in...into your servant’s house,...and they...entered into his
house....But...the men of the city...said unto him, Where are the men
which came in to thee...?”
GEN.
18:1,2: “And the Lord appeared unto him [Abraham]...and he...looked,
and, lo, three men stood by him....”
It was thus that he—
HEB. 13:2: “...entertained angels unawares.”
JUDG. 13:3,6: “And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman....the
woman...told her husband....A man of God came unto me, and his countenance
was like the
countenance of an angel of God, very terrible....”
JUDG. 13:11,16,20: “And Manoah...came to the man, and said unto
him, art thou the man...?....Manoah knew not that he was an angel....it
came to pass, when the flame went
up...from off the altar, that the angel...ascended in the flame of the
altar....”
JOSH. 5:13,14: “...there stood a man...he said...as captain of
the host of the LORD am I now come.”
ANGELS
SOMETIMES INVISIBLE TO SOME WHILE SEEN MIRACULOUSLY BY OTHERS
2 KINGS 6:17: “And Elisha prayed....And the LORD opened the eyes
of the young man...and...the mountain was full of horses and chariots
of fire round about Elisha.”
DAN.
10:5-9: “Then I...looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in
linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also
was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and
his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to
polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude....the
men that were with me saw not the vision....there remained no strength
in me....and when I heard the voice...then was I in a deep sleep....”
SOMETIMES
THEY APPEARED IN DREAMS
MATT.
1:20: “...the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream....”
GEN. 28:12: “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder...and behold
the angels of God ascending and descending on it.”
ANGELS
SEEN AS MEN
MATT. 28:2-4: “...the angel of the Lord descended from heaven....His
countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for
fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.”
MARK 16:5: “And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young
man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and
they were affrighted.”
THEIR MINISTRY
HEB. 1:14: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to
minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
MATT. 18:10: “...despise not one of these little ones; for...in
heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father....”
PSA. 34:7: “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that
fear him, and delivereth them.” Cf. 2 Kings 6:17
ISA. 63:9: “...the angel of his presence saved them....”
DAN. 6:22: “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’
mouths....”
ACTS 5:19: “But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison
doors....”
ACTS 12:7-10,15: “...the angel...came....And he saith....follow
me....the iron gate...opened...of his own accord....And they said unto
her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so.
Then said they, It is his angel.”
PSA. 91:11,12: “For he shall give his angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands,
lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
2 KINGS 19:35: “...that night...the angel of the Lord...smote...an
hundred fourscore and five thousand: and...in the morning...they were
all dead corpses.”
NEITHER DYING NOR MARRYING
LUKE 20:35,36; MARK 12:25: “...they... neither marry, nor...die...but
are as the angels... in heaven.”
MICHAEL
THE ARCHANGEL
DAN.
10:13: “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me...but,
lo, Michael, one [margin, the first] of the chief princes, came to help
me....”
DAN.
10:21: “...none...holdeth with me in these things, but Michael
your prince.” Compare—
JOHN
1:11: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
DAN.
12:1: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince
which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a
time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation....”
1
THESS. 4:16: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven...with
the voice of the archangel....”
JUDE 9: “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil....durst
not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, the Lord rebuke
thee.”
ZECH. 3:2: “And the LORD [called ‘the angel of the LORD’
in verse 1] said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee....” It seems
evident from these texts that Michael, whose name means “Who is
like God?” (Young’s); “who (is) like God?”
(Strong’s), is to be identified with the Lord’s spokesman,
or “Word,” who represented the Father on many occasions,
as Chief Messenger. Cf. John 1:1; Gen. 3:8.
GABRIEL
DAN. 8:16; 9:21: “And I heard a man’s voice between the
banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand
the vision. 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.”
LUKE
1:19,26: “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel,
that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and
to show thee these glad tidings. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel
was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth.”
The
Bible also speaks of
THRONES,
DOMINIONS, PRINCIPALITIES, POWERS, AND AUTHORITIES
EPH.
3:10: “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers
in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom
of God...”
COL.
1:16: “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven,
and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones,
or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created
by him, and for him...”
1
PET. 3:22: “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand
of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”
CHERUBIM
GEN.
3:24: “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the
garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way,
to keep the way of the tree of life.”
EXOD.
25:18; 37:7: “And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten
work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And he
made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on
the two ends of the mercy seat.”
1
KINGS 6:23: “And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive
tree, each ten cubits high.”
EZEK.
1:4-25: “And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the
north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness
was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out
of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness
of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the
likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four
wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet
was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the
color of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their
wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.
Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went;
they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces,
they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right
side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four
also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings
were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another,
and two covered their bodies. And they went every one straight forward:
whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they
went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance
was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it
went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright,
and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran
and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. Now as I beheld
the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living
creatures, with his four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their
work was like unto the color of a beryl: and they four had one likeness:
and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle
of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they
turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that
they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them
four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and
when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels
were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither
was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them:
for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. When those
went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those
were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against
them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. And the
likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was
as the color of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads
above. And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward
the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every
one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. And when they
went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters,
as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an
host: when they stood, they let down their wings. And there was a voice
from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had
let down their wings.”
EZEK.
28:14: “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have
set thee so thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked
up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”
OTHER
TRANSLATIONS OF THIS VERSE LEESER:
“
Thou wast a cherub with outspread covering (wings); and I had set thee
upon the holy mountain of God (as) thou wast; in the midst of the stones
of fire didst thou wander.”
ROTHERHAM: “Thou wast the anointed cherub that covered, —
when I appointed thee in the holy mount of God thou wast, amid stones
of fire thou didst walk to and fro.”
SATAN’S FALL
EZEK. 28:15-20: “Thou wast perfect in thy ways...till iniquity
was found in thee....thou hast sinned:...I will cast thee...out of the
mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the
midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy
beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness:
I will cast thee to the ground....Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries...
therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall
devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes....and never shalt thou
be any more.” Cf. Mal. 4:1,3
MAL.
4:1,3: “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;
and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble:
and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts,
that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. And ye shall tread
down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.”
LUKE
10:18: “...I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”
ISA. 14:12-15: “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! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon
the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou
shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” (see
also Index: Hell) Contrast Phil. 2:5-11, Diag.
PHIL: 2:5-11: Diag. “Let this disposition be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus, who, though being in God’s Form, yet did
not meditate a Usurpation to BE like God, but divested Himself, taking
a Bondman’s Form, having been made in the Likeness of Men; and
being in condition as a Man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto
Death, even the Death of the Cross. And therefore God supremely exalted
Him and freely granted to him THAT Name which is above Every Name; in
order that in the NAME of Jesus Every Knee should bend, of those in
heaven, and of those on earth, and of those beneath; and Every Tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the Glory of God the Father.”
ANGELS CALLED SONS OF GOD
JOB
38:7: “...the morning stars [Cf. Rev. 2:28; 22:16] sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
REV.
2:28; 22:16: “And I will give him the morning star. I Jesus have
sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I
am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”
Cf. Job 1:6; 2:1.
JOB
1:6; 2:1: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.... Again
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before
the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the
LORD.”
GEN.
6:2,4: “That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they
were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.”
[Cf. vs. 4.] “There were giants in the earth in those days; and
also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of
men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which
were of old, men of renown.”
THESE
BECAME FALLEN ANGELS, FOLLOWING SATAN
EPH.
2:2: “...the prince of the power of the air....”
EPH.
6:12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [heavenly — margin]
places.”
HOW
CHRIST PREACHED TO THESE
1
PET. 3:18-20: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the
just for the unjust...being put to death in the flesh, but quickened
by [in *] the spirit, by [Greek, en, in — not between] which also
he went and [see Diag. footnote] preached unto the spirits in prison;
which... were disobedient...in the days of Noah....”
* “There is no preposition ‘in’ nor ‘by’
in the Greek of vs.18; but it must be supplied to express the meaning
of the case of the Greek nouns translated ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit.’
As the two words are in contrast but in the same case in the Greek,
it is appropriate to use the same preposition to express the meaning
of that case in English.” See also R.V., R.S.V., Rotherham, Weymouth,
Diag. interlineary, Moffatt, Englishman’s Gr. N.T. footnote, and
Phillips.
THEIR
IMPRISONMENT
2
PET. 2:4: “...God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast
them down to hell* and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be
reserved unto judgment....”
*The words “cast them down to hell” in the King James Version
are a translation of the Greek, tartarosas, from tartaroo, “send
into Tartarus” (Young) — (a dark abyss — Liddell and
Scott.) Cf. Luke 8:31, Diag.
LUKE 8:31, Diag.: “And he besought him that he would not command
them to go out into the ABYSS.”
JUDE 6: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but
left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting [Greek: aidios,
perpetual [Young] ever — during [Strong] chains under darkness
unto the judgment of the great day.”
THEIR JUDGES
1
COR. 6:3: “Know ye not that we shall judge angels?....”
“ANGELS” APPLIED TO MESSENGERS OF THE CHURCH IN THE FLESH
1
COR. 11:10: “For this cause ought the woman to have power [the
head covering — see Diag. footnote] on her head because of the
angels [messengers].”
REV.
2:1,8,12,18; 3:1,7,14: “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus
write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right
hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; And
unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the
first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; And to the angel of
the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp
sword with two edges; And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write;
These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame
of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; And unto the angel of the
church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits
of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name
that thou livest, and art dead. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia
write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that
hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth,
and no man openeth; And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans
write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the
beginning of the creation of God.” Strong: “...By implication
a pastor....”
|
