What angels are and what they do. Also what they are not.
Angels is one of those areas many do not consider important to study. While true there are more important issues to learn and understand initially it is hardly an unimportant area. Angels play and active role in events on the earth and especially in the daily lives of the saints.
So, what is an angel?
ANGEL Strong's Number: 32 Original Word: aggelo Transliterated Word: Aggelos Phonetic Spelling: ang'-el-os Parts of Speech : Noun Masculine Definition:
a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God
So, angel does not mean a specific class of being as many think. It does not equate to being human, in example, as meaning a distinct type of being. It refers to a job or office description or a general description.
Here are verses where aggelos is used to refer to humans and even agents of Satan.
Matthew 11: (NIV) 10"This is the one about whom it is written, 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'
2 Corinthians 12: (NIV) 7And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me-- to keep me from exalting myself!
James 2: (NIV) 25And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
Yet, we never told a specific name, as in such as human being to call them. So, the descriptive angel is used.
Using the term angel we will proceed in our study of what that specific group is, and is not. There are more errors and misconceptions that are common and have been common for centuries.
An angel is a spirit being and such do not have flesh.
Hebrews 1: (NIV) 14Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Luke 24: (NIV) 39 "(1) See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; (2) touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
SPIRIT Strong's Number: 4151 Original Word: pneuma Transliterated Word: Pneuma Phonetic Spelling: pnyoo'-mah Parts of Speech : Noun Neuter Definition:
the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son
sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his personality and character (the Holy Spirit)
sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his work and power (the Spirit of Truth)
never referred to as a depersonalised force
the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated
the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides
the soul
a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting
a life giving spirit
a human soul that has left the body
a spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. an angel
used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men
the spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to God, the divine nature of Christ
the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one
the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.
a movement of air (a gentle blast)
of the wind, hence the wind itself
breath of nostrils or mouth
And here is good place to deal with a very common error that has become accepted by doctrinal teaching and not through actual study. That being the Nephilim issue of Genesis.
Genesis 6: (NIV) 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days-and also afterward-when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
Far too may accept the Nephilim were offspring of angels marrying women. This is not only completely non biblical but also illogical.
This verse does not say Nephilim were born to these marriages. Nor would it matter if they did.
The common rationale is that sons of God means angels. And that is completely erroneous. Most linguists will tell you this term is vague and this verse does not uphold that interpretation.
And when you look at the New Testament you find sons of God applies to saints as well as angels. So linguistically it is commonly held to simply mean those in relationship with God. No more and no less.
Further, there were Nephilim after the Flood. So these angels came back and did it again? Or another batch rebelled and repeated the old error?
Numbers 13: (NIV) 33We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
Also angels are spirits and were created as a company. They are not male or female to start with. They do not marry or reproduce.
Matthew 22: (NIV) 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
And any such reproduction would be a new race of beings. And every initial reproduction would be a separate race. So each race would need a blood sacrifice such as Christ did for us to give the offspring a chance at salvation.
Consider that even if they were male and female why would they want human women? An angelic female would be bounds above such. And being spirit could become any shape her mate would desire. Plus if they were male and female they would be reproducing in Heaven. Isn’t that the purpose of the sexes? But that just isn’t happening due to the issues of race and so on.
Further, God determined each kind would produce its own kind. Angels are not human so they cannot reproduce with humans. Nor can they even create the life necessary to reproduce, meaning the sperm required. And even if they could create sperm it would be spirit, not flesh, so it could not impregnate a flesh and blood human woman.
Also, it is said these are the angels that rebel. But that is not plausible unless one believes in at least four separate rebellions in Heaven. But the Bible never speaks of more than one.
The proof of this is Satan rebelled before the 6 days of creation. He was already fallen when he tempted Eve.
Luke 10: (NIV) 18 And He said to them, "I was watching (1) Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
This is past tense. Yes, he was allowed back in Heaven to be the Accuser but here he was cast down after losing his position in Heaven. And along with him the third of the angels that rebelled with him.
Jude 1: (NIV) 6 And (1) angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has (2) kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
Clearly, the angels that rebelled with him are bound until the White Throne Judgment. They will not be released again for a future war. They were not released to sire the Nephilim.
Therefore, if the Nephilim were sired by fallen angels that means a second group rebelled. And then with the time of Goliath a third. Then another group for the proposed war in Heaven in Revelation 12.
But there is no war in Revelation 12 in the future. It historical as is the reference to the past birth of Christ.
There are two passages in that chapter. The first deals with history and the second with the Tribulation Period. There is no birth in the second passage or any war. Only Satan is cast down in the second. He is the falling star given the authority to open the Pit. And this passage is indeed part of the 5th Trumpet which is the First Woe at Mid Tribulation.
So, the war was long ago, Satan was cast from his position then along with the third of the angels that rebelled with him. He became the tempter of Adam and Eve and the Accuser of the saints before the throne afterwards. The other fallen angels have been and are bound in caves of darkness until Judgment.
So they are not demons. No where are fallen angels ever called demons. No where are demons ever called fallen angels.
And it is illogical that a fallen angel would even desire to posses a human. They are complete beings in and of themselves.
But it would be logical for non-human beings that once had flesh to desire to take on flesh again. They actually would be functional in it. After all, as spirits they are incomplete as the deceased saints are incomplete until they receive their glorified bodies.
But that is another subject.
Moving on to the so-called classes of angels in the same context of angels being a specific type of being. Here we are talking about the Seraphim, Cherubim, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, and Principalities.
Totally non-Biblical concept. First, let us split off Seraphim, Cherubim and Archangels and look at the rest. These are in reference to earthly governments. And the earthly governments while appointed by God are under the authority of Satan.
When Adam fell his God given authority over the earth went to Satan. And while Christ has paid the redemption price he has not yet reclaimed the earth. And will not do so until the Second Coming.
So in spiritual context we are talking about the spirits behind or ruling through the governments of the world and other authorities. Therefore if angels they would be fallen angels.
But it has already been shown the fallen angels are not roaming the earth. They are chained in prison. So they cannot be these powers referred to.
So, these powers, positions, and titles belong to demons, not fallen angels. This again shows such words are dealing with titles and job descriptions and not types of beings.
To further prove the point let us look at Cherubim next. Cherubim are not a class of being. It simply is a title used to refer to being a guardian. Let us look at the uses of Cherubim in the Bible.
Genesis 3: (NIV) 24After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side [ 3:24 Or [ placed in front ] ] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Exodus 25: (NIV) 18And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.
Isaiah 37: (NIV) 16"O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
Ezekiel 10: (NIV) 1 I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of sapphire [1] above the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim. 2 The LORD said to the man clothed in linen, "Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city." And as I watched, he went in. 3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD . 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty [2] when he speaks. 6 When the LORD commanded the man in linen, "Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim," the man went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out. 8 (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like the hands of a man.) 9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like chrysolite. 10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about [3] as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. 12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. 13 I heard the wheels being called "the whirling wheels." 14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them. 18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the LORD 's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like the hands of a man. 22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.
Revelation 4: (NIV) 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
Ezekiel 28: (NIV) 14"You were the (1) anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy (2) mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the (3) stones of fire.
So what do all these verses have in common? All are guard positions.
And look at Satan. He as annointed, not created, as a Cherub. Plus he was the supreme angel over all others before he fell. And are not such called Archangels, not Cherubs?
Finally, look at the four Cherubs of the throne of God. They are defined as Four Living Beings. This is the same words used to refer to flesh life in the Bible. No other Heavenly Being is ever called this. That means they are flesh and blood. So no way by any stretch of the imagination can they be angels in the classical use of the word.
And Cherub is used in the context of functionality rather than being.
Look at the definitions.
LIVING Strong's Number: 02416 Original Word: yx Transliterated Word: Chay Phonetic Spelling: khah'-ee Parts of Speech : N/A Definition:
living, alive
green (of vegetation)
flowing, fresh (of water)
lively, active (of man)
reviving (of the springtime) n m
relatives
life (abstract emphatic)
life
sustenance, maintenance n f
living thing, animal
animal
life
appetite
revival, renewal
community
CHERUB Strong's Number: 03742 Original Word: bwrk Transliterated Word: K@ruwb Phonetic Spelling: ker-oob' Parts of Speech : Noun Masculine Definition:
cherub, cherubim (pl)
an angelic being
as guardians of Eden
as flanking God's throne
as an image form hovering over the Ark of the Covenant
as the chariot of Jehovah (fig.)
Strong's Number: 03742 Original Word: bwrk Transliterated Word: K@ruwb Phonetic Spelling: ker-oob' Parts of Speech : Noun Masculine Definition:
So, again we find the realities we live with spiritually are far more complex than many think or believe. But perfectly in keeping and logical from a Biblical point of view.
