bibleonangels

BIBLE ON ANGELS
Who are Angels?
Angels are Created, Intelligent Living Beings of a Spiritual Nature.
The best way to define angels is to evaluate how the bible describes and speaks about them. When this
is done, the evidence from scriptures will reveal that one definition can be safely given for them: “angels
are created, intelligent living beings of a spiritual nature”

i) Angels are Created

In Psalm 104:4 the bible says God “maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire”, and
Ephesians 3:9 says that God is a “God, who created all things”. These two scriptures, when
compared, state that God is the Creator of everything, including angels. So then, we know
angels came into existence as a result of a creative act of God.

This fact must be carefully digested as the beauty and majesty of these beings regularly evoke
feelings they can be worshipped. John, after interacting with an angel, said “I fell down to
worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.” (Revelation 22:8).
However the angel told him “See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren
the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.”(Revelation 22:9).
Remember, only the Creator is to be worshiped. Revelation 14:7 says “worship him that made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” The fact that angels are creatures
disqualifies them for worship.

ii) Angels are intelligent

Different dictionary sources give similar definitions for intelligence. For our purpose, we will use
Collins Dictionary’s excellent definition. Intelligence, it says, is “the ability to think, reason, and
understand instead of doing things automatically or by instinct.” This meaning is applicable to
biblical angels for they frequently demonstrate thinking, feeling, and acting based on their own
personal choices.

Like humans, angels are individuals having identities, so each angel is a person. One instance
evidencing the intelligence of angels is recorded in Job 1:7-12 when God and the angel Satan
conversed about Job. God asked Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is
none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth
evil?” Satan responded, “Doth Job fear God for nought?”Hast not thou made an hedge about
him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side”. This response from Satan
tells us he clearly listened to God, processed what God said, and replied to God, displaying
intelligence. Moreover, “the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19), a popular phrase
used within Christendom, is another stated revelation of angelic individuality and intelligence.
Other scriptures document angels showcasing intellectual traits. In Revelation 12:12 it said the
Devil had “great wrath” something only a feeling person can do. And there are the many
conversations Jesus had with unclean spirits while they possessed human victims (see Matthew
8:28-34 for example). With all this, it goes without saying that based on bible texts angels are
intelligent beings.

A knowledge that angels are persons possessing intellects is valuable. It illuminates the
understanding with new insights and provides greater appreciation of several biblical topics
such as the great controversy. For example, this knowledge of angels informs us of the personal
nature of the war between Good and Evil, Christ and Satan.

iii) Angels are Living Beings

Angels live and be. In other words, they are existences that have life within them imparted to
them by God, their Creator, the only Source of Life. We often find stories in the bible supportive
of this view. In Luke 1:19 we read “the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in
the presence of God”. This is the story of when an angel appeared to Zacharias. There is also a
story in Mark 1 regarding a man possessed with an unclean spirit. The text reads “there was in
their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit” (Mark 1:23). If you analyze these texts, and others
of a similar nature, you would note that the bible authors believed the angels were real beings
with the life of God in them.

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The key point here is that angels have life, a God given life. And it is not a quality they own
because of any innate greatness they possess. No! Not at all! Instead, though humans are made
“a little lower than the angels” (Psalms 8:5), in this regard they are like us, so they are just as
dependent upon God for life. Like humans, in Him they “live, and move” (Acts 17:28).

iv) Angels are spiritual

Angels are spiritual. They do not live in the physical dimension as we do. They do not have flesh
and blood bodies. Biblical evidence that angels are spiritual, non-physical beings can be found all
over the scriptures. Speaking of Jesus, Luke wrote “he cured many of their infirmities and
plagues, and of evil spirits;” Luke 7:21. Here wicked angels are referred to as evil spirits. On the
other hand, Paul speaking about God said “But to which of the angels said he [God] at any time,
Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool Are they not all ministering spirits,
sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Hebrews 1:13-14. Paul here
calls angels ministering spirits. Additionally, Psalm 104:4 says God “maketh his angels spirits; his
ministers a flaming fire:” Again, here we see angels being referred to as “spirits”. It might be
argued that the main difference between angels and humans is that humans have a physical
form while angels have a spiritual form. Another way of saying this is, angels don't possess a
physical body, but may have what is called a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44).
In the scriptures, we read of an angel standing in the way of a man called Balaam but Balaam
never saw the angel, yet Balaam’s ass did. It says, “Now he [Balaam]was riding upon his ass, and
his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and
his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field:
and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.” Eventually, the bible said God opened
Balaam’s eyes. “Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord
standing in the way,” Numbers 22:31. Notice that the angel of God was not seen by Balaam until
God opened his eyes? This suggests that the angel was in the spiritual realm. Another story
which reveals that angels are spiritual is when Elisha prayed for a man's eyes to be opened so he
could see the angels. The bible says “And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his
eyes, that he may see.” It goes on to say “And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and
he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 2
Kings 6:17. The guy got a glimpse of fiery chariots and horses but there were angels there too
for “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels:” Psalm 68:17. Notice,
how God had to open the eyes of the man in response to Elisha’s prayer for them to see the
angels. This opening of the eye was similar to the opening of Balaam’s eyes for only a special
opening of the eye could allow humans to see the spiritual realm. So, in a nutshell, angels are
spiritual.

In summary, angels are created, intelligent living beings of a spiritual nature. Each angel has life and the
power to think and act as individuals. They dwell in the spiritual realm and don’t have physical bodies
like us humans. Frequently, in the bible, we read of them using their ability to reason, of them
performing tasks, of them making decisions, and of them remaining unseen by humans in their midst.

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