Angels - What Are They Like?
Angels Appear from the Beginning to the End of Time
Matthew 24:29–31 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (ESV)
The Abilities & Characteristics of Angels
Created - Finite/Limited but Eternal
Colossians 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”
Psalm 148:2-6 - “For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.”
Righteous - Perfectly Obedient
Fallen/Faithless Angels (Revelation 12:7–12, Ezekiel 28:15–17, Isaiah 14:12–15)
Strong/Mighty/Powerful
God Destroys 185,000 Assyrians (2 Chronicles 32:21, 2 Kings 19:35)
Intimidating
Genesis 3:24 “He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Prepared to destroy Jerusalem - 1 Chronicles 21:15–16 “And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, the LORD saw, and he relented from the calamity. And he said to the angel who was working destruction, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. [16] And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.” (ESV)
Elisha Asks for His Servant to See the Lord’s Army of Horses and Chariots (2 Kings 6:17)
Awe Inspiring
Revelation 19:10 “Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, 'You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.’ For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Revelation 22:8–9 “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, [9] but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
Sometimes Seen & Sometimes Unseen
Prepared to destroy Jerusalem - 1 Chronicles 21:15–16 “And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, the LORD saw, and he relented from the calamity. And he said to the angel who was working destruction, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. [16] And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.” (ESV)
Elisha Asks for His Servant to See the Lord’s Army of Horses and Chariots (2 Kings 6:16-17)
Numerous
Elisha Asks for His Servant to See the Lord’s Army of Horses and Chariots (2 Kings 6:17)
Deuteronomy 33:2 “The LORD came from Sinai … he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand.”
Matthew 26:53 “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”
Appear Physically as Humans
Angels in Sodom & Gomorrah - Genesis 19:1 “The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth”
Judges 13:3–22 Manoah and his wife believe the angel to be a “man of God”
Appear Supernaturally
For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. (Luke 24:39)
Genesis 31:11 to Jacob in a Dream
The Lord & the Angel of God Lead Israel by Pillar of Cloud and Fire (Ex13:21-22, 14:19-20)
To Joseph in a dream to go & return from Egypt (Matthew 2:13, 19-20)
Angels Appear at Jesus’ Tomb Upon His Resurrection (Matthew 28:2-7, John 20:12-13)
Angels at Jesus’ Ascension (Acts 1:10-11)
Seen by Animals
Numbers 22:22–38 to Balaam, Balaam’s Donkey Speaks
Disappear Supernaturally
Judges 6:21 to Gideon, vanished
Judges 13:3–22 angel departs from Manoah in the flame of the fire from the altar that consumed a sacrifice for the Lord
Fly
Isaiah 6:2 “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.”
Hebrews 1:7 “Of the angels he says, ‘He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.”
Move - Supernaturally
The Lord & the Angel of God Lead Israel by Pillar of Cloud and Fire (Ex13:21-22, 14:19-20)
Living Creatures - Ezekiel 1, 3, 10, 11
Interact with People & Physical Objects with Touch
Angels in Sodom & Gomorrah - Genesis 19:10 “But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door.”
Genesis 19:16 “But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.”
Isaiah 6:6–7 “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. [7] And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” (ESV)
1 Kings 19:5-8 - Food to Elijah when he was about to die
And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” (ESV)
An Angel of the Lord delivers Peter from prison (Acts 12:7-10)
Interact with Physical Objects without Touch
Angelic Opening of the Prison Doors to Free Apostles (Acts 5:19)
An Angel of the Lord delivers Peter from prison (Acts 12:7-10)
See - Watchers
Daniel 4:13 “I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven.”
Hear
Zechariah 1-6 angelic visions to Zechariah
Speak
Genesis 16:7–14 to Hagar
Genesis 22:11–18 to Abraham - Stop Sacrificing Isaac, Declares the Lord’s Promises
Angel Speaks to Paul with Warning Prior to a Shipwreck (Acts 27:23-24)
Communicate - Directly & through Dreams/Visions
Angel Tells Philip to Go South (Acts 8:26)
Angel of God Appears to Centurion Cornelius and the Lord Speaks to Peter (Acts 10:1-16)
John’s Vision on Patmos (the book of Revelation)
Think
Zechariah 1-6 angelic visions to Zechariah
Feel Emotions - Joy, Praise
Luke 2:13–14 (ESV) “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’”
Refuse Worship & Redirect All Worship to God - As Fellow Servants
Revelation 19:9–10 “Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Revelation 22:8–9 “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, [9] but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
Withholds their name when requested to “honor” the angel
Judges 13:3–22 Manoah asks the angel his name, but the name is withheld as it is “wonderful”
Communicate their name
Gabriel - Daniel 8 & 9
Gabriel and other Angels Appear to Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, and the Shepherds (Luke 1:11-20, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 2:8-15, Matthew 1:20-25, Matthew 2:19)
Michael - Daniel 10 & 12, Jude 9, Revelation 12
Provide - Supernaturally
Genesis 22:11–15 to Abraham - Provide a Ram for Burnt Offering
Eat
Angels in Sodom & Gomorrah - Genesis 19:3 “he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.”
Instead of Eating, Guides Sacrifice towards God in Worship
Judges 13:3–22 angel departs from Manoah in the flame of the fire from the altar that consumed a sacrifice for the Lord
Consume Food with Spontaneous Fire
Judges 6:21 to Gideon, consumed food with fire from rock
Cause Blindness
Angels in Sodom & Gomorrah - Genesis 19:11 “And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.”
Cause Muteness
Gabriel to Zechariah (Luke 1:11-20)
Kill - Supernaturally
God Destroys 185,000 Assyrians (2 Chronicles 32:21, 2 Kings 19:35)
2 Samuel 24:16-17 to David
An Angel of the Lord Strikes Down & Kills King Herod for Not Glorifying God (Acts 12:22-23)
John’s Vision on Patmos (the book of Revelation)
Bring Forgiveness from God
Zechariah 3:4 The angel of the Lord takes away the sin of the high priest Joshua
Isaiah 6:6-7 Seraphim to Isaiah
Help & Minister
Angels Minister to Jesus After Satan’s Temptations (Matthew 4:11)
Angels Strengthen Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43)
Our Response?
1. Receive Jesus as Your Lord & Savior (don’t procrastinate, every day is a gift, not a guarantee)
2. Gratitude to God (don’t misplace focus on angels)
3. Know the Truth (resist the temptation of speculation)
4. Live in the Power of the Holy Spirit (don’t chase after or seek lesser spirits)
Our Superpowers? Your Superpowers?
1 Corinthians 12:1–11 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. …
[4] Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; [5] and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; [6] and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. [7] To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. [8] For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, [9] to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, [10] to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. [11] All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” (ESV)
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (ESV)
3 Questions to Consider
1. Are you indwelt by God the Holy Spirit?
2. How are you serving God with the gifting He has given?
3. How are you witnessing with the power you have received?