Angels are one of the most talked about and least understood religious subjects outside of Christendom. There are television shows recounting alleged angelic interventions in human lives, books which claim to expound the history of angels (both good and evil) and a number of lesser works that at least seek to demonstrate the biblical position on the subject. There is on the other hand, the exact opposite problem within the Lord’s church. Here, even when the subject is breached it merely repeats these same positions without a critical examination of what one may call tradition. Though there are certainly a number of issues whose importance concerning faith, salvation and fellowship far surpasses that of angels, we as Christians must “prove” what is taught on angels just as we would any other subject concerning the truth (1Th 5:21-22; Act 17:11). Our studies here then seek to provide a brief sketch of these marvelous creatures, who they are, what they are and what they do.

The English word angel is actually a transliteration of the Greek word aggelos (the first g is pronounced as an n). Though this word is usually translated as angel in the New Testament, the word literally means messenger and is often used in this sense alone. In fact, when we broaden our study of the word to include its usage in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (i.e. the Septuagint) it is often used to translate the Hebrew mal’ak which “usually means ‘messenger’” (Vine, Unger & White, Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1996, pp. 4-5) rather than the more specialized meaning we give to the word today. There are at least 25 times within the New Testament where aggelos is used of messengers on earth rather than those of heaven. For example, John the Immerser is the messenger who prepares the way of the Lord (Mat 11:10), both John and Jesus send their disciples out as messengers of their authority (Luk 7:24; 9:52), the apostles are noted as messengers who bear witness of the resurrection of Christ (1Ti 3:16; cf. Gal 4:14; Rev 22:16), Rahab hides the messengers of Israel when they come to spy out the city of Jericho (Jam 2:25) and the prophets of old preach a message that not even they as its messengers truly understand (1Pe 1:12). We also come to understand that these messengers are responsible for the full declaration of their master’s will (cf. the angels of the churches in Revelation 1-3), that we will therefore judge them on this basis (1Co 6:3) and that those found approved are to be respected within the context of their culture (1Co 11:10). It is for this reason that both Satan himself and his own servants disguise themselves as “an angel of light” and “ministers of righteousness,” respectively, in order to enslave Christians once more in sin (2Co 11:14-15).

While the clarity of the above passages may be established with relative ease using each of their respective contexts, there are a few cases when the meaning of the word is often contested. The best examples of these are passages are those which concern the angels of Satan (cf. 1Co 12:7). After all, wasn’t Hell prepared for Satan and the angels who “sinned” and were therefore “committed . . . to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment” (2Pe 2:4; Mat 25:41)?  Certainly! But where in the context of either of these passages is the indication given that these messengers are heavenly? Though this certainly is the more commonly assumed meaning, when one considers both the general use of the word as messenger as well as within the context of a discussion of the doom of false teachers, it becomes far more likely that these messengers are the prophets of old who “kept not their own principality” to speak the truth “but left their proper habitation” to say what they wished (Jde 1:6) as was the case with Cain, Balaam of Beor and Korah (Jde 1:11; cf. 2Pe 2:12-16. In Revelation 12:7-12 Paul actually uses heavenly messengers as apocalyptic symbols of the earthly messengers of both Christ and Satan).