COME and WORSHIP
We’ve all seen them in movies and TV shows, on posters and cards. Some of us have portrayed them, complete with halos made of gold-colored pipe cleaners or gold tinsel wrapped around wire. Usually they’re dressed in white robes, but sometimes they’re depicted with no clothing at all. One feature that they are almost never without, however, is wings. Of course, I am speaking of angels (as if the title of today’s study.
Many people take it for granted that the angels we see depicted in art and other forms of media are what human beings have thought angels look like since we were created. Some might even think angelic depictions are derived from the Bible. However, it wasn’t until the late 4th century that angels first appeared with wings on a sarcophagus discovered near Istanbul. Prior to that, Christian images of angels had no wings.
John Chrysostom, an Early Church Father who lived in the 3rd and 4th centuries, attempted to explain why angels were depicted with wings: "They manifest a nature's sublimity. That is why Gabriel is represented with wings. Not that angels have wings, but that you may know that they leave the heights and the most elevated dwelling to approach human nature. Accordingly, the wings attributed to these powers have no other meaning than to indicate the sublimity of their nature." In another quote, Chrysostom also said of angels, “I tell you my dear children that nothing is like them in honor, neither in heaven nor on earth, because they are carrying God's throne, and they cannot look at the face of the Eternal Living One. They are created of light and fire. They are very strong and powerful. They appeal to God for the forgiveness of sins of mankind, and for having pity on them...” Both quotes sound nice, but unfortunately, they are unbiblical and, in my opinion, opened the door to even more radically unbiblical beliefs about angels.
So what does the Bible actually say about angels? Psalm 103:20 calls angels mighty beings who do the bidding of the LORD. 2 Peter 2:11 tells us that angels are stronger and more powerful than human beings. Both the Hebrew and Greek words (malach and aggelos, respectively) would best be translated as “messenger.” One of the primary functions of angels we see throughout the Bible was to bring messages from the LORD to His people.
In the Old Testament, most of the angelic appearances are by the Angel of the LORD, whom I believe is Jesus. We don’t have time to go into this particular Angel in detail, but one thing I will mention is the fact that the Angel of the LORD almost always spoke in first person rather than including the phrase, “Thus says the LORD...”, which is a phrase used by other angels and especially the prophets.
The first appearance in the Bible by angels (other than the Angel of the LORD) occurs in Genesis. Abraham was visited by three men, and as the narrative goes on, it becomes clear that one of the men is the LORD. In Genesis 18:22, the other two are simply referred to as “men,” but when we next see them in Genesis 19:1, they are called “angels”. They were not sent to do the LORD’s bidding until they left His side, and at that point, they became His messengers as they delivered the LORD’s warning to Lot and his family. It might seem like trivial semantics, but I think it’s an interesting distinction, and I don’t believe that anything in the Bible is there by accident or coincidence.
Only two angels are mentioned by name in the Bible—Michael and Gabriel—and they appear in both the Old and New Testaments. Gabriel (warrior of God or mighty man of God) was sent to Daniel (Daniel 8:16, 9:21) to help him understand the visions of the ram and goat (Daniel 8), as well as his vision concerning the Messiah (Daniel 9). The next time we meet Gabriel, he was being sent to Zechariah (Luke 1:19) and Mary (Luke 1:26) to announce the births of John and Jesus.
Michael (who is like God) is an interesting angel. In the Old Testament, he is called “a prince of the first rank” (Daniel 10:13) and “the great prince...who stands beside the sons of [Israel]” (Daniel 12:1). Only in the New Testament is he called an archangel (Jude 9), and John saw him battling the great dragon alongside other angels (Revelation 12:7). Clearly, he is to be seen as a warrior, fighting on behalf of Israel, which is not something people often associate with angels.
And that brings us to another important thing the Bible says about angels. Of the many names God gives us for Himself, one of the least understood seems to be “LORD of Hosts”, which in Hebrew is יהוה צְבַָוֹת, or HaShem Ts’vaot. The word, ts’vaot, is often translated as “hosts”, but the connotation is often lost on us. Only when we look at the root word, ts’va, which is best translated “to go forth, to wage war”, do we get a clear sense of what God means when He refers to Himself as the LORD of Hosts. A better translation might be the LORD of armies. The first time God is referred to as the LORD of Hosts is in 1 Samuel 1:3, and the servant of Elisha is given a glimpse of the armies of the LORD (2 Kings 6:15-17).
Even though it might not be entirely comfortable for us to think about associating the LORD with war and battle, we cannot escape the fact that He describes Himself that way. Exodus 15:3 declares that the LORD is a Warrior. And lest we think that this characteristic of God was swept away once Jesus came, we need to remember verses like 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 and Revelation 19:11-16. The Bible leaves us no room to doubt the truth that the LORD is a Warrior, and that He has an army of angels at His disposal (see also Matthew 26:53).
Most of the websites and commentaries I looked at concerning angels indicated that angels are incorporeal spirit-beings. In other words, they don’t have bodies. I must confess to being a bit baffled by this assertion as a point of fact. The Bible doesn’t say that angels are incorporeal. In fact, most of the time when angels appear, they are described as looking like a man or men (Daniel 9:21, Daniel 10:16, Matthew 28:203, Mark 16:5, Luke 24:4, John 20:12). Genesis 19:1-3 even states that angels eat! And we can’t forget the admonishment in Hebrews 13:2. If it’s possible to entertain angels without being aware of it, that tells me that they are most definitely not incorporeal. I’m pretty sure we would all remember if we had a conversation with something that didn’t have a body (It is possible that angels do not have physical bodies when they are in the presence of the LORD, but I still don’t see any biblical evidence for that idea. John’s vision of heaven in Revelation includes angels holding things, and he doesn’t mention that they are doing so without hands).
A quick note on the three verses which are used in the argument of angels being incorporeal—Psalm 104:4, Hebrews 1:7, and Hebrews 1:14. Psalm 104:4 is quoted in Hebrews 1:7, although the quote in Hebrews is slightly different, as often happens in the New Testament. Ruach is the Hebrew word translated as “spirit”, and it has the same connotation as the Greek word, pneuma, which is also translated as “spirit”. Their root words are both well translated as “to breathe” or “to blow”. Another Psalm declares that the LORD created with the breath of His mouth (Psalm 33:6), and Paul states that Jesus will overthrow the lawless one by the breath of His mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:8). The words used are ruach (Psalm) and pneuma (Thessalonians). The same words are used in Psalm 104:4, Hebrews 1:7, and Hebrews 1:14, and while I could be completely off, I don’t believe the writers are intending to say that God makes angels incorporeal. I believe they are communicating that the messengers of the LORD are made powerful by the breath of His mouth, by His Holy Spirit.
Another idea about angels that is completely ingrained in our collective consciousness is that they have wings and fly. As I mentioned a moment ago, early Christian art didn’t depict angels with wings, and nowhere in the Bible does it say that angels have wings, nor does it say that angels fly. The two verses which might be used to support the notion of both ideas are Daniel 8:16 and Revelation 8:13. Let’s take a look at each verse to see what it says.
A key word in Daniel 8:16 is sometimes translated “flew”, but the Hebrew doesn’t support this translation. The word means to travel swiftly. We sometimes say, “I gotta fly!” and we don’t mean that we literally sprout wings and become airborne. It is simply a poetic way of saying that we need to get from one place to another very quickly.
Revelation 8:13 is a little bit trickier. The word in question is, of course, angel, and the problem is that not all manuscripts are the same. Some manuscripts include the word aggelos, while the oldest manuscripts have the word aetos, which is translated as “eagle”. If we stick to the idea that it’s best to let the Bible interpret the Bible, I would suggest that the word was originally “eagle” partly because this would be the only verse in the entire Bible that mentions angels having the power of flight. The strongest argument, however, is the fact that the eagle is associated with swift judgment throughout the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 28:49, Jeremiah 48:40-44, Jeremiah 49:22, Hosea 8:1). In the scene in Revelation, the being which is flying is announcing the coming judgment of God upon the unbelieving. This imagery would be more consistent with the rest of the Bible rather than John seeing a flying angel.
Another point of contention when it comes to angels is whether or not to classify cherubim and seraphim as angels. Cherubim is almost a direct transliteration of the Hebrew (cheruvim), and seraphim is a direct transliteration. But does the Bible indicate that these strange and awesome creatures are angels?
First, we must note that cherubim and seraphim are never sent as messengers. The first time the cherubim are mentioned is in Genesis 3:24 when they were stationed east of Eden in order to keep Adam and Eve from re-entering. Moses was then instructed to include cherubim on the covering of the Ark, their wings extending over the cover. No other description of them is given except that they have wings. How did Moses know what they looked like? This is one of those mysteries that I have found no explanation to, as yet. However, based on their description in Ezekiel 1:5-25, I can only surmise that either the LORD gave Moses a description, which was not included in the Bible, or he had seen these creatures himself and never wrote down a description of them because they were so disturbing.
Several references in the Bible state that the LORD dwells between the cherubim (1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2; 2 Kings 19:15; 2 Chronicles 13:6; Psalm 80:1; Psalm 99:1; Isaiah 37:16), and He spoke to Moses from between the cherubim (Numbers 7:89). The LORD is also described as riding a cherub (2 Samuel 22:11; Psalm 18:10). Ezekiel’s vision seems to indicate that they carry Him on His throne, and when the Presence of the LORD leaves the Temple, He is above them (Ezekiel 10:18-19). One of the most tantalizing details given in the whole Bible about the character and nature of the satan is that it was a cherub (Ezekiel 28:14, 16). In fact, it is referred to as the covering cherub (see Exodus 25:20; Exodus 37:9; 1 Kings 8:7; 1 Chronicles 28:18), which seems to link it in some way to the cherubs on top of the Ark. If the things in the Tabernacle are shadows and images of heavenly reality, then it’s entirely possible that the satan was once one of the cherubs (or maybe THE cherub described in Psalm 18:10) upon whom the LORD rode.
Seraphim are mentioned only in the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:2-4, 6-7). Their name means to consume or absorb with fire, and it comes from a Hebrew root word which is translated “to suck in”, having the connotation of fire sucking in all surrounding oxygen. They are described as having six wings—two cover their face, two cover their legs, and with the other two, they fly. Isaiah seems to indicate that they stand in attendance above the throne of the LORD, and Psalm 104:4, which we’ve already read, gives us an interesting picture of them as well. Part of their ministering or attending to the LORD includes crying out to each other in praise, the doorposts of the Temple shaking when they do.
Because the Bible is so very clear about the names of these incredible beings, I definitely lean towards saying that cherubim and seraphim should not be called angels. Angels have a very clearly defined role in the kingdom of God, as do the cherubim and seraphim, and their roles don’t ever seem to cross. Yes, the angels join in praise and worship of the LORD, but that is the only similarity given in the Bible.
When it comes to the actual angels, we’ve seen that the Bible calls them mighty beings of great power. They can do things we can’t, they have a constant audience with the LORD in heaven, which we don’t, and most of the time they dwell in the realm of heaven (unless they’ve been sent to earth to do something for God). From a human standpoint, it would seem rather appropriate to give them due deference, wouldn’t it? John tried to do just that, not once but twice, while he was receiving his vision. Revelation 19:10 and Revelation 22:8-9 tell us that even in the midst of true divine revelation, we have an unerring tendency to get it wrong. No small wonder that Paul warned against the worship of angels (Colossians 2:18-19).
A very well-known and growing cult is built upon the very thing that Paul was writing about to the Colossians. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus and Michael the archangel are one and the same. They claim that Jesus is His name on earth, while Michael is His name in heaven. Their argument is based on 1 Thessalonians 4:16, assuming that the voice of the archangel actually belongs to the Lord, and a comparison of 2 Thessalonians 1:7 with Revelation 12:7. This quote is from the Jehovah’s Witnesses official website: “Since God’s Word nowhere indicates that there are two armies of faithful angels in heaven—one headed by Michael and one headed by Jesus—it is logical to conclude that Michael is none other than Jesus Christ in his heavenly role.”
The first place I would turn to combat that seriously twisted logic is 1 Corinthians 6:3. Paul writes that we will be judging angels. If we are to judge angels, then the implication would be that we will also judge Jesus, since Michael is quite clearly called an angel (albeit an archangel). That would make the words of Jesus in John 5:22 and John 5:27 completely untrue, which would make Jesus a big liar. And that would lead me to the next point of reason against Jesus being the archangel, Michael. 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5 all declare that Jesus was without sin. If He lied even once, then He definitely sinned.
Two of the most important chapters in the Bible that deal with this subject are Hebrews 1 and 2. The writer of Hebrews makes his case that Jesus is far superior to all angels, including Michael. Right from the beginning of the letter, he states the beautiful truth about Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-4). He was writing to a community of believers, suffering and struggling even though they hadn’t yet shed their blood (Hebrews 12:4), and his argument for them to stay in the fight rested on the fact that what Jesus had done held supremacy over all that had come before. His work was greater than that of the Levitical priesthood, greater than that of the prophets, greater, even, than that of angels. Although angels are mighty beings, they are never referred to in the context of a father/son relationship, and angels are told to worship the Son (Hebrews 1:5-6). And even though disobedience to the words of angels brought dire consequences in the past, the rescue the LORD has now provided through His Son, Jesus, is so much superior, the writer argues, how can we ignore it (Hebrews 2:2-3)?
Angels are a powerful symbol in our culture, as they have been even in ancient cultures. Whether we think of them as “guardian angels” or round, fat baby-like creatures with wings, human beings tend to gravitate towards the idea of having these elite beings on our side.
I tend think some of us like the idea of angels much better than we like the idea of Jesus because angels don’t demand anything of us. All they do is watch out for us and keep us safe...or so we like to think. The truth is, the angels of heaven are always, always, always pointing away from themselves and towards the One who came into this world as a naked, squalling human infant.
The LORD intended to sacrifice His Son before He even created the universe. His intention all along was to create for Himself a family, but that family would not be born as a result of ethnic pride or genetic dominance. The great rescue of the LORD was accomplished through the weakness of God in human flesh.
Hebrews chapter 2 ends with some of the most wonder-filled, comforting words ever written (Hebrews 2:14-18). The One who was the shining reflection of God’s glory and His exact representation was made to share in the flesh and blood of those whom He would call brothers and sisters. And the most glorious phrase of all is found in verse 16. While it’s translated differently, the idea is that the LORD’s intention was not to redeem and rescue angels. He didn’t take upon Himself the nature of angels with their superior might and strength. He took on the weak, frail nature of humanity. Why? Because He always meant to do what He did for the sake of Abraham’s family, a family that you and I are grafted into through our belief in Jesus.
This Christmas, you might put an angel on top of your Christmas tree, or you might wear angel jewelry. You might even have young relatives who are going to portray angels in a Christmas pageant or play. But when you consider angels or the other mighty beings in heaven, let your thoughts continue past them and straight to the One who is called by a Name that is higher than theirs. The One Who Is, the One Who Was, and the One Who Is Coming.
Amen, King Jesus...come soon!
Angels from the realms of glory,
Praising God upon the earth.
You declared creation’s story—
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth
Come and worship, come and worship;
Lift your voice and sing.
Come and worship, come and worship;
Jesus is our King!
Lyrics by J. Montgomery & A. Hadar