Angels in the Bible

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Christian artists often portray angels as obese caucasian babies with blond hair. However, angels are powerful spirit entities with immense power and authority.

 


 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

When the great prophet Daniel had a vision of an angel, he felt weak and anguished. He was short of breath.

When Zacharias the high priest met Gabriel the Archangel, fear fell upon him.

When Mary of Nazareth met Gabriel the Archangel, she was greatly troubled.

When the company of Roman centurions, the mightiest warriors on the planet, beheld one single angel, the entire company collapsed in terror.

 

BIBLE REFERENCES

 

Exodus 26:1. Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim. You shall make them with the work of a skillful workman.

Judges 2:1. The LORD’s angel came up from Gilgal to Bochim. He said, “I brought you out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to give your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you.

Judges 6:12. The LORD’s angel appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

Judges 13:3. The LORD’s angel appeared to the woman, and said to her, “See now, you are barren and childless; but you shall conceive and bear a son.

Judges 13:20. For when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, the LORD’s angel ascended in the flame of the altar. Manoah and his wife watched; and they fell on their faces to the ground.

2 Kings 19:35. That night, the LORD’s angel went out and struck one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

Daniel 8:17. So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened, and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end.”

Daniel 10:7. I, Daniel, alone saw the vision; for the men who were with me didn’t see the vision; but a great quaking fell on them, and they fled to hide themselves.

 

2 Maccabees 3:24. But when he was already present there with his guards near the treasury, the Sovereign of spirits and of all authority caused a great manifestation, so that all who had presumed to come with him, stricken with dismay at the power of God, fainted in terror. (NAB translation)

 

Matthew 28:4. For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men.

Luke 1:12. Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

Luke 1:26. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

Luke 1:29. But when [Mary] saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be.

Ephesians 1:21. far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.

Colossians 1:16. For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.

 

LEVELS OF ANGELS

 

Pseudo-Dionysius and Thomas Aquinas speculated that there are nine levels of angels, and that they minister within a hierarchical structure.

This thinking was entirely speculative, as the Bible tells us very little about such things.

Here are the nine levels they speculated:

FIRST SPHERE
1. Seraphim
2. Cherubim
3. Thrones

SECOND SPHERE
4. Dominions
5. Virtues or Strongholds
6. Powers or Authorities

THIRD SPHERE
7. Principalities
8. Archangels
9. Angels

 

SEE ALSO

The Armies of Heaven. The Bible speaks of the Armies of Heaven. They are mighty warrior angels led by Michael the Archangel. They battle against evil.

A Civil War in Heaven. Michael the Archangel leads the God-fearing angels into combat against Satan and his minions. They throw Satan and his minions out of heaven and to the earth.

The Archangels. The Bible alludes to seven archangels. Of those, three are named. Who are they?

How many angels are there? At his triumphal return in glory, the Lord Jesus Christ will be accompanied by ALL the angels. How many is that?

Angels in the Bible. Christian artists often portray angels as obese caucasian babies with blond hair. However, angels are powerful spirit entities with immense power and authority.

 


Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.