Angels

Angels are now trendy, being featured in books, cards, and calendars. They appear many times in the Bible, but definitely not as the cute, pudgy infants that adorn Christmas cards.

Our word angel comes from the Greek angelos, meaning “messenger.” In the Bible, angels are messengers from God.

Some angels were so humanlike that the people they visited noticed nothing unusual about them, as with the two men who visited Lot in the city of Sodom (Gen. 19).

The warrior Gideon didn’t realize he had been conversing with an angel until the visitor set a rock on fire by tapping it with a cane (Judg. 6).

Angels are unnamed, with two exceptions: Michael (Dan. 10; Rev. 12) and Gabriel (Luke 1). See 212 (Michael the archangel) and 213 (Gabriel the angel).

Were there bad angels? According to 2 Peter 2:4, some rebellious angels were cast out of heaven: “God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell.”

The fallen angels face a certain doom, described in the book of Revelation (12:9).

See 216 (Satan); 211 (cherubim).

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