Chapter 19
Angels
What are angels? Why did God create them?
EXPLANATION AND SCRIPTURAL BASIS
A. What Are Angels?
We may define angels as follows: Angels are created, spiritual beings with
moral judgment and high intelligence, but without physical bodies.
1. Created Spiritual Beings. Angels have not always existed; they are part
of the universe that God created. In a passage that refers to angels as the
“host” of heaven (or “armies of heaven”), Ezra says, “You are the LORD,
you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host
. . . and the host of heaven worships you” (Neh. 9:6; cf. Ps. 148:2, 5). Paul
tells us that God created all things “visible and invisible” through Christ
and for him, and then specifically includes the angelic world with the phrase
“whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities” (Col. 1:16).
That angels exercise moral judgement is seen in the fact that some of
them sinned and fell from their positions (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; see chapter
20). Their high intelligence is seen throughout Scripture as they speak to
people (Matt. 28:5; Acts 12:6–11; et al.) and sing praise to God (Rev. 4:11;
5:11).
Since angels are “spirits” (Heb. 1:14) or spiritual creatures, they do not
ordinarily have physical bodies (Luke 24:39). Therefore they cannot usu￾ally be seen by us unless God gives us a special ability to see them (Num.
22:31; 2 Kings 6:17; Luke 2:13). In their ordinary activities of guarding
and protecting us (Ps. 34:7; 91:11; Heb. 1:14), and joining with us in wor￾ship to God (Heb. 12:22), they are invisible. However, from time to time
angels took on a bodily form to appear to various people in Scripture (Matt.
28:5; Heb. 13:2).
2. Other Names for Angels. Scripture sometimes uses other terms for
angels, such as “sons of God” (Job 1:6; 2:1), “holy ones” (Ps. 89:5, 7),
486
01SystematicTheo.Chap 1-28 1/31/02 3:37 PM Page 487
19 : ANGELS
“spirits” (Heb. 1:14), “watchers” (Dan. 4:13, 17, 23), “thrones,” “domin￾ions,” “principalities,” “authorities” (Col. 1:16), and “powers” (Eph. 1:21).
3. Other Kinds of Heavenly Beings. There are three other specific types
of heavenly beings named in Scripture. Whether we think of these as spe￾cial types of “angels” (in a broad sense of the term), or whether we think
of them as heavenly beings distinct from angels, they are nonetheless cre￾ated spiritual beings who serve and worship God.
a. The “Cherubim”:1 The cherubim were given the task of guarding the
entrance to the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:24), and God himself is frequently
said to be enthroned on the cherubim or to travel with the cherubim as his
chariot (Ps. 18:10; Ezek. 10:1–22). Over the ark of the covenant in the
Old Testament were two golden figures of cherubim with their wings
stretched out above the ark, and it was there that God promised to come
to dwell among his people: “There I will meet with you, and from above
the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of tes￾timony, I will speak with you of all that I will give you in commandment for
the people of Israel” (Ex. 25:22; cf. vv. 18–21).
b. The “Seraphim”:2 Another group of heavenly beings, the seraphim, are
mentioned only in Isaiah 6:2–7, where they continually worship the Lord
and call to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole
earth is full of his glory” (Isa. 6:3).
c. The Living Creatures: Both Ezekiel and Revelation tell us of yet other
kinds of heavenly beings known as “living creatures” around God’s throne
(Ezek. 1:5–14; Rev. 4:6–8).3 With their appearances like a lion, an ox, a
man, and an eagle, they are the mightiest representatives of various parts of
God’s entire creation (wild beasts, domesticated animals, human beings,
and birds), and they worship God continually: “Day and night they never
cease to sing, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is
and is to come!’” (Rev. 4:8)
4. Rank and Order Among the Angels. Scripture indicates that there is
rank and order among the angels. One angel, Michael, is called an
“archangel” in Jude 9, a title that indicates rule or authority over other
angels. He is called “one of the chief princes” in Daniel 10:13. Michael also
appears to be a leader in the angelic army: “Now war arose in heaven,
Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his
angels fought, but they were defeated” (Rev. 12:7–8). And Paul tells us
487
01SystematicTheo.Chap 1-28 1/31/02 3:37 PM Page 488
19 : ANGELS
that the Lord will return from heaven “with the archangel’s call” (1 Thess.
4:16). Whether this refers to Michael as the only archangel, or whether
there are other archangels, Scripture does not tell us.
5. Names of Specific Angels. Only two angels are specifically named in Scripture.4 Michael is mentioned in Jude 9 and Revelation 12:7–8 as well as in
Daniel 10:13, 21, where he is called “Michael, one of the chief princes” (v.13).
The angel Gabriel is mentioned in Daniel 8:16 and 9:21 as a messenger who
comes from God to speak to Daniel. Gabriel is also identified as God’s messenger to Zechariah and Mary in Luke 1: the angel answers Zechariah, “I am
Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19). Then we read, “In
the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named
Nazareth, to a virgin . . . and the virgin’s name was Mary” (Luke 1:26–27).
6. Only One Place at One Time. Scripture frequently represents angels as
traveling from one place to another, as in the verse mentioned above where
Gabriel “was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth” (Luke
1:26). This is made explicit when an angel comes to Daniel and says:
I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of
Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me, so I left him there with the prince of the
kingdom of Persia and came to make you understand what is to
befall your people in the latter days. (Dan. 10:12–14)

추천 0