What does the Bible say about angels?
Scripture speaks of angels constantly — at creation, at Bethlehem, at the empty tomb, and at the end of the age — yet it never satisfies our curiosity about them. What it does give is their nature, their rank, their work, and a sharp warning about the honour we owe them.
Created Spirits, Not Departed People
A popular idea says that people become angels when they die. One writer tests that against the account of the beggar Lazarus, carried by angels after death:
A J PollockThe theory is encouraged by imaginative hymns, but it has no basis in Scripture. All through the Bible angels are treated as a set of beings distinct from men, whether living on earth or departed. Angels carried Lazarus into "Abraham's bosom." Lazarus was still Lazarus, and Abraham was still Abraham, though neither was in the body, and the angels were distinct from both.
Servants Who Never Rule
Hebrews 1 sets angels beside the Son and finds them, for all their power, in a lower category:
William KellySo far from any angel approaching the glory of the Lord Jesus, it is God Himself who commands that all the angels shall worship Him... They are only servants, whatever their might, function, or sphere. They may have a remarkable place as servants, and a spiritual nature that carries out the pleasure of the Lord; but they are only servants. They never rule.
Sent for the Heirs of Salvation
Hebrews 1:14 calls them ministering spirits sent out for those who will inherit salvation. Their help, one writer notes, is real but deliberately hidden:
Leslie M. GrantTheirs is the place of servants simply... But it is nevertheless a blessed place they occupy, being delegated to minister in temporal protection, comfort and sustenance to those destined for eternal glory. No doubt we owe to angelic ministry far more than we recognise in matters of physical strength and wellbeing, yet as spirit beings their ministry is completely veiled, and they are content to remain unknown to us, so that glory for this may be given only to God.
Their sphere is not the same as the Holy Spirit's. Reading the account of Philip and the Ethiopian in Acts 8, one commentator draws a line:
Hamilton SmithTheir service always seems to be of a providential and guardian character. The Holy Spirit deals with souls, while the angels seem to act in relation to circumstances. An angel may direct Philip as to the way he should take; but the Spirit directed him in dealing with a soul.
Watching the Life of Jesus
Angels fill the gospel accounts — the birth, the wilderness, the garden, the tomb. One writer notices what they do not do:
W. T. P. WolstonAngels never knew God, or saw God, until they saw the babe Jesus in Bethlehem; for there was no revelation of God until then... Angels have a wonderful interest in the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, all "which things angels long to look" into, and yet He did not come for angels. They sang at His birth, but we do not hear of them singing at His resurrection. Why? They seem to say, Here we stand aside and leave the note of praise to those whom it most nearly concerns.
Learners, Through the Church
Ephesians 3 says God's many-sided wisdom is made known to heavenly rulers through the church. That is new ground for them:
J. N. DarbyThe angels see and understand the government of God in the world; but in the church it is quite another thing, as Peter says, "things into which angels long to look." The angels had seen the varied wisdom of God in creation, when the morning stars sang together; but here it was quite a new thing.
Joy Before the Angels
Commentators differ on who is rejoicing in Luke 15:10. One takes the joy as the angels' own:
J. G. BellettAngels have their joy over the repentance of sinners.
Another reads the wording more strictly:
C J DavisJoy in the presence of the angels of God signifies the joy of God, who, in the presence of His angels, shows His joy when a sinner is brought home to Himself. It is He who gives the welcome. It is He who rejoices. It is not said here that the angels rejoice. I do not say they do not; but the truth declared by the Lord is that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God.
They Refuse Worship
Twice in Revelation John falls at an angel's feet, and twice he is stopped:
Walter ScottThe most exalted of God's creatures themselves worship God. No angel, however high his standing, would accept divine worship... The angel takes, even in his more exalted sphere, the place of a fellow servant with John, with the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. "Worship God" is the emphatic declaration of the angel. Creature worship is a sin against God.
Angels That Fell
Jude 6 speaks of angels who abandoned their position and are now held for judgment:
Leslie M. GrantThey had a position of dignity from which they fell, leaving their own habitation — that is, the place in which God had put them, which is of course rebellion. In this case there is no possible salvation for them.
Against that dark background, 1 Corinthians 6:3 gives believers a startling standing:
A J PollockFurther, showing the superior place to angels in which grace has put the believer, we are told that "we are to judge angels."
Summary
- Created — angels are a distinct order of beings, not the spirits of people who have died.
- Servants — mighty as they are, they only serve; they never rule, and Hebrews 1 has them worshipping the Son.
- Sent — their care for believers is real but veiled, working on circumstances while the Spirit works on souls.
- Spectators — they watched Christ's life with longing and now learn God's wisdom through the church.
- Beneath us — they refuse our worship and point us to God, and the believers they serve will one day judge angels.