No 35

(Angelogy)

Angelology is the study of angels as the word indicates. There are many unbiblical views of angels in the world today. Some believe angels are human beings who have died. Others believe that angels are impersonal sources of power. Still others entirely deny the existence of angels. A good biblical understanding of Angelology will correct these incorrect beliefs. Angelology tells us what the Bible says about angels. It is a study of how the angels relate to humanity and serve God's purposes. Angels are entirely a different order of being from humans. Human beings do not become angels after they die and angels will never become and never were human beings. God created the angels just as He created humanity.

The Hebrew word for angel is mala'ak; in meaning it is equivalent to the Greek word, angelos from which the English word is obviously derived. However, in both Hebrew and Greek, the term simply means “messenger”. It is important to note that the Bible gives us very limited information about angels. Therefore, we must be careful in the conclusions we draw. We have insufficient information to say much of anything about these beings. (see also study # 67)

We do, however read in the Bible where angels temporarily took on human form to serve God’s purposes and appeared to several persons – here are a few examples:

In the Old Testament:

- Abraham. In Genesis 18:2 – 15, we read about three angels who visited Abraham just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah;this is confirmed in Hebrews 12:2.

- Jacob. In Genesis 32:24 – 28, we see how he wrestled with a man all night and in the morning, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which means he who has struggled with God.

- Gideon. In Judges 6:12 – 24, he was given his marching orders by an angel to defend Israel in spite of the fact that “my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

In the New Testament:

- Zachariah. In Luke 1:11 – 20, he was told of the birth of John the Baptist

- Mary. In Luke 1:26 – 38, she was, of course told of how she was chosen to bear the Son of God in her womb. The appearances to Mary and Zachariah were of the angel Gabriel whose name means the strong one of God.

- John. In Revelation 1:1, John was given the task to “bare record of the Word of God” (v2)

Angels are definitely involved in spiritual warfare with demons as we see in Daniel 10 and we read in Ephesians chapter 6 that there are varying levels of demons and we are encouraged, as Christians, to follow the instructions outlined in the rest of that chapter in Ephesians.