Angelology: The Doctrine of Angels Explained

So, “Why are angels able to fly?” “Because they take themselves lightly!” 

Ha. Ha. Ha… Ok, if the joke is lame; blame the famous English essayist, G.K. Chesterton. 

If ten people on the street were surveyed to describe what an angel is, there is a strong possibility that ten wildly different answers may be forthcoming. These answers may be generated from a variety of sources and experiences including the Bible, early Jewish lore, literature, and artwork from the Middle Ages, a terrible joke by Chesterton at the watercooler, a story from a church friend about direct angelic intervention, or to just about anything that can be conjured up in the human imagination. 

But perhaps the deepest impact on our thoughts concerning Angelology (the doctrine of angels) might be influenced by the most famous theologian of our time…Hollywood! There is no shortage of movies and TV shows that cover a wide spectrum of beliefs concerning the nature and work of angels. 

So, does it truly matter what we believe about these heavenly beings since most of us are unable to give a general account, (much less a detailed account) of having any notable contact with an actual angel? Are angels real, imagined, or simply hoped for? 

There are many views of angels. The Greek word for angel, “angelos,” and one of the Hebrew words for angel, “malakh,” both refer to one who is a messenger. 

Some believe angels are human beings who have died. You may have even personally heard a minister attempt to comfort a family during a funeral message for a loved one by announcing that “the deceased loved one has finally earned his/her wings.” While his motives may seem admirable, they are nonetheless misguided and unbiblical. Human beings do not “earn their wings” and become angels after they die. Angels will never become and never were human beings. And conversely, human beings will never become and never were angels. God created the angels, just as He created humanity. According to scripture, angels are a different order of being than humans. 

Some believe that angels are impersonal sources of power or that one has been assigned to them daily to protect and guard them. Still, others deny the existence of angels altogether. But belief or disbelief is not the substance of truth. For the Christian, it matters to maintain a biblical understanding of angelology to correct false beliefs. Angelology tells us what the Bible says about angels. Why does this matter? Because the Bible’s comments about angels are God’s comments about angels. The Bible is concerned with how angels relate to humanity and how angels serve God’s purposes. 

Believers should make every effort to avoid the extreme of speculating too much about the details of what angels look like or what they do. God has not chosen to reveal comprehensive details about their nature. But believers must also avoid the other extreme of not being aware of the angels at all. 

Almighty God made every molecule in the entire universe. He sovereignly directs, governs over, and sustains all that is in it. (Eph. 1:11; Heb. 1:1–4) But God often causes His primary decrees to pass through the secondary decisions and actions of both human beings and angels. Human beings and angels get to take part in bringing glory to God! 

Angels also play a personal role in the worship of God and are key actors in miracles such as the resurrection. Matthew’s gospel informs us that an angel rolled the stone away from the tomb of Jesus. The prophet Daniel reveals that angels also seem to be active in guiding the course of human history, with particular angels assigned to nations and territories. Daniel 12:1, for instance, says that the angel Michael is the “great prince” with charge over Israel. (Daniel 10:12–14) refers to a battle between Michael and “the prince of Persia”—apparently an evil angel or demon. Michael intervened in the fight between another angel and this demon to give the angel a clear path to deliver the interpretation of a vision to Daniel. 

Michael is identified as an archangel in Jude 9, indicating that he has a leadership role in what plainly appears to be an angelic hierarchy. He and the other holy angels go to battle for the people of God as part of their job as ministers to believers. (Heb. 1:13–14) Our Lord has created a vast angelic army to fight for us and to battle against the devil so that His kingdom will advance. 

Isaiah 6 is the only place in the Bible that specifically mentions an order of angels called the seraphim. The seraphim, or fiery burning ones, are angelic beings associated with the prophet Isaiah’s vision of God in the temple. 

While there is not room enough in this short blog to comprehensively cover Angelology, it is vitally important to understand that angels are creatures. Some have been wrongly known to pray to and worship angels. This is something that the confessing believer must avoid since only God is worthy to receive worship or answer prayer. A key verse regarding angels is found in Hebrews 1:14, "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" Angels are creatures sent by the Creator! It was God, not angels, who sent His Son to die for us, who loves and cares for us, and who alone is worthy of our adoration. 

Angelology gives us God’s perspective on angels. Angels are personal beings who worship and obey God. God sometimes sends angels to interfere with human events. Angelology helps us to understand the warfare that exists between God’s angels and Satan and his demons. 

Believers must be careful not to have our view of angels more informed by nonbiblical sources than by the Word of God alone. God shows tender care for His people in giving His angels to minister to us and engage in battle with the enemy on our behalf. On this side of eternity, we may not be aware of how often angels intervene to protect us, but we do know that their intervention under the direction of the Lord has done more for us than we can think or imagine. Let us praise God for these spiritual defenders!