A Questioning Faith
What or who are angels and do they
fit into religion today?
Ground Rules
• Series is a teaching lesson, not a sermon
• Series explores questions rather than
providing conclusive answers
• Series encourages disagreement and
discussion
• I think I am usually right!
Top Ten Questions About Angels
1. Who or what are angels?
• Spiritual beings
• Serve at God’s
command
• Deliver messages
• Help God’s people
• Punish God’s enemies
2. Does the bible speak of other
spiritual beings?
Seraphim
• Isaiah 6:1-7
• Fiery beings
• Attendants or guardians
before the divine throne
• Six wings
• Serpentine in form
Cherubs
• Mentioned 92 times
• Many different forms
• Borrowed from Near
Eastern traditions
• Cherubs were hybrids-
unnatural in form
• Guardians (Genesis 3:24)
3. How many angels are there?
• No specific number
• Very great
“Do you not think that I
can appeal to my
Father, and he will at
once send twelve
legions of angels?”
Matthew 26:53
4. What do angels look like?
• No clear description
• Often look like humans
• Often have the dramatic
presence of the holy
• No wings or halos-
Wings began in 5th
century art
5. How do angels compare to humans?
• Created by God
• Angels are heavenly
beings
• Participate in the holy
council
• Humans created a little
lower than the angels
6. How did angels originate?
• Created by God
• Psalm 148 implies they
were created at the
beginning of all creation
• Understanding of role
has changed over time
Changes in roles of angels
• Older biblical texts-
angels and God get
mixed
• Example- Jacob wrestles
with ?
• Later as God is seen as transcendent angels
become more developed
• Inter-testimental period: hierarchy of angels is
created with specific duties
• Example: Earlier writings God controlled the
heavens, by this time angels now have that
responsibility
New Testament
• Dualistic worldview
• Some allied with God
and some with Satan
7. Have Some Angels Fallen?
Much discussion
centers around this
issue
General story of
the fall of angels
Story A
Genesis 6:1-4
Example of angels
corrupting the human
race before the flood
Alternative Interpretation
Example of the
breakdown in God’s
created order, human
sin even draws in the
cosmos
Story B
Isaiah 14:12-15
• Speaks of the fall from
heaven of a person
called “Morning Star”
• Title “Morning Star” is
translated “Lucifer” in
the Latin Vulgate
Alternative Interpretation
• “Morning Star” is a
Canaanite divine title
• This text clearly speaks
of the King of Babylon
(cf. Isaiah 14:4)
Story C
• From a non-canonical
book- “Life of Adam and
Eve”
• God calls for Michael
and Satan to bow down
• Michael does, Satan
does not
• Satan rebels and takes
some angels with him
Conclusion
• Best textual evidence of
a fall is unclear
• New Testament believes
that Satan and his
angels are against God
• Battle is cosmic in scope
and God and His angels
will be triumphant
8. What is their job description?
Praise God Messengers from God
Watch Over People Give Guidance
Give Protection Give Deliverance
Instruments of
Give sustenance Judgment
9. What are guardian angels?
• Each person is assigned
a guardian angel at
birth
“How great the dignity
of the soul since each
one has from its birth
an angel commissioned
to guard it.”
St. Jerome
Not an article of faith in
the Roman Catholic
Church, but it is in the
mind of the Church
10. How do angels fit into religion
today?
• More popular than ever
• 2002- 350 interviewed
in UK
• Experienced visions,
auditory warnings and
physical touch from
angels
• 2008- 1,700 people
polled
• 55% believed they have
been protected by a
guardian angel during
their life
• Angel groups
• Angel shops
• Certified Angel Therapy
practitioners
Conclusions
• Belief in angels have a
life of their own
• Bible gives witness to
their vital role in God’s
work on earth and in
heaven
Conclusions
• Reformed Tradition has down played the
importance of angels
• Calvin said the study of angels was a waste of
time
• Luther prayed that he would never meet an
angel
• Our belief needs to bring us back to God
If it is all about God
• Angels are transcendent beings
“Angels in the bible never appear as cute
chubby infants. They are always full-grown.
When people in the bible see an angel, their
typical response was to fall on their faces in
fear and awe, not to reach out and tickle an
adorable baby.”
John Bechtle
• Angels are not our
possession
• Angels are beings
created by God for
God’s use
• Angels illustrate God’s
loving care for His
creation (not just us)
• Angels in the end are
filled with mystery, our
understanding is limited
• Angels are not about us,
but about what God is
doing in the world