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Angels of the Bible

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Cute as she may be may be (image at left [at top for iPhones]), as are many artistic renditions of angels, these are not the angels described in the Word of God. The Bible tells us all we need to know about angels and their service to God. Angels are God's messengers. And His servants. They carry out His bidding and His will. In scripture, God also refers to them as wind and fire. Two great and powerful forces of His creation. The work of guardians and protectors. It shouldn't surprise us that God created His messengers with strength and might.

That's not to say that angels are void of love or benevolence. They live solely to worship and serve their Creator. And, indeed many of their God-sent missions have been of compassion; for the guidance, assistance, and salvation of God's people. God also calls His angels 'hosts' and these hosts serve only God, who is the Lord of Hosts. Angels are also referred to as cherubim in many books of the Bible.  And, when a gender reference is made of an angel in scripture, it is a man.

As heartwarming as the concept of baby-faced angels floating around, performing random acts of kindness may be, this isn't what the Bible tells us. Angels answer only to God, obeying and carrying out His specific instructions. If we take a closer look at the characteristics and the works of God's angels, we see they are like fire and wind, and have might and power. They have shut the mouths of lions, opened jail doors, and removed a boulder from a tomb, to name just a few. Michael the Archangel, even disputed with Satan in Jude 1:9. And, in Daniel 8:15-27, it was the angel Gabriel that explained one of the many visions Daniel had regarding the endtimes. These are quite formidable attributes and tasks.

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With these vivid descriptive facts the Bible provides, I'm convinced God's angels are more like the picture above, rather than the ones that adorn our valentines. So, I invite you to take a moment and read some of my favorite angel passages below and see if you might agree.  

Please know that this is not an exhaustive list of angel scripture. For that, I would refer you to your Bible and the many concordances that are available to direct you to specific topics. Another great secondary resource to learn all about angels is a book I read several years ago, Angels, by David Jeremiah. This wonderful book, along with many other books he has authored, is available at most Christian book stores, as well as through his ministry, Turning Point, here. Enjoy!

"And I saw another mighty angel and a rainbow was upon his head,
and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea,
and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth:
And when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices."

-Revelation 10:1-6 KJV

"God calls his angels messengers swift as the wind, and servants made of flaming fire."
-Hebrews 1:7

"Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 

Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion."
-Psalm 103:20-22 NIV

"So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a

flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life."
-Genesis 3:23-24 NIV

"At the first light of dawn, the king (Nebuchadnezzer) got up and hurried to the lions' den. 

When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, 

'Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God,

whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?' 

Daniel answered, 'O king, live forever! My God sent his angel,

and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me,

because I was found innocent in his sight.

Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.' "
-Daniel 6:19-22 NIV

"Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees,
were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

But during the night an angel of the LORD opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.

'Go, stand in the temple courts,' he said, 'and tell the people the full message of this new life.' "
-Acts 5:17-20 NIV

"If you make the Most High your dwelling-even the LORD, who is my refuge-
then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."

-Psalm 91:9-12 NIV

"God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you

who are troubled, and to us as well.  This will happen when the LORD Jesus is revealed

from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels."
-2 Thessalonians 1:6-7 NIV

"But angels are only servants. They are spirits sent from God to care for those who will receive salvation."
-Hebrews 1:14 NLT

"And they [two seraphs] were calling to one another:

'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.' "
-Isaiah 6:3 NIV

"He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants."
-Psalm 104:4 NIV

"He (God) parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.

He mounted the cherubim and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind."
-Psalm 18:9-10 NIV

"On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,

I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist.

His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches,

his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude . . .

He said, 'Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you,

and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.' "
-Daniel 10:4-6,11 NIV

"There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the LORD came down from heaven and,

going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men."
-Matthew 28:2-4 NIV

"On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne

and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted,

'This is the voice of a god, not of a man.' 

Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God,

an angel of the LORD struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died."
-Acts 12:21-23 NIV

"That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death

a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp."
-2 Kings 19:35a NIV

"With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying,

'Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here,

or you will be swept away when the city is punished.' "
-Genesis 19:15 NIV

"But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.

You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

The LORD God will give him the throne of his father David,

and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.' "
-Luke 1:30-33 NIV  

" . . . there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
-Luke 15:10 NIV 

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