Truth About Angels

When I was young, I watched the movie, "Angels in The Outfield". While watching the movie I remember thinking that the angels looked like birds with human faces. At that time, I had no idea what they really looked like or what their purpose was or even if they existed. After reading the Bible, I learned angels are real and do not look like how the movie portrays them to be.

Angels mentioned in the Bible are creatures that were made by God to serve and praise Him (Revelation 4:8, Colossians 1:16). God used them to care for Jesus in the wilderness after He was tempted by Satan and the same goes for us (Matthew 4:11). Angels are there to carefully guard us and do only what God tells them to do (Psalm 91:11, Luke 4:10).

There are angels who serve God but there are also angels that serve Satan (Psalm 103:20). The angels that serve Satan are known as demons (Revelation 12:9). Both good and evil angels can disguise themselves either to be angels of light or transform themselves to look like humans (Genesis 19:1-5, Hebrews 13:2). Satan can do this because he was first an angel that served God but turned against God. He lost his place in heaven with some of the other angels and was cast down to earth (Revelation 12:7-9).

There are three different kinds of angels that serve God in the Bible. They are seraphim, cherubim, and the last is described in Revelation 4:6 as “living creatures.” Seraphim are only mentioned one time in the Bible. In Isaiah 6:2-3 they are described to have six wings and with two of their wings they covered their face, with another two wings they covered their feet, and with another two they used to fly. The seraphim were also singing and praising God.

Cherubim are mentioned more in the Bible. God placed a cherubim at the entrance of the Garden of Eden to guard it after He kicked Adam and Eve out (Genesis 3:24). These angels are also mentioned in Exodus 25:22 when God placed two of them above the Ark of the Covenant. God used a cherub to ride on in Psalm 18:10.

Another kind of angel is known as living creatures. These living creatures are mentioned in Revelation and in Ezekiel. In Revelation they are described like this:

“In the center and around the throne were four living creatures with eyes all over them, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion. The second was like a calf. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of these four living creatures had six wings and was covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stop saying:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.
   He was, he is, and he is coming.” (Revelation 4:6-8)

The living creatures in Revelation were also singing and praising God.

In Ezekiel 1:5-10, the living creatures are described to be shaped like humans, and each had four faces and four wings that have straight legs. Their feet are like a calf’s hoof that is sparkled with polished bronze. The living creatures have human hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings and their wings touched each other. The living creatures did not turn when they moved, but each went straight ahead. They have a human face, a face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and had a face of an eagle.

The Scriptures mention two of God’s angels by name. The two angels are Michael, the archangel and Gabriel. Michael is the angel that led the battle in heaven against Satan and had to deal with Satan again in Jude verse 9 when he refused to dispute with Satan about the body of Moses. Gabriel is known as a messenger of God. He was sent several times by God to speak to different people like Daniel and to Zechariah (Daniel 8:16, Luke 1:19). He was the angel that went to Nazareth to tell Mary that she was favored by God to conceive a son and to name him Jesus (Luke 1:26-31).

Angels are very powerful and should not be worshipped or thought of more highly than God (Psalm 103:20). When the apostle John went to bowed down to an angel in Revelation 22:8-9, the angel rebuked him and said, “Do not worship me! I am a servant like you, your brothers the prophets, and all those who obey the words in this book. Worship God!” We can learn a lot from the angels and be obedient in what God asks us to do.