WHO OR WHAT ARE THE ANGELS?

The word "angel" is derived from the Greek word aggelos , which means " messenger ." The corresponding word in Hebrew ma'lak also has the same meaning. Sometimes, the Bible assigns this word to refer to human beings: ordinary people who transmit a message: (Job 1:14; Luke 7:24; 9:52)   

Prophets: (Isaiah 42:19; Malachi 3: 1)

§ Priests: (Malachi 2: 7)

§ Church Leaders: (Revelation 1:20)

Sometimes the Bible speaks figuratively about things or events like "messengers" ...

§ The cloud column: Exodus 14:19

§ Pestilence or plagues (2 Samuel 24: 16-17)

But it usually describes a very wide range of spirits created by God and includes both: good and evil angels, and also special categories such as cherubs, seraphim and archangels.

Angels are mentioned at least one hundred eight times in the Old Testament and one hundred sixty-five times in the New Testament ( Chafer Systematic Theology , II, 3). So in the Scriptures there is ample information that allows us to establish a good foundation for our knowledge of angelic beings. 

HOW MANY ANGELS ARE THERE?

Even though the Holy Scriptures do not provide us with an exact number, we are told that the number of angels is very large (Daniel 7:10; Matthew 26:53; Hebrews 12:22).

It seems that all the angels were created at once. No angel has been added since then. Angels are not subject to death or any form of extinction, therefore, their number does not decrease.

It seems reasonable to conclude that there are at least as many spirits in existence as there will be human beings in the entire history of the earth.

DO LOS ANGELES HAVE A BODY?

Angels are essentially "ministering spirits" (Hebrews 1:14) and have no body like humans. The Lord Jesus affirmed that "a spirit has neither flesh nor bone, as you see that I have." (Luke 24: 37-39).

The Bible, however, makes it very clear that angels can only be in one place at a time. They must have a localized presence.

If necessary, angels can acquire human form. How else "some, unknowingly, hosted angels? (Hebrews 13: 2). On the other hand, sometimes their appearance is covered by dazzling whiteness and flaming glory (Matthew 28: 2-4).

WHAT APPEARANCE DO ANGELS HAVE?

Since angels are spirits and not physical beings, they do not have to take visible appearance (Colossians 1:16). On one occasion, Elisha prayed that his servant could see the angels that surrounded the city and the young man discovered, then, that he had not noticed the enormous amount of invisible beings (2 Kings 6:17).

When angels acquire a visible appearance, they usually acquire the form of a man. In Genesis 18, Abraham was visited by three angelic visitors, who at first only looked like travelers. In the next chapter two angels went to Sodom where they simply presented themselves as two human visitors.

With the possible exception of a debatable passage in Zechariah 5: 9, angels always take masculine form, rather than feminine form (Mark 16: 5).

Sometimes angels appear as men of nothing unusual appearance. Daniel saw an angel with arms and legs that reminded him of polished metal and precious stones, and with a face like lightning (Daniel 10: 5-6). The appearance of the angel that moved the stone from the tomb of the Lord Jesus was shining like lightning (Matthew 28: 3; Luke 24: 4). Revelation 4: 6-8 describes the unique aspect of some beings that could be one of the varieties of angels.

The angels of the Bible never have the figure of the fat baby with wings and beautiful looking face. They are always fully developed adults. Those on whom the Bible gives us reason that they had encounters with angels, usually fainted in their spirits and fell to the ground on their faces, full of fear and amazement. The Bible never shows us the image of the little baby angel who is tickled in the double chin and is spoken with " Agú , agú !".

Some passages in the Bible present us with the image of the angel with wings (Isaiah 6: 2,6). Other passages tell us about flying angels, and with that we infer that the wings would be very useful to them (Daniel 9:21). However, it is quite possible that angels can move from one place to another without having to depend on the wings. Most references to angels, in the Bible, say nothing about wings, and in passages like Genesis 18-19 where Abraham provides hospitality to several angels, there is no mention of wings, visible or invisible. 

WHAT IS THE OFFICE OF LOS ANGELES?

It is not known that all angels perform the same tasks, or if some specialize in some tasks. The Bible tells us, however, of certain types of angels such as cherubs (Ezekiel 1) and seraphim (Isaiah 6). The names of two angels that stand out in the Scriptures are also known: Michael (Daniel 10:13; Jude 9) and Gabriel (Daniel 9:21; Luke 1: 19-26).

The nameless angels, which are mentioned more frequently in The Holy Scriptures, perform a wide variety of tasks, all of them aimed at serving God.

§ Worship and Praise - This is the main activity that takes place in the heavens (Isaiah 6: 1-3; Revelation 4-5) 

§ Reveal - They serve as messengers to communicate God's will to men. They assist in the revelation of the law of Moses (Acts 7: 52-53), and serve as transmitters of much of the material that is revealed in Daniel and Revelation. 

§ Guide - The angels instructed Joseph about the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1-2), the women who came to His grave (Mark 16: 1-8), Philip (Acts 8:26), and Cornelius ( Acts 10: 1-8). 

§ Provide - God has used angels to provide for physical needs, such as food for Hagar Genesis 21: 17-20), Elijah (1 Kings 19: 6), and the Lord Jesus Christ after temptation (Matthew 4:11) . 

§ Protect - They protect God's people from physical dangers, as in the case of Daniel and the lions, and their three friends in the oven (Daniel 3 and 6) 

§ Release - Help God's people get out of danger when they are in difficult situations. The angels released the apostles from prison in Acts 5 and did the same thing again during Peter's process in Acts 12. 

Give Strength and Encouragement - The angels gave strength to the Lord Jesus in the desert during temptation (Matthew 4:11), encouraged the apostles to continue preaching after releasing them from prison (Acts 19:20), and told Paul that all who were on his ship survived the impending shipwreck (Acts 27: 23-25).