ANGELS - FACTS AND FABLES

There is a flood of books, movies and TV shows about angels. Homes are decorated with pictures and images of angels. Touched By An Angel is a morally decent alternative to other TV programming, but it is a mistake to base your understanding of angels on that show.


By definition, angels are messengers of God:

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Angels are created beings (Colossians 1:16) and are able to obey or disobey God (II Peter 2:4). 

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Angels are held accountable for their actions (II Peter 2:4). 

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Angels are subject to Christ (Ephesians 1:21).

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Angels are mighty in power (Psalm 103:20), but not all-powerful.

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Angels are not omniscient (Mark 13:32). 

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Angels are holy (Mathew 25:31). Angels can travel through space, hence are said to fly in mid-heaven (Daniel 9:20-21).

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There are untold numbers of them (Hebrews 12:22). 

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Angels have names (Luke 1:26).

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Angels do not marry (Mathew 22:30). 

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Angels serve God as he directs (Psalm 103:20).

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Some angels do service for the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). 

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Other angels administer punishments upon the wicked (II Kings 19:35). 

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Some angels convey God's instructions to his servants (Acts 5:20).

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Angels comfort and strengthen God's elect (Elk. 22:43). 

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Angels cannot mediate for us (I Timothy 2:5). 

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Angels sometimes take a human appearance and can be seen and talked to (Genesis 19:1-2). Normally they are invisible to human eyes (II Kings 6:16-17). 

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We are forbidden to worship angels (Colossians 2:18; Revelation 22:8ff).

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Angels rejoice when sinners are saved (Luke 15:10). 

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In heaven, angels worship and praise the Father and Son (Revelation 5:13).

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At death, angels accompany the righteous into eternity (Luke 16:22).

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Angels will accompany Christ when he comes to raise the dead and judge the world (Mathew 13:39).

Some misconceptions about angels are:

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Angels are always women - the only two named have male names.

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Angels have wings and halos - artists depict them thusly to illustrate that they can fly and are holy.

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Angels are dead saints now living in heaven - although comforting to their loved ones, no Scripture supports this idea.
Each of us has a personal guardian angel - angels do look after the elect (Hebrews 1:14), but the idea that each one of us has a personal angel is not found in Scripture.

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A death angel comes to claim us when our time on earth is up - this concept is not found in Scripture.

Enjoy the shows, but remember that reliable information about angels is only found in God's Word.

 

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February 2005 Issue

 

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