Do Angels Really Exist?
Hollywood loves angels. John Travolta played a drunken archangel “Michael”; Nicholas Cage played the part of a love struck angel in the “City of Angels”; and of course, there is the television hit show “Touched by an Angel.” All of the Hollywood buzz about the existence and nature of angels and the speculation about whether it is possible to know them, is a strong indication that this culture is hungry for a touch from another dimension.
Angels are real, but they are not like anything seen in Hollywood. In the Bible, angels are simply “messengers,” (the original meaning of both Greek and Hebrew terms), most of whom are in the service of God engaged in a variety of tasks:
Angels worship God (Isaiah 6:1-3; Relation 4-5). Angels announce God’s purposes to humans (Daniel 9; Luke 1). They are sent to provide for the physical needs of prophets in precarious situations (I Kings 19:6). They protected Daniel from the lions and his friends from the fiery furnace (Daniels 3 & 6). Angels ministered to Jesus after his temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:11). They serve God in many capacities to promote His authority and accomplish His purposes.
Not all angels are good. The Bible gives us a hint of information about a cosmic rebellion among the ranks of angels, led by a great but wicked archangel known as the ‘adversary’ or Satan. As many as one third of the angelic population followed Satan in his revolt against the rule of God (Revelation 12:4). These fallen angels are called demons or unclean spirits in the New Testament. In their hatred of God, they war against His purposes, deceiving humans by promoting false religion and enslaving them in sin (Ephesians 2:1-3; 2Corinthians 4:1-4).
Paul describes the Christian’s battle against the devil and his powerful hierarchy of unseen spirits. He tells us to “put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:11-12) Paul calls the devil the ‘prince of the power of the air’ (Ephesians 2:2). John acknowledges that the whole fallen world presently is under the control of this evil one (1 John 5:19). But the mysterious book of Revelation, with good angels playing important roles, promises the destruction of the satanic rebellion and the anticipated consummation of God’s sovereign rule.
Although Christians acknowledge the power of fallen angels, we do not fear them (1 John 4:4; 5:18). The Lord Jesus Christ has given us authority over them, (Luke 10:19), since he is in authority of everything (Ephesians 1:21; Colossians 2:10).
As our culture continues to be fixated on the subject of angels, we need to thank God for their ministry of helps. However, we must bear in mind that even good angels are not to be the focus of our attention. Twice John the apostle was rebuked for falling down to worship angels (Revelation 19:9-10; 22:9), because angels are created beings just like us. Without doubt, angels are glorious creatures, but our worship must be directed to God alone. We are aware that Satan deceives the world by “appearing as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). We should be careful not to become obsessed with created beings and lose sight of the glorious privilege that is ours to worship our Creator/Redeemer (I John 3:2).
