Angels have captured the imaginations of people everywhere, but
unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation concerning the subject. Lets
take a look from a Biblical perspective.
In the old testament the word for angel is malak, and in the new testament it
is angelos. The word angel comes from a Greek word that means messenger, thus
angels are the messengers of God.
The Bible does not give an exact number, but implies a very great number of
them exist.
Daniel 7:10 "... thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten
thousand times ten thousand stood before him:"
Mark 5:8-9 "For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou
unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying,
My name is Legion: for we are many."
Luke 2:13 "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of
the heavenly host praising God..."
There are many names found for angels, both in the Bible and other writings,
so one could come to the assumption that all would have names. The following are
just a few of them.
Gabriel (Daniel 8:16) (Luke 1:19) which means "man of god"
Michael (Daniel 12:1) (Jude 1:9) (Revelation 12:7) which means "one who is
as god"
Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12) Devil (Matthew 4:1), Satan (1Chronicles 21:1), Accuser of
the brethren (Revelation 12:10), Adversary (1Peter 5:8), Ancient serpent
(Revelation 12:9), Angel of the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:11), Beelzebul
(Matthew 10:25), Belial (2Corinthians 6:15), Day star son of dawn (Isaiah
14:12), Deceiver of the world (Revelation 12:9), Evil one (Matthew 13:9), Great
dragon (Revelation 12:9), God of this world (2Corinthians 4:4), Liar and father
of lies (John 8:44), Prince of demons (Matthew 9:34), Prince of the power of the
air (Ephesians 2:2), Ruler of this world (John 12:31), The tempter (Matthew
4:3).
Jeremiel (Apocrypha)
Raphael (Apocrypha)
Uriel (Apocrypha)
There appears to be many ranks or classes of angels, only a few are shown
here.
Genesis 3:24 (Cherubim plural of cherub) "... and he placed at
the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims"
Isaiah 6:2 (Seraphim or seraph) "Above it stood the seraphims..."
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (Archangels) "For the Lord himself shall
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,"
How are we to treat angels?
Scripture makes it clear that we must not pray to, or worship the angels.
Revelation 22:8-9 " And I John saw these things, and heard them.
And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the
angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it
not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of
them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God."
The faithful Angels live in the presence of the Lord until they are sent to
serve in some task, and the unfaithful Angels are held captive in chains of
darkness awaiting judgment day.
Psalms 103:20 "Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in
strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his
word."
Tobit 12:15 "I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which
present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory
of the Holy One."
Jude 1:6-7 "And the angels which kept not their first estate,
but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness unto the judgment of the great day."
So how many angels rebelled? No exact number is given other than a third of
the angels rebelled.
Revelation 12:4 "And his tail drew the third part of the stars
of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:"
Can a person be possessed by an evil angel?Yes! By living an evil
life style one opens themselves up to it.
Acts 16:16 "And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain
damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us,"
Luke 4:33 "And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a
spirit of an unclean devil,"
Mark 5:8-9 "For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou
unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying,
My name is Legion: for we are many."
Luke 11:24-26 "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he
walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will
return unto my house whence I came out. And when he comes, he finds it swept
and garnished. Then goes he, and takes to him seven other spirits more
wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state
of that man is worse than the first."
What was the cause of their fall?
Jude 1:6-7 "And the angels which kept not their first estate,
but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and
the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication,
and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the
vengeance of eternal fire."
Enoch 1 (Ethiopic) Chapter 6-10 "And it came to pass when the
children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them
beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven,
saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us
wives from among the children of men and beget us children.' And Semjaza,
who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do
this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And
they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind
ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this
thing.' Then swear they all together and bound themselves by mutual
imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the
days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon,
because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.
And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba,
Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, Asael, Armaros,
Batarel, Ananel, Zaqiel, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These
are their chiefs of tens.
And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each
chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile
themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the
cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they became
pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells:
Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer
sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they
began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to
devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid
accusation against the lawless ones.
And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and
breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of
working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the
beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all coloring
tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication,
and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza
taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, 'Armaros the resolving of
enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations,
Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth,
Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men
perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .And then Michael,
Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood
being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the
earth. And they said one to another: 'The earth made without inhabitant
cries the voice of their cryings up to the gates of heaven. And now to
you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying,
"Bring our cause before the Most High."' And they said to the Lord
of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the
ages, the throne of Thy glory (stands) unto all the generations of the ages,
and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! Thou hast made
all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked
and open in Thy sight, and Thou sees all things, and nothing can hide itself
from Thee. Thou sees what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all
unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were
(preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: And Semjaza,
to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. And they
have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the
women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins.
And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled
with blood and unrighteousness. And now, behold, the souls of those who have
died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their
lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds
which are wrought on the earth. And Thou knows all things before they come
to pass, and Thou sees these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost
not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.' Then said the
Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of
Lamech,and said to him: 'Go to Noah and tell him in my name "Hide
thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole
earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth,
and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape
and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.' And
again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him
into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael,
and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover
him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that
he may, not see light. And on the day of the great judgment he shall be cast
into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and
proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that
all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that
the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth
has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him
ascribe all sin.' And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the
bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and
destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from
amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other
that they may destroy each other in battle: for length of days shall they
not have. And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall
be granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an
eternal life, and that each one of them will live five hundred years.' And
the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjaza and his associates who have
united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with
them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another,
and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for
seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their
judgment and of their consummation, till the judgment that is for ever and
ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of
fire: and to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for
ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth
be bound together with them to the end of all generations. And destroy all
the spirits of the reprobate and the children of the Watchers, because they
have wronged mankind. Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth and let
every evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth
appear: and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and truth'
shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore."
Chapter 85-88 "And after this I saw another dream, and I will
show the whole dream to thee, my son. And Enoch lifted up (his voice) and
spake to his son Methuselah: ' To thee, my son, will I speak: hear my
words-incline thine ear to the dream-vision of thy father. Before I took thy
mother Edna, I saw in a vision on my bed, and behold a bull came forth from
the earth, and that bull was white; and after it came forth a heifer, and
along with this (latter) came forth two bulls, one of them black and the
other red. And that black bull gored the red one and pursued him over the
earth, and thereupon I could no longer see that red bull. But that black
bull grew and that heifer went with him, and I saw that many oxen proceeded
from him which resembled and followed him. And that cow, that first one,
went from the presence of that first bull in order to seek that red one, but
found him not, and lamented with a great lamentation over him and sought
him. And I looked till that first bull came to her and quieted her, and from
that time onward she cried no more. And after that she bore another white
bull, and after him she bore many bulls and black cows. And I saw in my
sleep that white bull likewise grow and become a great white bull, and from
Him proceeded many white bulls, and they resembled him. And they began to
beget many white bulls, which resembled them, one following the other,
(even) many. And again I saw with mine eyes as I slept, and I saw the heaven
above, and behold a star fell from heaven, and it arose and eat and
pastured amongst those oxen. And after that I saw the large and the black
oxen, and behold they all changed their stalls and pastures and their
cattle, and began to live with each other. And again I saw in the
vision, and looked towards the heaven, and behold I saw many stars descend
and cast themselves down from heaven to that first star, and they
became bulls amongst those cattle and pastured with them [amongst
them]. And I looked at them and saw, and behold they all let out their privy
members, like horses, and began to cover the cows of the oxen, and they all
became pregnant and bare elephants, camels, and asses. And all the oxen
feared them and were frightened at them, and began to bite with their teeth
and to devour, and to gore with their horns. And they began, moreover, to
devour those oxen; and behold all the children of the earth began to tremble
and quake before them and to flee from them. And again I saw how they began
to gore each other and to devour each other, and the earth began to cry
aloud. And I raised mine eyes again to heaven, and I saw in the vision, and
behold there came forth from heaven beings who were like white men: and four
went forth from that place and three with them. And those three that had
last come forth grasped me by my hand and took me up, away from the
generations of the earth, and raised me up to a lofty place, and showed me a
tower raised high above the earth, and all the hills were lower. And one
said unto me: 'Remain here till thou seest everything that befalls those
elephants, camels, and asses, and the stars and the oxen, and all of them.'
And I saw one of those four who had come forth first, and he seized that
first star which had fallen from the heaven, and bound it hand and foot and
cast it into an abyss: now that abyss was narrow and deep, and horrible and
dark. And one of them drew a sword, and gave it to those elephants and
camels and asses: then they began to smite each other, and the whole earth
quaked because of them. And as I was beholding in the vision, lo, one of
those four who had come forth stoned (them) from heaven, and gathered and
took all the great stars whose privy members were like those of horses, and
bound them all hand and foot, and cast them in an abyss of the earth."
Chapter 106 "And after some days my son Methuselah took a wife
for his son Lamech, and she became pregnant by him and bore a son. And his
body was white as snow and red as the blooming of a rose, and the hair of
his head and his long locks were white as wool, and his eyes beautiful. And
when he opened his eyes, he lighted up the whole house like the sun, and the
whole house was very bright. And thereupon he arose in the hands of the
midwife, opened his mouth, and conversed with the Lord of righteousness. And
his father Lamech was afraid of him and fled, and came to his father
Methuselah. And he said unto him: ' I have begotten a strange son, diverse
from and unlike man, and resembling the sons of the God of heaven; and his
nature is different and he is not like us, and his eyes are as the rays of
the sun, and his countenance is glorious. And it seems to me that he is not
sprung from me but from the angels, and I fear that in his days a wonder may
be wrought on the earth. And now, my father, I am here to petition thee and
implore thee that thou mayest go to Enoch, our father, and learn from him
the truth, for his dwelling-place is amongst the angels.' And when
Methuselah heard the words of his son, he came to me to the ends of the
earth; for he had heard that 1 was there, and he cried aloud, and I heard
his voice and I came to him. And 1 said unto him: ' Behold, here am I, my
son, wherefore hast thou come to me ? 'And he answered and said: ' Because
of a great cause of anxiety have I come to thee, and because of a disturbing
vision have I approached. And now, my father, hear me: unto Lamech my son
there hath been born a son, the like of whom there is none, and his nature
is not like man's nature, and the color of his body is whiter than snow and
redder than the bloom of a rose, and the hair of his head is whiter than
white wool, and his eyes are like the rays of the sun, and he opened his
eyes and thereupon lighted up the whole house. And he arose in the hands of
the midwife, and opened 12 his mouth and blessed the Lord of heaven. And his
father Lamech became afraid and fled to me, and did not believe that he was
sprung from him, but that he was in the likeness of the angels of heaven;
and behold I have come to thee that thou mayest make known to me the truth.'
And I, Enoch, answered and said unto him: 'The Lord will do a new thing on
the earth, and this I have already seen in a vision, and make known to thee
that in the generation of my father Jared some of the angels of heaven
transgressed the word of the Lord. And behold they commit sin and transgress
the law, and have united themselves with women and commit sin with them, and
have married some of them, and have begot children by them. And they shall
produce on the earth giants not according to the spirit, but according to
the flesh, and there shall be a great punishment on the earth, and the earth
shall be cleansed from all impurity. Yea, there shall come a great
destruction over the whole earth, and there shall be a deluge and a
great destruction for one year. And this son who has been born unto you
shall be left on the earth, and his three children shall be saved with him:
when all mankind that are on the earth shall die [he and his sons
shall be saved]. And now make known to thy son Lamech that he who has been
born is in truth his son, and call his name Noah; for he shall be left to
you, and he and his sons shall be saved from the destruction, which shall
come upon the earth on account of all the sin and all the unrighteousness,
which shall be consummated on the earth in his days. And after that there
shall be still more unrighteousness than that which was first consummated on
the earth; for I know the mysteries of the holy ones; for He, the Lord, has
showed me and informed me, and I have read (them) in the heavenly
tablets."
2 Baruch 56:12-15 "And became he a danger some of them
descended, and mingled with the women. And then those who did so were
tormented in chains. But the rest of the multitude of the angels, of which
there is (no) number, restrained themselves. And those who dwelt on the
earth perished together (with them) through the waters of the deluge."
2 Enoch (Slavonic) Chapter 18:1-4 "The men took me on to the
fifth heaven and placed me, and there I saw many and countless soldiers,
called Grigori, of human appearance, and their size was greater than that of
great giants and their faces withered, and the silence of their mouths
perpetual, and their was no service on the fifth heaven, and I said to the
men who were with me: Wherefore are these very withered and their faces
melancholy, and their mouths silent, and wherefore is there no service on
this heaven? And they said to me: These are the Grigori, who with their
prince Satanail rejected the Lord of light, and after them are those who are
held in great darkness on the second heaven, and three of them went down on
to earth from the Lords throne, to the place Ermon, and broke through their
vows on the shoulder of the hill Ermon and saw the daughters of men how good
they are, and took to themselves wives, and befouled the earth with their
deeds, who in all times of their age made lawlessness and mixing, and giants
are born and marvellous big men and great enmity. And therefore God judged
them with great judgment, and they weep for their brethren and they will be
punished on the Lords great day."
