Angels in the Bible

Angels in the Old Testament

God's messengers are also the two guests of Lot in Sodom. They protect him, his wife, and their two daughters, but they also have the task of executing judgment on the wicked inhabitants of the city (Gen 19, 1-25).

Jacob in a dream saw the angels of God ascending and descending on a ladder that reached from earth to heaven (Gen 28, 10-12).

After the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise, "God placed the Cherubim and a flaming, flashing sword to the east of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life" (Gen 3, 24).

The angel of the Lord appears to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush (Ex 3, 1-6).

The angel of the Lord protects Israel during the crossing of the sea and escorts them during the exodus (Ex 23, 20). He sends an angel to guide them in the desert: "Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared" (Ex 32, 34; 33, 2).

The angels bring the prayers of men into the presence of God (Tob 12, 12; Rev 5, 8; 8, 3).

A messenger of God appears to Joshua in the form of a man with a drawn sword, promising him and Israel his help in battle: "When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand." Joshua asked him, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" The stranger replied, "I am the commander of the army of the Lord" (Josh 5, 13-15).

"David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem" (1 Chr 21, 16). David prays to spare the people and "The Lord ordered the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath" (1 Chr 21, 27).

Faced with the wrath of Queen Jezebel, Elijah had to flee into the desert. Exhausted, he sat down under a broom tree, wishing to die. While he slept, an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." He looked around and found by his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. He ate and drank. When he fell asleep again, the angel returned and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." Then Elijah got up and ate and drank, and strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb (1 Kgs 19, 4-8).

Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. They were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa 6, 1-4).

Because three young men refuse to pay divine honors to Nebuchadnezzar, they are thrown into a blazing furnace. The angel of the Lord goes down with them into the fire and drives away the flames of the furnace. The young men, thus saved, praise the Lord and his angels (Dan 3).

Darius the Mede has Daniel thrown into the lions' den, because the prophet, contrary to the law, prayed to the God of Israel. Despite this, Daniel suffers no harm and confesses: "My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions" (Dan 6, 23).

Tobit sets out on a journey because he needs money for his blind father. On this perilous journey, he finds an angel (Raphael) who accompanies him and induces him to take with him the entrails of a fish as a remedy for his father's blindness. At the same time, the angel saves Tobit's young wife from her tragedy. In the end, he reveals his identity: "I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord" (Tob 12, 15).

Angels in the Gospels

The Archangel Gabriel appears to Zechariah in the temple to announce the birth of a son, John (Luke 1, 8-22).

The Archangel, six months later, is sent by God to Mary to bring her the announcement of the incarnation of Jesus (Luke 1, 26-38).

Later the Angel goes to the shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night: "The glory of the Lord shone around them." He announces the birth of the Messiah and suddenly there appears "a multitude of the heavenly host praising God" (Luke 2, 8-14).

An Angel appears to Joseph in a dream to announce the conception of the child (Matt 1, 18-24). Later, in a dream, he appears to Joseph again and orders him to flee to Egypt with the child and his mother (Matt 2, 13). After Herod's death, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and orders him to return to Galilee (Matt 2, 19-23).

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: "When the poor man died, he was carried by the angels to Abraham's side" (Luke 16, 22).

At the beginning of Jesus' passion, an angel appears to him during his prayer and comforts him (Luke 22, 43). Jesus states: "Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matt 26, 53).

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome go to the tomb of Jesus: "An angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow." He announces to the women: "He is not here; he has risen" (Matt 28, 1-6).

Ascension of Jesus and the Parousia

After the ascension, "behold, two men in white robes stood by them" and explained what had happened (Acts 1, 10-11).

Jesus states: "When he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8, 38).

At the Parousia, the Son of Man: "will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt 24, 31). "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne" (Matt 25, 31).

Acts of the Apostles and Revelation

When the high priest has the apostles thrown into the public prison, a messenger of God opens the prison doors and leads them out (Acts 5, 18-20).

Herod has Peter imprisoned, but an angel frees him: "And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, 'Get up quickly.' And the chains fell off his hands... the gate opened for them of its own accord" (Acts 12, 4-9).

When Paul is in danger of shipwreck, an angel appears to him during the night and promises salvation for him and all who are with him (Acts 27, 23-25).

In Revelation, the angels form innumerable hosts around the throne of God in heaven. They bring the prayers of the Saints before Him (Rev 5, 8; 8, 3).

Revelation addresses, first of all, seven messages to the seven angels of the churches in Asia (Rev 1, 4 - 3, 22).

The angels hold in their power the destructive forces of nature such as: angels of the winds (Rev 7, 1-8), of fire (Rev 14, 18), and of the waters (Rev 16, 5).

They record the actions of men in the heavenly books (Rev 17, 8; 20, 12). Seven angels are given seven trumpets at whose sound the Judgment begins (Rev 8, 6-13). Seven angels announce the last seven plagues (Rev 15, 1-8).

The angel of Judgment finally binds the dragon and throws him into the abyss (Rev 20, 1-3).