The Angel Answer Book – by Robert Morgan

The Angel Answer Book by Robert Morgan is an excellent study of what the Bible says about angels.

Angels are intelligent beings created by God in His spiritual realm. Angel means messenger. They are created to serve and glorify the Creator. The Bible refers to angels as “ministering spirits, heavenly hosts and holy ones.” The Bible affirms the existence and presence of angels. They appear in the Bible naturally, personally, and frequently. Angels weave in and out of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. In the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, angels are involved in His birth, death, resurrection, ascension, and in the prophecies regarding His second coming.

Angelology is the theological doctrine concerning angels.

Martin Luther said, “The acknowledgment of angels is needful in the church. Godly preachers should teach them logically. … They should show what angels are. … They must speak touching their function. … In this sort ought we to teach with care, method, and attention, touching the sweet and loving angels.”

To learn about angels, there is only one authoritative, trustworthy source of information: the Bible.  The Word of God is our only infallible Book on the intriguing subject of angels. There are 234 specific passages about good angels. Another 278 times, God is referred to as the “Lord of hosts” (“hosts” are the angelic armies of heaven). Angels are referenced in thirty-nine books of the Bible — nineteen in the Old Testament and twenty in the New — and the range of angelic activity spans the Scriptures from Genesis 3:24 to Revelation 22:16.

Psalm 119:130 says, “The unfolding of your words gives light.” There are some things only God can tell us, and He has revealed them in His Word. Everything must be measured by the standards of scriptural truth.

Angels are portrayed in the Bible matter-of-factly as a normal part of His creation. In His world, angels exist. There is a spiritual zone where much unseen angelic and demonic activity exists.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “I do not know how to explain it; I cannot tell how it is; but I believe angels have a great deal to do with the business of this world.”

God using His angels to accomplish His will. Angels comforted Hagar in the desert, guided Israel through the wilderness, fed Elijah under the juniper tree, surrounded Elisha with chariots of fire, led Isaiah to spiritual commitment, directed Ezekiel into ministry, surrounded Jesus through every phase of His work, bore Lazarus to heaven, delivered Peter from prison, and comforted Paul aboard a sinking ship

To believe in the Bible is to believe in angels. Sometimes they appeared in human form or in superhuman splendor, either recognized as supernatural or as run-of-the-mill strangers, appearing in ones or twos or in multitudes, some with wings; others without, with feet on the ground or hovering in the sky, in three-dimensional reality or in a person’s dreams, visible or invisible.

In Revelation 18:1, an angel descended from heaven with such sun-like brilliance that the entire earth was illumined by his splendor.

When God made the cosmos, He created diverse life forms, humans – and angels. To God, angels are part of the diversity of life in heaven and earth, interplanetary creatures traveling instantly between dimensions of reality in the spiritual and physical realms. They are virtually everywhere – our celestial family.

In the Bible, angels treated realistically. Angels are active in Genesis, appearing at the gates of Eden, to Hagar, to Abraham, and to Jacob. The angel of the Lord accompanied Israel through the wilderness.

Angels are subservient to Christ, subject to Him. After His resurrection, Jesus resumed His full position and the prerogatives of His glory as He sat on heaven’s throne. Hebrews 1:4 says that He is as superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs. God commands all the angels to worship Him and describes angels as “servants.”

Angels are created by Christ, who is both God the Son and Lord. Angels hover worshipfully around the Lord Jesus at His birth, during His ministry, and prophetically at His second coming. They gaze in awe at Him, and long to look into His work and redemption (1 Peter 1:12).

They are “ministering spirits,” invisible with the ability to travel quickly, flying between heaven and earth, hovering in the skies, bridging the chasm between the spiritual and physical realms in the twinkling of an eye.

The term “ministering spirits” lies in the realm of mystery. Martin Luther said, “An angel is a spiritual creature created by God without a body for the service of Christendom.”

Angels have a great purpose. They are ministering spirits, sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. They are God’s response to our needs.