Over the years I have found that people really don’t have a good
understanding of what angels are or what they do. At one time, I was one of those people.
I sell a lot of angel wing jewelry at my online store and at
the pop-ups that I participate in. So many times, I hear the story behind the
purchase of such items. Usually, the purchase is tied to a great loss of a
loved one. They purchase angel wings because it reminds them that their loved one
is looking after them from above.
Before I fully understood what angels were, I even bought
into the idea that when we die, we became angels. There is a saying “They
earned their wings today”, that oftentimes left me thinking, we might turn into
angels somehow!
I know people talk about their guardian angels and sometimes in such a way, that it seems like angels take on the nature of fantasy.
We always picture them as beautiful human forms with halos,
feathery wings, all white and glowing. They float around in the air, sit on
clouds, and play their harps.
But what are angels really, are they superior to us? Do we
turn into angels when we die? How does this angel thing work?
Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about angels. I
think that’s a good place to start, considering God created the angels.
Nehemiah 9:6 Talks about God creating the Angels and refers
to them as hosts. “And the hosts of heaven worship you.” Paul speaks of the
angels when he states in Colossians 1:16 “…created the visible and the invisible…”
God created them as individuals and to be angels specifically and it is
believed that they were created shortly after the beginning in Genesis.
Humans do not turn into angels when they die. We will be
clothed with our own heavenly bodies (2 Cor 5:4-5) and although we do not know
what they will look like, 1 John 3:2-3 says that our new bodies will be like
Christ’s glorious body.
We know that angels do not exist the same way that humans
do. They are spirits and can’t usually be seen unless God chooses to reveal
them to us. (Hebrews 1:13-14, Luke 24:39, Numbers 22:31, 2 Kings 6:17, Luke
2:13, Matthew 28:5, Hebrews 13:2)
There are three types of angels in the Bible: Cherubim,
Seraphim and living creatures around God’s throne. Cherubim are like guards, Seraphim,
though only mentioned once in the Bible, sing and continually worship God.
Michael is called the Archangel, which means to have
authority over the other angels, and Michael is called one of the chief princes
in Daniel 10:13 and appears to lead God’s angelic army in Revelations 12. Paul
also tells us that the Lord returns from heaven with the archangel’s call, but
we do not know if the archangel referred to is Michael, leaving us to think
that there might be other archangels. (1 Thess. 4:16)
Gabriel is the only other angel named and he appears to be a
messenger. (Daniel 8:16, 9:21, Luke 1:19, 26-27)
Angels are not omnipresent like God. They can only be at one
place at a time.
We don’t know how many angels there are, but we know that
there are a lot of them according to scriptures. (Revelation 5:11)
Scripture tell us in Psalms 91:11-12 “11For he will command his angels concerning you to guard
you in all your ways; 12they will lift you up in their hands, so
that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Though there is some
debate about this amongst theologians, we are not sure that each of us has his
own guardian angel.
We know that angels do not marry and that they are very
powerful.
During our earthly lives, we are lower than the angels, Hebrews
2:7, and 1 Corinthians 6:3 states, “3Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more
the things of this life!” In other words, when Jesus returns, we will be raised
higher than them.
There are many scriptures that tell us that angels carry
out some of God’s plans and that they directly glorify God.
We are not to worship angels and the Bible gives us
a warning not to do so. (Colossians 2:18, Revelation 19:10) We are not to pray
to angels either. 1 Timothy 2:5 clearly states that there is only one mediator
between God and man and that is Jesus.
For a long period of time in my life, I thought they
were just fantasy, until I had a better understanding. If we really want to
know about angels, there are a lot of scriptures about them, we just need to read.
I do believe that there are angels and that they are
creatures created by our Heavenly Father to serve His purposes. I know that
many times I have been protected by the hand of God, and He just might have
sent His angels to help me. We will just say; I’ve had a few unexplained
experiences!
But for God!
Many Blessings!
Debra
Author of “It Is What It Is” and “Making Wise
Choices”
Owner of Sunni Daiz Inspiration | www.sunnidaiz.com | Inspirational Jewelry & Gifts
