What The Bible Says About Angels (Part Two)
Does the Bible give any idea about the proportion of good to evil angels? Are there any myths about angels that we need to dispense with? Find out about these and more.
How many angels are there?
There is no way to count all the angels. The Bible, when referring to just the number of good angels says:
Revelation 5:11 “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.”
Note that the word million and billion was not the way that Jews expressed themselves so they could only talk about “ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands.”
How many good angels are there compared to evil angels?
The Devil has one third of the angels on his side.
After using the symbol of the Devil as a dragon we are told that the Devil has a third of the “stars” or angels on his side. (See Rev. 1:20 for angels as stars).
Revelation 12:4 “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
Just in case people did not get who verse 4 was talking about and that the term “dragon” was merely symbolic Revelation 12:9 adds:
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Now if the devil has one third of the angels then God has two thirds ofthe angels on His side. That means that there are twice as many good angels as there are bad angels.
Myth – Angels have two wings
This one may come as a shock to most people but angels can have more than two wings! It is just that it may seem like they only have two wings if they are folded together.
Cherubims and their wings
In 1 Kings 8:6,7 we see that the cherubims carved out long ago in Moses’ day had two wings. Of course these cherubims were works of art and formed part of the Ark of the Covenant and were not real cherubims.
1 Kings 8:7 For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
In Ezekiel 1:6; 10:21 we see cherubims with four wings. What looks like their counterparts in Rev. 4;8 through their similarity have six wings, though this latter group are not explicitly called cherubims.
Seraphims and their wings
The seraphims mentioned in the Bible have six wings.
Isaiah 6:2 “Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.”
What is the mission of good angels?
Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
Hebrews 1:7 “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”
Note that when Jesus fasted for forty days and nights and was tempted by the Devil and overcame his temptations, angels came and helped Him.
Matthew 4:11 “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
All through the Bible we see angels ministering to the hungry, protecting the unprotected, giving messages to man and explaining them. Abraham even saw them coming to his house looking like men. (See Gen. 18).
Do we all have guardian angels?
Yes. This is implied in Matthew 18:10 as even little children have angels watching over them. Matthew 18:10 says:
“ Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
What is the role of the evil angels?
The role of evil angels is the opposite of that of the good angels.
They destroy. (See Job 1,2)
They mislead.
1 Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (See also 2 Cor. 11:4)
They pose as doers of good in order to mislead.
2 Cor. 11:14,15 says:
“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
They possess the bodies of sinful humans.
Matthew 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils ….” (See also Matt. 8;16, 28, 33; 9:32; 12:22 etc).
They can even possess animals.
Matthew 8:32 says “…. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.”
They may give great strength or talent to those they possess.
Mark 5:4 says that one demon-possessed man had superhuman strength. It says:
“Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.”
Acts 16 says that one female that was possessed could tell things about people she would not have known otherwise. Acts 16:16 says:
“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.”
She then proceeded to say who Paul and his associate were to spread prejudice about them and their unpopular faith.
Note: When you see someone with great talent that is not being used to spread God’s Word it may not be their talent at all. Some celebrities have sold their souls to the Deviland it makes their handlers a lot of money.
What will be the end of evil angels?
For the whole sequence of events from Jesus’ second coming to the destruction of the evil angels in hell-fire see Rev. 20, 21.
Matthew 25:41 says “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Note that Hell was really intended for the Devil and his evil angels alone but millions of humans choose to grab defeat from the jaws of victory and choose the way of Hell which is the way of disobedience against God’s commands. Let us have faith in God and show our appreciation for Him and the help of twice as many angels that the Devil can muster. Faith is the victory. In Part Three of this series we will look at who Michael the Archangel is.
How many angels are there?
There is no way to count all the angels. The Bible, when referring to just the number of good angels says:
Revelation 5:11 “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.”
Note that the word million and billion was not the way that Jews expressed themselves so they could only talk about “ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands.”
How many good angels are there compared to evil angels?
The Devil has one third of the angels on his side.
After using the symbol of the Devil as a dragon we are told that the Devil has a third of the “stars” or angels on his side. (See Rev. 1:20 for angels as stars).
Revelation 12:4 “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
Just in case people did not get who verse 4 was talking about and that the term “dragon” was merely symbolic Revelation 12:9 adds:
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Now if the devil has one third of the angels then God has two thirds ofthe angels on His side. That means that there are twice as many good angels as there are bad angels.
Myth – Angels have two wings
This one may come as a shock to most people but angels can have more than two wings! It is just that it may seem like they only have two wings if they are folded together.
Cherubims and their wings
In 1 Kings 8:6,7 we see that the cherubims carved out long ago in Moses’ day had two wings. Of course these cherubims were works of art and formed part of the Ark of the Covenant and were not real cherubims.
1 Kings 8:7 For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
In Ezekiel 1:6; 10:21 we see cherubims with four wings. What looks like their counterparts in Rev. 4;8 through their similarity have six wings, though this latter group are not explicitly called cherubims.
Seraphims and their wings
The seraphims mentioned in the Bible have six wings.
Isaiah 6:2 “Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.”
What is the mission of good angels?
Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
Hebrews 1:7 “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”
Note that when Jesus fasted for forty days and nights and was tempted by the Devil and overcame his temptations, angels came and helped Him.
Matthew 4:11 “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
All through the Bible we see angels ministering to the hungry, protecting the unprotected, giving messages to man and explaining them. Abraham even saw them coming to his house looking like men. (See Gen. 18).
Do we all have guardian angels?
Yes. This is implied in Matthew 18:10 as even little children have angels watching over them. Matthew 18:10 says:
“ Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
What is the role of the evil angels?
The role of evil angels is the opposite of that of the good angels.
They destroy. (See Job 1,2)
They mislead.
1 Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (See also 2 Cor. 11:4)
They pose as doers of good in order to mislead.
2 Cor. 11:14,15 says:
“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
They possess the bodies of sinful humans.
Matthew 4:24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils ….” (See also Matt. 8;16, 28, 33; 9:32; 12:22 etc).
They can even possess animals.
Matthew 8:32 says “…. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.”
They may give great strength or talent to those they possess.
Mark 5:4 says that one demon-possessed man had superhuman strength. It says:
“Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.”
Acts 16 says that one female that was possessed could tell things about people she would not have known otherwise. Acts 16:16 says:
“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.”
She then proceeded to say who Paul and his associate were to spread prejudice about them and their unpopular faith.
Note: When you see someone with great talent that is not being used to spread God’s Word it may not be their talent at all. Some celebrities have sold their souls to the Deviland it makes their handlers a lot of money.
What will be the end of evil angels?
For the whole sequence of events from Jesus’ second coming to the destruction of the evil angels in hell-fire see Rev. 20, 21.
Matthew 25:41 says “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Note that Hell was really intended for the Devil and his evil angels alone but millions of humans choose to grab defeat from the jaws of victory and choose the way of Hell which is the way of disobedience against God’s commands. Let us have faith in God and show our appreciation for Him and the help of twice as many angels that the Devil can muster. Faith is the victory. In Part Three of this series we will look at who Michael the Archangel is.