Chapter One: Existence of angels
The Bible is full of angelic encounters. Right from the start in
the book of Genesis all the way through Revelation we do see
references made to angels. Biblical figures such as Hagar, Abraham
and Moses from the Old Testament encounter angels. There are many
more cases of angelic encounter by other Old Testament figures but
i do not have the time to type them all. Moses was called by the
angel of the LORD to deliver the Israelites when he saw the burning
bush. Balaam was confronted with an angel as seen in Numbers
20-22.
Angels are not imaginary creatures. Rather, they are actively
involved in the work of God as seen in the scriptures. Their roles
are mainly worshippers of God, messengers, protectors and
instruments of God's judgement.
In contrast to the popular idea that angels have wings. It is good
to note that there are no mentioning of angels having wings in the
Bible. The Bible describes angels to that of appearance of men in
dazzling apparels. The only case when wings are used in
descriptions are specifically for 2 classes of spirit beings known
as Seraphim and Cherubim. These are not angels but they are
separate categories of the heavenly beings.
Seraphim have six wings, Cherubim have four wings. Detailed
description of these creatures can be seen in Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel
10.
In the book of Daniel, we saw the mentioning of names to angels.
Gabriel and Michael are the two named angels in the canonical books
of the Bible. According to legends, there are also angels such as
Uriel, Raphael and others but we do not consider them simply
because the Bible make no apparent mention of them. The angel
Gabriel is found in Daniel 9 and Luke 1. He appears in Daniel 9 to
bring revelation concerning the future of Israel and in the gospel,
he came to annonce the conception of Christ in Mary's womb. Michael
on the other hand, is seen to be the defender and guardian angel of
Israel and the archangel that is going to confront satan, the
fallen archangel.
