What does the Bible say about angels?

A word for a task

The Hebrew word usually translated "angel", mal'akh, means a messenger, and it can be used of human messengers as well as heavenly ones [1]. The Greek angelos, which the New Testament uses, carries the same sense; it is used of John the Baptist in Matthew 11:10 and of a "messenger of Satan" in 2 Corinthians 12:7 [2]. Augustine drew the point that Catholic teaching still repeats: "angel" is the name of their office, not of their nature. By nature they are spirits; by office they are messengers [3].

The Bible's own summary appears in Hebrews: "Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14, BSB) [4].

Other heavenly beings

Scripture also describes heavenly beings that are not called messengers. Cherubim guard the way to the tree of life in Genesis and stand over the ark of the covenant; seraphim appear in Isaiah's vision of the temple, calling out "Holy, holy, holy" [5]. Paul speaks of "thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities" in Colossians 1:16, terms that later writers read as ranks of angels [5]. The Hebrew Bible also speaks of a heavenly council and of "sons of God", passages scholars still debate [18][5].

The few with names

Only two holy angels are named in the Protestant Bible. Revelation also names the angel of the Abyss, Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek (Revelation 9:11) [5]. Michael appears in Daniel as "one of the chief princes" and "the great prince" who protects Israel, in Jude as "the archangel Michael", and in Revelation leading his angels against the dragon [5]. Gabriel brings messages to Daniel and announces the births of John the Baptist and Jesus in Luke [5]. A third, Raphael, is named in the book of Tobit, which Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include, where he calls himself one of seven holy angels [6]. Writings outside the Bible, such as 1 Enoch, give longer lists, including Uriel [19].

Never to be worshipped

The New Testament is firm that angels are fellow servants, not objects of worship. Colossians warns against "the worship of angels" (Colossians 2:18) [5]. When John falls at an angel's feet in Revelation, the angel stops him: "Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you… Worship God!" (Revelation 22:9, BSB) [7]. In the fourth century the Council of Laodicea, in its canon 35, forbade Christians to leave the church to invoke angels and hold separate gatherings, calling it hidden idolatry [20]. Orthodox tradition links its November feast of the angels to that council, and like Catholic tradition it distinguishes the worship due to God from the honor given to angels [8].

Where the ranks come from

The familiar nine "choirs" of angels, from seraphim down to angels, come from a Greek writer of about AD 500 who wrote under the name of Dionysius the Areopagite, the convert of Acts 17:34 [9]. His Celestial Hierarchy arranged the angels in three groups of three, and Pope Gregory the Great gave a slightly different order [9][10]. Thomas Aquinas compared the two lists and judged that little or no real difference lay between them [10]. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that no teaching about the angelic hierarchy is binding on faith [3].

What the traditions teach

The Catholic Catechism calls the existence of angels a truth of faith, drawn from Scripture and the unanimous witness of Tradition [11]. It describes them as personal, immortal spirits with intelligence and will, created through and for Christ, and it notes that the Church honors Michael, Gabriel and Raphael and the guardian angels [11]. On guardian angels it quotes St. Basil: beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd [11]. Jesus' words about children are often read this way: "their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 18:10, BSB) [12].

The Orthodox Church keeps the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the Bodiless Powers on 8 November, gives the nine ranks in three hierarchies, and names seven, and in some lists eight, archangels [8]. St. John of Damascus, in the eighth century, called angels incorporeal only in comparison with us; measured against God, every creature is dense and material [13].

Protestant confessions generally limit their teaching on angels to what the biblical texts state, though practice varies between churches. John Calvin warned against speaking or even wishing to know more about angels than the Word of God has delivered, and he set aside the Dionysian ranks [14]. The Westminster Confession of 1647 says worship is given to God alone, and not to angels, saints or any other creature [15]. John Wesley preached a sermon on Hebrews 1:14, "Of Good Angels", teaching that angels protect and serve believers, usually unnoticed, and that they are to be loved for their work but never worshipped [16]. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer keeps the feast of Saint Michael and All Angels on 29 September [17].

What this means for the reader

The Bible presents angels as real servants of God, sent to help his people and to carry his word, but it says less about them than popular culture does. Where a teaching on angels goes beyond Scripture, such as the names of many archangels or the exact ranks, it comes from tradition, and the churches hold it with different degrees of confidence.