Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
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Good morning, Bereans. We are continuing our study of 1 Peter this morning—kind of. We looked at verse 12 last week but did not look at the ending phrase. So, for our study this morning we are going to be looking at the topic of angels.
It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. 1 Peter 1:12 ESV
"Things into which angels long to look"—what is it that into which angels "long to look"? "Things" here refers to matters of the salvation of man. Peter has been contrasting the brevity of suffering with the eternality of salvation. He mentioned their salvation in verses 5 and 9. Then he mentions it again in verse 10. He's making the point that while their suffering is grievous, their salvation is glorious. Their suffering it for a time; their salvation is eternal. Peter is encouraging, in the midst of suffering, to remember the glory of their salvation. Peter is arguing that our salvation is so great that whatever we must endure for Christ's sake now is nothing compared with the glory that awaits us.
Those two words, "long and look," are loaded with meaning. The word "long" is the Greek word epithumeō, which means "desire, lust after." It's describing a strong desire, an overpowering impulse.
The word "look" is from parakuptō,which means to stoop to look into. It was used of Peter as he stooped to look into the empty tomb (John 20:5) and by James with the meaning to gaze intently at something (James 1:25). It implies intense interest.
The text declares that angels longed to look. We all know what angels are, right? Or do we?
If there is such a thing as a universal idea, one that cuts across cultures and religions and is common through the centuries, it is this belief in angels. Not only do Christians and Jews (the Jews regarded angels as the most exalted of all God's creatures) believe in angels, but Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism have them too. They are the winged figures that appear in primitive Sumerian carvings, Egyptian tombs, and Assyrian beliefs. Angels litter the metaphysical landscape from ancient times to the present.
The New Age Movement calls fallen angels, "Avatars," or "Spirit-guides." Their human devotees practice channeling or mediumistic activities, offering to awaken hidden powers within men and women which will help them fulfill their greatest possibilities.
Many Christians today, whether rationalist Protestants, ex-Catholics, or those of some of the emerging-churches, see angels as being merely symbolic. They are just part of a storyteller's way of telling the story. Because of all the confusion in our day about angels, let's go to the Word of God to see what we can learn about angels.
ANGELOLOGY
What does the Bible say about angels? First of all, the term "angel" is derived from the Hebrew word malak, which means "messenger." Strong's Concordance states: "Malak, from an unused root meaning to dispatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically of God." In general, in texts where an "angel" appears, the task is to convey the message or do something on behalf of Yahweh.
Malak is the same name given to the last prophetic book Malachi, which means "my messenger." "Malachi" may possibly be viewed as a descriptive title of the author rather than as a personal name. Some believe that Malachi is an angel, but the book's content and its presence among the prophets make it certain that Malachi is a human messenger, a prophet.
There are 213 uses of the Hebrew word malak in the Tanakh. Its Aramaic equivalent appears twice. The NASB translates 105 of them as "angel" and the rest as "messenger." So, in the NASB, malak is more often translated as "messenger" than as "angel." The translators rendered it as "angel" when they viewed it as a divine messenger but as "messenger" when they saw it as a human messenger. Since the focus of the text is on the message, the messenger is rarely described in detail. Thus, the divine emissary may or may not be some sort of supernatural being. This must be determined by the context. Please, please get that last statement. The meaning of malak or aggelos must be determined by the context. Let's look at some of its uses in the Tanakh. The first use of "angel" in the Bible is founded in Genesis 6.
The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. Genesis 16:7 ESV
The first uses of malak portray it as the malak of Yahweh. The precise identity of the "angel of Yahweh" is not given in the Bible. However, there are many important clues to malak's identity. It seems when the definite article "the" is used, it is specifying a unique being, one separate from the other angels. The angel of Yahweh claims Yahweh's actions as his own.
Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, "I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, Judges 2:1 ESV
Who delivered Israel from Egypt; who had a covenant with them?
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. Leviticus 25:38 ESV
The angel of Yahweh is equated with Yahweh.
And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. Exodus 3:2 ESV
When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Exodus 3:4 ESV
So, the angel of Yahweh and Yahweh are interchanged in many different accounts.
In Daniel 7, the heavenly Son of Man is distinguished from Yahweh.
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. Daniel 7:13 ESV
So, we see them distinguished, but the Son of Man riding the clouds is an action only Yahweh does.
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; Psalms 104:1-3 ESV
The portrayal of the Son of Man riding a cloud is a proclamation that He is Yahweh. When we put all these texts together, we can see that they build a compelling cumulative case of PLURALITY WITHIN YAHWEH HIMSELF. I believe that the angel of Yahweh is the pre-incarnate Christ, Yahweh the Son. Justin Martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, Irenaeus, and Tertullian suggested that the angel of Yahweh is the pre-incarnate Christ. The appearances of the angel of Yahweh cease after the incarnation of Christ. Angels are mentioned numerous times in the New Testament, but "the angel of Yahweh" is never mentioned in the New Testament after the birth of Christ.
The phrase "malak Yahweh" (where malak is singular) can refer to a human messenger sent by Yahweh. After the four uses of "malak Yahweh" in Genesis, we see malak used by itself.
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth, Genesis 19:1 ESV
These don't appear to be human messengers.
And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. Genesis 19:11 ESV
Do you know any humans who can do this? It is clear that angels have great power over humans.
And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! Genesis 28:12 ESV
That divine beings used the ladder shows that this marked an entryway to the divine realm.
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." Genesis 28:16-17 ESV
"House of God"—this Hebrew phrase, "beyt elohim," is typically used of a temple—both within and outside the Tanakh. Temples were not only divine abodes; they were also the place of divine activity as it pertained to humanity. "Gate of heaven"—the stairway led to God's abode, the heavens. These are divine beings.
The first human use of malak is found in Genesis 32.
And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, Genesis 32:3 ESV
Here the ESV has translated malak as "messengers" to distinguish it from the supernatural messengers or angels.
There are some within Preterism who believe and teach that there are no demons or supernatural beings called angels. They see all references to angels as speaking of men who are human messengers of God. Consequently, they are in a sense like the Sadducees.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Acts 23:8 ESV
Now this verse is not saying or implying that the Sadducees don't believe in human messengers. They simply don't believe in supernatural beings called "angels."
Let's look at a few references in the Tanakh that I think you are hard-pressed to define as human messengers.
I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Exodus 33:2 ESV
And the LORD sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. 2 Chronicles 32:21 ESV
Angel here is singular. The Lord sent one angel. In 2 Kings, we discover just how many this one angel killed.
And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 2 Kings 19:35 ESV
In 2 Chronicles it states that "Yahweh sent an angel" while 2 Kings declares that it is the "angel of Yahweh." It's hard for me to see a human messenger in these texts. Now let's look at a couple of passages in Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Daniel 3:28 ESV
Here we have an angel in the midst of the fiery furnace who delivers the three Hebrews. Not sure how this could be a human. These are clearly angels being used to help people.
My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm." Daniel 6:22 ESV
This angel gets into a sealed lion's den without breaking the seal and shuts the mouth of the hungry lions. This seems rather supernatural to me. Just in case you think that the lions weren't hungry, look at what follows.
And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. Daniel 6:24 ESV
That gives us an idea of what is in the Tanakh. We see that malak is used of a supernatural being and also of humans. In the Apocrypha, a distinction is found between good and bad angels.
"For a good angel will accompany him; his journey will be successful, and he will come back in good health." Tobit 5:22 NRSV
Now let's look at angels in the New Testament. The Greek word translated "angel is aggelos, which means "messenger." Aggelos is the Greek equivalent of malak. There are 176 uses of aggelos in the New Testament. The ESV translates only four of them as "messenger" and the rest of them as "angel." Therefore, in the ESV, "angel" is by far the predominate translation of aggelos. Speaking of John the Baptizer the Scripture says:
This is he of whom it is written, "'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.' Matthew 11:10 ESV
"Messenger" here is aggelos and clearly refers to a human messenger. Again, it is only translated "messenger" four times out of its 176 uses.
Let's look at some texts that use aggelos as a nonhuman divine messenger. The following is one that we all should be familiar with:
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16:27 ESV
These heavenly messengers are coming with Christ at His Second Coming.
Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? Matthew 26:53 ESV
This is not talking about human messengers. A Roman legion consisted of about 5,000 soldiers. Twelve legions equal about 60,000 angels. Since one angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, 12 legions was more than enough to deal with the mob that gathered to arrest Yeshua.
Let me give you some more references that don't appear to be human messengers. Here again we see angels helping the Lord's people.
But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, Acts 5:19 ESV
The apostles are delivered from prison by an angel.
And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his hands. Acts 12:7 ESV
If it was a human messenger in Acts 12:10, why didn't he have keys to the chains?
When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. Acts 12:10 ESV
Again, this sounds pretty supernatural to me.
Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. Acts 12:23 ESV
Here an angel is used to bring the judgment of God.
If we were to assume that the translators got it right and all uses of angel refer to supernatural beings, we would be mistaken. There are many times when I think the ESV translators got the wrong translation of aggelos. Young's Literal translates all uses of malak and aggelos as messenger. So, you have to figure out if it is a human messenger or a supernatural messenger. Only the context can tell you that.
How about Matthew 25? Is Yeshua speaking of human or supernatural beings?
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:41 ESV
I see this "eternal fire" not as hell (i.e., a fictious place that the Bible never talks about) but as the fiery destruction of Jerusalem. That being the case, this could refer to the High Priest, the adversary, and the Levitical priesthood. The priesthood were messengers of God.
We need to consider some verses in Hebrews 1 and 2 that talk about angels. But before we do that, let's get some background information from the book of Malachi.
Malachi 2 is about the corrupt priesthood.
"And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the LORD of hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. Malachi 2:1-6 ESV
Now look at the next verse.
For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. Malachi 2:7 ESV
Messenger here is malak in Hebrew and aggelos in the Greek LXX. Here Malachi calls Israel's priesthood the malak of the Lord. Hang on to that. The book of Hebrews is about the change from the Old Covenant priesthood to the New Covenant priesthood. Don't you think that the author of Hebrews was familiar with Malachi?
But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction." Malachi 2:8-9 ESV
He goes on to talk about the corruption of the priesthood and how he is going to do away with them.
"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:1 ESV
"Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:5 ESV
In the New Testament, John shows up to announce the Messiah who would bring in the new priesthood. With that in mind, let's look at some verses in Hebrews. Zack did a message a couple of months ago in his Sunday school class that opened my eyes to this idea of angels in Hebrews 1 and 2. We need to keep in mind that Hebrews is talking about the superiority of Christ and the New Covenant over the Levitical priesthood and the Old Covenant.
having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Hebrews 1:4 ESV
Was Christ superior to the Levitical priesthood? Remember Malachi 2:7.
For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. Malachi 2:7 ESV
The priests are messengers of Yahweh. Keep that in mind.
For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son"? Hebrews 1:5 ESV
Did God call the priests his sons? No, they were his servants. Did he call angels his sons? Yes (see Job 38:7).
And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him." Hebrews 1:6 ESV
This one is difficult because it is a quote from Deut. 32:43 and Psalm 97:7. Deuteronomy 32:43 has a variant that says, "bow down to him, all gods" (Elohim). And Psalm 97:7 states: "worship him, all you gods!" (also Elohim). This indicates that angels are in view. But the LXX of both these verses uses aggelos and not elohim. We could go either way on this one. The priesthood was called to worship Yeshua, but so were the angels, in fact, all creation was.
For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. Hebrews 2:5 ESV
Was the Old Covenant world subjected to angels? No, but it was subjected to the Levitical priesthood.
For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, Hebrews 2:2 ESV
What message did angels declare that was to be obeyed? The priesthood taught the people the Law of God.
you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it." Acts 7:53 ESV
Where are we taught that angels delivered the Law of God? We know that it was delivered by the priesthood.
For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. Hebrews 2:5 ESV
You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, Hebrews 2:7 ESV
For a brief time, Christ was under the Old Covenant Priesthood. He was lower than the priests.
This view makes much more sense to me than the angel view. Hebrews is talking about the superiority of Christ and the New Covenant to the Levitical priesthood and the Old Covenant.
Let's go to the book of Revelation.
"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 'The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. Revelation 2:1 ESV
Who is the "angel of the church"? It is a messenger, but is it human or heavenly? Back when John Eleazar penned the Revelation, this phrase would not have been misunderstood as a heavenly messenger. It was the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew, "sheliach tzibbur" [shah-LEE-ach te-BOOR], or messenger of the assembly, who was a leader in the synagogue.
One of the officers of the synagogue was the sheliach tzibbur, the Delegate of the Assembly. The Hebrew word sheliach means "legate" or "delegate," and comes from the Hebrew root shalach, "to send." Thus, it is easy to see how sheliach came over into Greek as aggelos ("a messenger," often translated as "angel"). The Hebrew word tzibbur means "assembly." The sheliach tzibbur was a man of good character who would be asked by the ruler of the Synagogue to read the Scriptures. He was also expected to read the prayers. He was the mouthpiece of the congregation.
Yeshua wrote to the "angel," who would then read the letter to the congregation. When John wrote this, the church was still meeting in the synagogue.
John also uses aggelos of heavenly messengers.
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, Revelation 12:7 ESV
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, Revelation 17:1 ESV
Here again we see angels issuing judgment.
There are several categories of angels—winged angels. While not all angels have wings, cherubim and seraphim do.
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. Isaiah 6:1-2 ESV
Seraphim appear only in Isaiah's vision where they are seen attending God's throne and offering praises.
The cherubim appeared to have the form of a human hand under their wings. Ezekiel 10:8 ESV
Cherubim function primarily as guards or attendants to the divine throne. They were placed as armed guards at the entrance to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were banished.
Another set of terms used to describe angels focuses not on angels as Yahweh's messengers but, rather, as Yahweh's heavenly council. Terms such as "sons of God," "holy ones," and "heavenly host" seem to focus on angels as Yahweh's divine council. As such, these variously worship Yahweh, attend Yahweh's throne, or comprise Yahweh's army. These terms are used typically in contexts emphasizing the grandeur, power, and/or mighty acts of Yahweh. All three categories present us with heavenly beings in service to Yahweh. The text may focus on the service done or on the God served but rarely on the servants themselves. As a result, we are left with a multitude of questions about the angelic host.
Where did the angels come from? Clearly, Yahweh created them.
"You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. Nehemiah 9:6 ESV
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created. Psalms 148:2-5 ESV
It seems that they were all created at once which means that there are no little angels! The number of angels has not increased since they were originally created. Because they are created being, no one should worship them. We do not worship created things; we only worship the Creator, Yeshua the Christ.
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, Colossians 2:18 ESV
William Hendriksen says that there is evidence that angel worship was rather prevalent in the region of Colossae at that time. We know that the Essene community leaned toward angel worship. One of the writings of the Essenes says to carefully guard the names of the angels. Hendriksen notes that in AD 363 a church synod was held in Colossae's sister city of Laodicea. It declared, "It is not right for Christians to abandon the church of God and go away to invoke angels" (Canon 25—cited in Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). New Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981], p. 126).
When John tried to worship an angel, he was rebuked.
Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Yeshua. Worship God." For the testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10 ESV
Angels are not ghosts, nor are they spirits of the dead. They do not spend time trying to "earn their wings" like Clarence in the movie, It's a Wonderful Life. This idea was not invented by Frank Capra. Its roots go back at least as far as The Martyrdom of Polycarp (1:39, early 2nd century AD). And probably even further back than that. No place in Christian theology do we find any reference to humans becoming angels.
What do angels look like? In the Bible, we find that the descriptions of angels vary. Only cherubim and seraphim are represented with wings. Often in the Tanakh, angels appear as ordinary men. Sometimes, however, their uniqueness is evident as they do things or appear in a fashion clearly nonhuman. The brilliant white appearance common to the New Testament angel is not a feature of the Tanakh image. Angels are spirit beings that are capable of appearing in human form. We already saw this in Genesis 19.
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. Matthew 28:2-3 ESV
This text describes an angel who appeared at the scene of Christ's resurrection. Notice that it says, "his" in referring to the angel. Angels always appear as men! The masculine pronoun is always used to speak of them. Angels are most often represented in our culture as women, but in the Bible they are always men.
Can angels die? One commentator writes that "Angels are not subject to death or any form of extinction; therefore, they do not decrease in number." He lists no Scripture; he just makes a statement.
I said, "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince." Psalms 82:6-7 ESV
This is speaking of Yahweh's divine counsel which are a form of angel. Brenton uses "angels" in his 1851 translation of the Septuagint into English in.
Remember the days of old, consider the years for past ages: ask thy father, and he shall relate to thee, thine elders, and they shall tell thee. 8 When the Most High divided the nations, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. DEUTERONOMY 32:7-8
In the Septuagint, the Greek phrase "aggelon theou" is translated as "angels of God." This interpretive phrase is found in nearly all the extant Septuagint manuscripts.
Some angels have names. Michael is the head of the armies in heaven. Gabriel is the messenger angel.
One of the biggest questions people have regards Guardian Angels. Do we have them?
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Psalms 91:11 ESV
This Psalm is sometimes called "The Soldier's Psalm" because it emphasizes God's protection of people in times of crisis. Three voices speak in succession. The Psalm opens with an individual proclaiming his trust in God (vv. 1-8). An audience then speaks to that individual and describes God's protection and care (vv. 9-13). The Psalm concludes with God's speaking about the faithful person; He promises to protect him (vv. 14-16). (Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Ps 91:1-16). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
Verse 11 envisions personally appointed angelic bodyguards for the faithful person. Yahweh's angels will oversee everything and protect the faithful.
Then there is Yeshua's comment in Matthew 18.
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 18:10 ESV
The concept of guardian angels for nations as well as individuals pervades Second Temple Literature.
For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. Matthew 22:30 ESV
Notice that Yeshua did not say that resurrected believers become angels, as some have mistakenly believed. He said, "When they [those who died under the Old Covenant age—this age] rise from the dead [which happened in A.D. 70], they don't marry, but are like angels in heaven." The word "like" is a comparative adverb, which draws a similar, but not exact comparison. So, in what way are believers in the heaven like the angels? (1) We don't marry. In heaven men become spiritual beings like the angels and there is no marriage in heaven. Marriage is for now, but not for heaven.
(2) Luke's account also tells us that we cannot die.
for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. Luke 20:36 ESV
Remember, in the context, he is speaking of physically dead people that are spiritually alive. So, the death that he speaks of is referring to any death—we cannot die physically or spiritually. Resurrection brings one to a state where he or she can never again experience death, which is to say that we can never be separated from Yahweh. The angels in heaven don't die. Only those who left heaven and were judged by Yahweh died.
So, angels are spirit beings that can take on physical form. They are very powerful and are often seen in Scripture judging the enemies of Yahweh's people and ministering to the saints. Maybe they still watch over the saints today. The writer of Hebrews says:
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:2 ESV
Did the translators get it right here? Are there spiritual beings in our midst that we don't recognize? Possibly. This could be referring to Abraham, who received "three men" (Gen 18:2) who were angels and treated them with hospitality.
The bottom line, Bereans, is this: We can't trust the translations; we have to do our homework. Only the context can determine if it is referring to supernatural beings or humans.
"Things into which angels long to look"—I believe that aggelos here is referring to supernatural beings. This work of redemption is a work that is beyond the knowledge and experience of the angelic hosts. This evidence of the grace of God in salvation is something upon which the angelic hosts look with wonder and amazement and great joy.
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