Search the encyclopedia
143 articles found for “angels”
Angel
[Bible]In the Bible, an angel is a spiritual being who serves God and conveys His will. The Hebrew mal'akh and the Greek angelos both mean "one who is sent," that is, a messenger.
Guardian Angel
[Doctrine & Theology]A guardian angel is an angel whom God sends to protect a person or community; the term also refers to the belief that God sends such angels. The Catholic Church teaches it as doctrine, while Protestants generally affirm angelic protection but do not insist that each person is assigned a single angel.
Fallen Angel
[Doctrine & Theology]A fallen angel is a spiritual being originally created by God as a good angel who rebelled against God and fell from its original place. Christian tradition generally identifies Satan and demons as fallen angels.
Angelology
[Doctrine & Theology]Angelology is the branch of systematic theology that deals with the existence, nature, and work of angels, as well as with fallen angels (Satan and demons). In Protestant theology it is usually treated within the doctrines of creation and providence.
Angel Worship
[Doctrine & Theology]Angel worship refers to offering angels the worship or prayer that belongs to God alone. Protestants reject it on the basis of Colossians 2:18 and other passages.
2 Peter 2:4–5
[Bible Verses]A passage that cites the angels who sinned and the flood of Noah as examples showing that judgment will surely come upon false teachers. It is frequently discussed in connection with the fall of the angels, the term Tartarus (rendered "hell"), and the description of Noah as a preacher of righteousness.
Archangel
[Bible]Archangel means "chief of the angels." In the New Korean Revised Version of the Bible, the term appears only in two New Testament passages, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Jude 1:9. Michael is the only being whom Scripture both names and calls an archangel.
Genesis 19
[Bible]Genesis 19 recounts the arrival of two angels in Sodom, the escape of Lot's household from the city, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the birth to Lot's two daughters of the ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites.
Seven Trumpets
[Bible]The seven trumpets are the trumpets blown in succession by seven angels in Revelation 8–11, together with the plagues and events that follow each one. They form the second set of seven judgments, placed between the seven seals and the seven bowls.
Revelation 17
[Bible]Revelation 17 is the chapter in which one of the angels with the seven bowls shows John the "great whore" riding a scarlet beast and explains the meaning of the woman, the beast, the seven heads, and the ten horns.
Revelation 15
[Bible]Revelation 15 is the chapter in which seven angels appear holding the seven last plagues. Beside the sea of glass, those who have overcome the beast sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb, and the seven angels receive golden bowls filled with the wrath of God.
Revelation 16
[Bible]Revelation 16 is the chapter in which seven angels pour out, one after another, the seven bowls of God's wrath. The plagues follow in succession, kings gather at Armageddon, and the great city Babylon comes under judgment.
Revelation 7:3
[Bible Verses]Revelation 7:3 is the verse in which another angel cries out to the four angels who have been given power to hurt the earth, telling them to do no harm "till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." It is commonly read as signifying the protection of God's people in the midst of judgment, and together with the passage on the 144,000 that follows, it has given rise to a variety of interpretations.
Psalm 8:5-8
[Bible Verses]Psalm 8:5-8 praises God for making human beings "a little lower than the angels" (or "than God"), crowning them with honor, and giving them dominion over all things. The passage is frequently cited in discussions of human dignity and of responsibility for creation, and it is also known as a text that the Epistle to the Hebrews applies to Jesus Christ.
Psalm 148
[Bible]Psalm 148 is a hymn of praise that calls in turn upon the angels, the sun, moon, and stars of the heavens, and upon the seas, weather, mountains, animals, and people of the earth to praise the LORD. It is one of the "Hallelujah Psalms" (Psalms 146–150) that conclude the Book of Psalms.
Seven Bowls
[Bible]The seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God that seven angels pour out in succession upon the earth, the sea, the rivers, the sun, the throne of the beast, the river Euphrates, and the air in Revelation 15–16, together with the plagues they bring.
Romans 8:38–39
[Bible Verses]This passage declares that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, nor anything else "shall be able to separate" believers from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Widely regarded as the climax of Romans 8, it is frequently cited in debates over the assurance of salvation and the perseverance of the saints.
Matthew 24:36
[Bible Verses]A saying of Jesus that no one knows the day and hour, not even the angels or the Son, but the Father only. It is a key verse against date-setting eschatology, which fixes a date for the Second Coming, and it has also raised theological questions about the divinity and humanity of Jesus.
Genesis 6:1–4
[Bible Verses]A brief and enigmatic passage stating that "the sons of God" took "the daughters of men" as wives and that the Nephilim were on the earth in those days. Since antiquity, interpreters have disagreed over whether the sons of God were angels, descendants of Seth, or kings.
Matthew 24:30–31
[Bible Verses]A passage in the Olivet Discourse in which Jesus says that after the great tribulation the Son of Man will come on the clouds with great glory and His angels will gather His elect. Because interpreters differ on the Second Coming, the timing of the Rapture, and the passage's relation to the destruction of the Temple, it is frequently cited in discussions of eschatology.