Welcome to Waymaker Church! We are so excited to have you join us today! We exist to Encounter, Live for, and Advance the Kingdom of God!

I hope that you enjoyed the start to our new series “Let’s Talk About it” this past week. We began with by answering a few questions on where to start with reading the bible, thoughts on Apocryphal Literature, the person Enoch, and the validity of God’s word. If you missed it, I encourage you to go back and listen to it on one of our online platforms.

This morning, based off another question submitted we are going to begin a study about angels that will take us a few weeks. As I began to prepare, I realized it would take a few weeks to dive into this topic.

The bible is filled with references about angels from Genesis to Revelation, and we are given a glimpse into their roles and functions. That being said, we also will be mindful over the next few weeks to not give definition to what has not been defined by scripture.

In a general sense, angels are created spiritual beings who have intelligence, emotions, and will, but they serve the various purposes and plans of God.

They function primarily in the spiritual realm, but as you will see, God given assignments have caused them to be revealed to humanity at various times.

The bible does not tell us precisely in eternal history when angels were created, but in Job 38:3-7 as God is revealing His Omnipotence to Job, He does make mention that they were present at creation.

For the sake of clarity, as we look at angels, we must remember that there are for lack of better words, two classifications: fallen and unfallen.

To define fallen, Jesus made a statement in Luke 10:18 “And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

As he fell (was expelled), we know, according to Revelation 12:3-4, that he also deceived roughly one third of the angels to follow him in rebellion, resulting in them also being cast out of heaven. Revelation 12:9.

In Revelation 12:3–4 “And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.”

Revelation 12:9 “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

These fallen angels who serve Satan are what we refer to as demonic or unclean spirits. These angels are not the focus of today’s message. We will look further into the fall of the angels in a later message, and the effect of their fall.

What we will refer to as unfallen angels are those who have remained holy throughout their existence and continue to serve the purposes and desires of God.

While I am certain there are many roles and responsibilities within the angelic order, the bible does not specifically give an exhaustive list of angels and their types, but it does mention a few different types.

1. Cherubim. They are mentioned over 90 times in the Hebrew bible, and once in the New Testament. The first mention of a cherubim was in Genesis 3:24.

In Genesis 3:24 “So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”

Most scholars generally agree that the cherubim’s role is guarding things that are holy both in heaven and on earth.

Another mention of cherubim is in Ezekiel 10, where Ezekiel has a vivid prophetic vision in which he describes the departure of God’s glory from the Jerusalem Temple, symbolized by cherubim and wheels carrying burning coals, representing divine judgment upon the rebellious city.

These angelic creatures each had wings and seemed to guard the presence of God. The description of these angels’ features boggles the natural mind, but we must keep in mind that God is not limited to our natural understanding in spiritual things.

We will look at this more later, but Lucifer was described in Ezekiel 28:14–15 as an anointed cherub, “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.”

2. Seraphim. The word seraphim means burning ones. They are mentioned in Isaiah 6:1-7 and Revelation 4:1-11.

Isaiah 6:1–7 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.”

In this passage, we see that a primary function for these angels is to continually worship and praise God.

Revelation 4:1-11 also gives further detailed imagery of the throne room of heaven, along with description of the Seraphim around the throne room of God. Which is a bit mind-blowing in description. I encourage you to go and read it for yourself.

3. Archangel. This type of angel is considered to be a chief angel and a commander of God’s heavenly armies. The only named archangel in scripture is Michael. He is portrayed in the book of Daniel as a spiritual warrior who battles evil. There are a few others named in apocryphal literature, but we can’t trust the validity of the books. Daniel 10:11-13.
Daniel 10:11–13 “And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.”

In the New Testament, he is once again mentioned by name in Jude 9 “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

In each instance, He seems to be contending on behalf of man, for the benefit of man.

He may also be the archangel mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”

4. Angels. These seem to be the ones most frequently mentioned in scripture. Most are nameless except for Gabriel who is the only other angel named in the bible along with Michael. Gabriel delivered important messages from God.

In Daniel, he gave explanation of prophecies and visions. Daniel 8:15-17. Daniel 9:20-27.

In the New Testament, he announces the birth of John the Baptist, and appears to the Virgin Mary to announce that she will conceive and give birth to Jesus. Luke 1:11-20. Luke 1:26-38.

Luke 1:11–15 “Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” Luke 1:16–20 “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

I think what I love most about this account of Gabriel is that it reveals how God is involved in humanity. Gabriel stands in the presence of God, and he was sent to bring glad tidings to Zachariah. God doesn’t owe us an encounter, but he chooses in various ways to give us encounters.

I think what I love most about this account of Gabriel is that it reveals how God is involved in humanity. Gabriel stands in the presence of God, and he was sent to bring glad tidings to Zachariah. God doesn’t owe us an encounter, but he chooses in various ways to give us encounters.

Now there are many other instances of angelic interactions throughout the bible. We lack the needed time this week, but next week we will look further at some of the function and purpose of angels in scripture.