Outside of God, His nature, and character, I highly doubt any other supernatural subject has been discussed as much as the subject of angels. Who are they? What are they? Exactly what are their bounds, form, appearance, etc. etc.? Sadly, much of what people “know” of angels comes from lore rather than Scripture. What most people envision about God, Jesus, angels, the devil, etc. came from Dante, some painter like Michelangelo, or another art form like that. God doesn’t look like a grandpa, nor Jesus like a California hipster, the devil like a red pitchfork wielding beast, or angels liked winged Pegasus. God is a Spirit, which form I can’t envision. Jesus looks like a normal Jewish man. The devil as the smoothest light you’ve ever seen, and angels like regular men that you miss them sometimes.
Servants: The primary thing to keep in mind about angels is what they are. The word “angel” is defined as a messenger. Their existence is to serve. The highest pleasure they derive is by serving their Creator and fulfilling His commands. When Jacob saw the ladder in his dream, the angels’ job was to descend with blessings and messages and ascend with supplications and offerings. As Jesus declared to Nathanael at the end of John 1, they do that in His name and power. He is the ladder that spans the gap, and their missive is in and through Him whom they serve. As servants of the most High God, they do not understand things as He does. Sometimes, men know more than angels do, as we preach in the church today things that the angels desire to look into. (I Peter 1:12)
Power: As His servants, He has given them great power. For one, they do not die. One of the things that Paul highlights that sets Jesus apart from an angel is that He was made a little lower than they were to suffer death. (Hebrews 2:9) This does not mean they had more power than He did, but He took a form that could be touched, while their form is not liable to death or mortality. Another power that angels have is that they can defy the laws of nature. The angel that appeared to Manoah and his wife telling them about Samson “did wondrously.” (Judges 13:19) Angels carried Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, struck the men of Sodom with blindness, and just one of them killed 185,000 men in one night to deliver Hezekiah and the land from the Assyrians. (Isaiah 37) Doubtless, the power angels possess as given to them by God is higher than man’s abilities to know or even reason. However, with all the power that they have, it does not come with authority to do it as they will. This power is bound by the fact that they are servants, and any power exercised must be done at His pleasure not theirs.
Appearance: As we mentioned earlier, angels are often pondered about what they look like. Simply put, they look like men. Every account of them in Scripture follows this, and Paul says this fact means we should be careful how we entertain strangers as they could be angels. (Hebrews 13:2) There are times when there is a contrast as they do not take a form that can be seen by the natural eye. When angels take that appearance or lack thereof, there is a reason for it tied to the very duty they are fulfilling from their Master. How many have I met in my life? No idea. Have I met some? Absolutely. Too many experiences in my life have stacked up where I can remember people that I never saw before or since that were a blessing on the day or in the moment that I saw/met them. Nothing absurd or monumental necessarily happened, but they were a help to me in need when I needed it. I have talked to people who had “near death” experiences, and they talk about seeing men they have never seen before or since. They believe those men were angels, and so do I.
Guardians: While the term “guardian angels” is not in Scripture, I do believe the concept is found or at the very least inferred. We know that one angel has great power as described above. While at times the Scriptures describe a whole host coming to the aid of just a few individuals – such as Elisha and his servant in II Kings 6:17-20 – we also find in Scripture that each of us has one that stays with us. The Psalmist says that “the angel” is what encamps round about them that fear the Lord. (Psalm 34:7) Jesus says about little children that “their angels” do always behold the Father’s face. (Matthew 18:10) Finally, Paul’s angel came and spoke to him in Acts 27 when the voyage he was on seemed hopeless and lost. In all of these cases, we see that angels guard and watch God’s children, and the language infers to me that we have at least one that sticks with us. I’m sure the one charged to me has been put through his paces when looking at the path of my life, but I do believe that I have one that is charged to me and stays with me. One of the glorious things to think about when the church congregates is that however many of us are there, I believe there are at least that many angels there as well.
Friends, this is by no means exhaustive on the subject of who they are and what they are. However, what they are, can do, and purpose is tied into their name. They are celestial servants of God whom they adore. God doesn’t need them to get jobs done, but He uses them as is His good pleasure to do so. Sometimes I think of them like I think of the brethren. Just having God with us is sufficient, but in His kind grace, He’s given us one another to walk with and labour with. Just having God’s power and protection is sufficient, but He’s given us a whole celestial host to rejoice in that they watch and protect us. I have no idea what my angel’s name is (though I highly doubt it’s Gabriel or Michael), but sometimes I catch myself thinking of what he’s seen. Sometimes I tell him I’m looking forward to seeing things he’s seen. Most of all, I know that he beholds the face of our Father and Lord and Saviour, and I tell him as I tell you, “Tell Him when you see His face, I long to see Him too.”