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Rick W
Guest
Did God create them without evolutionary processes?
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Desire to be a vessel of honor unto the Lord Jesus Christ?
Join For His Glory for a discussion on how
https://christianforums.net/threads/a-vessel-of-honor.110278/
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Taking the time to pray? Christ is the answer in times of need
https://christianforums.net/threads/psalm-70-1-save-me-o-god-lord-help-me-now.108509/
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lordkalvan
Member
- Jul 9, 2008
- 2,195
- 0
What is an angel?
R
Rick W
Guest
- Thread starter
- #4
Angels did not evolve, but were created by God, with his "only-begotten Son" as his "master worker".(Prov 8:30) The word angel is rendered from the Hebrew mal·’akh´ and the Greek ag´ge·los and literally means “messenger.†From the first book of the Bible to the last, these words occur nearly 400 times. When spirit messengers are indicated, the words are translated “angels,†but if the reference definitely is to human creatures, the rendering is “messengers.†(Ge 16:7; 32:3; Jas 2:25; Re 22:8)
Angels are sometimes termed spirits; that which is spirit is invisible and powerful. Thus we read: “A spirit came out and stood before Jehovahâ€Â; “Are they not all spirits for public service?†(1Kings 22:21; Heb 1:14) Having invisible spiritual bodies, they make their abode “in the heavens.†(Mark 12:25; 1Cor 15:44, 50) They are also termed “sons of the true God,†“morning stars,†and “holy myriads†(or “holy onesâ€Â).(Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; De 33:2)
Not being creatures that marry and reproduce their own kind, the angels were individually created by God, whose name is Jehovah, through his firstborn Son, “the beginning of the creation by God.†(Matt 22:30; Rev 3:14) “By means of him [this firstborn Son, the Word] all other things were created in the heavens . . . the things invisible . . . Also, he is before all other things and by means of him all other things were made to exist.†(Col 1:15-17; John 1:1-3) The angels were created long before man’s appearance, for at the ‘founding of the earth’ “the morning stars joyfully cried out together, and all the sons of God began shouting in applause.â€Â(Job 38:4-7)
Some may deny distinct personality of individual angels, claiming they are impersonal forces of energy dispatched to accomplish the will of God, but the Bible teaches otherwise. Individual names imply individuality. The fact that two of their names, Michael and Gabriel, are given establishes the point sufficiently. (Dan 12:1; Luke 1:26) The lack of more names was a safeguard against giving undue honor and worship to these creatures.
Angels were dispatched by God as agents to act in his name, not in their own name. Hence, when Jacob asked an angel for his name, he refused to give it. (Gen 32:29) The angel that approached Joshua, when asked to identify himself, replied only that he was “prince of the army of Jehovah.†(Jos 5:14) When Samson’s parents asked an angel for his name, he withheld it, saying: “Just why should you ask about my name, when it is a wonderful one?†(Judges 13:17, 18) The apostle John attempted to worship angels and was twice rebuked: “Be careful! Do not do that! . . . Worship God.â€Â(Rev 19:10; 22:8, 9)
As personalities, angels have the power to communicate with one another (1Cor 13:1), the ability to talk various languages of men (Num 22:32-35; Dan 4:23; Acts 10:3-7), and the thinking ability with which to glorify and praise Jehovah God.(Ps 148:2; Luke 2:13). It is true that angels are sexless, because God made them so, not because they are impersonal forces.
Angels are generally represented as males, and when materializing it was always in the male form, because God and his Son are spoken of as males. However, when certain materialized angels indulged in the pleasure of sex in the days of Noah, they were expelled from Jehovah God's heavenly courts. Here was a display of angelic individuality, for, like humankind, they too are free moral agents, with the power of personal choice between right and wrong. (Gen 6:2, 4; 2 Peter 2:4) By personal choice, hordes of angels joined Satan in his rebellion.(Re 12:7-9; Matt 25:41)
Since God created man “a little lower than angels†(Heb 2:7), it follows that angels have a greater mental capacity than man. They are superhuman in power too. “Bless Jehovah, O you angels of his, mighty in power, carrying out his word.†Angelic knowledge and power were displayed when two angels brought flaming destruction upon Sodom and Gomorrah. A single angel killed 185,000 of the Assyrian army.(Ps 103:20; Gen 19:13, 24; 2 Kings 19:35)
Angels too can travel at tremendous speeds, far exceeding the limits of the physical world. Thus when Daniel was praying, God dispatched an angel to answer his prayer; and the angel arrived within moments, even before the prayer was concluded.(Dan 9:20-23)
But for all their higher mental and spiritual powers, angels have their limitations. They did not know the “day and hour†when this system of things would be swept away, Jesus said. (Matt 24:36) They take a keen interest in the outworking of Jehovah God's purposes, yet there are some things they do not understnd. (1 Peter 1:12) They rejoice at the repentance of a sinner, and they watch the “theatrical spectacle†furnished by Christians here on the world stage of public activity. They also observe the proper example of Christian women who wear a sign of authority upon their heads.(Luke 15:10; 1Cor 4:9; 11:10)
(source of information- Insight on the Scriptures)
Angels are sometimes termed spirits; that which is spirit is invisible and powerful. Thus we read: “A spirit came out and stood before Jehovahâ€Â; “Are they not all spirits for public service?†(1Kings 22:21; Heb 1:14) Having invisible spiritual bodies, they make their abode “in the heavens.†(Mark 12:25; 1Cor 15:44, 50) They are also termed “sons of the true God,†“morning stars,†and “holy myriads†(or “holy onesâ€Â).(Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; De 33:2)
Not being creatures that marry and reproduce their own kind, the angels were individually created by God, whose name is Jehovah, through his firstborn Son, “the beginning of the creation by God.†(Matt 22:30; Rev 3:14) “By means of him [this firstborn Son, the Word] all other things were created in the heavens . . . the things invisible . . . Also, he is before all other things and by means of him all other things were made to exist.†(Col 1:15-17; John 1:1-3) The angels were created long before man’s appearance, for at the ‘founding of the earth’ “the morning stars joyfully cried out together, and all the sons of God began shouting in applause.â€Â(Job 38:4-7)
Some may deny distinct personality of individual angels, claiming they are impersonal forces of energy dispatched to accomplish the will of God, but the Bible teaches otherwise. Individual names imply individuality. The fact that two of their names, Michael and Gabriel, are given establishes the point sufficiently. (Dan 12:1; Luke 1:26) The lack of more names was a safeguard against giving undue honor and worship to these creatures.
Angels were dispatched by God as agents to act in his name, not in their own name. Hence, when Jacob asked an angel for his name, he refused to give it. (Gen 32:29) The angel that approached Joshua, when asked to identify himself, replied only that he was “prince of the army of Jehovah.†(Jos 5:14) When Samson’s parents asked an angel for his name, he withheld it, saying: “Just why should you ask about my name, when it is a wonderful one?†(Judges 13:17, 18) The apostle John attempted to worship angels and was twice rebuked: “Be careful! Do not do that! . . . Worship God.â€Â(Rev 19:10; 22:8, 9)
As personalities, angels have the power to communicate with one another (1Cor 13:1), the ability to talk various languages of men (Num 22:32-35; Dan 4:23; Acts 10:3-7), and the thinking ability with which to glorify and praise Jehovah God.(Ps 148:2; Luke 2:13). It is true that angels are sexless, because God made them so, not because they are impersonal forces.
Angels are generally represented as males, and when materializing it was always in the male form, because God and his Son are spoken of as males. However, when certain materialized angels indulged in the pleasure of sex in the days of Noah, they were expelled from Jehovah God's heavenly courts. Here was a display of angelic individuality, for, like humankind, they too are free moral agents, with the power of personal choice between right and wrong. (Gen 6:2, 4; 2 Peter 2:4) By personal choice, hordes of angels joined Satan in his rebellion.(Re 12:7-9; Matt 25:41)
Since God created man “a little lower than angels†(Heb 2:7), it follows that angels have a greater mental capacity than man. They are superhuman in power too. “Bless Jehovah, O you angels of his, mighty in power, carrying out his word.†Angelic knowledge and power were displayed when two angels brought flaming destruction upon Sodom and Gomorrah. A single angel killed 185,000 of the Assyrian army.(Ps 103:20; Gen 19:13, 24; 2 Kings 19:35)
Angels too can travel at tremendous speeds, far exceeding the limits of the physical world. Thus when Daniel was praying, God dispatched an angel to answer his prayer; and the angel arrived within moments, even before the prayer was concluded.(Dan 9:20-23)
But for all their higher mental and spiritual powers, angels have their limitations. They did not know the “day and hour†when this system of things would be swept away, Jesus said. (Matt 24:36) They take a keen interest in the outworking of Jehovah God's purposes, yet there are some things they do not understnd. (1 Peter 1:12) They rejoice at the repentance of a sinner, and they watch the “theatrical spectacle†furnished by Christians here on the world stage of public activity. They also observe the proper example of Christian women who wear a sign of authority upon their heads.(Luke 15:10; 1Cor 4:9; 11:10)
(source of information- Insight on the Scriptures)