What is an Angel?

[Eugene]

The word angel means messenger, and as such even a prophet such as Jonah could be delivering a message of God to Nineveh.

Are there other incidents of men being called angels? In Revelation 1:1 we read of Jesus' angel.

Strongs - 1) a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God

Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Now, just who was this angel that was said to be Jesus' angel in Revelation 1:1? We read in the following two verses where John even bowed down to the one giving him Jesus' revelation, and Jesus' angel tells John that he is also one of our brethren. Even in this present day we may entertain angels unaware as God sends someone; even a pastor with a special message just to you. Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Revelation 19:10. "And I fell at his feet to worship him (Jesus' angel). And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

Revelation 22:9. "Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God."

I will add Hebrews 2:5 to the mix if you will allow me. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. In other words God at that time is using human messengers even in passing out judgments.

My thoughts.

 

[jasoncran]

yes, im aware of that.it can also allude to messiah himself.

malach YHWH or Angel Unto the LORD.

 

[for_his_glory]

Angels are essentially “ministering spirits,” (Hebrews 1:14) and do not have physical bodies like humans. Jesus declared that “a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:37-39).

The Bible classifies some angels as “elect” (1 Timothy 5:21) or “holy” (Matthew 25:31; Mark 8:38). Angels were also organized in ranks or orders with some having wings, but not all had wings (Isaiah6:1-3; 1Thessalonians 4:16). All angels were created to be holy, enjoying the presence of God (Matthew 18:10) and the beauty of heaven (Mark 13:32).

Other angels oppose God under the leadership of Satan (Isaiah 14:12-20) whom even Satan is a created spirit of God that is why God could never destroy him because a spirit can not die. (Matthew 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Ephesians 6:12). We often call these types of angels demons for which an everlasting fire is prepared by God for these angels, (Matthew 25:41).

Angels have no gender (Matthew 22:30) and are innumerable (Hebrews 12:22). They are incarnate in human form at times (Genesis 18:2-8) for the purpose of ministry. Angels also express emotions (Luke 15:10), are wise (2 Samuel 14:20) and powerful (Psalms 103:20).

The unnamed angels who appear most often in Scripture carry out a variety of tasks—all designed to serve God…

Worship and praise - This is the main activity portrayed in heaven (Isaiah 6:1-3; Revelation 4-5).

Revealing - They serve as messengers to communicate God's will to men. They helped reveal the law to Moses (Acts 7:52-53), and served as the carriers of much of the material in Daniel, and Revelation.

Guiding - Angels gave instructions to Joseph about the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1-2), to the women at the tomb, to Philip (Acts 8:26), and to Cornelius (Acts 10:1-8).

Providing - God has used angels to provide physical needs such as food for Hagar (Genesis 21:17-20), Elijah (1 Kings 19:6), and Christ after His temptation (Matthew 4:11).

Protecting - Keeping God's people out of physical danger, as in the cases of Daniel and the lions, and his three friends in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3 and 6).

Delivering - Getting God's people out of danger once they're in it. Angels released the apostles from prison in Acts 5, and repeated the process for Peter in Acts 12.

Strengthening and encouraging - Angels strengthened Jesus after His temptation (Matt 4:11), encouraged the apostles to keep preaching after releasing them from prison (Acts 5:19-20), and told Paul that everyone on his ship would survive the impending shipwreck (Acts 27:23-25).

Answering prayer - God often uses angels as His means of answering the prayers of His people (Daniel 9:20-24; 10:10-12; Acts 12:1-17).

Caring for believers at the moment of death - In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, we read that angels carried the spirit of Lazarus to “Abraham's bosom” when he died (Luke 16:22).

You never know when and where and angel of God will show up and as Hebrews 13:2 says be careful for you never know when you are entertaining angels unaware.

 

[elijah23]

My best guess is that an angel is a person who obeys all the Lord's commandments.

 

[Sinthesis]

I think that any entity that conveys a message from God can be considered an angel.