Angels the Messengers of God: Are They Real?

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Hebrews 1:14

We have all heard about angels. Probably the most famous angel we know of is Clarence, the bumbling angel in the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. In the movie, Clarence is portrayed as a junior angel trying to obtain his wings by helping George Bailey through some tough times. In the movie, we are also told that every time we hear a bell ring, a junior angel has gotten their wings. Well, this makes for a good sub plot in a movie, but it isn’t quite accurate from a Biblical standpoint. Clarence’s is portrayal as an angel is close, but not completely accurate. 

To know about and determine what are angels, we should turn to the Bible. And when we use the Bible as the authentic source of information, we need to believe that the Bible is the word of God without error. Using this perspective we get three clues about angels. The first is the word angel itself, in ancient Hebrew, it means messenger. In the entire Bible, the word angel appears three hundred times. Many times as a messenger, perhaps the most famous time was when an angel visited Mary to let her know she would bear a son named Jesus. 

In today’s verse from Hebrew’s we get a second clue about another role of angels, that as ministers or helpers. An example of this is found in Matthew 4:11 , where it says; Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. This verse is right after Jesus has spent forty grueling days in the desert and had been tempted three times by the devil. After His ordeal, angels came and ministered or attended to Jesus. 

In the book of Psalms, we find a third clue, angels as protectors. In Psalm 91:11-12 it says; For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. In this case we find God uses angels to guard and protect us. 

We now have three ways that angels help us. They are messengers with instructions or advice. They help heal and minister. Finally, they are guardians or protectors.