147. What Are Angels? Understanding Their Role in God’s Kingdom

Send us a text

What do angels actually look like? Do we each have a guardian angel watching over us? Are demons and angels somehow connected? These questions have fascinated humanity for centuries, yet our understanding is often shaped more by movies and artwork than biblical truth.

Angels appear throughout Scripture as powerful spiritual beings created by God to serve specific purposes in His kingdom. The word "angel" itself comes from the Greek "angelos," meaning messenger – revealing their primary function as divine communicators. Contrary to popular belief, angels are not humans who have died and gone to heaven. They represent an entirely separate class of creation, mighty and powerful, yet operating with complete obedience to God's authority.

The biblical descriptions of angels would surprise most people. While some appear in human form, others are described as awe-inspiring beings with multiple faces, wings, and appearances that glow like fire. These aren't the cute cherubs often depicted in Renaissance paintings – they're holy beings whose presence frequently caused people to fall to the ground in terror, explaining why their first words were typically "Do not be afraid." 

Angels serve as messengers, worshipers, protectors, warriors in spiritual battles, and ministers to believers. While the Bible doesn't explicitly state that everyone has a personal guardian angel, it clearly teaches that God commands angelic protection over His children. We also learn that demons are actually fallen angels who rebelled against God under Satan's leadership.

Whether you've wondered about angelic encounters in modern times or questioned the reality of the spiritual realm, this episode provides biblical clarity on these fascinating beings. Join us as we explore what Scripture actually teaches about these powerful spiritual entities who praise God, protect His people, and participate in a cosmic spiritual battle that continues today.

Have you ever experienced something that might have been angelic protection? Share your thoughts or questions with us on Instagram @theRadiantMission or on YouTube by searching Rebecca Toomey.

Support the show

Thank You for Joining Us!

For the full show notes, including links to any resources mentioned, please visit The Radiant Mission Blog.

Follow along on social media:
Instagram
Facebook

Enjoying the show? Please refer it to a friend :)

Episode Transcript

Rebecca Twomey (00:32):
Hello and welcome to the Radiant Mission
Podcast.
My name is Rebecca Toomey.
Welcome back to Coffee Talk.
We are exploring truth andwe're asking big questions in
this series, and it is aboutrooting every single thing in
God's word.
Today we are diving into atopic that really is about
curiosity, awe and sometimesconfusion, and that is the topic

(00:57):
of angels.
They are all over scripture,from Genesis to Revelation.
But what do we really knowabout angels?
Are they invisible beings thatare floating in the clouds?
Do they actually have wings?
Do we each have a guardianangel, and are angels and demons

(01:21):
related?
This episode is all aboutexploring what the Bible really
says about angels, what they are, what they do and how they fit
into the unseen spiritual realm.
So let's dive right in with.
What are angels?
The word angel comes from theGreek word angelos, which means

(01:47):
messenger.
Angels are spiritual beingscreated by God to serve his
purposes In Hebrews 1.14,.
Are not all angels ministeringspirits sent to serve those who
will inherit salvation?
They are not humans who havedied and gone to heaven.
Let's just be clear about that,and I am sorry if that breaks

(02:11):
your heart a little bit, butcontrary to popular belief,
people do not become angelsafter death.
Angels are a completelyseparate class of creation by
God, separate class of creationby God, and they are often
described as mighty and powerful, yet they operate with humility

(02:36):
and obedience to God.
They are never to be worshiped.
That is something that I reallywant to clarify today.
They should not be worshipedand they should not be prayed to
.
Only God deserves that.
These are simply beings thatGod has created.
Much like you and I are humanbeings that God has created.
So what about what they looklike?
What do angels look like?

(02:56):
And this might surprise you,because most angels in the Bible
they do not look like what wesee in the movies or in artwork.
They don't look like those cutelittle cherubims that are
painted on a ceiling somewhere.
Some may appear in human form,like the men who visited Abraham

(03:19):
in Genesis 18, but others aredescribed as awe-inspiring and
even terrifying.
Ezekiel 1, verses 5 through 14,describes angelic beings with
four faces, wings and glowinglike fire.
Isaiah 6, 2 speaks of aseraphim with six wings, two

(03:41):
covering their faces to theirfeet, wings, two covering their
faces to their feet and two usedto fly.
So yeah, angels are not cutelittle cherubs with harps.
They are very powerful and theyare holy beings who often
inspire fear when they appear,and they lead a lot of people to
actually fall to the ground interror.

(04:04):
So think about that for asecond, and that's why the first
thing that angels usually sayis do not be afraid.
So, with that said, we'retalking about the visible angels
.
What about the other side ofthings?
Are angels also invisible, orcan angels be invisible?

(04:26):
The simple answer to that isyes.
Most of the time, angels areinvisible to the human eye
because they operate in thespiritual realm.
However, god can allow them toappear visibly in human or in
supernatural form when hechooses.

(04:47):
In 2 Kings 6, 17, elisha praysopen his eyes, lord, so that he
may see.
And then his servant sees thehills full of horses and
chariots of fire, angelic armiessurrounding them.
Horses and chariots of fire,angelic armies surrounding them,

(05:09):
and this implies that angelswere present the entire time,
but simply unseen.
Many people today havetestified to sensing or even
seeing an angel in moments ofcrisis, only for that angel to
vanish moments later.
So angels are real, they'reactive and close and, though our

(05:32):
natural eyes may not alwaysperceive them, they are there.
I've actually personally heardstories of folks that can and
have seen angels standing behindor beside a person, which is
very fascinating.
Now let's jump into.

(05:53):
What do angels do?
Angels serve many purposes inscripture and here are some of
the key roles that they play.
They are messengers.
They deliver messages from God,like in Luke 1 26-38 and in
Matthew 1, verse 20.
They are also worshipers,praising God continually Isaiah

(06:18):
6-3 and Revelation 5.11-12.
And if you tuned into theepisode on who is Satan, you may
remember that Lucifer was oncea worshiping angel, who then
wanted to be worshiped himselfand was cast out of heaven.
The next grouping is protectors.

(06:39):
They are guarding and rescuingGod's people.
You can refer to Psalm 91, 11and Acts 12 17 for that one.
They're also warriors engagingin spiritual warfare Daniel 10,
13,.
Revelation 12, 7 through 9.
And lastly, they are ministers.

(07:00):
They are encouraging andstrengthening believers, as in
Matthew 4.11 and Luke 22.43.
And if you would like any ofthese Bible verses, they will
all be listed in the show notesfor this episode.
So be sure to visit the shownotes.
You can do that by actuallygoing to the show for this

(07:21):
episode and clicking through tomy blog, which is
theradiantmissioncom forwardslash blog.
There is a full blog articleabout this topic and it includes
all these Bible verses.
Just make it really, reallyeasy for you.
So, again, as a reminder, thekey roles are messengers,
worshipers, protectors, warriorsand ministers.

(07:44):
In Psalm 103, 20, it says praisethe Lord, you, his angels, you
mighty ones who do his bidding,who obey his word.
So angels are not justfreelancers who are out there
doing their own thing.
They are under God's authority.
Now I have to address a verybig question, and that is do we

(08:10):
each have a guardian angel?
Does every person have aguardian angel that's protecting
them, that's following themaround?
And this is a question that alot of people wonder about and I
have heard about quite a bit,especially within Catholic
tradition.
And in Matthew 18, 10, it sayssee that you do not despise one

(08:30):
of these little ones, for I tellyou that their angels in heaven
always see the face of myfather in heaven, and this verse
alone has led a lot of peopleto believe that children,
especially, may have angelsassigned to them.
Let's go back to the Bible fora second.
Psalm 91, 11 says for he willcommand his angels concerning

(08:54):
you to guard you in all yourways, while the Bible never
explicitly says that everyperson has a one-to-one guardian
angel.
It does make it clear thatangels are involved in
protecting and watching overGod's people and, if we go back
to our previous section where wetalked about their roles, they

(09:17):
are also oftentimes protectors.
So, whether it's one angel ormany angels, we can rest assured
that God does command hisangelic protection over his
children.
That leads to another question,because, angels being spiritual
beings and often unseen andinvisible, how does that then

(09:42):
relate to demons?
Are angels and demons related?
And yes, actually, the answeris actually yes, because demons
are fallen angels.
Well, they are the descendantsof fallen angels.
Let's talk about that.
If you didn't listen to theprevious episodes in this series

(10:03):
, please do, because I doaddress this quite a bit already
.
But originally they werecreated good.
A portion of the angels rebelledagainst God under the
leadership of Lucifer, alsoknown as Satan, and they were
cast out of heaven.
In Revelation 12, verse 7through 9, it describes a war in

(10:26):
heaven, with Michael and hisangels fighting the dragon, who
is Satan, and his angels, wholose and are hurled to the earth
.
These fallen angels becomedemons.
They are working against Godand trying to deceive, tempt and
destroy humanity.
So while angels serve God'skingdom, demons serve the

(10:50):
kingdom of darkness.
Now, can people be influenced byangels or demons?
The answer is absolutely, butin different ways.
Angels may minister to us,offer us protection or deliver
messages, as God allows.
Demons, on the other hand, seekto influence us through

(11:13):
temptation, deception,oppression or possession in
really extreme cases.
As believers, we are sealedwith the Holy Spirit, as we were
told in Ephesians 1.13.
So we cannot be possessed, butwe can be oppressed or
influenced by demonic spirits ifwe open doors through sin or

(11:38):
spiritual compromise.
If you are interested to hearmore on demonic spirits and
spiritual warfare, definitelycheck out episodes 139, are
Demons Real, understanding theUnseen Battle at work today, and
then episodes three through sixof this podcast.
Also, the episode on who isSatan and the Book of Enoch

(12:02):
episode also touches on this abit, and next week we're going
to touch on this.
That leads to what about today?
Do angels still appear today?
We have seen this throughoutthe Bible.
What about today?
Well, the Bible gives us noreason to believe that angelic
encounters have ceased.
Hebrews 13.2 says do not forgetto show hospitality to

(12:23):
strangers, for by so doing, somepeople have shown hospitality
to angels without knowing it.
That verse alone suggests thatangels still interact with us,
even if we don't always realizeit.
So there are countless moderntestimonies of people
encountering a person who helpsthem and then mysteriously

(12:44):
disappeared.
Was it an angel?
Well, only God knows.
But what is important isstaying spiritually aware,
because we are part of a muchbigger story unfolding behind
the scenes as we close today.
What are angels?
They are powerful.

(13:06):
They are spiritual beingscreated by God to serve him,
carry out his will and ministerto his people.
They're not cute littledecorations or symbolic ideas.
They are real and they praiseGod, they protect his children
and they participate inspiritual warfare that we cannot
see.
They are fighting our battles.

(13:27):
While we are not called to seekangels, we are called to trust
in God who commands them.
Psalm 34, 7,.
The angel of the Lord encampsaround those who fear him and he
delivers them.
So a few reflection questionsfor today.

(13:48):
Have I ever experiencedsomething that could have been
angelic protection?
Do I believe in the reality ofangels and the spiritual realm?
Am I living with spiritualawareness, knowing God's kingdom
and the unseen world are atwork today?
If this episode stirred yourcuriosity or it gave you a new

(14:09):
perspective, please share itwith a friend who is also
seeking truth, and thank you somuch for being on this journey
today.
If you would like to getconnected outside of the podcast
, please join the mission onInstagram at the Radiant Mission
, on Facebook at the RadiantMission Podcast, and you can
also watch this episode in videoformat on YouTube by searching

(14:32):
for my name, rebecca Toomey,t-w-o-m-e-y Today.
I am going to close with Daniel6, 22.
My God sent his angel and I'llsee you next time.

(14:55):
Bye, everyone.