The Lord God has always been there, and He always will be there, so that the Bible describes Him as being “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2). He is a living God (in contrast to all other so-called “gods”); the source of all power, all life and all things necessary for life to continue. In creating the galaxies, the stars, the planets and everything else in space, He singled out the earth for a special purpose, with the intention that it should become the home of a race of beings who would reflect His own glory and emulate His own characteristics. “All the earth shall be filled with my glory” (Numbers 14:21) is His promise. Although He is a spirit power, He is not some kind of automatic machine.

God did not create robots with automated responses for life on earth; rather, He desired to generate a willing response to His will from men and women who revere and obey Him:

“Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool … but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” (Isaiah 66:1,2)

Why did God create angels?

The Creator Himself is so powerful and glorious that He cannot be approached in person by human beings. He alone “hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Timothy 6:16). Angels do not have man’s shortcomings, and can therefore act for God and represent Him when communicating with men and women. They bridge the huge gap between the holiness and perfection of God in heaven and the shortcomings of dying people on this planet. Angels were made immortal (that is, never to die). Their eternal quality was spoken of by Jesus when he said:

“They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” (Luke 20:35,36)

Jesus was saying that, in the same way as the angels (the children or “sons” of God) live for ever and are of one gender, so those who will be called the “sons” and “daughters” of God when Jesus returns will also live for ever and will not marry.

The “sons of God”

Having been brought into existence by God, the angels are called the “sons of God”. In an example of this, God described to the patriarch Job the creation of the earth, and asks him:

“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? … Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7)

These “sons of God” were there working for the Almighty. The Creator commanded, and the tasks were carried out. As Psalm 33 says, “For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast” (33:9). The Lord only had to speak the word and the angels responded; and what they did, they did well – which is why the record in Genesis 1 repeatedly says that “God saw that it was good”. Good, because “a faithful messenger refreshes the soul of the master who sends him” (Proverbs 25:13).

Man made lower than the angels

When the first man was being created, God gave him a form resembling that of the angels:

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness … So God (elohim, sometimes translated ‘angels’) created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:26,27)

This does not mean that the first of the human race had exactly the same physical nature as the angels, for the angels were made to live for ever. Adam and Eve were not made never-dying; they did sin, and they suffered death as the punishment for it. That is why the whole human race has been dying ever since. The fact that man was created in the image of the angels speaks of God’s ultimate intention for His creatures.

Psalm 8 is a Psalm in which the creation of the earth is extolled. Here we are told that man’s position is lower than the angels:

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? … For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.” (Psalm 8:4,5)

The New Testament quotes this passage, and tells us that mankind – including the Lord Jesus himself – was made a little lower than the angels, “for the suffering of death” (Hebrews 2:9). Angels do not die, but men and women do. Even Jesus, the Son of God, was mortal, but has now received the glory and honour which was his due when, as he said after his resurrection, “all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18).

The “mighty ones”

Psalm 8 is also very helpful because here the original word for “angels” is not malak (‘messenger’), but elohim, a plural word meaning ‘mighty (or powerful) ones’. Elohim is the Hebrew word which is most often rendered “God” in the Old Testament. Although there are exceptions to this, it is useful when reading the Old Testament to note the intended connection between God and those who represent Him.

This introduces an important aspect of the angels and their work. As God’s representatives, they bear His name and carry out His will. They are glorious because He is glorious. The Lord is the Almighty, and the angels are “the sons of the mighty” (Psalm 89:6). Another of God’s titles is “Lord of hosts” because, as we have seen, He has such extensive forces at His command.

We have seen that the angels execute the Lord God’s commands, they were involved at the creation of the earth, they act as messengers and they operate in the name of the Lord. We shall now look at how they guided, led and protected God’s people, the nation of Israel.

Angels in Old Testament history

There was the notable case of Abraham, who “entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2). One day “the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him” (Genesis 18:1,2). The “men” were provided with a meal, but they turned out to be angels and they had come on a double mission: firstly to tell Sarah that she would have a son, and secondly, to talk about the fate of the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. After the meal, Abraham left the tent to set “the men” on their way. Two of them went down to Sodom, where “two angels” came into the city at evening, while the other man, who is referred to as “the Lord”, stayed to listen to Abraham’s plea for mercy on the town where his nephew Lot lived.

Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, witnessed several angelic manifestations. On his flight into Padan-aram from the wrath of his brother Esau he had a dream, when he saw “the angels of God ascending and descending” a ladder going up from earth to heaven (Genesis 28:12). It was a dramatic representation of how communication between heaven and earth is maintained and how the angels are watchful over those who put their trust in God.

Jacob returned to his homeland some 20 years later, but was fearful of meeting Esau who was approaching with 400 men. The divine encouragement and protection was there again: “The angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host” (Genesis 32:1,2). But belief in the presence and power of angels does not eliminate the need for action on our part, as Jacob found out when he wrestled with a “man” in a painful night-long encounter. His opponent proved to be an angel, who did Jacob the honour of changing his name to “Israel”, meaning a ‘prince with God’. Jacob declared, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved” (Genesis 32:24-30).