Every Angel in the Bible Drawn and Explained transcript

This is a map of every angelic being mentioned in the Bible. When you think of an angel, you probably see something like this. White fluffy wings, a floating halo, and long flowing hair. But it turns out that the real angels mentioned in the Bible are nothing like this at all, but are actually so much cooler. This video is going to be a bit different to the other videos on this subject because most people when exploring angelology draw reference [clears throat] from the Apocrypha or later mythological or traditional sources.

But today we've analyzed everything the Bible says about angelic beings. So unless stated as a theory, everything we'll discuss today describes the actual reality we live in. And some of these creatures are absolutely terrifying. We'll talk about some creatures you'd hate to come face to face with, as well as some you might not have heard of before. By the end of this video, you'll know everything there is to know about the angelic, their mission, their appearance, and the reason why they exist at all.

Let's start with a little identity check to learn some basics about these creatures. Angel Kind are not eternal beings. We know that because God created them before he created time and space. It says in Job that the sons of God, also translated as angels, sung for joy as they watched God lay the foundations of the earth. Although they're not eternal, they are immortal. That's a difference. Eternal means you've always existed and have no beginning.

Immortal means that you did have a beginning, but you don't naturally degrade or die. The angels, therefore, are not destroyed when they rebel. Instead, they are imprisoned in the abyss, which is a super cool concept we discussed in this video. The angels also don't marry or reproduce like humanity does. We know this because Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew said that in the resurrection, us humans will be like the angels where we no longer marry.

But things start getting a little complicated when we look at these other details. Almost every time an angel is referred to in scripture, they are given male pronouns. Two of them we know have male names and are described as such. But there's a strange passage in Zechariah that implies the existence of female angels as well. This is far beyond my pay grade and I don't think we'll ever understand it until eternity comes to pass.

Angels exist all around us, but they primarily live in an unseen realm. They affect our reality, but often in invisible and unnoticeable ways. The angels primarily live in the spiritual realm of heaven, but as we'll explore in this video, there's a bit of a hierarchy of angels. Some are sent to earth to serve humanity. Other more prominent angelic beings are stuck in heaven for reasons we'll explore shortly. The first group of angelic beings we'll meet are the beings you're probably most familiar with.

And here's what we know about them. Now, we spent some time trying to come up with a cool name for this category of angels, [music] but never really landed on one. So, we're just going to call them common angels. If you're ever lucky enough to encounter an angel yourself, it's probably there for one of three reasons. They could be bringing you a message from God. The word angel literally means messenger. So, this is the most common of the lot.

They could be sent to perform a specific action or miracle. Or worst of all, they could be sent to carry out God's judgment on you. Yippee! Messenger angels are spotted all over the Bible. A messenger angel appears at the empty tomb to announce the resurrection of Christ. Another appears before Philillip, directing him to meet the Ethiopian unic on the road in the book of Acts. Another appears to Cornelius, telling him to send for Peter right before the Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit.

In fact, the entire book of Revelation is one giant message from an angel to a human. Messenger angels are by far the most common common angel because it's literally what the word means. Gabriel is the only messenger angel who is named. The first of three named angels we'll meet in this video. Three named angels that get progressively more fascinating. He delivers a few key messages throughout the Bible, like explaining a prophetic vision to Daniel in chapter 8 and revealing the most detailed messianic timeline in the entire Old Testament to him in chapter 9.

He also is mentioned in the New Testament, delivering the message of the births of both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. But why doesn't God simply implant a message into someone's brain rather than using some being to pass it on? Well, we could also ask the question, why does God use humans to pass messages to [music] one another? Simply put, angels were created by God for this very purpose, to be ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.

Just like our second type [music] in this category, mission angels. Mission angels are a little more nuanced because they're sent by God to carry out a specific task. These tasks could be miraculous in nature, like closing the mouths of lions in the famous Bible story we all know and love, or supernaturally breaking the apostles out of prison, not once but twice. One angel prepared a meal for Elijah, which gave him energy for 40 days.

Must have been a pretty crazy meal. And others came to comfort Jesus at different times of his ministry. Both in the wilderness after being tempted by Satan and in Gethsemane after being similarly tempted to withdraw from God's salvation plan. Some of these angels have several roles though like the angel who declared that Jesus has risen to the women at the tomb is actually the same angel who rolled away the stone and sat on top of it.

There he can be considered both a mission angel and a messenger angel. But the final category is the most distinct of the three. Judgment angels are the scariest of the three and show up for the sole purpose of carrying out God's judgment on his rebellious people. These examples are pretty graphic, but yeah, you're all Bible animations fans, you're tough. I'm sure you'll survive. The first big one happens at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, where the angels are rather explicit that they are on earth specifically to destroy the sinful cities.

A band of destroying angels is set loose on the wicked in Psalm 78. There's seven of these guys mentioned in Revelation responsible for blowing the seven trumpets and pouring out the seven bowls of God's wrath. Another angel is sent to kill Herod a gripper which he does very violently. And how could we forget the angel mentioned in a recent video who restrains the devil with a giant chain and tosses him into the abyss.

In fact, all those who are thrown into hell are thrown there by angels of judgment. But one thing we haven't mentioned about this category is the appearance of these angels. Some appear as ordinary men who eat food, walk around, and have their feet washed. Others appear with some cooler descriptions, like the one who rolled the stone away, being described as having an appearance like lightning and his clothing as white as snow.

Then others go all out, like the one who appeared before Daniel. He appears as a man with bronze skin. His body is like barrel, which is a shining crystalall-like mineral that reflects light. His face had the countenance of lightning. His eyes burned like flaming torches, and his voice thundered like the sound of a multitude of people speaking all at once. After seeing such an amazing sight, Daniel promptly face plants into the floor in shock.

Daniel's companions, who didn't even see the vision, end up running away, obviously concerned that there's something big going on. God doesn't seem to be using any detectable formula when sending these angels. It's not like the most powerful missions are sent in the greatest glory because the angels who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah came as plain old humans. But our next category of angelic being is unlike anything we'll see in this entire video because it's an entire category for just one angel, the archangel.

It's a role that's mentioned only once in the Bible. Yet, it's a title that's used all over our pop culture. If you've ever played Dungeons and Dragons or read a celestial fantasy novel, you've likely heard of this title. But only one angel is ever called this in scripture. In Jude, one of the smallest books in the Bible, we read what may be one of the most mysterious verses to ever grace my eyes. But even the Archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." It's here that we get the name of the angel and his title in a neat little verse, Michael the Archangel.

Although this is the only time he's mentioned to be an archangel, there's actually a great deal of information we can gather on the ins and outs of Michael's responsibilities. In Daniel chapter 10, we see Daniel in a miserable mood and on a miserable diet. He's been fasting for 3 weeks from meat, wine, and other choice delicacies. At this point, an angel visits him, something we've covered earlier in this video. But what's fascinating is the journey the angel took to get to Daniel.

From the moment that Daniel started mourning over the vision of a great war, God sent him an angel with a specific message. However, he didn't arrive until 21 days later. For the 21 days Daniel had been fasting, this angel says he was delayed by the prince of Persia. An angel was delayed by a human prince. Well, no, actually this prince of Persia is a demonic prince, the ruler over the Persian nation at the time. The battle raged between this messenger angel, the prince of Persia, and various other kings of Persia for 21 days.

Hence why Daniel's answer was delayed. But the angel didn't have to fight alone. He claims that Michael, the prince over Israel, the same archangel mentioned in Jude, came to support him in his fight. But the messenger angel doesn't stick around for long as he heads back into the fight to provide backup to Michael, saying that the prince of Greece will come to back up the prince of Persia. It's kind of funny to think about God dispatching this angel, then allowing a demon to delay him just to organize a tag team match with Michael against the Prince of Persia and the Prince of Greece.

It just goes to show how little we know about the spiritual realm. But who are these kings and princes? The Bible says, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world. There are demonic princes granted power over various individuals, communities, or even nations like Persia or Greece. But the demons aren't the only ones with power. Angels oversee provinces as well.

And Michael is chosen as Israel's spiritual representative. It's like a celestial war where each nation is represented by a powerful spiritual being. Just a couple chapters later in Daniel 12, Michael is the angel who protects Israel in the end times and helps facilitate their salvation. But Michael's resume is even more impressive than that. In Revelation, we see that his position as an archangel gives him authority not only on earth, but in heaven, too.

A war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world. He was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. So Michael is a military leader, a commander of God's angelic armies, and a dragon slayer.

He's credited with battling and kicking out Satan from heaven. A pretty cool feat to be remembered for. But to explore the next species of angel, we need to cross over from the physical realm to the spiritual realm, where the humanoid disguises and limitations are removed, and the angels are revealed in all their mysterious and awesome splendor. The ofonym are by far the most bizarre type of angel in the entire Bible.

These are the ones depicted when pop culture talks about biblically accurate angels. They only appear in two passages, both in the book of Ezekiel, an absolutely wild book to be sure. Their first mention starts very simple, but grows more and more complex as it's fleshed out. Now, side note, the living creatures mentioned here are the next category of angelic beings. So, stick around and you'll find out what they're all about.

Now, as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of their four faces. Their appearance was like the gleaming of barrel, and the four had the same likeness, their construction being, as it were, a wheel within a wheel. When they went, they went in any of the four directions without turning as they went. And their rims were tall and awesome. And the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.

And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them. And when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them. For the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. So, we get this picture of giant intersecting wheels covered in eyes and moving in all four directions. What a mysterious and horrifying being. The word used there is wheels, but it's actually translated to of in Hebrew.

But what is their purpose? Do they just roll around in heaven for eternity? The answer is revealed a few chapters later in Ezekiel 10, where we discover that the wheels are intrinsically connected to the four beasts. It says they're connected by the spirit of the living creatures. Ezekiel hears them being called whirling wheels, translated to Galgal. The vision in which Ezekiel sees the offonym is given to illustrate the glory of God leaving the temple and ultimately Jerusalem.

But what is constructed is a glorious picture of a celestial chariot where the ofonym act as the wheels, the throne acts as the body, and our next angelic creatures act as the horses powering it. The heavenly chariot illustrates God's omniscience with the countless eyes covering the offonym looking in every direction all at once as well as God's omnipresence with the limitless mobility the angelic wheels provide. But the picture isn't complete until we look at the steeds driving the carriage forward.

The cherubam. The cherubam are heavenly angels who exist around the presence of the throne. They have multiple faces, each belonging to a different animal. They're covered in eyes all over their body, and they have hands that extend out from under their wings. I can only imagine the complaints we'd get from parents showing this kind of stuff to our kids in Sunday school. But I think them being scary is kind of the idea.

The cherubam exists to carry out three distinct roles. The first is to defend the glory of God from mankind. In Genesis, after Adam and Eve sinned, they were cut off from God's presence. The Bible specifically says that cherubam were placed at the east of the garden to keep man away from the tree of life. In the same way, these cherubam seem to be a sort of secret service for the heavenly king. They specifically dwell within the throne room of God, but there seem to be an elite few created for a special purpose.

And like Gabriel and Michael, there's one cherubam that's named, the final of our three named angels, and he might just be the most influential of the lot. As bodyguards tend to do, the cherubam keep man from getting into God's space because if we did somehow access God, we'd be melted into soup on the spot. They of course cut us from the Garden of Eden, but this was an ongoing work. Ezekiel sees a vision that we've mentioned that's all about the removal of God's glory from the temple and eventually Jerusalem indicating God had left the land of Israel for the time being.

In it, the cherubam play a significant role. In Exodus, Moses receives instruction to weave cherubam into the curtain that separates the holy place from the holiest of holies. But this isn't the cherubam's only function. They also uphold God's throne, serving as a mount, if you will, for the glory of God. Ezekiel describes four living creatures covered in eyes with four faces and feet like bronze. Above these creatures is a crystal firmament and a sapphire throne on which the glory of God resides.

As the spirit moves, the creatures move and the crystal throne goes with them. The ofonym, which we mentioned before, follow the movements of the cherubam as if being pulled or pushed along by these angelic beasts. In chapter 10, it's explained that these four creatures were the cherubam. And it's at this moment that the cherubam lift their wings and the glory of the Lord departs from the temple, ascending above their heads into the sky.

The idea of God riding on a cherubam is echoed in several other scriptures like Psalm 18. The Lord sits enthroned above the cherubam in Psalm 80 and 99. And even the image of the ark of the covenant reflects this. When being told how the ark of the covenant is to be built, Moses hears God tell him to place two golden cherubam on the lid of the ark. God will speak to Moses above the mercy seat, above the ark, between the two golden cherubam on top of it.

It's hard to imagine holier angels than this. angels that are so close to God's glory, but being in the presence of God has an effect on you. Their role doesn't just consist of guarding God's glory and carrying him around. The cherubim also seem to act as a hype band for God, constantly praising his name and his holiness to all that can hear. In Revelation, they constantly proclaim, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty." In Revelation 5, they join with the rest of heaven, singing praises to the lamb.

That's Jesus. And to God, they even shout an amen after the song's finished. With all this awesomeness going around, it's easy to forget that I promised you a name. The name of a cherubam that should surprise you. In Ezekiel 28, we get insight into this unique figure. He's described as being perfect in wisdom and beauty. He's an anointed guardian cherub placed on the holy mountain of God. He was blameless in all his ways from the day he was created.

But something happened to him. He became prideful and was cast down from his exalted position, becoming something else entirely. If you hadn't caught on, this cherubam is Satan, the great serpent, the dragon. Perhaps that's why he took a reptilian appearance, because like the other cherubam, he looks, or at least can look that way in the heavenly realms. This section in the NKJV describes Satan as having timberalss and pipes, which is where we get the idea of him being a musician from a lead worshipper in the presence of God.

But despite how close these angels are to the throne of God, despite the fact that they literally hold it up and exist around it, there is another category of angel who sit a rank above the cherubam. Our next angelic species are as pure as they come, yet are shrouded in mystery. The seraraphim. The seraraphim are a mysterious species because of just how little the Bible mentions them. They only appear in a single chapter of Isaiah where they're described in vague detail, but we have enough to piece together their purpose and a few mindblowing insights.

The word saraphim means burning ones in Hebrew and denotes fiery phoenix-like imagery. The purest of creatures radiating in the glory of God. Yet their appearance is rather intriguing. The seraphim are described as having six wings similar to the previous angelic beings. But these ones use their wings in a different way. Two of them cover their face, two of them cover their feet, and two are used for flying. Despite being made sinless and as pure as it gets, they have to shield their face and feet in reverence from the transcendent purity of God on his throne.

This is why they're quoted as singing, "Holy, holy, holy," declaring just how set apart God is from even the purest of his angelic host. In the one and only vision we see from Isaiah, it's as if he's given a glimpse into the throne room, zoomed right in, where only the seraraphim and God himself are present. This idea is supported when Isaiah recoils saying he's ruined because he's seen the king, the Lord Almighty. If the cherubam are responsible for the governing of God's throne room, the seraraphim are responsible for worship and purification.

The cherubam serve as guards, keeping humanity out, whereas the seraraphim extend a burning coal to Isaiah, purifying him of his unclean lips. It's hard to imagine an angel category closer to the throne than these ones. But there is an angel that has seen the face of God. An angel that is completely distinct from all other angels and wields more authority than the rest of them combined. An angel that doesn't just drive the throne, doesn't support the throne, and doesn't even worship around it, but takes a seat right next to God himself.

The final category of angel is really no category at all. It's a single individual who appears all over scripture known as the angel of the Lord. We've looked at a vast array of angels in this video, but not a single one speaks like the angel of the Lord speaks. He commands an authority as if he were God himself. Like in Genesis 16, his first appearance where he claims to multiply Hagar's offspring, a claim only God himself ever makes in scripture.

Or later in Genesis when Abraham is about to sacrifice his son Isaac, the angel of the Lord says, "Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." Moses catches a glimpse as well when he encounters the angel of the Lord in the burning bush. There he claims this huge statement. I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Later in the book of Judges, the angel of the Lord says something similarly astounding, claiming that he led the people out of Egypt and that he will never break his covenant with the people.

But perhaps the coolest passage of them all, is found in an often forgotten minor prophet. Picture this. Joshua, the high priest of Israel, is standing before the angel of the Lord. He's covered in filthy garments, and he has Satan standing next to him, hurling accusations at him about his sin. The angel of the Lord pipes up and commands that Joshua be given new clothes, clean and spotless. But he goes even further than that.

He personally promises that he will remove the sin of the land in a single day. I've got to ask, does this sound like the words of any angel you've ever read about before? Or perhaps does this remind you of a certain New Testament character who accomplished something almost identical? I go into much more detail in this video, so please check that out once you're done here. But after surveying these Bible passages, I am convinced that this angel of the Lord is actually Jesus Christ himself appearing in the Old Testament.

I don't think it's a coincidence that as soon as Jesus shows up, the title is never used again in scripture. Keep in mind, there's only one who can forgive sins. And Jesus was confronted about this fact. A paralytic man is lowered down through the roof and is healed by Jesus. But he also tells the man that his sins are forgiven. The Pharisees complain to Jesus about the fact that only God can forgive sins. But of course, Jesus goes ahead and heals the paralyzed man, proving that he has authority to both physically heal and the authority to forgive sins.

Exactly like a certain angel of the Lord. We know Jesus Christ appeared as an angel in the Old Testament to carry forward the great story of God's redemption plan. a story he'd been weaving throughout history from the moment sin entered the world. That story came to a climax on the cross of Calvary where the king of all the angels made himself a lowly human going as far as to be crucified by his own creation to bear the punishment we would due for our sin.

He bore the sin of the world on the cross and became a curse so that we might be freed from the curse of sin. And when he pushed up against those nailpierced feet and said, "It is finished." That counted for you. If you put your faith in Jesus today, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, he will answer your call and free you from your sins, promising you a spot in his eternal kingdom, ruling and reigning over all the angels we've met today for all of eternity.

If you enjoyed this video and you haven't watched this one yet, you have to check it out. There's so much crossover and it's a really, really awesome one. Thanks for watching, guys.