Angels- Lesson 1 (12-21-25)
Overview
Angels: Starting with What They Are Not
Angels are mentioned 282 times in Scripture, so there is no question that they exist. Yet much of what people believe about them comes not from God's Word but from films, sentimental sayings, and Renaissance art. Because human reason apart from faith is blind to spiritual matters and tends to invent a self-serving religion, we must let Scripture—not culture—shape our understanding. Before exploring the purpose and ranks of angels, it helps to clear away common misconceptions.
Angels are not glorified humans. Christians do not become angels when they die. The hope held out to us in Christ is far greater than that: a bodily resurrection patterned after His own. As Paul writes, "If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" Romans 6:5. In 1 Corinthians 15:35–40, Paul distinguishes between heavenly and earthly bodies—humans are not raised as birds, and neither are we raised as angels. Hebrews makes the distinction even clearer: humans were made "for a little while lower than the angels," and Jesus Himself was made lower than the angels in order to taste death for us Hebrews 2:5–9. Christ did not die for angels; He died for sinners. There is no reason to aspire to anything outside of our Savior's eternal love for us.
Angels are not God, and they are not eternal in the way God is. They are created beings, part of the "unseen" we confess in the Creed. "All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being" John 1:1–3. The psalmist places angels squarely among God's creatures: "Praise him, all his angels… For he commanded and they were created" Psalm 148:1–5. They are also subordinate to Christ, who is seated at God's right hand "with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him" 1 Peter 3:22. Furthermore, angels do not procreate. Jesus says that in the resurrection people "neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven" Matthew 22:29–30—a statement about marriage, not about humans transforming into angels. This also corrects the strange reading of Genesis 6:1–2 that imagines angel-human offspring; "the sons of God" refers to believers intermarrying with unbelievers, not to angelic beings fathering children.
Pastoral application. When grief tempts us to say, "God needed another angel," we trade the gospel for a sentiment that cannot bear weight. Our hope is not that we become something else but that Christ raises us as ourselves, glorified. Likewise, we should not chase encounters with angels or stake our faith on supposed sightings—Satan himself can disguise as an angel of light. Luther suggested that Scripture says relatively little about angels precisely because we are prone to speculation; God in His wisdom keeps our eyes fixed where they belong. Angels are real, mighty, created servants of God who praise Him and carry out His purposes—but they are not the center of the story. Christ is. He is the one who took on our flesh, died for sinners, and rose so that we might share in His resurrection.
Transcript
We thank you for the birth that we are so eager to celebrate this week. 7s
We are thankful for all the angels that proclaimed of your coming, that proclaimed to 17s
the shepherds of your birth, and that proclaimed to Mary and Joseph and Zechariah. 23s
All that was to come, Lord we ask that as we study about your creatures, the angelic 30s
creatures, and their purpose in your creation, Lord we ask that you would keep our hearts 37s
and minds open to your word, your word of truth, and that we would not be fooled by misconceptions 45s
that this world tries to throw at us. 54s
We thank you, Lord, for your grace, we thank you for your presence, and we thank you for this 56s
time of study in your word. 61s
We lift this to you in the name of Jesus Christ. 63s
Okay. 67s
So the premise of this class is to understand angels better, not the Christmas pageant angels, 68s
but angels. 77s
There are some people who believe that they exist, and then there are actually people who 79s
do not believe that angels exist, but angels are mentioned 282 times in scripture. 84s
282 times, we hear of the angels in God's word. 94s
They are in God's word, they are real, they do exist. 100s
So we're starting from that right from the start, yes angels do exist, there are angels, 105s
however, there are also a lot of misunderstandings and misconceptions about angels, about who 113s
or what they are, about their role in creation, their purpose, those sort of things. 123s
Because there are such diverse opinions about spiritual matters and they rise. 132s
So quickly, we find that we default to our own human reason and understanding. 137s
Instead of turning to God's word as the authority or the authoritative word, even on angels. 147s
And so to have a better understanding, oh no, I'm sorry, let me back up for a second. 156s
So human reason, unated by faith, is completely blind to spiritual matters and creates for itself a self-servient religion. 162s
So to use the Christmas story as an example, not just of the angels, but few years ago, 170s
I had a big discussion with a child over the fact that we don't know if there were only three 178s
wise men. And this child was adamant because they had heard or seen from the world around that the 185s
three men show up, these three kings with presence at the stable. But none of that is scriptural. 195s
We know that there were magic. So it's more than one, it's plural. We know that there were three 205s
gifts, Franken-Sense, gold, and murs. And so through those two things, 213s
people have kind of brought about the story that there were three kings at the birth of Christ, 220s
but they didn't come for at least a year. So they didn't make it to the stable. So there's a lot 228s
of these ideas that are out there that we kind of say, oh, that must be so. But then when we look 236s
at scripture, we say, oh, maybe that's not so. Maybe that's not so. So we are, of course, using 243s
God's Word as our authority. Today we're going to begin with understanding what angels are in the 252s
purposes of angels and ranks of angels. And to really have a better idea of what angels are, 264s
we're going to kind of work backwards and talk about what angels are not. We're going to start with 271s
what angels are not. So what do we think? What do we think when we think about angels? Of course, 277s
it's that time of year, every time a bell rings and angel gets its wings, clairence from 285s
it's a wonderful life. Or when I was a kid, there was a show called Highway to Heaven. 294s
Michael landed, oh, you know this one. Michael landed and he was an angel that, or he was a person 300s
and then turned into an angel. And the whole premise of the show was that he was doing good things 307s
to get to heaven. And he was working with a man here on earth and closely with this man. But 313s
just the premise of the show sticks this guy in purgatory as an angel. So none of that is biblical. 321s
Purgatory is not biblical. Man becoming angel is not biblical. Biblical will get more into that 330s
in a moment. Angels are not these swinging personalities that have flaws like humans. They are not 337s
humans. Angels are not humans. In film and television, they're often portrayed as as you and I. 348s
Like with our emotions with these flaws, with these longings, I think of the movie Michael. 357s
John Travolta. Oh, yeah. See, okay. Or the movie's city of angels with Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan. 362s
I don't know, maybe I've seen too many movies, but, you know, Nicholas Cage, he longs to be 371s
humans. So he can date this wonderful Meg Ryan lady and he trades in his angelhood to be human. 379s
There is nothing biblical or scriptural about that. Nothing at all. And so we have these ideas 393s
that are portrayed to us. And I do, I mean, I understand and I appreciate creative licensing 406s
and telling a good story. But when it steers the general population and it steers even Christians 414s
away from what is real and what is true, there's an issue there. We have a problem. We have a problem 422s
there. So, oh, yes, yes, yes, have you ever heard the words after someone has died that it's, 432s
you know, it's lifted up, well, God needed another angel. And that is supposed to bring comfort 442s
to the one who is mourning. But there is nothing comforting about that. There is nothing 448s
comforting about that. And it's biblically not accurate. So let's go to Romans, the sixth chapter, 456s
Romans, the sixth chapter. So if you're in the New Testament, you're past the Gospels, you're the 465s
and it's talking Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is talking about about Jesus. He's 478s
been saying that if we've been baptized with a baptism into Christ and we will die a death. 484s
I'm like just really badly paraphrasing. Do you know that all of us have been baptized into 492s
Christ? Jesus were baptized into his death. Therefore we have been baptized with him by baptism 498s
and to death. So that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. So we 502s
too might walk in the newness of life. Now this is the next verse that I want to look at. Verse 5, 508s
for if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him 513s
in a resurrection like his. If we become another angel, then we do not have the resurrection 521s
that we're promised. The resurrection that is the resurrection of Christ, that we have a bodily 531s
resurrection and so there's no comfort in thinking that we change into some other being, but there's 539s
comfort in knowing that we will be raised to new life. As Paul continues to write in his letters to the 546s
showable body. He does not write that this human will become an angel. There's no comfort in that. 561s
But we're told that we will have our bodies of glory and that we will have a resurrection that is 570s
like Christ. Let's go to first Corinthians. So if you keep going past the book of Romans, 579s
you're going to find yourself in first Corinthians. Let's go to chapter 15. 584s
Going down to verse 35, we're Paul is writing about the resurrection of the body. 590s
And he says, someone will ask, how are the dead raised with what kind of body do they come? 601s
Fool, what do you, what do you, what you sow does not come to life unless it dies? And as for what 606s
you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat, or of some other 612s
grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen. And to each kind of seed, it's own body, not all flesh 618s
is alike, but there's one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another 626s
for fish. So he's talking about these different bodies. Just as we will not be resurrected to a body of 631s
bird, we are not resurrected to a body of an angel. There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. 640s
So when God created, and we're going to talk about creation in a moment, but when God created, 649s
He created the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them that includes angels. 654s
Angels are part of God's creation. Let's go to Hebrews chapter two. So if you keep on going past 663s
Paul's letters, you're going to go past the T books or the T letters, you're going to find yourself 673s
at Hebrews. Hebrews chapter two. And we're going to go, let's go ahead and begin at verse five. 678s
Now, God did not subject the coming world about which we are speaking to angels, but someone has 694s
testified somewhere. What are human beings that you are mindful of them or mortals that you care for them? 700s
You have made them for a little while lower than the angels. You have crowned them with glory and 707s
honors, subjecting all things under their feet. So notice, you have made them that is mankind for a 712s
little while lower than angels. They are a separate being than angels. Now, in subjecting all things 718s
to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in 728s
subjection to them, but we do see Jesus who for a little while was made lower than the angels. 733s
Now, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death. So that by the grace of God, 739s
he might taste death for everyone. It was fitting that God for whom and through whom all things exist 744s
in bringing many children to glory should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through 751s
sufferings. Let's go down to, actually, we're not going to stop from Hebrews too. 760s
But we see that humans are different than angels. And for a time, Jesus himself was made lower than 772s
the angels. That is, God himself took on humanity's flesh, born under the law, according to the law. 784s
And so he humbled himself, though the angels, and we're going to talk about their purpose in 794s
coming weeks, but the angels are there for God's service. And yet, Jesus made himself lower. 800s
Christ did not die for angels. Christ died for sinners. Christ died for those who were born 808s
sinners, born in the image of man. That is you and me. That is all of mankind. So Christ died for 822s
not angels, but for mankind. I read an author, just a beautiful, beautiful statement that I love 830s
in this whole idea of becoming an angel after we die. She writes, there is no reason for us to 839s
aspire to something outside of our Savior's eternal love for us. There is no reason for us to aspire 849s
to something outside of our Savior's eternal love for us. We shouldn't want to be angels. We shouldn't 858s
want to be anything other than what God has created us as men and women by His grace in His image 869s
through the death and resurrection of His Son and our baptisms. 879s
Christ did not die for angels. Angels serve Christ, Christ died for the sinner that we may be 886s
in God's presence for all of eternity. Our ideas of what angels look like are very flawed, 896s
they are flawed because we don't really get a lot of information about angels. In scripture, 907s
they are mentioned 282 times, but very little is described about them. We hear about the angel 916s
of the Lord. We hear about angels going to a lot that looked as man, but we also know that 925s
so often when angels appear to mankind, when angels appeared to the shepherds, what was the first 935s
thing that they had to say? Fear not. Don't be afraid. Well, if angels look like these 942s
chubby fat babies with wings, we're probably not going to be scared. We're probably going to want 952s
to scoop them up and squish their cheeks. That is not what an angel looks like. It's very interesting 958s
because those little babies that look comes out of the renaissance, the elongated image or kind of 966s
human form with the big wings, that comes out of the Greek culture, the goddess Nike, they found 977s
shoes the goddess, I think of speed, which gives whole new meaning to Nike the shoes. I was 988s
God is good. He just leads us to understanding in all sorts of ways, but it's really interesting 997s
because there was that Greek sculpture of Nike of Samathras, Samathras, and it's depicting 1005s
Hellenistic ideals. It's depicting what they would have seen to be ideal in form and shape. 1014s
And so then that influenced the renaissance artists and so you see most often either these elongated, 1023s
really large winged creatures or people, or you see these little little babies. Now, with that, 1032s
with that, we often times, and I go back and forth, I'm going to have to stick with what I 1043s
understand in Scripture, of course. And we're going to talk about this more, I think, when we talk 1052s
about how the angels come and their purpose and what they do and their roles. So we think of 1059s
Riffam and Charibam, the Serifs and the Charibs. It is never stated that they are angels in Scripture. 1070s
They're never claimed as angels. We know they are creatures of God's creation in the heavens, 1080s
that they are serving the Lord, that they have very specific place in the throne room or like the 1088s
with the flaming sword at the entrance to the Garden of Eden. But it never inscriptions says 1100s
that the Serifim and the Charibam are angels. Could they be maybe? But it's never stated that they 1106s
are. And so I'm hesitant to claim them as different types of angels because it's never claimed 1117s
in Scripture. So, angels, angels, we know are part of the heavenly beings. They are part of 1125s
heavenly creation. They are mighty. They are not God. Angels are not God. Let's go to John the first 1139s
chapter. This is the gospel of John the first chapter. And we're going to go. We're not going to read, 1150s
we could read Genesis 1 and 2 where we read the account of creation. But we're going to look at John. 1160s
So, in the beginning, so we're starting with John 1, just the first three verses. In the beginning 1173s
was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All 1177s
things came into being through Him and without Him, not one thing came into being. Not one thing 1185s
came into being without God. So, in the beginning, in Genesis, we read about the void, the void, 1193s
that there was God. And that's it. There were no angels yet. But God created everything. He created 1201s
everything in heaven and on earth. And so we don't know at what point angels were created in creation, 1213s
but we know that on the seventh day, God rested. And so, at some point, in creation, 1222s
the angels were created. They are created beings of God. In the night scene, 1235s
as we are confessing our faith, we say that we believe in God, the creator of all the 1242s
of the scene and the unseen. The angels are in the realm that are unseen. We don't see them. 1248s
When we do encounter an angel, we don't know it. And we might not encounter angels. 1260s
Some people will claim that they have encountered angels and they may not. I don't know. 1272s
But we can't seek out to have the experience of encountering the angel or to seek the hope 1280s
in what we believe to be an encounter with an angel, because as scripture says, even Satan 1289s
can be concealed as an angel of light. And if we're putting our hope in our faith in an 1295s
experience with an angel, we're putting in our hope in our faith in something other than Jesus Christ. 1302s
And so we need to keep again centered and focused on the main thing, which is God. So, 1311s
angels are a created being. Let's go to Psalm 148. If you go to the middle of your 1321s
Bible, you should find yourself in the book of Psalms Psalm 148. If you find yourself in Proverbs, 1330s
you're going to go back just a couple of pages. Psalm 148, looking at verses 1 through 5, 1337s
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights, praise him all his angels, 1345s
praise him all his hosts, praise him son and moon, praise him all you shining stars, praise him 1353s
you highest heavens and you waters above the heavens, let them praise the name of the Lord for He commanded, 1359s
and they were created. The angels, the heavenly hosts, they are put into the category of those 1366s
that praise the Lord. They're put into the category of being created, being created by God. 1376s
Angels are subordinate to God. Let's go to first Peter. This is in the 1387s
New Testament. You're going to go past Paul's letters. You're going to go past Hebrews. 1393s
James, then you're going to find yourself in Peter. First Peter chapter 3, beginning in verse 18, 1400s
but really focusing on verse 22, beginning in verse 18, for Christ also suffered for sins once 1407s
for all, the righteous for the unrighteous in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in 1417s
the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which he also went, in which also he went and made 1423s
a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey when God waited patiently 1431s
in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few that is eight persons were saved 1436s
through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from 1442s
the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 1448s
who has gone into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God. Listen, with angels, authorities, 1455s
and powers made subject to him. The angels serve God. They are subordinate to God. They are not equal 1462s
to God. So angels are not God. Angels are also not human. Human beings. We know that we are made to 1473s
be eternal beings, whether we are believers, eternally in God's presence or unbelievers, eternally 1487s
in hell, experiencing damnation. Angels, angels are not an infinite. There is a finite number 1495s
of angels. Angels do not procreate. They don't have little angel babies. Let's go to Matthew chapter 1507s
- So the Gospel of Matthew. This is the first book in the New Testament, the first Gospel, 1519s
Matthew 22. This is in the context where the, I'm trying to remember if it's the Pharisees, 1526s
yes it is. The Pharisees, the Pharisees are asking a bunch of questions to Jesus. 1540s
They're asking about where am I? There is. They're asking, oh, there's the sadgises. I'm 1550s
sorry. They're asking about the woman that Mary's a man. He dies. She marries his brother. 1557s
And that goes on for seven of the kids. She doesn't have any kids. And so then they say, 1565s
who's, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? Jesus answered them in verse 29. You are wrong 1572s
because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection, they neither 1579s
Mary nor are given a marriage, but are like angels in heaven. Now this can be confused. This is where 1585s
people will confuse it and say, oh, so man becomes an angel. But he's talking about about being 1592s
married. Angels are not married. They are not married in the presence of Jesus. They are not 1601s
married. And so when we, when we die and we are instantly transferred to the presence of Jesus. And then 1610s
when we have our resurrected bodies, we will not have spouses. We won't be married. We're going to 1618s
one another. So we are not married. This is a direct, there is a direct contradiction in 1631s
Mormon theology and in Mormon theology that not only when we die, are we married eternally, 1641s
but that we're supposed to have spirit babies. No. We don't have spirit babies and angels don't 1652s
have angel babies. No more babies after death. So there are a finite number of angels. However, 1660s
many God created in the beginning that is how many angels there are. How many that is, we don't 1667s
fully know, but we know there are a lot. The other thing with, with the fact that angels don't 1676s
procreate, this also shoots down the misconception of Genesis 6. Can we go to Genesis 6? That's 1686s
the first book in scripture. Genesis 6, Genesis 6. Genesis 6 is Genesis 6. Oh my goodness. 1693s
Yeah, yeah. Verse 2, where it says, the sons of God saw that they, this is the, let's go to one, 1708s
actually. Genesis 6, verse 1, when people began to multiply on the face of the ground and daughters 1720s
were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair and they took wives for themselves of 1725s
all that they chose. Okay. So what people like to say is that these are angels that are 1730s
seeing some ladies down on earth and they're thinking, let's have some babies. And so then there's 1738s
this like crossbreed of angels and man. No. No. Angels don't procreate. Angels are a being. 1743s
Angels are a finite number. Angels and man don't have children together. In Pastor Ibel's 1754s
adult education on Genesis, he addresses this text, but just as a reminder, so so the the 1764s
sons of God, those are those who believe in God. And they are seeing the unbeliever. Girl. 1774s
And they're having babies with, so it's an unbeliever and a believer that are having babies. 1784s
So that is what is being referred to here. It is not angels and man that are having 1791s
children together. I'm realizing this is just a weird study. So, but, but that's I think that 1799s
is exactly the point. There's a lot of weird teachings out there that are just not 1810s
according to scripture. And so we're undoing all of the, all of the 1820s
done that has been taught to us and we have to undo that so that we can move forward and look at the 1830s
true purpose of angels. And what they truly are, Luther, he said that he does not believe that 1839s
there is a lot of description and a lot of information given about angels in scripture because 1847s
there would be so much speculation. And so God, God does not, in his infinite wisdom, he does not 1855s
give us all the details that we think we want to know or that we think we should get to know. 1864s
We know there is a spiritual realm. We know there are angels. We know the angels have very 1874s
specific purpose as we continue after, we don't have Sunday school adult ed next Sunday, but then 1881s
after that into January, the three first Sundays in January, we're going to keep going through 1890s
the angels. And we're going to talk about the angel of the Lord. We're going to talk about 1897s
guardian angels. And we're going to talk about what really an angels purpose is. So, if you have any 1905s
sort of ideas about angels that you want to understand if it's biblical or not, 1918s
you can read your Bible. But be, I would be more likely than not, someone else has that same 1924s
idea or question. So if you send them in, you're welcome to email me malinac at LWLC.com and I 1932s
would love to be able to address any sort of questions that you may have in our next 1940s
classes. So, are we metal enough? Are there angels? Yes, are angels God? No, are angels human? No, 1947s
will you be an angel when you die? And this is good news. 1960s