4 Important Roles of Angels in the Bible

Angels play important roles in the Bible. Here are four important roles that they play.

God’s Messengers

The word “angel” means “messenger of God.” When the angel went to answer Daniel’s prayer, he went with the answer from God. When Daniel prayed to God, it took three weeks for his God’s answer to come to him via an angel, as it says in Daniel 10, “Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.” This “Prince of Persia” may have been Satan or one of his chief demon angels. Gabriel came with a message from God to tell Mary that she was to conceive and give birth to Jesus (Luke 1:26-38).

God’s Sent Protectors

There are so many accounts where angels protected the life of someone that it is hard to know where to start, but God says that “he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11). For Daniel’s protection, “God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions” (Daniel 6:22a). There are many, many more that I could quote that say essentially the same thing.

God’s Worshipers

We are not the only ones who worship God. The angels of God worship Him, and some do this 24/7–that is, they never stop. Isaiah caught a glimpse of this when he wrote that “one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory’” (Isaiah 6:3)! When it was said of God that “when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him,’” which refers to Jesus Christ Who is also God (Hebrews 1:6).

God’s Warriors

In just a quick reading of the Book of Revelation and the times in which Israel had sin in the camp, God’s angels carried out His swift judgment but also against those who are evil, as in one “night the angel of the LORD went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere” (2 Kings 19:35). Imagine how powerful even one angel is!

Conclusion

One thing about angels is also certain: We are not to worship them. Paul indicates that worshiping angels is sin, writing to “let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels” (Colossians 2:18). Once when the Apostle John fell at the feet of an angel, the angel rebuked him, saying, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God” (Revelation 22:9). Sadly, some people have such a fetish over angels that they do everything but worship them. By doing so, they elevate their importance over Jesus Christ, which comes dangerously close to idolatry. God alone is worthy to be worshiped. Even the angels know this.