Angels

Between Heaven and Earth: What Scripture Reveals About Angels

Angels are not objects of fascination or worship—they are “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Scripture speaks of angels with remarkable consistency across both Testaments, presenting them as real created beings with specific functions in God’s sovereign plan. Yet modern Christianity oscillates between two extremes: neglecting angels as primitive mythology or fixating on them with speculative fascination.

This series explores what the Bible actually reveals about angels—their nature, their ministries, their limitations, and their ultimate purpose in God’s redemptive economy. We examine angels not through speculation or cultural borrowings, but through systematic biblical exegesis that allows Scripture to interpret Scripture.

What to Expect in This Series

The Bible provides substantial teaching about angels, yet modern readers often find themselves confused or distracted by extrabiblical traditions. We ask questions about angelic hierarchies and personal guardian angels when Scripture emphasizes angels’ worship of God and their service to those being saved. This series examines what the canon actually discloses while refusing to venture beyond its boundaries

Each article in this series will…

• Examine the Biblical Foundation: Tracing how angels appear across Scripture’s storyline, from creation to consummation
• Clarify Key Distinctions: Defining what angels are, what they do, and how they differ from humanity and from God Himself
• Address Common Confusion: Confronting both neglect and obsession, refusing speculation while honoring biblical testimony
• Provide Practical Wisdom: Offering biblical guidance for spiritual warfare, discernment, and proper regard for angelic ministry

Our Approach: Like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, we search the Scriptures to understand what God Himself reveals about angels. We offer no philosophical speculation, no borrowing from extrabiblical sources, but submission to the Bible’s own categories and testimony.

Series Overview

Each entry explores one dimension of biblical angelology, yet together they form a comprehensive portrait that shapes our understanding of God’s purposes and our place within them:

• Angels, Between Heaven and Earth—Published first as a standalone article. A comprehensive survey of biblical angelology, introducing the key themes and raising questions that the series explores in depth.
• Created Servants: The Nature and Orders of Angels — Exploring what angels are—their created status, spiritual nature, intelligence, will, distinctions (cherubim, seraphim, archangels), and how they differ from both humanity and deity. Examining the limited but sufficient taxonomy Scripture provides.
• Ministering Spirits: The Work of Angels in Redemptive History—Understanding what angels do—their ceaseless worship, their role as messengers and revealers, their protection and deliverance of God’s people, their execution of divine judgment, and their unique ministry to Christ during His incarnation.
• Fellow Servants: How Believers Should Regard Angels—Establishing biblical boundaries—why we must not worship angels, how we recognize their ministry without obsession, why believers’ destiny in Christ exceeds angels, and what it means that we will judge angels.
• The Great Rebellion: Satan, Demons, and Fallen Angels—Wrestling honestly with angelic rebellion—the fall of Satan and demons, their present power and absolute limitations, spiritual warfare realities, and Christ’s complete victory over demonic forces at the cross.
• Gathering the Elect: Angels in the Day of the Lord—Tracing angels’ eschatological roles—accompanying Christ at His return, gathering the elect, separating righteous from wicked in final judgment, executing divine wrath, binding Satan, and their ongoing presence in the eternal state.
• The Angel of the LORD: Theophanies and the Pre-Incarnate Christ—Examining a unique biblical phenomenon—appearances of “the Angel of the LORD” who speaks as God, accepts worship, and appears distinct from created angels. Exploring how these Old Testament theophanies point to the pre-incarnate Son and why this pattern ceases after the incarnation.

Why This Series Matters

Angels reveal something crucial about God’s economy. If mighty spiritual beings who stand in God’s presence, who possess power beyond human comprehension, who worship without ceasing—if these beings are sent to serve those who inherit salvation through Christ—this magnifies not their importance but ours in Christ. It displays not their glory but God’s grace. It reveals not a spiritual hierarchy we must navigate but a redemptive plan we inhabit as heirs.

This series aims to restore biblical proportion: recognizing angels without worshiping them, acknowledging spiritual warfare without obsessive fear, understanding demonic opposition without granting Satan undue attention, and looking forward to Christ’s return with His mighty angels while recognizing that our destiny in Christ surpasses even theirs.

Angels matter because they show us what unfallen worship looks like, what willing obedience accomplishes, what power serves grace, and what glory awaits those united to Christ—the One whom angels serve, the One through whom angels were created, the One who for a little while was made lower than angels precisely to exalt redeemed humanity to glory beyond angelic comprehension.