What types of angels are there? and a little information and history about them.
First of all, it seems proper to identify what type of spirits there are. The bible says that there are many types of spirits.
1. There is one True God - His name is Jehovah. He not only identifies Himself, but he wants His name known and He wants it to be used.
2. There are good angels - Seraphs, Messenger, Cherubs and The Arch Angel (Michael or later referred to as Jesus).
3. Despite the fact that there are or appear to be billions of angels in the heavens, the only names of angels mentioned in the bible are: Michael & Gabriel,
4. There are bad angels - Satan the devil and his demons.
5. No bad angels including Satan has ever been named. Their given names remain unknown to humans. Satan is not this demons name. Satan is a description or identifying mark of his which means resister, Simply put, the demons are former angels, who have chosen to follow Satan the Devil. Satan means “Resister” and Devil means “Slanderer.” According to the Bible, this former angelic son of God made himself a resister and a slanderer by choosing to rebel against God. In time, he enticed other angels to join him in his rebellious course. These allies thus became demons.—Genesis 3:1-15; 6:1-4;
Daniel 10:13-21 - mentions 3 angels. Mentioned are: Michael, the Prince of the Royal Realm of Persia and the Prince of Greece.
13 But the prince of the royal realm of Persia stood in opposition to me for 21 days. But then Mi′cha·el, one of the foremost princes, came to help me; and I remained there beside the kings of Persia.
14 I have come to make you understand what will befall your people in the final part of the days, because it is a vision yet for the days to come.”
15 Now when he spoke these words to me, I turned my face to the ground and became speechless.
16 Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one who stood in front of me: “My lord, I am shuddering because of the vision, and I have no strength.
17 So how can my lord’s servant speak with my lord? For now I have no strength, and there is no breath left in me.”
18 The one who looked like a man touched me again and strengthened me.
19 Then he said: “Do not be afraid, O very precious man. May you have peace. Be strong, yes, be strong.” As he spoke with me I was strengthened and I said: “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
20 Then he said: “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I will go back to fight with the prince of Persia. When I leave, the prince of Greece will come.
21 However, I will tell you the things recorded in the writings of truth. There is no one strongly supporting me in these things but Mi′cha·el, your prince.
Who was this ‘prince of Persia’?
The angel was obviously not referring to Persian King Cyrus, who at that time looked with favor upon Daniel and his people. Moreover, how could a mere human king resist a spirit creature for three weeks when it took one angel only one night to destroy 185,000 mighty warriors? (Isaiah 37:36) This hostile ‘prince of Persia’ could only be an agent of the Devil, that is, a demon who was given control over the realm of the Persian Empire.
Who was this ‘prince of Greece’?
Later in the account, God’s angel stated and another demon prince, “the prince of Greece.”—Daniel 10:20. Not much is said about the Prince of Greece in this scripture, but based on other scriptures referencing this description, it becomes obvious that the Prince of Greece is just another demon creature in opposition to Jehovah with his assignments from Satan.
What can we conclude from this?
Simply that there really are invisible “world rulers,” demon princes who share control of the world under the authority of their chief, Satan the Devil. But what has been their aim until now? Well, this question can be discussed in other blogs at a later date, but you can reason on this question by considering Revelation 12:9, 12 & Revelation 11:18; 18:11-17.
Daniel 11:5-9 - Mentions 2 entities: the King of the North and the King of the South
5 “And the king of the south will become strong, that is, one of his princes; but one will prevail against him and will rule with extensive dominion, greater than that one’s ruling power.
6 “After some years they will make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north in order to make an equitable arrangement. But she will not retain the power of her arm; and he will not stand, nor his arm; and she will be given up, she and those bringing her in, and the one who caused her birth, and the one making her strong in those times.
7 And one from the sprout of her roots will stand up in his position, and he will come to the army and come against the fortress of the king of the north and will take action against them and prevail.
8 Also with their gods, with their metal images, with their desirable articles of silver and of gold, and with captives, he will come to Egypt. For some years he will stand off from the king of the north,
9 who will come against the kingdom of the king of the south, but will go back to his own land.
Jude 6 reads - And the angels who did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place, he has reserved with eternal bonds in dense darkness for the judgment of the great day.
Matthew 25:41 - “Then he will say to those on his left: ‘Go away from me, you who have been cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.
Names - continued -
The Arch Angel Michael or later referred to as Jesus,
Michael was of course Jesus Christ whose history is on Biblical record.
Gabriel spoke with Daniel
Gabriel spoke with Mary
Gabriel spoke with Zachariah
Twice Gabriel appeared to Daniel:
first, near the Ulai River “in the third year of the kingship of Belshazzar” to explain Daniel’s vision of the he-goat and the ram (Da 8:1, 15-26);
Daniel 8:1 In the third year of the kingship of King Bel·shaz′zar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that appeared to me previously . . .
Daniel 8:15-18
15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and seeking to understand it, suddenly I saw standing in front of me someone who appeared to be a man.
16 Then I heard the voice of a man in the midst of the U′lai, and he called out: “Ga′bri·el, make that one understand what he saw.”
17 So he came near to where I was standing, but when he came I was so terrified that I fell facedown. He said to me: “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.”
18 But while he was speaking with me, I fell fast
and second, “in the first year of Darius” the Mede, to deliver the prophecy concerning the “seventy weeks.” (Da 9:1, 20-27)
Daniel 9:21-23
21 yes, while I was yet speaking in prayer, the man Ga′bri·el, whom I had previously seen in the vision, came to me when I was extremely weary at about the time of the evening gift offering.
22 And he gave me understanding, saying: “O Daniel, now I have come to give you insight and understanding.
23 When you began your entreaty the word went out, and I have come to report it to you, because you are someone very precious. So consider the matter and understand the vision.
Seraphs
Isaiah 6:2 - Seraphs were standing above him; each had six wings. Each covered his face with two and covered his feet with two, and each of them would fly about with two.
Isaiah 6:6 At that, one of the seraphs flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
The term “seraphs,” meaning “fiery ones” or “burning ones,” suggests that they radiate brightness, yet they hide their faces from the greater brilliance and glory of Jehovah. Seraphs are angels of high rank having special duties.
Cherubs
Genesis 3:24 - "So he drove the man out, and he posted at the east of the garden of E′den the cherubs and the flaming blade of a sword that was turning continuously to guard the way to the tree of life."
Exodus 25:18-20 -
18 You are to make two cherubs of gold; you will make them of hammered work on the two ends of the cover.
19 Make the cherubs on the two ends, one cherub on each end of the cover.
20 "The cherubs are to spread out their two wings upward, overshadowing the cover with their wings, and they will face each other. The faces of the cherubs will be turned toward the cover."
Exodus 26:1-33 -
26 “You are to make the tabernacle with ten tent cloths of fine twisted linen, blue thread, purple wool, and scarlet material. You are to make them with embroidered cherub designs,
32 You will hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold. Their hooks are to be of gold. The pillars are set on four socket pedestals of silver.
33 You will hang the curtain under the clasps and bring the ark of the Testimony there within the curtain. The curtain will make a division for you between the Holy and the Most Holy.
Two cherubs of oil-tree wood overlaid with gold stood in the Most Holy of that temple. (1Ki 6:23, 28, 29) The molten sea rested upon 12 copper bulls, and the sidewalls of the copper carriages for temple use were decorated with figures of lions, bulls, and cherubs. (1Ki 7:25, 28, 29) Twelve lions lined the steps leading up to Solomon’s throne.—2Ch 9:17-19. These representations, however, were not idols for worship. Only the officiating priests saw the representations of the tabernacle interior and, later, of the temple interior. No one but the high priest entered the Most Holy, and that only on the Day of Atonement.
2Chronicles 3:6-13 -
6 Further, he overlaid the house with precious stone for beauty; and the gold was gold from the gold country.
7 And he went on to cover the house, the rafters, the thresholds and its walls and its doors with gold; and he engraved cherubs upon the walls.
8 And he proceeded to make the house of the Most Holy, its length in relation to the width of the house being twenty cubits, and its own width being twenty cubits; and then he covered it with good gold to the amount of six hundred talents.
9 And the weight for the nails was fifty gold shekels; and the roof chambers he covered with gold.
10 Then he made in the house of the Most Holy two cherubs in the workmanship of images, and overlaid them with gold.
11 As for the wings of the cherubs, their length was twenty cubits, the one wing of five cubits reaching to the wall of the house, and the other wing of five cubits reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
12 And the wing of the one cherub of five cubits was reaching to the wall of the house, and the other wing of five cubits was in contact with the wing of the other cherub. 13 The wings of these cherubs were spread out twenty cubits; and they were standing upon their feet with their faces inward.
14 Further, he made the curtain of blue thread and wool dyed reddish purple and crimson and fine fabric, and worked in cherubs upon it.
1. (cher′ub). An angelic creature of high rank having special duties, distinguished from the order of seraphs. The first of the 92 times they are mentioned in the Bible is at Genesis 3:24; after God’s driving Adam and Eve out of Eden, cherubs (Heb., keru·vim′) were posted at the East entrance with a flaming blade of a sword “to guard the way to the tree of life.” Whether more than two were stationed there is not disclosed.
Representative figures of cherubs were included in the furnishings of the tabernacle set up in the wilderness. Rising above each end of the Ark’s cover were two cherubs of hammered gold. They were facing each other and bowing toward the cover in an attitude of worship. Each had two wings that spread upward and screened over the cover in a guarding and protecting manner. (Ex 25:10-21; 37:7-9) Also, the inner covering of tent cloths for the tabernacle and the curtain dividing the Holy from the Most Holy had embroidered cherub figures.—Ex 26:1, 31; 36:8, 35.
These were not grotesque figures fashioned after the monstrous winged images worshiped by pagan nations round about, as some contend. According to the unanimous testimony of ancient Jewish tradition (the Bible is silent on this matter), these cherubs had human form. They were finest works of art, representing angelic creatures of glorious beauty, and were made in every detail “according to . . . the pattern” Moses received from Jehovah himself. (Ex 25:9) The apostle Paul describes them as “glorious cherubs overshadowing the propitiatory cover.” (Heb 9:5) These cherubs were associated with the presence of Jehovah: “And I will present myself to you there and speak with you from above the cover, from between the two cherubs that are upon the ark of the testimony.” (Ex 25:22; Nu 7:89) Hence, Jehovah was said to be “sitting upon [or, between] the cherubs.” (1Sa 4:4; 2Sa 6:2; 2Ki 19:15; 1Ch 13:6; Ps 80:1; 99:1; Isa 37:16) In symbol, the cherubs served as “the representation of the chariot” of Jehovah upon which he rode (1Ch 28:18), and the wings of the cherubs offered both guarding protection and swiftness in travel. So David, in poetic song, described the speed with which Jehovah came to his aid, like one who “came riding upon a cherub and came flying” even “upon the wings of a spirit.”—2Sa 22:11; Ps 18:10.
The detailed architectural plans for Solomon’s magnificent temple called for two huge cherubs in the Most Holy. They were made of oil-tree wood overlaid with gold, each standing ten cubits (4.5 m; 14.6 ft) high. They both stood facing the E on a N-S line running presumably through the center of the room. Although standing ten cubits apart, one wing of each cherub reached to touch the tip of the other’s extended wing in the center of the room, overshadowing the ark of the covenant and its poles, which rested beneath. The outer wings of each cherub touched the N and S walls respectively. Thus the wings of the cherubs spanned the 20-cubit width of the room. (See TEMPLE.) Engraved carvings of cherubs, overlaid with gold, also decorated the walls and doors of the temple. Likewise the sides of the copper water carriages were ornamented with cherubs. (1Ki 6:23-35; 7:29-36; 8:6, 7; 1Ch 28:18; 2Ch 3:7, 10-14; 5:7, 8) In a similar manner, carved cherubs ornamented the walls and doors of the temple that Ezekiel envisioned.—Eze 41:17-20, 23-25.
Ezekiel also relates a number of visions in which symbolic cherubs of unusual description were seen. After speaking of them as “living creatures” (Eze 1:5-28), he later identifies them as “cherubs.” (Eze 9:3; 10:1-22; 11:22) In these pictorial visions the cherubs are intimately associated with the glorious personage of Jehovah and constantly attendant upon him.
In his prophetic book Ezekiel was also told to “lift up a dirge concerning the king of Tyre,” in which he calls the king a glorious covering cherub that was once “in Eden, the garden of God,” but who was stripped of his beauty and made as ashes upon the ground. “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: . . . ‘You are the anointed cherub that is covering, and I have set you. On the holy mountain of God you proved to be. In the midst of fiery stones you walked about. You were faultless in your ways from the day of your being created until unrighteousness was found in you. . . . I shall put you as profane out of the mountain of God, and I shall destroy you, O cherub that is covering [“O protecting cherub,” Vg].’”—Eze 28:11-19.
2. (pronounced ke′rub). A city in Babylonia from which certain exiles returned to Jerusalem in 537 B.C.E.; they were unable to trace their genealogy and therefore could not prove whether they were Israelites.—Ezr 2:59; Ne 7:61.
Judges 13:8-21 Often the angels did not reveal themselves to humans.
8 Ma·noʹah pleaded with Jehovah and said: “Pardon me, Jehovah. Please let the man of the true God whom you just sent come again to instruct us about what we should do with the child who will be born.”
9 So the true God listened to Ma·noʹah, and the angel of the true God came again to the woman while she was sitting in the field; her husband Ma·noʹah was not with her.
10 The woman quickly ran and told her husband: “Look! The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.”
11 Then Ma·noʹah got up and went with his wife. He came to the man and said to him: “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” He said: “I am.”
12 Then Ma·noʹah said: “May your words come true! What will be the child’s manner of life, and what will be his work?”
13 So Jehovah’s angel said to Ma·noʹah: “Your wife should keep herself from everything that I mentioned to her.
14 She should not eat anything that the grapevine produces, she should not drink wine or anything alcoholic, and she should not eat anything unclean. Everything that I commanded her, let her observe.”
15 Ma·noʹah now said to Jehovah’s angel: “Please stay, and let us prepare a young goat for you.”
16 But Jehovah’s angel said to Ma·noʹah: “If I stay, I will not eat your food; but if you wish to present a burnt offering to Jehovah, you may offer it up.” Ma·noʹah did not know that he was Jehovah’s angel.
17 Then Ma·noʹah said to Jehovah’s angel: “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
18 However, Jehovah’s angel said to him: “Why are you asking about my name, seeing that it is a wonderful one?”
19 Then Ma·noʹah took the young goat and the grain offering and offered them on the rock to Jehovah. And He was doing something amazing while Ma·noʹah and his wife were looking on.
20 As the flame ascended from the altar heavenward, Jehovah’s angel ascended in the flame from the altar while Ma·noʹah and his wife were looking on. At once they fell with their faces to the ground.
21 Jehovah’s angel did not appear again to Ma·noʹah and his wife. Then Ma·noʹah realized that he was Jehovah’s angel.
Isaiah 37:16 - “O Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, sitting enthroned above the cherubs, you alone are the true God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
Hebrews 9:5 - "and above it were the glorious cherubs overshadowing the propitiatory cover. But now is not the time to speak of these things in detail."
Cherubs are also angels of high rank having special duties. They are different from seraphs. This seems to indicate that there are angels that are created not to be Seraphs or Cherubs, but the Bible does not indicate other ranks or positions by name.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is not a spirit per se. The Holy Spirit is Jehovah's active force doing His will. Like the electric in a power cord. There is a source of power (Jehovah) and an intended target (whatever it is sent to do, it accomplishes). The Holy Spirit is the power that is sent from Jehovah through the cord to do its job. It has no personality, no gender,
Revelation 19:10 says during a conversation with the Apostle John, "At that I fell down before his feet to worship him. But he tells me: “Be careful! Do not do that! I am only a fellow slave of you and of your brothers who have the work of witnessing concerning Jesus. Worship God! For the witness concerning Jesus is what inspires prophecy.”
Jehovah spoke to the prophets who in turn spoke to His people and gave them laws and instructions.
Acts 3:19-24 19 “Repent, therefore, and turn around so as to get your sins blotted out, so that seasons of refreshing may come from Jehovah himself 20 and he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus. 21 Heaven must hold this one within itself until the times of restoration of all things of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets of old. 22 In fact, Moses said: ‘Jehovah your God will raise up for you from among your brothers a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. 23 Indeed, anyone who does not listen to that Prophet will be completely destroyed from among the people.’ 24 And all the prophets from Samuel and those who followed him, as many as have spoken, have also plainly declared these days.
In further reading I find these names: Be·el′ze·bub, Ad′don, Abaddon, Apollyon,
(Be·el′ze·bub) [possibly an alteration of Baal-zebub, meaning “Owner of the Flies,” the Baal worshiped by the Philistines at Ekron. Alternately, Beelzeboul and Beezeboul, possibly meaning, “Owner of the Lofty Abode (Habitation)”; or, if a play on the non-Biblical Heb. word ze′vel (dung), “Owner of the Dung”].
“Beelzebub” is a designation applied to Satan the prince, or ruler, of the demons. The religious leaders blasphemously accused Jesus Christ of expelling demons by means of Beelzebub.—Mt 10:25; 12:24-29; Mr 3:22-27; Lu 11:15-19; see BAAL-ZEBUB.
•2 Kings 1:2, "And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness."
•2 Kings 1:16, "Then he said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.'"
•Matthew 10:25, "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!"
•Matthew 12:24, "But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."
•Mark 3:22, "The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, 'He is possessed by Beelzebul,' and 'He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.'"
•Luke 11:15, "But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons."
Ad′don
Some have attributed the name Addon to a biblical name of an angel, but my research shows that apparently Addon is either an unidentified location in Babylonia, from which some returning to Jerusalem in 537 B.C.E., at the end of the 70-year desolation of Judah, where those returning were unable to establish their genealogy from the public records. As a consequence, they were disqualified from serving in the priesthood. Other scholars think Addon was an individual who was unable to prove his ancestry.—Ezr 2:59-62; Ne 7:61-64.
Abaddon (6 occurrences) (A·bad′don) [from Heb., (Re 1:16, 20; 2:1; 3:1) “The angel of the abyss” called Abaddon is also represented by a star. ... Re 9:1, 11; Revelation In Hebrew his name is A·bad′don, but in Greek he has the name A·pol′lyon.
Additional Research pending it-1 p. 12
Apollyon I found (2 occurrences)
The Greek name used by the apostle John to translate the Hebrew “Abaddon” at Revelation 9:11. ... Compare Re 19:11-16; Lu 8:31;
Additional research pending.
