Angels

What Is An Angel?

An angel is typically understood as an other-worldly spirit being that may take the form of a human being at times.

Though often depicted as female in gender in paintings, they are always referred to as male in the Bible.

What Does the Word "Angel" Mean?

This is much simpler than trying to convey "what an angel is".  The word "angel" simply means messenger.

By implication an angel is a messenger from God.

We are all familiar with evangelists.  Do you see how "angel" is in the middle of the word?

Our experiences may be good are bad with such, but the meaning of the word evangelist is simply "good messenger" or "a messenger of good."

So, Am I Really an Angel?

Sometimes we refer to people by saying such things as "she is such an angel" or "he was my angel".  What we mean is that some person (human being) had interacted with our lives in a way that we were helped, encouraged or delivered from some danger.

Sometimes we will say (expecially of small children) "she's an angel" or "he's an angel".  This is most often because of good behavior, but sometimes this is used because they are physically beautiful.

I am neither a beautiful child and I have probably not rescued you from some present danger, but I can still be an angel and so can you.

Spirit Beings with Human Bodies

This is something that most Christians as well as adherents to other religions will agree upon.  We are most essentially spirit beings that inhabit a "tent" or "tabernalce" as referred to in the Bible, referencing our temporary bodies.

We typically do not have memories of our lives as spirit beings before we were "born" into this earth, but I believe we will get them back when we return to our home, having left these temporary bodies.

Most evangelicals consider this spirtual part to be DEAD or dysfunctional until the Spirt of God inhabits our bodies at the time of conversion and we are "quickened" or brought back to life as it states in the second chapter of the book of Ephesians.

I Speak into peoples lives messages from God.

In the book of the Revlation (Apocolypse) of Jesus Christ, Jesus, the Great Angel (Greatest Messenger from God ever!) gives messages to John the apostle for seven of His churches in Asia Minor of that day.  In each one of them, the "angel" of the church is the recipient of the message.

So, the pastor or bishop or elder or priest (what you call the office depends upon your own Christian tradition) is referred to as an ANGEL.

Why?  Because it was his simple (but not easy) job to take the MESSAGE that the Messiah Jesus gave to John and deliver this message to the church of which they were overseers.

So, they were indeed angels in this sence.

God Speaks to My Heart and Into My Life Through His Word, The Holy Bible

I hope that I am no different from you in this regard.  If we take the message that God has given to us and in love for people and God's truth deliver that message to others, then we are angels.  We are simply messengers.