Classification of the Angels

Tonight’s message is going to be direct to the point. We’ve been looking at angels, both fallen and unfallen, and tonight we will be looking at the classifications of both angelic groups (I call them angelic because that is how God created them).

First we’ll look at:

The Unfallen (Holy Angels

Some specific groups of the holy angels would be

The Cherubim

These angels are seen having four wings

Ezekiel 1:6 “6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.”

Ezekiel 10:20 “20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims.”

Their work seems to involve that of guarding the throne of God and the things of the Lord

Genesis 3:22–24 “22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

Exodus 26:1 “1 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.”

1 Samuel 4:4 “4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.”

Psalm 80:1 “1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.”

Next in order are ...

The Seraphim

The word means “burning ones”

Thes angels are seen having six wings each

Their work seems to involve service around God’s throne

Isaiah 6:1–8 KJV 1900

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: The whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

The Living Creatures

This group of angels is different from the cherubim and seraphim

They are four in number and more closely resemble the seraphim than the cherubim

They are stationed at the throne of God and are involved in worship and praise to God

Revelation 4:6–9 KJV 1900

6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

One characteristic that is not subject to change regarding the holy angels is their close association with God. There are, however different ranks among the angels, and some are:

Named

Michael the Archangel

His name means “Who is like unto God”

He is personally assigned to the nation of Israel

He is the Commander-in-chief of the angelic army

If he is among countless angels, and he is assigned to Israel, this gives credence to the idea of personal guardian angels

Certainly there would be enough angles to go around!

Daniel 10:13 “13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”

Revelation 12:7 “7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,”

Gabriel

His name means “Mighty one of God”

He is the “good news angle”

As God’s ambassador Gabriel reveals God’s purposes

Daniel 8:16 “16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.”

Luke 1:19 “19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.”

The Angel of Jehovah

This name is used of the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate appearances in the OT.

While it uses the term “angel” it does not mean He is part of the angelic classification

This is something the JW’s have used in their argument that Jesus was among the angelic host

Uses of the title in the NT do not include the definite article “the” as a reference to Christ

Matthew 1:20 “20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”

Luke 2:9 “9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.”

While some holy angels are referenced by their name, others are...

Mentioned in relation to their work

Angels of judgment

Genesis 19:13 “13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.”

2 Samuel 24:16 “16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.”

Sons of God

Job 1:6 “6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.”

This designation is used of the descendants of Seth, just as Son of Man was used of Ezekiel and Christ

The angel of the abys Revelation 9:11 “11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”

Let’s move from the classification of holy angels to classification of...

The Fallen (Unholy Angels aka. Demons)

This is simply and brief. There are only two categories:

Bound

2 Peter 2:4 “4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;”

Jude 6 “6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”

This group of angels, for some unknown reason, have been bound in a place called Tartarus. Evidently it is located somewhere in the abyss. They will be bound until the GWT

Free

Daniel 10:13 “13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”

Ephesians 6:12 “12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

These angels comprise the army of evil spirits involved in Satan’s work.

Of this group would include demons who seek to indwell individuals and use them in evil ways.

Matthew 12:43–45 “43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.”

Mark 5:1–9 “1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.”

It appears when demons are cast out they are sent to the abyss

Luke 8:26–40 KJV 1900

26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. 27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. 29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) 30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. 31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. 32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. 33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. 34 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. 38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. 40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.

Take Away:

Bet you didn’t know there was so much about angels?

Here is the beautiful part: While we cannot know everything, it is amazing the amount of information we can learn just from God’s Word!

Why is it so important we learn about angels? Becasue they are a part of the spiritual realm with which we are engaged in constant battle.

Evil angels are our enemies, and the holy angels are our allies.

I am thankful that in this battle God has given to us such worthy helpers!