Angels in the New
Testament
In the New Testament the angles
appear with their own personalities. They are
creatures endowed with free will and
intellect. They are distinct and superior to
men but inferior to God. Their duties are to
manifest and execute the divine will. They
offer up prayers and intercede for those who
are faithful. They incite men to do good and
serve them in difficult times. We also learn
that each child is given a guardian angel that
is an integral part of our earthly life.
In our Orthodox services we offer
the following prayer: "An angel of peace, a
faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and
bodies, let us ask of the Lord." As we learn
about the role of angels on the story of our
Lord, let us gain new meaning about this
petition so it is nota vain repetition. May we
reply with conviction, "Grant this O Lord!"
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Gabriel's Appearance
to Zachariah
God's aim is to redeem His people
and he did not do this with a bolt of
lightning and clap of thunder. He came quietly
without great fanfare. The people had been
expecting the Messiah for some time and God
sent His angel to warn that the time was
coming. Luke describes the appearance of an
angel to Zachariah, a priest in the temple in
Jerusalem. It was his turn to burn the incense
which was burned twice a day. The incense was
offered inside the temple on the golden altar
of incense that stood before the veil of the
Holy of Holies with the image of a cherubim
embroidered on it. The officiating priest went
into the temple alone while the other priest
worshipped outside. It was the most solemn
part of the service. As He was performing this
duty, standing alone in the Temple watching
the perfume laden incense ascend toward
heaven, an angel appeared to him on the right
side of the altar. The angel spoke to him
telling him that his messianic prayers were
about to be answered and he and his old and
barren wife Elizabeth would have a child, a
son who would be the Lord's forerunner. The
angel's name was Gabriel. He struck Zachariah
dumb until after the birth of his son John.
When he emerged from the sanctuary to
pronounce the customary blessing he could only
make the jesters but no words came from his
mouth. The people realized he had experienced
a vision and the stage was set for the coming
of the Lord.
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Gabriel appears to
Mary and Joseph to announce the coming birth
of Jesus
Gabriel also appeared to Mary in
her home uttering "Hail, thou art highly
favored the Lord with thee: blessed art thou
among women!" He told her, even though she was
a virgin, that she would have a child that was
the Son of God and she was to call him Jesus.
Mary was startled and concerned but not
afraid. The scene was a meeting of two
persons, one earthly and the other heavenly.
One brought the will of God and the other
offered her obedience. (Lk. 1:26-28) Gabriel
also appeared to Joseph, who Mary was
betrothed, in a dream to comfort him. (Mt.
1:20, 21) Angels are no less real to us in
dreams than in our waking hours. This is when
our guardian angel is more accessible due to
our relaxed state of mind.
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Angels at Bethlehem
At the birth of Christ angels
appeared to the Shepherd guarding their
flocks. (Lk 2:8-14) Shepherds spend long times
in the natural environment and are in
communion with nature. They can read the signs
of the heavenly bodies with ease. They tend to
be humble and simple people. They are given to
contemplation as they spend long periods of
time alone with their flock. The angels
brought the message of Christ's arrival first
to the poor and those of the lower class. The
angels appeared so suddenly that the shepherds
were fear struck so the angels reassured them,
"Fear not," They glorified God, "Glory to God
in the highest and on earth peace, good will
to men." (Lk 2:14).
Likewise, the wise me who were
the scientist of their day were warned in a
dream not to return to Herod (Mt. 2:12). They
followed this divine direction and returned
directly to their homeland without returning
to see Herod.
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The Flight to Egypt
An angel also appeared to Joseph
in dream to take the Child and His Mother into
Egypt . "Arise, take the young Child and His
mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I
bring you word; for Herod will seek the young
child to destroy Him" (Mt. 2:13). Then while
Joseph was in Egypt, an angel of the Lord
again appeared to him, telling him to return
to Israel (Mt. 2:19, 20).
We need to listen for the word of
the Lord like Joseph and to go where we are
sent just like Joseph was sent not to where he
desired to go.
The psalmist says, "For he shall
give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee
in al thy ways. They shall bear thee up in
their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a
stone" (Ps 90:11-12).
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Angels Appear at Jesus'
Temptation
Angels ministered to Jesus after
the temptation in the mount [Mt. 4: 11; Mk. 1:
13].
"then the devil left him (for a while) and
behold the angels ministered to him." After
his trials in the desert after the Baptism,
the heavenly host surrounded Him to minister
to Him with love and care.
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Guardian Angel
Jesus said to his disciples,
"Take head that ye despise not one of these
little ones; for I say unto you, That in
heaven their angels do always behold the face
of my Father which is in heaven." (Mat 18:10)
Not only do we have an angel as a
child, but also at the time of death. In the
parable of Lazarus and the rich man it says,
"the beggar died , and was carried by the
angels to the bosom of Abraham." (Lk 16:22)
The angels await to see our
attitude towards Christ. They expect us to be
true to our Lord before they will show
friendship. Jesus says, "whoever shall confess
me before me, shall the Son of Man also
confess before the angels of God" (Lk 12:8)
To believe in the holy angels and
to trust our guardian is unquestionably part
of Christ's teaching.
Prayer to our Guardian
angel:
Angel of the Lord, my holy guardian, who art
given me of God to shield me: I earnestly
pray thee enlighten me this day and from all
harm protect me; in all good things advise
me; and on the path of redemption guide me.
Amen
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In Gethsemane
When Jesus was about to be
crucified his mortal body did not want to
die. He begged for his closest friends to
watch with Him and not to leave Him alone.
But they were tired and did not understand
the dept of His grief and agony. Jesus want
back to them twice as if seeking
reassurance, but they slept. As he prayed in
agony "there appeared an angel unto Him from
heaven strengthening Him" (Lk 22:43) No one
at that moment recognized in the man
"despised and rejected of men; a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief," (Is
53:3) – the King of Glory! But the angels
did!
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Crucifixion and the Tomb.
In the icon of the
Crucifixion we see the angels depicted
hovering above the Cross. While Scripture does
not tell us, we can suppose that they were
there and that they accompanied the Lord even
as he descended into Hades. The angels were
the guards to the entrance of Paradise and
with Christ's resurrection the gates were now
opened so the angels also signal the opening
of paradise.
Who removed the stone from the
Grave? The Pharisees feared that friends of
Jesus would remove the body and claim he had
risen from the dead? So they begged Pilot to
set a guard at the tomb which he eventually
agreed to do. It was these guards who saw the
angel roll away the stone. "...There was a
great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord
descended from heaven, and came and rolled
back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
His continence was like lightning and his
raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the
keeper did shake, and became as dead men" (Mt
28:2-4).
The angel of the Resurrection was
a messenger of power, purity and struck fear
into men's hearts and held them speechless and
in awe.
When the women came to attend
to the tomb and found it empty you can imagine
the fear this raised. But as they went inside,
"two men stood by them in a shining garment.
Then, as they were afraid and bowed their
faces to the earth, they said to the women,
'Why do you seek the living among the dead?'
He is not here but is risen. Remember how He
spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,
saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into
the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and
on the third day rise again.'" (Lk 24:4-7)
The angels announce the
Resurrection. They were surely with the Lord
throughout His life on earth. They are part of
His glory.
When we gather on Easter night we
leave the darkened Church behind chanting "The
Angels in Heaven O Christ our savior, sing Thy
resurrection, enabling us on earth, to glorify
Thee with a pure heart." We then stand behind
the close doors and after the reading of the
Holy Gospel we shout with joy, Christ is
Risen! The doors are open and we enter into
the fully lighted church singing Christ has
risen!
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The Ascension
"Now when He had spoken
these things, while they watched, He was
taken up, and a cloud received Him out of
their sight. And while they looked
steadfastly toward heaven as He went up,
behold, two men stood by them in white
apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why
do you stand gazing up into heaven? This
same Jesus, who was taken up from you into
heaven, will so come in like manner as you
saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1: 9-11). "
In the icon for this event we see
the angels present among the disciples. ANd we
see angels carrying Jesus aloft accompanying
Him in a cloud of glory.
"Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory.(Ps 24(23):7-10)
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The
Second Coming
Jesus describes the second
coming: "Then the sign of the Son of Man will
appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of
the earth will mourn, and they will see the
Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory. And He will send His
angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they will gather together His elect from the
four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other." (Mat 24:30-31)
And after His parable on the ten
virgins He says, "When the Son of Man comes in
His glory, and all the holy angels with Him,
then He will sit on the throne of His glory"
(Mat 25:31).
Saint Paul tells us: "For the
Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of an archangel, and
with the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. And thus we shall always be with the
Lord."(1Thessalonians 4: 16-17).
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Angels in the Young Church |
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Saint Peter and Saint
John
After the Ascension the Apostles
were aware of the holy angels in their midst
and remained so throughout their lives. Today
wetend to take the appearance of angels
lightly and often with disbelief. But this is
not the attitude of the Apostles.
The Jewish Priests hoping to
frighten the followers of Jesus into silence
had Peter and John arrested. The Sanhedrin
forbid them to preach. The Apostles had
disregarded this and were apprehended an put
into prison. When the officials sent for them
to be brought to trial, the cell was found to
be empty. Luke tells us how this took place:
"But at night an angel of the Lord opened the
prison doors and brought them out, and said,
'Go, stand in the temple and speak to the
people all the words of this life.'" (Acts
5:19-20) The Apostles then returned to the
same place and continued to preach. God's
power was so clear to them that they did not
have fear of even death. Therefore, they could
stand with strength when faced with any peril.
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Saint Peter Escapes
After the
followers of Jesus became to be called
Christians, there were severe persecutions.
James the brother of John had just been
executed. Peter was thrown into prison and
securely confined so he could not possibly
escape. Luke records the event: "That night
Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains
between two soldiers; and the guards before
the door were keeping the prison. Now behold,
an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light
shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on
the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise
quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands.
Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and
tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he
said to him, “Put on your garment and follow
me.” So he went out and followed him, and did
not know that what was done by the angel was
real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When
they were past the first and the second guard
posts, they came to the iron gate that leads
to the city, which opened to them of its own
accord; and they went out and went down one
street, and immediately the angel departed
from him. And when Peter had come to himself,
he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord
has sent His angel, and has delivered me from
the hand of Herod and from all the expectation
of the Jewish people.”" (Acts 12:2-11)
Peter was rescued by a messenger
from God. This was not a guardian angel.
Guardian angels assist us in doing good
helping us obey God's will. An angel of the
Lord acts outside of man's free choice through
man's obedience to God's call. God's
messengers are associated with those who have
obedience to God's will.
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Saint Stephen
Saint
Stephen, a deacon, was the first Christian
martyr. He was arrested for preaching the news
about Christ and His Resurrection. While
speaking in his defense he spoke of Moses
saying:
“And when forty years had passed, an Angel of
the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in
a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. When
Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as
he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord
came to him, saying, ‘I am the God of your
fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and
dared not look. ‘Then the LORD said to him,
“Take your sandals off your feet, for the
place where you stand is holy ground. I have
surely seen the oppression of My people who
are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and
have come down to deliver them. And now come,
I will send you to Egypt.”’
“This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who
made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God
sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand
of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.
He brought them out, after he had shown
wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in
the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
Among those present was a young
man named Saul who stood silently. Later Saul
(Paul) was to utter similar thing: "It [the
law] terms were dictated by angels, acting
through spokesmen" (Gal 3:19) and "The old law
which only had angels for its spokesman" (Heb
2:2). The angels of the Old Testament ordained
the law but once the Lord took the redress of
the world on his won shoulders, the angels
became friends of man.
saint stephen was stoned to
death.
Saint Stephan was of a
superior spirituality and the Lord
transfigured Him at the trial. It is said by
those seeing him at the trial that they
"...fastened their eyes on him, saw his face
looking like the face of an angel" (Acts
6:15). Stephen bears the marks of a heavenly
prototype
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Cornelius
As Peter was praying on a
housetop in Jopa he had a vision in which the
Lord asked him to eat non-kosher food. About
this time he was informed that a Gentile
delegation was waiting for him outside the
door of the house asking him to come to see
Cornelius a Roman Centurion. Not only was the
timing more than a coincidence it was quite an
unusual request of a Roman centurion.
Cornelius' action came from a
vision with instructions from an angel. "About
the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a
vision an angel of God coming in and saying to
him, “Cornelius!” "And when he observed him,
he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?”
So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms
have come up for a memorial before God. Now
send men to Jopa, and send for Simon whose
surname is Peter." (Acts 10:3-5).
As a reuslt Peter came and
preached and baptized Cornelius. This
conversion is an important milestone in the
history of the early Church.
It seem angels were sent to help
the new Christians in their difficult task of
converting people and bringing them into God's
truth.
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Philip
After Saint
Stephen's death the Apostles spread abroad and
beag to carry out their Mission to take the
Word to "all nations." Philip was also a
deacon who preached in Samaria. An angel
directed him and he obeyed. The angel appeared
to Philip and said, "Arise and go towards the
south unto the way that goeth down from
Jerusalem into Gaza which is desert. And he
arose and went" (Acts 8:26-27). As Phillip
journeyed he came upon an Ethiopian Eunuch who
was an important member of the Queen's court.
The Ethopian was searching for an
interpretation of a passage in Isaiah. Phillip
now knew the reason for his trip. He
enlightened the Eunuch, converted, and
baptized him. Since Eunuchs were outside the
community of Israel this was part of the
Apostles mission to carry the word to all
people.
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Saint Paul
Luke recounts an experience of
Paul's on the island of Malta. This is not
hearsay because Luke was with Paul on the
boat. The boat they were on was caught in a
powerful storm. All hope for the survival of
the small boat was given up. Paul stood and
said, "there stood by me this night the angel
of God..., saying, Fear not Paul; thou must be
brought before Caesar: and lo God hath given
thee them that sail with thee" (Acts
27:23-24). This message gave Paul great
courage. He was able to convince the soldiers
guarding him not to kill the prisoners. The
sailors listened to him and all landed safely
on the island.
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Angels in Paul's Epistles
There are numerous references to
angels in Paul's epistles. He refers to them
naturally and not in a theoretical manner. He
also gives us a warning. " Let no one cheat
you of your reward, taking delight in false
humility and worship of angels, intruding into
those things which he has not seen, vainly
puffed up by his fleshly mind" (Col 2:18)
It is chiefly from Saint Paul's
writings that the angelic choirs have been
named. Here are the Scriptural passages where
they can be found:
First Choir: Seraphim (Is 6:2-6); Cherubim
(Ezek 1:10); Thrones (Col 1:16)
Second Choir: Dominions (Eph 1:12); Virtues
(Authorities) (1 Cor 15:26); Powers (Eph 1:21)
Third Choir: Principalities (Rom 8:38; Eph
1:21); Archangels (1Thess 4:16; Jude 9);
Angels (many)
It was an anonymous mystic of the
fifth century that came up with this
arrangement. He is know as Dionysius the
Areopagite. The name used was one of Paul's
disciples. Maybe he chose this because it was
from Paul's writings that he conceived this
magnificent organization of the celestial
Hierarchy.
Saint Paul saw the angels as
worshipers and executers of divine will. By
their own volition they acted neither for or
against men. They were obedient to God, the
source of good and could only themselves be
good.
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Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is
filled with accounts of the angels. The book
opens declaring a revelation of Jesus Christ
having been sent forth by His angel [Rev. 1:
1]. Then we are told that "the seven stars are
the angels of the seven Churches, and the
seven lampstands are the seven Churches. " The
seven angels of the seven Churches of Asia are
discussed from Rev. 1:20-3:22. In Rev. 5:2, we
read of a strong angel proclaiming with a loud
voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to
loose the seals of it?" In Rev. 7: 1, Saint
John says, "I saw four angels standing at the
four corners of the earth, holding the four
winds of the earth." He then saw another angel
ascending from the rising of the sun having
the seal of the living God [Rev. 7:2]. Saint
John also writes about seven angels and seven
trumpets, and an angel of the incense: "I saw
the seven angels, the ones who stand before
God, and there were given to them seven
trumpets. And another angel came and took his
stand at the altar, having a golden censer;
and there was given to him much incense, in
order that he should give it with the prayers
of all the saints upon the altar, the golden
one, which is before the throne [Rev. 8:2, 3].
"
The evangelist then speaks of
the seven angels of the seven thunders: “The
seven thunders spoke their own sounds. And
when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to
write; and I heard a voice out of the heaven
saying, ‘Seal up the things which the seven
thunders spoke, and do not begin to write them
[Rev. 10: 3, 4]. ‘ “ With them, the evangelist
describes an angel, standing on the sea and on
the land, with his right hand lifted up, who
"swore by the one living to the ages of the
ages [Rev. 10:6]." He was "clothed with a
cloud and the rainbow was on his head, and his
face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars
of fire; and he had in his hand a book having
been opened. And he cried with a loud voice
even as a lion roareth [Rev. 10: 1-3]. "
Saint John then speaks of the
angel with a little book who commanded the
evangelist to eat it. "I took the book out of
the hand of the angel and ate it up, and it
was in my mouth sweet as honey; and when I ate
it, my belly was made bitter. And they say to
me, 'It is needful for thee again to prophesy
because of many peoples and nations and
tongues and kings [Rev. 10: 10,11].’ “
In chapter 14 of Revelation, the
evangelist declares, "I saw another angel
flying in mid-heaven, having the everlasting
Gospel to announce the good tidings to those
sitting on the earth,..saying in a loud voice,
'Fear the Lord and give glory to Him, for the
hour of His judgment is come; and make
obeisance to the One having made the heaven
and the earth and the sea and fountains of the
waters [Rev. 14:6, 7].' And another, a second
angel, followed, saying, 'It is fallen, it is
fallen, Babylon the great, which hath made all
nations to drink out of the wine of the anger
of her fornication [Rev 14:8]. ' And another,
a third angel, followed them, saying in a loud
voice, 'If anyone maketh obeisance to the
beast and his image, and receiveth his mark on
his forehead or on his hand, he also shall
drink out of the wine of the anger of God
which hath been mixed undiluted in the cup of
His wrath, and he shall be tormented in fire
and brimstone in the presence of the holy
angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And
the smoke of their torment goeth up to the
ages of ages; and they have no rest day and
night, the ones making obeisance to the beast
and his image, and whosoever receiveth the
mark of his name [Rev. 14:9-1 1].'...Another
angel was then seen coming out of the temple,
crying with a loud voice to the One sitting on
the cloud, 'Send Thy sickle and reap, for the
hour is come to reap, for the harvest of the
earth is become dry [Rev. 14:15].'... And
another angel came out of the altar, having
authority over the fire; and he gave utterance
with a great cry to the one having the sickle,
the sharp one, saying, 'Send thy sickle, the
sharp one, and gather the clusters of the vine
of the earth, for the grape of the earth did
ripen [Rev. 14:18].' And the angel threw his
sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of
the earth, and threw it into the wine-vat, the
great one, of the anger of God [Rev. 14:19]. "
The evangelist then saw "seven
angels having seven plagues [Rev. 15: 11. "
Saint John then heard "the angel of the waters
saying, 'Righteous art Thou,...because Thou
didst judge these things; for they poured out
the blood of saints and prophets, and blood
hast Thou given to them to drink. They are
deserving [Rev. 16:5, 61. "' The evangelist
then saw "another angel coming down out of the
heaven, having great authority, and the earth
was illuminated by reason of his glory. And he
cried with a strong voice, saying, 'It is
fallen, it is fallen, Babylon the great, and
is become a habitation of demons,...and the
kings of the earth committed fornication with
her, and the merchants of the earth became
rich by the power of her wantonness [Rev.
18:1-3]. "' Saint John then writes of seeing
an angel coming down out of the heaven, having
the key of the abyss and a great chain upon
his hand [Rev. 20: 1]. Thus from the above we
see the angels executing God's holy will and
being set in charge of physical elements.
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Above is adapted from:
The Great Synaxaristes of the
Orthodox Church - Nov, pp 225-228, Trans. from
Greek by Holy Apostles Convent, Buena Vista,
Co.
Adapted from The
Holy Angels by Mother
Alexandra
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