Much of what we see and read about angels today is either wrong or distorted. Generally, the word brings to mind women (like the background to this page) or babies with wings. I would like to clear the air and explain some things about what we really know about angels.
First of all, angels are not spirits of dead people. When God created the world, He created three orders of creatures, as seen in the table:
|
Creature |
Body |
Soul |
|---|---|---|
|
Animal |
Yes |
No |
|
Angel |
No |
Yes |
|
Human |
Yes |
Yes |
We don't know when God created angels, but we know that it was during the creation week, since before that, only God existed (Jn 1:1-3) and after that, God rested from His creative work (Gen 2:2-3). We do not know which day of that week He created them, however.
The name "Angel" comes from the Greek angelos, which means "messenger." The Hebrew word for angel, malak. also means "messenger." The angels are God's messengers who bring special messages. The act as God's representatives, and often even speak God's words in the first person.
Angels do not have physical bodies, but can appear visibly and can affect the physical world. Although Angels are spirits, they are not infinite like God. They are intelligent (Eph 3:10) and strong (Ps 103:20). They cannot read minds (1Ki 8:39).
There are millions of angels -- we don't know exactly how many (Dan 7:10). There are also different kinds and ranks of angels (Seraphim, Cherubim, Archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, powers), but we don't know the difference among them. They are always described as masculine and often as warriors.
Originally all angels were good, created by God and declared good along with the rest of God's creation (Gen 1:31). At some unknown point between the seventh day and the fall of man, some of the angels rebelled against God. Those fallen angels are unable to repent and will go to hell on the last day. The angels who did not fall have been confirmed in their goodness, unable to fall, just as we will be when we die or when Jesus returns, whichever comes first. We believe that they are unable to fall because God would not give us such powerful ministers who would be able to turn on us at any moment.
Both the good and bad angels are on earth now. The bad angels tempt us and try to keep us from Christ, while the good angels, by God's power, minister to us. The bad angels live with full knowledge of their future in hell and fear that. They are not immune to hell, nor do they rule in hell. They will suffer just as the unbelieving people will. The good angels can always see God's face (Matt 18:10) as they are active on earth. God sends them to help His people, especially children , and the angels take us to heaven when we die (Lk 16:22).
Finally, I need to mention ghosts. Since we immediately go either to heaven or hell when we die, there is no way anyone could remain on earth to be a ghost. Therefore, in cases where people speak to the "ghosts" of the dead, these can only be demons (fallen angels) disguised as dead people with the intent of leading people away from Christ. This applies to Ouija boards, seances, and other means of "contacting the dead" as well. We are forbidden to try to communicate with the dead, so God would not allow someone to leave heaven or hell to speak with us and help us sin.