Angels online

Frequently Asked Questions

Although we've talked about most of these topics elsewhere on this website, I thought it might be nice to put the questions I am asked most often in a place that's easy to find. Here goes...

1. Do angels meet us when we die to escort us to heaven? This concept is based mostly on myth. It's become part of our culture because of a 19th century story written by Hans Christian Andersen, called The Angel. It begins with "WHENEVER a good child dies, an angel of God comes down from heaven, takes the dead child in his arms, spreads out his great white wings, and flies with him over all the places which the child had loved during his life." It sounds so wonderful, and fits so nicely with our desires, that we make it our reality. In the more modern era, we have movies like City of Angels that depict angels waiting to escort us while we expire. In this movie they arrive a bit beforehand, and get to watch our demise. The fact is that there is no compelling Biblical evidence that angels escort us anywhere, only the "whirlwind" that took Elijah to heaven, which could be a form of angels. This concept also comes from the popular expression, "God wanted him in heaven," and since angels do God's bidding, it is assumed that angels are sent to fetch us. Again, we have no specific Biblical evidence that this is the case -- on the contrary, when God wanted Enoch, God walked with Enoch. But really, we don't know if we're met by angels or not when we pass.
2. How can I tell if an angel has been present? The answer to this is easy...but the actual knowing...well, we're never really sure. The answer is that if it was God's bidding that an angel be present to ensure that God's will was carried out, then you can bet an angel was there! Part two of this answer is, of course, how would we know if something was God's will? We can't, really. We can pray, we can talk to God and seek to know his will, but how can we possibly comprehend the actions of the one who created us?! So I suppose the answer is, we can't really know for sure if an angel has been present, unless we see them and they identify themselves as angels. That leads to our next question...
3. How do we see angels? Throughout history there are three ways that angels have appeared to people: In person, in visions, and in dreams. For example, Gabriel visited Mary in person, while the angel who visited Joseph did so in a dream. Perhaps Joseph wasn't capable of understanding a face-to-face meeting with an angel? Whatever the reason, they are carrying out God's wishes, and it is not our place to question their methods or means of appearance. If you do see an angel, or believe an angel visits you during a dream, keep in mind that angels have made significantly fewer appearances since the time of the New Testament. Also, keep in mind that not all spirits are "messengers of God."
4. Why don't we see angels more often? Who says we don't? I believe that angels sometimes take human-like form and do walk among us. Do we put ourselves in a position to see them? I don't believe angels spend much time at the mall...I think you're more likely to see one in a soup kitchen, or during flood cleanup, rebuilding after a tornado, that sort of thing. I don't think angels spend much time watching TV! So perhaps there are angels all around, but we don't give ourselves much opportunity to interact with them. Part 2 of this question is, Why don't angels visit us the way they did in the New Testament? I believe that with the new covenant, God put his Holy Spirit in place to work directly through us, to be present in us, and that his holy messengers aren't needed as much. So then the question is, if I'm not receiving messages from God, is the Holy Spirit really dwelling within me? I think I need to put less emphasis on my desires and thoughts, and make room for the Holy Spirit!
5. Are there any female angels? There is no clear indication of any female angels in the Bible, yet the Bible does not specifically say that all angels are male. One verse, Zechariah 5:9 refers to two women with wind in their wings. Zechariah does not identify them as angels, but it is reasonable to conclude that they are. We discern from Jesus' teaching that angels don't marry or reproduce, but the specific sex or physical make up of angels aren't explained. Angels are referred to in the masculine throughout the Bible, but again, this doesn't preclude the possibility that female angels exist. Then again, "male" and "female" sexes may not even apply to angels!
6. Should we pray to angels? No. No, no, NO! Our prayers should be directly to God, as demonstrated in the Bible. Angels may be heavenly creatures, but they are not dieties that should be prayed to. Any faith, book or website that suggests you pray to angels is not basing that on scripture. I understand that many of my friends in the Catholic faith will be upset by this, as it is quite common to pray to your "guardian angel" and there is a standard prayer for this. The fact is that this tradition started 400 years after Jesus' death and resurrection. We were not taught by Jesus nor any of the New Testament disciples to pray to angels. Remember, Jesus left us with specific instructions that we are to pray to "our father in heaven." God's Old Testament instruction is that we are to have no other gods. We are not to pray to angels -- which God created -- but to God. In the New Testament, Colossians 2:18 is quite specific that the "worship of angels" will separate us from God.
   To think that we can command God's angels to do something is definitely wrong. Angels do God's bidding, not ours. Lift your prayer to God, and let God direct his troops!
7. Do we all have "Guardian" Angels? Some of the recorded words spoken by Jesus and his disciples could indicate that we have guardian angels. Jesus says that each child has an angel watching over them, while the disciples make reference that "you must have seen his angel." In the Old Testament, Psalm 91:11-12 is most telling, saying that if we put God first in our lives, angels will guard us. I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that we are to trust God to protect us, not an angel. I believe that God's protection often takes the form of an angel, but we are to praise God for that protection, not the angel. When all is said and done, I think we're going to find out that the complexity of heaven and the arrangement of angels is far beyond anything we can imagine. You know that song, "I can Only Imagine"? I don't think we can even begin to imagine what heaven is like!