Question:
What are ALL of the names and types of angels in the Bible?
Answer:
There is at least one “archangel.” I Thessalonians 4:16 says, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the ARCHANGEL, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:” His name is given in Jude 9, “Yet MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”
There are also angelic creatures called “cherubs,” or the plural, “cherubim.” Ezekiel 10:1,14,21 say, “Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the CHERUBIMS there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.” “And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a CHERUB, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.” “Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.” Cherubim are angelic creatures that have four faces and four wings.
There are also angelic creatures called “seraphs,” or plural, “seraphim.” Isaiah 6:2 says, “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.” They have four heads, but six wings, instead of four.
Satan is a fallen cherub. Ezekiel 28:13-15 says, “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed CHERUB that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
Demons are fallen angels. Matthew 25:41 says, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil AND HIS ANGELS:” We call those angels which fell with Satan “demons.”
God’s angels are “good” angels. We normally just call them “angels.” One of them is named, and appears at least three times in the Bible. Once to help Daniel understand the vision that he was having. Daniel 8:15,16 says, “And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, GABRIEL, make this man to understand the vision.” He was also the angel that announced John the Baptist’s birth. Luke 1:18,19 says, “And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 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 show thee these glad tidings.” He also announced Jesus’ birth in Luke 1:26,27, “And in the sixth month the angel GABRIEL was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.”
Jesus cast out many demons (called “unclean spirits,” which would be fallen angels). Mark 1:23-27 says, “And there was in their synagogue a man with AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.”
As you can see, we are never told the names of most angels. The reason is no doubt that people would start worshipping and praying to them by name. Revelation 22:8,9 says, “And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I FELL DOWN TO WORSHIP before the feet of the ANGEL which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, SEE THOU DO IT NOT: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: WORSHIP GOD.”
There is an unscriptural movement today in regard to angels. They are our unseen helpers. Hebrews 1:14 says, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” But we are never to pray to them, or seek contact with them. We are to pray to God, and seek wisdom from Him. The unscriptural movement today is seeking “spirit guides,” instead of praying to God and reading His Word for direction.