What Are the Different Types of Angels in the Bible?

Angels have long been a fascination for humanity. We talk about having a guardian angel. Angels appear in some of our films and television shows – for some the entire plot is centered around the angelic. We use “angel” as a compliment. We even have a baseball team named the Angels.

Here is another use of angels. When you want to give an example of how Christians can become distracted — and even heated — about seemingly insignificant questions, you ask the question, “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” It’s the height of ridiculousness during the Middle Ages. People were suffering throughout the world and the scholastics were discussing questions such as this one.

When talking about angels, it’s not long before we extend ourselves beyond what the Bible says. When we do this, we are on dangerous ground. I am reminded of these wise words from John Calvin.

“Indeed, vanity joined with pride can be detected in the fact that, in seeking God, miserable men do not rise above themselves as they should, but measure him by the yardstick of their own carnal stupidity, and neglect sound investigation; thus out of curiosity they fly off into empty speculations. They do not therefore apprehend God as he offers himself, but imagine him as they have fashioned him in their own presumption. When this gulf opens, in whatever direction they move their feet, they cannot but plunge headlong into ruin.”

To this end, my aim here is to outline what the Scripture tells us about the different types of angels and to go no further into speculation. It is an important topic. And I believe angels still act in our world today. But we don’t do ourselves any favors by going further than God has chosen to reveal to us. But before we explore the type of angels, we need to ask a more fundamental question. What is an angel?

What Is an Angel?

Angels are supernatural beings, created by God. The word angel simply means messenger. Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible gives a good summary:

“Angels are a part of the creation of God, created either in the beginning or sometime before the foundation of the earth (Ps. 148:2–5; Neh. 9:6; Col. 1:15–17). They are of a higher order than humans (Heb. 2:7) and are greater in power and might (2 Pet. 2:11; cf. 2 Kgs. 19:35). However, they are not to be worshipped by humans (Col. 2:18; Rev. 22:8–9). Angels are not omniscient as is God, for they do not know the time of the coming of Christ (Matt. 24:36; cf. 1 Pet. 1:12). Neither are they omnipresent, for they are said to go from place to place (Dan. 9:21–23). Angels are spirit beings (Heb. 1:14). They do not die, nor do they marry (Luke 20:36; Mark 12:25). While the number of the angels is never definitely given, they are said to be innumerable (Dan. 7:10; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 5:11).”

According to Sam Emadi, “Their primary functions as revealed in Scripture are to engage in the worship of God in heaven and carry out his purposes on earth. God commissions angels to protect his people, deliver them from danger, transmit divine messages, and encourage believers.”

We do not know when angels were created. They are created, but as the Scriptures are concerned, they simply are. They are just as much a part of the created order as trees and grass and the sun and the moon. But it also seems that there are different types of angels.

What Are the Different Types of Angels?

In the 500s, a monk who was known as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite created an angelic hierarchy in his book The Celestial Hierarchy. In that work he outlined 3 spheres of angels, with the classes (or choirs) in each one. This is what his classification looked like:

Sphere One: Choir One — Seraphim, Choir Two — Cherubim, Choir Three — Thrones

Sphere Two: Choir Four — Dominions, Choir Five — Virtues, Choir Six — Powers

Sphere Three: Choir Seven — Principalities, Choir Eight — Archangels, Choir Nine — Angels

He’s using biblical words for each of these, and in each one he has lengthy descriptions. But I’m not entirely convinced that this is how the Bible outlines things.

Consider an example. Imagine that in 2,000 years there are no more animals roaming freely on the planet. It’s been a long time since someone actually saw one of these creatures. But a document was discovered which listed these strange creatures. On that document you read: beagle, dog, cat, mammal, squirrel. From this you surmise that there are five realms of these animal being. The problem, though, is that beagle, dog, and mammal could be referring to only one specific animal.

The same thing, I believe, could be true of the angelic realm. Do we know for certain that “dominions” are speaking of a different thing than seraphim, or archangels? I prefer, then, to speak as the Scriptures do. And it seems that there are these main classifications of angels. 

Archangels

It is possible that an archangel is a subclass of another type of angel. Michael is mentioned as an archangel in Jude 1:9. Another named angel is Gabriel, who it says “stands in the presence of God.” This has led some to believe that Gabriel is another archangel. And in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 the “voice of an archangel” is mentioned.

Cherubim

These are the most mentioned types of angels. Perhaps, you’ve heard of a cherub — a cute little baby angel. That’s a far-cry from their description in the Bible. Ezekiel 10 gives us a physical description of them. They are said to be those guarding the way to the tree of life in Genesis 3:24. They also make an appearance in image form in Exodus 25:18, 20 where they are guarding the mercy seat. That tells us that their function is likely to guard the places where sinful humanity might defile God’s holy space.

Seraphim

These are only found in Isaiah. In Isaiah 6 he describes them as covering their face and their feet, and crying out concerning the holiness of God. They also are the ones who give Isaiah the coal from the altar to place upon his defiled lips. It is possible that the creature in Revelation 4:8 with six wings is a seraph.

The Living Creatures

These are mentioned in Revelation 4. It is possible that these are another class of cherubim (because of Ezekiel 10), but their appearance is different than what we see there. They seem to function as heavenly worship leaders — constantly surrounding the throne of God with the twenty-four elders (redeemed people?).

Fallen Angels

It’s probably best not to call these a separate class, but rather to say that there are good angels and fallen angels from each classification. But the Bible does speak of the fall of Satan (Luke 10:18) and a hell reserved for “the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Some have tied together pieces from Isaiah 14, Revelation 9, and Revelation 12 to teach that when Satan rebelled, 1/3 of the angels went with him. But Scripture is not entirely clear on this point. What we can say definitively is that some of the angels, originally created good, are now part of the demonic realm.

Do Angels Still Act in Our World Today?

If you think about all of the years of history recorded in the Bible, the reality is that angelic appearances are not nearly as common as they might seem. It’s a bit like plane crashes vs. automobile crashes. The latter happens far more frequently and claims more human lives per year. But they don’t make the news. Plane crashes do. Angels are similar; when they make an appearance, people listen.

God is certainly just as active in the world today. Why would his servant messengers, angels, not still be active as well? And Hebrews 13:2 does mention the need to entertain strangers, “for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.” Angels are “ministers who do his will” (Psalm 103:20-21). We don’t always see their work, but the Bible tells us that they are ministering. 

I like how John Piper summarizes their activity in the world today. He says this,

“So, in heaven and on earth, angels in their magnificence serve to call attention to the grandeur of God and, surprisingly, serve to call attention to the lesser but breathtaking grandeur of the simplest believer. God intends for the role of angels to thrill us with his grace and power and wisdom in the way he created, the way he governs, and the way he is saving his people.”

This, I believe, gives us an important reminder. Angels are fundamentally pointers. They point to God’s glory and they serve humanity. They even point to our worth and value.

Conclusion

Angels are fascinating. But the reality is that we know very little about them in Scripture. This can open us up to some wild speculations as we try to fill out our understanding of the angelic realm. But as we think about angels, I’ve often been struck by what 1 Peter 1:12 tells us about them — they long to look into the gospel.

What does that mean? It means that while we are fascinated by angels, they are fascinated by the gospel. Grace confounds the angelic. Perhaps, we should spend time then marveling not at the things which have only been partially revealed, but rather being enamored with this precious gospel that has been given to us.

Related

Sources

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, vol. 1, The Library of Christian Classics (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 47–48.

Edward P. Myers, “Angel,” ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 63.

Sam Emadi, “Angels,” in Lexham Survey of Theology, ed. Mark Ward et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018).

Photo credit: Unsplash/Ana Bórquez