Common Extra-biblical Beliefs
Traditional names of a variety of angels:
- Archangels
o Most lists of archangels include: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel…
o And add 2-3 of the following: Anael, Ariel, Azrael (angel of death), Chamuel, Haniel,
Jeremiel, Jophiel, Metatron, Raguel, Raziel, Remiel, Sandalphon, Sariel, Zadkiel
o Of these, only Michael and Gabriel appear in the Bible, and only Michael is specifically
called an archangel (sources of other names include apocryphal books of Tobit & Enoch) - Demons
o Azazel – a misunderstanding of the “scapegoat” sacrifice
o From apocryphal books of Enoch & Tobit: Asbeel, Armaros, Arakiel, Baraquiel, Daniel,
Kokabiel, Penemue, Samyaza, Tamiel, Asmodeus
o Black magic: dozens (if not hundreds) of demon names
o None of these appear in (canonical) Scripture as the name of a demon
Finding out the name of your guardian angel
- Discovered through meditation, burning candles/incense, fasting, drawing letters from a hat,
asking the angel in prayer, asking God in prayer, Ouija board/automatic writing, etc. - Most practices used to “discover the angel’s name” are from the occult or Eastern Religions
o Christian living is never about emptying your mind (1 Peter 5:8)
o There is absolutely no Scriptural evidence that we should try to find out the name of our
guardian angel(s)
Finding out demons’ names to have more power over them
- The idea of having power over a spirit (or other being) by knowing their “true name” is strongly
present in black magic, old fairy tales, and animistic religions, but not in the Bible - The only passage of Scripture people use to support this is Mark 5:6-9/Luke 8:28-30
o Finding out the demon’s name does not give Jesus any extra power over it; His power is
already complete
o The demon does not even give its proper name, just the information that there are
many demons possessing this person
Specific angels in the Bible - Looking at these specific angels tells us a bit about the actions of angels in general
- While only a few angels (holy or fallen) are actually named, I think it is safe to assume that they
all have names
The Angel of the LORD - He is an angel who does things that only God can do, and is even referred to as God/the LORD
o Genesis 16:7-13- speaks in the first person for God (10) and is called the LORD (13)
o Judges 6:11-24 – is called the LORD (14)
o Judges 13:8-23 – refuses to tell his name because it is “secret/wonderful” (18), Manoah
recognizes that the Angel of the LORD is the LORD (20-22)
o Other possible/probable instances: Jacob wrestles “a man,” Moses at the burning bush,
4 th man in the fiery furnace, angel in the pillar of fire - In some Old Testament passages it is difficult to determine whether it is “The Angel of the LORD”
or “an angel of the LORD” (the grammar is not as obvious in Hebrew as in English) - The angel of the LORD is a theophany (physical appearance of God)
o Many preachers dogmatically say that it is pre-incarnate Christ (Christophany)
The Bible never specifically says so
It is probable since God the Son is God’s perfect revelation of Himself (Hebrews
1:1-3) and permanently took on human form in the incarnation after which the
Angel of the LORD does not appear
Arguments that “no one has seen the Father (John 6:46) so it must be the Son”
are invalid because of Daniel 10:9-14 (means no one has seen Him in His glory)
o We are blessed to live in a time where what was an occasional thing is now always the
case: One member of the Godhead is (in addition to being God) a perfect human being
who not only understands, but has experienced life as one of us (Hebrews 4:15-16)
Michael
- Name means: Who is like God?
- The only angel specifically referred to as an archangel
o Αρχη/arch = ruler/authority (or first/beginning)
o Revelation 4:5 – some say refers to 7 archangels, but more likely the Holy Spirit - Daniel 10:12-13 – He is called “one of the chief princes” (might imply other archangels, but the
two specific references to “archangel” are in the singular – I Thessalonians 4:16, Jude 9)
o Various verses imply that angels (holy and fallen) probably have some sort of hierarchy
or power structure (cf. Ephesians 1:21, Colossians 1:16)
o There is insufficient evidence (and no point) to come up with an actual hierarchy /
power ranking / classification system. Most well-known attempts to do so come out of
Medieval Roman Catholic Church tradition rather than Scripture - Daniel 10:21, 12:1 – He seems to be a special protector of Israel
o One of angels’ main functions is to serve & protect God’s people (e.g. Hebrews 1:14,
Psalm 91:11-12)
o Whether this extends all the way down to each saved individual having a specific angel
personally assigned to them is unclear
The Bible generally speaks of angels (plural) watching over one or more people
or groups of people (e.g. Matthew 18:10)
“The Bible doesn’t say whether the angels play man-to-man or zone defense”
–Dr. Allen Cole - Jude 9 – Michael does not directly rebuke Satan on his own authority
o story is from the apocryphal Assumption of Moses, which does not mean that the whole
book is authoritative Scripture
o More on this when we talk in more detail about dealing with fallen angels - Revelation 12:7-9 – Michael is the leader of the holy angels in combat
o Apparently holy & fallen angels sometimes have violent confrontations as the fallen
angels try to hinder the will of God
o Cf. Daniel 10:12-13, 20-21 which seem to imply that some fallen angels are actively at
work influencing the actions/governments of nations
To use these verses to build a whole theology of “territorial spirits” who have to
be stopped with “prayers of binding” is reading far too much into it
More on this when we talk about in more detail about dealing with fallen angels - Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that Jesus is merely Michael the archangel
o Arguments used by JW’s (and counter-arguments)
They identify Michael with the Angel of the LORD (but no passage does so)
They identify “captain of the LORD’s army” of Joshua 5:13-15 who does appear to
be “the Angel of the LORD,” with Michael leading the angels in Revelation 12:7
(but an army can have a hierarchy of commanders)
They argue that Revelation 3:14 which in the KJV/ESV refers to Jesus as the
“beginning of creation” as calling him a created being (but the word can also
mean ruler or source or cause – cf. John 1:1-2)
They Argue that John 1:1 should be translated “In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was a god” (this is based on an
intentional misunderstanding of Greek Grammar and if used consistently would
have to turn “God” into “a god” in 1:18 as well as other translation absurdities)
o Further counter-arguments
Hebrews 1:5-8 clearly states that Christ is greater than the angels
Matthew 4:10 vs. Jude 9 – Jesus directly rebukes Satan, but Michael does not
- Speculation: Maybe Michael’s position is the one that was formerly occupied by Satan
Gabriel
- Name means: Mighty Man/Warrior of God
- Commonly said to be an archangel which is possible, but no Scripture passage says so
- He is generally seen delivering revelation from God (remember, angel literally means
messenger)
o Daniel 8-9 – helps Daniel interpret visions
o Luke 1 – He announces the birth of Jesus - Speculation: Maybe he is something like “God’s herald” – the one who is given the “extra-
special” messages (maybe the one who blows the trump of God in 1 Thessalonians 4:16?)
“The Angel of Death” - God sometimes sends an angel to execute his judgment. For example:
o 1 Chronicles 21:14-15 – Sent to wipe out Jerusalem to punish David’s pride
o 2 Kings 19:35 – Kills 185,000 Assyrian soldiers besieging Jerusalem - As far as I can tell there is no biblical evidence that there is one specific “angel of death”
- We also have at least one statement of angels escorting the soul of a saved person to paradise
(Luke 16:22) – whether this is always the case is unclear
Satan - The Bible treats him as a real individual, not a personification of evil
o Much current thinking outside conservative Christianity says that Satan was invented by
the early or medieval church
o While some of the passages commonly applied to Satan may or may not refer to him,
the Bible treats him as a personal being (e.g. Job, temptation of Christ, Revelation) - Various names
o Satan = adversary/Enemy/one who opposes
He seeks to hinder whatever God is doing
Includes hindering people from coming to salvation (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Includes seeking to destroy the effective ministry of God’s people (1 Peter 5:8)
o Devil = Slanderer/Accuser
He is constantly pointing out our sin to God – Revelation 12:10-12
Jesus speaks on our behalf – 1 John 2:1-2
o Old/Ancient Serpent (Revelation 20:2) = the form he first took in deceiving Eve
o Dragon (throughout Revelation) = emphasizes fierceness, strength, etc.
o When you think about it, Satan is very petty: he can’t directly hurt God so he’s going to
try to wreck the things that God values - Other titles that may be either Satan or one of his minions:
o Mark 3:22 (and parallels) – Beelzebub/Beelzebul
Means: Lord of the Flies/Lord of the House
Originally a Philistine god (2 Kings 1)
May very well indicate that this and other pagan deities are in fact
demons (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:18-21)
A good reason to not participate in non-Christian religious ceremonies –
they are not just “cultural” or “entertainment”
By the time of Jesus, this title referred to Satan (the “prince of demons”)
o 2 Corinthians 6:15 – Belial
Means: Uselessness/Worthless one
In various apocryphal and occult books is a demon
Probably a name for Satan since he is contrasted with Christ
o Revelation 9:1-11 – Apollyon/Abaddon (angel of the abyss)
Means: Destroyer
Leader of the “demon locusts”
Quite possibly someone different than Satan if he is currently locked in the
abyss with the “demon locusts”
Conclusion:
- Our allies and enemies are personal beings with personal names and differing responsibilities
o This does not mean that we are supposed to try to contact good angels
Any contact between humans and angels is rare and is initiated by God
“Opening yourself up to spirits/angels” is never a good idea
Imagine how interesting eternity is going to be when we do get to talk to them
o We should thank God for his care over his people (through angels and other means)
o We should not forget that our enemies are intelligent, devious, and full of hate. In Christ
we are victorious, but we should not take our enemies lightly (1 Peter 5:8) - What little we know about these angels can serve as examples for us
o The good angels, powerful as they are, gladly serve God on our behalf (much like Jesus
Himself washing His disciples’ feet) love means putting another’s good ahead of our
own whether we feel that they deserve it or not
o Satan, who appears to have been the most privileged and beautiful of angels became
prideful and chose to try to use his powers/gifts for himself and loses everything…all
that we have is from God, and should be used for His glory
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