That they are of superhuman intelligence is implied in Mark xiii, 32 : " But of that day and hour knoweth no man, not even the angels in heaven." That their power is great may be gathered from such expressions as "mighty angels" (2 Thess. i, 7); "angels, power- ful in strength" (Psa. ciii, 20); " angels who are great- er [than man] in power and might." The moral per- fection of angels is shown by such phrases as "hoby angels" (Luke ix, 26) ; "the elect angels" (2 Tim. v, 21). Their felicity is beyond question in itself, but is evinced by the passage (Luke xx, 36) in which the blessed in the future world are said to be iadyyeXot, kcu viol too Otov, "like unto the angels, and sons of God." (See Timpson, Angels of God, Lond. 1837.)
III. Their Functions.— Of their office in heaven we have, of course, only vague prophetic glimpses (as in 1 Kings xxii, 19; Isa. vi, 1-3; Dan. vii, 9, 10; Rev. vi, 11, etc.), which show us nothing but a never-ceas- ing adoration, proceeding from the vision of God. Their office toward man is far more fully described to us. (See Whately, Angels, Lond. 1851, Phil. 1856.)
1. They are represented as being, in the widest sense, agents of God's providence, natural and super- natural, to the body and to the soul. Thus the opera- tions of nature are spoken of, as under angelic guid- ance fulfilling the will of God. Not only is this the case in poetical passages, such as Psa. civ, 4 (com- mented upon in Heb. i, 7), where the powers of air and fire are referred to them, but in the simplest prose history, as where the pestilences which slew the first- born (Exod. xii, 23 ; Heb. xi, 28), the disobedient peo- ple in the wilderness (1 Cor. x, 10), the IsraeHtes in the days of David (2 Sam. xxiv, 16 ; 1 Chron. xxi, 16), and the army of Sennacherib (2 Kings xix, 35), as also the plague which cut oft' Herod (Acts xii, 23), are plainly spoken of as the work of the "Angel of the Lord." Nor can the mysterious declarations of the Apocalypse, by far the most numerous of all, be resolved by honest interpretation into mere poetical
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imagery. (See especially Rev. viii and ix.) It is evident that angelic agency, like that of man, does not exclude the action of secondary, or (what are call- ed) ''natural" causes, or interfere with the directness and universality of the providence of God. The per- sonifications of poetry and legends of mythology are obscure witnesses of its truth, which, however, can rest only on the revelations of Scripture itself.
2. More particularly, however, angels are spoken of as ministers of what is commonly called the "su- pernatural," or, perhaps, more correctly, the "spirit- ual" providence of God ; as agents in the great scheme of the spiritual redemption and sanctification of man, of which the Bible is the record. The representations of them are different in different books of Scripture, in the Old Testament and in the New ; but the rea- sons of the differences are to be found in the differ- ences of scope attributable to the books themselves. As different parts of God's providence are brought out, so also arise different views of His angelic ministers.
(1.) In the Book of Job, which deals with "Natural Religion," they are spoken of but vaguely, as sur- rounding God's throne above, and rejoicing in the com- pletion of His creative work (Job i, 6 ; ii, 1 ; xxxviii, 7). No direct and visible appearance to man is even hinted at. (See Rawson, Holy Angels, N. Y. 1858.)
(2.) In the Book of Genesis there is no notice of angelic appearances till after the call of Abraham. Then, as the book is the history of the chosen family, so the angels mingle with and watch over its family life, entertained by Abraham and by Lot (Gen. xviii, xix), guiding Abraham's servant to Padan-Aram (xxiv, 7, 40), seen by the fugitive Jacob at Bethel (xxviii, 12), and welcoming his return at Mahanaim ( xxxii, 1). Their ministry hallows domestic life, in its trials and its blessings alike, and is closer, more familiar, and less awful than in after times. (Con- trast Gen. xviii with Judg. vi, 21, 22 ; xiii, 16, 22.)
(3.) In the subsequent history, that of a chosen nation, the angels are represented more as ministers of wrath and mercy, messengers of a King, than as common children of the One Father. It is, moreover, to be observed that the records of their appearance belong especially to two periods, that of the judges and that of the captivity, which wrere transition pe- riods in Israelitish history, the former destitute of di- rect revelation or prophetic guidance, the latter one pf special trial and unusual contact with heathenism. During the lives of Moses and Joshua there is no record of the appearance of created angels, and only obscure references to angels at all. In the Book of Judges angels appear to rebuke idolatry (ii, 1-4), to call Gideon (vi, 11, etc.), and consecrate Samson (xiii, 3, etc.) to the work of deliverance.
(4.) The prophetic office begins with Samuel, and immediately angelic guidance is withheld, except when needed by the prophets themselves (1 Kings xix, 5; 2 Kings vi, 17). During the prophetic and kingly period angels are spoken of onlj' (as noticed above) as ministers of God in the operations of nature. But in the captivity, when the Jews were in the pres- ence of foreign nations, each claiming its tutelary dei- ty, then to the prophets Daniel and Zechariah angels are revealed in a fresh light, as watching, not only over Jerusalem, but also over heathen kingdoms, un- der the providence, and to work out the designs, of the Lord. (See Zech. passim, and Dan. iv, 13, 23; x, 10, 13, 20, 21, etc.) In the whole period they, as truly as the prophets and kings, are God's ministers, watch- ing over the national life of the subjects of the Great King. (See Ileigel, Di angeh foederis, Jen. 1660.)