Romance in the Heavenly Air

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Is it true that God’s angels are always loving and never judgmental?

Sophy Burnham writes in A Book of Angels that angels never punish and are never judgmental. They are utterly compassionate. Their message is, “Don’t be afraid. Everything is just fine. There is nothing but love.” But in the Bible there are law and order angels who carry out God’s judgments. Biblical examples of law and order angels are the cherubim God stationed at the Garden of Eden, the angels that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, the angel that struck King Herod, and the angels that will bring Satan’s final defeat.

How many angels are there?

More than we can count. The Apostle John reported seeing ten-thousand-times-ten-thousand angels encircling the throne of God. That would be one hundred million in one place if we take the count literally. Most likely references, such as Hebrews 12:22 (“to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly”) indicate that the number of angels is beyond counting.

How many times are angels mentioned in the Bible?

The answer most often given is 300 times, but this is based only on the number of times the word angel appears in our English translations of the Bible. The actual count in the King James Version is 292 and the Revised Standard Version is 294.

From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is filled with references to angels.The Holy Scriptures use many other words, in addition to angel, to refer to these special creations of God. In the New International Version, words for God’s holy angels include cherubim, seraphs, ministering spirits, watchers, sons of God, chariots of God, holy ones, morning stars, thrones, powers, rulers, authorities, heavenly bodies, and miracles. A favorite name for God in the Bible is The Lord of Hosts, referring to the heavenly hosts of the angels. God is commander-in-chief of the armies of heaven, which is quite an awesome thought. There are also fallen angels. The Bible uses the terms such as Satan’s angels, evil spirits, and unclean spirits to refer to evil angels.