Is There Really Such A Thing As An Angel Of Death?

Last updated on: August 26, 2015 at 6:40 pm by Jack Wellman

Is There Really Such A Thing As An Angel Of Death? 2015-08-26T18:40:53-05:00 Jack Wellman

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Is there really an angel of death that is mentioned in the Bible? Is there still one around today? Who or what is this angel of death?

Angels

Angels are real. Even though you can’t see them they are there nonetheless. You can’t see dreams, thoughts, or feelings either but we know that they exist for sure. Many have reported encounters that can only be explained by angels. For Paul, he writes “For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men” (1st Cor 4:9). Why would Paul say that he and the other apostles were spectacles of angels? Perhaps because they are present with believers because for one thing as they are called to be ministering to the saints “sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (Heb1:14). Peter writes that angels are curious about our salvation experience because they’ve never had to go through such a thing. Peter writes the “the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look” (1st Pet 1:12) so they long to look into the things pertaining to salvation for they don’t really understand it completely.

The Power of Angels

The psalmist wrote that God “will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11) and the context of Psalm 91 appear to be for those who trust in God. When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, Daniel said “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty” (Dan 6:22). After Christ’s titanic battle with Satan in the wilderness in which He resisted the greatest temptation probably given to anyone, it was written, “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him” (Matt 4:11). This doesn’t mean that believers have several angels always attending to them but we do believe, from Scripture, that God sends angels at His bequest, when we need them but God has and does send angels when He deems them necessary. One such example is when Peter was in jail and perhaps awaiting execution, “an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands” (Acts 12:7). On one occasion, when Herod stood up “And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man…then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last” (Acts 12:22-23).

Angels of Death?

Angels of death have been believed to be a spirit that comes to take your spirit at the time of death but there is such a thing as a destroying angel as Paul wrote, “And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel” (1st Cor 10:10). Isaiah also writes about such an experience in Isaiah 37:36 “Then the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.” Jude writes that “the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 1:6-7).

Conclusion

Exodus 12:23 says “For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.” This looks ahead to the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ Whose perfect, sinless life made the perfect sacrifice but to reject this blood sacrifice means that those who do so have the wrath of God still abiding on them (John 3:36b) and payment will be due at death (Heb 9:27) or at Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), whichever comes first. Peter warns “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly…making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly…then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (2nd Pet 2:4-6, 9).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.

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