The word “angel” in English is based on the Greek word angelos, which means “messenger.” Most often in the Bible, this is exactly what angels do—bring messages from God to people. Sometimes angels deliver messages or give orders in a personal meeting (Gen 16:7-12;
Num 22:22-35; Luke 1:11-20,26-38). At other times they bring messages to people in their dreams (Gen 31:10-13; Matt 1:20-21). Angels often are present in visions. Angels may guide human beings to a vision and they may interpret the meaning of visions (Zech 1:7-17;
5:5-11; Acts 10:3-23; Rev 10:1-11).

But angels are more than messengers. They carry out God’s will by acting as God’s agents. They protect God’s people (Exod 14:19; 23:23; Ps 34:7; Dan 6:22) or punish them when they have sinned against God (1 Sam 24:11-17). God’s angels also punish the enemies of God’s people or punish other evil forces (Exod 12:23,29-30; Isa 37:36; Matt 13:49-50;
Rev 14:14-20; 20:1-3). Angels are said to be part of a council that surrounds God in heaven (Job 1:6; Zech 3:7). Angels came to help Jesus after his time of being tested by the devil in the wilderness (Matt 4:11), and one rolled back the stone of Jesus’ tomb so Jesus’ disciples could enter and see that Jesus had risen (Matt 28:2).

Angels are often pictured in art as beings in long robes with wings. But in the Bible they appear in many forms. Moses saw an angel in a burning bush (Exod 3:2). Jacob saw angels going up and down a ladder between heaven and earth (Gen 28:12) and probably wrestled with the Lord’s angel (Hos 12:4). The three “men” who ate with Abraham and told him that he would have a son probably were angels (Gen 18:1-10). The being who appeared in the fiery furnace to protect Daniel’s friends was said to “look like a god,” and may have been an angel (Dan 3:21-25). The winged guardians (seraphim) of the most holy place in the temple (Isa 6:1-7) may have been some kind of angelic beings. The angel who helped Peter escape from prison appeared in a flash of light and somehow made Peter invisible to the prison guards (Acts 12:6-10).

Some angels in the Bible have names. Daniel mentions Gabriel (Dan 9:21), who also later appears to Mary (Luke 1:26-28), and Michael, who is called one of God’s strongest guardian angels (Dan 10:13). It is possible that Satan may have been part of God’s council of angels (Job 1:6; Zech 3:1). In the New Testament period, angels became known more and more as spiritual beings who helped God battle against and defeat Satan and his helpers, the demons.