ἄγγελος, -ου, ὁ,
1. a messenger, envoy, one who is sent: Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:24, 27; Luke 9:52; Mark 1:2; James 2:25. [From Homer down.]
2. In the Scriptures, both of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, one of that host of heavenly spirits that, according alike to Jewish and Christian opinion, wait upon the monarch of the universe, and are sent by him to earth, now to execute his purposes (Matthew 4:6, 11; Matthew 28:2; Mark 1:13; Luke 16:22; Luke 22:43 [L brackets WH reject the passage]; Acts 7:35; Acts 12:23; Galatians 3:19, cf. Hebrews 1:14), now to make them known to men (Luke 1:11, 26; Luke 2:9ff; Acts 10:3; Acts 27:23; Matthew 1:20; Matthew 2:13; Matthew 28:5; John 20:12f); hence, the frequent expressions ἄγγελος (angel, messenger of God, מַלְאָך) and ἄγγελοι κυρίου or ἄγγελοι τοῦ Θεοῦ.
They are subject not only to God but also to Christ (Hebrews 1:4ff; 1 Peter 3:22, cf. Ephesians 1:21; Galatians 4:14), who is described as hereafter to return to judgment surrounded by a multitude of them as servants and attendants: Matthew 13:41, 49; Matthew 16:27; Matthew 24:31; Matthew 25:31; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, cf. Jude 1:14.
Single angels have the charge of separate elements; as fire, Revelation 14:18; waters, Revelation 16:5, cf. Revelation 7:1; John 5:4 [R L]. Respecting the ἄγγελος τῆς ἀβύσσου, Revelation 9:11, see Ἀβαδδών,
3. Guardian angels of individuals are mentioned in Matthew 18:10; Acts 12:15. 'The angels of the churches' in Revelation 1:20; Revelation 2:1, 8, 12, 18; Revelation 3:1, 7, 14 are not their presbyters or bishops, but heavenly spirits who exercise such a superintendence and guardianship over them that whatever in their assemblies is worthy of praise or of censure is counted to the praise or the blame of their angels also, as though the latter infused their spirit into the assemblies; cf. DeWette, Düsterdieck [Alford] on Revelation 1:20, and Lücke, Einl. in d. Offenb. d. Johan. ii., p. 429f, edition 2; [Bp. Lightfoot on Philip., p. 199f]. διά τούς ἀγγέλους that she may show reverence for the angels, invisibly present in the religious assemblies of Christians, and not displease them, 1 Corinthians 11:10. ὤφθη ἀγγέλοις in 1 Timothy 3:16 is probably to be explained neither of angels to whom Christ exhibited himself in heaven, nor of demons triumphed over by him in the nether world, but of the apostles, his messengers, to whom he appeared after his resurrection. This appellation, which is certainly extraordinary, is easily understood from the nature of the hymn from which the passage ἐφανερώθη... ἐν δόξῃ seems to have been taken; cf. Winer's Grammar, 639f (594), [for other interpretations see Ellicott, at the passage]. In John 1:51 (52) angels are employed, by a beautiful image borrowed from Genesis 28:12, to represent the divine power that will aid Jesus in the discharge of his Messianic office, and the signal proofs to appear in his history of a divine superintendence. Certain of the angels have proved faithless to the trust committed to them by God, and have given themselves up to sin, Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4 (Enoch c. vi. etc., cf. Genesis 6:2), and now obey the devil, Matthew 25:41; Revelation 12:7, cf. 1 Corinthians 6:3 [yet on this last passage cf. Meyer; he and others maintain that ἄγγελοι without an epithet or limitation never in the N. T. signifies other than good angels]. Hence, ἄγγελος Σατᾶν is tropically used in 2 Corinthians 12:7 to denote a grievous bodily malady sent by Satan.
See δαίμων; [Sophocles' Lexicon, under the word ἄγγελος; and for the literature on the whole subject B. D. American edition under the word Angels — and to the references there given add G. L. Hahn, Theol. des N. T., i., pp. 260-384; Delitzsch in Riehm under the word Engel; Kübel in Herzog edition 2, ibid.].