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(dominions), Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16, and dunameis (powers), Eph. 1:21; I Pet. 3:22. These
appellations do not point to different kinds of angels, but simply to differences of rank or
dignity among them.
d. Gabriel and Michael.
In distinction from all the other angels, these two are mentioned by
name. Gabriel appears in Dan. 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19,26. The great majority of commentators
regard him as a created angel, but some of these deny that the name Gabriel is a proper name
and look upon it as common noun, meaning man of God, a synonym for angel. But this is an
untenable position.[Cf. especially Kuyper, De Engelen Gods, p. 175.] Some earlier and later
commentators see in him an uncreated being, some even suggesting that he might be the third
person of the Holy Trinity, while Michael was the second. But a simple reading of the passages
in question shows the impossibility of this interpretation. He may be one of the seven angels
that are said to stand before God in Rev. 8:2 (comp. Luke 1:19). It seems to have been his
special task to mediate and interpret divine revelations.
The name Michael (lit., “who as God?”) has been interpreted as a designation of the second
person of the Trinity. But this is no more tenable than the identification of Gabriel with the Holy
Spirit. Michael is mentioned in Dan. 10:13,21; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7. From the fact that he is called
“the archangel” in Jude 9, and from the expression used in Rev. 12:7 it would seem that he
occupies an important place among the angels. The passages in Daniel also point to the fact
that he is a prince among them. We see in him the valiant warrior fighting the battles of
Jehovah against the enemies of Israel and against the evil powers in the spirit-world. It is not
impossible that the title “archangel” also applies to Gabriel and a few other angels.
E. The Service of the Angels.
We can distinguish between an ordinary and an extraordinary service of the angels.
1. THEIR ORDINARY SERVICE.
This consists first of all in their praising God day and night, Job
38:7; Isa. 6; Ps. 103:20; 148:2; Rev. 5:11. Scripture gives the impression that they do this
audibly, as at the birth of Christ, though we can form no conception of this speaking and singing
of the angels. Since the entrance of sin into the world they are sent forth to minister to them
that are heirs of salvation, Heb. 1:14. They rejoice at the conversion of a sinner, Luke 15:10,
watch over believers, Ps. 34:7; 91:11, protect the little ones, Matt. 18:10, are present in the
Church, I Cor. 11:10; I Tim. 5:21, learning from her the manifold riches of the grace of God, Eph.
3:10; I Pet. 1:12, and convey believers into the bosom of Abraham, Luke 16:22. The idea that
some of them serve as guardians of individual believers finds no support in Scripture. The
statement in Matt. 18:10 is too general to prove the point, though it seems to indicate that
there is a group of angels who are particularly charged with the care of the little ones. Neither