Angels are referred to over 250 times in the Bible. By this amount of references we can conclude that the Bible has a lot to teach us concerning angels.
An angel is a created spirit being without a flesh and blood body like ours. We, on the other hand, are a spirit being, we possess a soul (our will, mind, and emotions), and we live in a body (1 Thess. 5:23).
Because their creation is not depicted in the book of Genesis (chapters 1 & 2), which gives the account of man's creation, we conclude that they were created before man was created. The devil, a fallen angel, existed before man was created and is shown entering the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?It's very possible that angels have existed for millions of years. Angels can't be seen with our natural eyes. God has to give us the ability to see angels.
(Gen. 3:1 NKJV)
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
(Rev. 12:9 NKJV)
He does this by allowing us to operate in one of the nine gifts of the Spirit called discerning of spirits (1 Cor. 12:7-10).
The following are some of the great biblical accounts of angels that you can study on your own: Gen. 16:1-14, 19:1-23; Num. 22:1-35; Isa. 37:36; Acts 5:18-20; 10:2-8, 12:5-13.
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