Angels had a key part to play in the Christmas story. However, their activity and abilities have often been misunderstood. They were created by God as his messengers, soldiers, and workers. As such, they did have limitations.
When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they did not sing. An Angel walked out of the darkness as the shepherds were gathered around their fire to keep warm. That Angel made the announcement of the birth of Christ and instructed the shepherds to go to Bethlehem. Afterwards the other angels that came along likewise did not sing but praised God. (Luke 2)
A significant misunderstanding about angels was debunked when Jesus said, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven.” (Matthew 22:30) Notice the change in verb tense in this verse. He is speaking first of the resurrection which is futuristic. Then he changes to say that those of the resurrection will be as the Angels are. In other words, the Angels do not marry, nor do they have the ability of propagating. This totally debunks the current theory of Genesis 6. Many people believe that giants and perhaps even demons were the result of angels having relationships with human beings. Angels have no such ability, and the understanding of this Scripture is wrong!
Angels do not necessarily understand the gamut of the plan of salvation. In fact, Peter tells us that the angels desire to look into the mystery of the gospel. (1 Peter 1:12). It was their delight to witness the birth of Christ and to announce it to the shepherds as well as give messages to Mary and Joseph. However. They did not necessarily understand the full link to what they were sharing. They came as messages representing God.
Those individuals who we normally think of as angels do not have wings. There are individual celestial creatures mentioned in the Bible named cherubim and seraphim that do have wings. In addition, in several places in the Bible there are specific creatures that are said to have wings that are named. An example of those are mentioned in Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, and Revelation. They have unique functions but without specific identity. However, the Archangel Gabriel who appeared to Mary is not said to have wings.
Even though angels have free will, they do not have a means of salvation. This is evident by the scriptural teaching of the Angels who followed Satan and were cast out of heaven with him. There is no plan of salvation for these creatures. In fact, the fallen angels are said to be reserved in a special place in hell that in the Greek is Tartarus. They are kept bound in that location until Judgment Day. (2 Peter 2: 4)
Angels cannot be seen by mortal man unless God wills it. This is not to say that angels are not among us; we just don’t know they are there without God making it possible. It could be possible that those angels are present according to Hebrews 13:2 performing certain duties in our behalf. This happened to Jesus after the temptation.(Matthew 4: 6) The prophet Elijah shared his remarkable experience with the young man that was with him. He asked God to open the eyes of the young man who then saw a vast army on the mountains protecting them.(2 Kings 6:17)
Let us be aware of God’s wonderful working through his celestial representatives. Let us not give them credit or homage that is not do them so that we do not distract from our worship of Jesus. They have their limitations. So do we. All it all, God is in charge, He is overseeing heaven and earth.
Christian Writer 