Angels have been endlessly romanticized throughout the centuries. From cute and chubby cherubs to regal beings with sweeping wings, our culture has developed an understanding of angels that is not always Scripture-based.
Recently, we have seen a trend of biblically-accurate angels. These angels are based on Old Testament descriptions of angels having many wings and many eyes and looking very different from our culture’s usual portrayal of these beings.
It’s clear that the true physical description of angels is open for interpretation since Scripture does not give us a conclusive word on how angels look. We may also wonder, however, about whether angels have souls. That’s what we will examine in this article.
What Does the Bible Say about Angels?
Hebrews 1, a passage that discusses how Jesus is superior to angels, says, “Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14).
While humans are embodied beings—created with both bodies and souls—angels are described as “spirits.” They are messengers sent by God to do his work at various times on earth, and they are, amazingly, servants not only of God but of humans who are beloved by God.
Contrary to how culture has depicted angels as superior to humans, almost as if they are a breed of superhumans or superheroes, Scripture actually teaches that humans will one day judge angels (1 Cor. 6:3).
Why It’s Significant That Angels Are Not Made in God’s Image
Significantly, humans are the only beings that Scripture says God created in his image. Many scholars believe that possessing a soul is inherently tied to being created in God’s image. Nowhere in Scripture does the Bible describe God breathing life into angels as he did with humans, which leads some to conclude that angels don’t possess souls as humans do.
The passage in Genesis when God creates man paints an astounding picture of God infusing life into the human Adam:
“God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!” (The MSG).
Despite how angels have been elevated and romanticized in our culture, Scripture emphasizes how special and loved humans are and portrays angels as servants and messengers of God. In contrast, Scripture refers to human beings as “children of God” (1 John 3:1), “beloved” (Rom. 9:25), and “God’s chosen ones” (Col. 3:12).
What about Fallen Angels – Do They Have Souls?
The Bible also, however, makes it clear that angels do have freewill, intellect, emotions, and desires. Satan, of course, was once an angel and is now known as a “fallen angel” due to his rebellion against God and his desire for power.
Many believe that the “stars” in Rev. 12:3-4 symbolize angels and indicate that a third of all the angels chose to follow Satan in his rebellion, demonstrating that angels have the ability to choose right or wrong, similar to humans.
“An enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.”
Some scholars believe that this ability to choose indicates that angels have an immaterial essence which could be a soul.
As far as angels who serve God and obey him as his messengers, such as the angel Gabriel who announced Jesus’ birth to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) or the archangel Michael who ministered to Daniel (Dan. 10:13), we are not privy to how these angels feel about their assignments. The focus, instead, is on the humans to whom they are sent to minister.
What Exploring Whether Angels Have Souls Teaches Us about God
Lastly, it is significant to reflect that God chose to redeem humans, not angels. The Bible says that Satan and his angels will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Matt. 25:41) and will be there “forever” (Rev. 20:10).
This is in stark contrast to the redemption offered to humans as eternal beings. The psalmist proclaimed:
“But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me” (Psalm 49:15 KJV).
So, while we may not have a conclusive answer to whether or not angels have souls, when we explore this question, what we do find is how Scripture emphasizes the preeminence of humans and how we are beloved to God out of all his Creation.
Hebrews 2:5 says, “It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come.” It is to humans—messy, fallen, but beautiful, God-imaged humans, the very flesh that the Lord Jesus himself took on when he became Emmanuel.
Looking at whether or not angels have souls, then, what we see is Scripture directing us to reflect on how dearly God loves us—body, mind, and soul. So much so that he became one of us and stepped into our broken existence so that we may one day rule with him over his Creation—including angels (2 Tim. 2:12).
Further Reading:
Do Angels Actually Have Wings?
Do Angels Have Freewill? Can Angels Choose to Sin?
When Did God Create Angels?
Photo credit: Unsplash/Julia Kadel
Veronica Olson Neffinger is a Content Editor for Salem Web Network. When she is not writing or editing articles, you can find her listening to baseball games, enjoying the outdoors, reading, or engaged in some form of home or garden care. She lives in Richmond, VA with her husband and two young sons.
