Angels are numerous, possibly in trillions
Angels are numerous, possibly in trillions
I'm just estimating here about numbers but wouldn't be surprised if there were trillions or more of angels. This part on their numbers is a very gray area that we can afford to speculate on without undermining the scriptures.
Daniel received a vision of God referred to as the “Ancient of Days,” over his courtroom surrounded by countless angels. It is presumable they were God's angelic cloud of witnesses:
“Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened,” Daniel 7:10.
For those that love biblical math ten thousand times ten thousand is one hundred million (100,000,000). One hundred million angels attended God's courtroom alone. God's courtroom can be compared to our earthly supreme courts or high courts. How many attend Supreme Court sessions in our respective countries? Probably a handful.
For instance in USA there are currently nine Supreme Court Justices (judges) that debate a case - at the time of writing this book (2008). (Congress can whenever needed increase (or decrease) the number of Justices – usually influenced by population growth metrics). Thus nine Supreme Court Justices convene at the highest court in USA. The only any other persons there if allowed are journalists and law school students (usually from nearby Georgetown University).
In contrast to our human supreme or high courts God's highest court alone has one hundred million beings – God's angels. What more all the angels in the various departments of God's heavenly government? There are likely one hundred million there, five hundred million somewhere else, and so on. The numbers are staggering. So that's how I came up with trillions. Angels could even be more than this: quadrillions, quintillions, and so on!
18. Angels of God outnumber fallen angels by a 3 to 1 ratio
Fallen angels are no match against God's angels. God's angels outnumber fallen angels by a 3 to 1 ratio. When Satan rebelled he somehow persuaded one-third of the other angels to join him.
“Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth,” Revelation 12:3-4.
“Don't be afraid, the prophet answered. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them…Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha,” 2 Kings 6:16-17
It's great to see that two thirds of all the angels are on God's side. Someone would have to be brain-dead not to understand who is more powerful between the two categories of angels. Yet we still have some brain-dead siblings in the body of Christ who're so obsessed with the fact that the devil is fighting them. They forget the vast armies on their side fighting their battles.
Above all, on our side we have the God who created all things, including all angels themselves. “If God is for us, who can be against us? …in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 8:28-39
19. Angels have identities that distinguish them from each other
<p> The bible gives us a few names and identities of angels, mainly the prominent ones (good and bad prominent ones). In one exorcism Jesus asked the name of the demon afflicting the person. It turned out to be more than one:
“For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area,” Mark 5:8-10
The good prominent names we have in the bible include Michael the warring angel and Gabriel the ministering angel.
The prominent names we have of evil angels include Satan with lots of other names, Abaddon or Apollyon called “angel of the Abyss” (Revelation 9:11)
At times the angels are identified by the work they do or are fulfilling. For instance God's angel sent to bring destruction is called the destroyer or "destroying angel" Exodus 12:23;
20. Angels have ranks and levels of authority
Both God's angels and fallen angels have ranks and levels of authority. However it's more among God's angels that this is more important. There is order in God's heavenly government. Fallen angels try to copy this order with Satan as their leader. These are angels that once served God so they already know why and how order needs to be in place.
Among fallen angels we have a clue to their order in one important scripture:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” Ephesians 6:12
So they are quite well organized in their evil schemes. This does not make them better organized than God's heavenly government. It shows us that they are not just scattered aimlessly but are organized in their work. If fallen angels can be organized how much more God's angels with God as their boss? We'd be amazed if we saw how God's angels are organized in perfect order.
At the highest level of God's heavenly government are archangels. Notable ranks among God's archangels are Michael the warring angel and Gabriel the ministering angel.
Any affairs of battle in the spirit world or even on earth Michael is in charge. Any affairs of relating with humans and other key communication matters Gabriel is in charge. Each of these angels has myriads of angels under him.
“There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven,” Revelation 12:7-8
21. Angels are territorial, seeking claims to “their” territory
<p>Angels whether God's angels or fallen angels are territorial in nature. Territory to angels ranges from people, geographical regions, type of behavior or activities (good and bad), and so on. Here is an applicable definition of territorial: