The Term Sometimes Clearly Applies to Men — The Original Word Variously Translated
FRANK D. STARR
L ET us examine the use of the word "angel" in the original Greek, as first written by the pen of inspiration.
In Luke 7:24 we read, "And when the messengers [Greek, "angels"] of John were departed, He began to speak unto the people concerning John."
In Luke 9:52, this language is used: "And sent messengers [Greek, "angels"] before His face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him." Here the term "angels" is unquestionably applied to human beings.
In Matt. 11:10 our Saviour says: "For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger [Greek, "angel"] before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee." As stated in verse 7 of this chapter, the Lord was here speaking of John the Baptist.
The same use of the term "angel" is found in Mark 1:2 and Luke 7:27.
In the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament, this use of the term "angel" is very common. We will notice a few instances. Haggai 1:13: "And Haggai, the Lord's messenger [Greek, "angel"], spoke among the angels of the Lord to the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord." Gen. 32:3: "And Jacob sent messengers [Greek, "angels"] before him to Esau his brother." Here the same word is used as in verse 1, there translated "angels." It will be noted, however, that in verse 1 they are designated as angels of God.
"And there came a messenger [Greek, "angel"] unto Job." Job 1:14. See also Joshua 7:22; Num. 20:14; 2 Chron. 36:15, 16. Scores of instances like these could be cited where the word "angel" (Greek, angelos) is used as applied to human beings.
CONTEXT DETERMINING THE MEANING
As recognized by all scholars, languages, both ancient and modern, are more or less dependent upon the context for the precise determination of the meaning of a word. So whether the word "angel" applies to a celestial or other being will, to some extent, have to be determined by the words with which it is associated.
The three messages of Revelation 14 are proclaimed by three angels. Are these heavenly beings, or is the word "angel" to be here understood in a manner similar to that in connection with the seven churches of the second and the third chapter? Without doubt some heavenly messengers have in charge the work indicated by these movements, but the preaching of the gospel is done by human beings, according to the great commission of our Saviour.
"ANGEL," "GOSPEL," AND "PREACH"
In the statement, "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth," the original language gives us three words very similar to each other, derived from the same root. Of course this resemblance is not discernible in our translation. These words are "angel," "gospel," and "preach." The actor, the action, and the thing receiving the action, are all akin to each other. To illustrate, the construction would be somewhat similar to these statements: The dreamer dreamed a dream; the shepherd was shepherding his sheep; the harvester harvests his harvest.
The Greek word for "angel" is thus defined by Liddell and Scott: "A messenger, envoy, one that announces or tells, in New Testament an angel, a bishop or superior of a particular church." Webster defines the word "angel" thus: "Latin angelus, Greek angelos, messenger, a messenger of God, an angel, from angellein, to bear a message, to announce. . . . A messenger."
If the following language were permissible, the text in question could be rendered thus: "I saw another messenger having an everlasting good message to messagize to the people." Of course we have no such word as "messagize"; but if we had, its use in this instance would help us to understand more clearly the close relation existing between the original words here rendered "angel," "gospel," and "preach."
We may approximate the sense by employing such constructions as these: I saw an announcer with an announcement to announce. I saw a preacher with an everlasting good preaching to preach to them that dwell upon the earth.
THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP
Whatever terms are used, they should be such as will not obscure the close relationship between these three things, the actor, the action, and the object receiving the action,—the angel, the gospel, and the preaching.
In Rev. 9:11 we read of the angel of the bottomless pit. The connection in which this expression is used, shows that it is here applied to the king of the Ottoman empire, Othman, the founder of that empire. In Rev. 9:14, 15, mention is made of four angels bound in the great river Euphrates. We can hardly suppose these angels to be either celestial or infernal beings. A correct exposition of this prophecy shows the language to apply to four sultanries of the Turkish empire.
