Angel (s)
Revelation 1:1: “By sending his angel unto his servant John.
There are some forty-two references to angel/s in the book of Revelation (WS). It is therefore important to understand the term. The following references will make clear what angels are and what their ministry is:
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. (Hebrews 1:7 quoting Psalm 104:4).
But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? (Hebrews 1:13-14)
Bless the LORD, ye his angels that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. (Psalms 103:20)
Angels are spirits and ministers who go forth ministering and doing God’s word. They are mighty in strength, do His commandments and obey His voice. These spirits/angels/ministers are made a flaming fire, which makes them appear as burning stars. Now we see these same relationships exist in the book of Revelation. The seven stars are the seven angels:
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:20)
Jesus is holding these seven stars/seven spirits in his hand:
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength. (Revelation 1:16)
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; these things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. (Revelation 2:1)
And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. (Revelation 3:1)
The seven spirits are the seven lamps of fire:
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; (Revelation 1:4)
And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and [there were] seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. (Revelation 4:5)
The seven eyes of the Lamb are the seven spirits:
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (Revelation 5:6)
The “angels” of the seven churches were the ministering spirits of those churches. These ministering spirits indwelt the pastors, prophets, and others who were filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Signifying Angel of Revelation:
The Angel which accompanied John through the Revelation vision was the spirit of the prophet Daniel. This “Signifying Angel” is introduced in Revelation 1:1 as the means of making the message known to John. The fact that this Angel is Daniel signifies the content of the Revelation; i.e., it is to be the fulfillment of the prophecies to Daniel concerning the “end” and which he did not understand previously. It is perhaps the same Angel in 5:2 who asks the question: “‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?'”. Who would be more likely to ask this question than Daniel, who had been given the prophecy but had to seal it? (Daniel 12:4, 9)
In chapter ten we see a “mighty angel” who has a little scroll in his hand. This Angel imitates the “man clothed in linen” of Daniel 12:7. Daniel had asked this “man” how long it should be to the end of these wonders. The “man” in Daniel 12 lifted his hand toward heaven and declared it was to be “a time, two times, and half a time.” However, in the book of Revelation, (10:6), the “Signifying Angel” declares “the time is up“: “there shall be no more delay, but in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, (see below on 17:1), the mystery of God, as he announced to his servants the prophets, should be fulfilled,” (Revelation 10:6-7). Who but Daniel would qualify for this angelic role in the book of Revelation? The mystery had been propounded to him during his life on earth and he had questioned the Lord about it, (Daniel 12:8). Who would be more worthy than Daniel to be granted the privilege to see the fulfillment of the mystery?
But this “Signifying Angel” of Revelation chapter ten, gives the little scroll, (i.e., what is left of the scroll that has already had six seals broken on it), to John and instructs him to eat it. When John eats it, it is sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach. He is told “You must again prophecy about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.“ This symbolic action signifies that Daniel‘s prophecy, the “little scroll” which was only for Israel, was being incorporated into the larger prophecy, the book of Revelation, that was to be to the whole world in the final end of the Gentile age, after they too had heard the Gospel. John was to internalize (eat) the prophecy so that he could apply (regurgitate) it to the Church Age. Who would be more qualified than Daniel to offer the remnants of his prophetic scroll to the prophet John?
Chapter eleven follows the same thought, for John is given the builders “measuring line” as described by Zechariah 1:16; 2:1-5 for the building of the New Jerusalem which shall be inhabited as an unwalled village because of the multitude of men and cattle in it; unwalled in the sense that it is to be universal. The Lord Himself will be a wall of fire about her and the glory within her. Zechariah chapter two continues with this same prophetic promise and the language is identical to that of Revelation 21 and 22 describing the New Jerusalem. Yes, the angelic spirit of Daniel “passes the baton” to John for the building of the New Jerusalem, whose Temple is opened in heaven, Revelation 11:19.
The Angel of Revelation 14:6-7 may also be that of the prophet Daniel for he declares that the hour of God’s judgment has come and calls the people to worship God. It was Daniel who was given the prophecy of the appointed time for the wrath of God on the earthly, fallen city of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel, (Daniel 8:15-19; 9:24-27; chapter 12). He was best qualified to announce that the appointed time had come.
This Angel in Revelation 17:1, 7 is seen to be one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls of wrath. He, too, may be shown to be the “Signifying Angel”, Daniel. When the seventh trumpet call was sounded the seven bowls of wrath began. The completion of these bowls of wrath completed the seventh trumpet and finished the mystery, as declared in 10:7. This Angel invited John to let him explain the mystery of the judgment of the great harlot, (Revelation 17:7). In 17:7-18 the Angel describes the beast and its horns in the same language used by Daniel in Daniel 7:7-8, 19-27. Who but Daniel could qualify so well to describe this beast and its horns and to finish the mystery of the great harlot? For it was Daniel who had prophesied of the destruction of Jerusalem at the end of the appointed time.
The Signifying Angel meets John again in Revelation 19:9-10. He is a “fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus… For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” In other words, this Angel was a prophet, a man.
In Revelation 21:9, 15, 17, this Angel is the same as 17:1, 7; that is, “one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the last plagues“. This time, the Angel is revealing the mystery of the Bride, the New Jerusalem. In 21:17, the Angel’s measure of the wall is said to be “a man’s measure, that is, an angel’s.” Again this is a “man-angel” and who but Daniel would qualify for this role?
Chapter 22 makes it even clearer that this “Man-angel” is the prophet Daniel: 22:6: “The God of the spirits of the prophets has sent his Angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” This is the same “Angel” that we met in Revelation 1:1.
22:8–9: 1 John … fell down to worship at the feet of the Angel who showed them to me; but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren the prophets.’ (RSV)
He was a Prophet. Which other prophet would qualify so well for the role of Signifying Angel?