Board index ‹ Angels

[Tofu is Nice]

If there’s only four named angels in the bible (including lucifer.) then who named the other angels? (If you go onto the Internet you’ll see a ton of other angel names.)

[jimwalton]

First (and it's just a trifling point), there's no indication in the Bible that "Lucifer" was an angel. Isaiah 14 most likely doesn't apply to Satan, but instead to the king of Babylon. But even if it does, there's nothing in Isa. 14.12-15 that would indicate Lucifer was an angel. Angels are messengers, and little else (until we get to the book of Revelation). There are other spirit beings (cherubim, seraphim, and archangels), but we know a very limited amount about them.

Who named the other angels? That mostly happened in the era between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Through the ages many people have devised all kinds of hierarchies of spiritual beings (such hierarchies are not part of the Bible) complete with names and ranks. It's all fictional. There's no end to the fanciful literature about angels and demons. As far as anyone can tell, they made 'em up. They come from various traditions, the names of spirit beings in other cultures, and their imagination, as far as anything I've read.