What are Angels?

Origins and Purpose of Angels
The Bible doesn’t give us much information about the origins of angels. They show up throughout scripture, but are not the focus of the story. Their primary purpose seems to be as attendants to God's throne (Daniel 7:9-10, Isaiah 6, Revelation 8:2-5, Luke 1:19, and more) and as messengers of God (Luke 1:28, Exodus 3, and more). They are a medium of God's power, and carry out God's missions.

What about evil Angels?
The Bible is clear that evil does not exist in a relationship of equality with good (dualism). Evil angels are depicted, but they in no way an equivalent power to God. Evil is a result of the trait of free will that both the angels and humans have.

Where do we get Guardian Angels?
We see guardian angels a lot in scripture. In the Old Testament, God sends angels to protect the Hebrew people during their exodus from Egypt, to lead the people to the promised land, and to destroy hostile tribes in their way (Exodus 23:20-23). Probably the most well-known reference is Psalm 91:11 where it is says, "[God] will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone…"

Hallmark Angels are Lame
People have made angels creatures of sentimentalism and pathos, but this is about as helpful as the popular image of "gentle Jesus, meek and mild" in his perfectly clean and pressed white robes. The scripture doesn't show us images like this, but rather depicts angels as creatures who are powerful and often terrifying or overwhelming, holy but not without sin.

So what is all this to me?
There's so much mystery when it comes to the ways of God and angels. Perhaps our best response to the presence of angels has to do with listening (for messages God sends through angels), being thankful to God (for protection and communication), and even enjoying and joining in the praise of the heavenly hosts.

The image is an oil painting by Ralph Siriani titled "Angel" (1990).