How many angels are there?

 Short answer:

 

There are more than three hundred million (300,000,000) angels. But their number is not a round figure. It appears that there are actually some three hundred eighteen million (318,000,000) angels. However, their total number is hidden in the Bible. It is not revealed in a single verse. We have to link several verses together from both the Old and New Testaments to get the answer.

 

Detailed explanation:

 

Angels are often referred to as “stars” in the Bible. “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20b). “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 9:1). We can thus see angels every day. All we have to do is look up at the stars in the sky at night.

An ambitious angel, Lucifer, wanted to be higher in stature than all the other angels in heaven. We read in Isaiah 14:13 – “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.” In this verse, by “stars” are meant the angels.

 

Lucifer aspired to be like God.

“I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:13b-14). Lucifer (also later known in the Bible as the “red dragon,” old serpent,” “Devil,” and “Satan”) wanted to be like God. As such, he would have his throne in the northern section of the heavens.

 

The angels were divided.

“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth…” (Revelation 12:3-4b).

Lucifer (in the form of a “red dragon”) seduced one-third of the angels (“stars”) to join him and leave God. Two-thirds of the angels remained in heaven, faithful to God Almighty. (This is our first clue to the number of angels.)

 

War in heaven.

Hostilities broke out between the two groups of angels in the celestial realms. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels…” (Revelation 12:7).

The dragon (Lucifer or Satan) and his angels (1/3 of the stars) battled against the archangel Michael and the angels loyal to God (2/3 of the stars).

 

Unfaithful angels expelled.

The rebellious angels were defeated. “And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:8-9).

 

Northern sky devoid of stars.

It looks like most of the fallen angels used to be in the northern part of the sky. Job noted, referring to God: “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place…” (Job 26:7a).

Science magazine reported on November 27, 1981: “The recently announced ‘hole in space,’ a 300 million-light-year-gap in the distribution of galaxies, has taken cosmologists by surprise. But three very deep core samples in the Northern Hemisphere, lying in the general direction of the constellation Bootes, showed striking gaps in the red shift distribution.” The northern part of the sky is almost empty!

 

Destroying angels from heaven.

At the end of the world, God will send His faithful angels to destroy ungodly people on earth. “I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness… They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty…

“For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity…” (Isaiah 13:3, 5-6, 10-11a). The sun, moon, and stars will be dark when the angelic army arrives from heaven.

 

Day of the LORD.

 The army of destroying angels from heaven will come on the Day of the LORD. “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

“A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

“A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run” (Joel 2:1-4). God’s angels who will destroy the earth and its ungodly inhabitants will look like horses and horsemen.

 

200 million horsemen.

The apostle John learned how many the horsemen will be. “And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

“And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths” (Revelation 9:16-18). The horsemen from heaven will slaughter one-third of the world’s population.

They will number “two hundred thousand thousand” (200,000,000) – 200 million! This reveals to us the total number of all the angels.

 

Number of angels

1/3 of the angels joined Satan
2/3 of the angels stayed with God
Angelic army from heaven	200 million
If they are the 2/3 of angels who remained faithful to God, then…
1/3 of angels who joined Satan	100 million
Therefore, the total number of angels  -	300 million

 

A round figure?

 The original and total number of angels, however, does not seem to be a round figure. We read in a veiled prophecy of types in the first book of the Bible, Genesis:

“And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus” (Genesis 14:14-15). Let us analyze the prophetic passage.

In this actual Biblical incident that was also a hidden prophecy, “Abram” is a “type” representing God; his 318 “servants”, the angels; “his own house”, heaven; that “he divided himself… and his servants” was a hint that the angels would be divided.

Hence, it looks like the original and total number of all the angels is actually 318 million.

 

Eliezer – God’s helper.

The 318 number is confirmed in the name of Abram’s head-servant. “And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” (Genesis 15:2).

The name of Abram’s head-servant, “Eliezer” (a compound word made up of El, Mighty [God]; ezer, help), means “help of God” or “God’s help.” The angels are God’s helpers.

The gematria or numerical value of the Hebrew letters of the name “Eliezer” apparently confirms that the more exact total number of all the angels is 318 million.

 

Eliezer = 318

Hebrew	Letter	Sound	Value
Aleph	A	E	1
Lamed	M	L	30
Yod	J	I	10
Ayin	S	E	70
Zayin	G	Z	7
	..	E*	-
Resh	Y	R	200
			318

*Indicated by vowel points only

Excerpted from book Angels & Men and the booklets The Angels and You and Spiritual Warfare by M.M. Tauson. Printed copies available at Amazon.com – For free pdf copies of our e-booklets, click the Booklets and/or Google Drive tabs on the menu bar. 

Bible quotations are from the King James Version (KJV) unless otherwise indicated.

Should Christians celebrate birthdays?

 Short answer:

NO. Celebrating the date of one's birth is an ancient pagan custom. Christ never did, and even the day of His birth is not plainly recorded in the Bible. The early Christians did not celebrate birthdays, either.

In the Bible, birthday celebrations are mentioned only three times (the third is presumed), and each one was marked with death! The highest of all holidays in the Satanic religion is one’s own birthday.

A birthday celebration directs attention to oneself in a display of vanity, self-centered egotism, and pride. Pride caused the downfall of Lucifer. When a person celebrates his or her birthday, it is to honor oneself. Yet, the Scriptures say: “It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor” (Proverb 25:27, NIV).

King Solomon said, “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). The day of one’s birth is not very important; it is just the beginning of life’s journey. What is far more important is what we do with our lives. It is like going to school. We do not celebrate after enrolling, we celebrate when we finish or graduate. And in life we do not graduate until death or until the Second Coming of Christ. Beginning life is nothing to be proud of. It is how we finish that really matters.

 

Detailed explanation:

 Each day, one in every 366 people observes his or her birthday. Some hold birthday parties, others do not; but in general friends and relatives greet and sometimes give presents to the celebrant, cheerfully wishing him or her a “Happy birthday!”

Ancient pagan custom. Celebrating the date of one's birth is an ancient pagan custom. The Bible makes no mention of Christians celebrating the event. Christ never did, and even the day of His birth is not plainly recorded in the Scriptures. Because of the link to paganism, the early Christians did not celebrate birthdays. 

Marked with death.

In the Bible, there are only three mentions of birthday celebrations (the third is presumed), and each one was marked with death! Let us see who the celebrants were.

Pharaoh: “And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand: but he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them” (Genesis 40:20-22). Pharaoh had the chief baker executed to mark his birthday.

Herod: “But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John the Baptist's head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison” (Matthew 14:6-10). The beheading of John the Baptist became the highlight of King Herod’s birthday celebration.

Job’s seven sons: “And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned…  And there came a messenger unto Job, and said… Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee” (Job 1:4-5a,14,18-19).

During a feast in the house of Job’s eldest son (presumably a birthday banquet), Satan killed all ten of Job’s children with what appears to be a tornado.

Job cursed the day he was born. "May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, `A boy is born!' That day – may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it. May darkness and deep shadow claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm its light. That night-may thick darkness seize it; may it not be included among the days of the year nor be entered in any of the months” (Job 3:3-6, NIV).

 

Shunned by godly people.

There is no historical record of godly people adopting the pagan practice. The Jews did not celebrate birthdays. Encyclopedia Judaica notes, “The celebration of birthdays is unknown in traditional Jewish ritual” (vol. 4, p. 1054).

It was considered to be against the law of God. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote: “Nay, indeed, the law does not permit us to make festivals at the births of our children” (Against Apion, Book II, section 26).

Early Christians similarly shunned the pagan tradition. Origen of Alexandria wrote in a dissertation on Leviticus (245 A.D.): “None of the saints can be found who ever held a feast or a banquet upon his birthday, or rejoiced on the day when his son or daughter was born. But sinners rejoice and make merry on such days. For we find in the Old Testament that Pharaoh, king of Egypt, celebrated his birthday with a feast, and that Herod, in the New Testament did the same. But the saints not only neglect to mark the day of their birth with festivity, but also, filled with the Holy Spirit, they curse this day, after the example of Job and Jeremiah and David.”

 

Pagan origins of birthday celebrations.

Necessary for horoscopes.). There is a direct connection between the pagan practice of birthday celebrations and astrology (horoscopes), as well as fortune-telling in general. We read in the The Lore of Birthdays by Ralph and Adelin Linton: "Mesopotamia and Egypt, the cradles of civilization, were also the first lands in which men remembered and honoured their birthdays. The keeping of birthday records was important in ancient times principally because a birth date was essential for the casting of a horoscope."

Encyclopedia Americana (1991) states: "The ancient world of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Persia celebrated the birthdays of gods, kings, and nobles." 

Protective spirits or daemons. Author Linda Rannells Lewis (Birthdays) noted: “In the fifth century before Christ, the Greek historian Herodotus, describing the festivals of the Persians, wrote: ‘It is their custom to honor their birthday above all other days: and on this day they furnish their table in a more plentiful manner than at other times.’ The Greeks believed that everyone had a protective spirit or daemon who attended his birth and watched over him in life.”

The Romans had the same idea. According to their belief, if a male infant was born, Janus, the god of beginnings, came. If it was a female child, then Juno, the goddess of birth, women and marriage, arrived. This notion has been carried down in popular belief and is today reflected in the persons of the guardian angel, the fairy godmother, and the patron saint.

Cakes for the moon goddess. The custom of having birthday cakes started in ancient Greece, where many gods and goddesses were worshipped. Among them was Artemis, the goddess of the moon. The Greeks celebrated her birthday once each month by placing round cakes like the full moon on her temple altars. And, because the moon glows with light, the cakes were decorated with lighted candles. Birthday candles, in folk belief, had a special magic for granting wishes.

The Germans started the children’s birthday party tradition in the 1700s. It was first called kinderfeste (“children’s feast”). They put candles, one for each year of life, on tortes (rich cakes made with beaten egg whites, nuts, and fruit).

Highest holiday in the Satanic Bible.

The “Black Pope,” Anton Szandor LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, taught: "The highest of all holidays in the Satanic religion is the date of one’s own birthday… if you are going to create a god in your image, why not create that god as yourself. Every man is a god if he chooses to recognize himself as one. So, the Satanist celebrates his own birthday as the most important holiday of the year… treat yourself like the king (or god) that you are, and generally celebrate your birthday with as much pomp and ceremony as possible" (The Satanic Bible, Book of Lucifer – The Enlightenment, Ch. XI, p. 96).

Honoring oneself. A birthday celebration directs attention to oneself in a display of vanity, self-centered egotism, and pride. The Holy Book cautions: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverb 16:18). Pride caused the downfall of Lucifer. “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings” (Ezekiel 28:17).

When a person celebrates his or her birthday, it is to honor oneself. Yet, the Scriptures say: “It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor” (Proverb 25:27, NIV).

 

Death more significant than birth.

King Solomon sagely said, “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1).

A pastor preached that the day of one’s birth is not very important; it is just the beginning of life’s journey. What is far more important is what we do with our lives. It is like going to school. We do not celebrate after enrolling, we celebrate when we finish our schooling or graduate. And in life we do not graduate until death or, at the end-time, until the Second Coming of Christ. Beginning life is nothing to be proud of. It is how we finish that really matters.

 

Pagan practices forbidden.

"Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. For the customs of the peoples are worthless…” (Jeremiah 10:2-3a, NIV). Following any of the various superstitious practices of people who do things against the will of God is just a waste of time.

God’s law only for Israel? Some may argue that God’s commandments are only for Israel. The Scriptures explain: “One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD” (Numbers 15:15).

To paraphrase, if a foreigner lives with or joins the Israelites in the worship of the one true God (“YHWH”), he or she is duty-bound to observe the same commandments God has given to His chosen people – the Hebrew nation or Israel.

Do you celebrate birthdays?  

Excerpted from the booklet Unholy Holidays by M.M. Tauson. Printed copies available at Amazon.com – For free pdf copies of our e-booklets, click the Booklets and/or Google Drive tabs on the menu bar.

Bible quotations are from the King James Version (KJV) unless otherwise indicated.