What
is the “death angel”?
Is there a “death
angel”?
A lot of people believe in a “death angel.”
In fact, if you research things a bit, you can find references to
a “death angel” Jewish, Catholic and Islamic literature.
Jews not only believe in a death angel, they had a name for it:
Azrael. They also
believed the death angel had an assistant (Sammael).
Supposedly a death angel exists, has a “death list,” people “die
in a certain order,” and collects souls (not every believer in a death
angel necessarily accepts all these ideas).
Some even think a death angel rules over death or is the vehicle
to carry out God’s wrath on wicked people.
Bible passages often used to prove the existence of a death angel.
Before the nation of Israel left Egyptian bondage, there was the
“death of the firstborn” throughout the land.
If Ex. 12 is carefully examined, the Bible does not say “death
angel.” It simply says
“destroyer” and the original term simply has the idea of ruin or decay.
Nothing in Ex. 12 proves the existence of a death angel.
Another “death angel proof text” is 2 Sam. 24:16, but this passage is
also not relevant. This
verse specifically refers to the “angel of Jehovah” (this is a reference
to Jesus). Before the Lord
came to the earth about 2,000 years ago He interacted with man as the
“Angel of Jehovah.” Jesus
is not an angel; the “Angel of Jehovah” is a way of saying He was and is
deity. Since it is the
“Angel of Jehovah” being described in 2 Sam. 24, it is not the death
angel.
Another common “death angel passage” is 1 Cor. 10:10. If this is studied
(see the author’s commentary on 1 Cor. 10:10), it seems Paul had in mind
the death of Korah and his helpers described in Num. 16.
First Corinthians 10:10 does not say “death angel.”
It simply says “destroyer.”
There was something thing or someone that destroyed many of the
Hebrew people. Based on
Num. 16 (the historical background for 1 Cor. 10:10), that “thing”
turned out to be a series of natural disasters, not the least of which
were an earthquake and fire.
Some Bible translations such as the “Living Bible” refer to a death
angel in Heb. 11:28, but this is taking great liberty with the Greek
text. There was simply a
force or power used to destroy; there is no evidence of any special
angel.
A final “proof text” for a death angel is Rev. 9:11, but upon close
examination this verse deals with Satan and his helpers.
The stories and beliefs about a special angel of death, if true,
are not provable by the Bible.