Have you ever heard someone claim that their life was saved by their guardian angel? Have you ever wondered if you’ve been nudged, guided, or saved by your own guardian angel? What does the Bible say?
Throughout the Bible, we read about angels. The primary work of angels was to share messages from God—in fact, the word translated “angel” literally means “messenger.” For example, Joseph and Mary were each visited by an angel who told them that Mary would have a child by the Holy Spirit. That child, of course, was Jesus. Sometimes angels performed other functions, such as being sent by God to minister to individuals in some way.
Somehow, over the centuries, people began to believe that individuals were protected by guardian angels. As the name suggests, these angels are said to guard people from evil and injury. While this is a comforting thought, it is not taught in the pages of the Bible. So if it’s not taught in the Bible, where did this belief come from? Some people point to a handful of passages as proof that guardian angels do exist. Let’s take a look at those.
After Jesus was baptized, we read in Matthew 4 that He went into the wilderness, where He fasted forty days and nights. Afterwards, the devil came and tempted Jesus to sin. Jesus resisted every temptation. Matthew 4:11 says:
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
Some believe this proves we have guardian angels. But a closer look reveals that’s not the case. Guardian angels are supposedly always with us on earth to protect us from evil and injury. But according to verse 11, when did the angels come to Jesus? They didn’t arrive until after the devil had left. They weren’t there to protect Him from the devil’s temptations. If these were guardian angels, they had abandoned their duties while the devil was present, which means they weren’t very good at their job.
That raises some important questions. If an angel was chosen to guard Jesus—the most important person who has ever lived—wouldn’t that angel have tried to protect Him from the devil? If guardian angels protect us from evil and injury, how do you explain evil things happening to people, or people getting injured? Wouldn’t that mean those guardian angels failed? And since God is all-knowing, wouldn’t the failure of these angels mean that God assigned incompetent angels to protect His most precious creation? What does that say about God?
As you can see, the idea of guardian angels creates more challenges than solutions. But let’s look at another passage often given as proof: Matthew 18:10. Jesus said:
Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
Who are “these little ones”? A few verses earlier, the Bible says:
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:1–2
Jesus went on to say that we must become like little children, and He warned against causing “one of these little ones” to sin (verse 6). In the same context, Jesus said in verse 10 that we should “not despise one of these little ones.” Clearly, “little ones” refers to children.
So what does it mean when Jesus says, “their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven”? Notice first where the angels are: in heaven. Jesus did not say they are here on earth protecting children. Also, He doesn’t say they’re responsible for guarding children from harm. If that were the case, how do you explain children being abused, falling ill, and getting injured? Did their guardian angels fail? And if they failed, wouldn’t God punish them for disobeying Him? Why would God choose incompetent angels to guard children made in His image?
Matthew 18:10 may be difficult to fully interpret, but when a passage’s meaning is unclear, we can still know what it doesn’t mean. Given all the problems with applying the guardian angel idea here, we can know that Jesus wasn’t teaching that guardian angels exist.
Now let’s look at Acts 12. The apostle James was arrested and executed by King Herod. Afterwards, Herod had the apostle Peter arrested. The church prayed fervently for Peter, likely for his safe release. An angel appeared to Peter in prison, freed him, and led him out. Peter went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Let’s read Acts 12:12–16:
So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.” Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
Some use this to argue for guardian angels, since the brethren said Peter had an angel. But notice: when Rhoda heard the voice, whose voice was it? Peter’s. Why would an angel have Peter’s voice? Rhoda herself never said it was an angel; she insisted it was Peter. It was the others in the house (the ones who did not answer the door) who said, “It is his angel.” By saying so, they were not teaching an inspired doctrine from Scripture. They were simply expressing their point of view. Additionally, since “angel” literally means “messenger,” perhaps they meant Peter had sent a human messenger.
But even if we assume guardian angels exist, why would Peter’s angel rescue him while James’ angel did nothing to prevent his execution? Same chapter, same time period. Yet many want to use what the people in Mary’s house said as proof, without addressing the questions that arise when James is left unprotected. The truth is, Acts 12:15 does not provide any evidence for guardian angels.
In Hebrews 1, after proving that Jesus is not an angel, but the exalted Son of God, the writer of Hebrews rhetorically asks, “Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” (v. 14). Notice what this verse does not say. It does not say what kind of ministering these angels do. It also does not say that angels minister to Christians on a one-on-one basis, as guardian angels are said to do. In fact, looking at the verse itself, it seems angels somehow minister to Christians as a group, not as individuals. This verse also does not say that angels somehow guard Christians from evil or injury. If that were true, then why are there any Christian martyrs at all? Shouldn’t their guardian angels have protected them from being persecuted and killed?
While the idea of a guardian angel may sound comforting, it becomes very problematic when compared with Scripture and reality. Any belief not clearly and consistently taught in Scripture should be re-evaluated and adjusted to fit what the Bible does say.
Now, all this talk of angels and debunking the idea of guardian angels raises a few more questions. For one, how then does God communicate with us? If you’re ready to hear God’s voice, check out this study. Also, any time we have questions about angels, we also have questions about demons. Let’s study that subject here.
May we all let the Scriptures tell us what God wants us to believe, instead of telling God and the Bible what we want to believe.