_1 Cor. 11:10_—“_for this cause ought the women to have a sign of authority_ [_i. e._, a veil] _on her head, because of the angels_”—who watch over the church and have care for its order. Matheson, Spiritual Development of St. Paul, 242—“Man’s covering is woman’s power. Ministration _is_ her power and it allies her with a greater than man—the angel. Christianity is a feminine strength. Judaism had made woman only a means to an end—the multiplication of the race. So it had degraded her. Paul will restore woman to her original and equal dignity.” _Col. 2:18_—“_Let no man rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshiping of the angels_”—a false worship which would be very natural if angels were present to guard the meetings of the saints. _1 Tim. 5:21_—“_I charge thee in the sight of God, and Christ Jesus, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things_”—the public duties of the Christian minister. Alford regards “_the angels of the seven churches_” (_Rev. 1:20_) as superhuman beings appointed to represent and guard the churches, and that upon the grounds: (1) that the word is used elsewhere in the book of Revelation only in this sense; and (2) that nothing in the book is addressed to a teacher individually, but all to some one who reflects the complexion and fortunes of the church as no human person could. We prefer, however, to regard “_the angels of the seven churches_” as meaning simply the pastors of the seven churches. The word “_angel_” means simply “messenger,” and may be used of human as well as of superhuman beings—see _Hag. 1:13_—“_Haggai, Jehovah’s messenger_”—literally, “_the angel of Jehovah_.” The use of the word in this figurative sense would not be incongruous with the mystical character of the book of Revelation (see Bib. Sac. 12:339). John Lightfoot, Heb. and Talmud. Exerc., 2:90, says that “angel” was a term designating officer or elder of a synagogue. See also Bp. Lightfoot, Com. on Philippians, 187, 188; Jacobs, Eccl. Polity, 100 and note. In the Irvingite church, accordingly, “angels” constitute an official class. (_f_) by assisting and protecting individual believers;