Various surveys of Americans conducted between 1992 and 1994 estimated that roughly 67 to 76 percent believe in angels. Presumably some of this rather sizable population are, indeed, Presbyterians. But angelology has not traditionally been emphasized in the Reformed churches, leaving Presbyterians few tools with which to measure and assess the abundant and often wild claims presently being made on angels' behalf. The writers of the Bible take it for granted that there is a realm called heaven. In that realm God sits in glory, surrounded by other divine beings.
Biblical writers assume, moreover, that the heavenly realm is near to our hands and hearts.
Heaven intersects with earth at key places and key moments in the life of the people of God. At such key moments God's heavenly messengers, God's celestial soldiers, and at times even God venture forth from heaven to work and to be seen on the earth. But the books of the Bible were written by different people from different cultures over a span of many centuries, and Biblical authors depict angels in a remarkably wide variety of ways. But many modern authors who survey Biblical depictions of angels overlook the diversity. Such an approach leads to an impoverished understanding of what the Bible actually says on this complex topic.