Angels are mentioned throughout the Bible. The writer of Hebrews wants to prove that Jesus is superior to angels.
It was common Jewish belief at the time that angels acted as intermediaries between God and man. That God spoke to man through the angels and that the angels carried the prayers of man into the presence of God.
Other basic Jewish beliefs were that God lived surrounded by angelic hosts, that they did not eat or drink and didn't have children, and that they were immortal but could be annihilated by God. Some of them like the seraphim, the cherubim and the ofanim were always around the throne of God kind of like a holy entourage.
There were millions and millions of angels. Some were assigned names. Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel and Michael. There was the angel of death. Every person had a guardian angel. Every nation had a special angel. Satan was even seen as the prosecuting angel who on every day, except the Day of Atonement, continuously brought charges against men before God.
This vast angelology, the beliefs around angels, introduced a series of beings other than Jesus through whom man could approach God. The writer of Hebrews argues that Christians have direct access to God through Jesus. That Jesus broke down every barrier and opened a direct way for us to approach God.
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