I believe that the angels who rescued Lot and his family indicate that angels have the liberty to act as free agents under the agency of God.
Genesis 19:17-23,
Quote:
17. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
18. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:
19. Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
20. Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
21. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.
22. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
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Lot negotiated with the angel, by first refusing the instructions he was given. He explains why, and the angel concedes to him, and finds his hands are tied regarding fulfilling God's command to destroy the city, until Lot et al, are safely in Zoar.
This shows:
1.) Angels have the ability to think independently from the mind of God
2.) That they have the ability to compromise and adapt to circumstances on the ground
3.) That they sometimes are forced into delaying or partially abandoning God's commands, for the sake of the greater good
4.) That angels can still nevertheless carry out the spirit, if not the letter, of God's commands, if the end result satisfies the impetus of God when issuing the command
A second story from Daniel sheds light, too, I believe. I will merely summarize here:
An angel was dispatched to Daniel, but was delayed because he could not overcome the Prince of Persia. The Prince of Israel, Michael, had to come and bring aid, so the angel could break through and get to Daniel.
If it was God's will that the angel be sent to Daniel at the very beginning, as the angel claimed, then why didn't God empower the angel to fulfill the command, such that an opposing force in the heavenly realm could withstand the angel and cause the will of God to be delayed in occuring?
See
Daniel 10:11-13,
Quote:
11. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
12. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
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God, being all-powerful, nevertheless, permitted (if that's the right word, here?) one of his agents to be insufficiently empowered to fulfill His will, such that a second angel had to be dispatched in order to deliver the first from his battle with the Prince of Persia, whatever that is.
This shows that even though the angel fully intended to fulfill God's will, he could not, until help arrived. If angels were not free agents to act independently, there would never be a time when an angel could fail to fulfill God's every command to the final decimal, because in such a case, the only free will that existed, was God's, and why would God intentionally set his agent to fail, so that His divine plans could be so easily thwarted?
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