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GOD’S INVISIBLE ARMYIntroductionWe live in an apparently infinite universe. When we look out into space, we are looking into an endless universe that stretches billions upon billions of light years into space. Just to put the universe into proper perspective, consider these words of Camille Flammarion: “Then I understood that all the stars which have ever been observed in the sky, the millions of luminous bodies, suns of every magnitude and of every degree of brightness, solar systems, planets and satellites, which by millions and hundreds of millions succeed each other in the void around us, that what ever human tongues have designated by the name of the universe, do not in the infinite represent more than an archipelago of celestial islands and not more than a city in a grand total of population. In this city of the limitless empire, our sun and its system represents one house – a single house among millions of inhabitants. The earth is a room in that solar house.” It’s staggering to realize the vastness of space.

About the immensity of the universe, we can ask the question whether or not we believe that beings exist in other places than the earth. My answer is always, “Yes, of course they do. I believe that the Bible says that there are literally millions of beings occupying the universe around us. The next comment that usually comes is, “Oh, you believe in UFO’s?” Yes, I believe in unidentified flying objects … not swirling around like a sort of glorified Frisbee. The Bible says that there are beings occupying the universe – literally millions of them filling the void around us … their number is uncounted. These amazing beings of the heavenly sphere, known as angels, have mingled in human affairs since the creation of man. In fact, Hebrews 13:2 says that “some have entertained angels unaware.”

A. THE INTERACTION WITH ANGELS

There are many recorded appearances of angels. And though many times their presence goes unnoticed, they are often seen in sort of a protecting capacity as God’s invisible army.

1. BY JOHN PATON IN NEW HEBRIDES

Paton, a missionary to the South Pacific islands, tells a story about some angelic care that he received. He said that one night wild natives surrounded his house, frantically dancing and jumping up and down, desiring to kill John and his wife. Realizing that there was no way they could protect themselves against these wild cannibals, they got on their knees and prayed. Soon after that the attacking natives all vanished into the jungle.

According to Paton’s biographer, a year later the chief of the tribe became a Christian, and John asked him at that time, “What happened that night about a year ago when your natives surrounded our little lean-to there on the sand by the beach, that caused them to suddenly leave?” And the chief replied, “We left because of all those men you had with you.” John said, “There were no men, just myself and my wife.” The chief went on to say that they had seen men standing guard – hundreds of big men in shining clothes – with swords in their hands totally encircling his home. Did God dispatch a legion of angels to protect His servant? It wouldn’t be the first time.

2. BY ELISHA IN ISRAEL

The Old Testament relates a very interesting incident in II Kings 6:15-17 involving the prophet Elisha and his servant who were about to be captured by the Syrian army. “And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD

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opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” Now that’s some invisible army!

3. BY A MISSIONARY IN THE JUNGLE

The story is told of a twentieth century missionary serving in a cannibalistic environment who found it necessary to travel alone at night through a very hostile region in order to reach a village. The trip was unavoidable, but he committed himself to the Lord, realizing he had to do it. Having made it safely to his destination, the next day he was informed by the chief of the village that an ambush on his life had been attempted by some of the natives. Waiting for him along the trail, the natives had not attacked the missionary because of “two men” riding with him on either side. The natives reported that they were two of the fiercest looking warriors they had ever seen. Needless to say they scrambled for their own safety into the jungle. But he thought he had been alone.

B. THE INVISIBILITY OF ANGELS

You see, the universe is occupied by these creatures. And though natural human vision usually cannot perceive them (except when their visual manifestation is necessary to their mission), they mingle in the earth all around us. However, it’s ironic that when you begin to talk about holy angels, people are more skeptical than they are when you talk about demons. But in a dimension that we can’t fully comprehend, they exist. Just because we can’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. When the natural vision of that young man in II Kings 6 was transformed, he saw the invisible army of God that encircled them.

C. THE IGNORANCE ABOUT ANGELS

Now, in spite of their reality, the study of holy angels for the most part has been sadly neglected. Perfection and righteousness don’t seem to be very interesting … we tend to get more interested in demons than holy angels. And maybe that’s one reason why we ought to study the latter.

Did you know there are 273 references in Scripture to angels? How many times does God have to say something to make it true? Only once. Because there are 273 different references to angels, I would say that that’s too many to ignore, wouldn’t you? Well then, we ask ourselves, why have the holy angels been ignored? If we were to ask most Christians to tell us a little bit about angels they’d say, “Well, let’s see … they have wings … they wear white. And they fly around.” What happened in the history of the church that would allow us to forget about angels? Here are some reasons why I think the study of holy angels has been ignored.

1. SCHOLASTICISM

As a reaction against the past speculation of a medieval theological trend known as scholasticism, many may have chosen to avoid the topic of angels. Scholasticism was guilty of arguing over trivially insignificant and whimsical aspects of theology – and a whole lot of argument surrounded angels. For example, the “scholars” wondered how many angels could stand at the same time on the point of a needle; whether an angel could be two places at once, and if he couldn’t, how fast was he; how long it was between their creation and fall (Rossetti and Dante believed it to be twenty seconds); whether the sin of the first angel caused the sin of the rest, or they sinned all together. They argued about how many of them fell; whether our atmosphere is the place where angels are now being punished; and whether you got your guardian angel when you were baptized, born, or conceived. All of this dialogue and speculation caused a reverse reaction, and true biblical scholars gave a cold shoulder to the study of angels. In reacting against this foolishness, serious study was shelved as responsible scholars just walked away from it.

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2. ROMAN CATHOLICISM

Secondly, the study of holy angels has suffered in the recent centuries because of the veneration of worship of angels by the Roman Catholic Church, against which Protestantism reacted.

Did you know that along with worshipping God and Christ, the Catholic Church has promoted the worship (i.e. veneration) of saints and angels for centuries. In his book on Catholic theology, Ludwig Ott writes: “The worship of angels by men is justified. That which the council of Trent teaches as to the invoking and worshipping of saints may also be applied to angels.” And so they worshipped angels – the primary angel being Michael. In fact, in the Catholic calendar there is an event called Michaelmas on September 29th. There were even two famous and large churches built to honor him: one by Constantine near Constantinople, and the other in Rome.

Now, prior to the fourth century when angel worship was introduced by the Roman Church, it existed but was considered a heresy. In Colossians 2:18 Paul had warned the church against worshipping angels, yet that’s precisely what happened. As a reaction against the worship of angels, the Protestant Church avoided the whole issue regarding angels.

3. PAGAMISM

In nearly all systems of religion, such beings as angels were believed in. The Chinese believed in demons and designed their roofs in such a way so as to hinder their access. The Gnostics believed in aeons, demons, and demi-gods. There were such things as genies in various kinds of religions. Mythology said that Jove created aerial spirits. Heathen philosophers talked about spiritual beings: Socrates, for example, referred to a good demon that took care of him. Plato taught that high-level demons, the kind that never dwelt in mortal bodies, were appointed the guardians of men. And so, paganism was loaded with the worship of all different kinds of multiplied spirits, sub-gods, semi-gods, demi-gods, etc. And with all of this confusion the church retreated from angels and concentrated on Christ, leaving that whole area alone because of its confusion when mixed with paganism.

A fourth cause for the neglect of the study of angels is the age of4. RATIONALISM

Once the world got into the industrial revolution, everything took a turn toward science. Hence, a rationalistic perspective became prevalent in the eighteenth century when the mind of man was considered ultimate. To accept the fact that there were floating spirits everywhere just wasn’t reasonable. The age of rationalism just didn’t allow for that. It’s only with the ending of that age and the rise of existentialism (i.e. experience) that people have begun to allow demons back into their consciousness and understanding. And, of course, angels became more acceptable as well.

5. OCCULTISM

The fifth thing that has diverted Christians from studying holy angels is that of the modern preoccupation with the demons of the occult.

D. THE IMPORTANCE OF ANGELS1. IN SCRIPTURE

With 273 references to angels in the Bible, I feel that the study of angels is worthy of our attention. Hopefully, by the time we’re done studying what the Bible has to say about angels, you will have a new sensitivity to these beings that you may have never really understood before, but with whom you will be spending eternity. So you might as well get to know them. No sense in going up there and saying, “Who are you?”

2. IN STUDY

From this study we are going to benefit from an increased knowledge …

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a. Of God’s Creative Power and Sovereign ControlThe study of angels will increase your appreciation of God when you see what He has created in this angelic host. When you begin to see how they work, you’re going to get a whole new vision of what God is like.

b. Of God’s Providential CareIt’s exciting to find out that all of those holy angels that God has dispatched not only serve Him, but you and me as well. The angels are busy attending to us (cf. Heb. 1:14).

c. Of God’s Authoritative WordWe are forced to study the Scripture because the only thing we know about holy angels comes from the Bible. Their study is going to drive us into the Word of God.

In his book Angels: God’s Secret Agents, Billy Graham says of angels, “I am convinced that these heavenly beings exist and that they provide unseen aid on our behalf. I do not believe in angels because someone has told me about a dramatic visitation from an angel, impressive as such rare testimonies may be. I do not believe in angels because UFO’s are astonishingly angel-like in some of their reported appearances. I do not believe in angels because ESP experts are making the realm of the spirit world seem more and more plausible. I do not believe in angels because of the sudden worldwide emphasis on the reality of Satan and demons. I do not believe in angels because I have ever seen one – because I haven’t. I believe in angels because the Bible says there are angels; and I believe the Bible to be the true Word of God.”

That’s a helpful statement, isn’t it? We believe in angels because they’re in the Bible. When our study is complete, I hope you will have a clear, meaningful knowledge of these wondrous, powerful, holy, beautiful, immortal creatures who serve God and us.

We will be looking at basically three things: who they are, what they are, and how we’re to respond to them. Let’s begin by examining…

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I. THE EXISTENCE OF ANGELSA. DENIED BY THE SADDUCEES

Now there have always been people who didn’t believe in angels – even people who were familiar with the Old Testament. There were some leaders in Israel who didn’t believe in angels.

Acts 23:8 says “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit...” Now here were the rationalists and materialists who denied angels. But they were dead wrong. You say, “How could they be Jewish then?” Well, they were the Jewish liberals. They didn’t even accept the resurrection even though the Old Testament taught it as far back as its oldest book.

Job said, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” (Job 19:26-27). He had a knowledge of resurrection.

The Psalmist had said, “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” (Ps. 16:10). Resurrection was there, but they denied it just as they also denied the existence of angels. As the liberals of their day, the Sadducees denied the veracity of the Old Testament. But they were dead wrong in their conclusion, for there is far too much evidence in the Word of God to say there aren’t any angels. The existence of angels is clearly …

B. DECLARED IN THE SCRIPTURES

1. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Woven throughout the books of the Old Testament, angels appear as personal beings who are the messengers and ministers of God (e.g., Ps. 104:4).

In fact, if you were to remove all the references to angels, you would have an absolute mess: you would have inexplicable events; you would have gaping holes in the narrative; you would have events that had no possible way of occurring … you would have problems without solutions if you removed angels. They’re too busy in the Old Testament – they’re everywhere. You’d also put God in the same boat with everybody else: God would be having hallucinations like everybody else who thought they saw angels. And if there aren’t any angels, then who was God sending all the time?

2. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

a. GenerallyAngels are even more prominent in the New Testament. In fact, if you cut the references to angels there, you would almost have to reject the entire New Testament:

Who announced the birth of Christ?

Who told the shepherds where to go?

Who was it who came to Jesus after His temptation and fasting for forty days and ministered unto Him?

Who came to the tomb and announced Christ’s resurrection?

Who is coming to gather the elect from the four corners of the world?

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Who is it that freed Peter and John from jail? How could they walk out of jail with the

locks on, the doors shut, and the guard still there? Angels did these things; otherwise their marvelous interventions would be reduced to fanciful stories. The spiritual warfare of Christians and angels against Satan and demons would be only psychological and Christ’s conflict with Satan would be a symptom of delusion. And what about the book of Revelation without angels? About all you’d have is the chapter headings. They’re everywhere.

b. SpecificallyThough the evidence of angels is plentiful throughout the Bible, the greatest single testimony to their existence is the testimony of Jesus Christ, because I believe what He says. In His own teaching Jesus talked about angels.

In Matthew 22 he said those who have been resurrected “... are as the angels of God in heaven” (v. 30). In Matthew 18:10; 24:31; and 26:53, Jesus talked about angels. Yet these are just a few of the many times He spoke about them.

So I believe that angels exist not only because of the record of their activity in the Bible, but also because I’ve encountered them. I also know that they are there because the Bible says so.

With the existence of angels fairly well-established, let’s look secondly at …

II. THE ORIGIN OF ANGELSA. THEIR IMMORTAL CREATOR

Once upon a time there were no angels. That means they were created … they’re creatures.

COLOSSIANS 1:16 – Speaking of Christ, Paul says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible …” Now there have been some things created in heaven. You say, “Well, what are they? I can understand the things “in earth” – that’s us. We’re the visible things. But the invisible things “in heaven” … what are they?” those are angels and here are four different names for them: “whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: [or ‘authorities’ NASB]. all things were created by him, and for him:” Those different terms designate ranks of angels in God’s invisible army. And this super-organized army, it says, was created by the Lord Jesus Christ.

NEHEMIAH 9:6 – “Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, [Here is the idea that God created not only heaven, but those who occupy it – the angels], the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.” Nehemiah acknowledges that God has created angelic and earthly creatures.

PSALMS148:1-5 – “Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the

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LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.” Like the heavens and earth the angelic hosts were created by the command of God. -

Now it is clear from those passages that angels were created by God. But even our understanding of God as “the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality …” (I Tim. 6:15b-16a) implies that angels were created by the one who alone possesses inherent immortality. The angels don’t have this kind of immortality because they were created.

B. THEIR INDEPENDENT CREATION

1. BEFORE TIME

Apparently, angels were created before time began – before the material universe was brought into existence.

a. Prior To The Temptation Of EveIt’s obvious that angels were created before man because they had fallen by Genesis 3 where Satan was in the Garden ready to tempt Eve.

b. Prior To The Creation Of Earth Job 38:7 says that “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Now what are these angels singing and shouting about?

In Job 38:4-7, God rhetorically asks Job: “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” Because you have the angelic hosts singing and shouting at the creation of the earth, their existence predates the earth out of necessity.

2. BY DIRECT ACT

Now, there was no procreation among angels. There aren’t mother and father angels, and a whole lot of little angels. They have no capacity to reproduce. This can be deduced from Jesus’ comment about the nature of resurrected people:

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” (Matthew 22:29-30). Because the angels don’t marry, there is apparently no procreation among their kind. Just think of it – God instantly commanded and millions of creatures came into existence … each independently created. And because they do not reproduce, there can be no increase in their number from what God originally created. Conversely, because angels have immortality derived from God, they do not die, and hence, there can be no decrease in their number either. The only change came when, according to Revelation 12:4, Satan was banished from heaven and took a third of the angels with him in rebellion. Apparently the third of the angels that fell became demons. But they’re all going to live forever – some in heaven, and some in hell.

a. Their Vastness CalculatedNow people ask, “How many are there?” “How many did God create?” Their number will be the same in eternity as it was at the time they were instantly created by God. It’s impossible to know how many angels there are because the Bible doesn’t tell us, but we can gain a relative idea of the vast number of angels from several scriptures.

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1) A Multitude – Announcing the birth of Christ to the shepherds, there appeared “a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God…” (Luke 2:13). Now that wasn’t all of them. That was just a part.

2) Twelve Legions – At His arrest, Jesus assured His disciples that the Father could provide “More than twelve legions of angels” for His defense (Matthew 26:53). That would be somewhere between 72,000 and 144,000 (a double legion of Roman soldiers equaling 12,000). Let me tell you, 144,000 angels could do a job on anybody. In fact, in the Old Testament, it only took one angel to slay 185,000 Assyrians (II Kings 19:35).

3) More Than People – Referring to how God loves His own and cares for them, Jesus said, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10). In other words, “Don’t mess with these little kids, because the angels assigned to them keep reporting what’s going on.” Those who believe this verse teaching that everybody has a group of angels assigned to them, reason that there would have to be at least as many angels as people. Theoretically that would mean there are billions of angels.

4) The Same As Stars – Others say, “No, there are as many angels as there are stars.” How many stars are there? Astronomers estimate that there are at least ten billion galaxies, each having a billion to a trillion stars. Now that’s a lot of angels if this theory is correct. The reason why angels are equated with stars is that the terms are often used interchangeably. Whereas in Luke 2:13 the angels are called “the heavenly host,” in Deuteronomy 17:3 the “host of heaven” refers to stars and other luminous bodies (cf. Job 38:7; Rev. 12:4).

5) Hundreds Of Millions – “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels …” Does it say, “I heard the voice of all, or most, or almost all of the angels?” No, just “many.” And how many were there? “…round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (Rev. 5:11). The intent of this expression is to put their number beyond the ability to count. I have no idea how many there are, but there are plenty. And if every child has a group assigned to him, then there has to be a lot because there are things to do other than just taking care of children. Consequently, I believe that there are billions of angels in the universe.

6) An Innumerable Company – The issue is put to rest in Hebrews 12:22 where it says, “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.” Well, there are simply just too many angels to be counted.

b. Their Variety ConsideredFurthermore, Scripture leads us to conclude that there are differences among the angels indicated

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1) By Individuality Of CreationAmazing angels … created instantly by God and every one created independent of another. Generally we assume that all angels would look the same, and quite often artist have depicted them with the same physical features, but I don’t think that God created them identical to one another.

Like man, I believe they were created as individuals in the image of God with the independent capacities of intelligence, emotion, and will. I believe that God, by one command out of His mouth, spoke into being millions of creatures that occupy the universe – every one different than every other. If God can demonstrate His creativity with snowflakes, certainly He can do it with the millions of angels that serve to glorify Him. Angels are unique.

2) By Ranks Of OrganizationThink of it … millions and billions of beautiful and powerful angels performing the commands of God with great speed through the heavens and the earth. God’s invisible army is better organized than the armies of Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon, or Patton.

Their variety can be seen in their different ranks they fill such as cherubim (Gen. 3:24), seraphim (Isa. 6:2-3), living creatures (Rev. 4:6-8), thrones, dominions, principalities, powers (Col. 1:16), and authorities (I Pet. 3:22). They’re all led by the archangel Michael (cf. Dan. 10:21) who is assisted by the supporting Gabriel (cf. Dan. 9:21; 10:21).

3) By Titles Of IdentificationThis fantastic host of angelic beings is known by a variety of titles in Scripture:

a) “Sons of the Mighty” (Ps. 89:6) b) “Sons of God” (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7) c) “Angels [Heb. Elohim = ‘god’]” (Ps. 8:5). Here they are

identified with the supernatural level. d) “Holy Ones” (Ps. 89:5-7 NASB) e) “Morning Stars” (Job 38:7) f) “Princes” (Dan. 10:13)

These fantastic beings constitute the mighty army created by God in a split second. What a creative God!

Further evidence of their variety is indicated…

4) By Places Of LocationAngels appear in every strata of heaven in the revelation of God:

a) In the Third Heaven – Sometimes you find them by the throne of God (cf. Rev. 4:6-11).

b) In the Second Heaven – sometimes you read about them transiting through space (cf. Dan. 10:13).

c) In the First Heaven – Throughout the Old Testament we see angels on earth within our atmosphere, interacting with men (cf. Luke 2:13).

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THE NATURE OF ANGELS

A. THEY ARE PERSONS

Angels are not supernatural robots. They are persons because they possess the attributes of personality: intelligence, emotion, and will.

1. INTELLIGENCE

Are angles intelligent? They certainly are.

a. Ezekiel 28:12 – As the most magnificent angel in his original state, Lucifer was described as being “full of wisdom.” Angels are intelligent.

b. Matthew 28:5 – Following the resurrection of Jesus, “…And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.” That angel figured out what they were doing. He was intelligent because intelligent beings can communicate and have conversations.

c. Revelation 17:1 – It is very clear that angels not only understand the plan of God, they unfold it as well: “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee…” Here again is the intelligent ability to communicate. But though they have knowledge of God’s plan, they do not know everything because they are not omniscient like God. In fact, in I Peter 1:12 it says that the gospel is something “which things the angels desire to look into.” There are some things the angels are not yet able to understand or have knowledge in – but they are intelligent.

Besides intelligence, angels possess…2. EMOTION

a. Job 38:7 – During creation, the angels “sang” and “shouted for joy.” Singing is a response of emotion, is it not? They have the emotion of joy.

b. Luke 15:10 – Do you know that angels respond when one soul comes to Christ? “…there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Angels experience joy.

c. Isaiah 6:3 – The seraphim, who had their feet covered with two wings, and with two wings they would fly, and with two covered their faces, cried out , “Holy, holy, holy.” That was an expression of worship and, as such, is an emotion. Angels have the capacity for emotion and that’s a trait of personality.

Thirdly, angels have …3. WILL

Angels have the capacity for self-determination.a. Hebrews 1:6 – God appealed to their wills: “And again, when he

bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.” The very fact that God invites the angels to worship the Christ child indicates that they had a will to do it.

b. Isaiah 14:12-15 – Having a will is what got Satan into trouble, wasn’t it? He expressed his will five times in Isaiah 14.

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So, angels are not ethereal, aerial spirits, floating around without personalities … like squishy robots. Angels are persons, and each one’s personality is different from the others. They are unique.

Angels are different than we are in terms of their super-naturalness.

B. THEY ARE SPIRITS

Now both angels and men as creatures are limited by time and space; both are dependent on God for existence and well-being; both are responsible to God … and yet, they differ from us. As personal beings, the angelic realm is just as active and complex as the human realm. But the difference is, whereas we can’t see their invisible world, they can see our visible one. Angels are spirits and that’s the key difference. Hebrews 1:14 say, “Are the not all ministering spirits…?”

People say, “Don’t angels have bodies?” Not physical ones. They are spirits and do not have fleshly bodies like we do. But is your body your personality? NO. Your personhood is different from you body. Angels are merely the person without the flesh and blood that we know (cf. Luke 24:39). You say, “Well, if their bodies are different, what exactly are they like?” Though they have spiritual bodies, they are still beset with certain limitations.

1. THE LIMITATIONS OF ANGELSa. In Space

I believe that angels have some kind of localized capacity. Their bodies aren’t material, fleshly ones like ours, but they still have spatial limitations. They are not like God whose spiritual essence is everywhere and cannot be contained in the universe (cf. II Chr. 6:18). Angelic spirits are confined to one place at a time which means they have some kind of form. It’s a form I can’t perceive, but nevertheless, they have some kind of form. They must travel through the heavens to get from one place to another (cf. Dan. 9:21; 10:13,20). Angels also have limitations…

b. In TimeTheir travel through space requires time. And though they’re often pictured with wings, I don’t know it that means they have literal wings, but may just represent their swiftness in obeying the will of God.

2. THE MANIFESTATION OF ANGELS

We don’t really know what kind of intrinsic form angels have. We’ll just have to wait until we get to heaven. But what makes me think they have a different kind of body is that I Corinthians

The Temporary Superiority of AngelsThough angels are similar to men in their possession of personhood, in another respect they are clearly different from men. Hebrews 2:9 tells us that Jesus Christ became a man and “was made a little lower than the angels…” Angels occupy a higher state than we do … for this time anyway. But some day we’re going to rule over angels: Paul told the Corinthians, “Know ye not that we shall judge angels?” (I Cor. 6:3). In Christ we will be exalted because as “joint heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17), we will share in His inheritance. Because we are in Him and one spirit with Him (cf. I Cor. 4:15; 6:17), we will reign over angels with Christ in the Kingdom and the Eternal State. Remember in Revelation, He says, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne” (Rev. 3:21). But for this age, man is “a little lower than the angels.”

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15:44 differentiates between “a natural body” and “a spiritual body.” They must have a spiritual body because they don’t have a natural one.

a. How Angels Appear To MenNow when angels do appear – and sometimes God chooses to let them be manifest – they generally appear as men. The masculine pronoun is always used to speak to them. For example, in Genesis 18-19 when the angels came to visit Abraham and the city of Sodom, they appeared as handsome men. They sat down, ate, walked, and talked with Abraham. They took on the visible form of men.

However, sometimes angels appear as unusual looking men. In Matthew 28:3, the appearance of the angel at the empty tomb of Jesus was definitely unusual: “His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow.” His face was like lightning. Now that’s unusual. Sometimes they appear as men and sometimes as unusual men, but whenever they appear, their presence produces amazing effects.

b. How Men Are Affected By Angels1) Mental turmoil came on Mary when Gabriel announced the

news of the virgin birth (Luke 1:29).2) Panic and terror gripped the heart of Zacharias when an

angel appeared to him promising him a son (Luke 1:12).3) Great fear fell upon the shepherds to whom the angelic

messengers announced the birth of Christ (Luke 2:9).4) Paralyzing fear caused the Roman soldiers guarding the

tomb to shake and become as dead men when they saw an angel descend and roll away the stone from the tomb’s entrance (Matthew 28:4).

Angels are unique creatures created by God, and when they’re around, strange responses by men can be expected because it’s a trip into another world, so to speak.

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IV. A SPECIAL ANGELINTRODUCTION

Before we consider The Ministry of Angels, let’s take a brief moment to discuss a very special “angel” who doesn’t fit the mold of any of the rest. In fact, this angel is not like any other angel. He even has a special designation that never is consistently used for any other being. He is called “The Angel of the Lord” or “The Angel of Jehovah.” He is very unique and is found only in the Old Testament, initially appearing with Abraham and ceasing to appear with Zechariah. So, we believe He has to be something very special.

A. HIS DEITY1. GENESIS 16:7-13

a. The Command to Hagar“And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. 9And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.”

b. The Covenant To Ishmael“10And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. [In other words, the promise came to Ishmael’s seed that it, too, would be as vast as that of Isaac’s and Abraham’s] 11And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. 12And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

c. The Calling Of The Angel“13And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?” This Angel of the LORD is here called God by Hagar.

2. EXODUS 3:1-6a. The Appearing Of The Angel

1Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”

b. The Addressing Of Moses4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, …” Now verse 2 says “the angel of the LORD” was in the bush and verse 4 says “God” called from the bush “and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.” Again the Angel of the Lord is called God.

3. JUDGES 6:11-14a. The Appearing Of The Angel

“11And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide

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it from the Midianites. 12And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. 13And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, …”

b. The Addressing Of Gideon“14And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?”

4. JUDGES 13:21-22a. Manoah’s Conclusion

“21But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.”

b. Manoah’s Comment“22And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.”

Here are just four separate incidents where the Angel of the LORD is identified with God Himself. Well, is this just God? Let’s find out.

B. HIS DISTINCTION

1. ZECHARIAH 1:12A

“Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts…” Here is a conversation taking place between the Lord of hosts and the Angel of the Lord, who has already been identified as God.

2. ZECHARIAH 3:1-2A

“1And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD…” Here again a distinction is made between the Angel of the Lord and God. But you say, “If the Angel of the Lord is identified with God and yet distinct from Him, then who is He?” Well, the Angel of the Lord is God and yet not God.

C. HIS DISCLOSURE

I believe this special “angel” is the Second Person of the Trinity – none other than the Lord Jesus Christ as He is known in the New Testament. Here you have the First and Second Persons of the Trinity in what is called a theophany, or more specifically, a Christophany (i.e., a preincarnate appearance of Christ).

1. IN HIS MANIFESTATION

The only member of the Trinity who ever manifests Himself is the Second Person. The Bible says that “God is a spirit” (John 4:24) and “No one has seen God at any time. …” (John 1:18). The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is a spirit. He is never manifest visually. The one person of the Trinity who manifests God is the Second Person, Christ (cf. John 1:18b). Whereas in the Old Testament the preincarnate Christ appears as the Angel of the Lord, in the New Testament He appears as God in human flesh – the man Christ Jesus. That’s why the Angel of the Lord never appears in the Bible after the book of Zechariah, because He becomes the incarnate Son in the New Testament (cf. Matthew 1:21; Phil. 2:6-8). This is none other than Jesus Christ.

2. IN HIS MINISTRY

If you were to chart the ministry of the Angel of the Lord, you would find that His ministry throughout the Old Testament parallels the ministry of Jesus Christ toward His people in the New Testament.

a. He reveals God’s Word (e.g., Exodus 3:2-6 John 1:18).

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b. He calls leaders like Moses, Gideon, and Samson (cf. Exodus 3:6-10; Judges 6:14-16; 13:1-5, 24-25), as Christ calls His own in the New Testament (cf. Mark 1:17; Acts 26:16-18).

c. He is a deliverer through men like Moses, Gideon, and Samson (cf. Exodus 14:19-20; Judges 6:14-16), just as Christ by His work delivered His people (cf. Acts 26:15-18; Galatians 5:1).

d. He is a protector “who encamps all around those who fear Him…” (Psalms 34:7), as Christ surrounds and protects us (cf. I John 4:4; Revelations 3:10).

e. He is an intercessor interceding for the people of Israel (cf. Zechariah 1:12) as Christ intercedes for us (Hebrew 7:25).

f. He is the advocate defending believers against Satan’s accusations (cf. Zechariah 3:1-5), which is precisely what Christ does (cf. I John 2:1-2).

g. He confirms the covenant with Abraham (Genesis 22:15-18), and Christ sealed the covenant with his blood (Matthew 26:28).

h. He is a comforter of Hagar (Genesis 16:7-11) as in the New Testament Christ is our comforter (cf. Matthew 11:28-30; Luke 4:18).

This Old Testament manifestation of Christ as the Angel of the Lord shows us clearly that God has always existed as the Trinity. God hasn’t played different parts in history – He’s always been three in one.

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IV. THE MINISTRY OF ANGELSA. TO GOD

1. AS MINISTERS OF WORSHIP

a. Isaiah 6:3 – The angelic seraphim in the presence of God “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” They worship God.

b. Revelation 4:6, 8b-9 – “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts …” (cf. Ezk. 1:5, 10,18). “and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 9And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever.” Now I believe that what you have here is the primary ministry of angels in adoring and worshipping God.

c. Revelation 5:8-9a, 11-12 – “… the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9And they sung a new song, … and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”

Worship is the beginning of the angel’s ministry toward God. Because of God’s infinite worth and glory, because of his excellence and beauty, they praise Him forever. I imagine that all angels do this, but some probably do this exclusively.

Secondly, angels function…

2. AS MINISTERS OF SERVICEa. Priestly Mediators

“And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire” (Hebrews 1:7). The word there for “ministers” (Greek leitourgos), from which the English word liturgy comes, has to do with priestly service in the presence of God. I believe that “winds” is a reference to their speed, and “a flame of fire” a reference to their fervency and intensity. Whatever this priestly service is, angels are like wind and fire in the presence of God, rendering priestly service. As priestly servants, angels attend in worship to the throne of God.

b. Personal MessengersAngels provide a heavenly messenger service:

1) Psalm 103:20 – “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.” Angels are noted for their strength and obedience.

2) Luke 1:19 – They apparently wait until they are dispatched with orders: “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.” Apparently, angels

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such as Gabriel stand in the presence of God until they are dispatched with orders. Gabriel was used here in this chapter to bring the message to Joseph and Mary about the coming of God in flesh (vv. 26-33). The angels are messengers.

3) Galatians 3:19 – At Mount Sinai, God came down and wrote with His finger the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18). Galatians 3:19 says “Wherefore then serveth the law?” (i.e., “What’s the Law for?”) “It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator …” Let’s go a step further and see what part the angels played in the giving of the Law on Sinai.

a) Acts 7:38b, 53 – “This is he (i.e., Moses), that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai…” Here is another indication that angels were on Sinai. It was this church (Greek ekklesia - “called out group”) in the wilderness “who received the lively oracles to give unto us.”

b) Hebrews 2:2-3a – “For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord…” In other words, if you couldn’t get away with disobedience to law spoken by angels, how do you think you’re going to get away with disobedience to the gospel spoken by Christ Himself (cf. II Thess. 1:7-9)?

Now these references show that angels were involved in giving the Law. Apparently God authored the Law (Exodus 31:18), but delivered it to Moses through angels. Consequently, the Jews highly regarded the angels because they were a part of giving the Law. They were messengers whom God sometimes sent with verbal messages and, in this case, with a message in a piece of rock. In fact, when Moses got mad and broke the first tablets, they had to be rewritten by God and delivered by angels a second time.

c. Political ManipulatorsThirdly, angels are agents of God’s rule in the world. When God wants to carry out His governmental plans, angels busy themselves doing so. For example, they are restrainers…

1) Of WickednessThough the Holy spirit is understood to be the present restrainer of wickedness (cf. II Thess. 2:7), there are ways in which angels restrain people – physically preventing people from doing evil. Whereas the Holy Spirit’s restraint might be more internal, an angel might just stop somebody. An example of this can be seen in Genesis 19 where, after meeting with Abraham, “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them…” (v.1). Now their arrival created some interest in this city which was given over to homosexuality. And when the men of the city saw those beautiful angels Lot had taken in, they said, “Let’s get those guys” (v.4). And the angels said, “That’s not going to happen,” “But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.” (vv. 10-11). The angels restrained

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the evil of the Sodomites by blinding them. Now I don’t know how they did it, but it might have been just two angelic fingers. So, angels restrain wickedness in a very physical way.

The second thing angels do as agents of God’s rule in the world concerns their control …

2) Of Natural Elementsa) Revelation 7:2-3 – “And I saw another angel ascending

from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” Now these angels were getting ready to bring the plaques of Revelation on the world, having control over the elements (cf. V.1).

b) Revelation 8-9 – In this passage you have the angels blowing trumpets of judgment: “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood… “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea” (Apparently some kind of meteoroid) … “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven.” (This pollutes the fresh water) … “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars…” (vv. 7a, 8a, 9a, 12a). Terrible things happen in judgment as a response to the angels’ power over the elements.

c) Revelation 16 – Here is catalogued the bowl judgments: “3And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. 4And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood... 8And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.... 10And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. 12And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up…” (Vv. 3-4, 8, 10-12a).

Now you can see that angels have power over the elements when it is given to them by God, and they’re going to bring about the most terrible things as a result of the power that God gives them. They restrain wickedness and control natural elements when God so desires.

Furthermore, in helping God to govern, they assist in the control …

3) Of NationsBehind the human scene in every country there is a spiritual conflict in which demons are fighting for control of nations and societies, and the purposes of history. But angels are counter-acting that control. God has His holy angels active behind the scene of governments. To see this,

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just read Daniel 4: “13I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven…” (Here angels are called ‘watchers’). “17This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” (vv. 13, 17). If God runs everything, even the worst men are in government because God has allowed it. Angels watch over these governments, carrying out the plan of history (cf. Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1). Now we know demons are active, but no less active are God’s holy angels.

So how do angels minister to God? They do so in priestly service in worshipping Him; as messengers in delivering important announcements and instructions; and then in terms of governing, aiding God in carrying out His will in the world. But the ministry of angels is not only toward God in a general, ongoing sense, but in a past and future sense with regard …

B. TO CHRIST

This has to be one of the most beautiful and meaningful studies that you could ever do. How angels ministered to Christ opens up our understanding about them. Firstly, they ministered …

1. AT HIS BIRTHa. In Predicting It (Luke 1)

1) The Revelation (vv. 26-28) – “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”

2) The Reaction (v. 29) - “And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” That means she couldn’t quite understand what was going on.

3) The Response (vv. 30-31) - “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” As God’s revealers, the first thing angels did around the birth of Christ is that they predicted it. They were the first ones to tell Mary and Joseph (cf. Matthew 1:20-21) that the Christ was to be born to them … that God was coming into the world

b. In Announcing It (Luke 2)1) The Appearance (vv. 8-9) - “And there were in the same

country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.” Now an angel isn’t a very familiar sight to shepherds in a field, and so the angel said, “don’t be afraid.” To see an angel is a fearful thing. When they manifest themselves it’s remarkable.

2) The Announcement (vv. 10-11) - “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great

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joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

3) The Affirmation (vv. 13-14) - “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Picture the whole sky full of glorious angels with these dumbfounded shepherds gawking in amazement at this incredible sight.

Not only were they around at His birth, but they were also present …

2. DURING HIS LIFE

A study of the life of Jesus shows us that angels were busy providing protection and care for Jesus. A beautiful expression of God’s love is seen in the tender care that He showed toward His “beloved Son” (Matthew 17:5) in dispatching the angels to minister to Him. And what a great confidence we can have to know that God also dispatches the angels to care for us, whose lives are “hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).

a. Matthew 2:19-20 -- “But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.” In other words, “it’s time. You can leave. You don’t need to fear anymore.” And if you go back to Matthew 2:13, it was an angel of the Lord who appeared and told him to go to Egypt in the first place to get out of the way of Herod who sought to destroy the child. So, angels warned them to get out and told them when it was safe to return, because they were responsible for the protection and care of Jesus in His life.

b. Matthew 4:6 – Satan tempted Jesus to presume upon God’s promise of protection: “And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” The devil said to Jesus, “Hey, You can jump off the Temple here because you have a wonderful promise that the angels are going to take care of You.” Ironically, he was right. The devil is right just when he needs to be, often using a little truth to get his point across to disarm the undiscerning.

c. Matthew 4:11 – Following His forty-day fast and His temptation, “Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” You say, “Well what did they do when they got there?” I don’t have any idea, but I imagine they brought some food (cf. v. 2) and did whatever needed to be done to comfort Him and meet His physical and spiritual needs.

d. Luke 22:42-43 – Agonizing at the end of earthly life, Jesus prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” It’s an exciting thing just to see this practical ministry of the angels to Jesus.

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But do you know something very interesting. Though we see angels ministering to Jesus at various times throughout His life, there was an absence of them at His cross even though that’s when He could have called them (cf. Matthew 26:53). Do you know what would have happened if Jesus had circumvented the redemptive plan by calling upon twelve legions of angels for His rescue? We wouldn’t be here as members of Christ’s Church. We’d be destined for an eternal hell (cf. I Cor. 15:17). I’m glad the angels had a day off back then.

The next time the angels were ministering to Jesus was …

3. AT HIS RESSURRECTIONa. The Descent (Matthew 28:1-2) - “In the end of the sabbath, as

it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.” The angel’s descent caused an earthquake.

b. The Description (vv. 3-4) - “His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.” The guards flat out fainted … out like lights.

c. The Declaration (vv. 5-6) - “And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Do you know what the angels did around the resurrection? They announced it. And they certainly had an exciting message to give. Luke 24 says that inside the grave, two angels stood attending the empty tomb to announce the resurrection (vv. 4-7).

Lastly related to Christ, angels will accompany Him …

4. AT HIS SECOND COMING

a. Predicting It (Acts 1:10b-11) - Jesus had ascended into heaven while the disciples were standing on the hill looking up, and “behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Here they are predicting the Second Coming. They not only predict it, but they will be …

b. Participating In It (Matthew 25:31) - “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. Jude also talks about Him coming with His angels (v. 14 NASB).

So then, angels were present during Christ’s birth, temptation, and life – and were even available at His death though He didn’t call on them. They were at His resurrection and at His ascension, announcing that he would return. They are now worshipping Him in heaven, and when He comes back they will be with Him. These holy angels are important creatures.

Besides minister to God and Christ, angels minister …

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C. TO BELIEVERS

How do they minister to believers? There are so many ways. Hebrews 1:14 says that angels are “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

Did you know that angels love you? You say, “How do you know they love me?” Well, let’s take Daniel 10:11 and broaden its application. The angel said to Daniel, “O Daniel, a man greatly beloved…” The only way that angel could love Daniel was because God loved Daniel. And if we can assume that angels love what God loves, then angels love us. So the implication is that their service to us is not unwilling, but loving. That’s kind of exciting, isn’t it? We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us to minister to our spiritual needs, and we have angels around us who take care of the physical.

Their ministry to believers is accomplished…

1. IN WATCHING

Angels look at us. They’re checking us out all the time. They keep watch over us. I don’t suppose we ever get out of the watchful eye of angels who have been busy observing…

a. The Apostles (I Cor. 4:9) - “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” We’re spectacles to angels. But you say, “Well, how do you know they watch the whole church … all Christians?”

b. The Church (Eph. 3:10) - “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church” The angels watch us to see how wise God is. They look down and say, “Look what God did in that life … how wise He must be.” And they turn and praise Him.

They watch us to see the manifestations of God’s wisdom so they can, in turn, worship and praise His name.

They also watch …

c. The Women (I Cor. 11:3, 10) - Women need watching for spiritual reasons. Did you know that? “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God….” “For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.” This passage, in the context of submission to authority, is conveying the idea that women are to be in subjection to their husbands, and for this reason are being watched by angels to see if they are being submissive. “And what if I’m not?” you say. Well, the Lord may give them a message to bring to you. What form will it take? I don’t know, only you can tell. But in case you feel bad ladies, do you know who else they watch very specifically? They watch

d. The Preachers (I Tim. 5:21) - Paul said to Timothy, who was a preacher, “I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.” In the context of pastoral instruction to Timothy, Paul exhorts Timothy not to ordain anybody too

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suddenly; to take a little wine for his stomach’s sake; to rule well as an elder; to take care of the preacher; not to accuse an elder, etc. And Paul goes on with all of this ministerial instruction and says, in effect, “You better behave because you’re doing this before the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels who are watching it all.” So if a preacher doesn’t live up to this charge, then the angels will probably bring him a message too.

e. The Rewards (Matt. 16:27) - When we go to the time when the Lord rewards us, apparently the angels are going to be there checking it all out: “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” (cf. Luke 12:8).

So angels are very busy occupying themselves with just looking at us. And besides just watching, angels are acting in our behalf in response to what they see. Scripture records that they are busily involved…

2. IN REVEALINGDid you know that much of Daniel and Revelation was delivered through the revelatory work of angels (e.g., Dan. 9:20 - 12:13; Rev. 1:1)? Angels don’t write it – God does. And the Holy Spirit inspires it. But angels are the agents that deliver it. Now the angels revealed the Word to us indirectly, but let me hasten to add something lest you be confused. The only thing we know that angels ever delivered is recorded in the Bible. So, if somebody comes up and says, “I met an angel the other day and he gave me a message” – watch out. The angels are no longer delivering God’s Word (cf. Heb. 1:1; 2:2-3).

3. IN GUIDING

I believe that angels can take a very objective part in guiding the believer. And I don’t think it’s like the internal leading of the Spirit. We see, in the early church, the unusual guiding of…

a. Philip (Acts 8)1) The Setting (vv. 5b-6a)

Now, Philip was having a big meeting – it was packed out with big crowds up there in Samaria. He was preaching away and fantastic things were happening: the confrontation with Simon the Sorcerer; many were repenting; and they were having a super time.

2) The Sending (v. 26) - All of a sudden, while he’s in the middle of his ministry there, “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.” Now this angel came to him and said, “You know that meeting you’re holding? Cancel it. I know it’s a big crowd and there’s a lot of things going on, but God wants you to go to Gaza.” You know what my reaction would have been? “Gaza? That’s desert! Why do you want me to go there?”

3) The Submitting (v. 27a) - The thing that’s amazing, and shows the submissive spirit of Philip, is that “he arose and went.” So here he is sitting in the desert, just looking at his sundial and saying, “Well, I’m not too sure I understand what’s going on.” And then a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority, comes by and in a wonderful conversation with him, Philip leads him to Christ. An angel literally guided Philip into the place of service for the Lord.

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b. Cornelius (Acts 10:3b-5) - In Caesarea, a devout man by the name of Cornelius saw “an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. 4And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. 5And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:” And the angel gave him the whole message, telling him exactly what to do. Later on in chapter 11 verse 13 Peter recounted the story: “And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter…” So angels were used in both of these cases to guide believers.

Another facet of guiding is chastening. For the Lord to guide us, He may have to exert a little divine discipline to keep us in line. For example, consider an incident in the life of…

c. David (II Sam. 24)1) The Counting (v. 1) - “Again the anger of the LORD was

aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” David’s sin involved his misdirected faith in depending upon the number of people he had in his army, rather than depending upon God.

2) The Confessing (v. 10) - And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” He was counting on his own military might rather than God.

3) The Choosing (vv. 13-14) - “So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land?” (You have a choice: seven years of famine, three months of enemies running you down, or three days of pestilence. Which one would you pick? Id pick the shortest.) And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

4) The Chastening (vv. 15-16) - “So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. 16 And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” Here God used an angel in chastening King David and his people.

Fourthly, besides watching, revealing, and guiding, angels are involved …

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4. IN PROVIDING

Angels provided in a physical sense for the prophet Elijah who had just slain all the priests of Baal. Hearing that the evil queen Jezebel was after him, Elijah panicked and beat it out of town (I Kings 19).

a. The Request (v. 4) - “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!’” Elijah was too old to be running like that. He was to the point of giving up in hopeless despair because he felt like he was fighting a losing battle (cf. v. 14)

b. The Refreshment (vv. 5 - 7) - Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”

c. The Result (v. 8) - “So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.” That’s some food! There was old Elijah ready to bail out and God sent an angel to provide for his physical and emotional exhaustion, giving him everything he needed.

So angels watch us; they have revealed God’s truth to us; they guide us, even to the point of chastisement if necessary; and when God sends them to meet our needs, they provide for us.

PART 3IntroductionWe’ve discussed in these past few lessons many facts about holy angels. I hope that out of this study you have gained not only a greater understanding of angels, but of God as well. One thing that I have gained out of this study of angels is the tremendous care that God has taken to assure His children of their security in a physical sense. Such assurance has alleviated a lot of the burden that I might normally bear over anxieties for physical accident, disease, or any kind of danger, knowing that God’s angels are ministering to the physical care, protection, and guidance of His children. Truly we have found God’s angels to be amazing beings, and I’m sure that we’ll never fully understand them until we meet them. Then maybe our understanding will be increased to really get a glimpse of what they’re like.

Do angels sing?Because of the limited understanding we have about angels, this question is often asked. As might be expected, at the creation of the world “the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). So, we know that angels sang in the past. And in the future as well, we see them singing. In Revelation 5:11b-12 John says, “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12

saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain…” The question is: Are they singing? Back up to verse 9: “And they sang a new song…” With the four living creatures (who

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are angels) and the four and twenty elders (who are representatives of the church) it appears as though the rest of the angels join in that new song.

So, the angels are seen singing twice in the Bible: once at creation and once again at the return of Jesus Christ. It is interesting that there is no record of them ever singing in-between those two times. It’s as though they lost all reason to sing after newly-created man fell. And the only thing that will restore their joy in song is the restoration of the world to the rule of Christ at His return.

Now let’s consider five more ministries of angels to believers, beginning with that of their involvement ...

5. IN PROTECTING

Angels protect God’s people in physical danger. The Bible gives several illustrations of His angels protecting believers in dangerous situations.

a. In The Fiery Furnace (Daniel 1)Nebuchadnezzar had an ego problem (to put it mildly) and he wanted everybody to worship the golden image that he had set up. But there were some Jews who didn’t care for such a pagan law, deciding to worship only God.

1) The Refusal Of The Jews (vv. 16-18) - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s gods or his golden image (vv. 12-14). Upon their indictment, they “answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. (i.e., We aren’t concerned about this. We’re just going to go about doing what we always do.) If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” These three were willing to suffer the consequences for their uncompromising stand.

2) The Rage Of The King (vv. 19-23) - The king’s changed visage (i.e., contorted face) reflected his great rage: “Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army (He was afraid they wer going to put up a fight, so he got the strong arms.) to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. (The guys that threw them in all burned to death because the fire was so hot) And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the

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burning fiery furnace.” The mighty men who threw them in there were burned, but not the prisoners who were still alive in the fire.

3) The Rescue By The Angel (vv. 24-28a) - “Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.” (They were absolutely unaffected) Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him…” Do you know who the fourth one in the furnace was? Some say it was Jesus Christ, the Angel of the Lord. One “like a son of the gods” was the comment of the pagans. A very unique “angel” delivered them from the midst of the furnace that was so hot it burned to death the people who threw the prisoners in.

Let’s look at another angelic intervention of protection in the book of Daniel. Angels were busy in the life of Daniel and his friends.

b. In The Lion’s Den (Daniel 6)In this chapter, Daniel was serving under a different king by the name of Darius who had the same problem Nebuchadnezzar had: he wanted everybody to worship him and his kind of religion. (cf. vv 7-9).

1) Darius’ Assurance (vv. 16-17) - Having caught Daniel petitioning God rather than Darius, the princes “brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” I really think that this king liked Daniel a lot, and that he believed that Daniel’s God was able to do as he hoped: He said, “Don’t worry about it, Daniel. I’ve had the history of your God reported to me and you’re going to be okay – He’ll get you out.” Now, that’s what I call the faith of a pagan. “Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.”

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2) Darius’ Anticipation (vv. 18-20) - Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

3) Daniel’s Answer (vv. 21-22a) - “Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me…” This is a fantastic record of how God protected Daniel from physical harm and death by sending an angel.

Well, we have to ask “What about the New Testament? Do we have any illustrations in the New Testament of angels protecting the people of God?”Yes! No question about it.

c. In A Tempestuous Sea (Acts 27)Having been arrested in Jerusalem and imprisoned in Caesarea, Paul was now on his way to Rome that he might stand trial before Caesar.

1) The Storm Described (vv. 14-15) - “But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.” When this feared Mediterranean wind came upon them, they had no choice but to let go of the controls and let the wind take the ship.

2) The Strategy Determined (vv. 16-20) - “And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty.” In other words, they were afraid they wer going to lose the dinghy which was tied to the back, so they labored hard to hold on. And the storm ws getting worse. “When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship;” (i.e., frapping the ship, which involved throwing ropes around the ship and securing them with winches to tighten the boards together so that the ship wouldn’t fall apart) “and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven.” The sailors were afraid of being driven by this northeastern wind into the graveyard of ships on the North African coast, so they lowered their sails and were just driven with the wind. “And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. 20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.” Without any

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celestial reference points because of a dark clouded sky, there was no way to navigate. Being driven by a tempest like this, they had no idea what they might smash into.

3) The Safety Declared (vv. 21-24) - “But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.” Now you figure that out. How would you like that news? “Folks, nobody will drown. We’ll only lose the ship.” “Great, but what do we do out here without a ship? And Paul, how do you know that?” So Paul continues, “For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’”

4) The Ship DirectedWhile that ship was being blasted across the Mediterranean by that wind, there probably was a whole legion of angels hanging on to everybody and everything. The incredible story goes on to tell how they came to such a wonderful place of landing, they couldn’t believe it. Instead of being driven further south, the ship had actually been driven toward their destination. And when they ran aground, the ship was destroyed and the crew swam for shore. Later, when they had gathered together on the shore, they checked and every person was there though the ship was destroyed – just as the angel had said. God’s angels take care to protect God’s people.

Angels really do protect.

Let’s go to a sixth thought which is similar to protection. Angels assist believers …

6. IN DELIVERING

This in not just preventing trouble, it’s getting you out of it … delivering.a. In The Past

1) The Apostles From Prison (Acts 5)As the early church was actively preaching, and growing as a result, the leaders in the Jewish community were becoming very upset about the church’s popularity.

a) The Arrest of the Apostles (vv. 17-18) - “Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation” (i.e., They were really furious about the growth of this new sect, Christianity), “and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.” They threw them in the public prison which was designed for criminals.

b) The Appearance of an Angel (vv. 19-20) - “But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the

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words of this life.” What’s so satirical about this is that the Sadducees were the ones who denied angels. And God, as if to say, “Take that, Sadducees,” sent an angel to let them out after the Sadducees had put them in.

c) The Absence of the Accused (vv. 21-23) - “And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” How did they get out? The angel let them out.

God’s angels deliver His people. It’s exciting to know that you can never get yourself trapped in a situation from which God can’t get you out if that’s what He chooses to do. This ought to really give boldness to the missionary, when he realizes that if he gets into any kind of problem and God wants him out, He can call upon His angels to protect or deliver him.

A few chapters later, God sent an angle again to deliver …

2) Peter From Prison (Acts 12)With the persecution getting worse, James was killed and Peter was imprisoned again (vv. 2-4)

a) Peter Restrained (vv. 5-6) - Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.” Now get this: Peter is under maximum security as a prisoner – probably to be executed. Guards are on the outside of the door of his cell, and inside he is chained to two guards – one on each arm. That’s security!

b) Peter Rescued (vv. 7-11) - ”Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate

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that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod…”

b. In The PresentA striking modern parallel to these biblical records of deliverance from prison is seen in the experience of the famous Indian Christian, Sundar Singh.

1) A Slow Death?By order of the chief lama of a certain Tibetan community, Sundar Singh was thrown into a dry well that was used as a prison. With a lid over the top that was secured and locked, he was left to die at the bottom among the bones and rotting flesh of other unfortunate victims.

2) A Sudden Deliverance!On the third night when he had been crying to God in prayer, he heard someone unlocking the lid, and a voice spoke telling him to take hold of a rope that had been lowered. He did so and was glad to find a loop at the bottom of the rope in which he could place his foot, his arm having been broken when he was thrown down. He was then strongly pulled up and the lid was replaced and relocked. But when he looked around in the dark to thank his rescuer, there was no one to be seen. When morning came, Singh returned to the city in which he had been arrested and began preaching again. News came fast to the chief lama, who denied that it could have happened since the only key was attached to his own belt.

How did it happen? God might have sent one of His angels to provide deliverance in this case. And such an incident is not an isolated one.

Think of how active angels must have been in the lives of all those mentioned and inferred in Hebrew 11. Just taking care of and delivering those heroes must have been quite an undertaking: Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets “who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34

quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword …” (vv. 33-34a).

Think of how angels have served the people of God by protecting and deliverance throughout history. And the future will be no different. Angels will be active protecting God’s people then, too.

c. In The FutureDuring the period of time know as the Tribulation, following the Lord’s removal of the true church from this world, God is going to take 12,000 Jews from each of the twelve tribes and use them as evangelists (cf. Rev. 7:4-10). All Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26), but 144,000 are going to become evangelists. In order to make sure that nobody hurts those 144,000 who will be preaching the gospel, God will have His angels place a protective seal upon them. Listen to Revelations 7:2-3: “Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

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The angels come and seal them so that they cannot be injured or put to death by the beast in the time of the Tribulation. And perhaps the seal also serves as an identifying mark so that the angels know who they are to protect when the slaughter of the Tribulation occurs.

Besides delivering God’s people, angels are also actively ministering to believers…

7. IN ANSWERING PRAYER

We need to clarify this: Angels do not answer prayer, they simply deliver answers.a. For Peter

In Acts 12 where the angel released Peter from prison, the church had been actively praying for him (v. 5), and God sent an angel in answer to their prayers.

b. For IsraelIn Daniel 9 you have a very similar incident. Daniel prayed and God sent an angel (v. 21ff). In Daniel 10 you have it again: a prayer followed by an angel (vv. 10-14).

Now we do not pray to angels. They are only servants. They do not give their own orders or do what they want, at any time. They only obey God, and the prayer that we offer Him is the only one that is heard. God will activate His angels in response to that prayer. I guess it would be all right to say, “Lord, I need your angels. Could you spare a few and send them my way to help me out of this problem?” God answered the prayer of Sundar Singh who prayed for three nights … and very likely an angel delivered him.

So what do angels do for believer? They watch, reveal God’s truth, guide, protect, deliver, and bring answers to prayer. One other thing angels do for believers is take care of them…

8. IN ATTENDING THEIR DEATHa. The Testimonies Before Death

1) Reverend William Kendall died with these words to his family: “Why, heaven has come down to earth. I see the angels. They’re flying through the house.”

2) Mrs. Anna Crowsen said that the last words of her dying mother were these: “Oh, I can see the angels. Can’t you see them?”

3) Mademoiselle Bernard died after much suffering. The end was peaceful and her last words were these: “I see two angels coming for me.”

Let’s see if there’s support for this in scripture:

b. The Transportation After Death (Luke 16:19-22) - “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously (or ‘ate well’) every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table (i.e., Lazarus just hung around the rich man’s gate to eat the rich man’s garbage). Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.” Though Lazarus may not have been significant to anybody in this world, he was valued by God who dispatched His angels to bring him to Abraham’s bosom when he died.

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So, in our life and death, angels minister to us as believers. What a fantastic reality to know that mighty angels minister on our behalf in this age. But even in the future during the Tribulation, saints (i.e., the Christians who are redeemed during that period) are going to know an angelic ministry…

9. IN GATHERING TOGETHER THE ELECT

When Jesus returns, He says in Matthew 24:31, “He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect…” The angels are going to be the ones that gather all the believers.

10. In Being Subject to UsAnd finally, during the millennial Kingdom, angels will serve us as we rule in the Kingdom. I Corinthians 6 says, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? …3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels?” (vv. 2a, 3a) In the coming Kingdom, we are going to rule with Christ as co-regents and joint heirs (cf. Matt. 19:28; Rom. 8:17; Rev. 3:21). And the angels are going to minister to us as servants subject to us. They minister to us now and they’ll minister to us in the future.

What should be our attitude toward angels?We spent a lot of time discussing their ministry to us so we at least ought to know how we should respond in their regard.1. We ought to respect them as holy servants to God.2. We ought to appreciated them, knowing how they aid us.3. We ought to follow their example as they incessantly worship and serve God. That’s a

beautiful pattern, isn’t it.?

While we can be thankful and appreciate and follow their example, we are not to worship angels, for that would be the sin of idolatry. Angels do not want our worship. They worship God and that’s an obvious example to follow. Furthermore, Scripture warns us against worshipping angels. Col. 2:18 – “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels…” In other words, don’t let anyone trick you into worshipping angels – you’ll lose your reward. And did you know, angels don’t even want our worship. In Revelation 19:10, John fell at the feet of an angel, who said to him, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!” That angel knew that angels are not to be worshipped. And again in 22:8-9, “Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” Twice John did it and was rebuked by the angel. So then, what do the angels who serve ask from us? Absolutely nothing, except that we worship God. Angels are only an extension of God’s loving care, absolute power, and gracious provision. But the glory belongs to God. Don’t worship angels – worship God.

So, Angels minister to God, to Christ, to believers, and …

D. TO UNBELIVERS

How do angels operate in the lives of unbelivers? The Bible records only one way – they serve as God’s executioners. They were involved in the disastrous destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19). They also brought judgment upon Egypt as executioners of the firstborn (Ex. 12:23, 29; cf. Ps 78:49). One angel slew 185,000 of the Assyrian army in delivering Hezekiah and Judah (II Kings 19:14-20, 35).

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1. EVIDENCE FROM SCRIPTURE

a. In The Past - In Acts 12:21-23 we meet Herod Agrippa 1 (grandson of Herod the Great who was reigning at the time of Jesus’ birth). Now Herod was so proud of himself that he established, as it were, a national Herod Day – he was going to get his glory. Displeased with what was going on politically, Herod took what was supposed to be Claudius Caesar’s commemoration day, and turned it into his own Herod Day: “So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel (Josephus, the historian, says he had on a silver robe over royal purple. He was really ‘dressed to kill’), sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” (i.e., ‘isn’t he incredible? He’s divine, this Herod.’ But God wasn’t happy with him) Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.” It must have been a pretty dramatic scene: God sent His angel and smote Herod, and maggots consumed him.

Angels appear in Scripture in relation to unbelievers in only one way … as executioners. For example, look with me ..

b. In The FutureIn Revelation 6-19, the angels appear again and again as emissaries of judgment:

1) Revelation 8-9a) The First Trumpet (Acts 8:7) – “The first angel sounded:

And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.”

b) The Second Trumpet (Acts 8:8-9) – “Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.”

c) The Third Trumpet (Acts 8:10a, 11b) – “Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, … and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.”

d) The Fourth Trumpet (Acts 8:12a) – “Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars…” Do you know what this would do if their gravitational influence were affected? It would throw the calendar off, the seasons off, the tides off – everything would be chaos.

And if you think that’s bad, the angel says, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the

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remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

e) The Fifth Trumpet (Acts 9:1) - “Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.” And when it was opened, out came all the demons.

On and on it goes … and it continues like that as angels come in acts of judgment, taking over the earth from the ungodly. Terrible, terrible judgment….

2) Revelation 16In this chapter, you have the unfolding of the bowls of wrath as the angels pour out that final phase of judgment that hits so painfully.

a) The First Bowl (v. 2a) - “So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men …”

b) The Second Bowl (v.3) – “Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.”

c) The Third Bowl (v. 4) – “Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.”

d) The Fourth Bowl (v. 8) – “Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.”

e) The Fifth Bowl (v. 10) – “Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.” Terrible physical pain will occur.

The two final bowls bring further judgment, as the angels continue serving as God’s executioners of the ungodly. But this role of angels is not limited to just the book of Revelation. We also can find it expressed in…

3) II Thessalonians 1:7-9 - “And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” There’s coming a day when Jesus Christ is going to be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance.

Toward an unbeliever, angels are only instruments of God’s wrath and judgment. Angels do not guide unbelievers or watch over them. They don’t

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protect or deliver them, or bring answers to their prayers. All they do is wait until the time when they are dispatched to carry out judgment.

4) Matthew 13:41-42 - “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” That’s what the angels do … they’re God’s executioners of the ungodly (i.e., those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ).

5) Matthew 25:41 - “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” The ungodly will spend their eternity with the fallen angels who rebelled against God. This judgment is going to be carried out, according to verse 31, by “the Son of man … and all the holy angels…”

2. THE EVALUATION OF SELFa. The Choice Of Man

It’s a tragic thing to realize, as people evaluate the options available to them, that many refuse the ministry of angels that is given to believers, and choose the judicial ministry of angels for unbelievers. Sooner or later, everybody will receive the attention of angels, and each will choose the ministry he will receive – the care of angels or the execution. If you choose Jesus Christ and believe in Him, receiving Him as Lord and Savior, the angels are yours in watching, revealing, guiding, providing, protecting, delivering, answering prayer, and in attending your death. But if you choose to reject Jesus Christ, they will cast you into hell as God’s executioners. The choice is yours.

b. The Choice Of The AngelsWell we wonder “If angels had a choice, which would they rather do?” That’s easy. I think Luke 15 shows us that angels do not like the ministry of judgment. Luke 15:8-10 – “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Which would the angels rather do: care for you or be God’s executioners? That’s easy. “…there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”