A lot has been said about
‘angels’ in recent years: from TV shows to movies, to figurines both cute and
majestic.
What is an angel?
Is this a figment of our imagination, or are
they real beings?
To better define an
“angel” we turn to the Holy Scriptures in which we find angels mentioned quite
frequently.
We also find that angels are
‘spirits’ yet are often given a form of man to perform specific services.
Angels are referred to in the masculine
gender, as ‘he’, though sex in the human sense is never given to angels.
Neither are angels given in marriage, see
Matt.22:30 and Mark 12:25.
Their power
is greater than that of any man, and their place of being is around the throne
of God.
Revelation 5:11 states “And I
beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne…” and “And
all the angels stood round about the throne.”
As to their relation to the
believers, they are said to be ministering spirits, and to give us physical
safety and well being for the children of God.
These guardian angels have constant access to "“see the face of
God” Matthew 18:10.
We find that angels are given for
our protection, to fight for us, to comfort us, as messengers sent by God, and
that the angels watch man--they observe what we do.
Psalm 34:7 states “The angel of the Lord
encamps round about those who fear him, and delivers them.”
Psalm 91:11 tells us “For he shall give his
angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”
We also find in Daniel 6:22 that Daniel told
the king “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths…”
In Daniel 3:28 the king acknowledges that God
had “sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him”.
Psa. 35:5 & 6 tells us “the angel of the
Lord chase them”…and “the angel of the Lord persecute them” (meaning our
enemies), and in II Kings 19:35 the angel slew a whole army.
In Acts 12:7-10 the angel woke
Peter up, loosed his chains and led him out of the prison.
Once he was safely in the street the angel
departed.
In Acts 5:19 the apostles were
brought out of prison by an angel.
God used his angels throughout
scripture as special messengers.
In
Daniel 10 there is an interesting story about the angel who states in vs. 11
“for unto thee am I now sent.”
And then
the angel goes on to tell Daniel that he was bringing Daniel the answer to his
prayers but was held back by the forces of Satan, referred to as “the prince of
the kingdom of Persia”.
This brings real
meaning to the verse in Eph. 6:12 where it tells us to put on the whole armor
of God “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
In Daniel 8:15 after Daniel had
seen the vision of the “little horn”, a specific angel, Gabriel came to explain
to Daniel the meaning of the vision.
In Matthew 1:20, and 2:13 the
angel appeared to Joseph on two different occasions giving him messages.
The first one assuring him that he should
take Mary for his wife, that she had conceived of the Holy Spirit; and the
second time to warn him to take his family and flee into Egypt.
Luke 1:11 the angel came to Zacharias when he
had gone into the temple, and told him that his prayer had been heard and he
and Elizabeth would have a son, whose name would be called “John”.
In Luke 1:25-33 the angel came to Mary and
gave her the message that she would bring forth a son, the Son of the Highest.
Luke 2:9-14 tells us that the
angel came to the shepherds with the message that Jesus had been born, and this
angel was joined by a multitude of heavenly hosts.
They were so excited that all the angels
wanted to be a part of this glorious and awesome message.
In Matthew 28:5 after rolling
away the stone, the angel met the women with the message that Jesus was no
longer there, but He had risen.
And the
angel told the women to give the disciples a message that they were to meet
Jesus in Galilee.
Angels are sent to comfort us and
strengthen the children of God.
When
Jesus was in the garden praying, before his arrest, Luke 22:43 states “there
appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”
Hebrews 1:14 tells us they are “sent forth to
minister (comfort) for them who shall be heirs of salvation.”
I Kings 19:5 and also 7 tells us about the
angel coming to Elijah on two occasions, touching him and telling him to “arise
and eat”, thus nurturing and ministering to Elijah in his time of need.
Scripture also tells us that the
angels watch us.
I Cor 4:9 says that the
apostles were made a “spectacle unto the world, and to angels.” Ephesions 3:10
(NIV) says “through the church, the manifold (or displaying) wisdom of God
should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” It
should be a sobering thought that the church on earth is observed, so to speak,
by spiritual powers.
During the time of the
Tribulation, God will use His angels to execute most of the judgments.
It will be the army of God’s angels that will
defeat Satan and his fallen angels and cast them forever out of Heaven, and at
the end an angel will seize Satan and bind him and cast him into the bottomless
pit for a thousand years.
God created the angels sometime
before He created the universe, as they were there according to Job
38:4-7.
And we know they will be
entrusted with guarding the New Jerusalem in eternity as Rev. 21:12 describes
this beautiful place as having a “great, high wall with twelve gates, and with
twelve angels at the gates.”
As powerful and beautiful as
these angels are, and as overwhelming as it might be should we actually see an
angel, we are not to worship them.
When
John was overcome at the sight of the angel, the angel told him “Do not do
it!
I am a fellow servant with you and
with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Worship God! (Rev. 19:10, NIV)
Also in Rev. 22:9 he again says,
“Do no do it! I am a fellow servant…Worship God!”
