TEXT: Revelation 12:7-10; Psalm 91:10-11
INTRODUCTION:
1. Read The Text.
2. What about angels? Are they real? What are they? What do they do? Have I ever seen one?
3. Angels have made a comeback in recent years.
4. According to a Time Magazine poll 32% of Americans claim they've had a personal experience with an angelic presence. 69% believe in Angels compared to 50% in 1988
5. Why is there so much talk and speculation about angels today? In: the press, TV, Books, Talk shows?
6. Angelology is the doctrine or study of angels.
7. With this subject, we are delving into the metaphysical. Since we are dealing with the unseen, we must be careful how we tread.
8. Most people are very superstitious and as a result tend to read more into scripture than is there on subjects like the angels. Often wild and bazaar doctrines come from running beyond the clear meaning of scripture.
9. As a reaction to this superstitious extreme, many often just don’t think about the subject or study it.
10. Some questions that naturally arise relative to the subject are:
1) What is the origin of angels?
2) What is the state or form of angels?
3) What are the attributes of angels?
4) What is the mission of angels?
5) What is the destiny of angels?
11. There are many other questions asked that are germane to the subject, but those will have to be dealt with in later sermons dealing with SATANOLOGY, DEMONOLOGY AND THE HIERARCHY OF ANGELS.
DISCUSSION:
I. The present fad -- Consider several examples of modern manifestations (?) of angels.
A. See appendix #1 titled Joan Wester Anderson Aspire, Dec./Jan 94/95 pp. 59,60
B. Joan Anderson wrote a book in 1992 Where Angels Walk in which she relates this and four dozen other experiences. It has sold 5 million copies.
C. A host of books have recently been released ranging from New Age-flavored Ask Your Angel to Celebration of Angels.
D. The News Mags: Time, News Week & Ladies Home Journal have all run recent feature stories on angels.
E. IRONY: An increasingly secular America seem to mesmerized with angels.
1. Angel T-shirts, calendars, watches, dolls.
2. There are more than 30 angel boutiques.
3. Prosecuting attorney Marsha Clark wore an angel on here lapel in the O. J. Simpson trial.
F. See Appendix 2 -- Timothy Jones Aspire p. 61
II. The origin of angels.
A. God asked Job. (Job 38:4-7).
(Job 38:4-7 NKJV) "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. {5} Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? {6} To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, {7} When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
1. Sons of God shouted for joy, when God laid the foundations of the earth.
2. Adam was not created until the sixth day of creation.
3. Who were the sons of God?
a) They couldn’t be men (1 Cor. 15:45; Gen 3:20).
4. They must have been the angels.
B. Angels were not from eternity i.e. eternal.
Neh. 9:7 “Thou art Jehovah the God, even thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all thereon . . .”
1. Jehovah created the HOSTS or angels.(Psa. 103:20-21)
Psalms 148 “Praise ye him, all his angels: Praise ye him, all his host. Praise him sun and moon: Praise him, all ye stars of light. Let them praise the name of Jehovah for he commanded, and they were created.”
“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” (Eph. 3:14,15)
2. God has a family IN HEAVEN, and a family ON EARTH.
“But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, that heavenly Jerusalem, and to the innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born who are enrolled in heaven.” (Heb. 12:22,23)
C. Paul spoke of the organization of the heavenly angels in (Col. 1:15-17)
(Colossians 1:15-17 NKJV) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. {16} For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. {17} And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
1. Note that angels are created beings of various ranks.
D. Angels are not glorified human beings:
“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 angels in heaven.” (Matt. 22:29,30)
1. Note that men will not become angels but will become like angels.
2. Also men are not former angels.
E. Angels, like men, were created in the image of God and were, therefore, free moral agents. The will of an angel is autonomous.
1. Angels had to be placed under law or they would not have been free moral agents.
2. A study of this subject would lead us into the subjects of Satanology and Demonology, which we will cover at a later date.
F. Illustrations of the fact that angels are under law:
“Bless Jehovah, ye his angels, that are mighty in strength, that fulfill his word. Hearkening unto the voice of his word, bless Jehovah, all ye his hosts, Ye ministers of his that do his pleasure.” (Psalms 103:20,21)
“And the angels that kept not their own principality left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 6)
“God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.” (II Pet. 2:4)
G. Angels are of a higher order than man, but of a lower order than God.
1. Christ became a little lower than the angels. (Psa. 8; Heb. 2:7)
2. Angels are:
“Ministering spirits sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation.” (Heb. 1:14)
III. The state or form of angels.
A. They are invisible to the unaided human vision.
1. They are incorporeal, that is they are not made of material substance.
“A spirit hath not flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39)
2. Balaam’s mule was permitted to see the angel of Jehovah that stood in the way, and she lay down under Balaam.
“Then Jehovah opened the eyes of Balaam, and he, too, saw the angel of Jehovah standing in the way, with his sword drawn.” (Num. 22:27-31)
3.
In the days of Elisha, the king of Syria sent a host
with horses and chariots to take him, Elisha’s servant said: “Alas, my
master! How shall we do?” Elisha said:
“Fear not. They that are with
us are more than they that are with them.”
4. Then Elisha prayed: “OPEN HIS EYES THAT HE MAY SEE.”
“And Jehovah 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.” (II Kings 6:14-17)
5. Apparently those horses and chariots were angelic beings.
6. Neither the angel that confronted Balaam nor the ones surrounding Elisha were visible until their eyes were opened.
B. Angels are capable of assuming any form in which God is pleased to employ them.
1. We have observed them as horses and chariots.
2. In the flame of fire in the midst of a bush. (Ex. 3:2)
3. They frequently appeared as men.
a) To Abraham. (Gen. 18:1-2)
b) To Lot. (Gen. 19:1,2)
c) To Manoah (Judges 13:9)
d) Jacob wrestled with an angel. (Gen. 32:22-28)
e) To the women at the tomb at the resurrection. (Mark 16:5)
f) The two at the ascension from Mount Olivet. (Acts 1:10,11)
IV. The attributes of Angels.
A. They are superhuman in KNOWLEDGE, but they are not omniscient, or all knowing, as God is.
1. Examples of superhuman knowledge:
a) An angel predicted the birth of Isaac. (Gen. 18:10)
b) Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, announced to Zacharias the birth of John the Baptist. (Luke 1:11-19)
c) An angel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would bear a son begotten of God by the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:26-37)
d) The first announcement of the birth of the Saviour was to shepherds by angels. (Luke 2:13,14)
e) An angel warned Joseph to flee to Egypt. (Matt. 2:13-15)
f) Two angels in white apparel announced that Jesus would “so come in like manner”. (Acts 1:10,11)
2. While superhuman in knowledge, they are not omniscient. Examples:
(1 Peter 1:10-12 NKJV) Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, {11} searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. {12} To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven; things which angels desire to look into.
(Matthew 24:36 NKJV) “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
B. Angels are superhuman IN STRENGTH but they are not OMNIPOTENT.
1. Examples of superhuman strength.
a) Two smote the men small and great blind in Sodom. (Gen. 19:11)
b) In the time of David, an angel destroyed by pestilence from Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand men. (2 Sam. 24:15-17)
c) An angel of the Lord smote in the camp of the Assyrians 185,000 men of valor, leaders, and captains. (2 Kings 19:35, 36; 2 Chron. 32:21).
d) Daniel in the lion den. (Dan. 6:22)
e) An angel rolled away the 4,000 pound stone from the tomb. (Matt. 28:2-4)
f) An angel brought the apostles out of a dungeon. (Acts 5:19)
g) An angel smote King Herod when he allowed the people to honor him as a god, and Herod was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost. (Acts 12:23)
h) When Peter was bound with two chains and made to sleep between two soldiers, and watchmen were placed before the doors of Herod’s prison and secured by iron gates, bolts, bars, locks and doors; an angel entered the prison and led Peter out as though nothing had been in the way. The iron gate opened on its own. (Acts 12:10)
i) Peter wrote: “Whereas angels, thou greater in might and power bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord.” (II Pet. 2:11)
j) David wrote: “Bless Jehovah, ye his angels, that are mighty in strength, that fulfill his work, hearkening the voice of his word” (Psa. 103:20)
2. Angels, while superhuman in POWER are not OMNIPOTENT.
a) When in the days of David, the angel that had just destroyed 70,000 stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented and said to the angel that destroyed the people, “It is enough; stay now thine hand.” (II Sam. 24:15,16)
b) The angel could only do what he was instructed to do.
C. Thirdly we observe that while superhuman in speed they are not OMNIPRESENT (not everywhere at the same time as God is).
1. To illustrate the fact of their incredible swiftness and speed, consider the following:
a) The angel Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, was caused to fly swiftly at the beginning of Daniel’s prayer, and he reached Daniel while he was still praying. (Dan. 9:20-23).
b) Here we observe the incredible swiftness and speed of Gabriel as he moved as lightening from the presence of God to Daniel.
c) John saw an angel flying in midheaven having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth. (Rev. 14:6)
d) The winged aspect of the angel must have been to assure those involved that when the occasion requires that angels would hasten to their aid with incredible speed and swiftness.
e) Angels are, as already observed, capable of passing over any space in an inconceivably short span of time.
2. That angels, while superhuman in their incredible swiftness and speed, were not omnipresent or everywhere at the same time, is illustrated by the following:
a) Angels had to go from a place to the place of their peculiar mission.
b) Angels went to visit Abraham.
c) Two of those angels went from Mamre down to Sodom and Gomorrah.
d) When the commandment went forth, Gabriel went forth. Gabriel went from the presence of God to Daniel in Babylon. (Dan. 9:20-23)
e) The same angel Gabriel was sent from the presence of God into the city of Galilee named Nazareth, to the Virgin Mary to announce that she, without the agency of man, would conceive in her womb and bring forth a son. (Luke 1:26-35)
f) Thus we see that Gabriel was sent, had to go, to parties with the respective communications from God.
g) Angels are not, therefore, omnipresent, or everywhere at the same time.
V. We should consider the mission of angels.
A. As the preceding material has indicated, angels are primarily the ministers of God’s providence.
1. The Psalmist declared
(Psalms 34:7) The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
2. This is a general statement without specifications.
3. The Christian is left to infer, therefore, that the statement applies to all who love and fear the Lord.
4. The saints of God are surrounded, no doubt, by angels invisible to them.
B. The Hebrew writer states that angels are ministering spirits sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation. (Heb. 1:14)
C. Then too, when Jesus had sat a child in the midst of his disciples, he 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.” (Matt. 18:10)
D. Angels watch with anxious solicitude for the salvation of sinners.
1. Jesus said:
“There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:10)
2. The angelic multitude rejoiced at the birth of the Savior. They sang:
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14)
3. Only a deep solicitude for the salvation of sinners could have called forth such rejoicing by the heavenly host of angels.
E. Angels serve to carry the saved home when they fall asleep in Jesus. Concerning the beggar, we read: “And it came to pass, that the beggar died and that he was carried away by angels into Abraham’s bosom.” (Luke 16:22)
F. By way of analogy, as Christians compose God’s family of servants on earth, just so the angelic host compose God’s family in heaven.
1. The angels of heaven constitute an “innumerable host,” according to the Hebrew writer. (Heb. 12:22)
a) When Peter smote off the ear of the High Priest’s servant, the Lord rebuked him saying: “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt. 26:53)
b) A legion during the period of the Romans referred to a division of the Roman Army that numbered from five to six thousand.
c) Presuming this to be the proper reference, twelve legions would have been more than sixty thousand angels.
2. With deep humility and profound reverence, angels carry on their ministry.
3. Angels not only attend upon their regular ministries, but they also stand before God and worship him.
a) Angels worship God, and they are not to be worshipped by man.
b) When the Apostle John fell down to worship before the feet of an angel, the angel said: “See that thou do it not: I am a fellow servant with thee and with thy brethren and the prophets, and with them that keep the words of this book: Worship God.” (Rev. 22:8,9)
VI. Now at this point in the study, let us consider briefly the destiny of angels - or rather the destiny of the good angels.
A. For one thing, the good obedient angels will be the companions of the redeemed of the new heaven and the new earth.
B. For another thing, the Lord’s return will be accompanied with the voice of the archangel and with the angels of his power. (1 Thess. 4:16; 2 Thess. 1:7-9)
C. For still another thing, at Christ’s coming, the “angels shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matt. 24:31)
D. For a fourth thing, the angels shall sever the wicked from among the righteous. (Matt. 13:39-50)
VII. Are angels active in our lives?
A. Not much is said specifically but there are a couple of key verses.
(Matthew 18:10 NKJV) "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
(Hebrews 1:14 NKJV) Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
VIII. Conclusion.
A. In conclusion, let me say we have only given a brief overview of the study of good angels.
1. This material is not exhaustive.
2. The material will, I hope, serve to give you some ideas of the vastness of God and the heavenly host.
3. I hope the material will whet your appetite for a more in-depth study of the Bible, and with such an in-depth study, you will cross paths with the angels of God’s providence.
B. Further in conclusion, let me say that there are other phases of the subject of angelology, which beg for further study.
1. One such study is the classifications of angels- cherubim, seraphim, and archangels!
2. Another study would have to do with the study of Satan, a fallen archangel who led a rebellion in heaven.
3. Still another study would have to do with the study of the angels that joined Satan in his rebellion.
4. Another study would have to do with demons.
a) Who were they?
b) Were they fallen angels?
Appendix 1
Joan Wester Anderson Aspire, Dec./Jan 94/95 pp. 59,60
-- Joan Wester Anderson is a middle-aged Midwestern teacher who still gets Goosebumps when she recounts the events of December 24, 1983.
Anderson’s son Time and his roommates Jim and Don left their Connecticut college at dawn on Christmas Eve to drive home for the holidays. Under ideal conditions, Tim should have been safe and warm in the Andersons’ suburban Chicago home in about 18 hours.
But these weren’t ideal conditions. The Midwest was shivering through gale-force winds that drove temperatures down to 80 degrees below zero – cold enough to freeze exposed skin in less than a minute
After stopping briefly in Indiana to drop Don at his home in Fort Wayne, Time and Jim Hurried on to Illinois. But they didn’t get far.
A few miles outside Ford Wayne, their car sputtered and died on a deserted highway. As bone-chilling cold numbed his body, Tim prayed that God would send someone to help. Two hundred miles away, a worried mom checked the clock and echoed the same prayer.
Without notice, the headlights of a tow truck appeared at the rear of Tim’s car. The driver, enveloped in a furry parka, knocked on the window and ask if they needed a tow. Breathing a sigh of relief, tim gave the hooded figure directions back to Don’s house.
Without another word, the driver attached the chains, climbed into his truck, and towed the car back to the familiar Fort Wayne neighborhood. When the driver stopped in front of Don's house, Tim and Jim raced to the warmth of their friend's home.
"What happened?" asked Don, slamming the door against the icy blast.
"The tow-truck driver, Don," Tim interrupted, "I need to pay him."
Don peered through the window, a puzzled look on his face. "I don't see any tow truck out there."
Tim's car was parked alone at the curb. There had been no noise of its release, no bill, no farewell, no taillights disappearing in the distance. And when the boys checked the street for signs of their mysterious savior, the only set of tire tracks in the snow belonged to Tim's car.
That night, says Joan Anderson, "I heard the whisper of angel wings."
Anderson's not the only one to have been touched by an angel. According to a recent Time magazine poll, 32 percent of Americans claim they've had a personal experience with an angelic presence, and 69 percent confess a belief in the existence of angels. That's up from 50 percent in 1988, two years before Sophy Burnham's Book of Angels excited America's curiosity about celestial spirits.
After three centuries of banishment to the stuff of myth and legend, angels are making a comeback, riding a crest of interest among people of every faith and no faith.
Her Son’s winder rescue led Joan Anderson on a quest to investigate accounts of other people who believed they had encountered angels. When her advertisement soliciting angel stories ran in several national magazines, she was inundated with letters. Anderson's 1992 book, Where Angels Walk, recounts her son's experience alone four dozen other angel testimonies, a fraction of the hundreds of stories she'd collected.
Anderson's best-selling book is just one evidence of America's growing fascination with celestial spirits. Riding the wings of sales approaching five million copies, bookstores offer a heavenly host of books ranging from the New Age-flavored Ask Your Angels to the recently released Celebration of Angels by evangelical author Timothy Jones.
Books aren't the only places you can encounter angels. These celestial celebrities have been the topic of recent feature stories in some of America's most popular magazines, including Time, Newsweek, and Ladies Home Journal. And people who claim to see angels, talk with them, or put others in contact with them are frequent guests on radio and TV talk shows.
A society that normally turns a cold shoulder to religious issues seems to be in hot pursuit of celestial spirits. But the unsuspecting may be rushing in where God's angels fear to tread.
Want an angel T-shirt, calendar, watch, or doll? There are more than 30 angel boutiques across America and several angelware catalogs.
Appendix 2
Timothy Jones Aspire p. 61
In the Opening Chapter of Celebration of Angels, Timothy Jones tells the story of Walt Shepard In Louisiana in 1971, Shepard tried to commit suicide by driving his sports car into an automobile parked alongside Interstate 10.
The collision threw Shepard through the windshield onto the engine, as the two cars exploded. The hood, hinged at the front, popped open trapping the unconscious man in the flames.
At this point in the story, Shepard relies on eyewitnesses. The manager of the Holiday Inn across the road called for help. By the time the highway patrol arrived, the fire's searing
heat prevented them from freeing the trapped man.
Then the troopers and the hotel manager noticed two strangers, though it was 3:40 a.m. and the highway was otherwise deserted. Although the intense heat kept everyone else at least 50 feet back, the two figures calmly walked to Shepard's car, pulled him out, and helped the attendant put him into the ambulance.
Then the strangers simply disappeared. Though a number of people saw what they did, no one could describe them. It was Shepard's father, a Presbyterian minister, who first suggested to his son that angels had saved his life.
During the months of painful recovery that followed his accident, Shepard reflected often on his Christian upbringing. One day, enveloped in a full body cast, he rolled over in bed and surrendered his life to Christ. Today he serves in Christian ministry.
"I believe that angels are simply part of God's natural dealings," Shepard is quoted as saying. "Angels rescued me from the fire that morning I crashed. And they haven't stopped working.
Though more dramatic than most purported angel encounters, Walt Shepard's is typical in many respects. Someone is in immediate danger or dire need – a speeding car, a serious injury, a grave illness. Suddenly help arrives - a sudden nudge, a mysterious passerby, a comforting presence.
The victim is snatched from disaster; the rescuer disappears. Only later does the victim recognize the benefactor as an angel.
Such stories are the hallmark of the first wave of angel books that hit the market in the early '90s. Not surprisingly, these books brought many angel enthusiasts out of the closet and spurred demand to know more about these celestial spirits -especially more about what they can do for us right now.
Much of the information from these notes comes from class notes taken in Dr Rex Turner, Sr.'s Class on the book of Hebrews at Southern Christian University.
Last edited March 30, 2007