A
STUDY ON ANGELS
INTRODUCTION:
1. They have been the featured subject of
national news magazines, countless books, and several television shows. They
have even surfaced on the Internet. You can find them on postcards, T-shirts,
calendars and sunglasses. In fact, entire seminars, newsletters, and boutiques
have been devoted to these beings. There's no doubt about it: America is
experiencing a wave of "angel-mania."
2. Time
Magazine conducted
a poll among American adults on the subject of angels and found some
interesting results:
a.
69%
confirmed their belief in the existence of angels.
b.
46%
acknowledged their belief in a personal guardian angel.
c.
32%
claimed to have felt an angelic presence at some time in their lives.
3. People are fascinated with angels.
THIS MORNING,
WE WILL EXAMINE WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES US ABOUT ANGELS.
I.
FIRST,
LET'S LOOK AT THE NATURE OF ANGELS.
1.
Angels are created beings.
a. The fact of their creation is brought out
in (Psalm 148). There the psalmist calls upon all in
the celestial heavens, including the angels, to praise God. The reason given
is, “For He commanded
and they were created”
(Ps. 148:5).
b. The time of their creation is never
stated in the Bible, however, we know they were created before the creation of
the world. From the book of Job we are told that they were present when the
earth was created (Job
38:4-7) so their
creation was prior to the creation of the earth as described in Genesis one.
2.
Angels are spirit creatures.
a.
Angels
are spirit beings. Though at times they have been given the ability to reveal
themselves in the form of human bodies as in (Genesis 18:3), they are described as “spirits” in (Hebrews 1:14). This suggests they do not have
material bodies as we do. For that reason, they do not function as human beings
in terms of marriage and procreation (Mark 12:25) nor are they subject to death (Luke 20:36).
3.
As created spirit beings, angels are mere creatures.
a. They are not divine and are not to be
worshipped (Rev. 19:10;
22:9). As a separate
order of creatures, they are both distinct from human beings and higher than
humans with powers far beyond our abilities in this present age (1 Cor. 6:3; Heb. 1:14; 2:7). But as creatures they are limited in
their powers, knowledge, and activities (1 Peter 1:11-12; Rev. 7:1). Like all of creation, angels are under God’s authority
and subject to His judgment (1 Cor. 6:3; Matt. 25:41).
II.
SECOND,
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF ANGELS--GOOD AND EVIL.
1.
While
all the angels were originally created holy and without sin, there was a
rebellion by Satan (a fallen angel), who, being lifted up by his own beauty,
sought to exalt himself above God and rebelled. In his rebellion, he took with
him one-third of the angels (Rev. 12:4).
a. This rebellion is probably described for
us in (Isaiah 14:12-14) and (Ezekiel 28:15) embodied in the kings of Babylon and
Tyre. Prophesying of a future angelic conflict, John wrote, “And there was war in heaven. Michael and
his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought
back” (Rev. 12:7). In
other words, there are good angels and there are evil angels.
2.
As it
is clear from (Revelation
12:7) and many other
passages, the leader of these fallen angels (or demons as they are also called)
is Satan (Matt.
12:25-27). Satan, the
leader of unholy angels, is a liar, a murderer, and a thief (John 10:10). As God’s great adversary, He hates God
and God’s people. Scripture teaches us that he prowls about like a roaring lion
in search of those whom he may devour. As an angelic being, Satan, along with
his demon-like angels who operate under his authority, is supernaturally
powerful and brilliant, and he uses all his powers against humanity.
3.
So we
need to realize that there are good angels and bad angels.
III.
THIRD,
LET'S LOOK AT THE MINISTRY OF THE GOOD ANGELS.
1.
The
book of Hebrews calls angels "ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit
salvation" (Heb. 1:14). Angels minister to us in many ways, and I'd like for us to look
at some of their ministries.
A.
ANGELS
PROTECT.
1.
Perhaps
no aspect of their ministry to man is more talked about than the idea of a “guardian angel.” Over the years, I have been asked, “Does
everyone have a guardian angel?” While no passage specifically states that
every person has a guardian angel, the Bible does teach that angels do guard or
protect as (Psalm 91:11) declares.
2.
In
addition, (Matthew
18:10) may suggest a
guardian angel because of the statement Christ made regarding little children
when He said, “See that
you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their
angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”
3. Angels care for
and protect believers from physical harm and give believers strength to
overcome difficulties.
4.
This
world is a dangerous place, and angels can provide supernatural protection. (Daniel 6) tells the story of how an angel shut the
mouths of the lions when Daniel was thrown into their den.
ILLUSTRATION:
A young lady
named Myra worked in the inner-city ministry of Teen Challenge in Philadelphia.
One neighborhood gang liked to terrorize anyone who tried to enter the Teen
Challenge building, and they harassed Myra as well. One night, when she was
alone in the building with the gang banging on the door, she felt she should
continue to try to reach out to them with the gospel of Jesus. As she opened
the door, she breathed a prayer for protection. The boys suddenly stopped their
shouting, looked at each other, turned and left quietly. Myra had no idea why.
Later on, as
the staff people were able to build relationships with the gang members, the
ministry director asked them why they dropped their threats against Myra and
left her alone that night. One young man spoke up, saying, "We wouldn't
dare touch her after her boyfriend showed up. That dude had to be seven feet
tall." The director said, "I didn't know Myra had a boyfriend. But at
any rate, she was here alone that night." Another gang member insisted,
"No, we saw him. He was right behind her, big as life in his classy white
suit."
ILLUSTRATION:
Another
young woman walking home from work in Brooklyn had to go past a young man loitering
against a building. She was fearful; there had been muggings in the area
recently, and she prayed for protection. She had to go right by him, and
although she could feel him watching her, he didn't move. A short time after
she reached home, she heard sirens and saw police lights. The next day her
neighbor told her someone had been raped, in the same place and just after she
had passed by the young man.
She wondered
if the man she'd passed was the rapist, because if it were, she could identify
him. She called the police and discovered they had a suspect in custody. She
identified him in a lineup and asked the policeman, "Why didn't he attack me?
I was just as vulnerable as the next woman who came along." The policeman
was curious too, so he described the woman and asked the suspect about her. He
said, "I remember her. But why would I have bothered her? She was walking
down the street with two big guys, one on either side of her."
5.
Although
we do not know all the ways angels protect us, the Bible says that they do.
B.
ANGELS
ENCOURAGE.
1.
Angels
strengthened Jesus after His temptation (Matt 4:11). They encouraged the apostles to keep preaching after releasing
them from prison (Acts
5:19-20), and told
Paul that everyone on his ship would survive the impending shipwreck (Acts 27:23-25). Angels encourage.
ILLUSTRATION:
One mother
of a young girl told the story that the night after her daughter's cancer
surgery, a very tall nurse with long braids, a real Amazon, ministered to her all
night long. She was caring for the girl with a strong but gentle tenderness,
and talking with the mom about how good God is. After they went home, the
mother decided to write a thank-you note to the nurse, and called the hospital
to ask for her name. Everyone--even the head of nursing--insisted that there
was no nurse with that description working at the hospital. She believes God
sent an angel to encourage her through that dark night.
2.
Not
only can God send us brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage us, He can
also send us His messengers.
C.
ANGELS
PROVIDE GUIDANCE.
1.
Sometimes,
angels give guidance so God's people will know what He wants us to do. An angel
appeared to Joseph in a dream and instructed him to take Mary as his wife and
to name her baby Jesus (Matthew 1:20-21).
2.
And
it was an angel who told Philip where to go in his travels so that he could
meet the Ethiopian eunuch and lead him to Christ (Acts 8:26).
3.
Since
we now have the completed canon of Scripture, God may not send His angels to
deliver messages as often as He did in the Bible times, however, it is
possible.
4.
It is
comforting to know that God may send us angels to protect, encourage, and guide
us. Praise the Lord for His angels and for all the work they do for Him.
IV.
LASTLY,
HERE ARE SOME FINAL THOUGHTS TO PONDER ABOUT ANGELS.
1.
We
need to be extremely carefully not to buy into the world's perspective on
angels. Our secular society presents many false views and ideas about God's
messengers.
a.
For
example, some people believe that they should contact and pray to angels.
(1) There are now books available in the
bookstores with titles like Ask Your
Angels and 100 Ways to Attract Angels.
But the Bible gives neither permission nor precedent for us to directly contact
angels. If we need help or assistance, we should pray to God, for He is the one
we should talk to, not angels.
b.
Some
people believe that they receive special knowledge or teachings from angels.
(1) Naomi Albright distributes teachings
about the deep meanings of colors, and numbers and letters of the alphabet
which she claims is “knowledge given from above and brought forth in more
detail by angels. These same beings told Mrs. Albright to stress two main teachings:
first, that God accepts all religions, and second, reincarnation. These two
teachings keep showing up in much of the New Age angel literature, which
shouldn’t be surprising since they are heretical lies that come from the pit of
hell, which is where the angel teachers are from.
(2) We need to remember that God’s angels
are not teachers. God’s word says they are messengers—that’s what “angel”
means—and they minister to us. God has revealed to us everything we need for
life and godliness (2
Peter 1:3), in His
Word.
c.
Some
people believe that when they die they become angels who go back to earth to
minister to their family and friends.
(1) However, we do not become angels after
we die. Angels are not glorified human beings. (Matthew 22:30) explains that angels do not marry or
reproduce like humans.
(2) Also, angels are a company or
association (Hebrews
12:22), not a race
descended from a human ancestry (Luke 20:34-36).
2.
What
our culture needs in response to the angel craze is strong discernment built on
the foundation of God’s word. We need to remember, and share with others, three
truths about angels:
a. The ministry of holy angels will never
contradict the Bible.
b. The actions of holy angels will always be
consistent with the character of Christ.
c. A genuine encounter with a holy angel
will glorify God, not the angel. Holy angels never draw attention to
themselves. They typically do their work and disappear.
CONCLUSION:
1.
I
Hope and pray that this study on angels has been biblical and beneficial.
2.
We
never want to close a service without offering an invitation, so if you would
like to respond to the Lord's invitation, please come as we stand and sing.
Resources used in developing this sermon: