Angels 101
Introduction: Spiritual Warfare
The past three weeks we have been talking about spiritual warfare. We have been exposing Satan and exalting Jesus. While Jesus loves it when we exalt him, Satan hates it when we expose him. When we exalt Jesus he blesses even more. When we expose Satan he attacks even more.
Can I be real with you this morning? Satan does not like it that I am preaching truth. And so he has stepped up his attacks. I am having neck and shoulder problems that I haven’t struggled with for 20 years. Not bad enough to make me not able to play pickle ball or work on my construction projects at home – but just a thorn in the flesh. Actually I have been told it’s a bone spur – which is not quite as sharp as a thorn. Satan has also attacked me in areas that I don’t typically battle with. Such as – low self-confidence, feelings of incompetence, and even anxiety. I tell myself it is understandable – considering the change in my responsibility as of late, and that it isn’t like I have never dealt with those feelings – but recently Satan has targeted those areas like never before.
And to top it off, I had a direct attack from Satan this last week. You may have seen on Facebook that we have added on a room above our dining room (like I needed another project to do). This past week I broke into that room through the closet of an adjacent bedroom. So with sledge hammer in hand (which certainly has nothing to do with my neck and shoulder problems) I begin to smash and tear out the drywall down to the wall studs. It was there that I noticed something in between the walls. How can I say this delicately? Lying there in the walls was a small pile of some very nasty things, including two torn out pages of a men’s magazine.
I thought to myself – Satan, you got to be kidding me. You see, Satan is very clever.
Do you think it was a coincident that I uncovered that this past week? Satan had that sealed into a wall years ago – hoping to use it as a weapon of destruction. But God is greater. I am thankfulI had the strength to handle it correctly and immediately share the incident with my wife. The enemy, who’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy - intended harm and defeat but God gave victory.
People, we are in spiritual war. This episode was no accident - it was an enemy set up. This is why it is so important to always be wearing your spiritual armor.
And so, I am going to keep preaching truth. And as Paul ended his letter to Ephesians, I ask the same of you… as you pray, pray for me also – that I might continue to boldly speak the truth found in God’s Word. Deal?
As I said two weeks ago, I am going to be concluding our topic of Spiritual Warfare by talking about angels. I will tell you the reason. As I was preparing Part 2 of our spiritual warfare, focusing on the spiritual army we have on our side, I was fascinated by so many Scriptures about angels. There was so much that I wanted to say about that but I knew I just didn’t have time. And then the thought came to me. Hey, wait a minute. I am in charge of the preaching schedule – I can preach what I want. So, we’re talking about angels this morning. We will call it: Angels 101.
Too many of us have treated the reality of angels very lightly to say the least. We think, “oh, I’m sure there are angels, but it’s not likely they are actually around here doing battle against unseen forces of evil. And so we go on with life as if they are not real. As if God and his righteous army are not actively involved in our lives. You may even think – “if angels are supposed to be protecting me, my children, and Christians around the world – they are doing a very bad job!” But what we can’t comprehend is how bad things would be if we had no one fighting for us. We see how bad and how evil this world is, but we have no idea how worse it would be if Satan and his demons were aloud to operate unopposed.
There are countless images that come to people’s minds when they think about angels. Some would claim that angels only exist just in one’s mind, that they are simply a figment of your imagination, a legendary being much like the tooth fairy.
What image comes to mind when you think of angels? Cherubs? Soft skinned women?
Or soldiers? Guardians? When you hear of a host of angels do you picture a choir? Or an army? Does your mind produce a timid angel? Or a Fearsome warrior?
But a talk about what each of us may think in regards to angels would really get us nowhere. So we need to go the source of knowledge. Our textbook for our Angels 101 will be the Bible.
The Old and New Testament are full of encounters with angels. So I hope your fingers are ready because we are going to be looking at a mass of Scripture this morning. The goal is not simply to have you walk away today with greater knowledge concerning angels, but that you will be better equipped to do spiritual warfare.
I. Angels administer God’s plan
A. They declare the Words of God – as Ambassadors
* In the Old Testament and the New Testament, the first thing we see is that God has a plan for mankind and he often uses angels to administer or conduct that plan.
Angels are God’s messengers or ambassadors, if you will. An ambassador is one who speaks on behalf of a higher authority.
Psalm 89:6-7–6) For who in all of heaven can compare with theLord?
What mightiest angel is anything like theLord?7) The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.
Let us be clear this morning - it is God’s plan and God’s will that is being done. We don’t pray to or worship angels. In fact, when an angel met the Apostle John in his vision, John wanted to bow and worship him. The angel told him….“No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you. Worship only God.” (Revelation 19:10)
We are talking about angels this morning, but be warned, we are not to become preoccupied with them. Only God is worthy of our worship, and only Christ saves us. Trust Him alone as your Savior, for “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
We must not place our faith in angels, which God created. Let us place our faith in God who rules the angels. It is God who continues to do extraordinary acts in our lives, commanding His angelic hosts on our behalf.
So an angel is simply an ambassador of the Lord – speaking or acting on behalf of the one true God. Until I understood this, it always confused me when in the Bible a man of God would often encounter an angel – and the angel would start speaking and then in the next verse the man is hearing the voice of God. So which is it – an angel or God? The answer – yes. This is part of the omnipresence of God that we can’t fully comprehend. We will be talking more about that on June 11 – you won’t want to miss. This mystery is similar to the indwelling of the Spirit that lives in a Christian (which we will be talking about on June 18 – you won’t wanna miss that either)
So when an angel speaks – it is the Lord God speaking through them. In Gen 22, Abraham is just getting ready to sacrifice his son Isaac – vs. 11) “But the angel of theLordcalled out to him from heaven,“ Abraham! Abraham!”“Here I am,”he replied. 12)“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God,because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” The angel speaks, God speaks.
Moses and the burning bush –Exodus 3:2“Theangel of theLordappeared to him in flames of firefrom within a bush.” 4)The Lord God calledto him from within the bush,“Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 6)Then the Lord said, “I am the God of your father,the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”At this, Moses hidhis face, because he was afraid to look at God.
So who was speaking from the bush – an angel or God himself? The answer – yes.
What do we do with Gen 32:30? – after Jacob wrestles an angel all night long. v.30) -
Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” Was it an angel or was it God? The answer… yes. Do we fully understand that?.. no. I hope you are okay with that. God is God and we are not. Are you with me so far?
B. They perform the Will of God – as Warriors
* Not only does God often choose to use angels to do his speaking, he often chooses warrior angels to execute his will. To do his bidding you might say.
Psalm 103:20 - Praise theLord, you angels,you mighty ones
whocarry out his plans,listening for each of his commands.
In Numbers 22 we read of the story of Balaam. God is very angry with Balaam for traveling to visit Moabite officials who wish for him to put a curse on Israel.
Num 22:22– “But God was very angrywhen he went, and the angel of theLord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.23When the donkey saw the angel of theLordstanding in the road with a drawn swordin his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat itto get it back on the road.
31Then theLordopened Balaam’s eyes,and he saw the angel of theLord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
It is no wonder that often when angels appeared to men their first reaction was fear.
I think you or I would have hit he ground too. God, who could have chosen many ways to stop Balaam – chose to send an imposing angel to enforce his will.Often an angel of the Lord was sent to deal out justice and destruction.
The death angel is certainly the most vivid example of God using an angel to execute his judgment. There is, of course, the famous tenth plague of Moses, but there are many other times when this death angel was sent down to earth.
In II Sam 24 David has sinned against God so the Lord sent a plague on Israel and 70,000 people died. v17) “When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to theLord, ‘I have sinned; I, the shepherd,have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done?Let your hand fall on me and my family.’” And the Lord relented and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.”
II Kings 19 records another example of God using an angel to accomplish his will.
“that night the angel of theLordwent out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were dead bodies everywhere!”
And in the New Testament…
Acts 12:23 - “Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.”
I bring all this up to show that angels are very active in God’s dealings with mankind. These fearsome warrior angels will also have a big role in the final days…
Matt 13
41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.42And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The book of Revelation, though intended to by a mystery until the final day, tells of the critical role of angels in the last days. There will be war in heaven - Michael and his angels against the great red dragon and his angels. And the dragon will be cast down.
Seven angels will pour out seven bowls of judgment.
And Sevenangels will blow seven trumpets of destruction. Trumpet #1…
1. - hail and fire mixed with blood
2. - a great mountain of fire thrown into the sea
3. - great star will fall from heaven like a meteor
4. - 1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars will become dark
5. - an angel will be given the key to the bottomless pit and will throw Satan into it.
6. - great shout will come from the throne – “release the four angels of destruction”
7. - God’s mysterious plan is fulfilled. Angel voices in heaven shouting “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”
Angels are powerful, fearsome and are very active in administering God’s will – including pronouncement and judgment.
But there is the other side of angels, just like there is the other side of God’s nature – the side that says, “fear not. I bring you good news.” For angels were not only created to administer God’s justice but also to minister his mercy to God’s people.
Hebrews 1:14 - “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” *
II. Angels minister to God’s people
- They defend God’s people – as Guardians
* Angels were created to minister to God’s people. And many times, due to spiritual warfare, that ministry comes in the form of defense and protection.
Psalm 34:7 - Theangelof theLordencamps around those who
fear him, and he delivers them.
It’s hard to grasp and even believe that we have invisible spiritual soldiersencamped around us protecting us from the dark invisible demonic forces - warriors whose main purpose includes being our guardians and fighting for us.
The concept of a guardian angel is not something some storyteller made up. According to Daniel 12:1Michael is the archangel who stands guard over the nationof Israel.
We see an example of his work in the Exodus account of the Israelites fleeingtoward the red sea and the massive army of Egyptians giving chase…
Exodus 14:19records – “Then the angel of God,who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them.” The angel stood guard until the whole nation was across the sea.
In Matthew 18:10we see that God places a special spiritual guardian around children. Jesus says: “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.”
So we see that angels are given charge over nations as well as individuals, and according to the book of Revelation – an angel is given charge over each church.
You may be wondering - Does everyone have their own personal guardian angel with them all the time? Well, unlike God, angels can only be at one place at a time. Only God is omnipresent. In other words, your guardian angel may not always be right beside you. Remember the story of Daniel? It took three weeks for Daniel’s angel to come to his defense due to spiritual warfare with the demon prince of Persia.
We don’t know exactly how God has this worked out. Scripture doesn’t give us a clear picture of all this. It’s a bit of a mystery – as is most things of the unseen world.
But you can be confident that an angel has been given the task of watching over you – both as your protector, as well as your servant. *
B. They assist God’s people – as Servants
Psalm 91:11 - For he will order his angels to protect you whereveryou go.
*Just in case you don’t think there are enough angels to watch over us – just in case you think you might be overlooked. Let’s read
Daniel 7
9)I watched as thrones were put in placeand the Ancient Onesat down to judge.
His clothing was as white as snow,his hair like purest wool. He sat on a fiery thronewith wheels of blazing fire, 10)and a river of fire was pouring out,flowing from his presence. Millions of angels ministered to him;many millions stood to attend him.
We don’t know how many angels there are, but we do know there are millions and many millions of angels. How many is that? 50 million? 500 million? A million millions? And is that just the number of angels assigned to attend Jesus? Are there also many more millions who attend and minister to humans? We don’t know.
Regardless, we do know there are many millions of angels. And their main purpose is to minister: to Jesus – and to his bride – the church, Christians, children. They estimate that there are 7.5 billion people in the world. Even if we take the conservative number of 500 million angels – that works out to be one spiritual warrior for every 15 people. So that would mean that a church of roughly 300 would have about 20 angels standing guard and ministering to us every Sunday. And since righteous angels outnumber demon angels 2 to 1, that is pretty good odds.