Angels: The Ministers of God

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Tonight, we come back to our study of the great doctrines of the Bible, and specifically we come to the issue of angels.

I was reminded of a story I heard told by a famous missionary, Phil Potts, who wrote that during 1956, during the Mau Mau uprisings in East Africa, a band of roving tribesmen came to the village of Lhari, surrounded the village and killed every one of the inhabitants, including men, women, and children. Three hundred in all were killed. Not more than three miles away, as the missionary recounted the story, was the Rift Valley Academy. Many of you have probably heard of that. It's a private school where missionary children were being educated.

Immediately after leaving the carnage that they had created in Lorry, the natives came with spears, bows and arrows, clubs and torches to the school, with the intention of doing exactly the same thing there that they had done in destroying this village of more than three hundred people. In the darkness the people who were there in the Rift Valley Academy could see the torches coming in the distance. And soon there was a complete ring of terrorists around the Academy. They'd cut off all avenues of escape. There was nothing to do but wait and see what would happen.

They could hear shouts and curses coming from the direction of the mounds, and then they begin to advance on the school slowly tightening the circle. Shouting louder and louder and coming closer and closer.

Then, inexplicably, from a human standpoint, when they were close enough to throw their spears, they just stopped. They begin retreating and soon were running into the jungle. It wasn't long until the army was called out, and fortunately they were able to capture every one of these marauding terrorists. Later at the trial, they asked the leader why they retreated. Why they didn't attack the school after taking all of the inhabitants of Glory? The leader of the Mau Maus answered this way.

We were on our way to attack and destroy all the people and the school, but as we came closer all of a sudden between us and the school, there were many huge men dressed in white with flaming swords, and we became afraid and ran to hide.

An encounter with the beings the Bible refers to as angels. Many people don't believe in angels, or if they do get a cursory word of belief in them, they really don't believe that they have ever had any encounter of any kind with an angel knowingly or unknowingly, but the Bible has much to say about these mysterious characters called angels. In fact, Scripture clearly teaches that there is a unique order of beings as real as the person sitting next to you who operate throughout the universe in this world and even in your life.

Who are these creatures, and what role do they play in our lives? That's what I want us to look at tonight, and I have to tell you, honestly, that I haven't always given much thought to angels myself. In fact, as I studied this topic, I was struck with the fact that there are some specific responsibilities of angels that I'd never even considered before. And I trust as we go through this, your own heart will be encouraged to realize that God has created a set of beings who essentially have two purposes: to serve God and to bring in praise and to serve the saints. Let's look at these beings together.

First of all, I want us to take just a brief look at the biblical evidence for them. I don't really need to prove them to you, but let me just give you sort of the breadth of biblical evidence for angels in the Old Testament. These mysterious characters are mentioned over a hundred times, and in the New Testament over a hundred and fifty times. Throughout biblical history, no specific era, instead they're spread across the entire span of biblical history, and they're also mentioned in many different authors. Thirty-four different books of Scripture mention angels, 17 in the Old Testament and 17 in the new.

Our Lord refers to angels as real beings, and I've listed a number of texts for you there. Matthew 13, Matthew 22, Matthew 25. He speaks of angels as real entities as real persons. So, there's no question when you look at the weight of the biblical evidence, that angels exist. But what are these creatures like. I want us to take a moment to look at the nature of angels. What exactly are they like?

Well, they're called by different names in Scripture. They're called angel, the most common designation, which is simply a word that means messenger in both Hebrew and Greek. They're called the Sons of God in Job 1:6. In Job 2:1, they're called the Holy Ones in Psalm 89:5, and they're called Spirits in Hebrews 1:14. They are a distinct order of beings, a separate order of beings from humans.

They are currently higher than man. According to Hebrews 2, you remember Christ when He became man, was what? made a little lower than the angels. But someday mankind will be exalted above angels because we're told in 1 Corinthians 6:3 that we will judge the angels.

So, who are these beings? What is their nature? Well, first of all, you need to understand that they are created beings. Psalm 148 makes it clear.

Praise Him. all … [you] angels; Praise Him all His hosts! … Let them praise the name of the LORD, for He [has] commanded and they were created.

Colossians 1:16 puts it even more directly. For by … [Christ] all things were created, both in the heavens and on Earth, visible and invisible, [and then He mentions a delineation of order or hierarchy among the angels] whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him. [in other words, Christ] created the angels, they are created beings.

When were they created? Well, we don't know for sure, but we have a couple of hints. We know it was before the end of the sixth day, because when you get to day seven, we're told in Genesis 2:1 that all creation was complete, so nothing else was created after that point. Also, Job 38:6 and 7 implies that the angels were present when God was forming the universe. Turn there for a moment Job 38. God is speaking here to Job, and He says, verse 6, Let's go back to verse 5 speaking of the earth and laying its foundation, He said,

Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, [now watched this] When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy? [that expression sons of God as used earlier in Job as I mentioned to refer to the angels.]

This seems to be a clear reference to the fact that the angels were present when God was forming the universe. It's very possible that the angels were created at some point on the first day of creation. There doesn't seem to be any compelling reason to believe that they were created prior to everything else.

In fact, when you have the creation beginning in Genesis 1:1 that seems to be everything that has ever been created, and so it seems that they were created somewhere between day one and the end of day six, probably early on day one, because they seem to have been there to watch God continue to make the rest of the universe.

By whom were they created? We've already mentioned it was by Christ, John 1:3. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. And in Colossians 1, For by Him … [the] … invisible [world of thrones and dominions, and rulers and authorities were created.]

Now, when the angels were created, into what state were they created? It wasn't Texas. It wasn't California. It was in the state of Holiness. They were holy. Originally, there were only holy angels. We know this because in Genesis 1:31, after God has created everything, He says that all creation is very good. And He wouldn't have said that about sin. Jude 6 also makes this clear when it refers to the angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper abode speaking of the demons. So, all the angels were originally holy angels. Lord willing, two weeks from tonight we'll take a look at Satan and demons.

But originally, they all were holy. How many angels were there? Well, Deuteronomy 33:2 says, The LORD came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones. By the way we know from Matthew 22:30 that angels don't propagate or reproduce, so there's a static number of them, and it appears here a large number.

Then you get to Hebrews 12:22, and we're told they are myriads. The word literally means ten thousand, but that's not meant to be completely descriptive because you come to Revelation 5:11, and we're told that there are a myriad of myriads, and thousands of thousands. John seems to be saying there's a number that's almost uncountable by a human being.

So, these amazing creatures are created beings. They're also spirit beings. That is, they do not have bodies like we do. And Hebrews 1:14, in fact, let's turn to Hebrews 1:14. This is a foundational verse for understanding angels. The writer of Hebrews is soon going to compare the ministry of angels against the ministry of Christ and conclude that Christ is better than angels. Actually, he does that, and I'm sorry in chapter 1, and when we get to the end of 1:14, he says, "Are they not all ministering spirits?" [Speaking of the angels] are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

They don't have bodies like we have. They are spirits. Christ defined what that means in Luke 24 when he says, a spirit doesn't have flesh and bones as you see that I have. Angels don't have flesh and bones. They are spirits. In fact, it's interesting a large number of angels can apparently be in one place at one time if the fallen angels are any indication. Because, you remember, in Luke 8:39, Jesus encounters a man possessed of demons, and Jesus says there were many demons in him, and in fact, when Jesus asked the name, his name is Legion. If the demon can be believed, there were apparently between three and six thousand demons in one man, but regardless there were many the Scripture says.

But angels have the capacity, while they don't have bodies, they have the capacity to take on human form and appear often as males. For example, in Genesis 18, you remember, God Himself in the second person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ comes to visit with Abraham, and He's accompanied by two angels in the form of men. They sit down and eat a meal together. So, they have the capacity to take on human form even though they are spirit beings. They are also powerful beings. Second Peter refers to them as greater in might and power than human beings. Psalm 103 describes them as the mighty ones.

In addition, Scripture tells us that they are intelligent beings we're told in 1 Peter 1:12 that the angels have this insatiable curiosity to further understand God's salvation of human beings, the angels desire to look into the matter we're told by Peter. They're intelligent beings with powerful minds as well as the external power to accomplish their will. This is an interesting one.

They are also emotional beings. Turn to Luke 15. In Luke 15, Jesus gives several parables three parables specifically about the lost being found and the great joy that that brings. The first is the lost sheep, the lost coin in verses 8-10, and then in verse 11 following the prodigal son. Notice what happens in verse 8. What woman if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it. You know, I think Luke knew Sheila. [And] When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying "Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!" Now watch verse 10. In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." This passage tells us that God rejoices over sinners who repent, and this passage tells us that angels rejoice over sinners who repent.

By the way, James 2, one of the other passages I've listed here, tells us that demons believe and shudder at the knowledge of the true God. They are emotional beings.

They're moral beings, that is, they have a will with which to choose. For example, in 2 Peter 2:4, we're told that some of them chose to rebel against God, and we'll study more about that in a couple of weeks.

They are finite beings. While they are incredibly knowledgeable, we're told in Matthew 24:36 that they don't know about the return of Christ. We were told, as I mentioned already in 1 Peter 11:11 and 12, that they don't understand some things about salvation.

They'd have a desire to look into them to discover them. They're also limited in their power while they're unbelievably powerful. In Daniel 10:13, you remember, well, let's turn there. Daniel 10. Daniel, you remember, has a vision, and he's terrified. He begins to pray and in verse 10,

… behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words ... [I'm] about to tell you and stand upright, for I have been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this, and on humbling yourself before God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days, then behold Michael,one of the chief princes, came to help me….

Here is an angel who had a mission, and he was restrained from that mission for twenty-one days by an evil spirit called the Prince of the Kingdom of Persia. So, their power is finite. It is limited.

In fact, in Jude 9, we're told that Michael the Archangel couldn't rebuke Satan on his own. And in Revelation 7:1 we're told it took four angels to hold back, or it will take four angels to hold back the winds of the Earth from blowing. So, they're great in power, but their power is limited. They are not omnipotent like our great God.

They're also limited in space. That is, they're not omnipresent. They can only be in one place at one time. In Luke 1:26, the angel was sent to the city. He left one place and arrived with the good news to Zacharias.

Then finally they are immortal beings. We're told in Luke 20:36 that they don't die. They don't have the capacity to die.

So, this is who these beings are. There's another fascinating thing to consider about angels, however, and that is the organization of angels. The Scripture does give us some clue. We know that these beings are highly organized. For example, Psalm 89:5 says,

the Heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD, Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the Holy Ones, For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty, is like the LORD, A God greatly feared in the counsel of the holy ones, And awesome above all those who were around Him?

This counsel of the holy ones is a reference to the council of the angels. There appears to be a very clear hierarchy in which there is a council, just as you and I have counsels and committees. There is an obvious system of ranking.

It's interesting the apocryphal book of Enoch names four angels as principal angels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel, and seven archangels. The Scripture doesn't lay it out quite like that. Let me tell you how the Scripture presents the organization of angels.

First of all, there is the archangel. There's only one named, and that's Michael. In Jude 9 he's referred to as that Michael. His name means, who is like God. His title indicates authority over the other angels this title archangel.

He leads the angelic army. According to Revelation 12, it is Michael who will announce Christ's return in 1 Thessalonians 4. We're told the archangel will shout at the rapture of the church. Michael is also called in Daniel 12 one of the chief princes, which may suggest that there are other archangels who aren't named.

Some think that possibly Gabriel, the only other angel mentioned by name in the Bible, is also an archangel. We're not told that. It may be true. Gabriel was the messenger that was sent to Daniel in Daniel 8:16. Gabriel is also one, you remember, in the New Testament who announces the birth of John the Baptist to Zacharias, and Luke 1 and announces the birth of Christ to Mary. Also, in Luke 1, so there are archangels or there at least is one, Michael, and there may be more.

Then there are the cherubim. This is the plural. Cherub is the singular. There's an incredible description of these creatures in Ezekiel 1, and I wish we had time to go through that. I encourage you to read Ezekiel 1 because there's a description of these beings that is fascinating. The first mention of cherubim is in Genesis 3:24, when they were set to guard the gate of Eden with flaming swords we're told in Exodus 25:22, they hover over the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God's throne in Israel. But the most interesting thing about these creatures, the cherubim, this class of angel, is that they are described as the bearers and movers of God's throne. In fact, God has even said to be enthroned upon them in Psalm 18:10.

The clearest picture of this is (Let's do turn to Ezekiel for this.) I can't resist, turn to Ezekiel 1. These are just fascinating beings. He's described these beings in the verses that precede verses 4 - 14, but then we get to verse 15, and we see a little of their function here.

…[And] as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them.

The appearance of the wheels in their workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance in workmanship being as if one wheel were within another [kind of a gyroscope, a lot like those moving hubcaps you see oncars today] verse 17.

Whenever they move, they move in any of their four directions without turning as they moved, As for their rims, they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. [and] Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rode close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. Whenever those went; and whenever those stood still these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living being was in the wheels. [now watch verse 22.]

Now over the heads of the living beings, there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. [And then he goes on in verse 26 to say that]

… above the expanse that was over their heads, there was something resembling a throne ... and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. [What's going on here?]

Verse 28, "Such was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of the LORD." What Ezekiel is describing is an appearance of God, and God has a throne. Again, God doesn't need to sit on a throne. We talked about this. God fills all of space. This is a specific place where God makes His presence known in a special way. It's called a throne. It's like a throne as we know a throne in some ways. There's some resemblance to what we think of as a throne, and bearing this throne of God are these living beings that are essentially the movers of the throne of God, the cherubium of Him. Fascinating beings, they're also mentioned in Revelation 4 the living beings that are there in Revelation 4.

A third class of angels is the seraphim. Again, that's the plural seraph is the singular. This word probably means burning ones.

We can't be sure, but this is probably the best choice, burning ones. They're only mentioned in one place in Scripture, and that's in Isaiah 6. Turn to Isaiah 6, and see these amazing creatures of God.

In the year (verse 1) in the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory."

We looked at these beings a little bit last week in conjunction with the creation. These seraphim are august beings, whose forms really aren't fully described for us, but we are told that they have faces, feet, hands and wings. By the way Scripture doesn't tell us that all angels have wings. They have six wings in three pairs, with two pair they cover their faces and the other pair they cover their feet in humility and reverence before God. And with the third pair, they sort of hold themselves as it were in their positions around the throne of Yahweh, ready to move at His slightest command.

Verse 3 tells us they have one function. And that is to constantly worship God. One called out to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. They defend the holiness of God. Now, Scripture mentions several other categories you can see them in Ephesians 1:21, Colossians 1:16.

The order varies between the two passages, so there's no specific order here, and we don't really know what each of these orders describes, but you have principalities, powers, mights, and dominion. Again, they occur in these passages that I've mentioned, so they're organized. They're carefully organized order of beings that are currently above mankind.

They are created spirit beings with a specific ministry. What is that ministry? Let's look at the ministry of angels? This is where really the key part is. First of all, let's look at their ministry to God. How exactly do these beings serve their Creator? Well primarily they worship and praise Him.

Job 1:6 says they wait in God's presence for a command. In Job 38, they rejoice in His actions. There of creation in Psalm 103: 20. They do whatever God commands. In Psalm 148 they praise Him. In Isaiah 6:3, as we just saw, they praise and worship God. In Hebrews 1:6 they worship God. This is what they do for God. They praise Him. They adore Him, and they wait for His slightest wish and command.

What about Christ? It's very interesting. If you look at the life of Christ here on earth, angels were very much involved in His life as a human being. It's fascinating really to look at. We don't have time for me to do anything but just give you the list.

They predicted His birth. In Matthew 1, they announced His birth, you remember in Luke 2, to the shepherds.

An angel warned His parents in Matthew 2 that He ran the risk of being put to death and told them to leave and flee to Egypt and then appeared to His parents in Egypt and told them that it was safe to return to Israel.

They ministered to Christ after His temptation in Matthew 4, providing food and ministering to Him in other ways.

They ministered to Him in Gethsemane. We're told in the garden praying as to see sweat drops of blood. Luke 22 tells us that the angels came and ministered to Him. There they stood ready Christ said to deliver Him from the cross. It's a fascinating picture isn't it to think of these mighty beings watching God die on a cross standing ready at the least whisper of a wish to set Him free and destroy all of those who sought to harm Him.

They rolled away the stone from the tomb in Matthew 28. Angels were the ones who announced His resurrection you remember, also in Matthew 28.

They were present at the ascension of Christ in Acts 1.

And they are the ones who will call to the church at the rapture, specifically the archangel as we saw in 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

They will accompany Christ when He returns in His second coming. We're told He'll return with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And they will (in a fascinating glimpse in Matthew 13) we're told that they will be a part of separating the true believers from those who are false the wheat from the tares at the time of the judgment. They have a great ministry to Christ.

They also have a ministry to unbelievers. It's not a very pleasant ministry. There are really only three parts.

First, they announced God's judgment to unbelievers, and you see this consistently throughout Scripture. You see it back in Old Testament history. In Genesis 19 you see it in the book of Revelation.

They announced God's judgment, but as I mentioned, they separate the righteous from the unrighteous, and they carry out God's judgment. You remember in Acts 12.

And Herod lifted himself up in pride. An angel came and smote him with worms we're told with some dread disease that caused him to immediately die, and the same thing in the book of Revelation. In fact, you see the angels constantly. They're involved with the bold judgments, the trumpet judgments pouring out God's fury and judgment upon the earth.

But what about for us? What about for believers? How do angels serve us? Well generally, as we saw in Hebrews 1:14, they minister to us in whatever way God chooses. By the way, the word for minister here isn't the idea of a slave. It's the idea of a duly commissioned official. They are sent from the throne of God as officials on His behalf to help us, to assist us. How do they assist us specifically, though? It's very interesting.

First of all, they often provide physical protection. Psalm 91, which we'll look at a little later, speaks of His giving angels charge lest we dash our foot against a stone.

In Acts 5, you'll remember that it was angels; it was an angel who released the apostles from prison. The same in Acts 12 they released Peter from prison. So, they're involved in physical protection.

Wayne Grudem writes in his Systematic Theology. When a car suddenly swerves from hitting us; ever had that experience; when we suddenly find footing to keep from being swept along in a raging river; when we walk unscathed in a dangerous neighborhood, should we not suspect that God has sent His angels to protect us? Does not Scripture promise, for He will give His angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways on their hands.

They will bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone; physical protection.

They also provide physical provision. You'll remember in 1 Kings 19, angels brought food for Elijah.

They assist in the revelation of God's law. In Acts 7, we're told about that. The law of God given to Moses at Sinai was mediated through angels.

They assist in answers to prayer.

Daniel 9 we saw also there in Daniel 10. In Acts 12, the freedom of Peter, an angel was sent in response to the prayers of God's people to free him from prison.

Angels aid in getting the gospel message to the lost.

It's fascinating, in fact, let's turn there. This is the one I had not considered. Turn to Acts 8:25.

So when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. Verse 26, But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza. (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went … [and that's where he encountered, of course, the Ethiopian Eunuch.]

The same thing happened in chapter 10, with Cornelius notice 10:1.

Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and he gave many alms to the Jewish people, and he prayed to God continually. [Here was a man in whom God was at work. Now notice what happens in verse 3] About the ninth hour of the day [About three o'clock in the afternoon] he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, "Cornelius!" [And he's told exactly what to do.] Verse 5,

… dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; he's staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea. When the angel, who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his servants and … [sent them and sure enough they found Peter and of course the gospel comes to Gentiles as a result of this.]

The angels are very much involved in remarkable ways, including aiding and getting the gospel message to the lost.

Angels also encourage, you remember, and Paul found himself in the most dire straits in Acts 27 we're told that an angel came and encouraged his heart.

We'll come back to this, but angels observe us.

In 1 Corinthians 4:9, 1 Corinthians 11:10 and so forth. We'll come back to that concept because it's one I don't want us to scoot past very quickly.

And then finally, and I've mentioned this before at various funerals, the angels are involved in escorting the souls of believers to heaven. We're told in Luke 16:22 that when Lazarus, the poor man, died, you remember, the believer died. He was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom that is into the presence of Abraham, who was in the presence of God, so in other words to heaven. Angels are somehow involved in bearing the souls of believers to heaven. It's a momentary journey because we're also told that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Remarkable, remarkable beings, but let's come to think about how this truth about angels applies to us. These are really challenging thoughts to me, and I just want to share them with you.

First of all, angels remind us that the unseen world is real. In Acts 23:8, we're told that the Sadducees, you remember that sect in Jesus' time, the first century. The Sadducees denied the resurrection, and they denied angels. But in reality, angels are there. We may not see them. We don't see them most of the time only on a few occasions.

For reasons God chooses, angels make a visible appearance, but whether we see them or not, they are always there, and the fact that they exist, and that Scripture is so filled with them reminds us that there is an unseen world, and that unseen world is very, very real. Turn to 2 Kings 6. There's a graphic illustration of this. The Syrians have come to where the prophet Elisha is. Some things never change. The Syrians were after the people of Israel, and God sends a great army of angels to protect Elisha from the Syrians. Verse 15,

Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" [He sees this huge army of Syrians here at the city of Dothan.] Verse 16, So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." [Now, at this point the servant has to be thinking you know what did Elisha have to drink with breakfast?] Then Elisha prayed, (verse 17) and [he] said, Oh LORD [I pray] open his eyes that he may see. [Now.

What I want you to see here is, nothing really changed, except the servant was allowed to see a visible reality which already existed in the invisible world.] And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, "Strike this people with blindness I pray." So he struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

And the people of God have victory through Elisha, but here's what I want you to understand. There is an invisible world filled with myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands of holy angels. They are in our world constantly. We don't see them, but that doesn't make them any less real. In fact, in Hebrews 12:22, we're told that when we worship, as we do here every Lord's Day, when several are gathered in the Lord's name, when we worship, it's as if we come into God's very throne room, and we join innumerable angels.

The sobering reality is that angels witness our lives, and they glorify God for our worship and our obedience, or they don't.

Turn to 1 Corinthians 11, 1 Corinthians 11, this is the famous passage of head coverings which I'm not going to get into, but I want you to see in verse 10. Therefore, the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, [so whatever this head covering is, I personally believe it is not a covering except for the hair, which is a covering, and that's another issue we'll go into some other time.

But notice whatever it is, she's to have it on her head] because of the angels. The clear application is that angels are observing the life of women and of men. They are witnessing our lives.

In 1 Timothy 5:21 Paul calls Timothy in the presence of the angels to do certain things. You see our lives are lived out not only in the presence of God, but in the presence of this other separate order of beings. A parallel universe if you will for you trekkes. It's all around us. This is a frightening thought. Also, not only is God watching our lives, but angels are watching as well, even sins that we think are done in private.

Several years ago, there was a movie about a futuristic kind of reality show in which a man grew up without knowing that his whole life was being watched by millions of people on television. Well, there's a sense in which that is actually a reality for us, for each of us. There is an unseen world watching our lives. So, when we sin, even in private, perhaps hundreds of angels, both holy and fallen are watching, and they see our disobedience, and the Holy angels grieve, and the fallen angels shout for joy as God's character is maligned by our conduct. Sometimes we're told that angels enter our world without our knowing it. Hebrews 13:2 says, make sure you show hospitality to strangers because some have entertained angels in that way without knowing it, or as the King James says angels unawares.

And by the way, Hebrews was written to people who were living thirty years after Christ, this was the second generation of Christians. It was not the first generation. So, angels remind us that the unseen world is real.

Secondly, they serve as an example for our obedience to God. You remember what Christ taught us to pray. in Matthew 6:10 He says, "Pray, … this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. [honored, sanctified, set apart be your name] Your will be done, [what?] On earth, as it is in heaven.'" Who's doing God's will in heaven? The angels, essentially, we're being urged to pray that our obedience would match the obedience of the angels. Their obedience serves as a pattern for our own.

Wayne Grudem writes, "Their delight, speaking of the angels, is to be God's humble servants, each faithfully and joyfully performing their assigned tasks, whether great or small.

What a great example these beings that are more mighty, more intelligent than we simply delight to do the will of God, and they serve as a great pattern for us in that they also provide an example of worship. We saw it in Isaiah 6. You see them at the birth of Christ in Luke 2. We looked at that back at Christmas time where they arrive, and they burst out in praise of God, Glory to God in the highest.

You see it as well in Revelation 5 when we're told the angels join in with this great Hallelujah chorus of praise to God. They're a great example of worship. We're going to meet the angels someday, these spirit beings who were created by God. Angels find their highest joy and their greatest delight in singing and adoring and phrasing God. What a powerful lesson to us who get so caught up with our little trivia and neglect those things that are the most important.

They also demonstrate God's sovereign electing grace. Turn to 1 Timothy 5. It's an interesting statement. Verse 21, 1 Timothy 5:21, "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias doing nothing in a spirit of partiality."

Some of these angels are called "chosen", or literally "elect". In other words, the same principle of election that God uses in humanity is also true of the angels. For reasons that we'll never understand, God chose some of the angels to forever be His holy elect angels, and others He allowed to pursue their own way. Satan and his many fallen angels, and in so doing He demonstrates His grace just as He does for us.

And finally, as Wayne Grudem mentions, shows a special place that men and women have in God's redemptive purpose. Grudem writes that God created two groups of intelligent moral creatures among the angels. Many sinned, but God decided to redeem some of them. This was perfectly just for God to do, and no angel can ever complain that he's been treated unfairly by God.

Now, among the other group of moral creatures, human beings. We also find that a large number, indeed all have sinned and turned away from God, but God decided to do much more than merely meet the demands of justice. He decided to save some sinful human beings.

Redemption. As wonderful as these creatures are, redemption is specifically for us. It shows us God's special purpose is special redemptive purpose for us. Turn to 1 Peter 1, I've mentioned it several times, but I just want you to see what Peter writes, verse 10,

As to this salvation, [that we enjoy] the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches, and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the spirit of Christ within them was indicating. as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. [They understood, Christ would suffer; they understood He would be glorified. But they didn't know who He would be, or what time He would come.] Verse 12, It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, and these things which have now been announced to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit ... [these are] things (watch this) into which angels long to look.

Angels look at the amazing reality of God's grace and salvation that God could take sinners and transform them, clothe them in the righteousness of His Own Son and make them His children. Angels long to truly understand this reality as we saw in Luke 15, they sing and rejoice when someone is saved. But they will never experience it. That's reserved for you and for me. What amazing demonstration of the grace of God that He has bestowed upon us as John says that we should be called the children of God. The angels aren't God's children. They're His ministers. That designation is reserved for us alone.

These are amazing creatures. We're not to worship them. We're not to seek them. We're simply to appreciate the reality that God sends them forth as ministering spirits for those who belong to Him.

Let's pray together.

Father, we thank You for this glimpse of these incredible beings from Your Word really skated across the top of all that Scripture teaches about them, and yet Lord, I pray that You would grip our hearts with the reality that there is an unseen world all around us who are looking and watching to see You glorified?

Lord, help us to live as those who live corem Deo before your very face and before the face of Your holy ones the angels.

Lord, I pray that You would enable these amazing creatures to serve Your purposes in each of our lives whether we ever know it or not. Lord, may they minister to us, even as You have sovereignly determined, and we will give You praise and thanks.

In Jesus' name, Amen.