A Realistic Look At Angels

Please open your Bibles to Mark 1:9-13 which we will read in a few minutes.

Last week we used this same passage as a springboard to take a look at who this Jesus really is and His relationship within the Trinity.

When we say God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit we tend to get a fragmented view of God the Trinity the Tri-Unity.

We looked at how God is named as Jehovah or Yahweh in the Old Testament and that perhaps it helps us to refer to the Holy Trinity as YHWH the Father, YHWH the Son and YHWH the Holy Spirit.

But, today let’s use this same passage as a springboard to look into something which seems to fascinate people but which we really have no control over and which may even divert our spiritual eyes from where they should be focused.

Something which, by themselves, cannot help us.

And, we all know where our spiritual eyes should be focused, right?

Directly on Jesus our Savior!

With that in mind let’s go ahead and read Mark 1:9-13

So, what is it that people are fascinated by but which we really have no control over and which may even divert our spiritual eyes from where they should be focused.

Something which, by themselves, cannot help us?

That thing is angels. And when I read verse 13 it just jumped out at me:

“and angels attended Him.”

What does that mean?

Did angels make sure Jesus had a comfortable bed to sleep on in the desert?

Did angels fill His water bottle for Him?

Did the angels look up Scriptures for Jesus so He could quote them to the devil?

Did the angels protect Jesus from the wild beasts in the wilderness?

In Mark 1:13 it seems as if the angels were attending to Jesus at more than just the conclusion of the 40 days of fasting and testing. But in Matthew 4:11 it says,

“Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.”

Anyway, why did this little statement about angels jump out at me?

Because many people are diverted from Jesus who can save them to angels who cannot!

Most of my friends on FB are believers in Jesus Christ and even then I will see posts every so often speaking fondly of angels and giving them credit for safety or healing or wisdom or some other such thing.

And so today, let’s just look at why we need to be focused on Jesus and how things, even good things, can lead us into dangerous spiritual territory.

We must be vigilant. We must look to Christ and Him alone!

Recently an event took place which could have ended in disaster, even loss of life, and the person who posted the event ended the post by thanking Jesus, the emergency responders and with #BelieveInAngels.

So, what is the big concern here?

Have you ever been the victim of a prank where someone has turned the street signs at an intersection? Of course, this was before the time when the voice coming from your GPS device would tell you where to turn and when. But if you did fall victim to this prank it probably caused problems with reaching your destination on time.

Why? Because you were intentionally misdirected!

And, so, the devil has grabbed hold of this concept and has attempted to “turn the spiritual signs” in a way to deceive many into paying attention to angels or false prophets or literally ANYTHING other than Jesus.

And many in this world easily place their faith and trust in angels instead of Jesus.

And why is that?

People outside of church and many within the church don’t know the Holy Scriptures and so they can easily be deceived.

In contemporary culture angels make no demands.

In contemporary culture angels are like the airbag in your car; you hope you never need it but it’s there just in case.

In the modern, secular view of angels they’re a benevolent spirit-friend.

Angels are the teddy bear of the spirit world today’s culture; they’re warm and cuddly and they make no demands.

On the other hand Jesus is much more demanding.

Jesus says, “Whoever believes in Me is not condemned but whoever does not believe in Me stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s One and Only Son!”

And, “If you love Me you will keep My commands!”

Ron Rhodes of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries wrote:

New Agers have more recently become almost fanatically excited about angels because they have bought into a plethora of wildly unbiblical ideas about angels that nevertheless have great appeal in today’s religious climate. One reason cited for angel popularity in New Age literature is that angels offer people a spirituality that does not involve commitment to God or His laws. Sophy Burnham, author of A Book of Angels, believes the current popularity of angels is “because we have created this concept of God as punitive, jealous and judgmental,” while “angels never are. Angels on the other hand are utterly compassionate.” Or, as Time magazine put it, “For those who choke too easily on God and His rules ... angels are the handy compromise, all fluff and meringue, kind and nonjudgmental. And they are available to everyone, like aspirin.”