Better Than Angels Series

But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!" (Rev. 22:8-9)

Why compare Jesus to angels? BECAUSE there are people who would worship angels.

The way people think of angels today is slightly different than how the Bible portrays them. The majority of pictures of angels I found on the internet were either chubby children with little wings on their backs, or women with long flowing robes and beautiful hair. Angels are seen as helpful & concerned about us. They’re pleasant creatures, regarded by many as more approachable than God or Jesus.

AND because they see these angels as more sympathetic to their needs, than the God they find in the Bible, there are those who would worship them.

ILLUS: Some time ago, in a TV interview, one woman said: “Oh, I pray to my angel all the time”. What is that? That’s worship. Pagan worship, but worship.

ILLUS: I recently read of a Internet Website called "Angelic Creations" that was hawking a new book written by a woman worked tirelessly to perfect her skills to get the attention of angels so that she could get what she wanted and what she felt she needed. What is that? That’s worship.

These type of people worship angels because - unlike God, unlike Jesus - there’s no requirement for commitment. The angels these people approach ask for nothing. They just supply. They supply comfort and control to the lives of their worshippers (or so their worshippers believe).

III. With that danger a real possibility, the writer of Hebrews tries to put things in perspective.

First, he wants us to realize that angels are powerful beings (vs. 7). They are like the wind - they’re everywhere. And, if you saw them in person (in the flesh, if you will) you would see fiery beings. It would hurt your eyes just to look at them.

AND YET, as awesome as they angels are… they are servants. They are servants of “those who will inherit salvation” (vs. 14).They are servants of God the Father (vs. 7) AND they are servants of Jesus. Hebrews 1:6 tells us that “when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’”

Angels are not creatures to be worshipped, they are creatures who worship, and they worship Jesus.

IV. That’s angels. BUT now, Jesus – that’s a different story entirely. Not only is Jesus worshipped by angels, He has a name that far more powerful than theirs. "…the name he has inherited is superior to theirs" (Hebrews 1:4).

In fact Jesus is not only superior to them. He is divine. He is God. "Your throne, O God (Jesus), will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom" (Hebrews 1:8).

AND because He is God, Jesus has cosmic power. "In the beginning, O Lord (Jesus), you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end" (Hebrews 1:10-12).