Angels – important things we need to know about them
What are Angels? – Powerful spirit beings in God’s presence but without human bodies
Heb 1:7 And of the angels He (God) says: "Who makes His angels spirits, And His ministers a flame of fire”.
Ps 104:4 Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire.
Heb 1:14 Are they (Angels) not all ministering spirits...
2 Pe 2:11 Although the angels in heaven who stand in the very presence of the Lord, and are far greater in power and strength than these (people)... TLB
Luke 1:19 And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God...”
What do angels do? The word Angel means “Messenger” They carry messages from God
Gen 28:12 Then he (Jacob) dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels (messengers) of God were ascending and descending on it.
John 1:51 And He (Jesus) said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels (messengers) of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." (are you a son of mankind too?).
What kind of messages do angels bring? That praise God, where to find salvation, the law
Luke 2:10 Then the angel said to them,"Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord:.
Luke 2:13-15 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host (many other angels) praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" When this great army of angels had returned again to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on! Let's go to Bethlehem!” NKJV/TLB
Angels direct us to preachers to preach to us the words of life by which we may be saved:
Acts 10:3-6 ...He saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!"...“Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter...He will tell you what you must do (in order for you and your whole household to be saved)."
An Angel directed Cornelius where to find someone to preach the gospel of salvation to
him, because angels don’t preach the living word, Christ, only the sons of God, who have
the Holy Spirit, do that. But Angels do preach the law, the written word of God.
Acts 7:53 You who received the Law as it was ordained and set in order and delivered by angels, and yet you did not obey it! AMP
Heb 2:2-3 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
And Angels direct us to those we should preach the gospel to so that they can be saved:
Acts 8:26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip (a deacon), saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (Where he would find the treasurer of Ethiopia, to whom he preached salvation, and the Ethiopian was born again and then baptized in water).
Heb 1:14 Are they (Angels - messengers) not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? (who will inherit salvation?)
Heb 5:9 ...He (Jesus) became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
James 2:5 ...Heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him.
John 14:23 (Jesus) ...If anyone loves Me, he will keep (retain and do) My word...
Where do angels primarily congregate – Mount Zion – the people in whom God dwells:
Heb 12:22-24 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus... Are you currently living here, in Mount Zion, in Christ?
They gather wherever the true church is, and many are assigned to individual Christians:
Matt 18:10 (Jesus) Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their (guardian) angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
Do we believe and know this, that if we are God’s children, and being led by His Spirit in
all our ways (Rom 8:14 and Prov 3:5-6) that we have angels, invisible spirits, assigned by
God to us and that they are always with us, day and night, wherever we may go ?
What causes Angels to act and to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
Prayer: Acts 12:5-7 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church...Now behold, an angel of the Lord
stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, "Arise quickly!" And his chains fell off his hands. (Angels are God’s instruments for answering believing prayer).
God’s word: Ps 103:20 Bless the LORD, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who
do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. (On the Earth God speaks His word through His sons and daughters. Angels are listening to hear Christians speak God’s words, by God’s Spirit, so they may bring those words to pass).
Ps 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's; But the earth He has given to the children of men (man has authority, but who rules the man?)
Luke 11:2 (Jesus) said to them, when you pray (and believe), say, Our Father...Your will be done, on earth (where mostly it isn’t) as it is in heaven (where it is);
Eph 3:10 ...That the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers (ruling demons) in the heavenly places,
In what ways to angels act in response to Prayer and God’s word spoken by Christians?
The word angel means messenger. Angels carry and communicate messages from God to those who love and obey God. But for the most part they cannot be seen or heard by natural sight or hearing. So how do they communicate their messages? Through thoughts:
Matt 1:20 But while he (Joseph) thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream (which are thoughts), saying...
Prov 16:3 Roll your works upon the Lord, commit and trust them wholly to Him;
AMP He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will (by His angels and His Spirit) so shall your plans be established and succeed.
Our conflict with the powers of evil, Satan and his fallen angels, takes place in our thought lives. 2 Cor 2:11 Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices (literally thoughts, fallen angels work by thoughts). God’s angels communicate His thoughts to us to keep us from being deceived into believing Satan’s lying thoughts and then stumbling into sin with our words – which are our spiritual feet.
Ps 91:9-12 Because you have made the LORD...your dwelling place...He shall give
His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands (by their words expressed in thoughts) they shall bear you up (keep you from falling), Lest you dash your foot (stumble in the words you speak from your heart) against a stone (thoughts of hardness, doubt or resistance toward God, which thoughts come from Satan, so you won’t become defiled).
Eph 6:12 For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but
against persons without bodies - the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings...who rule this world (through their thoughts); and against huge numbers of wicked spirits (fallen angels)... TLB
Ps 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him (who love Him, trust Him and delight to obey Him), And delivers them.
Notice who are the ones whom God’s angels are able to protect; those who have made God their dwelling place, that is who no longer live ruled by their human nature or flesh by are now continually under the direction of the Holy Spirit, living “in Christ” – Rom 8:1.
These same angels that minister their thoughts to the heirs of salvation in the spiritual warfare against demons, also have the power to change our natural circumstances:
Acts 5:19-20 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and
brought them out, and said, "Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life (because I am not ordained to do that)."
Acts 12:11-12 ...He (Peter) said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His
angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod...he came to the house of Mary...where many were gathered together praying.
1 John 5:18-19 We know that no child of God keeps on sinning, for the Son of God
keeps him safe (by use of His angels), and the Evil One cannot harm him. We know that we belong to God even though the whole world is under the rule of the Evil One (and keeps them from God by his thoughts). TEV
At the end of this age Angels will separate the world and in turn be judged by God’s saints
Matt 13:49 (Jesus) So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth,
and separate the wicked from among the righteous,
Matt 24:28 For wherever the carcass (body) is, there the eagles will be gathered.
Matt 24:31 ...His angels...will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
1 Cor 6:2-3 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the
world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! ESV
And who are God’s saints or sanctified ones? Those who have allowed Him to separate them from the power of sin and keep them righteous; who have consecrated their entire lives in surrender to Him, and who are progressively being conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ, in holiness. Those His angels have had charge over to keep us from all evil.
