“Messengers From God”
Acts 1:9-11
We live in a time where we are told much about Angels, and yet most that is spoken of today is false.
We will not take weeks to study Angels but we will look at them today because our text brings us in contact with “Messengers” that are from God.
Acts 1:9 “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.”
While they beheld - they were not asleep; nor did Christ become invisible to them, or disappear before his ascension, but was visible to them in it; hence they were eyewitnesses of it:
Taken up - to lift up, raise up, to take from among the living.
Some believe that this is a short statement that would also include attendants (angels) and chariots.
Acts 1:10 “And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;”
Two men - two angels in the form of men
They appeared in white apparel, as the angel at the sepulchre in Matthew 28:3 which was a symbol both of their purity and holiness.
Matthew 28:3 “His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:”
Angel In The Bible
Psalms 91:11 - For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Hebrews 13:2 - Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Jude 1:6 - And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Matthew 18:10 - Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
Hebrews 1:14 - Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Revelation 19:10 - And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Matthew 24:31 - And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Psalms 34:7 - The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Isaiah 6:2 - Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Facts About Angels in the Bible
Angels are mentioned 273 times in the Bible.
1 - Angels were created by God.
Colossians 1:16 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”
2 - Angels were created to live for eternity.
Scripture tells us that angels do not experience death.
Luke 20:36 “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”
3 - Angels were present when God created the world.
When God created the foundations of the earth, the angels had already been in existence.
Job 38:1-7 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. 4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
4 - Angels do not marry.
In heaven, men and women will be like the angels, who do not marry or reproduce.
Matthew 22:30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”
5 - Angels are wise and intelligent.
Angels can discern good and evil and give insight and understanding.
2 Samuel 14:17 “Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.”
Daniel 9:21-22 “Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.”
6 - Angels take an interest in human affairs.
Angels have been and will forever be involved and interested in what is happening in the lives of human beings.
Luke 15:10 “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”
7 - Angels are faster than humans.
Angels seem to have the ability to fly.
Daniel 9:21 “Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.”
Revelation 14:6 “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,”
8 - Angels are spiritual beings.
As spirit beings, angels do not have true physical bodies.
Psalm 104:4 “Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:”
9 - Angels are not meant to be worshiped.
Angels are sometimes mistaken for God by humans and worshiped in the Bible, but reject it, as they are not meant to be worshiped.
Revelation 19:10 “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
10 - Angels are subject to Christ.
Angels are Christ's servants.
1 Peter 3:22 “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”
11 - Angels have a will.
Angels have the ability to exercise their own will.
Isaiah 14:12-14 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
12 - Angels express emotions like joy and longing.
Angels shout for joy, feel longing, and show many emotions in the Bible.
Job 38:7 “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
1 Peter 1:12 “Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”
13 - Angels are not omnipresent, omnipotent, or omniscient.
Angels have certain limitations. They are not all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present.
Daniel 10:12-13 “Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”
14 - Angels are too numerous to count.
The Bible indicates that an innumerable amount of angels exist.
Psalm 68:17 “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.”
Hebrews 12:22 “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,”
15 - Most angels remained faithful to God.
While some angels rebelled against God, the vast majority stayed faithful to him.
Revelation 5:11-12 “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”
16 – Only three angels have names in the Bible.
Only three angels are mentioned by name in the books of the Bible: Gabriel, Michael, and the fallen angel Lucifer, or Satan.
• Daniel 8:16
• Luke 1:19
• Luke 1:26
17 - Angels were created to glorify and worship God the Father and God the Son.
Revelation 4:8 “And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”
Hebrews 1:6 “And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.”
18 - Angels are known variously as:
• Messengers
• Watchers or supervisors for God
• Military "hosts"
• "Sons of the mighty"
• "Sons of God"
• "Chariots"
19 - No Angel is described as a woman:
Every description is either spiritual or masculine.
Summary:
We do not go to heaven, like Clarence, and earn our wings (It’s A Wonderful Life).
Momma does not teach Angels how to sing, like the song says.
When a baby dies they do not become little Angels to watch over Mom and Dad.
And the list could go on and on.
Angels are from God and for God.
Acts 1:11 “Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
Why stand ye ... - There seems to be degree of correction implied in this.
The thought may have been:
(1) In the feeling of disappointment, as if he would not restore the kingdom to Israel.
(2) Possibly they were expecting that he would again soon appear, though he had often foretold them that he would ascend to heaven.
(3) We may see here also that it is our duty not to stand in idleness, and to gaze even toward heaven. We, as well as the apostles, have a great work to do, and we should actively engage in it without delay.
Shall so come - At the day of judgment. John 14:3, “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,”
Conclusion:
Since we have yet to see His return it seems that, like the Disciples, we need to be about the Fathers business.
Fishless Fishermen: (8 Min. read)
Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. In fact the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish. And the fish were hungry.
Week after week, month after month, and year after year these who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of fishermen.
Continually they searched for new and better methods of fishing and for new and better definitions of fishing. Further they said, “The fishing industry exists by fishing as fire exists by burning.” They loved slogans such as “Fishing is the task of every fisherman,” and “Every fisherman is a fisher,” and “A fisherman’s outpost for every fisherman’s club.” They sponsored special meetings called “Fishermen’s Campaigns” and “The Month for Fishermen to Fish.” They sponsored costly nationwide and worldwide congresses to discuss fishing to promote fishing and hear about all the ways of fishing such as the new fishing equipment, fish calls, and whether any new bait was discovered.
These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called “Fishing Headquarters.” The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish. One thing they didn’t do, however – they didn’t fish. In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. All the fishermen seemed to agree that what is needed is a board which could challenge fishermen to be faithful in fishing. The board was formed by those who had the great vision and courage to speak about fishing, to define fishing, and to promote the idea of fishing in faraway streams and lakes where many other fish of different colors lived.
Also the board hired staffs and appointed committees and held many meetings to define fishing, to defend fishing, and to decide what new streams should be thought about. But the staff and committee members did not fish.
Large, elaborate, and expensive training centers were built whose original and primary purpose was to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years courses were offered on the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, the psychological reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. Those who taught had doctorates in fishology. But the teachers did not fish. They only taught fishing. Year after year, after tedious training, many were graduated and given fishing licenses. They were sent to do full-time fishing, some to distant waters that were filled with fish.
Some spent much study and travel to learn the history of fishing and to see faraway places where the founding fathers did great fishing in the centuries past. They lauded the faithful fishermen of years before who handed down the idea of fishing.
Further the fishermen built large printing houses to publish fishing guides. Presses were kept busy day and night to produce materials solely devoted to fishing methods, equipment, and programs to arrange and to encourage meetings to talk about fishing. A speakers’ bureau was also provided to schedule special speakers on the subject of fishing.
Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded. They were commissioned and sent to fish. But like fishermen back home they never fished. Like the fishermen back home they engaged in all kinds of other occupations. They built power plants to pump water for fish and tractors to plow new waterways. They made all kinds of equipment to travel here and there to look at fish hatcheries. Some also said they wanted to be part of the fishing party, but they felt called to furnish fishing equipment. Others felt their job was to relate to the fish in a good way so the fish would know the difference between good and bad fishermen. Others felt that simply letting the fish know they were nice, land-loving neighbors and how loving and kind they were was enough.
After one stirring meeting on “The Necessity for Fishing,” one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day he reported he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it. So he quit his fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the Fishermen’s General Board as a person having considerable experience.
Now it’s true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen’s clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished. They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. After all, were they not following the Master who said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men?”
Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who didn’t catch fish were really not fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct.
Is a person a fisherman if, year after year, he never catches a fish?
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