The Ministry of Angels

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have some family members who are closed off to the idea of God, but open to the idea of spirits. This seems to be a common theme today. In fact if we took a poll on the streets we would probably find that many of the same people who do not accept the idea of God are open to the idea of angels. I suggest two reasons for this: 1.) While God has been played up as vengeful and wrathful, angels have been played down as childish and docile. 2.) We must remember that Satan was once an angel, can still appear as an angel (along with his hosts), and no doubt is responsible for the way angels have been downplayed in modern society.

In David Jeremiah’s book on angels he describes the impressions of an unbeliever who attended a conference of those who believe in angels. Nearly all of the observations the reporter made concerning the conference’s over all opinion of angels is unbiblical! Angels were described as being servants for humanity - locating parking places, helping recipes taste better, and so on.

It is interesting that no where in the Bible are we told to pray to angels, yet there are some who teach this false doctrine today. In fact, in the Bible we are warned to question angelic visits and messages, just as we are human messengers. We are told to question whether they are from God and if they bring a message that contradicts the Word of God, we are commanded to refuse it! Galatians 1:6-9

Galatians 1:6–9 KJV 1900

6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Don’t you find it interesting that two of the world’s major religions find their basis on the visitation of an message from an angel? The founders of both Islam and Mormonism both claim to have been visited by an angel and to have received a message from God about a “new way.” I do not deny that these men were visited by “angels”, but please remember that all the demons of hell used to be angels in heaven.

All this being said, tonight I want us to look at the ministries of both the elect and wicked angels. We will begin with the...

Elect Angles

The elect angels have specific areas of ministry in relation to various groups. First in relation to:

God

Holy angels worship and praise God

Psalm 148:1–2 “1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: Praise him in the heights. 2 Praise ye him, all his angels: Praise ye him, all his hosts.”

Luke 2:13–14 “13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, Good will toward men.”

They also serve Him in various ways

2 Kings 19:35 “35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.”

Hebrews 1:7 “7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”

Next we see the ministry of angels as it relates to...

Christ

Holy angels are greatly involved in the things conerning the Lord Jesus.

They predicted his death Matthew 1:20–21 “20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Warned of danger Matthew 2:13–15 “13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.”

Ministered to Him after His testing Matthew 4:11 “11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”

Rolled away the stone from the tombe and announced His resurrection Matthew 28:2 “2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.” Matthew 28:6 “6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

They will accompany HIm at his Second Coming Matthew 25:31 “31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:”

Angels are thus seen busily serving Jesus at various periods in His life and ministry, including events that have not occured yet!

As exciting as the ministry of angles regarding Jesus and the Father are, what we are truly curious about is their ministry regarding...

Believers

From the Bible we infer that angels minister to believers in a variety of ways:

They protect believers

Genesis 19:15–16 “15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. 16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”

2 Kings 6:13–17 “13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. 14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. 15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

Psalm 91:11–12 “11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

They reveal God’s plan

Daniel 9:21–23 “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. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.”

Acts 7:52–53 “52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.”

They guide believers

Matthew 1:20–21 “20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Acts 8:26 “26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.” Acts 8:29 “29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.”

The provide for those in need

Genesis 21:15–19 “15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. 19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.”

1 Kings 19:5–7 “5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.”

Let it be known that the ministry of angels to believers is real, but let our understanding of their ministry be within the confines of Scripture

We do not pray to angels, however, it is perfectly fine and reasonable to conclude that when we pray to God for His protecttion, that protection can, and proabably does include angelic protection.

We do not expect to receive new revelation from angels, but if we do have angelic encounter we can expect them to confirm or reinforce ONLY what we know to be true of Scripture.

What about the elect angels in regard to...

Unbelievers

In regards to unbelievers, holy angel are to be expected to inflict judgment upon them

Acts 12:23 “23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”

Revelation chapters 6,7, 8,9, 10, and 16 deal with the tribulation period in which the holy angels will have a great part in carrying out the judgment on the unbelievers.

They will separaed the unsaved, bind them, and cast them int o hell for eternity Matthew 13:39-42

Matthew 13:39–42 KJV 1900

39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

This the extent of angelic ministry to unbelievers.

This leaves the ministry of...

Wicked Angels

The ministry of wicked angels is seen in just two areas:

Their ministry in relation to Satan

They are extenisively involved in carrying out his plans an purposes

Matthew 25:41 “41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”

Ephesians 6:12 “12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

They exercise control over evil rulers of governments (See above)

While holy angels will separated the usnaved and cast them into hell, the wicked angels will gather all the nations of the world together for the battle of Armageddon Revelation 16:13–16 “13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

But what about...

Their ministry in relation to others

These angels are in opposition to the work of the good angels

Daniel 10:12–13 “12 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.” Daniel 10:20 “20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.”

Daniel 11:1 “1 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.”

Thes angels operated behind the scenes helping evil rulers of nations

Isaiah 24:21 “21 And it shall come to pass in that day, That the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, And the kings of the earth upon the earth.”

Jeremiah 46:25 “25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, And Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; Even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him:”

If they oppose the work of good angels who are doing the bidding of God, how much do you think they will oppose us when we do the work of God?

Take away:

There is a lot to learn and to know about angels, and certainly there is a lot of opinion about angels circulating around. What we need to know is what the Bible tells us.

There is a reason there is no book of the Bible or even passage of the Bible dedicated specifically to the study of angels. Angels are created being, ministers of God and not the subject of worship or fascination. That being said, we owe it to ourselves and to God to know what the Bible tells us about them. That is the purpose of this study, to pull out from Scripture what it says about these teachings to reinforce what we believe and, most importantly, WHY we believe it.