Talking about Angels

Bottom line

Enjoy the mystery of faith

Opening Line

Has anyone noticed how we as human beings like to take the mystery out of life?

Introduction

Bob Goff, one of my favorite authors, talks about the whimsy of life, and how many people lose their whimsy and shortly after their joy. When you watch things on YouTube or social media, there is this desire to have an explanation for everything. For example, my smart phone. I don’t have to understand how the touch screen on this works. I don’t have to understand how they made glass fold like this. I just appreciate the fact that it does work. There are really smart people who put their brains together to come up with the technology needed to make each of our lives easier, and that’s all I need.

But for some people, that isn’t good enough. They will tear the phone apart in this deep curiosity to know how it works. I’ve watched those videos, and I don’t understand the jargon they use, so I haven’t lost the mystery of it.

Main Point

I think there are some areas of life where it is OK to dive into the mystery of the thing to try to understand it in a meaningful way, even in most things of faith. But I want to start this morning by reminding us that there are things about our faith that will forever be a mystery. You and I serve a God whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts and whose ways are higher than our ways. In His perfect knowledge, He has orchestrated things so that the Bible we have is exactly what we need for wisdom and knowledge about life and faith. If something feels obscure, it is because it is not a central thing that requires great elaboration. One of the things that we have to accept with a certain degree of mystery are angels.

Why it matters

This morning as we unpack this idea, I’m going to look at the hard evidence. I’m not going to spend too much time in prophetic visions and dreams because these things are so obscure that it is hard peel the layers enough to truly understand what the prophet actually saw. There is a lot of speculation, and there is a temptation to read into the text something that simply is not there.

But you have to start from a place that acknowledges that the Bible is highest authority on the topic. If our knowledge doesn’t start and stop here, there is temptation to dive into other sources to grow in knowledge. This is why it is dangerous to allow Tiktok and YouTube to be our primary source of theological training. You never really know where they are getting their information, and how reputable that information is.

So we will dive in and unpack angels to a certain degree, and Scripture does share a lot about them that we can know definitively. But there may be spaces unfilled, and you have to be OK with that.

So with that, as we always do, let’s start with what Jude says, and then we will dive in. I will be jumping around a lot, so follow along on the screen or the app as best you can.

Scripture

Jude 6 NLT

And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment.

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So, a number of questions emerge from this verse. What are angels? What does it mean that they did not stay within the limits of authority? What in the world is Jude talking about?

So first question,

What are angels?

Angels are messengers from God, and they are supernatural beings. The Hebrew and Greek word that is translated angel is more accurately translated as messenger, and whether the messenger is angelic or human largely relies on the context of the story.

It was through an angel that Mary learned she would be the virgin mother of the Christ.

Luke 1:26–28 NLT

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

It was through an angel that Joseph was encouraged to marry his fiance.

Matthew 1:20 NLT

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

It was angels who announced to the shepherds that the Messiah had been born.

Luke 2:8–11 NLT

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

Even in the Old Testament, they were primarily messengers to God’s people. Judges 13:3

Judges 13:3 NLT

The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son.

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This is the primary role of angels over the course of Scripture, mostly the Old Testament, but even moving into the New Testament. But it is not the only role. As we saw in Genesis 19 a few weeks back, they not only warned Lot that Sodom and Gomorrah were going to be destroyed, but they were the ones who were going to carry out the destruction. It was an angel that closed the mouths of the lions. Daniel 6:22

Daniel 6:22 NLT

My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”

They nourish and strengthen God’s people.

1 Kings 19:4–7 NLT

Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”

Matthew 4:11 NLT

Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

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Fun fact, any time you read, ‘the angel of the LORD’, it is believed that it is God Himself, or possibly Jesus entering into the story. The phrase is used enough that there is a distinction between an angel and the angel of the LORD. Just a fun fact for you.

They execute the judgment of God. We already saw that in Sodom and Gomorrah. We also see it in 2 Chron 32:20-21

2 Chronicles 32:20–21 NLT

Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven. And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword.

They help God’s people in really tangible ways. Acts 5:19

Acts 5:19 NLT

But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them,

Acts 12:7–11 NLT

Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered. So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him. Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”

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Though angels primarily serve as messengers throughout scripture, and even in most stories I’ve heard of people who have angelic experiences, it is often a messenger role, though they do get involved at times.

If you’re wondering what an angel looks like. Well, in Genesis 18 and 19, they were mistaken as men. The author of Hebrews says this:

Hebrews 13:2 NLT

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

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But in saying that, there is something special about them. There is a reason that whenever an angel appears, they generally start the conversation with, “Don’t be afraid.”

It is this supernatural aspect that comes out in the prophetic description. Even though angels are like men, and that it always how they are described, there is so much more to them. When you read the prophets, there is a mysticism to their language as they try to capture the grandiose of what they are seeing.

So that is angels. So what is Jude talking about when he says they left their limits and have been set aside for judgment. Well, there are two answers for this.

The first we read about in Revelation 12:7-9

Revelation 12:7–9 NLT

Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

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Just a few verses earlier, John writes how the dragon swept with his tail a third of the stars. Stars throughout scripture almost always symbolically represents angels. So the dragon, the devil, Satan, the cosmic opponent of God, was so powerful that when he rebelled against God, he was able to convince a third of the angels that he could do it.

This is important because it also tells us that angels have free will. They can choose to either follow and obey God or not, just like us. The major difference is that angels stand in the unhindered presence of God constantly. But even that could keep some of them from falling.

The second answer is that Jude is actually referring to the story in Genesis 6.

Genesis 6:1–4 NLT

Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.” In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.

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Now I know that there have been some really good arguments made, trying to explain what is meant by sons of God, and I would be more than happy to discuss this further later. But at the time of Jude’s writing, and after all the textual and theological analysis done, the overwhelmingly accepted interpretation of ‘sons of God’ in this story is that sons of God refers to angels. The result of this union was the emergence of Nephilim, which is literally fallen ones. Giants, men of war in a time the earth was characterized as being filled with violence. This perversion of the created order would explain why God had flood the earth to cleanse, and why these angels are set aside for judgment.

But in light of the talk of angels, let us not miss the point Jude is trying to make. Verse 5, Jude discussed how the Israelites, a nation saved by the power of God Himself, quickly turned away and suffered judgment time and time again. Then verse 6 points to the angels, beings whose very existence is an act of worship before the Lord, and even they fell.

Transition to Application

Jude is imploring the church to watch their lives closely.

James 1:14–15 NLT

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

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Main To Do

I would say that one of the greatest temptations the church faces today is Tik Tok theology. Depending on the generation, people are spending between 2-7 hours a day on social media. That doesn’t include all the other things you do on your phone. It doesn’t fail that if you follow Christian influencers in those services, the algorithm is going to feed you other related stuff. In case you hadn’t figured this out yet, not everything you watch on Snapchat or Instagram is true. There is really bad theology being projected on the church, and unfortunately, many people are taking it at face value, resulting in some really bad beliefs. The latest one being that this is what an angel looks like

It is hard to look at, isn’t it.

Why it matters

My point is that you need to test everything. 1 John 4:1

1 John 4:1 NLT

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.

Your source of truth needs to start here. The Bible needs to be your filter through which everything goes through. If it is, then you won’t be fooled by passionate pleas for what is actually false. The Holy Spirit dwelling within you will lead you to all truth. You hear God’s voice speaking to you more clearly the more you are in the word because this is and always will be the clearest avenue He will speak to you through. You need to be in the word. AND, the more you are in the word, the more you realize that there are things about life and faith you don’t understand and that is OK. If God sees fit to reveal it, He will, and if He doesn’t that’s OK too.

The alternative is not being in the word, and being duped by almost anything that claims to come from God. As John said, there are a lot of false prophets in the world, and some of them are well meaning, even if they are misguided. The more bad teaching you take in, the harder it becomes to determine the good from the bad, and soon you begin to lose true north.

Closing Line

Test everything, and never lose that sense of awe of the bigness and grandiose of our God.

Discussion Questions

What stood out?

How can embracing the mystery of faith enhance your relationship with God?

In what areas of your faith do you struggle to accept the mystery?

What role does scripture play in helping you navigate the uncertainties of faith?

How can you encourage others to appreciate the mystery of faith while remaining rooted in scripture?

In what ways can you remind yourself and your peers to keep a sense of awe in your spiritual journey?