The Truth About Angels

This week I did a search on Amazon for “angels” and was amazed by the number of “angelic” products being sold. Some products were very good, such as Billy Graham’s book, entitled “Angels,” but from there the product list quickly went down hill. The majority of the products were cheaply made figurines. Others were down right disturbing with titles such as “Angel Healing,” “Angel Therapy,” “How to Talk to Your Angels,” and “Secrets of Heaven: Mystery Teachings of the Angels.” With so attention being placed on angels, a person cannot help but ask, “What is the Truth About Angels?”

Thankfully our text today gives us the truth about angels, but more importantly, it gives us the truth about Jesus. Throughout the book of Hebrews the author will be demonstrating that Jesus is superior to all other voices. As we will be learning next week from chapter 2, it was through the angels that God gave Moses the Law on Mt. Sinai, but before he comes to that point, the author of Hebrews wants us to understand that Jesus is superior to the angels in every way. Lets turn our attention to our text.

Hebrews 1:4–14 ESV

having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

According to our text the first way Jesus is superior to the angels is found in the fact that...

Angels are “sons of God”, Jesus is THE Son of God (1:4-5)

One of the more common mistakes people today make concerning angels is to not give them the proper respect they deserve. In verses 4-5, the author of Hebrews in comparing and contrasting the “name” that the angels have to that of Jesus. The force of the author’s argument depends on our proper appreciation of the great authority and rank that the angels have. As I pointed out last Sunday as we looked at verse 4, in the Old Testament angels are give the highly exalted title of “sons of God.”

We think it a small matter to adorn our homes with cutesy angel pictures and figurines, but the book of Jude warns us not to “blaspheme the glorious ones,” for to do so makes us like “unreasoning animals” and will result in our destruction. (Jude 8-10) But it gets even more serious, an unbiblical view of angels leads to an unbiblical view of Jesus.

In verse 5, the author of Hebrews quotes two Old Testaments passages to show that Jesus also has been given the title “Son of God,” but in His case His authority fair exceeds that of the angels. The first citation is from Psalm 2:7 and the second is from 2 Sam 7:14. The 2 Samuel passage is so important for understanding who Jesus is that I think we should read it for ourselves.

2 Samuel 7:12–16 ESV

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”

In this prophecy, David is being told that he will have a Greater Son, whose kingdom will last forever. At first, it looked like Solomon might be this “Greater Son,” but his sinfulness proved otherwise and his kingdom did not last. What follows in the subsequent storyline of the Old Testament is one failure after another of the kings of Judah. The final failure was the Babylonian exile. All of this taught the people to look for a coming Messiah to come from the “fallen tent of David.” (Acts 15:16)

The first passage is from Psalm 2, which is one of the enthronement Psalms. The Jews of the first century clearly understood this Psalm as a Messianic Psalm. It speaks of the Messiah being enthroned as ruler over all the earth. This Psalm is not teaching that Jesus was not the “Son of God” prior to His enthronement, but rather at His enthronement He was granted the Kingdom and authority promised to David so many years ago. In His human nature, as the Messianic Son of God, Jesus now outranks the angels!

Jesus, however, does not simply outrank the angels in His human nature, He also outranks them in His eternal divine nature. This is seen in Heb 1:6, where we discover...

Angels are Worshipers, Jesus is Worshiped (1:6)

In their majesty, angels are so glorious you would be tempted to worship them if you saw one. In Revelation 19, the Apostle John is granted access to heaven in a vision. There he encounters an angel and this is what we read happened.

Revelation 19:10 ESV

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Now it is true that angels have the ability to veil their glory, even to the point that it is possible to entertain an angel in your home and be unaware of it. (Heb 13:2) However, we must never forget that in their unveiled state, they are breathtakingly glorious.

The force of the argument is this: These glorious beings bow down in worship when the Son of God came into this world, therefore Jesus is superior.

In the next six verses the author of Hebrews turns to another truth we often forget about angels, in order to teach us an even greater truth about Jesus. It is this...

Angels are Powerful, Jesus is All Powerful (1:7-12)

Two of the most powerful forces know to man are wind and fire. Consider how much of our media’s attention has been devoted to the destructive power of wind and fire that last several weeks. The winds of hurricanes Harvey, Erma, Maria, and the wildfires that have been devastating the American west. According to verse 8 this is the type of power angel’s have.

Perhaps now you understand why it is so dangerous to treat angels disrespectfully. Quite literally they can “blow you away!”

Yet for all their power, the power of Jesus is greater!

In Heb 1:8 Jesus is called “God.”

Hebrews 1:8 ESV

But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

If someone says that the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is a third and fourth century invention, politely tell them they are wrong and show them this verse.

As if this was not enough, the author of Hebrews quotes Ps 102 to remind us that Jesus not only created the universe, but He will outlast it! Someday Jesus is going to roll up this present universe like an old garment and replace it with a New Heaven and New Earth!

The final truth about angels points to even more important truth about Jesus. This truth is found in Heb 1:13-14. Here we learn that...

Angels are Servants, Jesus is Lord (1:13-14)

In Hebrews 1:14 we learn that angels are “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.” There are many misunderstandings about “Guardian Angels.” Perhaps the greatest is that everyone has a guardian angel, but this is not so. Only those “who are to inherit salvation” are ministered to by angels. Within the context of Matthew 18, the “little ones” are not children, but those who trust in Christ like a little child.

Secondly, their ministry is to us, but they are servants of God, not of us. Too many people think that angels are at their beck and call. A number of the books I saw on Amazon make the claim that it is possible to “command angels.” The truth is angels answer to no man, they are servants of God and God only!

Thirdly, they guard us primarily from spiritual dangers, not earthly. I have no doubt that angels have saved a many a believer from harm in accidents and on the battlefield, but the bible make it clear that the greatest danger we face is spiritual, not physical. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this when he writes:

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Paul is speaking here of the fallen angels. There are ranks of angels and not only this text, but others indicate that it was members of the highest ranks of angels that fell into sin and followed Satan. In other words, we are facing the angelic A-team! This is why verse 13 is so important.

Here the author of Hebrews is quoting Psalm 110, another of the enthronement Psalms. It is not our guardian angels who we should trust to protect us from the forces of darkness, but our Warrior King Jesus Christ! Jesus won the decisive victory on the cross. In Col 2:15, we read...

Colossians 2:15 ESV

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Conclusion: Trust in Jesus, Not Angels

I hope you have learned today that angels are underestimated and overemphasized. Angels are beings with immense power and authority and should not be trifled with. On the other hand, Jesus is superior to the angels in every way. Our trust must be placed in Christ alone. Let us pray.

Lord God, we thank you that you have created your angels to be ministering spirits to your saints. Forgive us for when we in our prideful ignorance have not honored them as we should. However, help us not to look to the angels, but to your Son Jesus as our only sure defense against the force of darkness. Amen.