Angels

1. Angels –13th
November 2015
“Forhe will commandhisangelsconcerningyou to guard youin all your ways…”(Psalm91:11).
The word Angel isbroadlyusedinmanyforms intoday'ssociety.Theyare depictedfrequentlyin
televisionshows,moviesandbooks.Theyare pinnedtoourlapelsandhangfrom ourrear-view mirrors.
Theyare traditionallyviewedas"guardians"thatprotectourhomesandchildren.Butwhatis mythand
whatis reality?Where doangelscome from? AnAngel istypicallybenevolentcelestial beingthatactsas
an intermediarybetweenheavenandearth,especiallyinChristianity,Judaism, andIslam.The
representation of sucha beinginChristianity isthe image of ahumanfigure withahaloand wings…
Accordingto medievalangelologynine orders of angelsare saidtoexist. Fromthe highesttothe lowest
inrank, the orders are: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations ordominions, virtues, powers,
principalities, archangels, andangels.
In Christianupbringing,anAngel isakind andlovable personwhohappenstobe a guardianspiritor
guidinginfluence.One whomanifestsgoodness, purity, andselflessness? BA superhumanorheavenly a
beingwhoservesasGod's messenger.Boththe Hebrew malak [J;'m] andthe Greek angelos [a [ggelo"]
indicate thatthese beingsalsoactdecisivelyinfulfillingGod'swill inthe world.“Angels"are mentioned
almostthree hundredtimesinScripture,andare onlynoticeablyabsentfrombookssuchasRuth,
Nehemiah,Esther,the lettersof John,andJames. We canget an understandingwhenwe read Psalm
8:4-5 “…whatis mankindthatyou are mindful ofthem, humanbeingsthat you care forthem? 5
You
have made them a littlelower than the angels andcrowned them with gloryand honor”.In the New
Testamentalsowe can findmanyreferencestoAngle/s. InMatthew4:6 “Ifyou are the Son of God,” he
said,“throwyourselfdown. For it iswritten:“‘He will commandhis angelsconcerningyou,and they
will liftyou up intheir hands,sothat you will not strike your footagainsta stone”.
In theOld Testamentfromthe beginning,angelswere partof the divine hierarchy.Bynature theywere
spiritual entities,andthusnotsubjecttothe limitationsof humanflesh. AsChristianswe are taught that
there was the "fall"of some angels,includingSatan,butthe Bible containsnodescriptionof thatevent.
Whenangelsappearedinhumansocietytheyresemblednormal males andwe neverreadinthe
scripturesasthey appeared as women. “Whenthemen gotup to leave, they looked downtoward
Sodom,andAbraham walkedalongwith them to see them on their way(Genesis18:16).
While God'sangelscarry out Hiscommands,the Bible alsotellsusthatthere isa supreme,fallenangel
whois againstGod: “Thenhe will sayto thoseon his left,‘Depart fromme, you who are cursed, into
the eternal fire prepared for the devil and hisangels” (Matthew25:41) andother angelsthatare evil
and face God's punishment whichwe canreadin Jude 1:6 – “Andthe angelswhodid not keep their
positionsofauthoritybut abandonedtheirproper dwelling—thesehehaskept in darkness, bound
with everlastingchainsfor judgmenton the great Day”.
Angels are also messengers of God. We can read of physical descriptionsof angels that have been documented in
the Bible: For example, when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb they sawan Angel:
"His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that
they shook and became like dead men"(Matthew 28:3-4). We can read in the same passage:“The angel said to
the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified" (Matthew 28:5"

2. Angelscommunicate messagesof GodtoHis people.Angelsalsohave powerstoperformworksforGod
that are beyondthe abilityof humans. "Butduringthenightan angel ofthe Lord openedthe doorsof
the jail and broughtthem out" (Acts5:19). Angelshave the powertoministertoGod's people."Arenot
all angelsministeringspiritssent to serve those whowill inherit salvation?" (Hebrews1:14). Aswe can
observe,the powersof angelsare toministerandserve God.Angels,like people,are toworshipGod,
not replace Him."Andthey were callingtoone another: 'Holy,holy,holy isthe Lord Almighty;the
whole earth is full ofHis glory'" (Isaiah6:3). Inaddition,Godcallson the angelstoworshipHisSon,
Jesus. "…Andagain,whenGodbringshisfirstborninto the world,he says, Let all God’sangelsworship
him” (Hebrews 1:6). The Bible tellsusspecificallytoworshipGodandnot angels. "AtthisI fell at his
feet to worshiphim.But he saidto me, “Don’tdo that! I am a fellowservant with youand with your
brothers andsisters who holdto the testimonyof Jesus.WorshipGod!Forit is the Spirit of prophecy
who bears testimonyto Jesus”(Revelation19:10).
Do Anglesreallyexistisuptothe individual.But we can learnthatthe realityof angelsisgroundedin
the Bible. Intoday’sworlddue toour nature we have broughtforth manydifferentrepresentationsas
to whoor what an Angle is… Bitas Christians we canlearnfromthe bible thatalthoughangelstake on
differentvisual representations,missionsandpowers…,the one constantisthatangelsare a blessing
fromGod that He usesto communicate,protectandministerto uswithHispower.
“For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways…”(Psalm