Table-Talk: Angels?

TableTalk – What does the Bible Say About Angels? 

READ.  Psalm 8:4-5

When ‘good’ people die, do they become angels?  In this New Age, there is an unhealthy interest in angels. There are people who think that when a person dies, they become an angel.  You’ll hear them expressing sentiments like, “Fly high, now you’ve got your wings…”.   As Christians we know that this is NOT true! 

READ Job 38:4-7 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5  Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6  To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?   At Creation, there were ‘created beings’ watching God doing his creative work.  Was it Adam and Eve?___________

Question: In the spiritual order, are angels above or below mankind?

READ: Psalm 8: 4-5 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?  5  For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honour.  

ANSWER:___________________________________________________________

So, NO!  We don’t become angels when we die!  But what then are angels, and what do they do?

1. Announcers.

The word ‘angel’ itself, simply means ‘announcer.’  

Question:  How does Jesus address the churches of Asia in Revelation 2 and 3? ἄγγελος – an announcer

READ: Rev. 2:1. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;  

ANSWER: ________________ In THIS context what does ‘Angel’ mean?___________

But that’s not the primary understanding of the word. There are spiritual beings called angels, who are the announcers, the messengers of God.

Question. When Hebrews describes angels, 1. who do they serve,  and 2. what do they DO.  3. Who do they do it FOR?

READ: Hebrews 1:13-14 But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?  

ANSWER: 1. ___________ 2. ________________ 3. ________________

Let’s see some examples of how they do that:

• Angels are guardians of the weakest among us. In Matthew 18:10, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. Angels are constantly awaiting for their orders, to carry the messages of God…. Psalm 103:20-21 Bless the Lord, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, Heeding the voice of His word. 21  Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
• Angels protect us.  Psalm 91:10-11 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,  To keep you in all your ways.”  READ: V3-6 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. 4  He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6  Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.  Why will we not fear?  Because we are surrounded by angels!
• Angels rescue us when we are in danger!  I think this may happen even though we are unaware of it!  I wonder how many time would we have been involved in dreadful accidents and disasters had God’s holy angels not been watching over us? Psalm 34:7  The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. 

So we have seen just some of the functions of the angels, who are MESSENGERS or announcers, doing God’s bidding for us. But let’s be careful!

---

2. Keeping it in Perspective.

Now, let’s look at some other important Biblical teachings about angels. In case we get the wrong idea, and think that angels are OUR personal servants.

• The primary function of the angels is to serve God! And of course that means to serve Christ.   Matthew 26:53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  They are GOD’S to command – not ours!  WE cannot call upon the angels to do anything, – they do God’s bidding, and one day, it will be God’s will for them to withdraw their protective cover, and stand lovingly by, and watch over us as we leave this world and go to be with our heavenly father.  So, 
• Should I pray to angels? There are people who will pray to angels.  In the Bible we are taught that when we pray, we are to address our prayers to our heavenly Father.  We are not to pray to saints, or to Mary, or to our deceased loved ones, or to angels.  Biblical prayer is properly to be addressed to the Father, in the name of the Son, through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.   Nor should we worship or praise angels.  Christ alone is our Saviour and He alone is the object of our worship.
• Can I see angels?   Will I wake up one night and see an angel standing at my bedside?  Realistically, the answer is no!  Angels are spiritual beings!  Hebrews 1:14.  In the Bible, as we have seen they did assume some kind of physical appearance, but only on rare occasions, and for special God-ordained purposes.  There’s an example in Luke 2:9-10  However, there will be a day when we will see them! Matthew 25:31   Still, Hebrews warns us, Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
• The ‘Angel of the Lord.’ READ Zechariah 3:1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.  In this classic picture of the High Priest (one Joshua) – he stands in intercession, before ‘The Angel of the Lord’ while Satan stands by, ready to oppose him.  It’s a picture of spiritual warfare, the warfare engaged in by the priesthood of all believers.  But who is ‘the Angel of the Lord?’  – There are many conservative commentators and scholars who propose that when this phrase is used in the OT, it indicates a pre-incarnation appearance of the Logos, the second person of the Trinity.  John 8:58 58  

Of course, in heaven, when we meet again around the throne of God, we shall be in the company of the angels for all of eternity.  In Revelation 4&5, John gets a glimpse into worship in heaven.  He describes it for us in Rev 5:11-12 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, 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 who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honour and glory and blessing!”  Before we finish, let’s consider the opposite of angels…

---

3. Fallen Angels.

In our study on ‘Ghosts and the paranormal’ we learned that when people are consulting spiritualists and mediums, they are receiving messages, from demons.

Questions. Who are these demons?  

READ: Revelation 12:9. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  

Those rebellious angels who were cast out of heaven, at some time in the past, are the messengers of Satan.  They do his bidding, struggling against God and his church, they are the forces of evil in this world, and we see their wicked influence all around us.  Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  

Question. What is the eternal destiny of demons?

READ: Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

ANSWER: _________________________________

So, we have seen just a little bit about angels.  It’s only a little!  I know one pastor who wrote an 85,000 word essay on this subject, and still didn’t cover it all. But if we’ve just learned a little, enough to clear up some common misconceptions, then we’ve achieved what we set out to do.