THE HOLY SERVICE OF THE GOOD ANGELS

 

By Gary Ray Branscome

 

          The Bible not only tells us that the holy angels serve God, but that many of the tasks they carry out are done for the sake of the gospel, and benefit of God’s people. And, the words, “Are they [angels] not all spirits who serve Him, and are sent forth to help those who will be heirs of salvation?” tell us exactly that (Hebrews 1:14). But what do they do? The words, “Praise the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength, who listen when He speaks, and do what He says,” not only tell us that the angels excel in strength, but that they listen to God and do His will (Psalm 103:20-21). The words, “I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and language, and people,” describe an angel that helped spread the gospel  (Revelation 14:6). And, when the Reformation began, Martin Luther observed that the gospel spread so fast it seemed like the angels were spreading the good news.

 

          Since nothing is impossible with God, He does not need anyone to serve Him, nor does He lack anything. Therefore, the angels who serve God do so to their own benefit, not God’s benefit. The words, “Because you have made the LORD your refuge, and the most High, your dwelling place; No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your dwelling, for He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, lest you stub your foot against a stone,” speak of God’s protection of those who trust in Him (Psalm 91:9-12). In fact, this is a passage that Satan quoted when he was tempting Jesus (See Matthew 4:6, Luke 4:11). And, in the resurrection all of that protection will be fully ours without any limitation.

 

          The words, “Do not despise one of these little ones; for I am telling you, that in heaven their angels continually behold the face of my Father,” speak of those who trust in Christ [even small children] having angels (Matthew 18:10). The words,As Peter knocked at the door of the passage, a girl named Rhoda came to answerand told everyone that Peter was standing outside the door. But they said to her, You are out of your mind. Yet she insisted that it was so. So they said, It must be his angel,” tell us that some in the early church believed that Peter had an angel (Acts 12:13-15). And, the words, “Paul stood up in their midst, and said, Sirs, you should have taken my advice, not to sail from Crete, and so prevented this damage and loss. But now I urge you to be of good cheer: for there will not be a single loss of life among you, only of the ship. For this night an angel from God, whose I am, and whom I serve, stood by me,” tell of God sending an angel to Paul, when he was in danger, to assure him that there would be no loss of life (Acts 27:21-23).

          The words, “The beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side,” tell us that an angel carried the soul of the beggar [Lazarus] to be with Abraham in heaven (Luke 16:22) [See Mark 12:26-27.] The words, “The angel of the LORD went out, and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians: and those who got up early in the morning saw all the dead bodies,” tell us that angels can fight on behalf of God’s people (Isaiah 37:36). And, the words, “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days: but then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I left him there to oppose the kings of Persia,” seem to speak of one angel withstanding another angel (Daniel 10:13). Now, because no earthly prince could withstand an angel, the one referred to as “the prince of the kingdom of Persia,” must have been an angel. Moreover, the fact that he opposed God’s angel suggests that he was an evil angel. And, the fact that he is called “the prince of the kingdom of Persia,” leads me to think that he might have been one of the angels that are described as “principalities” and “powers,” that are not “flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12).

 

Things the Angels Do

          The words, “The things, that have now been proclaimed to you by those who are preaching the gospel to you with the Holy Spirit sent from heaven; things which angels long to look into,” tell us that angels are interested in the salvation message (1Peter 1:12).

          The words, “The angel said to them, Do not be afraid: for, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” tell us that when Christ was born angels proclaimed the good news (Luke 2:10-11).

          The words, “I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and language, and people,” tell of an angel that assisted in spreading the gospel  (Revelation 14:6).

          The words, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents,” tell us that angels rejoice when a sinner repents (Luke 15:10).

          The words, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them,” tell us that angels protect those who fear God (Psalm 34:7).

          The words, “I charge you before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without favoritism, and without partiality,” tell us that angels are aware of what is going on in our churches (1Timothy 5:21). [See 1Corinthians 11:10.]

          The words, “When the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory,” tell us that the angels will be present at the final judgment (Matthew 25:31).

          The words, “He will send His angels with the sound of a great trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other,” tell us that angels will gather God’s people together for the final judgment  (Matthew 24:31).

          The words, “The Son of man will send forth His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom those who sin, and all who lead others to sin; And will throw them into a furnace of fire: where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father,” tell us that angels will gather up the wicked and cast them into the lake of fire (Matthew 13:41-43).

 

The Danger of False Worship

          While we should be aware of what the Bible says about angels, the words, “Let no man swindle you out of your reward through a false humility and the worship of angels, intruding into things that he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,” warn us not to worship angels (Colossians 2:18). The words, “I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel that showed me these things. And he said to me, Do not do it… worship God,” tell us to worship God, not angels (Revelation 22:8-9). And, the words, “The things that the Gentiles sacrifice are sacrificed to devils, and not to God.” and “They shall no longer offer their sacrifices to devils, after whom they have gone a whoring” equate angel worship with idolatry and adultery (1Corinthians 10:20, Leviticus 17:7). And, because prayer is a form of worship, these passages forbid prayer to angels. In fact, because angels do the will of God, they will not do anything for us unless God tells them to, so any prayer that is not directed to God is futile.