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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.