THE POWER OF ANGELS

(Part II)

I.                   THE SPIRIT WORLD

God Created the Visible and the Invisible

Nehemiah 9:6

⁶ You alone are the Lord; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host…the host of heaven worships You.

Colossian 1:16

¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

II.                 THE ORIGIN OF ANGELS

The Word “angel’” and “angels” appear in the Old Testament 108 times and 165 times in the New Testament.

 The work of angels is referred to almost 250 times.

Thirty-four of the Bible’s sixty-six books talk about angels in detail.

There are 104 recorded appearances of angels to men—and even one to a donkey (Numbers 22:23).

A.    God created them by the breath of His mouth

Psalm 33:6

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

B.     God created them at His Command

Psalm 148:2,5

² Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! ⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created.

C.     God created them before the earth was created

Job 38:4-7

⁴ “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, ⁷When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

III.              WHAT ARE ANGELS?

A.    Created eternal spirit beings who are not flesh and blood

        Psalm 103:21

²¹ Bless the Lord, all His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure.

B.     Messengers

Hebrew, mal’ak means to send with a message, messenger; also denotes “someone sent over a great distance in order to communicate a message;” a diplomat.

Greek, angelos, messenger angel, a supernatural messenger of the Lord sent with a particular message.

C.     A Company, not a race

Hebrew 12:22

²² But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels.

D.    Praisers

 Psalm 148:1-2

 ¹ Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights!  ² Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts!

E.     Ministering spirits

 Hebrews 1:7,14

 And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers   a flame of fire. ¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for   those who will inherit salvation?”

F.     They are emotional

  Luke 15:10

  ^10 “Likewise, I say to you, ‘there is joy in the presence of the angels of God   over one sinner who repents.’”

G.    Intelligent but not Omniscient

·         Have own language (I Corinthians 13:1)

o   They grow in knowledge—not all knowledge (Mark 13:32, Ephesians 3:10)

·         Desire to look into the salvation of humans ( I Peter 1:12)

 ¹² To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were  ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who  have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things  which angels desire to look into.

      •    Have wills

H.    Powerful and glorious Beings but not Omnipotent

 Isaiah 37:36

 ³⁶ Then the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the  Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when they arose early in  the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.

I.       Innumerable

 Job 25:3

³Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not rise?

IV.             WHAT DO ANGELS DO

A.    Enjoy Praising God

B.     Stand at God’s side ready to obey Him

1 Kings 22:19

¹⁹ Then he said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left.”

C.     Assist God in announcing good news

Luke 1:13

¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”

D.    Meet a variety of human needs…encourage, warn, direct, protect and deliver at God’s direction (Genesis 18:16-19, 29, 21:17-19; Exodus 14:19-20, Daniel 3:28, Matthew 2:13, 26:53, Mark 1:13, Luke 22:43, Acts 5:19)

E.     Assist in Judgment at times

Genesis 19:13

^13 “For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it”

2 Samuel 24:16

¹⁶ And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

F.     Eat food

Genesis 19:3

³ But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

Psalm 78:25

²⁵ Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full.

G.    Can even cook (1 Kings 19:5-8)

H.    Never draw attention to themselves but ascribe glory to God

I.       Do not Rest

Revelation 4:8

⁸ The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

J.   Travel at Inconceivable speed

Ezekiel 1:14

¹⁴ And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.

K.  Will be judged by the saints

1 Corinthians. 6:3

³ Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

L.   Can assume human form of any nationality

Hebrews 13:2

² Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.

V.                WHAT ANGELS CANNOT DO

A.    Call God Father only “Creator” (Matthew 6:9, Revelation 4:8)

B.     Be redeemed, but are interested in the salvation of human beings (Ephesians 3:1-10, Hebrews 1:13-14, 2:2-3, I Peter 1:12, Luke 15:10, I Corinthians 4:9)

C.     Receive worship (Romans 1:25, Colossians 2:18, Revelation 19:10, 22:8, 9)

D.    Act on their own power

Psalms 103:20-21

²⁰ 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.

E.     Do not die

Luke 20:36

^36 Nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

F.     Rule the future world (Hebrews 2:5-8)

G.    Separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38)

Answer Key: Mouth, Command, Messengers, Omniscient, Judgement, human, Die