Ministry of the Good Angels

 
ARTICLE XII – SECTION C: MINISTRY OF THE GOOD ANGELS 

The holy angels offer unceasing worship and praise to God:

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.  Rev 5:11-12.

And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.”  Heb 1:6.

The holy angels are selfless: they never draw attention to themselves, and always give God the glory.  They brought God’s Law to His people:

Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.  Act 7:53.

They execute God’s judgements on His enemies:

And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.  2Ki 19:35.

When Christ returns, the holy angels will gather together the elect:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.  Mat 24:30-31.

They will guard the gates to New Jerusalem:

And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:  Rev 21:12.

They will execute a number of tasks in Revelation, including pouring out the vials of wrath in chapter 16.

And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.  Rev 16:1.

They are the reapers on the Day of Judgement; they know the difference between the wheat and the tares:

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn…The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.  Mat 13:30, 39.

From Revelation chapter 7 to 20, the angels are mentioned almost 60 times as having a part in God’s judgement.  There is a great interest in Christ shown by the angels in their ministry efforts.
  • Gabriel announces the birth of John (Luk 1:11-13)
  • Gabriel announces the birth of Christ (Luk 1:26-38)
  • An angel assures Joseph concerning Mary (Mat 1:20)
  • An angel bring tidings to the shepherds (Luk 2:8-15)
  • An angel warns Joseph to flee to Egypt (Mat 2:13)
  • An angel tells Joseph to return from Egypt (Mat 2:19-20)
  • An angels attended to Jesus after the temptation (Mat 4:11)
  • Jesus tells Nathaniel he would see angels ascending and descending upon Himself (Joh 1:51)
  • An angel strengthened Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luk 22:43)
  • Jesus could ask the Father to send 12 legions of angels to help Him if needed (Mat 26:53)
  • An angel rolled back the stone from the tomb and spoke to the women (Mat 28:2-7)
  • Angels were present at Lord’s ascension (Act 1:11)
  • In His glorified position, angels acknowledge and honor Him as Lord (1Pt 3:22)
  • Finally, they will accompany Him when He returns (Mat 16:27, 25:31)
The ministry of angels is still involved in the life of the believer today.  Angels protect us from accidental harm:

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”  Psa 91:11-12.

Angels carry out God’s will and deliver us from our enemies:

The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”  Psa 34:7.

And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?  And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.  And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”  2Ki 6:15-17.

Angels have encouraged the faithful through trials

And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.”  Act 27:22-24.

Angels bring wisdom and guidance:

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,  Act 8:26-27.

Angels escort our soul when we die:

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;”  Luk 16:22.

Angels rejoice over our repentance, and the Lord tells them of our faith:

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. “  Luk 15:10.

Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.”  Luk 12:8-9.

Guardian angels?  There are guardian angels in the sense that their ministry is involved in the believer’s walk; but there is no scripture support for the concept that a particular angel is assigned to a specific person at birth.  Although, the Lord did speak in a tenure manner in Matthew, and so did others in Acts:

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.  Mat 18:10.

And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.”  Act 12:15.

The ministry of angels is related to temporal affairs (it is dynamically different than the work of the Holy Ghost).  Angels do not regenerate man, the Spirit does; and the Holy Ghost indwells man, holy angels do not.  Angels do not perform works of grace in our hearts that sanctify and make us more like Christ.  Angels are mightier than man, but not all knowing, all powerful, or all present like the Holy Ghost; and angels do not convict men's hearts:

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  Joh 16:7-8.

Angels do not reveal and interpret Christ, they are messengers and ministers.  Angels can only be in one place at one time, the Holy Ghost can be everywhere at any moment.  Angels are spirit, but have taken visible form in order to assist the believer or carry out God’s will.

Angels are not all knowing, though they are wise; they are continually learning about the things of God as well.  The angels have been worshipping and praising God for His wisdom, power, glory, holiness, etc., with no concept of His infinite love, mercy, and grace.  This “mystery” was revealed to man alone, this great salvation from sin, sin that the fallen angels will not have pardoned; and which you should not neglect.

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:  Eph 3:9.

How do we take advantage of the ministry of angels?  Not by praying to them and requesting their help.  Their ministry is directed by the Lord (we must keep close to the Lord to enjoy their help).

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways…Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.”  Psa 91:11,14.

We also do not take advantage of the ministry of the holy angels by worshipping or fearing them.  We are to fear and reverence God, we are to abide in His presence.  We are the children of God now, heirs with Christ.  We take advantage by walking in the Spirit, and using the means of grace to become more like Christ.  If we do this, the Lord will part the heavens to help you, to include using the host of heaven in your behalf.

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