Angels: God's Assistants

Theme: What is the truth about angels?

Objectives:

Know: God created angels to serve as His messengers and to worship Him.

Think: Live in the awareness that I am in the presence and protection of God's messengers.

Do: Follow the example of the angels in faithful service and worship of God.

Scriptures:

• Colossians 1:16-17
• Revelation 22:8-9
• Matthew 26:53
• Hebrews 13:2

Notes and comments

B1 Angels were created to be assistants (2 Samuel 24:16, Matthew 13:41, Acts 10:3-4). God's style of leadership is delegation. He is the shepherd.

B2 Who is your assistant?

B3 What is an angel?

B4 What does society depict as an angel?

B5 What does the word in Hebrew and Greek mean, when the Bible uses the word angel?

• Hebrew is מַלְאָךְ (mal'âk) which means messenger.
• Greek is ἄγγελος (ángelos), which means messenger.

B6 From Torrey's Topical Textbook http://www.studylight.org/concordances/ttt/view.cgi?n=22

• Created by God and Christ Nehemiah 9:6; Colossians 1:16
• Worship God and Christ Nehemiah 9:6; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:6
• There is much more, so click link for full list

B7 Do angels have wings?

• Most do not.
• Cherubim (assignment: guards as in Genesis 3:24) and seraphim (assignment: praise and special service) do. Ezekiel 10:3-22, Isaiah 6:2-6, Exodus 25:18-22, Matthew 28:2).

B8 What are some things that angels do?

• Bring messages from God. Daniel 8:16-17
• Bring judgment according to God's decree. Matthew 13:39-42 and Acts 12:23
• Bring protection to God's people. 2 Kings 19:35, Matthew 18:10
• Bring worship to God. Hebrews 1:6 How do we bring worship to God?
• Present body to God Romans 12:1-2
• Offer sacrifice of praise Hebrews 13:15
• Our very life Philippians 2:17
• Doing good and sharing Hebrews 13:16
• Offering spiritual sacrifices

B9 Colossians 1:16-17

• "Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day– things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind," (Colossians 2:16-18, NASB77)
• Why do some people worship angels? Compare Revelation 22:8-9 ("And I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. And he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book; worship God.” (Revelation 22:8-9, NASB77)
• Is worshiping angels wrong?
• "Worship no god but me " (Exodus 20:3, GNB92)
• "You must never worship another god " (Psalms 81:9, GNB92)
• "People of Israel, you are my witnesses; I chose you to be my servant, so that you would know me and believe in me and understand that I am the only God. Besides me there is no other god; there never was and never will be." (Isaiah 43:10, GNB92)
• "Then Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan! The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!" (Matthew 4:10, GNB92)

B10 How many angels assist God?

• "Or do you think that I cannot now call upon My Father, and He will furnish Me with more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53, EMTV). This would indicate that the Lord Jesus could have called 72,000 angels to defend Him.
• "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels " (Hebrews 12:22, NKJV)
• God is called the Lord of Hosts, that is, the Lord of Armies.
• "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, Even thousands of thousands; The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place." (Psalms 68:17, NKJV)
• "A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened." (Daniel 7:10, NKJV)

B11 How strong are angels?

• "And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow." (Matthew 28:2-3, NKJV)
• "And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies." (Isaiah 37:36, ESV2011)

B12 Are there guardian angels?

• Some believe there are and some don't believe.
• Consider
• "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." (Psalms 91:11, ESV2011)
• "Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14, ESV2011)
• "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven " (Matthew 18:10, ESV2011)
• If there are or are not guardian angels, who is our protector, encourager, helper in our faith and life?
• "Let your way of life be without loving money, being satisfied with what you have. For He Himself has said, "By no means shall I desert you, nor in any way shall I forsake you;" so that being confident, we may say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6, EMTV)
• "Nevertheless I speak the truth to you. It is profitable for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." (John 16:7, EMTV)
• "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you." (John 14:16-17, EMTV)
• "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13, EMTV)

B13 Are we aware of angels helping us?

B14 What is the gender and apparent gender of angels?

• "And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth" (Genesis 18:1-2, ESV2011)
• "Suddenly there was a violent earthquake; an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat on it." (Matthew 28:2, GNB92)
• "Remember to welcome strangers in your homes. There were some who did that and welcomed angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:2, GNB92)

B15 Next week

• The devil and demons: angels gone bad
• Theme: What is the truth about the devil?
• Scripture: Isaiah 14:12-14, Genesis 3:1-5, Romans 16:20