~ Angels Summary ~
Overview ~ Holy angels and fallen
angels are all around us. Angels are
more persuasive than most realize. Holy
angels are God’s servants. Fallen angels
are tools in the hands of Satan. But
victory is available to us: “His servant said to him, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with
them’” (2 Kings 6:15b-16).
“The
Lord is my light and my salvation; whom
shall I fear? The Lord is the
strength of my life; of whom shall I be
afraid? When the wicked came against
me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war may
rise against me, in this I will be confident” (Psalm 27:1-3).
Angels in Scripture ~ Angels are mentioned
about 275 times in the Bible of which more than 50 references are to “the angel
of the Lord” (all in the Old Testament).
Angels appear at the beginning of both the Old and New Testament as well
as at the end of The Bible.
Angels in the Old
Testament ~ The historical account of creation is in the
first chapter of the Old Testament: “God
saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). We know from other portions of Scripture
angels were created by God—therefore angels are a part of “everything that He had made” (Colossians 1:16).
Angels
are specifically referred to in the next verse: “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished”
(Genesis 2:1).
Then
in the third chapter we find that angels were assigned to guard the gates of
the Garden of Eden after Adam’s sin and the fall of mankind: “So He drove out the
man; and He placed cherubim at the east
of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard
the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).
We continue to find angels throughout the Old Testament.
Angels in the New
Testament ~ Angels
appear in the first chapter of the New Testament—in relation to the birth of
Jesus Christ—The Messiah. “Now the birth
of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man,
and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away
secretly. But while he thought about these
things, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid
to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a
Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their
sins’” (Matthew 1:18-21).
Angels
appear at the end of the Bible in the very last chapter: “Now I, John, saw and
heard these things. And when I heard and
saw, I fell down to worship before the
feet of the angel who showed me these things” (Revelation 22:8).
Closing Thought ~ Which of the monarchs
of the earth can boast a guard like ours, encircled from our second birth with
all the heavenly powers? Myriads of
bright, cherubic bands, sent by the King of kings, rejoice to bear us in their
hands and shade us with their wings. – Charles Wesley
Closing Scripture ~ “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7). “Are
they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will
inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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