Ministry of Angels II
Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Introduction
This is the second part of our lesson about God’s I would say special creation which is very different from man. The more I study about them the more I’m amazed on our God, His wisdom, power, greatness, foreknowledge, righteousness, omnipotence, omniscience, etc., that I can just say Lord how wonderful and how great thou art.
I. Another True Story:
“Here is the startling story of the White Cavalry at Bethune, France in April of 1918. Gwinn Day records it in his book “The Wonder of the Word”, Moody press, 1957. This is what he wrote: “The story of the White Cavalry at Bethune is attested by thousands of Germans and related in the words of a Prussian officer goes like this, “We were advancing at the head of our troops, all of whom were in excellent spirits, singing as they swung along…thinking that the British were now defeated and all that remained was to go forward without opposition and capture Paris. By my side was Lt. Fritz and he suddenly seized hold of my arm saying, -‘Look, Herr Capitan, there is a large body of mounted men approaching Bethune from the other side. Why, they are clad in white and are mounted on white horses. Who can they be?'”
‘I don’t know,’ I replied. ‘They may be British colonial mounted troops.’ We halted instinctively and stood watching those white uniformed clad cavalry advancing quietly through the smoke. Their figures clearly outlined in the shining sun. We saw the shells breaking into death-dealing fragments and bursting amidst their ranks with shattering crashes which shook the ground and this was soon followed by intensive machine gun fire which raked them to and fro until it would seem impossible for anyone to survive. But the White Cavalry came, quietly forward at a slow trot and not a man nor a horse fell. Resistless as the incoming tide, they advanced and in front of them rode their leader, a fine figure of a man. By his side was a great sword, not a cavalry sword but similar to that used by the Crusaders. And his hand lay quietly holding the reigns of his great white charger, as it bore proudly forward. Then a terror seized me and I found myself fleeing from that awe- inspiring body of White Cavalry, frightened, terrified. All around me were masses of men, formerly an army, now a rabble, broken and afraid. All fleeing from them. But more especially from that wonderful leader on his great white charger. The German army is defeated, we have lost the war and it is due to the White Cavalry.”
II. Nature of Angels
A. They are spirit beings. Heb. 1:14, Ps. 104:4
B. They are not bound by natural physical laws, they can enter locked prisons (Acts. 12:7), open prison doors (Acts 5:19, go up in flame (Judges 13:19-20)
C. They can travel great distances quickly, heaven to earth which may be very far. (Dan. 10:12, 13, angel apologized for being 21 days late. In Mt. 18:10, it is said that the angels guarding the children are always beholding the face of God in heaven. Meaning they are always ready to do God’s command to help a believer when needed.
D. They are wiser than man. 2 Sam. 14:20. They are wise but not all knowing.
E. They are strong:
1. One angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. 2 Kings 19:35
2. One angel killed 70,000 Israelites after David sinned in 2 Sam. 24:15, 16.
3. One angel moved away the stone cover of Jesus’ tomb. Mat. 28:2, 4.
4. One angel will one day bind Satan and imprison him for a thousand years. Rev. 20:1-3
F. There are various ranks and orders of angels. Michael is called an archangel Jude 9. The bible speaks of archangels, angels, principalities, powers, dominions and thrones. Col. 1:16, Dan. 1 Pet. 3:22.
G. Angels are immortal, Lk. 20:35, 36. Meaning they will never die.
H. Angels neither marry nor are given to marriage. Mat. 22:30, Lk. 20:35, 36. They are always referred to as masculine (Gen. 18:1,2, Lk. 24:3,4)
III. The angel of the Lord – Before we go any further let me introduce to you a very special angel. He is called the “angel of the Lord” or the “angel of Jehovah”. We can find him only on the OT but not in the NT.
1. He first appeared to Hagar in Gen. 16:7.
2. If we go further in Ex. 3:2 the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush. In verse 6 the “angel revealed himself as the “God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
3. This angel of the Lord appeared again and protected Israel in the Red Sea (Ex. 14:19).
4. The angel of the Lord commissioned Gideon (Judg. 6:11).
5. In Judges 13:21 the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah the father of Samson.
6. Zechariah chapter 1 verse 12: “Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts.” Now here you have the angel of the Lord talking to the Lord of hosts. Verse 13: “And the LORD answered the angel.” Now here is a conversation going on between the Lord of hosts and the angel of the Lord. And the angel of the Lord is defined as God. Who is the angel of the Lord? I believe it’s the second person of the trinity, none other than the Lord Jesus Christ as He is known in the New Testament. And here you have a conversation between the second person of the trinity and the first person of the trinity. We have what is called a Christophany, or a theophany, a preincarnate appearance of Christ.
IV. Number of angels – Heb. 12:22 say they are innumerable.
V. Conclusion:
Truly these wonderful creations of God are just a small fragment of His might, wisdom and power. The God we are serving is an awesome God so let us thank Him always. We will continue this next week.
