Angels, Part 2

While back I had actually started a two-part sermon. As we were beginning the youth instruction program, they were beginning to cover the doctrines of the church and some of the fundamental beliefs and some of those types of things. I was trying to stay on track with what they were teaching our young people. The first thing we started out with was with God. Who He is? What is He doing? What's His purpose? Why did He design this? Why has He started this project? What's He up to and where is He taking it? And then the next part that the children started to learn about was angels. That's a part of the creation of God. I think I was able to cover part one of that sermon, but I've never gotten back to part number two. So we're going to spend some time talking a little bit about part of the creation of God. He's angelic spirit beings that He created. We covered a few points. I'm going to review them. The ones that I covered last time. I'm not going to be able to spend a lot of time. We're going to run through a few scriptures here about that just to give a little bit of review of what we covered last time. And then cover some additional points that I didn't have a chance to cover in part number one. But you know, really when it comes to this part of the creation of God, a lot of people really don't understand the angelic realm. They really haven't dived into the scriptures in a sense to really see what it is that God has to say about them. Why did He create them? What is their purpose? How do they live? What responsibilities do they have? What's their make-up and all of these types of things?

Really too many people today really have carelessly, maybe, based their beliefs on what they have heard or what they have seen rather than what's in the scriptures itself. It can come from movies. It can come from books. It can come from images that you see, angelic images. And so a lot of the times what we get is information that maybe isn't totally accurate. You may remember movies like Angels in the Outfield. And there was a television series. It's been a while now. You know, Highway to Heaven and all of these other things where there were angelic beings that were involved in some of these television shows. There was touched by an angel, if you remember that. Touched by an angel in that particular case. The characters, I think the main characters, there were three of them and two of them were women angels and one of them was a male angels. But angels have been portrayed as babies. They've been portrayed as young children. And yet we really don't see anything in the scripture when they ever manifested themselves in that way. So we're going to continue on here as we review the subject of angels from a biblical perspective as we go along. It's really a fascinating subject when we begin to dive into what God's Word has to say about it. So we'll look at some scriptures here and we'll talk a little bit about the angels. I don't remember if I ever... I can't remember where I've said the story or where I haven't. But when I was here the last time, did I share with you a story about a man who feels that he was saved by an angel, he was out surfing? Did I share that story with you?

Okay. And that was a story where he was learning how to surf and he had a buddy that was helping him and he did terrible. He had one of these old Styrofoam surfboards that didn't have the cord on it that connected to your ankle. So he was constantly... he was training this day with all these people that are around and of course they're looking at him as this rookie thinking he doesn't really belong here with us. And every time he tried to body surf, then he'd get thrown around and his surfboard would get separated from him and then he had to go into shore to get it and then go back out and try to catch the wave. So he thought that he was going to do it a little differently the next time. So he went at 6 o'clock in the morning when no one was there because he really wanted to work and he really wanted to get this thing down. And he was in the military. He was a pretty strong guy. Is this all coming back to you, the story? Maybe I don't even need to say it, but since I've gone this far, continue. Okay. Okay. So when he got out to the parking lot at 6 o'clock in the morning, he was so glad there wasn't a single car in the parking lot. Nobody was there. And as he noticed the waves, they were a lot bigger than what he remembered the day before, but he thought, you know what? There's nobody here. I'm not going to embarrass myself. I'm not going to inconvenience anybody else. And I'm going to get out there. I'm going to give it a try. Well, he swam hard through to where he could get to the sweet spot. And then he got to the place where he wanted to be. And sure enough, he got swamped. And in fact, the ocean just threw him down to the floor, in a sense. And he got separated from his board again.

And as he came up for air, all of a sudden another wave hit him. And so, again, it threw him all the way down to the ocean floor. And then he didn't get a chance to catch his breath. And he thought, you know what? This isn't good. This isn't good. And so when he got back up again, another wave threw him down. And he was struggling now to get back to the surface for air. And he remembers thinking in his mind, this is going to hurt. This is not good. He was starting to get exhausted. You know, if you've gotten to the point where in some time in the past when you've just physically given it all you've had, and you realize that there's not much more you can do, you're not in a good situation. I mean, I've been physically exhausted before, but not when I'm in the middle of a rough ocean, when I'm realizing that I'm running out of strength. And when he came up that last time, all of a sudden there was a man in a black wetsuit that was just sitting on his surfboard right next to him with the calmest demeanor and said, Sir, it looks like you could use this. And he handed him his own board. And he said, you know, not only did I know I needed it, this was going to be the thing that was going to save my life. I held on that thing for dear life, and I eventually paddled back into shore. And he said, I just sat there for several minutes, you know, just in shock about, you know, how close this almost was. And then, as I looked, there was no one in the water. There wasn't a single car but his own that was in the parking lot. And the only footsteps, you know, that were in the sand were his. And at that point in time, he hadn't really been a big believer in God, but he became one. And he also realized that God had sent him some help. He came to believe not only in God, but he came to understand also that God has these helpers. He has angels. So let's just review quickly the first point that we covered last time, is that there are certain characteristics that angels have, there are certain responsibilities that they have that God has given to them. And one of the things that we covered last time, point number one, is that angels are God's messengers. Angels are God's messengers. That's one of the responsibilities that they have, is to bring a message. In fact, the Greek angelos could also be translated messenger. Angelos. So let's look at just a couple of examples. I'll give you some scriptures here that I'm going to refer to. We're going to go through these rather quickly because we covered these last time. And I won't cover as many scriptures on each of the first three points we covered last time. But one of them is Luke chapter 1 and verses 11 through 20. So you'll want to write that down if you want to look it up later. Luke chapter 1 and verse 20. And this is when the angel Gabriel, in this context, comes to Zacharias, who is the father of John the Baptist, and he gives him a message.

Zacharias is doing his duty at the temple and all of a sudden he's in a room where he's thinking he's all by himself. And there's an angel who actually tells his name that it's Gabriel. He comes to Zacharias about the coming birth of his son, John. Also, if you could write down Luke chapter 1 and verses 28 through 38.

Luke 1 verses 28 through 38. Again, this is an angel that comes to marry the mother of Jesus and says, you are going to have a son, and you will call him Jesus. And again, the angel tells Mary what his name is. In this case, it's again Gabriel. So this angel, Gabriel, brings a message to Zacharias and also brings a message from God to Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

The second point that we covered was that angels generally appear as men. Angels generally appear as men or as young men when they manifest themselves to mankind. So we don't want to necessarily be persuaded, in a sense, or fooled by modern misrepresentations of what angels look like.

Because generally, in the Bible, when the word angel occurs or appears or manifests themselves to men, the angel has the appearance of a man. This is unlike the world's concepts, where we see them sometimes as women or cute wing babies or young children, whether it be boys or girls. So let's just take a look at a couple of scriptures here. I'm going to refer you to some. I'm going to refer you to Genesis 18, where we see that God and a couple of men manifested themselves to Abraham, because he was going to be going to Sodom and Gomorrah.

He was on his way there, and he wanted to talk with Abraham first and also tell him that his wife was going to have a child. But they manifested both God and the angels manifested themselves as men. Let's just pick it up here and jump to Genesis 18 and verse 22. Genesis 18. We'll look at verse 22 in this context. It says, Then the men turned away from there, and they went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. So it refers to these two angels that went ahead on their way to Sodom and Gomorrah as men.

They manifested themselves as men. That's how they were perceived by Abraham. But then the Lord stayed back with Abraham for a while. But then we know that these two angels, or these two men, went on to Sodom and Gomorrah, and they saw Lot. So let's jump to Genesis 19 and verse number 1. Genesis 19 and verse number 1.

It says, Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening. So we know they are angels. They came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate. And Lot saw them, and he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And apparently they eat. In verse number 3, he insists that they stay.

So they turned into him, and they entered his house, and then he made them a feast, and he baked on loving bread. And they ate. So angels can eat. And then in verse 4 it says, Now before they lay down the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young.

It seems like they were all corrupted here. All the people from every quarter surrounded the house, and they called out to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came into you tonight? So again, they must have manifested themselves as men. They looked like men, even though they were angels.

Let's go over to Mark 16. In verse number 1, back to the New Testament, we'll see another manifestation when an angel appeared to a human being, in this case Mary Magdalene. Mark 16, I'll just refer to the scripture that says, don't forget to entertain strangers by so doing some unknowingly entertained angels. Remember that? In Hebrews 13.2. So they manifest themselves in a way that we don't necessarily know that they are an angel.

Mark 16, in verse number 1. Let's notice the New Testament example here when an angel manifested themselves to mankind. It says, When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Siloam bought spices that they might come and anoint him, referring to Jesus Christ.

Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the Son had risen, and they said among themselves, Oh, who's going to roll away this dome? We didn't really think about that. That thing is heavy. Verse number 4. But when they looked up, they saw that it had already been rolled away, and it was very large. Verse 5. Entering the tomb, notice they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe, sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

So, even though it looks like a young man, there must be something that's a little extraordinary. We didn't have the chance to explain when Zacharias saw this angel or this man, that he was afraid. So, there's something that's a little bit extraordinary. That's one of the first things, a lot of times, that the angel has to say, Don't be afraid.

Verse 5. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe, sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. And so, verse number 6. But he said to them, Don't be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, he is risen, he is not here. See the place where they laid him.

So, again, providing a message. And also, again, appearing, in this case, as a young man. Alright, let's go on to point number 3, that we covered last time, and that is that angels are very, very numerous. There are a lot of them. Maybe uncountable, innumerable. They're very, very numerous. It's not just 100,000 of them.

So, let's take a look here at a few Scriptures here. Let's go to Psalm chapter 68 and verse number 17. Psalm chapter 68 and verse number 17. It says, And the chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of thousands, and the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. So, we see here that there's a lot of them. In this case, it's talking about twenty thousand here.

When we talk about possibly the numbers here, twenty thousand chariots of God, and even thousands of thousands. So, we see that there are a lot of them. But let's go over to Daniel chapter 7 and verse number 9.

When the law was delivered on Mount Sinai, there were some spirit beings that were there. It talks about that in the Deuteronomy. But let's go to Daniel. Daniel chapter 7. And we'll pick it up here in verse number 9. Daniel is having a vision here. He says, I watched until the thrones were put in place, and the ancient of days was seated. Usually the ancient of days is most likely referring to God the Father.

Verse 9, His garment was as white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, His wheels a burning fire. Notice verse number 10. These are angelic beings here that are around Him. It says, A fiery stream issued in cave forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him.

Now that's a lot. I don't know if you know how much a thousand thousands is, but we're talking about a million. A thousand thousands served Him, they ministered to Him, and it says, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.

And the court was seated, and the books were opened. Wow! You know, there are a million angels that are serving Him, and then there are others that are close by that are standing before Him, ten thousand times ten thousand, which is a hundred million. One hundred million angels. That's a lot.

And so we see that they are very, very numerous. And of course we know that this is a prophetic thing here, so, you know, we're probably talking about the fact that one-third of the angels have already rebelled, and so there would have been even more than this.

And of course that means there's a significant amount of demonic angels, then, as well. But twice as many angels of God than there are of the demonic order.

Let's go on here. I think we'll go ahead and we'll get into point number four.

Point number four. So this is one that we would not have covered last time.

God tells us here in Scripture, and we'll cover this in just a moment, that point number four is that angels are not to be worshipped.

Angels are not to be worshipped. Now many people want to give angels credit. It's as if they want to have their own little carob or their own little cupid or angel, in a sense, with wings to help them lift them up when times are difficult, when there's adversity in their life, and their own bidding that they've got this angel. And people often do this without ever calling on God for help. And so we want to be careful about that. To some, an angel can become more important than what God is.

And so we want to be careful about that. They're not our own little personal genies or anything like that. And some have even gotten to the point of a second with angels to even worship them. And we'll talk about that here in the scripture in just a moment. Now angels are real, but we have to be careful about not giving too much credit to them than what they have coming, in a sense. Because really the credit goes to God, and the worship should go to God too.

Angel worship is something that's been around. It's been around for a long time. You know, actually for thousands upon thousands of years, but God has told us as Christians that we are to obey Him, that we are to obey His commandments.

And I'm just going to refer for time to Exodus 20, verse 3. But God says, you shall not worship anyone else than me. You shouldn't worship anyone else than me. You shall have no other gods before me.

And that's, of course, in the First Commandment, is what God told His people. But now in Gnosticism, and there's some false Christian thought out there that teaches that an angel is a necessary intermediary between God and man. That they have a role to play as a necessary mediator. Now the Holman Bible Dictionary says this, and I'm going to quote here.

It says, this false teaching, talking about angelic worship, or these angels being mediaries, this false teaching claims that knowing about angels enables one to gain blessings in this life and obtain the level of divine in the next life.

So there's a thought out there among some Christians when it comes to angels. So God says, hey, look, they have their place, but don't give them more credit than what credit is due.

That's the Gnostic teaching regarding angels. It's like it's a necessary part of the belief system to know about angels and to worship them.

And we mustn't forget that Jesus Christ alone is our mediator between God and man. He's the intercessor. He's the mediator. It's not the angels.

And so we don't have to go through the angels to go to God's throne. We don't have to do that. Okay. So true, holy, and good angels will not take our focus away from God. They're not going to be in the way. They're not going to intentionally get in the way.

In fact, they usually don't say much of anything. When they bring the message, it's as few words as possible. They won't use two words when only one will do.

And then eventually they get out of the way. They get out of the picture. They come with a message. They perform their role that God the Father has asked them to do. And then they leave. And so they won't take our focus away from God and point it to themselves. And they don't draw unnecessary attention to themselves.

They're careful not to develop a relationship with us so that we will begin to rely on them instead of having a relationship with God the Father.

Because, you know, that could happen over time. You could begin to have a relationship with this person and begin to look to them first.

And so they don't get in the way of that. They're performing the duties that God has given to them. And they don't get in the way between the relationship between God and His children.

Now, in reference to not worshiping angels, let's go over to Revelation 22. Revelation 22. And we're going to notice verses 6-9.

So all the way almost to the back of the Bible here. Last chapter, Revelation 22. And we'll pick it up in verse 6.

This is what John is recording in his vision here. Revelation 22. And verse 6.

So again, the angel is coming as a messenger to John, bringing a message from God the Father or Jesus Christ and bringing it to John through this angel.

Verse 7.

Okay? The angel said, hey, look, that's not for you to worship me. And again, you know, what John was seeing was probably so spectacular with this angelic being because they are powerful beings. We'll talk about that in a minute.

He probably just said, I need to worship what I'm seeing. He fell down to worship verse 8. But the angel said in verse 9, said, See that you do not do that, for I am your fellow servant.

I am a servant of God, just like you are, is what the angel is saying. I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets. We're all in this together. We're servants of God. And those who keep the words of this book, worship God.

That's what the angel says here. The last part of verse number 9. Worship God.

Let's go back to Revelation chapter 19 in verse 10. Just a page or so back. Revelation chapter 19 in verse 10.

And we see here again that John is writing this and he says, He says, I fell down at His feet to worship Him. And He said to me, See that you do not do that. I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. So again, the angel is pointing John to God, not to himself, when it comes to worship. You know, it's amazing that that happened twice.

You know, it's almost like John is just so amazing, he just couldn't stop himself from doing it, but hopefully he got the message I assume that he did.

So we see that the angel is uncomfortable when someone is getting down on their feet to worship them. They say, Don't do that. We worship God. And the angels are very sensitive to this, at least the true angels are. They're very sensitive to that.

Let's go over to Colossians now, Chapter 2. Colossians Chapter 2 touched on the fact that there is angel worship that has been out there. It's a reality.

And most likely still exists somewhere out there. Colossians Chapter 2, it was happening in the first century. Colossians Chapter 2, we'll pick it up here in verse number 8.

Colossians Chapter 2, verse 8. Paul is writing the Colossians and he's saying, Beware, so beware of something. I'm warning here.

Lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and through empty deceit, through the according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

So he's warning them about some things. Let's jump to verse number 18. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in something that's not true, in false humility, and notice in the worship of angels.

You know, it's amazing. We maybe haven't seen that so much in the culture of the church that, you know, during our lifetime.

But here, right in the first century, Paul said, Beware, there's something that's out there. People are worshiping angels. Don't be deceived by that. It's wrong.

The first commandment is very, very clear. We worship God.

And so the worship of angels was there and intruding into those things which he has not seen and vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.

So again, we worship and honor God, not his angels. They're messengers. They're ministering spirits that serve. They help. We'll cover some of those things here.

And they appear to mankind when they're necessary in order to pass on a message or in order to help. We're going to see they are servants of God's people.

Alright, let's go over to Hebrews 11. We're going to notice here that the angels are not to be worshiped, but that they themselves worship God.

Hebrews 1, right to the first chapter of Hebrews and right to the first verse. Hebrews 1 and verse 1, we're going to read up here to probably verse 6.

As we begin to see here a little bit about these angels here and what God is doing, how he utilizes them, and what they do. The angelic realm.

Hebrews 1, verse 1. God, who at sundry times and in different manners has spoken times past, unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, and by whom he also made the worlds.

Being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had purged our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels, and has by an inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

So we know the angelic realm is pretty substantial, very powerful, that they are spirit beings, but it says he is much better than the angels, and has by an inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

2. For unto which of the angels, these powerful beings that John was seen in his vision, did he ever say, You are my Son? Which is kind of humbling for us to think about, that he calls us his Son, and these powerful beings don't have that type of relationship. 3. For unto which of the angels, verse 5, does he said at any time, You are my Son, this day I have begotten you. And again, I will be to him a father, he shall be to me a son. He's never said that to the angelic realm.

4. Verse 6, and again, when he brings in the first begotten into the world, he said, And let all the angels of God worship him. So we're talking about Jesus Christ, that the angels are to worship Jesus Christ. So they worship God, they worship Jesus Christ as well.

They're fellow servants with us, but they're never referred to as a son in that way, being begotten. 5. Verse 7, and of the angels, he says this, He makes his angels spirits, so they are spirit beings. You know, you and I were created flesh and blood.

We have the opportunity to be a son of God as a spirit being in the future, but he made them spirit to begin with. Who makes his angels spirits and ministers a flame of fire. So they're ministers of his, and ministers can also be translated servants.

They already told John and Vision, I'm a fellow servant. So they're ministers of God, they're servants of God, and they are flames of fire. And they're powerful beings, they're spirit beings. In fact, we didn't have a chance to talk, but the last time that I gave part one, we talked about how one of the angels appeared to the parents of Samson. When he came with a message to tell them they were going to have a child. And there was some kind of a bonfire or something there, and the angel, when they left him, he just went up in the flames of the fire and ascended back to God. He gave his message and then left them. In fact, in that time, they asked the angel, what is your name? And he wouldn't tell them. He said, why do you want to know my name? And the angel didn't tell him his name at that time. Okay, let's go to the next point. So we covered point number four. Point number four has been covered. Let's go to point number five. That angels serve, we touched on this already, they serve God and God's people. They serve God, God's people, and they serve mankind.

You know, when Jesus was in the flesh, as the son of man, he was served by angels. Let's go over to Matthew chapter four and verse number one. Matthew chapter four and verse number one.

You may remember this story, that Jesus is going to fast 40 days and 40 nights because he's going to have a confrontation with the present ruler of this age. Matthew chapter four and verse number one. Then Jesus was led up of the spirit and of the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, if you are the son of God, then command these stones to be made bread. And Jesus answered and said, well, it's written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

And then the devil took him up into the holy city and he set him on a pinnacle of the temple. And he said, if you are the son of God, cast yourself down because it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning you and in their hands they shall bear you up. Lest at any time you dash your foot against stone. Jesus responds with scripture. He says written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.

Again, verse number eight, the devil took him into an exceedingly high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and he said, all of these things I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me. And so we here see a false angelic being. We're talking about Lucifer who's become Satan. He wanted to be worshipped. So much for worship God.

He said, if you will fall down and worship me. Satan wants to be worshipped. He always has. I will not listen to his rebellion. Verse number 10, and then said Jesus to him, and Jesus comes right back with the first commandment, doesn't he? You know, it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.

And notice verse 11, then the devil left him, and behold the angels came. The angels came and they served him. It says they ministered, they helped him.

And so he was probably pretty weak physically at that point in time. He was probably almost near total exhaustion.

Let's go over to Luke chapter 22. We'll see another time when the angels helped Jesus Christ. Luke chapter 22, in verse number 41.

Luke chapter 22, and verse 41. This is towards the end of his physical life when the reality of the extremeness of what he's about to go through with the suffering, not only the death, but the suffering that was going to precede that death. Luke chapter 22, in verse 41. Jesus was withdrawn, he was praying.

He was withdrawn from his disciples about a stone's throw, and he knelt down and he prayed. And he said, Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me.

Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. I think he was thinking if there was another way he would like to explore that at this time.

Verse 43, then notice an angel appeared to him from heaven and strengthened him. You know, I think God the Father realized that he was pretty close to the end of his ropes.

We know he was sweating blood, drops of blood, or falling to the ground. He was in agony, as it says in verse 44.

And I think God said, you know what? He needs some help right now, just like he knows at times in our life when we need some help.

And the angelic realm is there to assist. And so an angel appeared in verse 43 and strengthened him, gave him some strength that he might not otherwise have had.

And so the angel helped.

Let's go over to Acts 12. Acts 12. We'll pick it up here in verse number 1.

We see...well, let's go to Acts chapter 5 first. Acts chapter 5 verse number 17. We'll see that the apostles received help.

Acts chapter 5 and verse number 17. Remember that you may remember a lot of these stories, but tying them in with the fact that we're focusing on angels, we may see them in a little bit of a different light. It says, And brought them out and said, go stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of his life. Wow! You know? Here they were in prison. God sent an angel. They opened the prison doors and on they went.

Let's go to Acts chapter 12. Acts chapter 12 and verse number 1. Again, there was persecution going on about this time here. They carried the king stretched out his hand to harass some of the church. They killed James, the brother of John, with a sword. He had died, one of the apostles. Because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. This was during the days of 11 bread. They arrested him and they put him in prison, verse number 5. And they bound him, you know, very securely in verse number 6. It says that night Peter was sleeping bound with two chains between two soldiers and the guards before the door that were keeping the prison. Notice verse 7. And behold, an angel the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison. And he struck Peter on the side, and he raised him up quickly. You know? No wasted effort, no wasted words. He said, arise quickly. Just two words. His chains fell off his hands. And then the angel said to him, gird yourself and tie on your sandals. And so he did. And then he said, put on your garment and follow me.

So he went out and he followed him. And he did not know that what was done by the angel was real. But he thought he was seeing a vision. And then when they were past the first and then the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord.

And they went out and they went down the street and immediately the angel departed from him. You know, hardly any words, just doing the job. God the Father sent the angel, get him out.

And he used as few words as possible to communicate that. And then once he was out, the angel is gone. They don't usually hang around too long. They do their job and then they leave.

All right. You know, there's another story. I don't know if I relayed this one to you or not. But this happened a few years ago during the Feast of Tabernacles. Did I tell you the story about a young woman at that time not yet married and ended up marrying one of a good friend of mine.

But on married, attending the feast in Mexico and they had a evening activity. It was still late afternoon. The sun hadn't set yet. And from where they had that activity, they could see their hotel along, you know, down the beach.

And they thought, well, we can walk, you know, it doesn't look like the hotel is that far away. So she and her sister started to walk along the beach. It was a beautiful evening. And, you know, they decided to walk home rather than to get home another way.

But you know how it is that when you're walking, you think it looks closer than what it actually is. And you've been walking for a while and you haven't really gotten that much closer. So they realized this was a longer walk than what they thought.

Well, a couple of young men, not using the best language, started to follow them. And it was, hey, signoritas! You know, pretty girls, pretty ladies, lovely ladies.

And they began to realize now as the sun was starting to set that they were in a situation which was not a very good situation. There was nobody that was there to help them. And these young boys were walking faster than they were. So they were gaining on them. And then what they didn't realize, and I don't know what they call these, whether it's an inlet or an outlet where there's like a small river or freshwater that flows into the ocean, they did not know that was there. And suddenly they realized that they were in a very precarious situation. They were trapped. They couldn't get across this little river and the boys were gaining on them from behind. And then all of a sudden there was a man that was in a boat and said, girls, come here with a calmness, with an assurance. Well, they looked at this man and they looked at these boys. And it wasn't a hard decision to make. They got into the boat and he rode them across to the other side.

And as they got out of the boat and they started to climb up to the shore, up into a higher elevation, they looked back to thank him. And he was gone. They looked one way, they looked the other, and he was gone. And they realized that God had helped them. That God had helped them. A very similar story as the surfer is that all of a sudden somebody's there, they do the job, and then they're gone. You can't even thank them for saving your life or who knows what could have happened. And they have this confidence, this even steady confidence. Confidence is the right word, but a calmness is maybe the better way to put it. Alright. Let's take a look here at another scripture. Let's take a look at Psalm 34. Let's go over there. Psalm 34. Talking about how angels are helpers. And God uses them to help people. Psalm 34.

And we'll pick it up in verse number three. Psalm 34. And verse number three.

So, Psalm of David. David is saying, Oh, magnify the Lord with me. Don't magnify the angels, but magnify the Lord with me. And let all of us exalt his name together. He said, I sought the Lord and he heard me, and he delivered me from all of my fears. God has intervened in my life. He's helped me. He's delivered me.

Verse five. They looked unto him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, David referring to himself, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles. God is the Savior. God is the help. How does he do it? Notice verse seven. The angel of the Lord encamps around about them that fear God.

And delivers them. Wow! God sends his angels that they encamp around, it says, them that fear God. Wow! What an incredible thing to think about here. Verse eight. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. So David had the right perspective. You know, he didn't give too much credit to the angels. He realized that they helped God. But God is the one that's good. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good and blessed is the man that trusts in him. Not necessarily the angels, but trust in God. Okay, let's go over to Psalm chapter 78. So we need to have a balanced perspective. We need to understand the angels role and not give them more credit than what credit is due. And not to even consider even worshipping them or even getting into a relationship with them. We need to have our relationship with God and with his son, Jesus Christ. Psalm chapter 78 and verse number 24. Psalm 78 and verse number 24. It says, He had bring down manna for them to eat and give them the bread of heaven. Men ate angels' food. He sent them food to the fold.

You know, angels, it's called angels' food here by David. God had the angels deliver this. They were the ones that kept bringing it to them every six days a week. You know, double portion that it would pick up on the preparation day. But that's, it's interesting, isn't it, that God utilized them to make this delivering here. They ministered to the people of God. They provide for their needs. God uses them to take care of his sons and daughters.

All right, let's see here. Let's go on here to Psalm chapter 91. Psalm chapter 91. And we'll pick it up here in verse number 11. Psalm chapter 91 verse 11. For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall, in their hands, they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. So we see here that angels are to protect us, they're to look after us, certainly a prophecy about Jesus Christ.

But we know from other scriptures as well that they're there to help us. They're there to protect us. And you know, you can probably think a lot of instances in your own life where there was some unexplained interventions when you could have been harmed or killed. And you think, you know what? God must have been looking out for me. And most likely he was. And there's a good chance that he was using part of the angelic realm to help at that time of urgent need. We need to ask God for his help and protection.

I think a lot of times we do. You know, if we're going for a travel, we're going to go to the feast, we're going to a long distance away. We ask God for his protection himself and ask, maybe you've prayed this too, that he would put his angels about us to protect us along our way or along our journey. You know, so much can go wrong so quickly in an instant. Our whole life could be changed if God had not possibly intervened with an angel that saved us from death or injury and probably on more than one occasion.

Alright. Well, let's go on to the next point here. Point number six. Angels are God's army. Angels also make up the army of God, and they are powerful. They will often help God fight spiritual battles, and they are powerful. Let's go over to Matthew 24. I'm going to cover a lot of scriptures here. Sorry, but I think it sheds a little bit more light here on the topic of angels. Matthew 24 and verse number 30. See some of the role of angels at the return of Jesus Christ. This is a prophetic passage of scripture here.

Jesus is a prophet, sharing the Olivet prophecy about the reality of what's going to happen in the future. We'll pick it up here in verse number 30 of Matthew chapter 24. He says, Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all of the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory.

So this isn't going to be done in a corner, so be seen. Notice verse 31. He's going to send his angels. They have a role here. He will send his angels with this great sound of a trumpet, and these angels are going to gather his elect from the four winds from one end to another. You know, as this resurrection is happening, God's going to utilize his angels, isn't he? To gather his elect from the four winds. God's going to use them. I don't know exactly how, but he's going to use them to gather his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.

Let's go to Daniel. I don't know. Let's go to Daniel chapter 12. I'm going to cover a lot of scriptures here, but I think it's going to be helpful, too. Daniel chapter 12, a favorite book of mine, a short book that's got just an incredible amount of prophecy in it that covers, really, history from beginning to end, to the capture of the kingdom of God and all the great kingdoms, the world-ruling kingdoms.

Daniel chapter 12 and verse 1. Again, we're talking about angels or God's army, and they'll help to fight spiritual battles. It says at that time, Michael is going to stand up. Notice his responsibility. He is the great prince who stands watch over the sons of God's people. You know, when you stand up, it gets a little more serious. You know, when you're sitting down, things are a little more relaxed.

He's going to stand up in more ways than one. He's going to have his attention, and he's going to stand up. He's going to take a stand.

There's going to be a time of trouble, such as never was since before there was a nation, even at that time. And at that time, your people are going to be delivered. God's people are going to be delivered. And I'm suggesting here, the Scripture does, that God uses Michael to help in that process of delivering the people of God. He watches over the sons of God's people, or the sons of God.

All right. Let's go to 2 Kings. 2 Kings. We talk about the angels being an army, God's army. 2 Kings 6. Kind of a favorite story of mine here.

In 2 Kings 6. Pick it up here in verse 11.

2 Kings 6. In verse 11.

Syria was trying to overtake Israel. They wanted their land. They wanted to take over. And that's the context here. Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by things that were happening. Well, what was happening? Well, up in verse number 6, it says, the king of Syria was making war against Israel. And he consulted his servants, saying that my camp is going to be in such and such a place. And then the man of God, most likely referring to Elisha, sent to the king of Israel and said, beware that you don't go to this place because the Syrians are going to come down there. So then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. He warned him. He said, be watchful there. And so something like this happened several times, not just once or twice. So in verse 11, the king of Syria is getting frustrated here. It seems like someone continues to warn the king of Israel about danger.

And he says at the latter part of verse 11, will you not show me which of us in this room or which of us here is for the king of Israel? In other words, I've got somebody in my cabinet that's sharing this information with the king of Israel. And those are there for him. Verse 12, and one of his servants said, well, none, my lord, O king. But Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber. Okay? He's the problem. So the king of Syria says, well, go see where he is, that I may send and get him. And it was told him, he is in Dothan. Surely he's in Dothan. So the king of Syria sends horses and chariots and a great army there. He's going to get rid of Elisha. And they came at night, which as they tend to do, when it's dark, and they surrounded the entire city with this great army. Verse number 15, and when Elisha, the servant of God, rose early, went out, there was an army surrounding the city with horses and chariots. You know, how would you and I think if suddenly we went out into the parking lot and it's surrounded by, you know, a great army with all of this military capability and this weaponry? So his servant says, the servant of Elisha says, I'll ask my master, what shall we do? And he answered, don't fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray you open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw. And what did he see? He saw a mountain. The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. For so it was that the children of Israel... So here we're talking about the angelic army here, aren't we? Powerful beings. They're powerful. Let's look at another example. 2 Kings 18. 2 Kings 18. We'll pick it up here in verse number 17.

Another example here of an army coming upon Israel. This time it's Assyria. And this time the king is Hezekiah. 2 Kings 18. And we'll pick it up in verse number 17. It says, And they went and came up to Jerusalem. When they came up, they went and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller's Field. And when they had called the king, Eliakim, the son of Hezekiah, who was over the household, Shevna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, they came out to them. So there's all these representatives from Israel that are coming out against Ropshika, who's coming from the king of Assyria.

So verse 19, Ropshika said to them, This is the message I want you to tell Hezekiah. Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, what confidence is this in which you trust? You speak of having plans and powerful war, but they're only words. They're only words. And in whom do you trust that you're going to rebel against me? Verse 26, let's jump there. Then Eliakim, the son of Hezekiah, Shevna, and Joah said to the Ropshika, Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it, but don't speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.

Say, look, just speak to us. We don't want the rest of the people, the Israelites, to hear what you're saying. But Ropshika, verse 27, says, Has my master sent me to your master? And so to speak of these words and not to the men who sit on the wall, who will eat and drink their own waste with you?

Then Ropshika stood and called out in a loud voice in Hebrew, okay, not Aramaic, and he spoke and he said, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria.

Thus says this king, Don't let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand. Nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying that the Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Don't listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria, Make peace with me with the present. Come out to me, and every one of you eat from your own vine, and every one from his own fig tree, and every one drink from waters of your own cistern.

This is where you'll find peace. This is where you'll find blessings. Make peace with me. Surrender, in other words.

Verse 32, Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive groves and honey, that you may live and not die, but don't listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you by saying that the Lord will deliver you or deliver us.

He goes on to say, Has any of the gods of the other nations delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? You know, there's a lot of history here. The king of Assyria has been growing. Have any of the other gods been able to deliver them?

Where are the gods? Verse 34 of Hamath, in our pod. Where are the gods of Sepharam and Hina and Iva? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?

But the people held their peace, and they didn't answer him a word, for the king's commandment was, Do not answer him.

Jump to chapter 19. You know, Hezekiah took it to God. Second Kings 19, verse 1, And so it was when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, he covered himself with sackcloth, and he went into the house of the Lord.

And then he sent Eliacim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, they were covered with sackcloth. You know, they're fasting. They're humbling themselves before God.

Verse 3, And they sent him, thus says Hezekiah, This is a day of trouble, and rebuke and blasphemy. For the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.

Verse 4, It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of Ropshika, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words of which the Lord your God has heard.

Therefore lift up your prayers for the remnant that's left.

So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, and Isaiah said to them, Thus thou shalt say to your master, Thus says the Lord, Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

God said, They have blasphemed me. Don't be afraid of the words. So how is God going to do this? What's he going to do? Let's jump to verse number 32.

2 Kings 19.32, Therefore, Thus says the Lord, concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city. He won't even shoot an arrow there. He's not going to come before it with a shield. He's not going to build a siege mound against it. But by the way that he came, he will return. He shall not come into this city, says the Lord, because God says, I'm going to defend this city. I'm going to save it for my own name's sake and for my servant David's sake. And notice verse 35, And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out. One angel, one angel, the angel of the Lord went out and he killed in the camp of the Assyrians 185,000 soldiers.

Wow! And when the people arose in the morning, they were all corpses, all dead. So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria departed, he went away, returned home, and he remained in Nineveh. And it came to pass, verse 37, as he was worshipping in the temple of his false god, Nisrock, that his sons, Adremalek and Shazur, struck him down with a sword. Then they escaped in the land of Errat, and then here's Hodden, his son reigned in his place. Wow! Things turned around pretty fast, because God intervened, and he used his angelic realm.

Okay, let's go to the next point here, point number seven. We're not going to get through all these, so we'll get as far as we can. Angels are created beings. They had a beginning. They have not always existed.

Let's notice Psalm 148, verse 1. Psalm 148, verse number 1. It says, Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens. Praise Him in the heights. Praise Him all, He is angels. So, you know, it's appropriate not only for us to praise God, but the angels as well. Praise Him all of His hosts.

In notes verse 5, Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created. So they were created.

We know when they were created. It was before the earth was created. I'll just refer to Job chapter 38, verses 4 through 7.

It says, when God created the earth, it says, the morning stars sang together for joy. They couldn't contain themselves. He was so joyful of a thing.

And then I'll just refer you to Ezekiel chapter 28, verse 15, where it's talking about Lucifer. It says, You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you. So we know that they were created. They had a beginning.

Let's go to the eighth point here. The eighth point is that angels do not marry.

Angels do not marry. Let's go to Mark chapter 12, verse number 18. Mark chapter 12, verse number 18. It says, there were some Sadducees who say there is no resurrection. And it came to Jesus and asked him, Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a brother dies and leaves his wife behind and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

Now, there were seven brothers. They first took a wife and dying, he left no offspring. And the second took her and he died and left no offspring. And the third took her. And again, the same thing. So the seven, Hal had her, left no offspring. And last of all, the woman died also.

Therefore, in the resurrection, verse 23, when they rise, whose wife will she be? Because all seven had her as wife. And Jesus answered and said, You are therefore mistaken and you don't know the Scriptures nor the power of God. For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven. So the angels don't marry. And neither will we. And when we become spirit beings in the family of God. Let's go to the next one. Point number nine, angels cannot die. Angels cannot die. Let's go to Luke chapter 20. Luke chapter 20. And verse number 34. At least the good angels. Luke chapter 20. And verse number 34. Jesus answered and said to them, The sons of this age marry, and they are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage. So that kind of ties into what we just read in Mark chapter 12. But he says something more. Verse 36. Nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God being sons of the resurrection. Now we know the angels, they continue to exist. You know the example of Gabriel that he appeared to Daniel. Back in Daniel chapter 8 in a vision in verse 16. There was a man's voice who called out and said, Gabriel, make this man understand the vision. Now this was in about 600 B.C. So approximately 600 B.C. Well, over 600 years later, that same angelic being is still alive and is now saying to Mary and to Zacharias, you know, I am Gabriel and I am bringing this message to you from God the Father. So they have existence that goes forward eternally. The last point, number 10, and this doesn't cover all the points really when it comes to angelic beings. But the angels had choice. The angels had choice. Those that obeyed God, the good angels, saw their character enhanced when they obeyed God versus those bad angels which chose not to obey God. You know, once the angels chose in a sense that seemed like their character was locked in, unlike man who could slip and repent and be forgiven and go forward. Let's go to 2 Peter 2, verse 4. 2 Peter 2, verse 4.

Angels had choice. They could obey or they could not obey. They could maintain a righteous way of living and making the right choices or they could make wrong choices. 2 Peter 2, verse 4. It says, So if God did not spare the angels of sin, but he cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment. And so we see that. And of course we see what happened with Lucifer, that he was created perfectly, was a created being, was perfect, but then he made some choices and his wisdom and his beauty were corrupted as time went on. So brethren, those are 10 different points that we've covered. I'll just review them here very quickly. 1. That the angels are messengers from God. And when they appear, they appear as men or as young men. 3. That they are innumerable. There are many, many angels, at least 100 million. 4. They are not to be worshipped, but that they themselves in a sense worship God. 5. They serve God, and they serve his people and mankind. 6. They are God's army. They make up part of his military ability. 7. The angels are created beings. They had a beginning. 8. That they do not marry. 9. That they cannot die. 10. That they have choice. So brethren, hopefully this gives us a little bit of a better understanding of who they are, what responsibility and purposes that they have been given to them as part of the plan of God. You know that they're there to help us. You know, in the final scripture, let's go over to Hebrews 1, verse 13. You know, angels are there to help us. They were present at the birth of Jesus Christ. They were present at the resurrection of Christ, the ascension of Christ. We didn't cover that scripture, but you know, as he ascended, the angels were there talking to the disciples, saying, you know, as he came, the same way you saw him leave, he's going to come again. They ministered to him at his temptation. They ministered to him at the garden, just prior to his crucifixion. They're servants. They're helpers of God. The Hebrews chapter 1. Pick it up in verse number 13 here. It says, But to which of the angels has he ever said, Sit in my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits? They are helpers. They are serving spirits which are sent forth to serve or minister to those who will inherit salvation. That's you and that's me. You know, deserving or not, that's the way that God's plan is working, and that's the way he's designed it. So, you know, they're here to help us. So each day we should ask our Heavenly Father to afford us the help, to afford us the protection, you know, from our enemies, from our spiritual enemy, and to help us. And that's some of the protection that angels provide, that God uses them to help us. So ask God to look after you, to set his angels about you. So, brethren, hopefully covering these verses today remind us of a very important element of God's creation. Something that isn't necessarily seen, but it's there. And it's working, serving the purposes that God himself designed to help those that will inherit eternal life and salvation in the family of God. From the family of God.