Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3, Revelation 12:7–12
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
I’m not a big fan of the popular understanding of angels. I think often people use angels as a kind of a crutch. Still angels are in Scripture; they are real. Cathy has been having a great time watching the old TV show, “Touched by an Angel”. It can be fun thinking about what angels could do. While I may not be a big fan of the popular view of angels, I have to admit, over the years I’ve read a number of books of (reportedly) true angel stories and experiences. And, I found them interesting and convincing, but I can’t help being a bit of a skeptic. Something in me has me looking for different explanations. Funny thing is, I find it easier to explain the unexplainable by saying it was good or bad luck, rather than by giving credit to God’s having sent an angel or the devil for causing turmoil.
What is it that makes so many of us want to explain away the whole idea of angels, while others hold onto the whole idea of angels for dear life? For me, I resist angel talk, not because of anything having to do with angels; but because of the way that some people seem to make their faith all about angels; they say, angels are here and there all the time and they helped me here with this and there with that, and they guard me; then and on the bad side, they also blame the angels when things go wrong, for not being there for them, or relate their problems to the devil (the bad angel). I get this whole feeling from such people, of living in a kind of a storybook world, like the “Hobbit” or “Harry Potter” or any number of the Disney movies, with all the fanciful creatures flitting around. I like those books and I like those movies, but I feel uncomfortable making angels a part of everything in my everyday life. Yet, I’m a pastor and as I already said, angels are in the Bible; I really can’t and won’t deny their existence; maybe I’m just worried that people won’t or aren’t taking responsibility for what happens to them, good or bad.
With that in mind. let me explain what angels are, according to the Bible. First off, angels are creations of God, just as we are creations of God. Angels like us seem to value their relationship with God. Most often, we see in the Bible, angels serving as messengers of God. Most notably we see this in the stories of Daniel and we see this again in the birth and resurrection stories of Jesus and then in Revelation. Gabriel is often the named messenger angel (but just so we have no confusion I am not talking about Gabriel, our music director, though we like him, he is not the angel Gabriel). Another angel named in Scripture is Michael; we see him in both Daniel and Revelation; he is more of a warrior for God, rather than a messenger and there is an unnamed angel who serves in Daniel as a protector. One angel described in Scripture, often as a fallen angel is the devil or Satan who we see as being in contention with God, working to keep us from obeying God’s will, working to separate us from Jesus and his love. That would suggest that angels, like us have the freedom to choose who they will serve and whether they will serve or oppose God.
According to Scripture, we as humanity, often get caught between the angels of God, Jesus and God’s will for us and Satan and his angels (demons). Confusing isn’t it? Understanding this, I don’t want to overly emphasize the impact of the angels; I have to admit that they are here, even though I don’t want to make everything about angels. They are among us, carrying God’s messages, helping us to do God’s will and helping to get us out of trouble, but there is also at least one angel, working on us to not do God’s will and to get us in trouble. But it is very important that we do not lift up God’s angels so as to have them stand above or take the place of God and Jesus; they are just messengers, always sent to us by God for God’s purpose of love. They do the will of God and share God’s love, and when they rebel against God, they do that which is against God’s will, love and purpose, often involving us and attempting to lead us away from God’s will and the love we find in Jesus. This is where we have to always be on our guard, and we need to judge whether the help and guidance that we are receiving is from God and one of his messengers or whether it is from the devil and one of his demons. Wherever the angel comes from, God or Satan, we need to take responsibility for our choices, our words and our actions. The other thing about angels, is that they are not always appear to be helping and may not be sent to us in many situations. God, may deem it so, that we do not need the help of one of his messengers, whether or not we may think that we do. Angels, like all of God’s creations come to us from God. Angels are a gift.
There is something else about this angel stuff. There was an old movie, I don’t remember its name, but in it a parent addressed her child, “Be an angel and get me my (I don’t know, something).” Remember, I explained that an angel is a messenger, well, we can be messengers (angels) for the people we love, like in the movie, but we can also be messengers for God; we can be God’s angels (without the wings, if angels indeed have wings). Considering this, we might consider the possibility that we have at times been angels of the Lord. I know for a fact that many of us have been described, by those whom we helped, as angels who brought help and God’s love to those who needed it. So, be an angel; don’t worry so much about God’s angels, God will send them when he thinks we need them; enjoy the blessings of angels when they come and give thanks to the Lord for their help or guidance, but most important be an angel to others.