Today there seems to be a renewed interest in angels, at least in the part of the world in which I live. Our stores are filled with images of every size and type of angel - most of them tiny cherub-like figures with baby faces. Some are lapel pins to be worn as guardian angels. Books, television shows, movies, and videos are flooding the media with accounts of angelic encounters, some of them relating the presence of angels in out-of-body, near-death experiences.
When I first became aware of the current fascination with angels, I recalled and re-read the angelic visitations recorded in the Bible. I then read some books on the subject. One of these was The Truth about Angels by Terry Law, another Angels, God's Secret Agents by Billy Graham. The reason for today's interest in angels soon became obvious.
Tired of the dead "religion" in many of our churches today, people are seeking a spiritual dimension of unseen power. Something within human nature craves for proof of the supernatural, therefore some folks are looking to angels to fill that spiritual vacuum.
But to look to angels to fill the spiritual void within us can be dangerous. Let me explain.
The reality is that there really are such beings as angels. The Bible is filled with references to their existence. But all angels are not of God! Some angels are counterfeit beings from the world of evil, their origin described in Isaiah 14:12-19. To seek angels without first seeking the lordship of Jesus Christ is to invite deceptive spirits who whisper strange and enticing messages to lead us away from the one true God.
Many angelic visitations are being reported in our day, some to Christians and some to non-Christians. It seems that this has been a pattern throughout church history just prior to a Christian revival. Perhaps the evil angels try to snatch from God those who have not yet committed their lives to Jesus Christ, and God sends out His angels to instruct and protect them. Christians need to learn to differentiate between God's angels and the devil's angels. Otherwise they will gladly accept false beliefs such as the lie that our dead loved ones are now angels - something the Bible definitely does not teach.
Gabriel was a great messenger-angel who visited Mary to tell her about her unborn child. He told her who this baby really was and the purpose for His birth. He would be "Son of the Highest," He would inherit "the throne of His father David" to reign over "the house of Jacob (Israel) forever" and His kingdom would be "everlasting" (Luke 1:32-47).
The message Gabriel brought was definitely from God because it gave glory to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the test we must use on all messages we receive from angels: Who does it glorify? Does it glorify God or man? Evil messengers, you see, exonerate humans or promise earthly 'goodies', usually to the person being visited.
Gabriel seems to be a high-ranking angel because Luke 1:19 tells us that he stands in God's presence. At any rate, he delivered important messages to people in the Bible. Not only did he speak to Mary, but in response to Daniel's prayer, he told Daniel about Israel's entire future (Daniel 9:21), much of which is still to take place.
But it was another high-ranking angel called Michael, named in Jude 9 an "archangel," who did battle in the heavenlies that Daniel's prayer might be answered. Michael is a warrior angel to protect and deliver individuals and nations from serious trouble, and to fight against the evil angels on behalf of God's people. While Daniel was praying and fasting for 21 days, Michael was fighting a battle to overcome "the prince of Persia" - a powerful evil angel (Daniel 10:13).
The cherubim and seraphim are not portrayed in the Bible as sweet baby-faced cherubs, but as lofty beings who dwell in God's presence. The cherubim protect God's glory and proclaim His grace (Genesis 3:22-24). The seraphim display God's holiness as when they cleansed Isaiah's lips from sin to prepare him for ministry crying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory (Isaiah 6:1-8).
Angels of lesser rank protect and guide God's people as in Psalm 91:11. An example is when the prophet Elisha saw an entire army arrayed to help His people win a hopeless battle; they appeared as horses and chariots of fire, but must have been an army of angels ready to do battle (2 Kings 6:17).
The term "guardian angel" is not in the Bible, but there certainly seems to be angelic protection around God's people. I have never seen an angel, but have often been aware of their presence in times of danger and discouragement. It seems that God's angels rarely make themselves visible because of our human tendency to want to worship them.
God's angels sometimes appear as ordinary human beings. This happened several times to people in the Bible, and there are many accounts today of strangers appearing to help in times of trouble, and then disappearing before their very eyes. The Bible puts it this way, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews13:2).
Because angels are of higher rank than humans I do not see in the Bible where you and I have the authority to command angels to act on our behalf. God will send them where and when they are needed in response to our call for help. In Psalm 8:5 we read that we are created "a little lower than the angels" but Colossians 2:18 and Revelation 19:10 warn us not to worship them either!
Proud people seek their own glory, and therefore are easily deceived by angels appearing who promise worldly fame or human exaltation of any kind. Such angels are not from God but are from Satan. In fact the Bible says that Satan is an "angel of light" who likes to tell proud people that they are "ministers of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Angelic messengers make such a lie sound more plausible and lead people into self-centered New Age philosophies.
As previously mentioned, it is the MESSAGE the angel brings which tells us whether the angel is from God or from the evil one.
The following are examples of messages which evil angels bring to those who do not read their Bibles:
Much more could be said about the angels recorded in the Bible. The "angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament is thought by some to refer to Jesus Christ before His incarnation, that is before His birth. Angels rolled the stone away from Jesus' tomb (Matthew 28:2), opened prison doors for the believers (Acts 5:9), and the list goes on. Their role seems to be either to protect and deliver (Psalm 91:11-12) or to strengthen God's people when they need comfort (Matthew 4:11).
It seems that any time we praise and worship Jesus Christ, with no motive for self-glorification, God's angels are present even if we can't see them. In the Old Testament, the people always praised God and carried the Ark of His presence in front of their armies to assure protection.
Let us not be carried away with the present interest in angels. Let us put them in their rightful place, realizing they are very real, and that we need to discern where they come from. If we allow Jesus Christ to be Lord of our life, He just may give us an angelic visitation. God's angels usually do not make themselves visible because of our human tendency to worship them, but we can recognize their true identity by their message.
Rather than seeking angelic visitations, let us accept and worship Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, then we will be protected against the deceptive lies delivered by evil angels.
If we worship Jesus Christ whom Gabriel described to Mary before He broke into human existence, we will be part of His eternal kingdom described in Revelation 21:1-4. In fact, the entire book of Revelation is revelation by an angel to the Apostle John of God's plan to redeem Israel and the entire world!
Let us not be deceived. Angels are real.
© 1999, Doreen Palmer