Entering angels unawares

1) Back in November of 1994 Newsweek published an interesting article about angels and God.

2) At that time 20% of Americans believed they had received a revelation from God.

3) 13% said they had “seen” or “sensed” the presence of an angel.

4) When more than 10% of a nation’s population has an interest in something, that is significant.

a) In the case of angels, there is a great deal of interest in these creatures.

b) Many want to see an angel or be in the presence of such a creature.

5) If we look to the Bible to see what it says about men seeing angels, one verse comes to mind.

6) This was our Scripture reading, Heb. 13:2.

a) We heard the opening verses in this chapter; let’s go back and study some of the context.

b) Verse 1 – READ. In this opening passage we learn about brotherly love and concern.

c) Christians were “continue” in these things.

d) Then we have verse 2 and verse 3 rounds out the thought – READ verse 3.

e) In these three verses we see the ideas of hospitality, compassion, love and concern.

7) As we consider what has been read, there are natural questions that arise.

a) For instance, who are the “strangers” in verse 2? Who are the people “in bonds” (prisoners), verse 3?

b) Who were the “some who entertained angels”?

8) Let’s start with the “strangers.” Since very early in the history of man we read about people traveling.

9) For one reason or another people have left their homes for a short or extended period of time.

10) When someone comes to a new place (i.e. out of town), they are a “stranger.”

a) In both the Old Testament and the New Testament the people of God traveled.

b) A good parallel reference to this text as far as a New Testament text is 3 Jn. 5-8.

c) John spoke of Christian missionaries in 3 Jn. 5.

d) He referred to them in two ways: “brethren and strangers.”

e) We would expect “brethren” to describe Christians they knew and “stranger” to mean brethren they did not know.

f) Stranger in Heb. 13 would have referred to what might be called traveling evangelists.

g) As these evangelists went from place to place the Hebrew writer said, “show love to them.”

h) Since these men were trying to proclaim the gospel of Christ, they were to be helped.

i) They might have needed food, lodging, clothing, or maybe medical care.

j) This is not difficult information to interpret.

11) A second question we raised involved the people who were in “bonds” (verse 3).

a) When we think of someone in prison we generally associate that with some charged with bad behavior.

b) While that is typically true in our culture, it is not the case in other parts of the world.

c) In some places preaching the gospel is a crime.

d) Talking about the Lord can get someone locked up just as fast as murdering someone.

e) Given the overall context of this letter (Christians were facing persecution), this seems to be the right thought.

f) Some Christians had been imprisoned for preaching the gospel. Others were being “ill treated” (3b).

12) As Christians were imprisoned or trying to go and teach the gospel the writer gives a general command:

13) Help these people of God.

14) Imagine what it would have been to come to a town and try to do what was right.

15) As a Christian you came to a new place and found brethren who could have helped you, but they declined.

16) How awful that would be, so the writer warned about this in the final chapter of this letter.

a) He wanted Christians to comfort to the persecuted and hold up the hands of those who are teaching.

b) Two reasons are then given for behaving in these ways.

c) One of these reasons is found in 3b: “as being yourselves also in the body.”

d) Initially what is being said here might not be clear.

e) The writer meant, “You may one day have the same fate as some of your brethren.”

f) Those who received this letter may not have been in a place where Christians were being imprisoned.

g) Maybe most of these brethren stayed in their local area and were rarely ever a “stranger.”

h) Because things were fine with them, they could have said, “We do not care about brethren who are being locked up.”

i) “We do not want to help Christians who are strangers in our town.”

i) The inspired writer said, “Do not think in that way,” and here is a reason why:

j) A day may come when you are incarcerated.

k) “You may not be a stranger now, but one day that may change.”

l) “You help now because one day you may be the one in need.

17) This reason is easy enough to understand; things become more complex with the second reason.

a) Christians were to be aided because, 2b, “some have entertained angels unawares.”

b) Who did the writer have in mind when he made this statement? We are not told.

c) If we have any information about this topic we must look for it somewhere else in the Bible.

d) One place which that might be related to the thought is in Gen. 18-19.

18) There were angels that appeared to Abraham and Lot (you may want to start turning back to Gen. 18).

19) Abraham showed hospitality to the three “men” who appeared to him in the plains of Mamre.

20) He did this without knowing their identities; he did not realize they were angels.

21) Gen. 18:1-8 records the story – READ.

22) One of these beings was deity in the flesh (Gen. 18:9-14); the others were simply good angels.

23) The two “regular angels” then went to warn Lot to flee from this area with this family.

a) Abraham showed hospitality to the angels who came his way.

b) What was Lot’s response when these angels finally showed up in the area where he was?

c) Lot did not recognize these angels for what they were; he thought they were just men.

d) He surely, just like us, had seen all kinds of strangers come to the place where he was living.

e) Perhaps just as he had done on many other occasions he showed them hospitality.

f) Gen. 19:1-3 – READ.

24) Abraham and Lot literally showed hospitality to angels; they “entertained them unawares.”

25) At least that was true for a while.

26) A key word in Heb. 13 is “unawares.” This term means “to escape notice.”

a) Angels appeared in the form of men. There was no glowing halo or shiny clothing.

b) They not only appeared in human form, they did not (at least for a while) demonstrate supernatural qualities.

c) For all intents and purposes they looked just like someone we would see on the street.

27) Most would agree that all this information is correct; few if any would dispute it.

28) We are still left with a very important questions: did angelic visits stop with Abraham and Lot?

a) There are some subjects about which we are not 100% sure, and this is one of them.

b) We cannot draw a conclusion with absolute certainty.

c) There are, however, some things that seem to be reasonable conclusions.

d) The first conclusion is this.

29) If angelic visits stopped with the Old Testament era, why would the Hebrew writer mention this in Heb. 13?

30) Why base an argument on something if that item does not exist?

a) Suppose an insurance agent shows up on our doorstep and wants to sell us a hurricane policy.

b) For only $500 dollars a year the company will pay all hurricane related damages to our Indiana residence.

c) Who would buy a policy? There is no possibility of a hurricane so this insurance makes no sense.

31) One of the two arguments in Heb. 13 to act in a certain way is based on entertaining angels.

32) This seems to imply that these Christianity could have had their hospitality tested by angels.

33) This conclusion, as far as I can tell, is hard to dispute.

34) What is less sure is the meaning of “angel.”

35) When we think of “angels” we think of heavenly messengers.

36) “Angel” is simply a word meaning “messenger,” and a human messenger can be described.

a) Some of the early Christians who traveled from place to place were messengers of the gospel.

b) It is possible that “angel” is a reference to human beings who went from place to place.

c) Jas. 2:25 says Rahab received the “messengers” (human beings).

d) “Messenger” in Jas. 2:25 is the same Greek word elsewhere translated “angel.”

e) It could be that entertaining angels simply means entertaining people these Christians did not know.

f) There is no promise that angels would meet up with these Christians.

g) They were simply reminded that such had happened in the past.

37) What people really want to know is, “what about today”? Might we ever entertain an angel?

38) Might we meet someone who looks like a human being but it really a heavenly creature?

a) Again, we cannot be 100% certain, but I am fairly confident in saying “no.”

b) First, as noted a moment ago, this was not a promise.

c) We do have the references in Gen. 18-19, but angels eventually disclosed that they were not men.

d) Angelic intervention among men was seen in the first century, so similar things could have happened then.

e) The age of the miraculous is past, and part of that miraculous passing was the angelic involvement with man.

39) The practical point in Heb. 13 is how we now interact with strangers and brethren who are afflicted.

a) If we have a visitor at our services, that is a stranger.

b) We can respond to that stranger in many ways.

c) We can avoid them, greet them and walk away, or really make them feel welcome.

d) The bottom line is that with a stranger it really does not matter who is in that body.

e) Even if an angel did appear as a human being, the practical point would not change.

40) People often look at Heb. 13:2 from the wrong perspective.

41) Rather than ask, “Are angels still wandering about looking as men”?, the real question is this:

42) “How do we deal with strangers.”?

a) On Sunday mornings we are dealing with First Corinthians.

b) I preached on the qualities for love a long, long time ago.

c) After I finish what is being done now I then go back and see what I did more than 15 years ago.

d) All that material is then combined for what I hope will be commentary on First Corinthians.

e) As I looked at some of that previous material from an old outline I was a bit surprised.

f) I made some lengthy comments about a congregation’s failure many years ago.

g) Apparently there was a stranger who came on many Sunday nights.

h) I do not remember who he was or how many times he came (that information is not recorded).

i) All I have recorded is that he was a stranger and hardly anyone greeted him time after time.

43) How sad it is to not treat strangers well.

44) How unChristian it is to not try to help those who are suffering.

45) This morning Stan made an announcement about a family that is suffering; we are trying to help them.

46) “Let love of the brethren continue” (Heb. 13:1). What a great verse to cement into our minds and follow.