Work of angels – part 2

1) What do angels do?

2) Last Sunday night we established that they have helped reveal the Bible to man.

3) Passages were also used to demonstrate how they worship God.

4) Tonight we want to look at two more functions performed by angels.

5) Angels are involved in spiritual conflict with evil forces and angels help God’s people.

a) One early demonstration of this point is found in Gen. 19, the place where our study begins.

b) Listen to how Gen. 19:1 opens – READ.

c) Lot welcomed these angels into his house and later that night things became very bad.

d) Men from the town came and surrounded Lots’ houses. Threats were made.

e) In the midst of what can only be described as a mob, these angels intervened – verse 11 – READ.

6) At this point in the story, angels used a form of punishment which was less than death.

7) It was serious, but the angels did not take the lives of the townspeople.

8) The next morning all that was going to change – verse 13 – READ.

9) Peter said (2 Pet. 2:6) that this area was turned into ashes.

10) An expanded translation says “heaps of ashes and blotted them off the face of the earth.”

a) It takes a powerful force to turn something into ashes.

b) Two angels said they were charged with destroying an area and that is exactly what they did.

c) The people in this region had made themselves enemies of God and angels wiped them out.

d) This event reminds us of the Lord’s life; Jesus had some earthly enemies.

e) Mt. 26:53 records for us how Jesus said He could call for “12 legions of angels.”

11) What would these angels have done?

12) Did Jesus think they would simply stand by and watch or did He believe they would act?

13) Peter had pulled out a sword and cut off a man’s ear (verse 51).

14) Peter and the others might have been able to take out a few men from the mob that came to Jesus.

15) Jesus told Peter to put away his sword. If a fighting force were needed, Jesus could call on some angels.

16) Angels could have been called upon and they could have obliterated the entire mob of men.

17) Angels could have repeated what happened in Gen. 19.

18) Later in the New Testament (Acts 12) we have a ruler giving a speech (Acts 12:21).

a) This official was on a throne; he had on special clothing.

b) People shouted out that he had a voice of a God and not that of a man.

c) Herod did not see this praise as a bad thing; he accepted it. His choice cost him his life.

d) Herod was not a friend of God; he was an enemy of God and an angel struck him dead.

e) Acts 12:23 – READ.

f) We have in both testaments information about angels coming against human enemies of God.

19) If this is all they did, their work would be noteworthy.

20) We find that angels have also done battle with spiritual foes.

21) Not long ago we studied from the 10^th chapter of Daniel.

22) An angel said he had been opposed by the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” (Dan. 10:13).

23) We noted how this must refer to a spiritual force that is associated with evil (Satan).

24) A good angel said he was trying to make his way to Daniel, but his path was blocked.

25) This matter was finally resolved when Michael the archangel intervened.

a) We may not know all the ins and outs of the spiritual conflict involving angels.

b) It does seem that the spiritual conflict among angels is a lot like the battles we face in the worldly.

c) We can pick nearly any issue and find two different sides.

d) A classic example is abortion. Some wholeheartedly support abortion.

e) Others oppose it with all their might.

f) This issue is almost like a tug of war, each side struggling to make progress.

g) Does God have the power to instantly wipe out one side or the other? Yes.

h) God allows good and evil to struggle back and forth on the earth.

26) Good and bad angels seem to be permitted to have this same type of struggle in the spiritual realm.

27) This struggle is something we can also deduce by looking at the qualities possessed by angels.

28) If creatures are going to do battle with one another, they generally need some degree of intellect.

a) Angels have intellect. They are not brainless creatures.

b) Consider the information we find in Mk. 5:7 – READ.

c) Bad demons were able to recognize Jesus as well as the Lord’s power.

d) Associated with intellect is knowledge. Angels have knowledge.

e) In Acts 19:15 we find a demon saying he knew who the apostle Paul was.

f) That is a fascinating fact. Did this demon know Paul because he was a famous Christian?

g) Or, did this demon know Paul because demons know who all God’s people are?

h) Most Christians rightly believe that God knows who they are.

i) Have we ever considered that Satan and his helpers may also know our names?

j) Just as junk mail can find our mailbox, Satan and his forces surely know where we live and work.

k) A lot of people get shaken up by a national I.D. card.

l) What should really scare folks is that the devil knows who they are.

29) Demons are creatures that also have emotions.

30) According to Jas. 2:19, bad spirits “tremble.” God and eternity scare demonic spirits.

31) Demons have self awareness (Mk. 5:9). A demonic force said, “we are legion” (many).

32) Demons have a will (Mt. 8:31). Demons realized Jesus was going to cast them out.

33) They, therefore, asked to be cast into a herd of swine.

34) Demons are capable of rational thought—thinking and planning.

35) They also have the ability to communicate. In places like Mk. 1:24 they spoke to Jesus.

36) Demons have all the things necessary to engage in a spiritual battle with the forces of good.

37) Whatever good angels are trying to do, it seems evil angels want to undo.

38) Evil angels may be described as agitators; obstructionists; creatures that want to stop God’s works.

39) Perhaps we can demonstrate their work from the book of Acts.

a) Acts 5:19 says an angel came and let the apostles out of jail.

b) Having the apostles preach and possibly convert people is not what the devil wants.

c) Thus, there was every incentive for evil angels to try and prevent the release of the apostles.

d) Exactly how and/or what they may have tried to do that we are not told.

e) We do know these creatures tried to put up various blockades in Dan. 10.

40) Another illustration involving angels is in Acts 8.

a) Philip was told by an angel (verse 26) to go and preach the gospel to a man.

b) If evil angels were fulfilling their role, they would have wanted to interfere with this assignment.

c) Good and evil angels might be comparable to the Republican and Democrat parties in our country.

d) One political party tries to do something and another the other party tries to stop them.

e) There is constant tussling and strife.

f) Whatever efforts demonic forces may have put forth in the case of Acts 8 were foiled.

g) Cornelius (Acts 10:3) saw an angel and this creature told him to call for Peter.

41) If Satan and his helpers understood what was about to happen, they would have wanted to stop Peter.

42) It was bad enough for Jews to start accepting Christ and becoming Christians.

43) Giving the Gentiles exposure to the gospel would have created a whole new set of issues for Satan.

44) We are not told about how heavenly angels may have struggled in the situation with Cornelius.

45) Maybe evil angels tried to stop an angel from getting to Cornelius.

46) Maybe some interference was tried to keep Peter from getting to this man’s house.

47) If action were taken by Satan’s helpers, the side of evil again lost.

48) Angels have struggled with the forces of evil just as we struggle with evil in the world.

49) God allows the forces of good and evil to fight it out in the earthly and spiritual realms.

50) Perhaps this is done to show, at the end of time, God’s power.

WHEN THE END OF TIME COMES, GOD WILL DEAL WITH ALL THE EVIL ON THE EARTH AS WELL AS THE WICKEDNESS IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS. HE WILL TRUMP OVER IT ALL AND THEREBY SHOW THAT HE REALLY DOES HAVE ALL AUTHORITY AND POWER. EVIL WAS GIVEN A CHANCE TO WIN IN THE EARTHLY AND SPIRITUAL REALMS, BUT GOD AND GOOD ARE THE ULTIMATE VICTORS.

a) In addition to having waged battles with evil, angels have also been involved with helping men.

b) We know that angels helped Jesus.

c) Mark (1:13) says “angels ministered to Jesus” (this was while the Lord was on the earth).

d) Later in the New Testament (Heb. 1:14) the writer said angels “minister to God’s people.”

e) It is often asked if Heb. 1:14 is true today or it was jut a promise for the first century Christians.

2) There are brethren who seem to be troubled by the possibility that angels still work for man’s benefit.

3) This is an interesting conclusion for this reason.

4) If Christians are asked if God can and will work in their lives they reply, “Oh, yes!”

5) If asked if one of God’s angels could work in their lives the reply is, “I do not think that is right”

6) If God can work in a person’s life, why can’t one or more of His angels work?

a) Only if we are ready to say God does nothing in our life does it seem we can angels are powerless.

b) Thus, I understand Heb. 1:14 as passage that is still relevant to today’s world.

c) I do not, however, understand Heb. 1:14 in a miraculous or supernatural way.

d) Angels miraculously delivered people from prison in first century times.

e) Angels gave direct revelation to people like Philip in Acts 8.

f) The age of the miraculous is over, and I include in that cessation the supernatural work of angels.

7) Angels work as God works, and that work is providential (within the boundaries of natural law).

8) NASCAR is a very popular sport. Let’s say a Christian wants to become a NASCAR driver.

9) This Christian begins to pray that he will get a job as a driver and he will one day have his own car.

10) Should this man expect to wake up the next day and find his race car parked on his driveway?

11) Should he also expect that right down the street, a race track just happened to appear a few hours prior?

12) God could create a NASCAR track in the blink of an eye. He could create a car.

13) Were He to do these things, both actions would be miracles.

14) God is not going to help a New Testament Christian get a NASCAR job in this way.

15) God will use natural means available in the world to help that Christian work into the racing circuit.

16) We have more to say about this subject next week.

17) Tonight we want to simply make some general observations, including this one.

18) The Bible tells us that after our life ends angels still have a part in helping man.

a) Jesus said “angels” (plural) carried the beggar into the “bosom of Abraham” (Lk. 16:22).

b) God could have transported this man to the right place. Angels were not required.

c) If God wanted to use angels, surely just one would have been enough to get the job done.

d) For reasons unknown to us, angels are portrayed as taking the righteous to the proper place.

e) If unsaved people are guided to their destination by angels too, that fact is not revealed to us.

f) This is a specific task associated with them in the Bible.

19) We can conjure up a mental image of how angels carry out their work of transporting the righteous.

20) It is also possible for us to offer what seems to be a Bible example of this.

a) Elijah finally died.

b) Most remember a very curious statement from the book of 2 Kings (the 2d chapter).

c) There appeared a “chariot of fire and horses of fire” when it was time for Elijah to go.

d) This fiery scene separated Elijah from Elisha and Elijah was taken by a whirlwind.

e) It would seem that angels were somehow involved in this process.

f) Verse 12 in 2 Kgs. 2 refers to “horsemen” and I believe this is a reference to angels.

g) Angels have served as escorts into the next life.

21) Further attention needs to be devoted to angels and their involvement in the lives of men.

22) These creatures have been used to aid the righteous and punish the wicked.

23) There is no middle ground with angels; they are with the saved or with the lost.

24) That is also true of man: we are on the side of right or wrong. Which is it?