A Norwegian missionary, Marie Monsen, in China in the early twentieth century, testified to the protection of angels when Christians were in great danger. They had taken refuge in the missionary compound only to be surrounded by looting soldiers and they were astonished to find that they were left in peace. A few days later the hostile men explained that they were ready to break down the flimsy wall when they noticed tall soldiers with shining faces on the high roof in the compound. Marie Monsen wrote, “The soldiers saw them, and it was testimony to them, but they were invisible to us.”
The word angel means ‘a messenger’
Angels were created in vast numbers, and far exceed the number of humans. Revelation 5: 11. Matthew 26: 53.
Angels are a company, rather than a race. They do not marry, nor do they die, so they don’t grow in number. Nehemiah 9: 6. Hebrews 12: 22. Luke 20: 36.
Some angels sinned corrupted by Lucifer. 2 Peter 3: 4. Jude verse 6. Luke 10: 18.
Angels longed to ‘look’ into salvation. 1 Peter 1: 12. Angels and Demons’ by Mrs Geo C Needham
The office of the heavenly angels and the human angels.
The heavenly messengers: Angels in the Bible are sometimes called elect angels or holy ones, sons of God, a watcher or ministering spirits. 1 Timothy 5: 21. Daniel 4: 13.
Jacob met angels on his way to being reconciled to his brother Esau. Genesis 32: 1.
Angel Gabriel visited Mary with the message of being chosen by God to bear the Christ child. Luke 1: 26.
An angel appeared in a vision to Cornelius to send for Peter who was staying with Simon the tanner at Joppa. Acts 10: 3.
A human messenger, the office of an angel Haggai who delivered God’s message to Israel, ”Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, “I am with you, says the Lord.” Haggai 1: 13. Malachi 2: 7.
John the Baptist was designated a messenger. Mark identifies John the baptiser as the messenger quoting from Malachi “Behold I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Mark 1: 2, 3.
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13: 2.
Before Christ when angels delivered a message from God they were also guardians of it.
God tested Abraham which proved that he loved God more than his love for his son Isaac. Abraham was prepared to make a sacrifice of his son Isaac, but at the moment when he would have slain him, an angel of the Lord stepped in, “Abraham, Abraham and he said, “Here I am,” He said, “Do not lay your hand upon the lad or do anything to him for I now know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.” Abraham saw a ram caught up in a thicket by its horns and it was sacrificed instead of his son. Genesis 22: 1 – 14.
The angel’s message was given at the decisive moment when Abraham had passed the test, he would have slain his son Isaac.
This account also shows us, the cost to God the Father of Jesus in His love for us when he gave his Son to be the sacrifice for our sin. a completed work of love. It’s through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus from the dead that enables us to have a relationship with God our Father.
The angel as a guardian of the message.
Zachariah the father of John the Baptist questioned the angel’s message to him, the angel said that his wife Elizabeth would conceive in their old age and bear a son and they were to call him John. Through Zachariah’s unbelief his speech was taken from him until the baby was born and they named him John. Luke 1: 19, 20. The angel convinced Zachariah by taking away his ability to speak.
Angels’ ministered to Jesus
Angels supported Jesus after he was tempted during the 40 days he spent in the wilderness. The devil tempted Jesus to jump from the temple pinnacle and the angels would protect him. But Jesus knew that that it wasn’t the time for him to fulfil Malachi’s prophecy “The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.” Matthew 4: 6, 11.Malachi 3: 1.
Protected by Angels
Before Jesus was arrested, he knew that if he needed help defending himself, he could call upon 12 legions of angels to his aid. Angels carry out God’s judgement Matthew 26: 53.
Some translators of the Bible record that in Gethsemane an angel ministered to Jesus. Luke 22: 43. KJ Bible
Angels are ministering spirits to the heirs of Salvation. Hebrews 1: 14.
Mrs Needham writes that angels do not pray for Christians, but they are sent in response to answered prayer.
In the New Testament after Peter was arrested the believers where gathered at the house praying for him. “Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell and the angel struck Peter on the side and woke him up, “Get up quickly.” The chains fell off his hands and the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on sandals.” The angel told Peter to follow him, they passed the guards and made their way to the gate and it opened of its own accord. There on the street Peter dazed by the experience gathered himself and went to the house of Mary the mother of John Mark. Rhoda was totally amazed and said, “It’s his angel.” When Peter told them what had happened, he left and went to another place. Acts 12:6-10.
The angel ministered in a tangible way by releasing Peter from the chains that bound him to the soldiers and making the way clear for his escape. Rhoda thought she had heard Peter’s angel speaking to her, these angels are referred to as guardian angels.
“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. O taste and see the Lord is good! Happy are those who take refuge in him.” Psalm 34: 7,8.
Angels do not indwell human-beings, they work with the Holy Spirit.
The angel directed Philip the Deacon to go South following the Jerusalem to Gaza road. The Holy Spirit also gave Philip direction from within, sometimes referred to as God speaking in the inner ear, telling him to join the man in the chariot who was the Ethiopian treasury minister. The man was reading from the book of Isaiah, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? He asked Philip, “Who was the Prophet referring to himself or someone else?” Philip expounded the passage revealing the fulfilment of these words in Jesus and he must have explained about Jesus’ baptism as he wanted to be baptised. Acts 8: 26-39. Isaiah 53: 7, 8.
The Baptism of Jesus
Jesus Baptism means to receive the indwelling presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this account the Ethiopian was immersed in water which signifies when a person goes down into the water: it indicates repentance, dying to sin, and being washed clean and rising up from the water signifies being raised up in Jesus’ resurrection and receiving forgiveness of sins and receiving the eternal Spirit, eternal life.
Jesus’ Baptism in the Old Testament
On the exodus journey the Israelites ran out of water. “Then Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur; they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore, it was named Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” Exodus 15: 22- 25.
The bitter water representing sin.
The tree thrown into the water – Jesus’ death on the cross for sin.
The sweet water – forgiveness of sin and being raised up with Christ in his resurrection and receiving of the eternal Spirit, eternal life. The Messiah’s Secret by Dorothy Newton.
Charles Spurgeon wrote, “I do not know how to explain it, but I believe angels have a lot to do with the business of this world.”
In conversation with a man on the street in Ramsbottom he said that he believed in angels, and he associated angels with death. Jesus in his parable, ‘The rich man and Lazarus’ spoke of Lazarus at his death being carried by angels to Abrahams bosom. Luke 16: 22.
It’s reassuring to know and experience on our earthy journey we are watched over and protected by angels, and when we turn the page we are carried into heaven by angels.