The ministry of angels has changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament times. The book of Hebrews gives a comparison of the law under Moses to grace under Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 12
| vs. 22 | But you are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, |
| vs. 23 | To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, |
| vs. 24 | And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. |
Mount Sinai is where the law was given, but Mount Zion represents the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church universal exists because of the firstborn, Jesus Christ who is the chief cornerstone. No longer are believers under the law. No longer are believers required to come before a human representative to speak to God in our behalf. We now come directly into the throne room of God the Judge of the whole earth, through the blood of Jesus Christ. We also come before “spirits of just men made perfect, Jesus the mediator of the new covenant,” and “an innumerable company of angels”.
Angels have always ministered to God’s people. David was probably one of the greatest types ever found of the Church and of the day in which we live. David was the only Old Testament prophet and saint that had the Holy Spirit come to abide on him and the Holy Spirit never departed from him. In the Old Testament only a few were permitted to touch the ark of the covenant, but David actually brought the ark into Jerusalem and had everyone worship around it. In David’s day, the people could see and experience the glory of God. Every nationality, both male and female sang, rejoiced, danced and worshiped around the ark. They experienced a freedom in worship similar to what we have experienced in the Church since the dispensation of grace began. No longer does the Holy Spirit dwell in temples made by hands. He has now come to dwell in us. The tabernacle of David was a type of the Church today.
Psalm 91 presents the provisions of remaining in fellowship with God. The secret place is where there is no sin in our lives, where God has forgiven us, and we are standing blameless before Him.
Psalm 91
| vs. 9 | Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; |
| vs. 10 | There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. |
| vs. 11 | For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. |
| vs. 12 | They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. |
| vs. 13 | Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. |
Angles are sent to protect us if we have made the Lord our refuge and our habitation. It is our choice whether or not we dwell in Him. We choose whether we stay or do not stay in fellowship with Him. If we have chosen to serve Him all the days of our life, then the angels go to work for us.
There are things in this life that we can see and things that we cannot see. Angels protect us from things we cannot see and have no knowledge of. Satan was created as an angel in heaven, the anointed cherub that covers. Even though he was cast from heaven, he produces evil in both the seen and unseen realms. The roots of the attacks against us are in the unseen world. However, there are times when we can see the attacks and other times when traps have been set that we cannot see. The good news is that God has made provision for our protection whether the attack is seen or unseen. God has given us authority to stand against the attacks that we can see and He has given us angels to protect us from the attacks we cannot see.
If we have made God our habitation and dwelling place, the angels go forth to minister and protect us so no evil can befall us.
Verse 10 tells us that no plague will come near our dwelling. God said He would protect us from the forces of sickness and evil in this earth. He has given us authority in Christ Jesus and the angels for our protection.
We live in a time where more evil is present than ever before. There are more plagues trying to come nigh our dwelling. There are more demons on the loose that we need to exercise authority over. But we must understand that we are surrounded by an innumerable company of angels. God has declared that He will watch over us and that angels have been sent before us.
In Genesis 24, Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac. The servant asked Abraham, “How will I know when I find the right woman?” Abraham’s response was interesting. He said, “The Lord will send His angel ahead of you.” Whenever we go into areas that are not familiar to us, angels go ahead to prepare a path for us. It may be a new business venture, it may be marriage, or it may be going to the mission field. When it is related to the unknown, angels go before us. They will protect us from evil and will not allow any plague to come near our dwelling.
Even if we are on a path and begin to trip on a stone we did not see, when the Lord is our dwelling place and the Most High our habitation, the angels will not allow our feet to slip.
When we get to heaven, the angels will probably share with us all the times they protected us from harm without us knowing we were protected!
There was a time when I was a young boy, that my father was driving our car through an intersection. My parents were in the front seat and my sister and I were in the back seat. As my father proceeded, he spotted a car running through the same intersection and headed directly toward the side of our car with its lights off. He didn’t even have time to yell “Jesus!” My father later shared, “I don’t know what happened. Either that car went right through us or God picked the car up and took it over us.” I know there had to have been a multitude of angels that night protecting us from harm.
A minister relayed a similar story to me. He was doing a meeting in Hawaii and was riding in a car in the mountains with some others. As they were coming around a curve, a stalled car was suddenly in front of them and there was nowhere for them to swerve around it. Everyone in the car yelled out “Jesus!” and he said, “I don’t know what happened, but either we went through that car or over it or around it or something. We suddenly found ourselves on the other side of the car and it was behind us, still stalled on the road.” Again, angels had to have been protecting them.
When we get to heaven, I believe it will be revealed to us all of the protection we received from the angels while on this earth.
Old Testament saints stood on one side of redemption and we stand on the other side. They stood on the side prior to redemption and we stand on the completed side of redemption. The rules have changed. Satanic attacks have increased. The number of demons roaming the earth has increased. The number of plagues, sickness and disease and strains of them have increased because Satan is determined to destroy the Church. His desire is to rule and reign over the earth, but he knows his days are numbered. He realized on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, that his time is limited. On the Day of Pentecost, Satan did not have just one born-again person walking the earth. There were 120 bornagain people walking the earth. Then 3, 000 more were added. A few days later there were 5,000 more. Because the Church was increasing so rapidly, Satan had to do everything in his power to try to stop the Church. Today he is in high gear and there are no days off for him.
The Church is so powerful that Jesus declared the “gates of hell” would not prevail against it. One individual Christian on the earth is stronger than Satan’s entire kingdom. Not only is the Church waiting for the Rapture, Satan is also anxiously waiting for the Church to be removed from the earth so he can try to dominate the earth during the Tribulation.
I Peter 1
| vs. 12 | Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. |
“Unto whom” is a reference to the prophets of the Old Testament.
“…it was revealed” is speaking of redemption. Redemption was
revealed to the prophets. The verses preceding verse 12 deal with
the shed blood of Jesus, the new birth, and the coming Holy Spirit.
“…not unto themselves” means that although redemption was
revealed to them, it was not for them; it was for a time yet to come.
Verse 10 continues, “…but unto us they did minister the things, which are not reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you.” Redemption was first revealed to the Old Testament prophets. They ministered the message but it was ministered for the time beginning with Jesus Christ. The message was received by Jesus’ disciples and they preached the message and wrote the books that were handed down to us.
“…which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.”
Until the Day of Pentecost, angels had an understanding of God’s plan. But when the Church age began, a shift took place and today angels desire to look into the things we do.
Angels are not redeemed beings, but we are. Jesus did not go to the cross for angels. The Blood of Jesus was not shed for angels. The stripes of Jesus were not for angels. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was not for angels. The Church is comprised of redeemed people, not angels. Angels do not understand what you and I understand. Angels do not understand what it means to sin, to be spiritually dead, to be separated from God, and therefore, they do not understand redemption. But we understand redemption because there was a day we were separated from God and a day we were spiritually dead. But there was also a day when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. On that day, we were made brand new on the inside. Old things passed away and all things became new. We understand redemption.
The angels understand the Old Testament, but each time we teach from the New Testament, they do not understand. Angels come to church. I believe when we teach from the Old Testament they nod with agreement, but the minute we begin teaching from the New Testament, they take out their notepads and begin taking notes so they can learn about what we are learning. But what they learn does not apply to them; it only applies to us. Again, verse 12 tells us the angels desire to look into the plan of redemption.
More mention is made of angels in the New Testament than in the Old Testament. From the very beginning of the book of Matthew, angels are recorded. Throughout the Old Testament, angels would appear from time to time, but more is recorded about angels in Matthew than all of the Old Testament combined. It seems that both the ministry of angels and the occurrences of demons increased at the birth of Jesus. On this side of redemption, there is greater satanic opposition, greater evil, an increase in plagues, and more stones in our path. Angels and demons have been kept extremely busy since that time!
Hebrews 12
| vs. 23 | To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. |
What the angels did for Jesus, they will do for us. The way in which angels ministered to Jesus, they will minister to us. Jesus is the firstborn and we are members of the church of the firstborn, therefore, we receive the same ministry by angels as Jesus received.
Before Jesus was born, the angel of the Lord went to Zacharias and announced that his wife, Elisabeth would bear a child. He and his wife had trusted God for children in their youth, but now they were so old, Zacharias did not believe the angel. Zacharias wanted a sign before he would believe the angel and he was struck dumb until the child was born. The child was John the Baptist, who would prepare the way, introduce and baptize the Lord Jesus Christ.
Next, the angel Gabriel was sent to Mary to announce Jesus’ birth. Mary was overwhelmed but responded with “Be it unto me according to thy word.” Then she asked, “How can this be, seeing I know not a man?” Mary was referring to the fact that she was not married and had never had sexual relations with a man. She was wondering, “How can I possibly have a child?” We are no different today. God brings His Word to us and we think, “How can this be, seeing I know not a banker?” or “I know not a doctor”. Human nature always wants to replace God with a substitute. When God says, “I’m going to do it by the Holy Spirit,” we often have difficulty because we are accustomed to handling things in the natural. When we finally reach a point that we can say, “OK, God. There is no man that can bring this about, I know not a man that can do this, but I do know the Holy Spirit. Be it unto me according to thy Word,” that is when miracles happen. When we decide to believe what God has spoken, whether we know a human being that can help us or not, God brings that word to pass.
The angel Gabriel was also sent to Joseph in a dream. In the dream, Gabriel confirmed the birth of Jesus and instructed Joseph not to put Mary away, not to separate from her. Gabriel also told Joseph that that which was in her womb was truly conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Angels also announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds who were in the fields. The Bible says that the heavens were suddenly filled with a multitude of angels praising God and singing, “Glory to God in the highest!” Hebrews tells us that we are surrounded by an innumerable company of angels.
After the wise men came to visit Jesus, Joseph was warned in a dream by an angel to go to Egypt to hide Jesus. Joseph obeyed and took Jesus and his wife, Mary to live in Egypt for approximately two years before returning to Jerusalem.
After choosing His disciples, Jesus told them they would see angels ascending and descending upon Him.
John 1
| vs. 51 | And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the son of man. |
Even in the Old Testament there is an account where Jacob saw a ladder that went to heaven and saw the angels ascending and descending on it.
After Jesus went to the wilderness for forty days and nights, angels came to minister to Him. Dur ing that time, Jesus had fasted and was tempted three times by Satan. After the third temptation, angels came to minister and strengthen Jesus.
After praying in Gethsemane and sweating great drops of blood, angels were sent to minister to Jesus. Jesus prayed so long and so intensely that He was exhausted before facing all of the trials associated with bringing us redemption. The angels again, ministered strength to Him.
During those times when we face trials and challenges that can bring us to emotional and physical exhaustion, I believe we will be surprised to see how angels ministered to us without our realizing.
The Word of God brings us strength. Prayer brings us strength. But angels also bring us strength.
When Jesus arose from the dead, an angel rolled away the stone from the mouth of the tomb. That same angel greeted the two women who came to the tomb following Jesus’ death. Initially, the women thought the angel was the gardener and did not recognize him as an angel. But then their eyes were opened to recognize that he was an angel. Hebrews 13 tells us to beware when we entertain strangers, because often we are entertaining angels unawares.
Angels were present at Jesus’ ascension from the Mount of Olives.
Psalm 68
| vs. 17 | The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. |
| vs. 18 | Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. |
Psalm 68, verses 17 and 18 prophesy of Jesus’ ascension to heaven. Angels followed Jesus at His ascension. There were 20,000 angels, “even thousands of angels” with Jesus, but they were unseen by man. Thousands of angels greeted Jesus in heaven, but multitudes escorted him to heaven from the earth.
Throughout the four Gospels, there are other recorded instances of angels ministering to man. Angels were present with Lazarus at his death. A rich man died when Lazarus died, but the rich man went to hell and an angel escorted Lazarus into Abraham’s bosom. Like Lazarus, angels accompany believers into heaven when they die.
Luke 12
| vs. 8 | Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: Every time someone confesses before men Jesus as their Lord and Savior, He confesses them before the angels in heaven. |
Matthew 18
| vs. 10 | Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. |
Jesus told the disciples not to prevent the children from coming to Him. He also told them that each child had angels that were always looking upon the face of God. Small children have guardian angels to watch over them and to protect them.
Angels bring healing. At the pool of Bethesda, an angel stirred up the water so people could get in the pool to be healed. Angels bring miracles. They bring the supernatural.
Angels are also involved in the end time events surrounding Jesus Christ. At the end of the Tribulation, when Jesus returns at the Second Coming to establish His kingdom on the earth, angels will separate the wicked from the just. They will gather the wicked for judgment and will protect the just from the coming judgment. Angels are powerful and were sent to minister to us, the children of God. Although we cannot see them and are often unaware of their presence in our lives, they are here to protect us and keep us from harm. Not only has God given us authority in the earth, He has given His angels charge over us (Psalm 91:11)!
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Copyright 2009 by Bob Yandian Ministries.
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