Praise Chapel Of Anaheim
“Angels”
Pastor Albert Garcia
Sunday, June 14, 2009

TEXT: Heb. 1:14

INTRODUCTION: Today I want to speak on a subject that the Bible speaks much about.

Ø There has been much controversy about this subject.

Ø Many books have been written about this subject.

Ø Some believe in this and some don’t.

Ø Today I want to speak about “ANGELS”

Ø I will look at 5 areas.

o The existence of Angels.

o The creation of angels.

o The nature of Angels.

o The organization of Angels.

o The ministry of Angels.

Christians should never fail to sense the operation of angelic glory. It forever eclipses the world of demonic powers, as the sun does a candle’s light.

Billy Graham (1918– )

I. THE EXISTANCE OF ANGELS.

a. In the O.T.

1. The O.T. speaks of angels over 100 times.

2. The O.T. presents them as real creatures with specific tasks and character and not figments of imagination.

a. In (Gen 18) Abraham conversed and ate with angels.

b. In (2 Samuel 24:16) An angel executed judgment on Israel after David took a census of Israel.

c. In (Isaiah 6:2) Isaiah refers to seraphim’s.

d. In (Ezekiel 10:1-3) Ezekiel refers to Cherubims.

e. In (Daniel) Daniel refers to an two specific angels one named Gabriel the other Michael.

f. In (Zechariah 1) Zechariah mentions angels as agents of God and interpreters of visions.

g. In the psalms, the psalmist depicts angels as God’s servants who worship God.

h. and deliver God’s people from harm.

Psalm 103:20 “Praise the Lord, you angels of his. Praise him, you mighty ones who carry out his

orders and obey his word.

i. He also depicts angels as agents who deliver God’s people from harm.

Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the Lord stands guardaround those who have respect for him.

And he saves them.

Psalm 91:11-12 “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

¹² On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

b. In the N.T.

1. The N.T. mentions angels 165 times.

a. In (Luke 2) angels announce the birth of Christ to shepherds in the field.

1. Luke 2:11 “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.

b. In (Matt 1:20) an angel appears to Joseph as he was contemplating divorcing Mary.

1. Matthew 1:20 “an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit.

c. Angels ministered to Jesus in the wilderness after being tempted by the devil.

d. In (John 20) two angels appear to Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb of Jesus.

1. John 20:12-13 “She saw two angels dressed in white. They were seated where Jesus’ body had been. One of them was where Jesus’ head had been laid. The other sat where his feet had been placed.¹³They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

e. In (Acts 1) two angels appear to Jesus disciples as He is ascending up to heaven.

1. Acts 1:11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. But he will come back in the same way you saw him go.”

f. In (Acts 5) the angel of the Lord opens prison doors and the apostles are set free.

g. Paul spoke of angels. (Galatians 3:19) (1 Tim 5:21)

h. The writer of Hebrews spoke of angels. (Hebrews 1:4)

i. Peter spoke of angels. (1 Peter 1:12)

j. Jude spoke of angels. (Jude 1:6)

c. In the teachings of Christ.

1. Jesus taught about angels.

a. He said in the resurrection we will be like the angels.

1. Matthew 22:30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels

b. He said angels will separate the wicked from the righteous at the end of age.

1. Matthew 25:31 “The Son of Man will come in all his glory. All the angels will come with him. Then he will sit on his throne in the glory of heaven

II. THE CREATION OF ANGELS.

a. The Bible teaches that angels are created beings.

1. Psalm 148:5 “Let all of them praise the name of the Lord, because he gave a command and they were created.

b. The Bible teaches they were created by Christ.

1. Cosossians 1:16 “All things were created by him. He created everything in heaven and on earth. He created everything that can be seen and everything that can’t be seen. He created kings, powers, rulers and authorities. Everything was created by him and for him.

c. They were created Holy.

1. Jesus declared them as Holy.

a. Mark 8:38 “Suppose you are ashamed of me and my words among these adulterous and sinful people. Then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

III. THE NATURE OF ANGELS.

a. They have personalities.

1. This means they possess the quality of being a person.

a. They have intelligence.

b. They have emotions.

c. They have a will.

2. This is true of both good and evil angels.

a. We see this in the demons of the Gadarenes.

1. Matthew 28:29 “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” ³⁰Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

b. They seem to have a greater knowledge than man.

1. This could be for one of 3 reasons.

a. They were created in higher order than man.

1. Heb 2:6-7 “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?⁷You made him a little lower than the angels”

b. They study God’s Word more than humans.

1. satan quoted Jesus the Word of God in the dessert.

Matthew 4:5-6 “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91)

c. They gain knowledge through observation human activities of the past.

1. They’ve been around for thousands of years.

2. They observed human behavior for 1,000 of years.

3. IMPORTANT NOTE: This applies also to evil angels.

Rev. 12:9 “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.

This is probably why God says….

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

c. They are spirit beings.

Heb. 1:14 “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

1. This does not mean they are prohibited from appearing to human beings.

a. One appeared to Joseph in a dream.

Matthew 1:20 “an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

b. They appeared to Isaiah in a vision.

1. Isaiah 6:1

c. They appeared to Lot in a normal, conscious state.

1. Gen. 19:1

d. They are immortal and do not propagate.

1. This means they do not reproduce and they do not die.

2. The number of angels is and will always be the same.

a. Luke 20:34-36 ““The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels.

NOTE: The wicked ones will be punished in a place of separation from God.

IV. THE ORGANIZATION OF ANGELS.

a. The number of angels. (How many are there?)

1. It is believed there are so many they cannot be counted.

2. The writer of Hebrews spoke about thousands of thousands.

a. Hebrews 12:22 “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly”

3. John the Revelator spoke about millions of millions.

a. Rev. 5:11 “Then I looked and heard the voice of millions and millions of angels. They surrounded the throne.”

b. They are organized.

1. They are organized in battle.

a. Rev. 12:7 “There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸But the dragon wasn’t strong enough. He and his angels lost their place in heaven.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Angels and demons are organized. (Christians are divited!)

c. The different ranks of angels.

1. Archangels.

a. These are high-ranking angels.

b. These are most likely leaders of angels.

c. The Bible mainly speaks of one. (Michael!)

d. This type of angel battles satan himself.

e. NOTE: When Daniel prayed and God immediately sent the answer with an ; but satan himself fought the angel for 21 days and would not let him give Daniel the answer. (Then Michael the archangel came to battle satan himself and got the answer to Daniel!)

Daniel 10:12-13 “Since the first day you did those things, your words were heard. I have come to give you an answer. ¹³But the prince of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then Michael came to help me. He is one of the leaders of the angels. He helped me win the battle over the king of Persia.

2. Chief princes.

a. These are also superior angels.

NOTE: The book of Enoch names 4 principal Chief princess who are privileged to stand around the throne of God. (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel)

3. Governmental rulers.

a. “Rulers or principalities.”

1. These are in charge of governing the universe.

2. They watch over rulers and nations and seek to influence human leaders.

The apostle Paul referred to this order of angels seven times.
Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

b. “Authorities.”

c. “Powers”

d. “Place or rule”

e. “Thrones and dominions”

f. NOTE: THESE ARE ALL GOVERNMENTAL RULERS!

4. Cherubim.

a. This is another high-ranking angel.

b. These are guarding angels.

c. They guard the Holiness of God.

d. satan was this type of angel.

Ezek. 28:14-15 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy

mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. ¹⁵You were perfect in your

ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.

e. These angels were assigned to guard the tree of life after the fall of Adam.

Gen. 3:24 “The Lord God drove him out and then placed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden. He also placed a flaming sword there. It flashed back and forth. The cherubim and the sword guarded the way to the tree of life.

5. Seraphim.

a. These are in a similar order or the Cherubim.

b. They attend the throne of God.

c. Their duty is to praise God.

d. Isaiah saw the Seraphim in a vision.

Isaiah 6:2-3 “Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

d. Particular angels in the Bible.

1. Gabriel.

a. His name means “Hero of God”.

b. His function is to deliver certain messages from God to His people.

c. He was responsible for delivering messages to several people in the Bible.

1. To Daniel. (Daniel 8)

2. To Zecharias. (Luke 1)

3. To Mary. (Luke 1)

2. Angels with special responsibilities.

a. Some have power over fire. (Rev. 14:18)

b. Some control the waters. (Rev 16:5)

c. Some have power over the abyss. (One will bind satan in the abyss) (Rev 20)

d. Some blow trumpets to begin judgment on earth. (Rev. 8)

e. Some will pour out the last 7 plagues on earth. (Rev 16)

3. Angel of Yahweh.

a. It is believed that this was Jesus in its preincarnate form.

1. Gen. 16

2. Exo. 3

3. Judges 2

4. 2 Samuel 24

IMPORTANT NOTE: After the incarnation of Christ this angel never appears again. (This supports the conclusion that He was the preincarnate Christ.

V. THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS.

a. They are responsible to praise God.

Psalm 148:1-2 “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens. Praise him in the heavens above.

²Praise him, all his angels. Praise him, all his angels in heaven.

b. They are responsible to serve and minister to believers. (See our text)