--Angels in the Bible------
-In Genesis 3:24, as we've discovered, after Adam was expelled from the garden of Eden, God placed mighty angels and a flaming sword just east of Eden, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.In Exodus 3:2, an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in
"a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush," and yet it was not consumed.
Numbers 22:22 features an angel of the Lord standing in the road to obstruct the way of the prophet Balaam. Nine verses later, after the Lord opened his eyes, the prophet saw the angel for who he was, a mighty force of God with sword drawn, and Balaam bowed down and fell on his face.
In Judges 6:11-12, an angel of the Lord came to Gideon and delivered an encouraging message:
"The Lord is with you," he said, "O mighty man of valor."An angel stretched out his hand to destroy the city of Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 24:16, only to be rebuked by God, who at the last minute relented concerning the disaster.
"It is enough," God said to the angel. "Now stay your hand."When the young Israelite Daniel refused to worship a golden idol and was tossed into the lions' den as punishment, it was an angel who shut the mouths of those lions, protecting him from certain death (Daniel 6:22).
Certainly we find angels in the book of Isaiah. During Isaiah's prophetic perception or revelation, he sees seraphim, angels thought to be especially devoted to the uninterrupted worship of God the Father, each possessing six wings--two to cover the face, two to cover the feet, and two with which to fly (6:2).
The text also mentions that these seraphs had audible voices, and that their calls of
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!" made the foundations of the thresholds shake and the temple fill with smoke (6:3-4). The Bible isn't clear about whether all angels have literal wings and loud voices, but Isaiah seems sure about what he saw.
In Luke 1:26-31, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth to tell Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus. And in Psalm 91, we read that
'all' believers are protected by the sure presence of angels all around them.
"He will command his angels concerning you," we are promised," to guard you in all your ways" (v.11).Hebrews 12:22 and Revelation 5:11 reveal that "innumerable angels" exist--more than 100 million, at least--and that they are organized into ranks and offices, a massive army marching at God's command.
Indeed, there are angels out there. Even as you read the words on this page, angels may be superintending the space around you. They exist. They are real. And they are active in the here and now, certainly not because I say it is so, but because God's Word reveals it to be true. Legendary preacher Billy Graham once put it this way:
"I do not believe in angels because someone has told me about a dramatic visitation from an angel, impressive as some rare testimonies may be; I do not believe in angels because UFOs are astonishingly angel-like in some of their reported appearances; I do not believe in angels because ESP experts are making the realm of the spirit world seem more plausible; I do not believe in angels because of the sudden worldwide emphasis on the reality of Satan and demons; I do not believe in angels because I've ever seen one...because I haven't. I believe in angels because the Bible says there are angels, and I believe the Bible is the true Word of God."
Yes, Christ-followers believe in angels, but only because God himself believes in angels. He created angels. He purposed angels. He 'values' angels, and therefore so should we. ~~~--UN SEEN/JG
