ANGELS

Let’s talk about angels … I’ve been thinking about them throughout the Christmas season as I remember that “an angel of the Lord stood before (the shepherds), and the glory of the Lord shone around them … the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people’ … Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!’ ” (Luke 2:9–14). Angels play an important role in the Christmas story.

The words rendered “angel” in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament and the Greek language of the New Testament both mean “messenger.” Angels are messengers sent from God to mankind. More than that, they are servants of God who worship God and do His work.

It might surprise you to know that the word translated “angel” appears 175 times in the New Testament and 213 times in the Old Testament. In addition, cherubim are mentioned 85 times.

The first mention of angels is found in the sixteenth chapter of Genesis when an angel appeared to Hagar, Abraham’s runaway mistress. The angel comforted the young woman and delivered God’s message… “You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael” (Genesis 16:11).

Angels also appear in the final chapter of God’s Word. There, John rejoiced in all that God had revealed… and he learned an important lesson about angels. “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’ ” (Revelation 22:8–9).

Angels are created beings. They are not omnipotent or omniscient. God created them in much the same way He created mankind. Like us, the angels were created to love and serve the Creator. We aren’t to worship angels.

In the next installments of the blog, I’d like to explore the Biblical appearances of angels. We’ll see them as heavenly warriors and as members of celestial choir. We’ll hear their comforting whispers and their heralding announcements. We’ll consider the archangels, the cherubim, the seraphim, and we’ll wonder at the possibility that we “have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).

“… think on these things” (Philippians 4:8, KJV).