Wednesday, January 12, 2022

211024 Angels 4

 Angels 4                                                                         211024

Prior to this series of sermons I have never done an in-depth study of angels. I innocently opened with Hebrews 13:2, Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Since then I have dug into what the Bible has to offer on the subject. I make every effort to keep every comment based on scripture. If not I will admit what I am sharing is an opinion not necessarily a fact. I do not pretend to know all there is to know.

During the process of creation the angels came into being. So far as I can tell God has not chosen to enlighten us concerning the process of creation outside the earth. We have Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The words “created the heavens” are filled with mystery. We can look around us and see for ourselves the earthly creation. In the deep dark of a moonless night we can see the planets and stars. Genesis 1:31 tells us, And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. So, without doubt the angels came into being at some point between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:31. Also, the angels were part of a “very good” creation. Genesis 3:1 introduces “the serpent” who is clearly evil and is in rebellion against the God who created him.

How much time passed between the “very good” creation and the serpent entering the Garden? There is no way to answer that question. We can look at the genealogy in Genesis 5 that tells us Adam lived 130 years before Seth was born. Now, I assume those years included the time spent in the Garden of Eden, the births of Cain and Abel, the murder of Abel and Cain’s departure to begin his rebellious nation. So far as we know Adam did not keep a chronology. God gives us all we need to know. Some events occur, according to Genesis chapter two. Those events required passage of time. Weeks? Months? Years? No way to tell. In Revelation 12 we are told about a war in heaven. A war between Michael the archangel and his angels with the dragon and his angels. The dragon is described as being “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan”. Obviously, God knew how much time passed and he did not see fit to enlighten us on the subject and many, many more subjects. Subjects we spend too much time guessing about. Listen to the Apostle paul, Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, (Colossians 2:18).

So let’s not get too far off the pursuit of angels. In the period between Adam and Noah angels were unnecessary because Godly people (the sons of God) had direct contact with God. There is no mention of angels until the time of Abram the man who became God’s friend. The first mention of the term “angel” is in relation to Hagar, Abram and Sarai. Hagar was a servant of Abram and Sarai his wife. She had been impregnated by Abram in order to provide a male heir. Hagar ran away after Sarai became jealous.

The record is found in Genesis 16 beginning in the middle of verse 6. Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction.

Thirteen years later, when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. The story is recorded in Genesis17. God is identified as “Yahweh” and then God calls himself “El Shaddai”. During that meeting God establishes the covenant of circumcision and promises a son who should be named Isaac. God changed Abram’s name to “Abraham” which means “father of a multitude”.

Then again in chapter 18 the “Lord” appeared to Abraham and revealed his intentions with regard to Sodom and Gomorrah. But first an amazing revelation. Three men came to Abraham’s tent at the Oaks of Mamre. Abraham showed the hospitality of a meal to them and They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh”. (Genesis 18:9-15)

Do you remember three men who broke bread with Abraham? Yet when the men arrived in Sodom there would only be two! One stayed behind to discuss what was about to happen and that one is identified as Yahweh! The two who went on to Sodom are called angels. This is the second event where the word “angel” appears in the Bible.

The first time was when the angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar when she ran away. There is a real difference between the two events. The difference is not obvious in the English language.

Several passages of Scripture speak of the angel of the Lord in a way that suggests that he is God himself taking on a human form to appear briefly to various people in the Old Testament.

In some passages “the angel of the Lord” (not “an angel of the Lord”) is spoken of as the Lord himself. So “the angel of the Lord” who found Hagar in the wilderness promises her, “I will so greatly multiply your descendants that they cannot be numbered for multitude” (Genesis 16:10), and Hagar responds by calling “the name of the Lord who spoke to her “You are a God of seeing” ’ (Genesis 16:13). Similarly, when Abraham is about to sacrifice his son Isaac, “the angel of the Lord” calls to him from heaven and says, “Now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me(Genesis 22:12). When “the angel of God” appeared to Jacob in a dream, he said, “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me” (Genesis 31:11, 13). Again, when “the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, he then said, “I am the God of your father the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:2, 6). These are clear instances of the angel of the Lord or the angel of God appearing as God himself, perhaps more specifically as God the Son taking on a human body for a short time in order to appear to human beings.

These events, and many more found in the Old Testament, seem to contradict God’s command that we cannot look at God and live. In Exodus 33:20 God tells Moses “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”

At the same time Moses was meeting with the Lord face to face as a man speaks to his friend. (Exodus 33:11). How can this be? I believe the answer is found in the existence of God as three natures, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When the men came to the tent of Abraham they had all three taken on human bodies. This allowed them to interact with human society. This action is not the same as Jesus appearing as a man. Every instance of temporary incarnation came to an end except for Jesus’ incarnation.

In order for Jesus to become man he first had to have a human mother. Then his body developed from 2 cells until he was delivered into his humanity in a stable in Bethlehem. Then he had to grow up through all the stages of human development. Then in the end of life he suffered for our sin. This made him like us. In Hebrews 2:14-18 we find this explanation. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus became man in order for us to understand, because we do not want to say that Jesus acquired additional knowledge or information by becoming man: certainly as omniscient God he knew every fact there was to know about the experience of human suffering. But the book of Hebrews 2:18 does say,Because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted”, and we must insist that that statement is true—there is a relationship between Jesus’ suffering and his ability to sympathize with us and help us in temptation. Apparently the author is speaking not of any additional factual or intellectual knowledge, but of an ability to recall a personal experience that he had himself gone through, an ability he would not have if he had not had that personal experience.

Some faint parallel to this might be seen in the fact that a man who is a medical doctor, and has perhaps even written a textbook on obstetrics, might know far more information about childbirth than any of his patients. Yet, because he is a man, he will never share in that actual experience. A woman who has herself had a baby (or, to give a closer parallel, a woman physician who first writes a textbook and then has a baby herself) can sympathize much more fully with other women who are having babies.

 

Ellis Crum wrote a song many years ago that goes like this:

He paid a debt he did not owe
I owed a debt I could not pay
I needed someone to wash my sins away;
And now I sing a brand new song, “Amazing Grace” all day long.
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.

 

He paid that debt at Calvary
He cleansed my soul and set me free
I’m glad that Jesus did all my sins erase;
I now can sing a brand new song, “Amazing Grace” all day long.
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.

 

One day he’s coming back for me
To live with him eternally
Won’t it be glory to see him on that day!
I then will sing a brand new song, “Amazing Grace” all day long.
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.
Yes, Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.

 

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2016. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

 

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