Angels 3                                                                         211017

Where did angels come from? When did they appear on the scene? There is no clear account in the Bible to answer these questions. Genesis 1:31a tells us, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Now, what does that have to do with angels? We can assume that the angels were created at some point during those first six days. And everything that he had made was very good! That being true, indicates that all of the angels were included in that description. Everything that God made was very good! The angels are not named as part of creation but they must have been included in the word “everything”! The serpent, when introduced in the Garden of Eden, would hardly be considered “very good”! I will go out on a limb and apply the words found in Revelation 12:7-9, Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, ⁸ but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world — “he was thrown down to the earth and his angels were thrown down with him.” This must have happened between Genesis 1:31 and Genesis 3:1 putting an end to the time of everything being “very good”.

But can we be any more specific? There may be a hint at the creation of angelic beings during the first 6 days of creation when we read that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” Genesis 1:1, and then immediately after we read that “the earth was without form and void”, Genesis 1:2a, but with no mention of the heavens in this second verse. This may suggest that the uninhabitable state of the earth is in contrast with the heavens where, perhaps, God had already created angelic beings and assigned them various ranks and roles. This is made more plausible when we read Job 38:6–7 that “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” at the time when God laid the “cornerstone” of the earth and sunk its “bases” in the process of forming or founding it,. If the angels “the sons of God” shouted for joy when God was making the earth inhabitable, this could imply that God created the angelic beings early in the first 6 days of creation. That would allow time to develop the angelic rebellion led by Satan.

However, since we have only hints in Scripture, we must remain content with the fact that God has not given us much information about the time of the creation of the angels. We must remember that God is under no obligation to answer our curious questions. Further speculation, apart from clear scriptural data, would seem to be useless. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” Deuteronomy 29:29.

Sometime before Satan tempted Eve in the garden an unknown number of angels sinned and rebelled against God. Jude 6, “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day”.

We are not told how much time passed between Adam being placed in the Garden and the confrontation with the serpent. Genesis chapter 1 gives us the outline of creation on a day-to-day basis. Genesis chapter 2 files in the details. After God ceased creation on the seventh day. No, he wasn’t tired and in need of rest. One problem that people raise is Adam being created in chapter 1 and Eve appearing in chapter 2. Genesis 1:27 concludes with, “male and female he created them.” I believe it’s a very simple matter to know that when Adam was created Eve existed in him. Wherever Adam went Eve was present inside him. The discovery of DNA makes the process more sensible. A period of time passed after the six days. Many things happened during that time. Among the “happenings” was Adam naming all the created beings. During this naming exercise it became clear that it was not good for him to be alone. Anyone with even a little common sense and a little observational skill knows that it is never been good to leave men alone. Therefore the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam and took something from his side. It wasn’t a rib. When he woke the Father God presented him with what had always been inside him. I suggest we do not have a complete record of the event. Adam must’ve had some response before he spoke the little poem. I think his response might have been something like, “Wow”! Then he could have said: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman (ishshah), because she was taken out of Man (ish).” Scripture gives no more information on the creation of angels. We are told that there are many angels with names, or titles that probably represent different ranks, or orders of angelic beings. Gabriel, is named in Daniel 8:16. He also names himself when he speaks to Zechariah, the soon to be father of John the Baptist, and a little while later in speaking to Mary about the soon to be conception of Jesus in her.

Michael is the only named archangel. In Daniel 10:13, Michael is called “one of the chief princes” and in Jude verse nine he is called an “archangel”.

In Isaiah 6:1-3 the prophet is confronted in the temple by “the Lord” seated on a throne. Above this magnificent Lord were the Seraphim. They were described as having six wings. “with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.” They were praising the Lord. We are not told how many Seraphim were there. Since this is the only biblical reference to these exotic creatures about them. Apparently they are designated to praise God. I have heard many teachers refer to this appearance as Isaiah seeing God. In the original language, Aramaic, the word used is not Yahweh it is “adonay”. That word does not point to God but to an honored being. Perhaps the Lord Jesus, I know, He is God, but he does take on human form. And may show himself as human throughout the Old Testament. Maybe not.

An amazing warrior appears to Joshua when it is time to take over the Promised Land. This event is recorded in Joshua 5:13-15, Joshua does not ask his name instead he asks, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” Joshua refers to him as a man. The warrior identified himself as the commander of the army of the Lord with no commitment as to being for or against Israel.

Angels are sent to help us. We need understanding of the spiritual world around us.

When Elijah was waiting out the drought before he would confront Ahab the king. God did something that is very interesting to me.

It is found in 1 Kings 17:2-6. “And the word of the Lord came to him: ³ “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. ⁴ You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” ⁵ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. ⁶ And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.”

I have a vivid imagination. As I read this passage I can see Elijah camped out by the brook. Morning and evening I see ravens passing through the king’s residence and picking bread and meat off the table and dropping them at the prophet’s camp in obedience to God’s directions. As you can see there are many examples of God caring for his people through an intermediary.

We have seen how God sent an army of spirit beings to protect Elisha and his servant against the army of Syria. The event is recorded in 2 Kings 6:15-17.  When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” ¹⁶ He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

 

 

 

Now, I would like to share with you another event from the life of Peter.

The account begins as the church is facing stiff opposition. Herod the King began the process of arresting Christians. He had James, the apostle John’s brother, arrested and killed with a sword. James became the first martyr among the apostles. It seems his place in leadership was taken by James, half-brother to our Lord Jesus. The event was recorded in Acts 12:1-18.

Peter was put in the public prison. His defense team gathered in Mary’s upper room. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. ⁷ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” ⁹ And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. ¹¹ When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” ¹² When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John.

I want you to think about the scene. James has been killed and Peter was chained to two guards in prison. The church was gathered to pray for Peter. Peter, realizing there was nothing he could do to help himself, was asleep. The angel woke Peter up to find the room filled with light. The chains he was bound with fell off him! The angel said “get dressed” and “follow me”. Remember, the two guards sleeping on either side of him. Peter could not believe this is really happening. They passed by two more guards and the iron gate swung open to let them out onto the street. The angel led him some distance away from the jail and left him.

A few minutes before Peter could not believe this was happening now, he could not deny it. He hurries to Mary’s house to report to the church that their prayers had been answered.

When he arrived there he pounded on the gate and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she heard Peter’s voice which she knew very well she turned and rushed in where the church was gathered praying for Peter’s rescue. They must’ve been Baptist because they could not believe he was really at the gate. Goodness! This is what they were praying for and they were surprised? Peter had to keep knocking to shake them out of their disbelief and get someone to come to the gate. The church saw him and were amazed. Peter gave them some instructions and went into hiding.

That’s one example of angels at work. Now, let’s look at an example from the life of Paul. He had spent two years in confinement. He had shared his testimony more than once to governors and kings as well as the common soldiers who guarded him. In order to prevent him being taken before the Jewish leaders, who were determined to execute him, he appealed to the Emperor, Nero. He could do this because he was a Roman citizen.

He had been all over the eastern portion of the Roman Empire. He had planted churches and had encouraged them to grow. Now it was time to go to Rome. It certainly looked as if he was going to be drowned rather than executed. He and his guards, as well as other prisoners, had taken ship across the eastern Mediterranean rather than walking the many miles to Rome. Now they had been many days in a storm. When it looked as if there was no hope at all an angel appeared to Paul. Read Paul’s record of the message. “For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, ²⁴ and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.”  Now he had something to report to the ship’s company. He stood up and said, “I told you so”! He had confidence in the words of the angel because he had been given a promise by the Lord Jesus Himself. When he was first arrested he must have begun to doubt he would live to do the trip to Rome. In his disappointment at being arrested in Jerusalem after his arrest The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” Acts 23:11. He had God’s promise he would go to Rome. No ship wreck or snake bite would prevent him.

 

 

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