‘If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.’ 1 Corinthians 13: 1,2 (NIV).
Billy Graham decided to study what the great theologians past and present had written about angels. He was astonished to find that while much had been written about demons and Satan, there were only a mere handful of books and pamphlets about God and his angels.
He said: ‘We’re involved in a supernatural war. And a supernatural battle is taking place on this planet right now. But I think it’s time for those of us that call ourselves Christians to major on the positives of the Christian faith. The Bible says, ‘Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.’ We are not alone in the world The Holy Spirit is here in mighty power to help you, to guide you, to lead you, to fill you, to anoint you … to teach you. But in addition to the Holy Spirit, there are thousands and millions of angels at God’s disposal to send help in time of need.’
I have enjoyed exploring about angels, and as we close this subject, it may be handy to say a few things the Bible says about angels:
Angels are without number. In Daniel 7: 9,10 we read a wonderful description of God with his angels: ‘thousands of thousands ministered to him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him’.
They’re spirit—you don’t see them. However, many times they have appeared in human form, coming to speak to Mary and Zachariah and the shepherds. And when they take on human form, we may be unsuspecting that an angel may be visiting us too. We are cautioned by the writer of Hebrews, ‘Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares’.
Angels have superhuman intelligence and power, but they don’t know everything. The Bible speaks about things that angels desire to look into; certainly they do not know the day nor the hour of the second coming of Jesus Christ.
We read that angels are obedient to God, and they have tremendous power. Angels execute the judgments of God, for they were the ones that came and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and in Revelation, John describes how angels are going to lay hold on the devil himself and bind him and cast him into the lake of fire.
Angels throw a party when someone becomes a new person in Christ. Jesus taught this about angels, that when one soul repents of sin, when one person turns to Christ, the angels of God rejoice. Think of it! Up in heaven, they shout for joy over one person, just one person, coming to Christ.
We are comforted with the knowledge that angels are with us in moments of hardship and affliction, temptation and disappointment. We cannot know for sure, but what if, the moment you die, you are taken by the hand, by an angel, and escorted into the presence of God. That we would not make that particular journey alone is very reassuring indeed.
Finally, angels are portrayed as servants (Heb 1:14), while we, sons and daughters of God receive the Spirit (2 Tim 1:7). Whatever you know of angels, what they are and what they do is nothing compared to who we are when God’s Spirit dwells within us. Tomorrow we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit that changed frightened disciples into fearless proclaimers of the redeeming love of God. That same Spirit is within us today; I think angels are pretty awesome, but I would not swap places. As difficult as life can be, nothing can compare with the matchless gift of being a child of God.
God bless you.