Spiritual Realities: angels from a biblical perspective

Many of you that have young children can identify with this story.
I preacher shared a story that he awoke one day assured that he had a vision of an angel in his sleep.
He really believed an angel of the Lord had come to him in his sleep and talked to him.
Now this guy was very conservative and for he to share this with his wife was a leap.
He told his wife that the message the Angel gave him in his sleep was profound. It was an amazing message of hope that said something like the following:

“I’m your guardian angel, I’m your special friend."

The wife thought about it for a minute and then started to laugh. The man was outraged, he couldn’t believe it, he felt funny to share this story about the dream and now she was making fun of him.
She lead him into the bedroom and out from his pillow she pulled a stuffed angel bear. When she squeezed the bear’s tummy it said, “I’m your guardian angel, I’m your special friend."

His little girl had left the angel bear in the bed room and under the pillow. Every time the man rolled over in his sleep the angel bear would talk.

Well this morning I want talk to you about the reality of the spiritual realm and what the Bible tells us.
We will examine certain aspects of this spiritual realm and battle taking place for the souls of man.

In the late 1940s, the government of the United States commissioned the S.S. United States.

It was an $80 million troop carrier built for the Navy.

It was designed to carry 15,000 troops into war, the fastest, most reliable troop carrier in the world.

It could go 10,000 miles without having to stop for fuel or supplies. It could outrun any other ship, go anywhere in the world in less than ten days.

The only catch was it never carried any troops.

It was put on standby once during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but it was never used in all of its capacity by the U.S. Navy.

Instead, it became known as a luxury liner for Presidents, heads of state, and celebrities.

Now as a luxury liner it couldn’t carry 15,000 troops just under 2,000 passengers could enjoy the luxuries of 695 staterooms, 4 dining salons, 3 bars, 2 theaters, 5 acres of open deck with a heated pool, 19 elevators and the comfort of the world’s first fully air conditioned passenger ship.

Instead of a vessel for battle used during the trenches of wartime, the S.S. United States became a means of indulgence for wealthy patrons who wanted to coast peacefully across the Atlantic seas.

And I am convinced that we need to answer a central question in the church today, and that question is are we as the church a troop carrier, or are we a luxury liner?
Are we a troop carrier, or are we a luxury liner, because things look radically different on a troop carrier than they do on a luxury liner.

The pace at which a troop carrier moves is by necessity much faster than a luxury liner.

After all, a troop carrier has an urgent mission to accomplish.

The luxury liner is free to enjoy the ride along the way.

I am convinced that in the church in our day we have settled into an understanding of the church as luxury liner.

The church exists to make me feel comfortable, to adjust to my preferences and cater to my
desires.

And in the process, we have lost sight of an eternal battle that is waging around us, and
we have a crucial decision before us, church.

Are we going to indulge ourselves in the peaceful comforts of this world?

What we can touch feel, observe with science, are all things that are only real.

A minister in Denton, TX challenged his church with a study called a Hill worth dying for. His entire emphasis was what are things that they as a church could not negotiate on.

Just like in warfare- is this hill worth dying for.

I would propose to you that a healthy, biblical view of the spiritual realm is a hill worth dying for. It is a non-negotiable.

You cant be a Bible believing Christian and deny that there is a spiritual battle going on between God an Satan, Angels and Demons.

This doctrine is shot all through both the New Testament and Old Testament.
1) A SPIRITUAL REALITY:
One story illustrates this reality of the spiritual battle as well as some folks inability to acknowledge this battle.

And in this text he’s described as the man of God.
And I want you to see what’s happening here. Look at 2 Kings 6

2 Kings 6: 8-17

8 Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel ; and he counseled with his servants saying, "In such and such a place shall be my camp." 9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, "Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there." 10 The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, more than once or twice. 11 Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing ; and he called his servants and said to them, "Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel ?" 12 One of his servants said, "No, my lord, O king ; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom ." 13 So he said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him." And it was told him, saying, "Behold, he is in Dothan." 14 He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master ! What shall we do ?" 16 So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw ; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

In this passage, the King of Aram was waging war against Israel.

The king would tell his confidants where he was going to attack Israel.

God would send a message to Elisha and Elisha would warn the King of Israel where the Arameans were going to strike.

Israel would send out troops and successfully fend off the attack.

The king of Aram was paranoid and wondered who the spy was supplying Israel with the information.

When the King of Aram realized that it was Elisha supplying the information, It is Elisha that is telling the king of Israel the things uttered in the bedroom of the king of Aram.

The king of Aram sends an army to surround the city of Dothan where Elisha is staying one night.

When Elisha’s assistant wakes up and sees the army, he runs to Elisha and asks What are we going to do?

Elisha says something very extraordinary to his assistant:

"Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.

With this he prays that the assistant will have his eyes opened to see the spiritual reality all around them.

When does he sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire to protect the man of God.

This is one of my favorite stories in the OT because it shows the types of people that we find today.

There are those like Elisha that take comfort to know that God’s spiritual power is greater than anything man can put against us.

His assistant reminds me of the scientific materialistic man of the 21st century that only sees the physical world.

The spiritual man understands that there is a spiritual realm and has a healthy view of it.

At most, the spiritual world – angels and demons – are looked at as religious fancy.
This is one of the great parts of The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis’ classic book.

When an elder demon is speaking to a younger demon and giving advice on how to deceive people. And listen to what he says.

“Wormwood” – this is the elder demon speaking to the younger demon – “I do not think you will have much difficulty in keeping the patient in the dark. The fact that devils are predominately comic figures in the modern imagination will help you.
If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, just suggest to him a picture of something in red tights. And persuade him that since he can’t believe in that, he therefore cannot believe in you.”

Modern culture has talked us out of not only thinking about demons and angels, but even talking
about them without thinking, “Is this just a little out there? Are we just imagining this?”

In other words, even if we acknowledge that there’s a spiritual world, oftentimes we begin to think, “Well, that just deals with séances and Ouija boards and occult practices and this or that.”

Or maybe as a Christian we think, “Well, not that happens in many third-world contexts overseas, over there.”

And we just can’t grip the idea that there are spiritual forces all around us in middle-class America.

And this is an extremely dangerous way to think; to think that they are not pervasive.

Even if we acknowledge there’s a spiritual world, in our context, we so disconnect it from the natural world that we think, “Well, they just don’t have anything to do with each other.”

TWO ERRORS THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED:

C.S. Lewis talked about it. There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils.

One is to disbelieve in their existence, and the other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.

They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or magician with the same delight.

Our particular subject matter this morning is one place where the two extremes are alive and well. Some deny the existence of angels all together and others even pray to and worship angels.

So the two extremes are:
1) Empty rationalism.

2) Excessive fanaticism.

The other side, the ones serving Satan either in the Wiccan religion or in the church of Satan believe in the spiritual realm.

A minister as traveling recently by plane.

He noticed that the man sitting two seats over was thumbing through some little cards and moving his lips.

The man looked professorial with his goatee and graying brown hair, and Steve placed him at fifty-something.

Guessing the man was a fellow-believer, the minister leaned over to engage him in conversation.

"Looks to me like you're memorizing something," he said. "No, actually I was praying," the man said.

Steve introduced himself. "I believe in prayer too," he said. "Well, I have a specific assignment," said the man with the goatee.

"What's that?" Steve asked. "I'm praying for the downfall of Christian ministers and leaders."
"I would certainly fit into that category," Steve said. "Is my name on the list?" "Not on my list," the man replied.

IN the past decade we have witnessed an explosion of angel books and prayers and amulets to angels that one could even buy at Wal-Mart.

You would be amazed about how much the Bible talks about Angels and I believe that as Christians we should understand what the Bible tells us about Angels.

ANGELS:

108 appearances in the Old Testament – 108.

165 appearances in the New Testament. They’re all over, Old Testament and New Testament.

Angels have many names.

1) The names of Angels given by the Bible
Psalm 104:4
He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
MESSENGERS/ SERVANTS
Job 1:6
One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.
ANGELS
Psalm 89:5-7
The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD ? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than all who surround him.
HOLY ONES
Hebrews 1: 14
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Messengers, angels, messenger spirits, holy ones.

What are angels?
2) Angels aren’t people
Many people have false impressions of what angels are.
The movie It’s a Wonderful Life introduces us the character Clarence who is trying to earn his wings.
It confuses people and makes them think that angels and people are the same but we are not.
Angels are created beings.
They are spiritual beings created by God but they are not human. They are not people that have died and become angels.
Hebrews 2: 7 and 9
7 "YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS ; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS ;
9 But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus
When Jesus was incarnated into Flesh he became a little lower than the angels for a temporary time while he was on earth.
This passage just recognizes the order.
Angels are a little higher than humans and are more powerful than we are.
3) Angels are not all powerful like God
But angels are not God, and do not have the power of God.

Colossians 1:16
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -all things have been created through Him and for Him
First of all, they’re spiritual beings. Hebrews 1 talks about how they are ministering spirits.

God created all things – both the spiritual realm was created by God and the spiritual realm.

God created angels just like he created this world and humans.

Psalm 148: 1-5
Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.

The Psalmist tells us that the angels, the heavenly hosts were created by God.

4) Angels are personal spiritual beings that have the capacity to sin and choose to disobey God.
They are not non-personal spiritual forces as some cults teach but are personal and are held morally responsible by God for their sin.
2 Peter 2:4
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment…

God does not spare the angels if they sin.
This tells us that they have the capacity to make moral choices.

5) They have intellectual capacities.
1 Peter 1:12
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by
the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

Angels long to look into the gospel and the mystery of how man would be saved.

It shows that Angels are capable of knowledge and have intellect just as we do as humans. They can make a decisions and learn just like we do.

We also learn that two angels are named in the Bible – Michael and Gabriel which further goes to show that these angels are personal beings even given names.
6) They have emotional capacities.

Job 38:6-7
On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone- while the morning stars
sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

Angels shout for Joy in praise for God – all through the Bible we see Angels praising God as Creator of the universe and for his power.

Luke 15:10
“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels
of God over one sinner who repents.”

7) Angels are powerful spiritual beings.
God’s angels are powerful.
One story that I really liked as a kid was found in 2 Kings 19. King Hezekiah is fearful because the king of the Assyrians is going to lay siege to Israel.
He comes and surrounds Jerusalem with 185,000 troops.
Hezekiah prays to the Lord and God sends a message through Isaiah the prophet to the King.
Here is what happens in the story:

2 Kings 19: 32-36
32 'Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, "He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there ; and he will not come before it with a shield or throw up a siege ramp against it. 33 "By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and he shall not come to this city,"' declares the LORD. 34 'For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David's sake.' " 35 Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians ; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead . 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home, and lived at Nineveh.
That is one angel and in one night 185,000 people were killed.
Do you think an angel is powerful, do you think they could do some damage if God unleashed them.
In Matthew 26 when Jesus tells Peter to put his sword away in the Garden he tells peter that he could call upon His Father to send 12 legions of angels.
That is roughly 72,000 angels.
Imagine if 1 angel could take out an army of 185,000 men, what could a few thousand angels do?
Something about the power of these beings scares people.
They are not this little pretty child like looking things that we see in popular culture.
In Matthew 28 we see that the soldiers that guarded the tomb of Jesus were so afraid of what they saw that they shook and passed out.
The courageous Daniel of the Lions den fell out when he saw an angel in Daniel 10 and then the Angel picked him off of the ground and he was still shaking in his knees because of fear.
These beings are powerful.
8) Angels are limited spiritual beings.
They are limited in space.
Luke 1:26-27
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.The virgin’s name was Mary.
In Daniel 10 we see an interesting story where Daniel had prayed for God to send an answer to his prayer.
Daniel 10: 12-13
12 Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days ; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
We see in this passage that the angels are limited by space and time. They are not omnipresent like God.
Daniel had prayed and the angel of the Lord was sent to answer that prayer.
This angel was help up in spiritual battle with the Angel of Persia which most scholars believe was a fallen angel that was waging war with God’s angels.
We see that Michael came to help this angel so that he could get to Daniel.
It took him 21 days to get to Daniel.
They are limited in knowledge.
Mark 13:32
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven,
nor the Son, but only the Father.”
9) There seems to be orders of Angels in heaven. There is organization in their ranks.
Cherubim… Gen 3:24
The highest order or rank of angels.
Protecting and proclaiming the glory of God.
Seraphim… Literally “ablaze” with adoration of God.
Continually worshiping the Lord. Mentioned in Isaiah 6:2-4
Michael the Archangel

Jude 9
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Michael is the archangel who was the protector of Israel and waged war with Persia but was also the one that went to war with Satan over the body of Moses

Gabriel – the messenger of God from the throne of God

Conclusion: So what does this knowledge of Angels help us

1) Not to be worshipped – they never accept the worship of man in Scripture
They serve God just like we do
The observe us and notice our obedience. Paul charges Timothy in 1 Timothy 5 in the presence of Jesus Christ and His holy angels
But here is the most important thing I want you to take today.
1) Angels will take us home to be with the Lord
This comfort for us when we die. A little boy had a grandfather that was terminally ill and he had always told his minister he wanted to see angels.
When the little boy’s grandfather died the preacher lovingly told the little boy that he had been in the presence of angels.
When his grandfather died angels had come to take his soul home to be with the Lord.
Luke 16:22 tells us that angels took Lazarus to Paradise
How comforting to know that these holy, strong warriors of God will be the ones to take us home to the Lord.
I cant tell you exactly what that will be like but we know that Bible says that they are the ones that take us home when we die and they will be the one to take the elect to see Jesus when He returns.
2) Angels have no hope for salvation
We have hope of the Gospel and angels do not. The bible doesn’t give any plan of salvation for the Angels.

We should fall on our knees and thank God for grace through Jesus. God loved us enough to give us a second chance through the Gospel.

Today we want you to obey the Gospel – one day we will judge angels. – we will reign with Christ.