ANGELS

Angels were mentioned nearly three hundred times in the bible., and they are active in heaven and as well all around us on earth. The book of Revelation pictured ten thousand times ten thousand plus thousands of thousands more all gathered around the throne in heaven. There they sing loud praises to the lamb of God.

The word ''angel'' in both the Hebrew and Greek is the ordinary word for messenger. It was a great encouragement to God's children in the Bible times to know angels were surrounding them- Neh. 9:6; Col. 1:16; Heb. 12:22.

God is the creator of all things, including angels. Within the realm of the supernatural, caution must be exercised against attributing too much authority to any power other than the persons of the tribune Godhead. Only God is worthy of our worship and praise. This truth is borne out by the angel's response to John's attempt to worship him- Rev. 22:9. The angel rebuked John by saying ''see thou do it not, for I am a fellow servant, and out of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book, worship God.

Heightened interest in angelic visitations can cause some to place these beings on a higher plane than intended by God. It is important to recognize that angelic visitations or interventions are the outworking of God's purposes for His people. Thus our honor, praise and worship should be directed to God alone.

Old testaments recognized that angels were good- 1 Sam. 29:9; wise- 2 Sam. 14:17; and powerful- Zech.12:8, worship God- Ps. 103:20. When angels appear, God usually give them the form of young men as true in the new testament. On occasion however, they appeared in dazzling light or enveloped in the glory of the Lord- Lk. 2:9. They also appeared in white- Jn. 20:12. These appearances are however temporary because they do not have a physical nature.

Angels are not heirs of God- they stand aside when believers attain the riches  and glory of their eternal abode; Angels cannot testify of salvation by grace through faith; Angels do not marry or procreate; Being saved by grace is not necessary for angels; Angels are arranged into host or armies wit archangels at their head- Col 1:16; Jude:9. Jewish tradition  spoke of seven archangels- Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Sariel, Gabriel and Jeremiel. Later, church tradition said Stan was also an archangel before he fell.

As servants of God, angels are so totally consecrated and dedicated to the service of God that Jesus called them ''holy angels'' they also perform a variety of tasks to effect the outworking- Judg. 2:1-5; Judg. 6:11-24; Lk. 1:5-20; Acts 1:10-11; Acts 10:3-6; Judg. 2:1-5; Matt. 28:2-7.

The Bible gives a number of examples as agents of His righteous judgments in the past. Angels brought judgment on the wicked city of Sodom. When we consider the marvelous intervention of a mighty angelic host on our behalf, we cannot help but be thankful for such providence. click on the picture at your left or right to buy any product at a reduced and affordable price.