“Praise the Lord, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.” Psalm 103:20
Angels are spiritual beings created by God to carry out his work on earth. They have supernatural powers, but not divine, so are not to be worshipped. Since angels are God’s servants, he has delegated certain duties to specific angels. These include: carrying messages; protection; offering encouragement; guidance; executing punishment; patrolling earth; and fighting evil. Revelation 7:11, 12 states ultimately the main role of angels will be to offer continuous praise to God.
Some Scriptures revealing God’s messengers are: Acts 12:7 when an angel of the Lord rescued Peter from prison; Matthew 2:13 an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream saying how to protect baby Jesus by fleeing to Egypt; Acts 27:23, 24 an angel stood beside Paul on the boat during the storm giving instructions and encouragement.
God is present, listening, watching, and comforting us even under times of extreme stress and fear. Psalm 34:7 relates how God guards and delivers us. Other examples of guardian angels are found in: I Kings19:5-7 when Elijah was given food and water by an angel to strengthen him for his long journey; Daniel 6:22, “’My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouth of the lions;’” Matthew 18:10 says certain angels are assigned to watch over children and have direct access to God; and Luke 16:22,23 in the story of the rich man and the beggar covered with sores. Angels carried the beggar to Abraham. God saved the man who suffered but sent the rich man to hell.
Sometimes on special occasions angels are visible. Numbers 22:31-35 tells the story of Balaam’s donkey seeing the angel and saving Balaam’s life. God opened Balaam’s eyes after the third time he beat his donkey to see the angel standing with his sword drawn. Only then did Balaam confess his sin and receive the angel’s message. In Luke 2:9-14 we hear, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’” This angel’s song, also called “Gloria”, has become a traditional Christmas anthem.
Satan, an angel, rebelled against God who threw him out of heaven. We are told in Genesis 3:1 how Satan disguised himself as a serpent. Since Satan is a bad angel, he has definite limitations – less power and authority than good angels. Satan also tempted Jesus in Matthew 4:6 quoting words from Psalm 91:11, 12. Satan again tempted Jesus asking Jesus to bow down and worship him. Jesus replied in Matthew 4:10, 11 “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”
The devil is still at work today trying to tempt people with money, material goods, and power. We must abide by those words in Matthew 4:10, “’Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
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