The Top Ten Truths About Angels (Part Three)

This is the final segment of our series on angels. Have you learned anything new so far? Today, we provide an additional four truths about angels.

#4 Angels Do Not Marry- When talking about what our lives will be like in heaven, Jesus said, “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” That means angels do not tie the knot like we humans do. At one time that was not the case. In Hebrews 6, it says “The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they married any of them they chose.” Some speculate the “sons of God” refers to fallen angels.  Fallen or not, the offspring were called “Nephilim” and were part human, part angel. God wiped out the Nephilim and angel marriage when he destroyed the world by flood during the days of Noah.

#3 The “Angel of the Lord” Can Represent a Preincarnate Christ- While you think Christ first appeared in the manger, there are many accounts of the Angel of the Lord paying visits in the Old Testament. In Genesis 16:7-14, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar when she was on the run after being mistreated by her mistress, Sarah. In Genesis 22: 11-15, the Angel of the Lord shows up at Abraham’s doorstep and refers to God in the first person. In Exodus 3:4, The Angel/Messenger of the Lord appears to Moses in a flame in verse 2, and God speaks to Moses from the flame in verse 4. Jesus himself said in John 8:58, “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!” Jesus is also referred to as the Word that was there in the beginning of time.  Because God said that no one can see his face and live, (Exodus 33:20) one can assume that the second part of the Trinity was his messenger, “The Angel of the Lord” who made an occasional cameo in Biblical History.

#2 Angels will Usher in the End Times- Angels are on the front line in the last days. In Revelation there are seven churches mentioned at the end of the world, as we know it, and each have angels assigned to them. Revelation refers to the angels of the church of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. There is much speculation about whether these were spiritual beings or human messengers but because the Greek uses the same word “angelos” or “messenger” as it does when referring to other angels in the Bible, I believe these are real angels asked to give a message to the remaining churches. An angel will announce “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” when referring to the blueprint for the final days of the Earth. Only Jesus was found worthy to open the scrolls. In that day, thousands of angels, beyond count, will surround Jesus and praise him for his worthiness. (Revelation 5:11-14). They will also surround God’s throne and worship him in Revelation 7. The seven angels specifically assigned to stand before God will be given seven trumpets to announce each phase of the end times. (Revelation 8). There will also be seven angels with seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God that will be poured out on the earth. (Revelation 15-16). An angel will be used to defeat Satan, throwing him into an Abyss for a thousand years. (Revelation 19). It is an angel, sent by Jesus who gave John the prophecy found in Revelation. (Revelation 22:16).

#1 Angels are our Protectors- A Baylor University professor, Dr. Larry Lehr, was directing an ecological field school in Belize and was accompanied by 15 students. There were in a part of Belize that had no water or electricity so the group had to bathe in the river, about a mile and a half away. There was a 30-foot waterfall at the site. Dr. Lehr said everyone was upstream and he warned them not to go past a certain point, in the event the current carried them over the falls.  Dr. Lehr stayed nearest the falls to monitor the college kids so they wouldn’t get too close to trouble, when a shampoo bottle floated by. As he stepped into the middle of the current to retrieve it, the current swept him downstream with no way out. As Dr. Lehr tumbled over the falls, the force of the fall took the professor underwater and he could not surface. After about two minutes below the surface, he prayed that God would save him. As soon as he prayed, miraculously a giant hand grabbed him and pulled him up through the water. He found himself at the surface, head on the bank, gasping for air. He believes God sent an angel to save him that day, which Dr. Lehr found to be the only explanation.

But was this angel his personal guardian angel? Some refer to Matthew 18:10 as evidence that children have a personal angel. When talking about the little children, Jesus said, “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in Heaven.” What about adults? There is nothing in Scripture that points to our having our own personal angel; however there are countless angels that can make the rounds. In John’s vision of God’s throne in Revelation 5:11, he heard the voice of many angels, numbering “thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand. Ten Thousand times ten thousand is 100 million angels circling God’s throne. That‘s a lot of protectors. After Jesus endured temptation for 40 days in the wilderness, Mark 1:13 says the Son of God was with the wild animals and “angels attended him.” What a beautiful scene to imagine!

A wise minister I know once said, “Heaven could be one atom over.” Are God’s holy angels among us? What do you think?