Angels Today
Are You There?
As we approach the end of this month, I want to leave on a more practical note as we study the character and nature of angels and demons. Over the previous weeks, we have seen how these beings act, what they are, and even how much power and control they ultimately have. With all of this being acknowledged and understood, I now want to look at the application of what we have gathered. Mainly, what does all this mean for us today? If we know what angels are, what they do, and the power they possess, is all of this still applicable in our current day and age? When we look at the New Testament and our previous study of these beings, we can see that even while there is no formula to 100% guarantee angelic activity, there is also no reason to rule out why it is impossible to witness angelic activity in this day and age either. Dr. Wayne Grudem brings this to light in God’s Word. He notes, “The author of Hebrews encourages his readers, none of whom are apostles or event first-generation believers associated with the apostles, that they should continue to show hospitality to strangers, apparently with the expectation that they too might sometimes entertain angels without realizing it.” This is seen exactly in Hebrews 13:2 “2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Grudem concludes his thought by mentioning, “There seems, therefore, no compelling reason to rule out the possibility of angelic appearances today.” While the appearance of an angel may be rare today, we can’t forget the ministries in which angels work that Dr. Richard Mayhue told us about earlier in this study. If angels really do work for our Lord in the ministries of Christians, the Church, unbelievers, and the nations, then even if we don’t physically see angelic activity, we can at least assume that they are still at work. Let’s break down these areas a bit further to see just how active these messengers of God may be in our day-to-day lives.
Worship and Good Deeds
Look at what the author of Hebrews says about angels in chapter 12:22-23 “22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,” We again know from previous study that angels exist to help fulfill God’s purposes in certain ministries and to glorify His name with untainted worship in the heavens. Yet, how often do you think of worshiping with the angels on a Sunday morning? When you sing, of course, you are doing so in a manner that honors and glorifies God, but do you even think about the ‘myriads of angels’ that join in song with us as we worship His name? Now that’s a beautiful thought. Not only do angels help fulfill God’s ministries on this earth, but they worship the Lord just as we do. Even if these acts and beings aren’t visible to our naked eye, it is extremely comforting to know that when you worship, you never worship alone. Even when we do good acts and no one sees them, we, just like the author of Hebrews, can be reminded that we may be entertaining angels without even realizing it. We must take into consideration that last line. Even when we don’t realize it, God’s angels may be at work. We don’t need to be 100% observant of the works of an angel to know for certain if an angelic activity has taken place, because some acts may be outside our own realization.
Interaction & Protection
Furthermore, as rare as it may seem, angels have taken the appearance of humans in the New Testament as well. While this again is uncommon, we have no scriptural reason to believe that this is impossible today. Dr. Grudem puts it beautifully when he mentions, “We should be eager to minister to the needs of others whom we do not know, all the while wondering if someday we will reach heaven and meet the angel whom we helped when he appeared temporarily as a human being in distress here on earth.” Again, I am not saying this is likely to happen, but just imagine the joy and wonder that would overcome you if you knew that you got to interact with and help one of God’s holy angels. What an amazing yet humbling thought. As great as it would be to help an angel, the more likely probability is that angels have helped us. As we can also recall from our previous study, one of the sole responsibilities of angels is to protect those whom God calls them to protect. Listen to what the psalmist says in Psalm 91:11-12 “11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. 12 They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.” Now I am not arguing that every time some minor incident seems to avoid you angelic activity was involved. However, I’m not saying that it wasn’t either.
Dr. Grudem I believe, has the best response to this. “Should we not therefore thank God for sending angels to protect us at such times? It seems right that we should do so.” Regardless of whether or not we know if an angelic activity was involved in a particular situation or not, thanking and praising God who is in control of all things, is never a wrong answer. So in short, I believe we have reason to trust that while it may not be exactly identical to scripture, angels still work today. We may not come face-to-face with an angel or know for certain that an angel has intervened on our behalf, but we can trust that God still uses these amazing creatures for all of His appointed ministries that still take place on this earth. And even though these actions might be outside of our realization at times, may we never forget to stop and thank God for these beings that further His cause, worship His name, and protect me and you.
Sources
[1] “Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages., www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 2023.
[2] Grudem, W. (1994). Systematic Theology : An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA79455700
[3] MacArthur, John & Mayhue, Richard. A Systemic Summary of Bible Truth: Biblical Doctrine. Wheaton, Crossway, 2017
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