|
|
|
Return to You and Your Beliefs Series Return to Wednesday Bible Study Series "You
and Your Beliefs"--Angelology, part 1 Tonight we want to explore a doctrine we
seldom discuss. That's unfortunate,
for there at least 255 verses in the Bible that refer to this topic.
I’m talking about angels.
Discuss: Why do we seldom
talk about angels?
C. S. Lewis wrote in The Screwtape
Letters, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race
can fall about the devils. One is to
disbelieve in their existance. 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." (3)
We want to spend 2 weeks on the Doctrine of Angels.
--Tonight: Angels
--Next Week: Satan and the
demons Tonight:
What do you believe about Angels? The
Bible answers several key questions for us… I.
Who are Angels? The
name means “messengers.” Let’s
answer this question from two perspectives… A.
Categories of Angelic Beings (Heb 12:22; I Pt 3:22; Rom 8:38) Heb
12:22 “But you have come to 1
Pet 3:22 “…who has gone into heaven and is
at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to
him.”
Apparently, not all angels are the same.
We find the following designations…
1. Dan 12:1 “At
that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise.”
2. Seraphim (Isa 6:2)
Q: What is their function?
3. Cherubim (Gen 3:24) Gen 3:23-24
“So
the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which
he had been taken. 24 After
he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim
and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of
life.”
4. Principalities, Powers,
Thrones, Dominions, Authorities (Rom 8:38) Rom 8:38-39
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able
to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eph 6:11-12
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against
the devil’s schemes. 12 For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” B.
Characteristics of Angels (see Bancroft, 317)
Packer
states, “They are intelligent moral agents, not embodied or ordinarily
visible, although they are able to show themselves to humans in what appears as
a physical form (Gen. 18:2–19:22; John 20:10-14; Acts 12:7-10). They do not
marry, and they are not subject to death (Matt. 22:30; Luke 20:35-36). They can
move from one point in space to another, and many of them can congregate in a
tiny area (Luke 8:30, where the reference is to fallen angels).”[1]
Let’s note some specific characteristics.
Angels are…
1. Created Beings (Ps 148:2,
5)
Q: Why is it vital to affirm
angels were created?
2. Personal Beings (II Sam
14:20)--intelligent, voluntary, active
3. Unmarriageable Beings (Mt
22:30)
4. Deathless Beings (Lk
20:35-36) Q: What
does it mean to “die?” It means
to cease to exist. A created dog
will cease to exist once it dies. But
not angels. A created angel will
always exist. What about humans?
Though we die physically, we will always exist somewhere.
5. Swift Beings (Mt 26:53)
6. Powerful Beings (Ps
103:20)
7. Glorious Beings (Is 6:2;
Lk 9:26) Discuss: What
effect should this knowledge of the angels have on us? Warning:
Some worship angels. See II.
Why do Angels exist? We
find two reasons mentioned in the Scriptures (there may be more). A.
Messengers of God (Heb 1:14) Heb 1:14 “Are
not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit
salvation?” Discuss:
How do angels serve God’s people? Think
of biblical examples… B.
Perpetual worshipers of God (Rev 4) We see two different kinds of angelic beings
in the heavenly scene of Revelation 4. Note
what they are doing…
--Four living creatures (6-8)
--24 elders (9-11)—these may be angels or humans
Note: They refuse to be
worshiped. (Rev 22:9)
Discuss: What do these III.
What do Angels do? A.
In the Old Testament 1. "The
Angel of the Lord" revealed God's Word (to Abraham, Gen 17; to Moses, Ex
3:2, and see Acts 7:30, 35, 38, 53)
2. Carried out God's Judgment
(Isa 37:36)
3. Spiritual Warfare (Zech
1:12-14; 3:1ff; Dan 9:21; 10:13) B.
In the New Testament
1. Ministered in Jesus' Life
a. In His Miraculous
Conception (Matt 1:20)
b. In His Temptation in the
Wilderness (Matt 4:11)
c. In Gethsemene (Lk 22:43)
d. Rolled the Stone away
(Matt 28:2)
2. Minister to Christians
(Heb 1:14)
a. Rejoice when sinners
repent (Lk 15:10)
b. Directing (Philip, Acts
8:26)
c. Protecting (Peter, Acts
12:7ff; Paul, Acts 27:23) Discuss: Why
is it important to remember this is narrative literature?
3. Other activities
a. Watch Christians (I Cor
4:9; I Pt 1:12; I Cor 11:10) b. Carry
out God's Judgment (on Herod, Acts 12:23; Christ could have called to deliver
Him, Mt 26:53)
c. Shall be Judged by
Christians (I Cor 6:3) Discuss:
Key questions... --Do we have a guardian angel?
Is there biblical support for this? Perhaps Matt 18:10
““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.”
--Should we talk to the angels? No.
--What part do angels have in our lives? |