Transcript
A (0:08)
This week on Things Unseen. Since we're in the Advent season, we've been thinking about angels. And when we think of these amazing creatures, it's kind of ludicrous that they've been portrayed almost as though they were children's toys. Makes you wonder if that's been a tactic of Satan to ridicule the angels and thus to ridicule God. So we've been trying to reflect on who these heavenly creatures are and what they do.
A (0:37)
Of course, we know that in general terms, they're servants of God in establishing his purposes. Psalm 103:20 puts it this they are mighty beings who accomplish God's will. Yes, mighty beings. Think of their power. They destroyed Sodom. Think of the angel of death's visitation in the Exodus. Or in a different way, think of the angel who opened prison doors to rescue Peter from prison, or those who rolled away the stone before the tomb of Jesus. But what I think is especially interesting is the way these heavenly beings seem to appear at especially strategic points in biblical history. Here are some of at creation according to Job, chapter 38 at the time of the fall in Genesis chapter 3 in establishing the covenant line and family in the life of Abraham in Genesis 19 and in the case of Isaac as well, or in the Exodus, in the angel of the Lord appearing to Moses and then leading the people in the pillar of cloud and fire. And then the angels appear in connection with the giving of the law according to Galatians 3:19. And then they are there in the entrance into the promised land in Exodus 23 and again in the days of the Judges, the lives of Gideon and Samson. And then later we meet with angels in the establishing of the prophetic ministry in Elijah and Elisha, and then in the visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel, and again in the experience of Daniel at the time of the exile. And then, of course, as we turn to the New Testament, we meet with angels at the birth of our Lord Jesus and in his ministry, his death, his resurrection, the promise of his coming, and in the experience of the apostles. And then we read of them in the Book of Revelation, in its description of the conflict between the powers of darkness and the power of God. And then finally, we read about them in connection with the return of our Lord Jesus.
A (2:51)
And when we trace this through the narrative of Scripture, something begins to become clear. No doubt the angels are constantly at work serving the Lord in many different ways. But these specific angelic appearances are far from haphazard. What they have in common is actually similar to what unites the apparently spasmodic outbreak of the supernatural that takes place in miracles. The appearance of angels is not a constant everyday occurrence any more than the occurrence of miracles. They seem to be limited to specific periods in the story of the kingdom of God. And I've listed some of them. And their common factor is that these were all periods of strategic defense and or advance of the kingdom of God. I think it's interesting that in the book of Daniel they're described as the watchers. They're watching out for God's kingdom and watching out for God's people in times of crisis or in moments of great advance.