Transcript
A (0:08)
Welcome to another week on things unseen. I thought that since Christmas is almost on us, this would be a good time to reflect for a few days on the subject of angels. Here's a couple of interesting pieces of trivia. The word angel appears in the Bible three times as often as the word apostle. And here's another. By my reckoning, at least two thirds of the traditional Christmas carols refer to angels. And yet, apart from a side glance at Easter time, we give very little consideration to angels. But they punctuate the story of our Lord's life and his ministry, don't they? They appear at the beginning in connection with his birth. They appear again at the end in connection with his passion and his resurrection. And of course, they'll appear again when they accompany him, when he returns in glory. Their presence actually underlines his glory, but also it underlines the fact that he is their king as well as our king. It's a bit like England and Scotland, isn't it? Two peoples with one and the same king.
A (1:17)
But what are angels? And what do they do? And what is their significance for us? These are some of the questions we'll explore in the next few days. So let's think first of all about the basic question. What is an angel? Well, the words that are used in the Bible in the Old Testament, malak, and in the New Testament, angelos, both mean messenger. In the Old Testament, the word actually refers usually to human messengers. And when it refers to a heavenly messenger, it's dominantly to the angel of the Lord. And the angel of the Lord is obviously a theophany, a physical manifestation of the presence of the Lord Himself. Many Christians have actually believed that the angel of the Lord is specifically a christophany, that is a pre incarnate manifestation of the Son of God. Although this identification isn't really picked up in the New Testament. In the New Testament, however, the word angelos usually refers to heavenly beings.
A (2:27)
These angels are created beings. More specifically, According to Colossians 1:16, they were created by Christ. They're heavenly beings. That is, we Christians actually believe in extraterrestrials.
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Their spirits. And yet they're capable of spatial extension, so they can appear in physical form. And we even know the names of two of them, Gabriel and Michael.
A (2:58)
And this raises an interesting question. Are angels persons? Well, my own view is if we can use that term of both God and man, then by extension, we can probably also use it of angels. They certainly seem to have the characteristics of persons. They're rational and volitional beings. And there are hints that they experience affections like joy. In addition, they speak, they direct, they obey, and they serve. And they show interest in earthly activities. And they worship.