THE ANGELIC REALM
INTRODUCTION
The bible points to the last days generation as being one filled with spiritual activity, but our primary focus must always be on the Lord Jesus Christ, rather than angels or created beings. Nevertheless, as we mature and walk more intimately with God, we should expect our spiritual sensitivity to the angelic and supernatural realms to increase.
If the Early Church needed help from God’s Spirit and His angelic host to accomplish their divine mandate, how much more do we in our generation, as we seek to advance the kingdom of God and bring in the great harvest!!
Without embracing the angelic and supernatural realms, we simply cannot achieve God’s purpose for this generation, and succeeding generations, upon the earth.
God has always had His men and women, both in the bible and throughout church history, who have been prepared to press in to His holy presence, and press through to the supernatural realm, to demonstrate the power of the kingdom to an unbelieving generation (eg Marie Woodworth Etter, John G Lake, William Branham, Smith Wigglesworth).
NOW IT’S OUR TURN!!!
Elders meeting > B/A 24 hours > On my knees “Well done…Next phase…” > “Loose miracles of every description…”
Our next phase is to ‘Walk in love and unity – the miraculous, supernatural, and angelic realms’
ANGELS
Angels are mentioned at least 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 times in the New Testament. Therefore, the Doctrine of Angels is a very important Christian doctrine!
The Angelic Realm describes the whole range of spirits that God has created, including both good and evil angels, and special categories such as cherubim, seraphim, and archangels.
How Did Angels Originate?
They were created by God.
Col 1v16-17 – For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together
Neh 9v6 – You alone are the Lord. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host
Psalm 148v2-5 – Praise Him all His angels…Let them praise the name of the Lord for He commanded and they were created
How Many Angels Are There?
Although the bible gives no definite figure we are told that the number of angles is very great.
Daniel 7v10 – A thousand thousands ministered to Him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him
Math 26v53 – Or do you think I cannot pray to My Father and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels (legion = 6,000)
Heb 12v22 – But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels
Angels do not die, therefore they do not decrease in number. And, if God wanted to, He could create more angels at any time.
What Do Angels Look Like?
Angels are essentially ministering spirits (Heb 1v14 – Are they not all ministering spirits…), and do not have physical bodies like humans.
Since angels are spirit beings they live in the invisible spirit realm. Elisha once prayed for God to open the eyes of his servant to see into the invisible realm (2 Kings 6v7).
Angels can take on the appearance of men when occasion demands.
Abraham welcome three angelic guests who appeared to be travellers (Gen 18).
Two angels went to Sodom where they were assumed to be simply visitors (Gen 19).
In Heb 13v2 it says “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing some have unwittingly entertained angels”
An angel can appear to be a man with unusual features. Daniel saw an angel who had “a face like lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, and his arms and feet like burnished bronze” (Dan 10v5-6).
Angels can appear in dazzling white and blazing glory (Math 28v2-4; Luke 24v4).
Angels can look like very unusual beings (Rev 4v6-8 – the four living creatures).
Angels can be gigantic (Rev 10v1-2 – And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land).
Some bible passages picture angels with wings (Isa 6v2-6).
In Psalm 91v4 it talks about “being covered with His feathers, and taking refuge under His wings”. Does God have feathers and wings or is this to do with angels?
In Daniel 9v21 it talks about angels flying (wings can be helpful to fly?).
But most biblical references say nothing about wings, and it’s obvious that angels can move around without them.
Angels in the bible are always fully grown adults. When people encounter angels a typical response would be to have a sense of fear and awe, or a sense of peace and well being, or an awareness of God’s presence, or an inner knowing that this is an angel of God.
Nowhere in the bible do angels appear as cute little cuddly cherubs - that we try to reach out and tickle because they are cute!!!
Are All Angels Good?
All angels were originally good and holy, enjoying the presence of God and the environment of heaven.
But, there was an angel in heaven called Lucifer, who most commentators agree, was absolutely beautiful and led the worship…UNTIL ONE DAY he decided he would exalt his throne above the throne of God
Isa 14v12-15 – How you are fallen from heaven O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. For you said in your heart – I will ascend into heaven – I will exalt my throne above the stars of God – I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north – I will ascend above the heights of the clouds – I will be like the Most High – Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit
At that moment Lucifer was cast out of heaven to the earth, with a third of the angels who followed him (Rev 12v4). From that day forward, Lucifer, who is now called Satan, set up his kingdom of darkness upon the earth to oppose God and His kingdom of light.
2 Cor 11v14 tells us that Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, so we need to keep our guard up, because not every angel is from God!
There is now a great unseen conflict raging in the spirit realm, beyond anything we can imagine. But it is not a fight between two equal and eternal forces. God, who created all beings, is still in charge, and once he has used these wicked angels to accomplish His purpose on earth, He will bring them all to a final defeat.
What Do Angels Do?
We can’t be sure whether every angel carries out the same tasks, or whether some of them specialize in certain areas. But the bible does speak about classes of angelic beings like ‘cherubim’ (Ez 1) and ‘seraphim’ (Isa 6). We also know the names of two archangels; ‘Michael’ (Dan 10v13; Jude 9) and ‘Gabriel’ (Dan 9v21; Luke 1v19, 26).
The unnamed angels who appear most often in the bible carry out a variety of tasks – all designed to serve God:-
• Worship – This is the main activity portrayed in heaven (Isa 6v1-3; Rev 4-5)
• Messengers – They serve as messengers to communicate God’s will to men. They helped reveal the law to Moses (Acts 7v52-53), and served as the carriers of much of the material in Daniel and Revelation
• Guiding – Angels gave instructions to Joseph about the birth of Jesus (Math 1-2), to the women at the tomb (Mark 16v5-7), to Philip (Acts 8v26), and to Cornelius (Acts 10v1-8)
• Providing – God has used angels to provide for physical needs such as food for Hagar (Gen 21v17-20), Elijah (1 Kings 19v6), and Christ after His temptation in the wilderness (Math 4v11)
• Protecting – Keeping God’s people out of physical danger, as in the case of Daniel’s three friends in the fiery furnace (Dan 3), and Daniel in the lion’s den (Dan 6). We all have at least two guardian angels to protect us from harm (Psalm 91v11-12). The bible tells us that one angel killed 185,000 Assyrians (2 Kings 19v35)
• Delivering – Getting God’s people out of danger once they’re in it. Angels released the apostles from prison (Acts 5), and repeated the process for Peter (Acts 12)
• Strengthening and Encouraging – Angels strengthened Jesus after His temptation (Math 4v11), encouraged the apostles to keep preaching after releasing them from prison (Acts 5v19-20), and told Paul that everyone would survive the impending shipwreck (Acts 27v23-25)
• Answering Prayer – God often uses angels as the means of answering the prayers of His people (Dan 9v20-24; Dan 10v10-12; Acts 12v1-17)
• Caring For Believers At The Moment Of Death – In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, we read that angels carried the spirit of Lazarus to ‘Abraham’s bosom’ when he died (Like 16v22)
CONCLUSION
God wants His church to walk in love and unity – and the miraculous, supernatural, and angelic realms – to advance His kingdom and bring in a great harvest on the earth
He is releasing angels to help us, but we need to ‘test everything and hold fast to what is good’ (1 Thess 5v21)
Does it glorify and honour Jesus? Does it agree with the Word of God? Does it bring a sense of God’s love and care? Will it produce kingdom fruit?
