WHAT ABOUT ANGELS?

Learn about the purpose of angels according to scripture.

Angels seem to be big news lately--accounts of people being helped by angels, books on how to get in touch with your guardian angel, even movies about angels playing baseball. Several television networks have carried magazine-type programs featuring angel art and supposed interactions between angels and people. Then there are the popular TV series in which angels feature prominently.

While most of this is fascinating and it may sell books or movie tickets, it's important to remember the purpose basically is entertainment, or at the most to provoke speculation and interest in spiritual things. Very few of the popular ideas about angels have any biblical basis. So it is important to know what the Bible says if we are to understand this aspect of God's divine plan.

Angels are spiritual beings created by God (Psalm 148:2, 5) and are subject to God's will and his plan. They are not the spirits of people who have died or of people waiting to be born; rather they are a distinct order of creation.

Angels have three purposes:

1. to praise and worship God (Hebrews 1:6)

2. to serve as messengers to human beings (Luke 1:11-17, 26-38; Acts 10:3-6)

3. to take care of God's people by:

o providing and protecting (1 Kings 19:5-8, Acts 12:7-10)

o giving guidance (Acts 27:23-24)

o carrying out God's will (Genesis 24:7)

o punishing God's enemies (2 Kings 19:35)

We must not think that angels exist to "help" God. God does not need help in the way that humans do. But God entrusts some of his work to these heavenly beings (Matthew 26:53, 28:2).

Are angels still involved in our lives today? The Bible does not indicate they will cease to exist or to function in the world. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that most of the instances of angelic involvement in the affairs of people recorded in the Bible occurred at times when God's people were under heavy attack from the forces of evil or needed special strength. Angels were active in the early days of the church when special help was needed for it to become established. Angels are also depicted as being involved in the unfolding of the events related to the "last days." With the full revelation of God in Christ, with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, and with the complete written Word of God available to us now, we might reasonably expect less involvement of angels.

While our fascination with angelic beings is appropriate, God never intended us to become dependent on angels. He created us God-dependent, not angel-dependent. Angels do not interfere with our choices or keep us from using our free will. Perhaps the best approach is to be open to God's leadership in our lives, no matter how it may come, remembering always to test any spirit by the measuring rod of Christ and God's revelation in the Bible (1 John 4:1-3).

For further information about angels, read Angels: God's Secret Agents, by Billy Graham, published by Word.