Michaelmas

Jesse Jacobsen

Time-stamp: "Thu Sep 22 11:28:41 2005"

Praise to God for the Holy Angels

There are mysterious things about the world around us that may never be known by man. Science has discovered a lot, to be sure, but there are limits to its usefulness. God has revealed things in His Word that we could never have known otherwise. There are also things He has not revealed, for which we will have to wait until we reach eternal life in heaven.

The study of magic has always been an attraction for people, because it promises control over secret and supernatural powers. There are stories from many places about the use of magic — some of them pretty good stories. But in the real world, in our actual lives, God wants us to stay away from such things. He hasn't said that magic does not exist. He said that it's not for His children. That means only God's enemies will chase after magical secrets in real life.

But it's still enticing, isn't it? Because in fact, magic does exist. What is it? It's just a name we give to powers beyond our capabilities, or beyond our comprehension. The power to make an airplane fly might have been considered magic in the middle ages. And the powers that God created in His angels, as well as His own infinite powers, will always be magical to us. There are also dark powers, because there are fallen angels who are enemies of God. It's for good reason that we have been warned not to pursue magic.

But today is Michaelmas. We are not here to pursue the knowledge of powers that have been forbidden to mankind. Instead, we are here tonight to consider — at least in part — the angels themselves. Just as many have been drawn to the study of magic, many have been drawn to angel lore. God has told us quite a bit. So we proclaim our praises to God for His holy angels. Our text is:

Matthew 18:10–11



“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.”
What brings angels to our attention is not so much the fact that they live in heaven and serve in God's presence. There are many wonderful things in heaven, but angels actually come to earth. In fact, they are sent to earth. They come at the command of God to do His will.

We may not have noticed angels here on earth, but they are here nonetheless. One of their powers is that they can be invisible, and they can appear in various forms. In the case of Gabriel, who appeared to Mary, she recognized him as an angel right away. But Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”

Since we know that, it would seem likely that we've all seen an angel from time to time, or at least seen the work of an angel. This is a very exciting prospect for us, because we're talking about powers beyond the things of this world. There have been at least two TV shows based upon the supposed activities of angels, and they were very popular. Both shows I remember had it right that angels come from heaven, but just about everything else was speculation. Some of it even contradicted what the Bible says about angels.

So let's back up and ask: how do angels come to earth? What is the link between heaven and earth that makes this possible? It's not something you'll find on television. But you will find it in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. Remember Jacob's ladder? It was a stairway from earth to heaven. But it wasn't meant for Jacob to use, or his life story would have been different. In his vision of that ladder, we read, “Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” His dream had a meaning, and we see it interpreted in the Gospel of John. Jesus was speaking to one of His disciples, and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Angels travel between earth and heaven upon a special ladder provided by God, and that ladder is Jesus Christ. How this works out technically, we do not know. Yet this is the real truth about angels. What does it mean?

Jesus is God become Man. He is the one who made the atoning sacrifice that brought peace between God and Man. That is why He is the Lord's Anointed: it was His work and His purpose. Without Him, we are only rebellious sinners even in our best moments. Without Him, we are not only attracted to the study of magic, but are ruled by the powers of wickedness on earth. Without Him, we put our will before God's will, and that's sin. But in Him do we have forgiveness of sins before God. In Him, we are justified — declared righteous in God's sight. Now, Jesus did not change who we are. Instead, He died for our sins, and has given us the credit for His life.

So it is on the basis of the peace that Jesus has won that God sends His angels to earth to do His will.

God's will for mankind can be boiled down to two things. First, He wants everyone to hear the message about Jesus Christ, believe it, and through that faith to be justified for eternal life in heaven. To accomplish this, He has sent His messengers — including angels — to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ. Gabriel's announcement to Mary may be the most memorable of all. But there are also the angels who spoke and sang to the shepherds, and the ones who spoke to Zecharias, the father of John the Baptist and to Joseph, the husband of Mary. Angels brought God's comforting message to many others too, some of them prophets, and others regular folk.

Connected with that message, some angels were sent to defend God's people. One time the prophet Elisha prayed that God would reveal His angels who were ready to defend His people, and his servant looked around and saw that the mountain held an army from God. It was an angel of God who provided a cake baked on coals and a jar of water to the prophet Elijah, as he lay in despair under a broom tree. And in the course of His anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus himself found help in the angels sent from heaven.

But the other part of God's will for mankind is the terrible consequence of rejecting Him. Of course, all mankind faced God's anger before Jesus intervened. But ever since God first promised a Savior, there have been some who have disowned that Savior. Entire cities have turned to wickedness. Some were destroyed in God's judgment. When Pharaoh had hardened his heart for the last time, God's angel of death visited that land to kill every firstborn son. In the same way, death is what awaits all who reject Jesus Christ — death and the fire prepared for the devil and the other fallen angels.

Judgment is unpopular. It's intolerant of evil. Many tell us that everyone must tolerate evil. But human beings are not the judges of the world. God alone judges. He judges the evil that has infected His Creation. He even judges the doctrine of those who want to follow Him. Sometimes He sends His angels to carry out His judgment. As individual Christians, we can only recognize His judgment. We can't carry it out. But God's angels sometimes do.

This also means that the angels fight the forces of evil that would threaten God's children. If it were not for the vigilance of God's angels, our lives would be a misery, and we would be constantly maimed, tortured, and killed. God could certainly protect us with His naked power, but He sends His angels instead. Through them, God protects us from the power of the old evil foe. You see, Satan and the other fallen angels hate us almost as much as they hate God. Satan helped to murder the Son of God, thinking he had won something. Only He lost, because the death of Jesus was the end of death itself for all who believe in Him. Jesus frustrated His enemies by rising again, and the fullness of His victory will be seen when we all rise again like He did. This is certain to happen. But Jesus' love for us has made the devil hate us all the more. He attacks Jesus by attacking His Church. And no wonder, because when Satan looks at you and me, he sees human flesh and blood — the very same kind of flesh and blood that belongs to the Son of God.

But the devil is also judged by God. He has been sentenced, and literally damned to hell. So God's holy angels stand between His Church on earth and the powers of darkness. We have nothing to fear from Satan, because a mighty army is defending us with the all-powerful Word of God. What a comfort to us that the angels of heaven have been sent to earth by God to do His will. What a comfort that they come to serve Him on the ladder of our Savior Jesus Christ! Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Listen online at www.grace-els.org.

This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.