When It’s All About Angels, It’s Not About God

Last updated on: November 19, 2018 at 4:30 am by Jack Wellman

When It’s All About Angels, It’s Not About God 2018-10-18T18:34:31-05:00 Jack Wellman

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Are there guardian angels? Should we be interested in angels, even praying to them?

Fascinated by Angels

I Googled the word “angel” and came up with almost 2 billion hits! So why do so many have an almost preoccupation with angels, but not seemingly with Christ? I actually know a couple of people who sometimes pray or ask that their angels go with them or pray for them to protect someone, but should we put our safety in the hands of angels, or in hands of our Creator? Of course, angels can be dispatched by God to act as His protective agents, but that is at His discretion and not ours, and it is not up to the angels either. Not an angel moves unless God first approves. The same could be said for Satan and his minions as they are restrained, but all too often we leave God out of the picture, and don’t pray to Him for His protection. Instead, we might appeal to angels, but this is a misplaced faith. I trust the Creator of the angels more than the angels themselves. It is to God that we pray and not to His angels. We pray directly to God through Christ and not through angels. So why then are there so many magazines, websites, books, movies, songs, paintings, and figurines about angels? Good question. Maybe we treat angels like ladders to heaven, knowing we have full access to God through them, but Jacob’s ladder tells a completely different story.

Jacob’s Ladder

On the way to see Jacob’s uncle Laban, Jacob “came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep” (Gen 28:11). It was there that he had a dream, and it says “he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it” (Gen 28:12). This is known as Jacob’s ladder, although Jacob wasn’t the source. This showed that Jacob had nearly the same access to God as did the angels, and that meant he had no reason to fear as he went and sought a wife in a different land. In this dream, the Lord stood above the ladder and told him, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Gen 28:15). The ladder and the angels, representing Jacob’s access to God, showed Jacob not only had God’s protection, but His promise too. Having angels in the dream may have been God’s way of telling Jacob that there is no reason to fear, but Jacob didn’t put his trust in the angels (or in the ladder), but in the sovereign God Who commanded them.

Angel Worship

There are actually people who worship angels and others who come close to it. Many others pray to their angels, but their reasons for this are beyond me. If you wanted something done for you, you’d likely call a company and ask for their services, but you wouldn’t flag down one of their trucks on the highway. They work only where they’re told, and so we need to call and schedule an appointment at their company headquarters. That’s because they’re under the authority of their supervisor and company. In the same way, angels are not free to do what they want, when they want. They cannot do anything without God’s approval. Very often, angels are sent as messengers, but they’re also sent to protect, however they don’t decide who and when it is they protect. God alone does. But today, there are those who actually think they have a “guardian angel,” although I can’t find that in the Bible. They pray to them daily and seek their blessing and protection, but the Apostle Paul warned against such things. He wrote, “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind” (Col 2:18), because they are “not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God” (Col 2:18-19). That Head is not an angel but Jesus Christ, so claiming you had a vision or seeing an angel is one thing, but we must hold fast to the faith that was once delivered (Jude 1:3). People have long since tried to sneak in and subvert the gospel (Jude 1:4), and I can tell you, having devotions to angels is not the gospel and it is not pleasing to God. In fact, it takes our eyes off of Christ.

Conclusion

Clearly, God does use angels to rescue us or protect us, but that doesn’t mean we try to get close to the angels. Two angels came to rescue Lot and his family in Sodom (Gen 19:1), but Lot never mentioned them again. We know that “God will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your way” (Psalm 91:11), but that doesn’t mean we pray to or worship angels. It’s not likely, but if we ever saw one, we’re commanded to not bow down to them. The angels of God always rebuke humans for bowing down to them. When the Apostle John bowed before an angel sent by God, he told him, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev 19:10). John must have forgotten because later, John says, “I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God” (Rev 22:9). That’s a fitting conclusion. Worship God, pray to God, and seek a close relationship with God. This is never said about the angels.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is a writer at Christian Quotes and also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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