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A Host of Angels. What Do They Have To Do With Us?

A Host of Angels. What Do They Have To Do With Us?

Last updated on: September 20, 2024 at 9:59 pm by Kathy King

A Host of Angels. What Do They Have To Do With Us? 2024-09-20T21:59:39-04:00 Kathy King

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Do not neglect to show kindness to strangers; for, in this way, some, without knowing it, have had angels as their guests. Hebrews 13:2

Picture this, 1989, I was a little one sitting in church. Mom had warned me that I needed to be quiet during church because we were worshiping God. We had a little orchestra, organ player and a beautiful grand piano. We started singing Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty. One verse struck me as a child. Cherubim and Seraphim falling down before thee. Which wert and art and evermore shall be. Cherubim? Seraphim? What are those? I can’t remember if I asked my mom or a Sunday School teacher what they were; I do remember being shown from the great big Bible. You know, the one with gold on the pages. It was a Gilded Bible. There in that Bible I was shown a tiny little Angel with tiny wings. A Cherub. She couldn’t find me a picture of a Seraphim. I was just told they were Angels.

Angels among us

Recently I wrote an article asking the question about Angels. Are we entertaining Angels unaware? I surmised that if Lucifer can muck around harassing people and the demons can goad people; then yes, Angels are indeed among us. After writing that article, I decided I was going to do some research about Angels. What I found blew my mind. I hope that in sharing with you my studies you can have some hope. We should never worship Angels, they were created to serve God on High. They are sent to comfort, warn, guide and communicate God’s message. Angels do have a free will. I found that very interesting. The scripture states that there are fallen angels. They chose the darkness rather than the light.

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Cherubim

Cherubim were first mentioned in Genesis after the fall. God placed Cherubim at the entrance of the garden with a flaming sword. Satan was a Cherub, that makes sense. One of their roles was to worship God. Sine scholars disagree with the interpretation that the fall of Lucifer was The King of Tyre. I choose to believe that this is indeed describing him. The role of a Cherubim is to guard things that are holy both in Heaven and on Earth. Cherubim can have the face of a man, the face of an ox, the face of a lion and the face of the eagle. They have 4 wings, two that stretch upward and two that cover their bodies. They have human hands and move like a flash of lightning. They were on the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament. Cherubim are the visual manifestation of the majesty and glory of God.

Seraphim

Above the throne of God the Bible describes the Seraphim. God’s train of his robe fills the throne room. I find that to be absolutely glorious. Adorning the Seraphim are 6 wings. 2 wings that cover their face, 2 that help them to fly and 2 that cover their feet. As they sit at the throne they sing praises to God. As they sing their praises the doorposts and thresholds shake and the temple fills with smoke. This brings to mind the absolute majesty of hearing a pipe organ. I often wonder if the Seraphim was the inspiration for Bach’s organ preludes and fugues. One day I was sitting in Grossmünster Church in Zürich, Switzerland. As I heard the massive pipe organ play I instantly thought of Angels shaking the threshold with the might power of the pipes. In Hebrew the word for Seraphim is Saraph which means to consume with fire. They are the highest ranking Angels along with the Cherubim. They have a fiery passion to complete God’s work.

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Archangels

The word Archangel comes from a Greek word, Archangelos, meaning “chief angel.” Archangels are spiritual beings rather than corporeal. They possess power and glory. The Bible mentions The Archangel Michael more than once. He was in the book of Daniel as a task of overseeing the Jewish people. I find the passage in Jude 1:9 absolutely fascinating. The Archangel Michael was quarreling with Lucifer over Moses’ body. In his battle, he called on the Lord to rebuke Lucifer. One of the commentaries that I read pointed out that if The Archangel Michael called on the Lord to rebuke Lucifer, shouldn’t we in our humanity do the same? Some scholars lump The Angel Gabriel in the same category as Michael. Gabriel visited Mary to let her know that she would bear Jesus. Gabriel also visited Zechariah to let him know his wife Elizabeth was going to have John the Baptist. I’m trying to stick to the Christian perspective of Angels, but I would be remiss if I did not share that in the Hebrew Bible both Michael and Gabriel are listed as the guardians of Israel. A beautiful scripture and song comes to my mind concerning the Angels and Israel. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

Angels

Angels have been called guides in the Scripture. In Exodus, one of the last plagues was the Angel of Death. He passed over the houses whose doors were covered with the blood of the Lamb, (a definite foreshadowing of Jesus). Angels are messengers, judges, and guides. When Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac and Angel of the Lord stopped him from doing so. In Hebrew the word for Angel is Malach which means messenger. Angels bring God’s message to us.

Fallen Angels

In 2 Peter 2 the Scripture says that God did not spare the Angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness until the judgment. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over the present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. What does that mean? Our battles are not always on the surface, but rather spiritual in nature. We must be alert and sober of mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. I’ve read several commentaries about Fallen Angels. Some scholars believe they are demons, others disagree.

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More about fallen angels

When Lucifer was cast from Heaven, he took those with him who rebelled against God. The scripture does say that some are bound in chains as I shared earlier. In Matthew 25 Jesus was speaking of the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. When Jesus comes, He will separate His sheep (his followers) and the goats (those who do not follow Christ. When that separation comes, Jesus will tell those who did not follow Him to depart from Him, they will be cast into the place reserved for the Devil and his Angels. Some scholars believe that the Nephilim are fallen Angels. They are mentioned twice in the Old Testament. In Genesis they are called the “sons of God.” Genesis 6:1-4.

Heavenly Hosts

When Jesus was born he was announced with a Heavenly host. The Bible does not mention Angels in the past tense but rather as still existing. I Thessalonians tells us that Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with His mighty Angels. What is a Heavenly Host? It is an Army, a very big Army of Angels. Daniel 7:9, 10 ““I kept watching until thrones were set in place and the Ancient of Days sat down. His clothing was white like snow, and the hair of his head was like clean wool. His throne was flames of fire; its wheels were a burning fire. 10 A stream of fire was flowing and going out from before him. A thousand thousands kept ministering to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The Court took its seat, and books were opened. NWT Revelation 5:11 “And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, …”

Do we have Guardian Angels?

The Bible does not explicitly say this, but I am sure they walk among us. In Psalm 91 “For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.” God has commanded angels to guard you.” The New Living Translation states, “For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.” I take from these scriptures that God watches over us.

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Why Angels?

To reiterate, we should never worship Angels. They are a reflection of God. Rather, I point you all back to The Weymouth Translation: “For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world–the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare.”

Why did Paul write this?

After his reflection about the Battle, what does he tell us to do next? Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

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God wants us to know Him

Finally, God wants us to be aware of His Greatness and Power. The Angels are a Reflection of His Might. In one of my articles next week I will discuss the theory of “The Angel of the Lord” was Jesus in the Old Testament. Thank you all dear readers for taking the time to read my musings.

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