Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert and art and evermore shalt be.
- "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty " by Reginal Heber
Angels in Scripture: Fearsome Warriors of God
Angels aren't very often how we picture them. Popular culture paints them as cute little babies with wings or maybe young men in glowing robes. In the Bible they are described differently. The mission of angels, more often than not, is as warriors. Often they are bringers of judgment like those we read about in Psalm 78:49 when God sent "angels of destruction" upon the Egyptians.
Cherubim: Throne Bearers of God
Our first glimpse of angels in the Bible is in Genesis 3: 24. In Genesis they guard the Garden of Eden from man with a flaming sword. The angels described here are cherubim. The description of them found in Ezekiel isn't really how I spent most of my life thinking they looked. Cherubim look pretty intimidating, almost scary.
Cherubim are described in Ezekiel 10. They have four faces, one like a man, a cherub, lion and an eagle and each one has four wings. Two of their wings covered their body and two they used to fly with. Under their wings was the form or likeness of a human hand. The job of cherubim was to be a throne bearer for God, to worship Him, and to remind His people of God's presence among them.
Seraphim: Proclaiming God's Holiness
In Isaiah 6:1-3, we read about another type of angelic being, Seraphim. Seraphim attend God's throne. They are above it. Their role is to show the utter and complete holiness of God. Seraphim have 6 wings: 2 cover their face, 2 cover their feet and 2 are used to fly with. As they fly they say:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
Angels as Messengers and Protectors
Angels with swords are also described in Numbers 22:31 when Balaam sees the Angel of the Lord standing in his way with a drawn sword. And in Chronicles 21:16 David also saw the Angel of Lord with a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem.
What a fearful thing to see. Balaam's response was to "fall flat on his face" as was David and the elders. I wonder if we could see an angel of the Lord with a sword outstretched over our own city or our nation, how would we feel? How would we react?
Angelic Roles in Spiritual Warfare
In Daniel 10:13, angels are described as fighting literal battles with the forces of evil. The prince of Persia fights in this passage against Michael the archangel and then later in the chapter in verse 20-21 Daniel records that the Angel Gabriel tells Daniel he has to return to fight with the prince of Persia and when he leaves the prince of Greece will come. These are not humans the angel is fighting against, but demonic forces.
At the time this was written in 536 BC , two years after the Jewish exiles returned to Israel to begin work on the temple, the Persians (modern day Iran) were in control and in turn the Persians would be conquered by the Greeks. In response to Daniel's prayer God sent an angel. Gabriel was only able to reach Daniel because Michael the archangel, "your prince" as Gabriel calls him, came to his aide.
Angels in Revelation: Instruments of God's Judgment
In Revelation, we see angels carrying out the plans of God during the time of the Tribulation. In Revelation 7:1, John sees four angels holding back the four winds of the earth. In Revelation 8-11, God commands, and the seven angels who stand before Him obey by sounding their trumpets seven times in judgement on the earth. Then these angels are told in chapter 16 to "pour out the bowls of wrath" on the earth.
The Mission of Angels
The Bible tells us the angels of God have many other responsibilities. They worship before God with joy, but they also have many jobs directly related to humans. Angels minister to humans in many ways, but not to all humans. Only to those people who "will inherit salvation", to true Christians (Hebrews 1:14).
According to the Bible angels are obedient to God's commands. They act in accordance with God's will. They
encourage us (Matthew 4:11, Acts 27: 23-24)
protect us (Daniel 6:22)
are sent as answers to prayer (Acts 5: 17-21 and 12: 5-7)
strengthen us (Luke 22: 43)
deliver those who fear God (Psalm 34:7)
are messengers (Genesis 19:1 and 22: 11-22)
are joyful in the presence of God (Hebrews 12:22)
go among us, often unrecognized (Hebrews13:2)
praise and worship God before His throne (Isaiah 6: 1-3)
The Worship of Angels in Heaven
One of my favorite passages of the Bible is Revelation 5: 11-12. What a glorious picture this is of myriads of angels before the throne of God praising the "Lamb who was slain". This is what they say:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
Enjoy "Worthy is the Lamb" by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.
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