Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

We’re starting a brand new series today called Angels & Demons. In this series, we’re going to dig deep into God’s Word and see what it says about the spiritual realm. This week, we’re going to explore what the Bible tells us about angels. Next week, we’ll listen to what God’s Word says about demons.

For some of you, this series is going to feel a little weird. All this talk about the supernatural might feel awkward to you. Maybe you don’t like to think about it. Maybe you don’t believe in it. But, just like anything else, we have to honestly evaluate what the Bible says about this. If you view the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, then you have to view whatever the Bible says as the truth of God.

This series is also going to feel a little different because it’s going to be pretty heavy on teaching. I’m going to devote a lot of time to teaching and explaining what the Bible tells us about angels and demons. There are so many misconceptions about the spirit world that I want to be sure you understand the Bible as clearly as possible. As always, there is practical application for this truth in our lives. But we’re still going to be a little teaching heavy over the next couple of weeks.

Now, let’s get after it. Today, we’re opening the Word of God to see what He wants to teach us about angels.

Angels are a hot topic today. They are the subject of books, TV shows, movies, songs, etc. You can decorate your house with all kinds of angel figurines. You can slap a bumper sticker on your car, claiming that your guardian angel is watching over you. Truth be told, angels are big business. A lot of secular companies make a lot of money off the concept of angels.

Our purpose today is to cut through all that hype and get at the truth. You need to know that most of the stuff you see and read about angels isn’t right. It doesn’t square with Scripture.

Now some of you don’t believe in angels at all. You might believe in God, but you just don’t believe in these spiritual beings called angels. If you lived during Biblical times, you would have made a good Sadducee.

In Acts 23, the Bible says, “The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits...” (Acts 23:8a, NIV)

Some of you are with them. The whole idea of angels just sounds fruity to you. It sounds like soft, squishy sentimentality instead of solid, Biblical truth. I’ll be honest…I used to be right there with you. But then, the more I studied the Bible, the more my perspective changed.

Here’s what I discovered…there are well over 250 references to angels in the Bible. The Bible always speaks of angels as a true reality.

So the conclusion to draw there is that, if you believe the Bible, then you have to believe in angels. Either there are more than 250 errors in the Bible…or angels are real. Those are your only two options. You simply can’t ignore the amount of Biblical evidence for angels. We’re going to see a lot of that evidence in this teaching time today.

In Colossians 1, the Bible says, “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16, NIV)

Many people claim not to believe in angels because they can’t see them. If you believe the Bible, then this verse means that you have to accept the fact that God has created certain things are invisible; things that you can’t see.

Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. It’s actually incredibly arrogant to believe that, if you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. God is so much bigger than our limited perspective. He isn’t confined to what we can see and experience in the physical world.

The Bible tells us that there is a realm that is beyond this world. There is more happening in the spiritual world than we could ever imagine. But in certain places, the Bible lifts the veil just a little bit and gives us a glimpse of what that spiritual realm is like. It definitely gives us glimpses into who angels are and what they are like.

First of all, let’s open the Bible and answer the basic question that is on everybody’s mind. Who are angels? What are they like?

First of all, angels are created beings. They have not always existed. God created them at a definite point in time.

Psalm 148 says, “Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created. (Psalm 148:2, 5, NIV)

In this way, angels are just like us. They were created by the will and the command of God.

But unlike us, angels are strictly spiritual beings. They are not made up of the same physical stuff that we are. They are spirits.

In Hebrews 1, the Bible says, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14, NIV)

Angels are invisible spirits. They can take on visible forms when it fits God’s purposes, but their nature is that of an invisible spiritual being.

And they are also powerful beings. Now, they are not omnipotent or all-powerful. They cannot compare to the power of God. But they are far more powerful than us.

2 Peter 2 tells us that angels are “stronger and more powerful” than men. (2 Peter 2:11b, NIV)

Psalm 103 says, “Bless the LORD, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word!” (Psalm 103:20, NIV)

Angels are incredibly powerful beings. That’s not how they are usually portrayed in our culture. Angels are portrayed as fat, naked babies. Or as beautiful female creatures with white wings and long, flowing blonde hair. Or as decorations on top of a Christmas tree. In cartoons, they usually appear on one shoulder of the character, while a demon appears on the other. And the demon is always portrayed as cool and tough, while the angel is portrayed as weak and wimpy.

None of that is Biblical. While we can’t reject the reality of angels, we have to reject the way our culture portrays them. Angels are far from the weak, flowery, little cream puffs that we see in our culture.

Did you know that the Bible never talks about angels in female terms? Now, I’m not saying that women are wimps! That’s not the point. The point is how misguided our culture is about angels. When angels made visible appearances to people in the Bible, they are always described in masculine terms.

And they are far from the weak and delicate images we see. When people experienced an angel in the Bible, their first reaction was usually fear. Angels are powerful, warrior beings.

And they are immortal beings. God created them, so angels had a definite beginning. But God has given them the gift of immortality. Angels will never die. Jesus said so Himself.

In Luke 20, Jesus said, “But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead…can no longer die; for they are like the angels.” (Luke 20:35-36a, NIV)

In heaven, we will be like the angels in that we can no longer die. Angels cannot die, and we will be like them in heaven.

Now, please notice that Jesus said that we will be LIKE the angels. He didn’t say that we would BE angels. A lot of people believe that when we die, we turn into angels. You get a set of wings, a halo, and you fly around plucking a harp for all eternity.

First of all, that sounds really boring. Secondly, that is not what angels are like. Thirdly, the Bible never…not one time…suggests that we turn into angels when we enter heaven.

Angels are completely separate beings from us. In some ways, we will be like them in eternity. But we will not magically morph into angels when we die.

Now that we’ve taken a quick look at what angels are like, that logically leads to this question…What is their purpose? Why did God create them? What do they do?

Their primary purpose is to worship God.

Hebrews 1 says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” (Hebrews 1:6b, NIV)

This is the primary reason that angels exist. The prophet Isaiah was given a vision of this angelic worship that is constantly happening in the spiritual realm.

In Isaiah 6, he writes, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings:

With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;

the whole earth is full of his glory."

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.” (Isaiah 6:1-4, NIV)

These seraphs (which is one type of angel mentioned in the Bible) constantly worship God. They are so consumed with the glory and the majesty of God that they can’t do anything but give him praise.

The Bible also tells us that angels are messengers. In fact, the word angel literally means “messenger.”

The Bible is filled with examples of angels bringing a message from God to His people. Angels spoke to Mary, Cornelius, Philip, Paul, and John…just to name a few. All of them carried a message directly from God.

Angels also exist to minister to believers.

Hebrews 1:14 says, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14, NIV)

The Bible says that angels exist to minister to us. Now that raises some issues, doesn’t it? Do angels still do this today? I don’t see anything in the Bible that says that they don’t. The ministry of angels to us is an ongoing thing until Jesus comes back.

Does that mean that the Alabama song is right? Are there really “angels among us?” The Bible would say, “yes.”

Hebrews 13 says, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2, NIV)

According to the Bible, angels do appear among us to minister to us. But their identity is almost always a secret. That’s why we can entertain angels without knowing it. They almost never announce their identity.

Now, this is touchy territory. When I say things like this, it will inevitably prompt someone to want to tell their angel story. A lot of believers have these stories. I have an angel story…but I’ve never told it publicly and I probably never will. Why?

First of all, I can’t prove it. Second, because it tends to promote what I call “angel obsession.” We’re going to talk about that in a few minutes.

This also brings up another common question. If angels exist to minister to us, does that mean that we all have guardian angels? The answer might surprise you. It’s possible. You can make a Biblical case for guardian angels.

Psalm 34 says, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” (Psalm 34:7, NIV)

This verse certainly sounds like a guardian angel. It doesn’t say that we all have a specific angel or angels assigned to us. But it does say that angels are here to guard and protect us.

But the most convincing text in favor of the idea of guardian angels comes from Jesus Himself.

In Matthew 18, Jesus said, “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10, NIV)

In this conversation about children, Jesus said that their angels always see God’s face. He specifically said “THEIR angels.” That seems to imply that children have specific angels assigned to them. How cool is that?

Now, it’s important to remember that we can’t be dogmatic about this whole idea of guardian angels. Largely, the Bible is silent about it. But these verses are pretty intriguing, aren’t they?

What we do know for certain from the Bible is that God sends angels to minister to us and help us. Usually, we don’t even know that it happened. It’s a demonstration of how much God really does love us. He sends His angels on missions to take care of us and protect us.

One more purpose of angels…angels are warriors. The Bible tells us that there is a battle that is raging. It is in the spiritual realm. It is beyond our sight. But it couldn’t be more intense and it couldn’t be more real. And angels are the warriors of God who are engaged in this battle against Satan and his demons.

Revelation 12 paints the picture for us. “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.

The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9, NIV)

We’re going to dig even deeper into this epic battle next week when we talk about demons. I’ve got some stuff that is going to rock your world next week. But this week, we just need to see that angels aren’t some powderpuff, wimpy little creatures. They are mighty warriors of God.

When you go to the Bible, it’s easy to see how awesome and mighty and powerful angels really are. And that’s why we have to be very careful here.

Angels are NOT to be worshipped. They are created beings, not the Creator. And the Bible is very clear about this.

Paul wrote in Romans 1, “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.” (Romans 1:25, NIV)

God is very clear that we do not worship created things. And angels, as we saw earlier, are created beings. They are not the Creator. They are not to be worshipped. When we worship the created instead of the Creator, we exchange the life-giving truth of God for a damnable lie.

Listen to what John wrote near the end of the book of Revelation. “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me.

But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!" (Revelation 22:8-9, NIV)

John tried to worship the angel who showed him the incredible things in the book of Revelation, but the angel would have none of it. He reminded John that the only one who is worthy of our worship is God. We worship the Creator, not his creation.

Angel worship is idolatry. Idolatry is the sin of worshipping any created thing instead of God. And while you may not know anyone who bows down and worships angels, you might know someone who is obsessed with them. Angel obsession can qualify as angel worship.

Spirituality is a hot topic in our culture. A lot of “religious” or “spiritual” people focus on angels. But just because something is spiritual doesn’t mean it’s Biblical.

Just because someone talks about angels doesn’t mean that their beliefs are Biblical. Just because someone says and does spiritual things doesn’t mean that they are following Christ. In fact, it can mean just the opposite.

If we focus on spiritual beings, such as angels, but we ignore Jesus Christ…that will lead us to hell. An angel didn’t die for your sins. Jesus did.

We’ve got to be wise about all the spirituality that is so prevalent in our culture. In many ways, people are more “religious” now than ever before.

But here’s the deal…just because Oprah says it doesn’t mean that it’s true. Just because Dan Brown writes it doesn’t mean that it’s true. It’s really easy to fall into the spirituality of our culture, because it feels very good and very religious. We’ve got to measure it against Scripture.

In Colossians 2, the Bible says, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.” (Colossians 2:8-10, NIV)

Jesus Christ “is the head over every power and authority.” That includes angels. He is their ruler, their King, and their God. So as God’s people, we have to be sure that no one takes us captive to any philosophy or belief that sounds spiritual, but leaves Jesus out.

It is not enough to believe in God. It is not enough to believe in angels. It’s not enough to be a spiritual person. If you leave Jesus out, then it’s all worthless.

Later in Colossians 2, the Bible says, “These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize.

Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head…” (Colossians 2:17-19a, NIV)

People who worship angels instead of Jesus have no hope. They are disqualified from the prize of eternal life.

Paul said that they sound so spiritual. They go into great detail about what they have seen and experienced. Maybe you know someone like that. Maybe you’ve seen them on TV.

Paul tells us that they may sound spiritual, but he says that they have an unspiritual mind because they have lost connection with the Head. The Head is Christ.

What happens if your body loses connection with your head? You’re dead! That’s why the success rate of the guillotine is 100%. When you lose connection with your head, you die.

The Bible calls Jesus the Head. When you lose your connection with Jesus, nothing else matters. Angels, demons, spiritual encounters, it’s all meaningless without Christ.

At the end of the day, it’s all about Jesus. Jesus gave His life for us. Jesus rose from the dead to give us victory. Jesus is the one who changes our eternity. Jesus is the one that the angels worship. Jesus is the only one who is worthy of our worship.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: angels, Angels & Demons, spiritual_warfare