In part 2 (Angels -Part 2), we learned about the Nature of Angels and saw that they: possess a personality; are curious; are moral; and, that some have wings. We also discussed several ways that angels minister. We will continue with their ministry here in part 3. (To return to part 1, go to Angels -Part 1.)
Part 3
Death of the Righteous
Luke 16:22 “Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.”
In this story, the poor man was depicted as righteous and an angel attended his death. The rich man did not have an angel at his death, thereby being unrighteous. Several Bible commentators point out that angels attending the death of the righteous was a popular Jewish belief of that time. They reason then that Jesus confirms it as truth by including it in His story of the rich man and Lazarus.1
Render Service to the Elect
Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”
God does not just wait to see what will happen. Indeed, He sends out His angels to serve those who will be saved. The nature of this service is not specified, but we know there is a spiritual battle taking place. The destiny of our souls is at stake!
Aide in Winning People to Christ
Acts 8:26 “But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Arise and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.”” (This is a desert road where Philip met a man, preached Jesus to him, and he was saved.2)
Acts 10:3-5 “About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in to him, and said to him, “Cornelius!” And fixing his gaze upon him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now dispatch some men to Joppa, and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter;””
These two events are recorded in Scripture for us, but I would not be surprised to learn that this is happening all the time. Events that we may think are coincidences at the time, can be seen in retrospect as God-ordained work on our behalf. Angels, ordained by God, working to draw us to Christ.
Concerning the ministry of angels, Charles Ryrie says,
“Whether angels continue to function in all these ways throughout the present age is uncertain. But they did perform these ministries and may well continue to do so even though we are not aware of them. Of course, God is not obliged to use angels; He can do all these things directly. But seemingly He chooses to employ the intermediate ministry of angels on many occasions. Nevertheless, the believer recognizes that it is the Lord who does these things, whether directly or through using angels.”3
Ryrie points out that when Peter is delivered from prison in Acts 12:7-10, an angel is used. However, when Peter reports on the incident to his friends later in chapter 12, he says that the Lord delivered him. Acts 12:11,
“And when Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.””
and then in verse 17,
“But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison.”
Angels as Guardians
There are several verses in the Bible where angels are described as guarding, serving, or protecting people or nations. The concept of guardian angels is developed from these passages, but the Bible does not elaborate on the matter.
- Psalm 34:7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.
- Psalm 91:11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.
- Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
- Daniel 12:1“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise.” (An angel speaking to Daniel.)
- Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” (Jesus speaking to His disciples.)
Bible teacher David Guzik thinks there is not just one, but that there may be multiple angels working in our lives. He says, “We certainly do have angels watching over us and ministering to us (Hebrews 1:14), but there is no need to limit it to only one specific ‘guardian angel.’”4
One specific instance where a guardian angel was thought to be involved is in Acts 12:1-17. Peter was thrown into jail by Herod because of his stand for the gospel and his prominence in the church. Peter was bound with two chains, and multiple soldiers were guarding him. During the night, an angel came and rescued Peter from the prison. His chains fell off and he walked past the guards and out of the prison.
Peter immediately went to a house where they were praying for his release from prison and knocked on the door. Picking up the story in verse 13-16, we read,
“And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. And when she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. And they said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. And they kept saying, “It is his angel.” But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed.”
They thought that it couldn’t be Peter and must be his angel at the door. Each person having a guardian angel assigned to him, at birth, to protect them for life was another popular belief among the Israelites in those days. As Ellicott’s commentary explains,
“The language [in Acts 12] expresses the common belief of the Jews, that every true Israelite had a guardian angel specially assigned to him, who, when he appeared in human form, assumed the likeness of the man whom he protected.”5
Many Bible commentators believe that is what is being described in the Acts 12 passage. Those that were praying didn’t believe Peter was released from prison, so it must have been his angel Rhoda heard. The commentators also point out that this event does not prove nor disprove the existence of guardian angels.
John MacArthur says this about guardian angels:
“So, I don’t know if you want to say we have a guardian angel or not, but we’ve got angels who, at least historically in the Bible, watch, guide, provide, protect, deliver, attend us at our death, and their purpose is to serve the heirs of salvation.”6
Archangels
Archangel -a chief angel.
The older Jewish belief was that there are seven archangels. Some of this thinking apparently comes from rabbinic teaching and Apocryphal books such as Enoch. It could be that some writers would point to Revelation 8:2 to arrive at seven chief angels. Revelation 8:2 says, “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.” However, the seven angels here are not given the appellation of chief angels.
Gabriel has been called an archangel by some, but only Michael has been given that designation in the Bible. (I write about Gabriel and his appearances in the Bible in my article, Gabriel the Angel.)
Kitto points out, “Both by Jewish and Christian writers, Gabriel has been denominated an archangel. The Scriptures, however, affirm nothing positively respecting his rank.”7
In an interesting passage in Daniel chapter 10, a messenger from God appears to Daniel to give him understanding of his vision. The messenger was dispatched at the start of Daniel’s request, but was delayed for 21 days by satanic forces. One of the chief princes, Michael, came to help him overcome the opposition. Daniel 10:13 reports,
“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.”
Reverend A. R. Fausset writes, “As Michael represents the angels in their might in conflict with evil, so Gabriel in ministering comfort and sympathy to man in dark times. …There is in his manifestations a simplicity and absence of terror, corresponding to his character as a comforter.”8
In one of the two passages where the term archangel is used, a very important task is assigned. The archangel signals the rapture! 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says,
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”
John MacArthur comments on this event. “This is really a unique statement; the only mention of an archangel is here and in Jude 9. In Jude 9,9 the archangel is designated as Michael and it could well be that he’s the only archangel. The Jews used to believe there were seven archangels. Their names all ended with “-el” which is the term for God in Hebrew. But we don’t know that for sure, that was their tradition, Gabriel, Michael, Ariel and others.”10
Conclusion
At the beginning of this paper, we saw that evil is not just a concept but is embodied in a real person. This person is a spirit being, and is known as the devil, Satan. He and the other angels who fell from heaven with him, hate God and us. They want to establish their own kingdom, and will do everything in their power to oppose God and His kingdom.
We need someone very powerful on our side. That would be Jesus, because nothing can separate us from His love! The Bible tells us in Romans 8:38-39 that,
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We also saw that the angelic host that still loves their Creator, work in the world to help establish the kingdom of God among men. These angels likely still minister in our lives in many ways:
- delivering answers to prayer
- encouraging believers
- rendering service to the elect
- aiding in winning people to Christ, and
- acting as guardians in our lives (Maybe, just maybe!)
If that is not enough, we have a very powerful archangel on our side, Michael!
1 Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31.
2 Acts 8:26-40
3 Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology, (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1986), 153
4 David Guzik’s Bible Commentary
5 Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
6 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/1301-H/bible-questions-and-answers-part-10 9/15/23
7 Kitto’s Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
8 Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
9 Jude 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”
10 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/52-18/what-happens-to-christians-who-die-part-2 9/15/23