What does the Bible teach about angels?

Once while in prayer with another minister friend of mine the Lord opened my eyes and his and we saw a number of angels descend into a church we attended. I ask the minister I was with if he saw anything and he said "Yes, but I wanted to wait to see if you said anything first"

That night during the seminar we were attending the preacher that brought the message at the end of the service said "I don't know if any of you can see what I see, but there are many angels standing all around in this auditorium right now". That night many wonderful things took place and God was glorified greatly.

I.        An Innumerable Company of Angels

Heb 12:22-24 KJV

(22)  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

(23)  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

(24)  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

We should be thankful for the blood of the Lord Jesus. Old Testament saints lived all their lives looking forward to the spotless Lamb of God who would come to redeem us from sin and death and we look back to it. The blood of Jesus Christ has not only removed all sins, it has also removed the consciousness of sin. We now, as blood bought believers, have the ability to walk with a renewed mind, a "righteousness consciousness". We have the mind of Christ ( I Cor.2:16).

No longer are we held accountable for the sins we had before we knew the Lord Jesus and ask for his blood to cleanse us. Now we can stand before the Lord as one with no sin, justified, clean.

Every time we sin after we are saved, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us if we confess them ( I Jn.1:9). The scripture also teaches us we are not to continue to sin. Another word for that would be "practice" sin (1Jn 3:9 AMP).  No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God's nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sin because he is born (begotten) of God.

But for this study I want us to look at verse 22, it says we are come to an "innumerable company of angels".

II.       The Increased Activity of Angels

Since the time of the Old Testament, the ministry of angels has increased and the ministry of angels has changed.  Hebrews 1:14 says of angels, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"

God has not created more angels, however, their activity has increased and their ministry has changed in the way they are to minister for us as believers or as the scripture puts it "the heirs of salvation".

Under the old covenant their ministry was limited but under the new covenant, the angels are assigned to protect every individual who is born again.

III.      The Ministry of Angels Surrounding Jesus

At the beginning of the book of Matthew, angels are present. At the closing of the four Gospels, angels are also present. As Jesus was resurrected into heaven, there were thousands of angels surrounding Him.

Psalm 68

vs. 17   The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

vs. 18   Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.

Of the thousands of angels that surrounded Jesus as He ascended to heaven, two remained on earth and instructed the disciples to go to the upper room to wait for the coming Holy Spirit.

These verses are referring to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the beginning of the Church age on the day of Pentecost. But it also refers to the fact that Jesus was resurrected before that event. On Pentecost, gifts were given to men, the Spirit of God was poured out, and God came on that day with the Holy Spirit to turn rebellious people into children of God.

But notice what the disciples could not see as Jesus was taken into heaven. Jesus was received into heaven by thousands and thousands of angels in chariots!

Acts 1

vs. 9     And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

In verse 8, Jesus had instructed the disciples to go Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit. And after Jesus had shared these things with the disciples, verse 9 tells us that a "cloud received him out of their sight". That cloud was the glory cloud. There were thousands of angels accompanying Him and they surrounded Him like a cloud!

IV.     Angels at the Beginning of the Church Age

The angels were saying, "Okay, Jesus is gone, but He will return. Until he does you are to occupy (stay busy), you have things to do." The ministry of the Church began with angels and the ministry of the Church leaving this earth will end with angels. Jesus had just told the disciples what they were to do,

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Then the angels said this, asking "why stand ye gazing up into heaven?" You have a job to do, now lets get with it boys!

V.      Angels are Waiting for Us

The angels were ready for their new assignment. They were ready to go into battle. They were ready for the disciples to be obedient to the Spirit of God. The angels would be there for divine protection.

 (A little side thought here)

I hear people say and have heard it all my Christian life, things like "she is a real prayer warrior" or "I have been warring in prayer all night in spiritual warfare". My question is, why? We have warrior angels who fight on our behalf. We need to believe the word of God and pray in faith, and if we really believe what we have prayed and trust God will do it not based on us and how many scriptures we quote or how long we pray in tongues, but based on John 3:16 and John 16:26-33, we have our prayers answered because HE LOVES US, THE SAME AS HE LOVES JESUS. Where is the scripture for us to be the warriors? I see where the Church prayed for Peter and the angels responded to the prayers of the saints and he was let out of prison by angels. I see where the angels responded to Abraham and to Daniel when they prayed. When Abraham prayed it was probably in the cool of the morning in the door of his tent when Jesus and the two angels met him. And when Daniel prayed it was likely in the afternoon and he was delivered in the Lion's den. And when Peter was released in was in the late night. This tells me that angels never sleep morning, noon or night. They stand ready to respond to the word of God spoken by His sons and daughters. Angels don't sleep so you can! So follow the example of Jesus. Unless God has separated you for a time of special prayer and He does this from time to time, the minute you say In The Name Of Jesus Amen, shelf it, turn over and get a good night's rest while your angels go and stay busy on your behalf.!! Glory to Jesus! And while you're sawing logs back home they are busy letting things out of prisons or shutting the Lions mouth. My Bible says when the farmer plants he then goes to sleep and rises and goes to sleep and lets the seed do what seeds do while you go about the work of the kingdom.

Today, angels are waiting to minister in our behalf, but usually they are waiting on us. Unfortunately, there are many Christians today who have bored angels. Their angels have nothing to do because these people will not do anything for the kingdom of God. But when we are doing things for the kingdom of God, we keep our angels busy!

Each day we should wake up asking the Lord, "What can I do for you today, Lord?"  And when we do the angels are suiting up and getting ready because they know anytime you or I want to do something in the kingdom there is a battle to fight and win, because we as believers fight the GOOD fight of Faith, and what is a good fight....................the ones we win!!

Next month we will look at Angels at the End of the Church Age, The Ministry of Angels and Deliverance, Angels and Guidance