The good and bad angelic realms - a summary

Introduction:

The Psalmist notes in Psalm 148:1-5, 

“Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! 2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! 3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! 4 Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens! 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.” 

The late Baptist theologian Augustus Hopkins Strong notes about the importance of studying angels: 

“The doctrine of angels affords a barrier against the false conception of this world as including the whole spiritual universe.  Earth is only part of a larger organism.  As Christianity has united Jew and Gentile, so hereafter will it blend our own and other orders of creation."

Whenever anyone explores the various creatures in the Bible’s presentation of the supernatural realm such a study is called: “angelology”. Broadly speaking, the "good guys" in angelology represent varying orders of spiritual creatures, ranging from the highest level called, "the Divine Council (see Psalm 82, "sons of God") to that of a middle tier of beings known as, "Cherubim", "Seraphim" and "the watchers", to the third tier of every other spiritual being known simply as: "angels". This assortment of "good" spiritual beings populate God's invisible kingdom. 

       On the bad-side we have two other subheadings known as: “Satanology”, or the examination of Satan (his being, rebellion and work) and “demonology” (that is, the various ranks of spiritual beings). Satan and all the various sort of malevolent spiritual beings  populate the parasitic "kingdom of darkness". Below we have a chart that depicts the Biblical supernatural realm. Notice that in the diagram, angels occupy the third or lowest tier of the spiritual creatures in God’s invisible kingdom. 

     In what remains, I want to offer a brief account of the angels as they are portrayed in the Bible. I hope this summary edifies and equips readers with a better working understanding of the Biblical doctrine of angels (known, as noted above, by the term: "angeology").

1. Angels are created beings.

       We can note first, that like the other spiritual beings in the Biblical supernatural realm, angels are created beings.  Psalm 148:5 notes that the angels were created by the command of God, just like the visible universe, stars, planets, life and humanity. Hebrews 1:7, quoting Psalm 104:4, states: “And of the angels He says,

“Who makes His angels winds, And His ministers a flame of fire.” From what we can discern from Job 38:1-7, the entire supernatural realm was created by God on either days 2 or 3 in the creative week. 

2. There are Good and Bad Angels

     When God originally created the angelic realm, they were all good. The creation of the supernatural realm was followed by the cosmic rebellion of Lucifer, which in turn influenced other spiritual beings to become the fallen angels (Isaiah 14:12-20; Ezekiel 28:13-19; Revelation 12:4). Some of those fallen angels are chained and some roam freely between here and the heavenly realms (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6; Ephesians 6:10-11). Thankfully, there are 2/3 of the heavenly angels faithfully serving God and His people (1 Timothy 5:21; Hebrews 1:14).

3. Angels are powerful beings

     Angels are dramatically powerful beings.  In 2 Kings 19:35 we read: “Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead.”  Revelation 9:13-21 records a future time when God will release four angels to kill 1/3 of humanity in the judgment of The Great Tribulation.

4. Good Angels aid God’s people

     Is it scriptural to say that angels are deployed by God to aid Christians in their walk of faith? Absolutely! Consider Psalm 91:11 "For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways." Old Testament saints had angels assist them (Genesis 18; Psalm 37:4; Daniel 10:11). We see angelic aid of Jesus and other believers in the New Testament (Matthew 4:11; Matthew 26:53; Luke 22:43; Acts 12:6-8; Acts 27:23-24). Without a doubt, Christians today can still experience angelic assistance when they least expect it (Hebrews 1:14; 13:2). 

     Scripture reveals how angels can protect believers (2 Kings 6; Psalm 34:7; 91:11 Hebrews 1:14); help in grasping God’s truth (Psalm 68:7; Matthew 28:5-7; Acts 1:9-11; Luke 2:14) and point to Christ’s deity (Psalm 68:17; Daniel 7:10-13; Matthew 28). The Book of Revelation illustrates how angels aid believers. It contains roughly 25% of the 300 times we find mention of the good angels in the Bible. Often, the Book of Revelation describes angels announcing something or explaining to John the meaning of the various visions. 

Final thought of application:

    Today's post was intended to offer a brief treatment of the subject of angels. We noted the following:

1. Angels are created beings.
2. There are good and bad angels.
3. Angels are powerful beings.
4. Good angels aid God's people.

     The eighteenth-century preacher John Wesley once wrote the following about angels: 

"They may assist us in our search after truth, remove many doubts and difficulties, throw light on what was before dark and obscure, and confirm us in the truth that is after godliness. They may warn us of evil in disguise; and place what is good, in a clear, strong light. They may gently move our will to embrace what is good, and fly from that which is evil. They may, many times, quicken our dull affections, increase our holy hope or filial fear, and assist us more ardently to love Him who has first loved us."

The heavenly spiritual beings that point us to God

Isaiah 6:1-3 "In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”

Ezekiel 10:20-21 "These are the living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and beneath their wings was the form of human hands."

Introduction: 

The late theologian J. Hampton Keathley, III wrote an article on the purpose of studying the supernatural beings we find in the Bible (the article is found online at: https://bible.org/article/angelology-doctrine-angels). In that article we read:

“The fact that God has created a realm of personal beings other than mankind is a fitting topic for systematic theological studies for it naturally broadens our understanding of God, of what He is doing, and how He works in the universe.”

      Today we want to dive further into identifying what the Bible teaches about various orders of spiritual beings that populate the supernatural realm of Heaven, God’s throne room and which affect activities here on earth.

1. Cherubim. 

      We find Cherubim roughly sixty places in 13 books of the Bible. As noted in our last session, we could liken Cherubim as a sort of “secret service” to God. A brief summary of what the Cherubim do follows below.

a. Cherubim first appear in Genesis 3:24 – “So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” Cherubim as an order of spiritual beings defend the honor of God. Consequently, their presence, more-often-than-not, signified God’s holiness in judgment. 

b. The revelation of Cherubim extends into God’s design of the first Jewish worship center – the Tabernacle. Moses writes in Exodus 25:18, “You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat.” Almost ten other passages in Exodus speak of Cherubim occurring in the metal work and fabric embroidery of the tabernacle’s design. God was communicating through the design of the tabernacle that He wanted to meet with His people, and they with Him (see Exodus 25:22).  

c. By the days of King David, Cherubim were closely identified with the throne of God – a short-handed way of describing God’s Divine presence and authority. In 2 Samuel 6:2 we read: “And David arose and went with all the people who were with him to Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the Name, the very name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned above the cherubim.” 

d. The prophet Ezekiel affords us the most detail description of Cherubim in Ezekiel 10:20-21, “These are the living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and beneath their wings was the form of human hands.” As a final thought about Cherubim, we find them mentioned in the descriptions of the ark of the covenant in Hebrews 9:5 and the heavenly worship scene of Revelation 4-5. 

2. Seraphim. 

     Theologian Lewis Sperry Chafer describes the Seraphim from his series on “Angelogy” (that is, “the study of angels”): “The Seraphim title speaks of unceasing worship, their ministry of purification, and their humility.” These spiritual beings are defined by the Hebrew noun “seraph”, which literally means, “burning one”. Isaiah 6:2-3 is the key Bible passage that mentions these specific creatures: “Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” The only other passage that we may find Seraphim (some would classify them as similar to the “Cherubim”, opinions vary) is in Revelation 4:8.  Seraphim function like stained-glass windows in a mighty cathedral – pointing our attention to the source of their existence – God Himself!

3. Archangels. 

     There is only one archangel mentioned in the Biblical text, namely, “Michael” (see Daniel 10,12; Jude 1:9; Revelation 12:7). Michael’s power and abilities exceed that of regular angels. In Revelation 12:7-9a we get an idea of Michael’s power: “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down….”. 

4. Watchers.

For the sake of completeness, the Book of Daniel mentions what are called: “The Watchers”. We only find these beings in three verses of the entire Bible (Daniel 4:13,17,23).  The execution of God’s decree came through what Daniel 4:17 describes as: “the decree of the watchers” -  “This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers and the decision is a command of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men.” These “watchers” are perhaps among the most mysterious and least known of all the spiritual beings we encounter in the Bible. Most English translations will either translate the underlying Aramaic term as “watchers” or insert the term “angelic” alongside “watchers”. I won’t go into all the details of the wider background of Daniel that we can use as clues to their identity – only to say that “the watchers” are associated somehow with God’s throne and the announcing of his decrees. 

Closing thoughts:

We’ve considered four different classifications of spiritual beings that occupy various rankings in the Bible's portrayal of the supernatural realm. Time nor space does not permit comment on the remaining beings that the Bible collectively refers to as: "angels". The angels are another order of spiritual beings that, like their higher-order spiritual counterparts, function to point us to God. I will close with the following note of application from theologian Wayne Grudem: 

“As angels find it their highest joy to praise God continuously, should we not also delight each day to sing God’s praise, counting this as the highest and most worthy use of our time and our greatest joy?”

Understanding The Meaning Of The Angels At The Empty Tomb

John 20:11-13 "But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12 and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

Introduction:

When one reads the Gospel narratives of Christ's resurrection, the presence of angels are embedded in the testimony. Inasmuch as we are witnessing a sequence of historical, literal events that transpired in time and in space, we must include the reality of angelic beings. When it comes to what needs explanation concerning the events of Christ's resurrection requiring explanation, three main details are cited by the majority of New Testament historians:

1). The discovery of the empty tomb

2). Jesus' post-mortem appearances 

3). The cause for the disciple's belief in the resurrection.

New Testament historians of all stripes (evangelical and skeptical alike) list the above main points as objects of historical inquiry. Whatever explanation they assign to the events in question (whether naturalistic explanations or the proposal: "God raised Jesus from the dead") results in the wide spread opinions concerning the meaning of what took place that first Easter morning. This author has argued in other posts that the proposal: "God raising Jesus from the dead" is the best explanation of facts in question. For example, click here: http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2018/03/what-happened-on-that-first-easter.html

As a pastor, my responsibility is to expound on all the text. Angels are nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to interpreting the text of scripture. The majority of scholarship today ignores the presence of the angels. As much as some may cite that angels lie outside the task of the historian, such refusal to interpret the meaning of angels is not due to the constraints of historical investigation as it does to a philosophical bias against anything supernatural. Frankly, if we assert that Jesus' resurrection was indeed a Divine act, then explaining the significance of angelic intervention in those accounts ought not seem so far-fetched. 

Acquiring a fundamental grasp of the Bible's teaching on the angelic realm (called: "angelology") aids greatly in understanding why angelic activity is appropriate with respect to the events surrounding the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Once one traces an outline of the Biblical teaching on angels, the details of their activities relative to the empty-tomb doesn't appear as foreign as it does upon first glance. 

With these thoughts in mind, I'd like to offer some reasons why the Gospel writers included angels in their reporting of the events of Christ's resurrection. For those (like myself) who take the Gospel narratives as reliable historical documents which are inerrant and infallible written revelation from the hands of the Apostles, explaining the point of the angels at the resurrection is a pre-requisite if we're to arrive at a clearer understanding of the Gospel records. What were the angels achieving as they ministered the glory of Christ's resurrected power to the Apostles? Moreover, what can we learn and apply to our lives regarding Jesus' resurrection power for today? Please note the following thoughts:

1. Angels protected the message and messengers who proclaim Jesus' resurrection from the dead


We will first turn to Matthew's Gospel to observe the activity of angels at the empty tomb. Matthew 28:3-4 states: 

"And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men."  

When we look at these verses, we can note the following observations. 

1. First, the women were already on their way to finish the final stages of the interment of Jesus' body in Matthew 28:1. 

2. Second, the detail about the guards mentioned by Matthew in 28:3-4 reminds the reader of the manifest impossibility of anyone coming to steal the body of Jesus. The enemies of Jesus had arranged the tomb to be guarded in Matthew 27:62-66. 

3. Thirdly, when we realize that the presence of angels led to the collapse of the soldiers, it suggests that the angels were sent to protect the women and those who would be peering into the empty tomb. 

4. Fourthly, on a practical note, it was an angel that moved the stone of the tomb aside so that the disciples (and us) could see its vacancy (see Matthew 28:2). 

As we noted already, surveying additional Biblical teaching on angelic activity alongside God's people aids in arriving the suggestion of angelic protection afforded to the disciples at the empty tomb. Passages such as 2 Kings 6; Psalm 34:7; 91:11 and Hebrews 1:14 remind us of how angels defend or protect God's people. By protecting the disciples, and particularly the women, the angels were dispatched by God to protect the message they would communicate to the disciples. But now notice a second significant reason for the presence of angels in the events of the Risen and Ascended Christ...

2. Angels aided in the declaration and explanation of Jesus' resurrection from the dead.
We read in Matthew 28:5-7 -

"The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” 

The Hebrew and Greek words translated "angel" speak of "messengers" or "emissaries" of God. Angels are seen throughout scripture as God's emissaries announcing God's message to His people. We see angels functioning as God's messengers for instance in Acts 1:9-11  -

"And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” 

In Stephen's sermon to his Jewish opponents in Acts 7, we are reminded of how the angels assisted in the dispatching of God's Law on Mount Sinai in Acts 7:53 - "you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.” The angels were doing what they were created to do: declare and explain the glory of God (Psalm 68:17). Moreover, angels are described as pointing people to the equal and shared glory of the Son (Luke 2:14). Since angels served to facilitate the revelation of God's Word and salvation in general, it makes much more sense as to why they would aid the women is grasping the true explanation of the empty tomb: "God raised Jesus from the dead". 

So in addition to protecting the messengers of God and  facilitating the clarity of God's message, observe a third significant reason as to why angels are included in the resurrection and ascension accounts of the Living Christ...

3. Angelic presence demonstrated the Deity and humanity of Christ in His resurrection from the dead

The Old Testament makes it abundantly clear that the angels function in the capacity of a royal court demonstrating the Deity of Yahweh. As we jog through the following Old Testament scriptures, we can apply our observations to understanding why angels appear in the resurrection narratives.

1. We see the angels, from the inception of their creation, exalting God for His creative power in Job 38:7 and Psalm 104:1-4. 

2. In Psalm 68:17, we see angels attending the giving of the law atop Mount Sinai, demonstrating before the newly redeemed Hebrew nation the uncontested royal deity of Yahweh. 

3. Daniel 7:10-13 portrays God by the title: "The Ancient of Days". In the wider circle of the Biblical teaching on the Trinity, we can reasonably assume that the figure of "The Son of Man" is non-other than the Pre-incarnate Son of Man in royal Deity (see Jesus' self-reference of Himself as the "Son of Man" in Matthew 26:64). If we take these thoughts to their full conclusion, one could propose the "Ancient of Days" as being the Person of the Father, and "the Son of Man" as the eternal Son sharing in the one Divine nature with the Father. Back-reading the New Testament truth of Christ's co-equality with the Father explains, for example, why Jesus used the title "Son of Man" to refer to Himself more often than any other self-designation (over 80 times in the four Gospels). Thus, we can see why Daniel 7:10-13 includes "the Ancient of Days" and "The Son of Man" attended by an innumerable angelic court. 

4. As a final example, Daniel 12:1-3 depicts Michael the archangel assisting in some fashion what will undoubtedly be the Divine power of God Himself raising believers from the dead in the resurrection of the righteous and unbelievers in the later resurrection of the wicked. To see angels present at Christ's resurrection reinforces the profound nature of the events in question.

Such associations between Yahweh's Deity and angelic presence aids greatly in how we approach the presence of angels at the empty tomb. The Living Christ who came out of the tomb on Sunday morning had angels attending to assert the fact that He is as much true Deity as He is truly glorified, resurrected humanity.

Closing thoughts
We attempted to offer reasons why angels are a part of the resurrection narratives found in the four gospels. By including the wider-biblical testimony on angelology or "doctrine of angels", one arrives at a clearer explanation of angelic presence at the empty tomb. We discovered three reasons for why angels were involved in the events of that first Easter morning:


1. Angels protected the message and messengers who proclaim Jesus' resurrection from the dead.

2. Angels aided in the declaration and explanation of Jesus' resurrection from the dead.

3. The angels' presence demonstrated the Deity and humanity of Christ in His resurrection from the dead

Important purposes of the angelic realm in Jude

Jude 1:3 "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints."

Introduction 

Today we want to consider the importance and purpose of the angelic realm in Jude. It was Jude's purpose to urge his readers (and us) to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints." One of the ways Jude chose under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to urge his readers was by mentioning the angels, demons and Satan. The angelic realm (composed of demons, good angels and Satan) is portrayed in scripture as intelligent agents occupying the invisible realm of the created order. (compare Colossians 1:16-17) Good angels serve the purposes of serving God's people. (Hebrews 1:14) Demons are fallen angels led by Satan to opposed God's purposes and His people. (Ephesians 6:11-18; 1 Peter 5:8) With the span of Jude's short letter, we find reference to angels, demons and Satan no less than seven times. So the question is: why are angels so prominent within Jude's short letter? Moreover, what purposes can we gather as to why they are important for us today as we contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints? Notice three important purposes of the angelic realm in Jude...

1. Warn of the realities of Hell. Jude 1:1-16

The majority of material in Jude's short epistle is dedicated to warning his readers to be aware of false teachers and error. To drive home the point about the outcome of those who persist in the seduction of false teaching, Jude uses both historic examples of false prophets and teachers combined with the frightening reality of hell. Jude 1:5-11 lays out the examples of those who forsook Biblical faith, including those who came out of Egypt (Jude 1:5); Cain (Jude 11:11); Balaam the pagan prophet in the book of Numbers (Jude 1:11) and Korah who opposed Moses (Jude 1:11). False teaching and prophets lead to Hell. So what realities of hell do we discover in the Book of Jude? How do such realities allign with what Jesus taught on the subject?

Hell is described by Jude as a dark place (1:6, 1:13) Jesus called the darkness of Hell "outer darkness" in Matthew 25:46. Jude then explains hell as a destructive place through the imagery of fire, as seen in Jude 1:7,23. Jesus too refers to the details of unquenchable and everlasting fire burning in both the holding place of unbelievers called hades or Hell and the eternal place of punishment called "The Lake of Fire" or also by the same name "Hell" in  Mark 9:43 and Matthew 18:18.

To intensify his already strong warnings, Jude thirdly mentions that hell is demonically infested and reinforces this frightening imagery through the Devil's conflict with Michael the Archangel here on earth and some of the various fallen angels chained in reserved judgment. (1:6,8). 

The specific mention of fallen angels in Jude 1:6 matches with what we read of them in 2 Peter 2:4 "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment." Also too, Jesus refers to Hell as having been prepared for "The Devil and his angels" in Matthew 25:41. It is quite likely that Jude is quoting Peter's second letter, which may explain why we also see such similarities between Jesus and Jude (not forgetting that Jude wrote under Divine inspiration).

The Bible Knowledge Commentary remarks: "Most commentators, however, assign the date between A.D. 67 and 80. Jude was probably influenced by Peter, who wrote his second epistle about A.D. 67–68. (Peter predicted that false teachers would arise [2 Peter 2:1; 3:3], but Jude stated that they have “slipped in among you” [Jude 4].)"

So who are the fallen angels mentioned by Jude? These particular demons may the very ones that participated in the abominations committed prior to the flood in Genesis 6:1-4 which resulted in the mutation of giants roaming on the earth. To think of the dangers of false doctrine as resulting in Hell is frightening enough. However to be reminded of hell being infested by demons far worse than those roaming freely here on earth serves more than fair warning to anyone contemplating apostasy from the faith. So the angelic realm, particularly the demons, are mentioned to warn us of the realities of hell. But what about the good angels? Notice a second purpose of the angelic realm in Jude, namely....

2. Encouragement with the realities of Heaven. Jude 1:14, 24-25

Jude 1:14 states - "It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones." In context, Jude is referencing a prophecy spoken by the pre-flood patriarch Enoch that is not recorded in Genesis. I won't get into the specific details of the nature of Jude's citation of Enoch in this post, and choose to point interested readers to a post written on Jude's use of Enoch at https://biblicalexegete.wordpress.com/2015/06/16/understanding-judes-quote-of-enoch-in-jude-114-15/. 

Instead, I want to focus the reader's attention on the underlined phrase "holy ones". Biblical passages such as Deuteronomy 33:2; Daniel 7:10; Matthew 16:27 and Hebrews 12:22 use this term to refer to the angels that comprise the heavenly court of God's glory and majesty. 

Even though the main point of Jude's reference is to indicate the judgment of the false teachers by Jesus at His second coming, mention of the good angels serves to remind the saints of God that they are on the winning side of eternity. The truth of the believer's heavenly home is a great way of reinforcing the need to contend for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. As we saw a couple of days ago, Jesus and the Apostle Peter both taught quite a bit on Heaven. With Jude depending partly on Peter's writings, references to Heaven would only make sense. Heaven will definitely be a place populated by angels (Jude 1:14) and is the ultimate destination of the Christian. (Jude 1:24-25). Heaven is afterall the abode of God on His throne. More could be said but we must hasten. What important purposes do angels, demons and Satan serve in the book of Jude? We saw that God included them to warn about the realities of hell and to encourage believers with the realities of Heaven. Now notice the final purpose...

3. To focus attention on Jesus Christ. Jude 1:15-25

Jude 1:14b says again: “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones." What is the ultimate goal of the Christian fighting the good fight of faith? Now we already looked at our heavenly home as an ultimate goal. 

But what is "the" ultimate goal of the Christian? To see Jesus at His second coming. The devil who fought with Michael the archangel in Jude 1:8 will be destroyed and cast into the Lake of fire by Jesus at His return in Revelation 20. When Jesus comes, he will have an entourage of angelic hosts numbering in the trillions. All of heaven's angels will accompany Jesus and the saints who are behind Him in the train of His robe. (Matt 16:27; 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; 1 Thessalonians 3:13 & Revelation 15:8) Those saints who are with Jesus at His second advent will had been those who died in the Lord or who were raptured seven years prior. (Mt 13:39; 16:27; 24:31) Mentioning such heavenly realities serves to point the way to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why Jude closes out his book in Jude 1:24-25 "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

Closing thoughts
Today we considered three important reasons for the angelic realm being mentioned in the Book of Jude. These three reasons aid in fulfilling the main point of the letter: "To contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints".

1. Warn of the realities of Hell
2. Encourage with the realities of Heaven
3. Focus attention on Jesus Christ

What Jesus and the Apostle Peter teach on heaven

John 14:2 "In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

2 Peter 1:11 "for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantlysupplied to you."

Introduction:

Yesterday we considered what Jesus and the Apostle Peter teach on Hell. Today's post features in brief what both taught on Heaven. 

1. Heaven is God's throne or abode

Matthew 5:34; 5:45; 6:9; 11:25; 12:50; 16:17 and 18:4 refer to the third heaven as God's primary base of operations. Undeniably God's Sovereignty extends over and through every square inch of creation. In 2 Peter 1:12, we read of the Holy Spirit being sent from Heaven - "It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look." Peter is perhaps thinking of the Day of Pentecost in which he was preaching some 30 years prior and in which the Holy Spirit had descended. The Spirit's descent signaled the presence of God being with His church as well as in Heaven. 

2. Heaven is a place.

Jesus taught the physical/spiritual reality of Heaven as a locatable place somewhere in the created order. He taught both the reality of the current heaven (Matthew 5:3, 20; 6:20; 19:21; Luke 10:20; John 17:24) and the One He is preparing (John 14:2-3). Heaven is a destination, a home, for the believer (John 14:2; Mt 5:8,5:12; 8:11; Mt 13:43; 25:34,46). The Apostle Peter also wrote of the reality of Heaven as a place. (1 Peter 1:4; 1:11) Peter also wrote of what will be the New Heaven as well. (1 Peter 3:13). Both Jesus and Peter refer to Heaven as having an entrance, thus lending further to its reality. (Matthew 25:34; 2 Peter 1:10)

3. Heaven has angels

The third commonality of the teaching on Heaven shared by Jesus and Peter is that it is a place occupied by angels. Jesus refers to angels that represent in some fashion children in Matthew 18:10. According to Matthew 22:30, Angels in heaven do not have offspring. Jesus speaks elsewhere of angels in Luke 12:10 and 15:10. In Luke 16:22 Jesus reveals that angels are somehow involved in escorting a believer's soul into the presence of God. The Apostle Peter too speaks of angels in Heaven as being curious beings about believer's salvation here on earth. 

Closing thoughts

Today we aimed to explore what Jesus and Peter taught regarding heaven. In our brief study we discovered three common points:

1. Heaven is God's throne/abode

2. Heaven is a place

3. Heaven has angels

P2 How the Angels point us to Jesus Christ

1 Timothy 3:16 "By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory."

Introduction:

Yesterday we considered two areas in which angels point us to Jesus Christ. By witnessing how the angels ministered to Jesus points us to the truth of His incarnation and thus His glory for our sake. Today we will conclude with two additional ways in which angels point us to Jesus Christ. 

Angels point to Jesus in His Ascension

Angels are seen throughout scripture announcing things to people. Notice again the function of angels both declaring an explaining in Acts 1:9-11 "And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” The angels were doing what they were created to do: declare and explain the glory of God (Psalm 68:17) and the equal and shared glory of the Son (Luke 2:14).

Angels point to Jesus Who is coming again

The Old Testament makes it abundantly clear that the angels function in the capacity of a royal court demonstrating the Deity of Yahweh. In Job 38:7 and Psalm 104:1-4 we see the angels, from the inception of their creation, exalting God for His creative power. In Psalm 68:17 we see angels attending the giving of the law atop Mount Sinai, demonstrating before the newly redeemed Hebrew nation that uncontested Deity of Yahweh. Daniel 7:10-13 portrays the Lord, the Ancient of Days and the Pre-incarnate Son of Man in royal Deity, being attended by innumerable angelic hosts. Later on in Daniel 12:1-3 we see Michael the archangel attending what will undoubtedly be the Divine power of God Himself raising believers from the dead in the resurrection of the righteous and unbelievers in the later resurrection of the wicked.

When will these events occur? When Jesus appears in the clouds at His second coming. In Acts 1:11 the two angels told the disciples that the same Jesus who disappeared from their sight as God and man would appear in the same glorified and physical state. When Jesus returns in His second coming, He will be attended with the angelic hosts of Heaven reflecting His deity revealed through His physical humanity. (Matt 16:27; 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26 & Revelation 15:8). Just like the Old Testament’s association of the angelic court with the display of God’s Deity, the New Testament connects those same courts of angels as pointing to Christ’s deity in His second coming. 

P1 How the Angels point us to Jesus Christ

1 Timothy 3:16 "By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory."

Introduction:

Today we will consider two ways in which angels point us to Jesus Christ, with two other ways being mentioned in tomorrow's post. Angels aid us in focusing more on Jesus in the following ways:

Angels point to Jesus as He lived and died  

Jesus certainly illustrated the point of angelic assistance in the believer's life by how angels aided Him in His humanity. Matthew 4:11 "Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him." As Jesus was praying in Gethsemane we read in Luke 22:43 "Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him." Jesus chose to forego angelic aid in Matthew 26:53 "Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" The numerous appearances of angels throughout Jesus' earthly ministry point to the glory of His incarnation. He was virgin born, lived and died as God in human flesh. (John 1:14; Colossians 2:9) When one reads the Gospel accounts of Christ's resurrection and ascension, angels are seen in those episodes as well. Inasmuch as we are witnessing a sequence of historical, literal events, we must include the reality of angelic beings. 

Angels point to Jesus in His literal resurrection

The events of the empty tomb, Jesus' post-resurrection appearances and the cause for the disciple's belief in the resurrection stand in the mind of scholar William Lane Craig as being the three chief events needing to be explained. Certainly I concur with him and would like to add one further detail - the presence of angels. What were the angels achieving as they ministered the glory of Christ's resurrected power to the Apostles?

Matthew 28:3-4 "And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men."  When we look at this detail, it is significant for a number of reasons. First, the women were already on their way to finish the anointing process of Jesus' body in Matthew 28:1. Second, this detail mentioned by Matthew in 28:3-4 reminds the reader of the manifest impossibility of anyone coming to steal the body of Jesus, since the enemies of Jesus had arranged the tomb to be guarded in Matthew 27:62-66. But now when we realize that the presence of angels led to the collapse of the soldiers, it is apparent that the angels were sent to defend, to protect the women and those who would be peering into the empty tomb. Passages such as 2 Kings 6; Psalm 34:7; 91:11 and Hebrews 1:14 remind us of how angels defend or protect God's people.

We read in Matthew 28:5-7 "The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

More tomorrow....

The Runway of God's Greatness - Thoughts from Psalm 103

Psalm 103:1 "Bless the Lord, O my soul,And all that is within me, bless His holy name."

Anytime I have ever flown in an aircraft, the take off is personally among the most interesting aspects of airtravel. Dozens of people are responsible for taxiing the aircraft out to the tarmac to get it ready to zoom down the runway and into the air. Great care is taken to ensure that the aircraft itself is ready for the voyage into the sky. Runway lights show the way to point the pilot and passengers into their journey into the air. When that aircraft is positioned, the engines roar to their full speed. The passengers being pushed back into their seats indicate the proper velocity needed to go from ground to air. Once the bumpiness of the runway is gone, I know we have succeeded in enjoying the view from above. All of this imagery (whether the reader likes flying or not) illustrates how I feel when reading Psalm 103. The Psamist is commanding himself: "Bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within me, praise His holy name". Today I want us to strap ourselves into the seats of Psalm 103 and discover how God in this Psalm gets us down the runway to view His greatness. Notice these thoughts...

1. The redemption won by Jesus Christ - the vessel for beholding God's greatness. Psalm 103:1-5
Someone may wonder how we see Jesus and His finished work in these first five verses, being that this Psalm was written a millennium before Christ came to this world? We must ever remember that the people of God in the Old Testament were saved as much by the cross of Christ as we are, with the distinction being that of perspective. Old Testament saints, like David, looked forward to Christ through the types and shadows of the temple, sacrifices and promises, as spelled out in New Testament passages such as Luke 24:44 and Hebrews 1:1-2. We in the New Testament look back on Christ's finished work. In order for anyone to truly know God, they must begin at the cross. The forgiveness and redemption of God, promise and predicted in the Old Testatment, finds its finish and starting line at the cross. Outside of the cross, God cannot be known in a saving way. Martin Luther in his commentary on Galatians says it well: "If you ask how God may be found, who justifies sinners, know that there is no other God besides this man Christ Jesus. Embrace Him, and forget about the nature of God. But these fanatics who exclude our Mediator in their dealings with God, do not believe me. Did not Christ Himself say: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me"? Without Christ there is no access to the Father, but futile rambling; no truth, but hypocrisy; no life, but eternal death."

2. God's benefits, the windows through which we delight in God's greatness. Psalm 103:2-18
Thus when we are told in Psalm 103:2 to not forget any of God's benefits - those benefits include:

a. Forgiveness (103:3)

b. Healing (103:3)

c. Deliverance (103:4). Such saving benefits not only save us "from" something, but also "unto something" - namely the crowning of God's people with heavenly benefits (103:4).

d. God's mercies. This includes God's abiding peace in this world (103:5-18). Again, what Jesus would achieve and did achieve reaches backward to where David was and forward to where we are at and must be grasped by grace through faith. The redeeming work of God in Christ is the vessel which we must climb into by faith to behold and appreciate God's greatness. 

e. God's Sovereignty. (103:19) If we try to behold God's greatness through any other way, we are no better than a man falling to the ground with no parachute. Anything outside of Jesus Christ leads to certain death. So the redemption won by Jesus Christ is the vessel for beholding God's greatness, but notice something else in this Psalm...

3. God's works and ways are the wheels upon which we roll down the runway of His greatness. Psalm 103:6-18
An airplane needs wheels upon which to roll down the runway. When we are strapped into Jesus Christ by faith, we are ready to live out and soar for Him. What is ever needed in the Christian life is a great love and appreciation for the greatness of God brought to us. David in this Psalm focuses upon four kinds of works of God in Psalm 103:7-18 - God's righteous acts (103:6-7) and three-fold cord of lovingkindness, tender mercies and compassions (103:8-18). At one point the Psalmist makes the distinction between God revealing His acts to the children of Israel (103:7) and His ways to Moses (103:7). It's one thing to see God's hand in our life (i.e His acts). However, whenever God shows us His face in Christ, it is then we pine after Him and are so satisfied with God in Christ that we are fulfilled in every point of faith. The thrust of thus Psalm takes us from contemplating to what God has done (His benefits, His acts, His ways) to the kind of God God is. It is in this pattern of focusing on God's works, ways to actual Person that causes the aircraft of the faith-life to get off of the runway and into the air. We know that in this world, getting into the air is not always easy. God has given us every conceivable grace possible to ensure we will endure to the end (Romans 10:13; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24-25). We have seen the vessel and the wheels needed to get down the runway of God's greatness. In Psalm 103, David mentions one final act of God's grace towards us that oftentimes we don't thin about...

4. God's angels are thr runway lights pointing to His greatness. Psalm 103:19-22
David writes the following striking words in Psalm 103:19 "The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all." One of the plainest declarations we would ever want to read regarding God's Sovereignty and control is found in Psalm 103:19. But now, in this world where the sky overhead is often dark and distractions abound, how is it that the child of God is able to keep focused on this plain and simple truth? David's command to his soul to "bless the Lord" is stated in the language of prayer to God. Also too, the fact that we are reading these words in our Bibles indicates that the words of God - the scriptures - are Divinely appointed by God to ensure our endurance in God. God elsewhere in His word has prescribed secondary means that reinforce to us these truths, among which are His angelic hosts. Passages such as Psalm 91:11 and Hebrews 1:14 explain how angels are ministering spirits sent by God to aid His people in striving forth in their faith. Like runway lights in the middle of the night, angels function to aid the people of God in both taking off in their faith (Hebrews 1:14; 13:3) and ensuring that at the end of their journey, they land in God's intended destination for them - Himself (Luke 16:22). The ministry of God's angels mentioned by David reminds us of this truth in Psalm 126:5 "Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting." Psalm 103:20-22 states - "Bless the Lord, you His angels,Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word! 21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will. 22 Bless the Lord, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless the Lord, O my soul!" Hence David ends this Psalm with the repeated reminder to himself and us: "Bless the Lord oh my soul.

Closing thoughts
The runway of God's greatness and the assurance we have of having enjoyment in God's greatness and being more heavenly minded is instructed to us in this Psalm. May we today go down the runway of God's greatness in the vessel of Jesus Christ's accomplished work, the wheels of God's acts, benefits and ways in Christ and being all the while encouraged by the runway lights of God's angelic hosts that point the way to God's greatness for us to live in, feast upon and enjoy!

Angelic Ministers of God's Greatness - How Angels point to Christ's Post-resurrected glory

Hebrews 1:5-6 "For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”?
And again, “I will be a Father to Him
And He shall be a Son to Me”? 6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.”

Introduction:

Today's post concludes what has been a series of post on the subject of God's heavenly emmisaries - the angels. In keeping with the meaning of the term "angel", we have deemed this series: "God angelic ministers", since angels delivered messages to God's people in the Bible and minister aid to believers today. (see Psalm 91:11; Hebrews 1:14).  Romans 12:1 states - Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,which is your spiritual service of worship. 

God's tender mercies and graces are chiefly expressed in such ways as the Spirit's application of Christ's atoning work, the scriptures, prayer and supplies of strength in the gifts. In addition to these mercies, God also utilizes His heavenly ministers to aid, uphold and encourage His people in ways that are not often discussed.   

In this study we considered the following about God's angelic ministers in regards to how they minister God's greatness: 

1). Angels illuminate the greatness of God's power

2). Angels can energize God's people to do His work

Yesterday considered the third major area of the Angel's ministry - namely the glory of Jesus Christ. We chose to split this final heading into two sub-headings, with attention paid yesterday to how the angels minister to us the glory of Jesus Christ in His incarnation. Jesus ever retains the humanity He assumed in His incarnation, albeit glorified, resurrected humanity. Which is why today we want to understand how the angels help highlight the glory of Jesus Christ in His resurrection (and thus His ascension and 2nd coming).

Writer, author, Dr. John Piper weighs in on how the angels will show once and for all that the resurrected, glorified Christ is truly glorious
As we have been exploring how the angels minister to us the greatness of God, we have solicited the counsel of great minds both past and present. Dr. John Piper is a wonderful author and preacher who wrote a piece commenting on Jesus Christ's return to earth in Matthew 25:31-33. This short excerpt demonstrates how the angels point us to the glorified, resurrected Christ and His second coming: “And all the angels with him.” All of them. Did you get that? Heaven will be left empty of its armies. All the angels will be with him! This means that the triumph is so sure that one doesn't have to cover his rear guard. No one will threaten heaven. All the armies of God on the front line with the Son of Man. Jesus could handle the conquest of earth alone. He is God. But the angels come to magnify him and do his bidding. What is that bidding? Just this: “He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds.” They are going to gather you and me to meet the Son of Man. ( http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/all-the-angels-are-coming-with-him )

Angels point the way to the glory of Jesus Christ in His resurrection and beyond
By way of the Gospel records we see ample witness of how the angels pointed to the glory of Christ's Deity and aided him many times throughout the humility of His humanity. We see two equal emphasis on their pointing the way to His post-resurrected, ascended glory.

When one reads the Gospel accounts of Christ's resurrection and ascension, angels are seen in those episodes as well. Inasmuch as we are witnessing a sequence of historical, literal events that transpired in time and in space, we must include the reality of angelic beings. 

The events of the empty tomb, Jesus' post-resurrection appearances and the cause for the disciple's belief in the resurrection stand in the mind of scholar William Lane Craig as being the three chief events needing to be explained. Certainly I concur with him and would like to add one further detail - the presence of angels. What were the angels achieving as they ministered the glory of Christ's resurrected power to the Apostles? Moreover, what can we learn and apply to our lives regarding Jesus' resurrection power for today? Please note the following thoughts:

1. Angels protected the message and messengers who proclaim Jesus' resurrection from the dead
Matthew 28:3-4 "And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men."  When we look at this detail, it is significant for a number of reasons. First, the women were already on their way to finish the anointing process of Jesus' body in Matthew 28:1. Second, this detail mentioned by Matthew in 28:3-4 reminds the reader of the manifest impossibility of anyone coming to steal the body of Jesus, since the enemies of Jesus had arranged the tomb to be guarded in Matthew 27:62-66. But now when we realize that the presence of angels led to the collapse of the soldiers, it is apparent that the angels were sent to defend, to protect the women and those who would be peering into the empty tomb. Passages such as 2 Kings 6; Psalm 34:7; 91:11 and Hebrews 1:14 remind us of how angels defend or protect God's people. But notice a second significant reason for the presence of angels in the events of the Risen and Ascended Christ...

2. Angels aided in the declaration and explanation of Jesus' resurrection from the dead.
We read in Matthew 28:5-7 "The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” The Hebrew and Greek words translated "angel" speak of a "messenger". Angels are seen throughout scripture announcing things to people. Notice again the function of angels both declaring an explaining in Acts 1:9-11 "And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” The angels were doing what they were created to do: declare and explain the glory of God (Psalm 68:17) and the equal and shared glory of the Son (Luke 2:14). Now notice the third significant reason as to why angels are included in the resurrection and ascension accounts of the Living Christ...

3. Angels' presence demonstration the Deity and humanity of Christ in His resurrection from the deadThe Old Testament makes it abundantly clear that the angels function in the capacity of a royal court demonstrating the Deity of Yahweh. In Job 38:7 and Psalm 104:1-4 we see the angels, from the inception of their creation, exalting God for His creative power. In Psalm 68:17 we see angels attending the giving of the law atop Mount Sinai, demonstrating before the newly redeemed Hebrew nation that uncontested Deity of Yahweh. Daniel 7:10-13 portrays the Lord, the Ancient of Days and the Pre-incarnate Son of Man in royal Deity, being attended by innumerable angelic hosts. Later on in Daniel 12:1-3 we see Michael the archangel attending what will undoubtedly be the Divine power of God Himself raising believers from the dead in the resurrection of the righteous and unbelievers in the later resurrection of the wicked.

Such associations between Yahweh's Deity and angelic presence enables the reader to understand that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead was indeed the resurrection of the humanity of the Son who also was, is and forever will be God. The Living Christ who came out of the tomb on Sunday morning had angels attending to assert the fact that He is as much Full Deity as He is glorified, resurrected humanity.

Closing thoughts
We have spent the last four days considering how the angels minister to believers the greatness of God. In these four posts we have summarized this angelic ministry under three headings:

1). Angels illuminate the greatness of God's power

2). Angels can energize God's people to do His work

3). Angels minister to believers the greatness of God in Jesus Christ

In that last point, we saw angels pointing us to both Jesus' incarnation and post-resurrected glory. May these posts be used of God to further His Kingdom in our days. 

Angelic Ministers of God's Greatness - How they minister the glory of Jesus Christ's incarnation

Hebrews 1:5-6 "For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”?
And again, “I will be a Father to Him
And He shall be a Son to Me”? 6 And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.”

Introduction:

Today's post continues what has been a series of posts on the subject of God's heavenly emmisaries - the angels. Thus far in our study we have considered the following about God's angelic ministers in regards to how they minister God's greatness: 

1). Angels illuminate the greatness of God's power

2). Angels can energize God's people to do His work

Today's post will focus on part one of the final major heading regarding the angels' ministry to us - namely emphasizing the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Dr. John MacArthur weighs in on how angels point the way to Jesus Christ

In a sermon Bible teacher and author Dr. John MacArthur preached back in 1976, he relays how angels are portrayed in the Bible, with particular focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. Dr. MacArthur states: "Now, to give you a parallel, look at Revelation chapter 5 verse 11. Revelation chapter 5 verse 11: “And I beheld and heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb.’” And here the angels are crying out, “Worthy is the Lamb.” Now, the question is: Are they singing? Verse 9 – back up: “And they sang a new song.” Did the four living creatures, who are angels, and the four and twenty elders, I believe are representatives of the church, and it appears as though all the rest of the angels join that new song. So, yes – mark this – the angels are seen singing twice in the Bible. Once at the creation of the world, once again at the return of Jesus Christ. Do you know what is particularly interesting about that? There is no record of them ever singing in between those two things. It seems as though immediately after God made the world and man fell, the angels lost their song. And the thing that will restore the angels’ song is the return of Jesus Christ, and then they’ll sing again." ( http://gty.org/resources/sermons/1363/angels--gods-invisible-army-part-3 )

Dr. MacArthur states later on in the same message: "(W)e said that angels have a ministry toward Christ. We saw the angels minister to Christ in announcing His birth. They ministered to Him right around the time of His birth, all through His earthly life. They ministered to Him at His temptation, early in His life. Later, at His resurrection, and they were there attending His ascension into heaven, and they’ll be with Him when He comes back. But we said in all of the life of Christ, there was one period of time when the angels weren’t helping. You remember what it was? Was when He died. And that’s the time He said, “If I wanted, I could have called 12 legions of angels,” but He chose not to in order that He might die for you and for me. Apart from that, the angels attended Him throughout all of His life. And they still serve Him and He’ll come back with them in His second coming."

Angels minister the glory of Christ's incarnation

By witnessing how the angels ministered to Jesus points us to the truth of His incarnation and thus His glory for our sake. Jesus certainly illustrated the point of angelic assistant in the believer's life by how angels aided Him in His humanity. Matthew 4:11 "Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him." As Jesus was praying in Gethsemane we read in Luke 22:43 "Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him." Jesus chose to forego angelic aid in Matthew 26:53 "Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" The numerous appearances of angels throughout Jesus' earthly ministry points us to the glory of His incarnation.

Tomorrow we will conclude this series of posts on the angelic ministers of God's greatness by noting how they minister the glory of Jesus Christ in His resurrection.