MEET YOUR ANGELIC PROTECTORS
We fight a battle against Satan, sin and the world – but we don’t fight alone. We have God as our commander and a large army of angel allies to help us. They serve God as we do. He uses them to protect, guide and assist us in our lives. We don’t see them or contact them because that would take glory from God and all glory belongs just to Him. But there are some things we know about them from Scripture.
There are different categories of angels. The Bible speaks most often of CHERUBIM. They guarded the Garden of Eden so Adam and Eve couldn’t return (Genesis 3:24). They are also present at the throne worshipping God (Ezekiel 10:20-21).
SERAPHIM aren’t mentioned often but Isaiah records seeing them at the throne as well (Isaiah 6:1-2). Revelation 4:8 also mentions a living creature with six wings which could also be a reference to the seraphim. While we have physical descriptions of the cherubim and the seraphim, we don’t know the names of any of them.
We do know that some angels are ranked above others. They are organized similar to a modern-day army with one chief commander who has generals, captains, etc. under him. These higher-ranking angels are called ARCHANGELS. We know they will accompany Jesus when He returns for us (1 Thessalonians 4:6).
We do know the names of three of these archangels. MICHAEL is mentioned often in the Bible as a leading, powerful archangel (Jude 9). We read of him in Daniel (10:13) and Revelation (12:7). When he fights demons he is always victorious.
GABRIEL is another archangel; one we are familiar with in the birth of Jesus story. He often appears as a messenger. We see him bringing God’s message to Zechariah (Luke 1:19) and then to Mary (Luke 1:26-27). He also came to Daniel to help him understand the vision he received from God (Daniel 8:15-16).
It seems like there was a third archangel, LUCIFER (literally “Star of the Morning” Isaiah 14:12). He rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28). He is also called a cherub (Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:14-16). We now call him SATAN which means “Adversary, or “Opponent.” We also call him the DEVIL which means “Accuser” or “Adversary.”
When Satan rebelled against God about a third of the angels sided with him and were also defeated and cast out of heaven. These FALLEN ANGELS we refer to as demons (Luke 10:18; Matthew 25:41).
There is one other angel named in the Bible. Revelation 9:11 says: “They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is ABADDON and in Greek is APOLLYON (that is, Destroyer).” He appears when the fifth trumpet is blown in the tribulation and leads the locusts that sting like scorpions to bring judgment. That’s all we know about him.
We don’t see angels or communicate with them, but they are important allies in our battle against sin and Satan. You’ve probably encountered them and been helped by them without knowing it (Psalm 91:11-12). Either they were invisible or took the form of a human being (Hebrews 13:2). Have you ever narrowly missed being in a bad car accident? Or fallen but landed in such a way that you weren’t injured? Or found something you thought you lost? Or been helped by a total stranger who just happened to appear at exactly the right time? Those, and many other events, could be angels God has sent to assist you.
I think there’s Biblical support that God assigns certain angels to watch over us from birth, guardian angels we can call them (Matthew 18:10; Hebrews 1:14; 13:2; Psalm 91:11). We are not to worship them (Revelation 19:9-10) but we are to worship and thank God who sends them. They are His servants, just as we are. We are not alone. We have angel armies fighting for us. How great is that!
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” – Psalm 91:11-12
Can you think of times God sent angels to protect or help you, either invisibly or in the form of a total stranger who soon disappeared? Thank God for these times and for angel helpers who are always all around us.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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