St.
Michael and All Angels
September
29, 2019
Text: Dan. 10:10-14, 12:1-3;
Rev. 12:7-12; Matt. 18:1-11
The
Prophet Elisha and his servant are holed up in Dothan. The King of
Syria is in hot pursuit. Elisha must be captured and put to death,
for by the word of the Prophet, God has been protecting the nation of Israel
from Syrian assault. The Syrian army surrounds Dothan. “When
the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold,
an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said,
‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ He said, ‘Do not be afraid, for those who
are with us are more than those who are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed and
said, ‘O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the LORD opened the
eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses
and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:15-17; ESV).
So
it is for the people of God. The enemies arrayed against us are
colossal. There is the devil and his evil angels (more on them in a
moment). There is the world, which is hostile to Christ and His
people, the Church. There is your own sinful nature, which believes
the lies of the devil and the world and is all too willing to capitulate to
their temptations. These surround the holy city, the Church of God,
and to all appearances, guarantee our defeat and ultimately our
destruction. But if the Lord would open our eyes to see the
spiritual reality that surrounds us, we would not only see the demonic hoards
that seek to do us harm, but the holy angels gathered around us for our
defense. And we would realize that those who are with us are more
than those who are against us. Christ Himself fights for us and has
already conquered our enemies by His death and resurrection. And now
He has given us the protection of the angel host, so that we need not
fear. We are safe and can rest secure. Though the battle
rages between the forces of good and evil, holiness and wickedness, the war is
won in the blood of the Crucified. And His angels have been
dispatched to guard us in all our ways, to bear us up lest we strike our foot
against a stone (Ps. 91:12).
Who
are these majestic beings, the holy angels? Well, they are not the
souls of the dead. When Grandma dies,
heaven doesn’t “gain another angel.”
That’s from cartoons and popular American spirituality, but it’s not the
Bible. Angels are a special creation of
God. They were created in the beginning,
ministering spirits who do the will of God. They are not smiling
naked babies with wings as we so often represent the Cherubim. Nor
are they the serene feminine beings we place on top of our Christmas
trees. They are fearsome creatures, mighty warriors who do the bidding
of God, fight against the devil and the evil angels, and aid us in our
Christian life. Angels are spirits. They are personal
beings that do not have a physical body. They are described in
various ways in Holy Scripture, so that an exact description of them is beyond
our ability. Isaiah describes the Seraphim, one particular order of
angels, as having six wings: with two they cover their faces, with two they
cover their feet, and with two they fly (Is. 6:2). The Cherubim,
another order of angels, were charged with guarding the door to Paradise with a
flaming sword (Gen. 3:24). Likenesses of Cherubim were set over the
Ark of the Covenant, where God dwelt with the people of Israel (Ex.
25:18-22). Ezekiel describes these strange and wonderful creatures
in his 10th Chapter: “as for their appearance, the four had the same
likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. When they went, they went in any
of their four directions without turning as they went… And their
whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings, and the wheels were full
of eyes all around… And every one had four faces: the first face was the face
of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of
a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle” (vv. 10-12, 14; ESV). So
much for our Christmas angels!
The
angels are neither male nor female, though they are most often described in
masculine terms. They were created sometime during the six days of
creation, and sometime before the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, there was
a rebellion among the angels. Since this rebellion, the holy angels
have been confirmed in their holiness, they cannot fall; the evil angels have
been confirmed in their wickedness and condemnation, they cannot repent. Originally
created as holy angels, Lucifer (Light Bearer) and the angels that followed him
in his rebellion were cast out of heaven to spend eternity separated from
God. Our Lord Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from
heaven” (Luke 10:18). In his vision, St. John sees the evil
dragon sweep a third of the stars of heaven out of the sky with his tail, the
dragon being the devil and the stars being the angels that fell (Rev.
12:4). The name “Satan” is Hebrew for “adversary.” The
name “devil” is Greek for “accuser.” His name indicates his
nature. He is our adversary, “a roaring lion, seeking someone to
devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He seeks to lead us with him into eternal
damnation. He accuses us before God and before our own conscience,
seeking to lead us into despair. He tempts us to sin and unbelief
and causes untold damage spiritually and physically. St. Paul calls
him the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), and Jesus calls him
the “ruler of this world” who is “cast out” by the redeeming work
of Christ (John 12:31; cf. John 14:30, 16:11). Though the devil is a
powerful angel, we need not fear him, for by His death and resurrection our
Lord Jesus has “disarmed the rulers and authorities [demonic
beings] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him”
(Col. 2:15).
The
word “angel” comes from the Greek “angelos,” meaning
“messenger.” The holy angels are God’s messengers. They
are His special agents dispatched for our physical and spiritual
protection. “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to
serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Heb.
1:14). And yet, at the same time they are guarding and protecting
us, they are ever in the presence of God. Jesus says in our Gospel,
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,” meaning
certainly the children, but also all of God’s children, all Christians… “For
I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is
in heaven” (Matt. 18:10). That means that even as they are
present with you, they are present with God, have direct access to Him, and do
His bidding for your good. What a comfort! Their job is
to help you, to protect you physically and spiritually for the sake of your
salvation. Some of them may even appear visibly among us in human
form, as the writer to the Hebrews says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality
to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb.
13:2). And these angels, they are a countless host. As
they serve and help you, they simultaneously sing praise to God in
heaven. St. John saw a vision of this in the Revelation: “Then I
looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders
the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,
saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power
and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’” (Rev.
5:11-12). And what is amazing is that we join them in this reality
when we gather around the altar to laud and magnify the glorious Name of God
“with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven.”
The
angels help us in our worship, and as God’s messengers, they are always
directing us to Christ and His saving Gospel. So the angels announced
the coming of the Lord Jesus to Mary and Joseph (Luke 1:26-38; Matt.
1:18-25). They hailed His birth to the shepherds tending their
flocks by night (Luke 2:8-15). An angel rolled back the stone of
Jesus’ tomb and was the first preacher of the Resurrection (Matt. 28:1-7; John
20:12). It is the angels who will announce with trumpet sound our
Lord’s coming again to judge the living and the dead (Matt. 24:31; 1 Thess.
4:16). And if we only had eyes to see, we would marvel at the many
and various ways they direct our ears to the hearing of God’s Word in Scripture
and preaching. Angels, messengers of God, indeed.
And
what good news they bring. Here you are surrounded on all sides by
your three main enemies: the devil, the world, and your own sinful
flesh. The yawning jaws of death and hell are eager to swallow you
whole. But you are of good courage. You do not lose
heart. Because by faith you know that what was true for Elisha is
true for you. Those who are with you are more than those who are
against you. He who gave His Son into death, washing away your sins
by the holy and precious blood of Christ, will not betray you into the hands of
the enemy. He has surrounded you with His holy angels, horses and
chariots of fire, to protect you, body and soul. And when your last
hour comes and you take your last breath, the holy angels will carry you to
heaven to be with the Savior (Luke 16:22). You see, you are never
alone. Not even in death. Christ is with
you. And His holy angels are an impregnable wall of defense around
you, mighty warriors who fight for you. And they and you have
conquered Satan and his hoard by the blood of the Lamb and by His holy Word
(Rev. 12:11). Thanks be to God for the holy angels. In
the Name of the Father, and of the Son (+), and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment