Exploring the Angels of the Bible, Part 2

As I mentioned in part 1, there are 283 times that the word "angel" is used in the Bible (KJV). I will not list every reference here, but briefly share some verses that are most relevant to this series. Today, I will begin with Gensis chapter 28.

Jacob was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham.  He had a twin brother, Esau.  He and Esau were perpetually at odds, dealing with the dangerous sin of sibling rivalry.  Jacob's name means "supplanter" because even before he was born, God knew Jacob would steal his brother's birthright.  He also tricked his blind father into giving him the blessing meant for the first-born twin.  He was a deceiver.  His cunning and evil ways caused his brother to want to kill him, so Jacob left home.  

In spite of Jacob's trickery God knew the potential of Jacob's heart and that it could become tender.  In His mercy, He still wanted to bless Jacob. In Genesis chapter 28, He gives Jacob a dream:

And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night... and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, "I am the Lord God... and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not." And he was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and... vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me... then shall the Lord be my God." Genesis 28:11-21

It is after Jacob sees God and His angels that He experiences a revival.  He is in awe that God visited him, and vows to follow the Lord and pursue a life of peace.  God wants all of us to acknowledge Him and pursue peace as well.  We may not have such a dramatic experience as Jacob, but that does not mean God is ignoring us, or that He is not trying to get our attention.  He wants us to let go of our sinful nature and make Him Lord of our lives. He will be with us guiding us, if only we will surrender our will to Him and obey.  May we make the same vow as Jacob that the Lord, "shall the Lord be my God."

Jacob then meets Rachel and wishes to marry her in exchange for seven years as her father, Laban's worker. However, Laban, tricks Jacob into marring Leah first. Jacob must add an additional seven years in commitment to Laban in order to marry Rachel.  The trickster has now become the one deceived!  Laban also changed Jacob's wages ten times, and not for the better.  God has compassion on Jacob and in chapter 31, He sends an angel to give Jacob a message:

And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, "Jacob" And I said, "Here am I." And he said, "Lift up now thine eyes... for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee I am the God where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred."  Genesis 31:11-13

Knowing he has God's favor, Jacob flees Laban. Laban pursues Jacob, but God warns him in a dream not to harm Jacob.  Eventually the two meet again and agree to part in peace. (Again, these blogs are shortened versions, so please read the Biblical stories on your own.) When Jacob leaves Laban again, God gives him another sign that He is with Jacob.

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, "This is God's host..." Genesis 32:1-2

This is all that is mentioned of Jacob's experience with angels.  However, he may have had encounters throughout the rest of his life that are were not recorded.

We may never see an angel undisguised in the flesh, but as Jacob, God may allow them to appear in dreams to us.  My husband and I have both have had multiple dreams with angels in them.  They are always there to instruct and encourage.  They do not always look as we may assume an angel should look, but the same people with identical descriptions have repeatedly appeared in both my husband's dreams and mine. It is the confirmation of similar appearances that let us know they are not created out of our imaginations, but messengers from God appearing in our dreams.  

As with Jacob, even if we have sinned and done what we knew was wrong, God knows the potential of our hearts and is merciful in giving us a chance to change. If we, as Jacob, listen to the messages from the angels, and allow His words to transform us through repentant hearts, God may choose to bless us. Because he softened his heart, Jacob eventually made peace with his brother Esau.

It is evident is Genesis 35:2 that Jacob has truly allowed God to change him when he advises his household to "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments."  It is another message God wishes us to learn.  To give up all idols that come before God and get rid of all beliefs that do not agree with the Word of God and the principles taught by Jesus Christ.  

Ephesians 5:27 lines up perfectly with the above verse in Genesis as we are instructed to be without, "spot, or wrinkle... but... should be holy and without blemish."  If we are filthy in our sins, we need to take the advice in Genesis 35 and "change our garments" which can only be accomplished through the blood of Christ making us clean. Then we must stay pure for Him as Christ is retuning only for a clean bride. 

Be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 2 Peter 3:14

As we continue with our study through the Bible on angels, we will see how the Old Testament and New Testament teachings on holiness will always line up and will continue on to the end of time.

For further study on God's plans for holiness, I will leave you with a few more verses in Ephesians 5.  I will continue the study in angels next time beginning in the book of Exodus!

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ... That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:1-27

Exploring the Angels of the Bible, Part 1

As I begin this writing, I want to make it clear that I am not trying to be sarcastic or demeaning of other people's beliefs, but simply to clear up the image of angels Hollywood is trying to confuse people with. Perhaps some of my readers are new believers and do not know fact from fiction.  I pray this writing will help clarify any questions you may have.  

Angels have never been human, nor will they ever become human.  God created angels many years before humans, and they were never meant to be the same.  The Bible consistently says, "men and angels" indicating we are separate creatures (for example: 1 Corinthians 4:9 & 1 Corinthians 13:1). Both Psalm 8:5 and Hebrews 2:7 state humas were made "a little lower than the angels," not the same as them. TV shows such as "Highway to Heaven" and many of the ads for movies I have seen on YouTube depict angels as having once been human but have been sent back to earth on assignment.  Such as in the classic movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," where a human-turned-angel must try to earn his wings. I remember reading a book in high school I think may have been titled "Angel Walk" where an angel wanted to know what it felt like to be human, so God allowed him to be human for a time.  While entertaining and even emotional at times, this is far from the Truths of the Bible.  

Even more disturbing is that angels are often depicted as magical.  They are often shown as having special powers to perform ridiculous tasks I will not even go into.  Be not deceived, God hates witchcraft (Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these... witchcraft... of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21) as it comes from Satan, and not from God. Any "powers" angels display do not come from them but are granted by God. Just as when holy saints perform miracles, it is ONLY by God's power that allows them to do so. No angel or human can produce a miracle on their own.  If God is not involved, the power comes from Satan not man.

God created angels as His helpers, his companions, and to worship Him.  A group of angels lead by Lucifer decided he wanted to be God.  He and a third of the angels rebelled against their Creator until God threw them out of heaven.  There are many circumstances surrounding that ancient war in heaven that we cannot ever know the details of until we ourselves leave this world, but we do know it is a very complex issue.  It is why the blood of Jesus had to be shed in order to save humans from hell.  There was no other way to redeem us than that precious blood.  We know the result of that long-ago war is why Lucifer/Satan has been allowed to be called "the prince of the air" (Ephesians 2:2) and been allowed to torment humans for so long.  We also know that God will eventually throw Satan and his demons into the eternal pit of hell, never to escape, and those of us who have defeated the devil with our Godly walk will live a life of peace forever with our Creator.  Satan and his demons are the only instance in the Bible that mentions angels becoming anything other than what they were created to be.  And even so, they were never human. Yes, they lived with humans for a time when the race of the Nephelium came into existence, but that is a whole new subject for another writing.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. Isaiah 14:12-15

The actual definition of the word angel is "a messenger, especially of God."  However, they are much more than that! Angels are also teachers, warriors, guardians, leaders, protectors, comforters, and above all, worshippers of God.

Before we go any further in our study, let's first note that we are never to worship angels.  It is acceptable to be amazed by beings that literally spend time in the presence of God and are trusted with doing the will of the Father, but just as we should never place any human on a pedestal, we also should remember that the only Ones we should give honor and praise to are God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  As we examine the scriptures, we will be reminded of this several times as the angels will always tell the person attempting to worship the angel, that he must worship God instead.

When searching Bible Gateway, the word "angel" appears 283 times (KJV)! I am not going to copy every scripture here but will go over quite in bit in order that they appear in the Bible.  I will not list every instance, but just the most relevant to this series. The best place to start is simply at the beginning. These tellings with be very brief, and as always, I suggest you study on your own and read the entire chapters mentioned in context.

The first mention of an angel is in Genesis 16 when an angel appears to Hagar after she runs away because Sarai (later named Sarah) has abused her.  The angel comforts Hagar tells her she is pregnant with Abram's (later named Abraham) first born son Ishmael and convinces her to return home.  He is very honest and tells her Ishmael will be "a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him (verse 12)." Angels will never deceive you, but offer up Truth, even when painful.  

The next time angels are mentioned in the Bible it is for a very different reason than as a comforter to a distressed servant.  This time they are sent as both rescuers and destroyers.  In chapter 18, God reveals to Abraham that He will destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because their "sin is very grievous (verse 20)." Abraham pleads with God to spare the life of his nephew Lot.  Therefore, in Chapter 19, God mercifully sends two angels to rescue Lot out of the doomed city. The residents of this city were so wicked, they tried to convince Lot to send the angels out of his home so they could abuse them (to put it mildly).  The men were so determined to cause harm to the angels that the angels were given the power from God to render the men blind so they could not find the door to Lot's house.  The angels rescued Lot and his family out of Sodom. God then gave the angels authority to destroy the wicked cities. Again, note that it is not the power of the angels but under the power of God.  

For now, I will end here.  Next time I will jump ahead to Genesis 28 as we explore the story of Jacob.

Whiter Than Snow

 

(I originally wrote this in 2018 when we were still living in Cascade, ID.  I took the above photo north of McCall in 2015.)

Maybe it’s the fact that I live in the mountains, and it has been snowing almost every day for a few weeks, or maybe it’s the approach of a new year causing me to reflect inward.  Whatever reason, the title of this blog came to me this morning, and so I will attempt to do the theme a good service!

The words of Psalm 51 reflect my own heart.  I feel like to add my own words are not necessary if one reads this Psalm (listed at the end), but I doubt God put this theme in my head this morning just to copy and paste those verses!  

When you read the first few verses, you will note that we must first acknowledge our sin.  True repentance does not come if we insist we have done nothing wrong or are just going through the motions of asking God to cleanse us.  Admitting you need to be clean is an obvious first step.  As I have stated many times, grace may be a free gift, but we must confess our sins and ask for forgiveness for it to be granted. Nor do we abuse God's grace by refusing to change our sinful habits (read Romans chapter 6).

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

Jesus, yes, is “just to forgive,” but we must first "confess our sins" and He expects us to do our very best to stay clean!  In John 8:1-11, a woman caught committing adultery is brought before the Lord.  I am sure you are familiar with this story.  Jesus sends her accusers away (some believe it was the accusers' sins He was writing in the sand).  But my focus is not on her confronters, but on the woman.  What does Jesus say to her?  Does he say, “I forgave you once, so go your merry way and do as you please from this day forward?”  Of course not!  Jesus tells her what He tells all of us after we have been forgiven, “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11) Although I prefer to use the KJV of the Bible, the NIV translation of this verse is a good one, for it is worded as, "Go now and leave your life of sin."

In the below verses, the people are told to get rid of their evil ways so they can be cleansed as snow.  What I have always liked is the Lord saying, "Come now, and let us reason together.”  I picture a loving, heavenly Father, no, not allowing us to justify our sins and attempt to explain why we sinned, but rather listening as we plea for forgiveness.  He then embraces us, wipes our tears of contrite repentance, encourages us to continue striving to enter in at the narrow gate, and reassures us that we are loved.  His love, combined with our actions, makes us feel clean, white, and new.      

"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:16-18

What happens to snow on a day-to-day basis?  It gets dirty.  It looked so pristine that morning, but as the cars drove by, or the dog (excuse me for saying so) urinated on it, it turns brown and yellow.  Yet, behold, at the next snow fall, the beauty has been restored, all sparkly and white.  Pretty obvious symbolism here, isn’t it?  When we pray as David did, to be purged and to have a new, clean heart, let us make that a daily prayer.  

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  Luke 9:23

Again, 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." But note the first 5 words. We need to be proactive on our part and ask for forgiveness. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Therefore, you know He is gracious enough to forgive us every single time we ask.

Short message today, but living a clean life does not have to be overly complicated.  Admit to your sin, confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, cast away the old nature, and make a daily decision not to repeat old sins or commit new ones (no one is perfect, but this is a good goal to do our best to live righteously).

I am not a big fan of new year’s resolutions because, as I have just stated, we should evaluate our lives daily and strive to be the best person we can be every day, not just at the beginning of the year.  However, if you want a new routine to help you be a better Christian, I suggest reading Psalm 51 and making this your theme every year!

Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight-- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.  Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.   For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-- These, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:1-4; 6-13; 16-17