THE ANGELS

The angels were created before the creation of the world. They are spiritual beings that faithfully do God's commandments, but some followed Satan, the great deceiver and were cast down to earth. God gave them power to choose good or evil. There are myriads of them awaiting the commands of God, the creator.

The power of angels has supernatural power, but inferior to Jesus.

A. Jesus is superior to the Angels

Jesus is God made in the image of man on the earth whereas the angels are the created spirits. Hence Jesus is more superior to angels. Jesus was entrusted with power to save the world through His sacrifice on earth.

Hebrews 1:4

• Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath (Jesus) by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Psalm 103:20

The angels do the biddings of Jesus and listens to His commandments.

• Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

The Rebelious Angels

The angels who rebel against God were cast into the earth like their leader Satan.

2 Peter 2:4

• But if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.
• Angels are neither omnipotent nor omniscient

Job 4:18

• Behold he put no trust in his servants: and his angels he charged with folly.

Revelation 12:9

• And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
  
  

Angels are sent by God to shut the lions' mouths, to kill 185,000 Assyrians in one night, and led Peter to escape from the jail where Peter was sleeping between two guards

Daniel 6:21-22

• Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
• My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt: forasmuch as before his innoncency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

2 Kings 19:35

• And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand (185,000): and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

2 Chronicles 32:21

• And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria.

Acts 12:6-10

• The angel of the Lord opened the locks of the jail, and led Peter who was sleeping between two soldiers to escape.

Acts 12:11

• And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

Angels are wise and perfect in beauty for they can discern all things that are in the earth and they are beautiful to look at. Because of pride in their beauty and thought themselves equal to God, they were banished to earth.

2 Samuel 14: 14,17

• ... for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad:
• To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing; and my lord is wise according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.

Lucifer or Satan fell because of Pride

In the beginning, God’s most treasured creation, Lucifer, an angel “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” fell because of pride. He gave up his lovely wisdom and perfection for the wicked desires of his heart. He desired to be equal to God. No one can be equal to God.

God gives the angels power to aid and bring hope to the elect, assisting them in every way, fighting the enemies of God when necessary and helping them to escape..

Genesis 16:7-12

The angel of the Lord ministered to Hagar, Sarah's maid when she fled from Sarah and convinced her to return to her mistress.

Genesis 19:15-16

The angels of the Lord brought Lot and his two daughters out of Sodom to escape the complete destruction.

Exodus 14:19

And the Angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face and stood behind them: (Ex.23:20; 1 K.19:5)

Psalms 91:11

• For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep them in all thy ways.

Acts 27:23

• For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve.

Hebrews 1:14

• Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Angels are sent to act as messengers of God sometimes in dreams as in the case of Joseph, father of Jesus. Joseph was informed that Mary was a good woman and did not sin.

Matthew 1:18-23

• ... the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost (v.20).

Luke 2:8-14

• And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people (v.10).
• For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (v.11).

The Revelation was received by Jesus Christ from God and communicated by an angel to John.

The seven trumpets calls precede God's final judgments upon the world in the last days (Revelations 8:6 and 11:19).

The First Trumpet sounds: Revelation 8:6

• Hail and fire mingled with blood were cast upon the earth.

The Second Trumpet: Revelation 8:8

• And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

The Third Trumpet: Revelation 8:10-11

• And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of water;
• And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

The Fourth Trumpet: Revelation 8:12-13

• And the fourth angel sound, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; ...

The Fifth Trumpet: Revelation 9:1

• And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key to the bottomless pit...

The Sixth Trumpet: Revelation 9:13,14

• And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.
• Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

The Seventh Trumpet: Revelation 11:15

• And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Genesis 1:26

Man made in image of God was given authority to rule over every other created thing including angels. Angels were created before men, but men were made sons of God and when the elected saints have been raised into their spiritual bodies at the second resurrection, they shall judge the angels.

1 Corinthians 6:1-3

• Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
• Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
• Do ye not know that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Men will judge the angels only after the 2nd Resurrection when the elected have been raptured and not before. In the 1st Resurrection, the elected are still alive in the world until the return of Jesus to judge the whole world.

See THE FIRST RESURRECTION OF MAN http://hubpages.com/hub/firstresurrectionofman

Jesus is the only mediator between God and us and we must not treat angels as mediators. It is wrong to pray to angels for healing of our diseases for we can pray to Jesus or God and not anyone else. We should also not pray to saints for they are only human beings and not appointed by God as mediators.

God had ordained Jesus Christ to create the world and He is God in human form in the world. Angels are spirits sent to minister the elect, to carry messages or commands.

1 Timothy 2:5

• For there is one God, and one mediator between God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Revelation 19:10

• And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am they fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Revelation 22:8,9

• And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
• Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.