The Ministry of the Holy Angels in Scripture

In our previous study, we learned that angels are supernatural spiritual beings, created by God to serve Him. They have superhuman power, but they are not as powerful as their Creator, the God of the universe.

These beings were created holy. However, some fell in the rebellion of Satan, who himself was an angel called Lucifer.

Scripture further indicates that there is a huge, innumerable number of these beings, and they are highly organized.

Finally, we learned that, contrary to modern depictions, angels are not seen in Scripture as good-looking women with wings. They are rather sexless but always appear in Scripture as males. Some do seem to have wings, such as the Seraphim in Isaiah 6, but that doesn't mean all of them do.

With that being said, we must look at the ministry of these holy angels. What do they do? The Bible tells us that the angels constantly carry out God's will. If we look at Psalm 103:20,21, it states:

"Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His word, obeying the voice of His word."

And we see that the writer of Hebrews says this about them:

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit eternal life?" (Hebrews 1:14).

In other words, one of the primary roles of angels today is to assist those who are saved.

Since these beings are so important in salvation history, let's take a closer look at them and find out what the Bible tells us about the various ministries that they perform.

To begin with, we see that in every major epoch of history, the angels have been, or will be, involved. The book of Job says that they praised God at the creation of the earth (Job 38:6-7). They were there when the Mosaic law was given (Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2). Angels played an active role in the first advent of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:20; 4:11). They were active during the beginning of the the Church age in which we are presently living (Acts 10:3,7 and 12:11). And when our Lord returns angels will be involved in His second advent (Matthew 25:31 and I Thessalonians 4:1). The Bible portrays these beings as being active in all of God's work, no matter what that work may be. Except for Satan and the fallen angels, these creatures have remained faithful in the service of God since their creation.

Now, let us look at some of the specific duties of the holy angels.

If we look at both the Old and the New Testaments, we will see the angels in heaven giving to God the worship and the praise due his name. For instance, in Isaiah 6, we see the Seraphim saying "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory." And if you look at the last book in the Bible, angels are praising and giving worship to God as well (Revelation 4-5).

In Revelation 5:11-12, the apostle John tells us:

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, 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 who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

We can only imagine the scene that John is telling us about. He is talking about an innumerable host of holy angels here, all speaking in unison of the worthiness of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. It will be a spectacle to behold one day. And I can imagine us all joining in as we hear them.

Another job of angels that we see throughout Scripture is God using them to protect and deliver His people. This is seen in Psalm 91:11-12, which states that God commands angels to guard His people. These verses tell us:

"For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone."

If we look back in the book of Genesis chapter 19, we see angels getting Abraham's nephew, Lot, out of the city of Sodom to protect him from being there when God destroyed that wicked city because of their sins.

Later in history, we observe an angel keeping Daniel safe in the Lion's den. He had been thrown there because King Darius had decreed that for thirty days, no prayers should be addressed to any god or man but Darius himself. Daniel, of course, continued to pray to his God, the Lord, and ended up being thrown to those hungry lions. (Daniel 6).

The next day, when Darius came to find out what had happened to the prophet, Daniel talked to him from the den and said:

"My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”

We see from this that sometimes angels help God's people through situations that otherwise would be impossible for them. Other times, rather than helping through, believers are delivered out of situations. This was done when the apostles were imprisoned in Acts 5, and later when Peter was in prison in Acts 12. In 12:5-11, we read of Peter's miraculous escape. It says:

"Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

Of course, the Almighty God could have done any of these deliverances that we have looked at himself, but he chose to use his servants, the angels, to do them instead. However, they were able to do it because they were empowered by the God who created them.

We also see these beings, throughout scripture, bringing messages from God to men and revealing His will. For example, they helped reveal the Law to Moses, according to Acts 7:52,53. In these verses, Stephen addresses the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. And he tells them this:

"Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

And, of course, we know from hearing it every Christmas season that it was an angel that revealed to Mary that she would give birth to Christ. Luke 1:26-28 tells us

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

Then Gabriel proceeds to tell her that miraculously, she would have a Son, though she had never known a man.

We can also see many examples of the guidance of angels in the Bible, and how they provided for people on behalf of God. For instance, they gave instructions for Joseph regarding the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1 and 2).

Also, after Jesus is baptized and before the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting in the wilderness. During that time, Satan came to tempt him. Of course, the Lord resisted that temptation. And after that, we see in Matthew 4:11 that angels came and ministered to him. No doubt they provided him with food as well. The ministry of angels here signifies divine support and affirmation of Jesus' mission that he was about to undertake.

After Jesus' crucifixion, an angel also instructed the women at the tomb of our Lord, and gave direction as well to Philip and Cornelius (Acts 8:26; 10:1-8).

The Lord has used His holy angels to provide the physical needs of many of His people at various times throughout history. One example of this is food for the prophet Elijah in I Kings 19:5-6. In this passage, Elijah, feeling overwhelmed and fearful after fleeing from Queen Jezebel, lies down under a broom tree. He expresses a desire to die, feeling that he is no better than his ancestors. An angel of the Lord touches Elijah and tells him to get up and eat. Elijah finds a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water beside him. After eating and drinking, he lies down again.

Another thing angels do is to play a part in strengthening and encouraging. We saw that they strengthened and encouraged our Lord after He was tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:11). We also see them doing this with the apostles. They were encouraged to keep preaching after their release from prison. In Acts 5:19,20 the chief priests had arrested the apostles for teaching and healing in the name of Jesus. However, the apostles' continued imprisonment was not in God's plan at that moment, so He arranged to have them released using an angel. And the Scripture tells us:

"But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said: Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life."

And with the direction and encouragement of the angel, that is just what they did.

In His sovereignty, God sometimes uses angels to answer the prayers of believers. We see examples of this in Daniel and Acts (Daniel 9:20-24; 10:10-12 and Acts 12:1-17).

In Daniel 9, for instance, the prophet prays for the sins of Israel and seeks understanding regarding the prophecy of the seventy years of desolation for Jerusalem. The angel Gabriel is sent to Daniel to provide insight and understanding. This occurs shortly after Daniel begins his prayer. Gabriel explains the significance of the seventy-week prophecy, detailing the timeline leading to the coming of the Anointed One, who we now know is our Lord Jesus Christ. The message of Gabriel emphasizes God's plan for Israel and the eventual restoration of Jerusalem.

Jesus further indicates another job of the holy angels. The Lord told the story of the rich man and Lazarus. In this story, we see the spirit of Lazarus being carried away to Abraham's bosom by angels after his death. Luke 16:19-22 tells us:

"There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried..."

The Scripture goes on to say that the rich man ended up in hell. However, it doesn't say anything about angels taking him there: Only Lazarus to Abraham's bosom. We can glean from this that angels play some part in helping believers after they die.

One, not-so-pleasant task of the Holy angels is to carry out the judgements and punishments of God. We see this in various places in the Bible. They will be involved in pouring out the awful judgments of the Great Tribulation, recorded in the book of Revelation. They will even do battle with Satan and his evil angels. The holy angels will confine Satan and his followers to the realm of earth, restricting their access to heaven. This will happen in the middle of the Tribulation. Revelation 12:7-8 informs us:

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found anymore in heaven."

All of this is in preparation for Satan's bondage and ultimate defeat, recorded in Revelation 12 and 20.

A final activity that we will examine in this study is the fact that angels observe our behavior and are interested in how God's plan of salvation is being carried out through human history. The Bible confirms that angelic beings watch us Christians as we carry out our day-to-day activities.

For instance,The Apostle Paul and Sosthenes wrote to the Corinthian church:

“For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and men” (1 Corinthians 4:9).

Angels watched Paul and his companions conduct their ministries. The idea of “spectacle” is one of an arena or a theater: we are center-stage and the angels are sitting in the stands! By watching us and listening to us, the angels gain a deeper understanding of God’s Word and God's wisdom by observing his continual unfolding plan of salvation.

Paul gave Timothy a strict command in his first epistle to the young man, as he wrote:

“I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality” (1 Timothy 5:21).

The angels watched as Paul wrote this epistle to Timothy. They witnessed him giving Timothy instructions.

The apostle Peter makes an interesting statement regarding both prophets and angels in I Peter as well. He states:

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things." (1 Peter 1:10–12).

This shows their obvious interest in how God accomplishes his plan of salvation. This interest also extends to individuals turning to the Lord in salvation as well. Jesus told his disciples in Luke 15:10 these interesting words:

"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Finally, the book of Hebrews seems to indicate that angels may, at times, be observing us from close up, rather than at a distance. Hebrews 13:2 informs us

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

So, there we have it. The holy angels always seem to be about God's business. We can see from this survey that they indeed play a vital role in the Lord's plans for the universe.

I think that we are able to learn a lot from these heavenly beings. We can see how they worship the one true God of the universe and how they are focused on him alone. Our focus, too often, is on everything but God. We have a tendency to love what the Lord has created and forget about the One who gave us all that we have, including our very lives. We must make God our priority in everything that we say, think and do.

Further, we should care, like these beings, about God's plan of salvation for this world, which includes wanting all mankind to know and serve the God that we love. We must always be about our Father's business and be thinking of how we can tell other people about what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary. And we should rejoice when another person comes to a saving knowledge of Christ.

All of God's creation is supposed to serve and glorify its creator. These beings truly serve their Lord with a total devotion, carrying out His bidding. May we who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, be as devoted to Him and His will as these powerful and magnificent creatures. Let all that we do bring glory to God! Then we will be able to completely fulfill the reason for our existence.

We don't need superhuman abilities like they have to do what it takes to please and honor God. All we need, we already have by the Holy Spirit living inside of us.

Let us never forget that we belong to the Lord, through faith in Jesus Christ. And let us show the angels who are watching us that we, too, understand that we serve a wonderful God, who cares about us! Thank God for their example. Let us spend the rest of our time on this planet like they do, setting our own example for others to follow and praising the God who gave us life!