Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Just flipping through the Bible, where would you stop to find information about angels? Today, we will tour through the Bible and find those places. We’re glad that you’re joining us here on Grace in Focus, thank you. Grace in Focus is the radio and podcast ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. We are located in North Texas and we have a website, faithalone.org. Lots to learn about us there and we also have a YouTube channel, YouTube, Grace Evangelical Society, where we release short videos a couple of times a week, and we encourage you to subscribe to our channel. YouTube, Grace Evangelical Society. That website again: faithalone.org.

With today’s discussion, here are Bob Wilkin and Philippe Sterling.

BOB: Well, Philippe, we promised to do a biblical theology of angels, so do you have your running shoes on? Because we’re going to be running through eight different books or groups of books. So eight stops about angels, you ready?

PHILIPPE: Yes, let’s go.

BOB: Alright, stop number one, Genesis, and we’ve got lots of things here in Genesis. What do we have?

PHILIPPE: Of course, right away, you know, we go to Genesis 3 and there’s a serpent that is there and ultimately is identified as Satan, the devil and the accuser of the brethren and the adversary. And so, right away [unintelligible] in the book of Revelation, where he’s referred to as “that serpent of old”.

BOB: Right.

PHILIPPE: And there are angels that meet with Abraham that come to his tent compound in Genesis 18 and eat with him. And two of them who are distinctly angels, you know, go off to Sodom and there rescue Lot and his family. And then there’s the angel of the Lord that appears also several times.

BOB: And we also have fallen angels in Genesis 6.

PHILIPPE: Yes. And the angels that married the daughters of men and produced offspring, probably the Nephilim, there that are cited then in Genesis 6 verse 4.

BOB: So there’s a lot in Genesis about angels.

PHILIPPE: Absolutely.

BOB: Okay, then we go to Exodus. Now, what do you got in Exodus?

PHILIPPE: Well, in Exodus, again, we have this appearance of the angel of Yahweh, probably the pre-incarnate Christ.

BOB: To Moses.

PHILIPPE: To Moses.

BOB: On many occasions, right?

PHILIPPE: Yes.

BOB: Because He not only appears to him like the burning bush, but He appears to him when He’s giving him the instructions about the tabernacle.

PHILIPPE: And even after the construction of the tabernacle, He will come and meet in person with Moses and talk with him.

BOB: And the angel of the Lord is the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ. So he actually met Jesus face to face on many occasions.

PHILIPPE: Yes.

BOB: Just like Abraham did too.

PHILIPPE: Yes. And then in Exodus 12, this is the Passover, and there is a destroying angel that comes and takes the lives of all the firstborn.

BOB: And that could be the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ, although it could be like an archangel or something.

PHILIPPE: Yes.

BOB: But yeah, during the Passover, all of the firstborn of Egypt, including the firstborn of the major animals in the Pharaoh’s household, his son dies too, right?

PHILIPPE: Yes.

BOB: His oldest son. And so you’ve got that. And then you also have a description of the cherubim, right?

PHILIPPE: Yes. When we’re in the construction of the Ark of the Covenant, there’s the representation of the cherubim and they have wings. The first appearance of the cherubim, of course, was in Genesis 3, an actual cherubim that guarded the way into the Garden of Eden. But here they are also represented as statues in this case, but also represented with the presence of the Lord.

BOB: Okay. Time to jump to Job. And we got angels appearing a number of times in Job also, right?

PHILIPPE: Yes. In Job 1 and 2, it has the sons of God. And there is Satan who appears. So there’s some kind of divine assembly, a divine counsel.

BOB: And the sons of God refers to both fallen and unfallen angels, right? They’re angels.

PHILIPPE: And Satan then comes and directly speaks with Yahweh.

BOB: He wants the privilege of being able to attack Job.

PHILIPPE: Yeah. Well, he is an accuser of Job, you know. If you do this to him, then of course he will deny you, he will curse you. And so that just appears in Job chapters 1 and 2. But then we have another reference to angels in the book of Job, which is in Job chapter 38 verse 7. We’re told about the angels who were there at days of creation, singing in praise.

BOB: And they were rejoicing. And we wouldn’t know that from any other verse in the Bible, right? That’s where we get it. And these are the words of the Lord. These aren’t the words of one of Job’s quote-unquote counselors.

PHILIPPE: Right.

BOB: So Job is a key book for angels. How about the Psalms?

PHILIPPE: Well, they’re called ministers of God.

BOB: Right.

PHILIPPE: Wind, as wind and flames of fire.

BOB: 104:4?

PHILIPPE: Yeah. Psalm 104:4, and Psalm 91, “He will give His angels charge over you.”

BOB: Oh, that comes up in the temptation accounts where Satan says, throw yourself off the temple and your angels will—basically quotes this verse. And Jesus says,

PHILIPPE: You should not tempt the Lord God.

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BOB: All right. Now, another one. There’s a lot in Daniel about angels, right?

PHILIPPE: Yes. And the book of Daniel, really, in a significant way lifts up the veil about what’s going on in the unseen world. The conflict that definitely affects the nations of the world. And two angels, good angels, unfallen angels are introduced to us by name in Daniel.

BOB: Michael and Gabriel?

PHILIPPE: Yeah. Michael and Gabriel.

BOB: And Michael is, I don’t think he’s called an archangel here, but he is called an archangel elsewhere.

PHILIPPE: Yeah. In the book of Jude, he is called an archangel, who argues with Satan over the body of Moses. But in the book of Daniel, he’s referred to as the prince. You know, the prince that has oversight, charge over the matters concerning the nation of Israel.

BOB: He’s a special angel for Israel. He’s like the angel. In fact, isn’t there a place in Daniel where Daniel’s praying, but it’s a long time before the angel comes to him because he’s been involved in a conflict that’s a regional conflict, right?

PHILIPPE: Yeah. At the time that the Persians were coming into power and Daniel, you know, knowing that the 70 years were at hand for the exiles to return, he begins to pray and confess, there’s a conflict going on, prevent, I guess, the actual king of Persia to allow the return of the exiles, you know, as will happen with Cyrus.

BOB: Well, you’ve also got an angel involved, don’t you, with Daniel in the lion’s den?

PHILIPPE: Yeah, “I sent His angel to shut the mouth of the lions” in Daniel 6.

BOB: And then you also have angels are called watchers or something like that?

PHILIPPE: Yeah. In reference to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and to, there’s a reference made to watchers and watchers may be fallen angels, we’re not sure. But somehow they’re involved behind the scenes. So Daniel is an important book concerning, again, the specific identity of some of the angels and this whole invisible war that is going on that’s affecting the nations of the world, the nations of that time, as one empire gives way to another empire, the Babylonians, the Persians, and then later on, you know, with the Greeks and Alexander and all of that.

BOB: Yeah, very good. Okay, so Daniel’s a key stop on our journey, but we better move on. We also have the Gospels, Hebrews, and Revelation. So what do we learn in the Gospels?

PHILIPPE: Right away, the temptation of Christ and Satan, the devil. He’s referred to as the devil, I think, in several of the Gospel accounts. Then of course, there’s all the demons, you know, the authority that Jesus has over them and the authority He delegates to the disciples, the twelve, and then the seventies. And so there’s this vast opposition, both demonic and satanic, that’s occurring.

BOB: But you also have angels who are giving aid to Jesus in a couple of different places don’t you?

PHILIPPE: Well, in the temptation account itself, angels came and ministered to Him after that and also in the Garden of Gethsemane where He’s praying and angels do come in and minister to Him to strengthen Him and render aid to Him.

BOB: And didn’t He say at one point too that if He wanted He could call down six legions of angels when He’s on the cross?

PHILIPPE: Well, I think it was twelve legions. He could, if He had been so inclined, you know, to call to His rescue, 72,000 angels.

BOB: And it only took one to destroy 185,000 Syrian soldiers in the Old Testament. So these angels are pretty powerful beings. How about the book of Hebrews? What do we learn in Hebrews regarding angels?

PHILIPPE: Of course, Christ and the angels are compared in Hebrews chapter 1 verses 4 to 14. And verse 14 distinctly says that they are ministering spirits sent to render aid to those who will inherit salvation, salvation again being here to be partners with Christ and rulers with Christ, their inheritance in the millennial kingdom and then the new earth. But also in chapter 13 verse 1, some have entertained angels, not aware of that, but they were being hospitable to actual angels.

BOB: In the first century. And that could be today.

PHILIPPE: Yes, we know that happened with Abraham and I think that’s alluded to in Hebrews 13:1, but it continues on, because Hebrews 12 also talks about the innumerable number of angels that are there along with the assembly of the firstborn and Christ, 12:22.

BOB: All right, final stop. There’s a lot in Revelation about angels, right?

PHILIPPE: Yes, there’s an interpreting angel that is sent to guide John in explaining much to him. There are the angels who are agents of judgment. They blow the trumpets, they pour the wrath of God out of bowls upon the earth. We’re told of angels that for a period of time restrain wind from blowing on the earth. We’re told of four fallen angels that are currently bound at the river Euphrates but who will be released to gather the nations of the world to come to the valley of Jehoshaphat, of destruction, then Christ will come and deal with them.

BOB: And you’ve got two fallen angels that are mentioned by name.

PHILIPPE: Abaddon, Apollyon, if those are real names. And then Michael and his angels who battle against the devil and his angels.

BOB: And there’s also an angel that chains Satan, right?

PHILIPPE: Revelation chapter 20, an angel comes and grabs hold of the dragon, and chains him in the abyss for the thousand years.

BOB: Well very good. I am winded after we’ve done this 5K through the Biblical theology.

PHILIPPE: This is 5K, you do twenty!

BOB: March, April and May, I did three virtual half marathons, one each month, and now I’m paying for it. But angels are terrific study and I urge all of you to study angels because angels have a prominent role in the cosmic conflict. Angels have a big role in God’s plan and not only have they had a big role up till now but they’re going to have a big role forever. We’re going to be interacting with angels I assume for all of eternity. The unfallen angels will be serving us and will be aiding us, right?

PHILIPPE: Yes, because we are partners with Christ but I think angels will be our assistants in whatever ways we serve the Lord in the forever.

BOB: Well, thanks so much, Philippe, and always let’s keep grace in focus.

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On our next episode: Do Calvinists and Arminians both teach salvation by works? Please join us and until then, let’s keep grace in focus.