Transcript Class 2: The Power & Authority of the Angels The Angels of God

The Angels of God
Class 2:
The Power & Authority
of the Angels
Note the link of elohim and angels
Psalm 8:4-5 (RSV)
4
5
what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of
man that thou dost care for him?
Yet thou hast made him little less than God (Elohim),
and dost crown him with glory and honor.
Psalm 8:5 (NKJV)
5
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
and You have crowned him with glory and honor.
Heb 2:7 (NKJV)
7
You have made him a little lower than the angels; you
have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him
over the works of Your hands.
Psalm 97:7
7 Let all be put to shame who serve carved
images, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all
you gods (elohim).
Hebrews 1:6
6 But when He again brings the firstborn into
the world, He says: "Let all the angels of
God worship Him."
Angels appear & speak for God
Exodus 3:2-4
2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to
him in a flame of fire from the midst of a
bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush
was burning with fire, but the bush was not
consumed.
3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and
see this great sight, why the bush does not
burn."
4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside
to look, God called to him from the midst of
the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he
said, "Here I am."
Exodus 3:5-6
5 Then He said, "Do not draw near this place.
Take your sandals off your feet, for the place
where you stand is holy ground."
6 Moreover He (the angel) said, "I am the God
of your father-- the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And
Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look
upon God.
Angels appear on behalf of God & speak for God.
Humans treat them as though they were God himself!
Exodus 3:7-8
7 And the LORD said: "I have surely seen the
oppression of My people who are in Egypt,
and have heard their cry because of their
taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
8 "So I have come down to deliver them out
of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring
them up from that land to a good and large
land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to
the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites
and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the
Hivites and the Jebusites.
Exodus 19:17-18
17 And Moses brought the people out of
the camp to meet with God, and they
stood at the foot of the mountain.
18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in
smoke, because the LORD descended
upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like
the smoke of a furnace, and the whole
mountain quaked greatly.
Angels appear with all the power & might of God
Exodus 20:1-2
1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage.
Acts 7:38
38 "This is he who was in the congregation in
the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to
him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers,
the one who received the living oracles to
give to us
In many situations that present God as speaking,
it was actually an angel who appeared and spoke
Judges 2:1-4
1 Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to
Bochim, and said: "I led you up from Egypt and
brought you to the land of which I swore to your
fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant
with you.
2 'And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of
this land; you shall tear down their altars.' But you have
not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?
3 "Therefore I also said, 'I will not drive them out before
you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods
shall be a snare to you.'"
4 So it was, when the Angel of the LORD spoke these
words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up
their voices and wept.
Angels speak & present themselves as though they were
God himself – this is the authority God gives them!
Genesis 3:8-10
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD
God walking in the garden in the cool of
the day, and Adam and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the
LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and
said to him, "Where are you?"
10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the
garden, and I was afraid because I was
naked; and I hid myself."
Right from the beginning the angels were highly involved!
Angels are sent on missions
1 Chronicles 21:12-14
12 'either three years of famine, or three months to be
defeated by your foes with the sword of your
enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the
sword of the LORD-- the plague in the land, with
the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all
the territory of Israel.' Now consider what answer I
should take back to Him who sent me."
13 And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress.
Please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for
His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into
the hand of man."
14 So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and
seventy thousand men of Israel fell.
1 Chronicles 21:15-17
15And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. [not
what the angels wanted to do!] As he was destroying, the
LORD looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the
angel who was destroying, "It is enough; now restrain
your hand." [Note: angel didn’t know when to quit!] And
the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of
Ornan the Jebusite.
16Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the
LORD standing between earth and heaven, having in
his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem.
So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their
faces.
17And David said to God, "Was it not I who commanded the
people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and
done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done?
Let Your hand, I pray, O LORD my God, be against me
and my father's house, but not against Your people that
they should be plagued."
1 Chronicles 21:18-27
18 Therefore, the angel of the LORD
commanded Gad to say to David that David
should go and erect an altar to the LORD on
the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which
he had spoken in the name of the LORD.
20 Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and
his four sons who were with him hid
themselves, but Ornan continued threshing
wheat.
27 Then the LORD commanded the angel, and
he returned his sword to its sheath.
Exodus 12:29
29 And it came to pass at midnight that the
LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of
Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat
on his throne to the firstborn of the captive
who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn
of livestock.
Psalm 78:49
49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
wrath, indignation, and trouble, by sending
angels of destruction among them.
Angels were willing to destroy many, in the hope of
redeeming some. They were learning too that it would
cost God His firstborn son to redeem us from sin.
Daniel 3:28
28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, "Blessed be the
God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who
sent His Angel and delivered His servants who
trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's
word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not
serve nor worship any god except their own God!
Daniel 6:22
22 "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."
Angels were sent because men were found innocent!
God did let faithful men go through troubles so
their faith could be tested and seen by others
Psalm 91:11
11
For He shall give His angels charge
over you, to keep you in all your ways.
Imagine the joy and excitement the angels
had in protecting the 3 in the fiery furnace
and Daniel in the lions’ den!
Appreciate the privilege we have as angels
are charged to protect us. Don’t abuse the
privilege. We can’t continuously chose evil and
then expect the angels to save us out of our
trouble.
Daniel 9:21-23
21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man
Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at
the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly,
reached me about the time of the evening
offering.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me,
and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth
to give you skill to understand.
23 "At the beginning of your supplications the
command went out, and I have come to
tell you, for you are greatly beloved;
therefore consider the matter, and
understand the vision:
Angels work together in unity!
Daniel 8:13-16
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking (probably Michael);
and another holy one said to that certain one who was
speaking, "How long will the vision be, concerning the
daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the
giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled
under foot?"
14 And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days;
then the sanctuary shall be cleansed."
15 Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and
was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood
before me one having the appearance of a man.
16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai,
who called, and said, "Gabriel, make this man
understand the vision."
Daniel 10:13-14
13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia
withstood me twenty-one days; and behold,
Michael, one of the chief princes, came to
help me, for I had been left alone there with
the kings of Persia.
14 "Now I have come to make you
understand what will happen to your people
in the latter days, for the vision refers to many
days yet to come."
Humans can frustrate the work of angels.
Be careful that we don’t frustrate our
angels or the angels working with others!
Angels Cooperate!
Zechariah 1:8-10
8 I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a
red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees
in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red,
sorrel, and white.
9 Then I said, "My lord, what are these?" So the
angel who talked with me said to me, "I will
show you what they are."
10 And the man who stood among the myrtle
trees answered and said, "These are the ones
whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro
throughout the earth."
Zechariah 1:11-14
11 So they answered the Angel of the LORD, who
stood among the myrtle trees, and said, "We have
walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold,
all the earth is resting quietly."
12 Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said,
"O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have
mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah,
against which You were angry these seventy years?"
13 And the LORD answered the angel who talked to
me, with good and comforting words.
14 So the angel who spoke with me said to me,
"Proclaim, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "I
am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great
zeal.
Zechariah 2:1-4
1 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a
man with a measuring line in his hand.
2 So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me,
"To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and
what is its length."
3 And there was the angel who talked with me, going
out; and another angel was coming out to meet
him,
4 who said to him, "Run, speak to this young man,
saying: 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns
without walls, because of the multitude of men and
livestock in it.
Angels work selflessly together. One is in charge,
others do what he asks. If we hope to be equal to
angels, we must learn to live like them now –
selflessly working in our ecclesias and families
Psalm 89:5-7 (RSV)
5 Let the heavens praise thy wonders, O
LORD, thy faithfulness in the assembly
of the holy ones!
6 For who in the skies can be compared to
the LORD? Who among the heavenly
beings is like the LORD,
7 a God feared in the council of the holy
ones, great and terrible above all that are
round about him?
God does have a heavenly made up of angels
who greatly revere council and respect Him
1 Kings 22:19-23
19 Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the
LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all
the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and
on His left.
20 "And the LORD said, 'Who will persuade Ahab to go up,
that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one spoke in this
manner, and another spoke in that manner.
21 "Then a spirit came forward and stood before the
LORD, and said, 'I will persuade him.'
22 "The LORD said to him, 'In what way?' So he said, 'I will
go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his
prophets.' And the LORD said, 'You shall persuade him,
and also prevail. Go out and do so.'
23 "Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the
mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD
has declared disaster against you."
Angels don’t make us good or bad.
They simply influence our choices!
Genesis 1:26-27
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our
image, according to Our likeness; let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
over the birds of the air, and over the cattle,
over all the earth and over every creeping
thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in His own image; in
the image of God He created him; male
and female He created them.
Imagine so many angels working together to make
our world. It is a wonderful privilege and
responsibility to be in their image.
Imagine the discussions
between angels to come
up with a plan and then
their unity in carrying it
out together!
Genesis 11:5-9
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men
had built.
6 And the LORD said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language,
and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be
withheld from them.
7 "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not
understand one another's speech."
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth,
and they ceased building the city.
9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the
language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over
the face of all the earth.
Genesis 18:17-22
17 And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am
doing,
18 "since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation,
and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 "For I have known him, in order that he may command his
children and his household after him, that they keep the way of
the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may
bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."
20 And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and
Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
21 "I will go down now and see whether they have done
altogether according to the outcry against it that has come
to Me; and if not, I will know."
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward
Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
Angels discussed whether or not to tell Abraham.
They needed to go down to see for themselves!
Genesis 19:1-4
1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and
Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them,
he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face
toward the ground.
2 And he said, "Here now, my lords, please turn in to your
servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet;
then you may rise early and go on your way." And they
said, "No, but we will spend the night in the open square."
3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and
entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked
unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of
Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every
quarter, surrounded the house.
Lot didn’t realize they were angels!
Note how the angels responded to
Lot’s plea and ate a meal in his house.
Genesis 19:5-9
5 And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men
who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may
know them carnally."
6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the
door behind him,
7 and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly!
8 "See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man;
please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to
them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this
is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof."
9 And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one
came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now
we will deal worse with you than with them." So they
pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break
down the door.
Genesis 19:10-13
10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot
into the house with them, and shut the door.
11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of
the house with blindness, both small and great, so that
they became weary trying to find the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else
here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and
whomever you have in the city-- take them out of this
place!
13 "For we will destroy this place, because the outcry
against them has grown great before the face of the
LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."
Once again angels can affect the sight of men.
Note the loving compassion of the angels who
wanted to save Lot’s family for Abraham’s sake.
Genesis 19:24-26
24 Then the LORD rained brimstone and
fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the
LORD out of the heavens.
25 So He overthrew those cities, all the
plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and
what grew on the ground.
26 But his wife looked back behind him,
and she became a pillar of salt.
Angels probably didn’t know Lot’s wife would
look back. In their excitement of destroying
Sodom, they also had to destroy Lot’s wife!
Exodus 23:20-23
20 "Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the
way and to bring you into the place which I have
prepared.
21 "Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke
Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for
My name is in Him.
22 "But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak,
then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary
to your adversaries.
23 "For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to
the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the
Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will
cut them off.
Angel had authority and power to forgive or
not forgive sins! Don’t provoke your angel!
Jesus claimed this same authority, but the
Jewish leaders thought it was blasphemy
2 Kings 19:35
35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel
of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the
Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand;
and when people arose early in the morning, there
were the corpses-- all dead. (angels cause death of
Sennacherib too in v. 37)
Daniel 4:17
17 'This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and
the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order
that the living may know that the Most High rules in the
kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets
over it the lowest of men.'
Note the power of angels and their authority to make
decisions. Angels listen to us and know our thoughts just
like they did with Nebuchadnezzar. Be careful about taking
God’s Glory, judging others, and speaking unkind words!
Jude 1:8-10
8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject
authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the
devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses,
dared not bring against him a reviling
accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!“
(from Zech. 3:2)
10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know;
and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts,
in these things they corrupt themselves.
Powerful Michael could have ranted and raved before
God about the Samaritans, but simply let God rebuke
them. We better be careful about what we think and
say about others. Vengeance is God’s & He will repay.
Break time!
Next Class will look at
how the Angels work
for YOU!