Faith Like A Mustard Seed

I never actually thought that God’s Word had too much to say about angels.  I took some time to look it up…and there are actually many references to them. 

What are angels?

Angels are servants of the Lord.  They are obedient to the will of the Lord, unlike most of us. 

Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.  Psalm 103:20

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.  Matthew 13:41

What do angels do?

They praise God.

Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.  Psalm 148:2

Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.  Revelation 4:8b

They serve God’s purposes.

This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous…  Matthew 13:49

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.  Matthew 24:31

The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.”  Luke 1:19

They watch over us. 

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;  Psalm 91:11

“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”  Matthew 18:10

They reign with God forever. 

At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.  Matthew 22:30

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  Matthew 25:31

…and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.  2 Thessalonians 1:7

However, there are also fallen angels who are not angels any longer.  They turned from God, and were cast down to the earth.  They wait now for destruction, and in the meantime they try and destroy God’s people because that is the only way they are able to hurt God, whom they have rejected. 

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Luke 10:18

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.  Job 2:7

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.  Zechariah 3:1

Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.  Mark 4:15

Satan is hard at work, along with those who are with him.  There is a great spiritual battle going on right now, and many are oblivious. 

“Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”  Luke 13:16

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  1 Peter 5:8

The word Satan means adversary.  Satan is also known as the devil, and his name was once supposedly, Lucifer, although that name is not mentioned in the Bible. 

If you are not careful, you may not recongnize him.  He is not dressed in red, with horns, a pointy tail, and pitch fork.  He wants you to think of him that way for you will surely not see him then.  He actually takes on the form of an angel of light.  He wants only to fool us, destroy us, and hurt the God whom we serve. 

You see, that is all he can do, for the outcome has already been told.  You need not seek fortune tellers, psychics, sorcerers, or other abominable things.  Seek only the Lord, and find the answers you seek, and so much more. 

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.  They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.  And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.  Revelation 20:7-10

Dave Earley  http://www.init-2-winit.org