Covenant Presbyterian Church

Sunday morning Foundations Classes
God's Positioning System (GPS)

Angels Lesson #3

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The title Archangel only occurs in two Bible verses: Jude 9 describes the Archangel Michael when he faced the Devil, and 1 Thess. 4:16 where Jesus returns with the voice of an archangel. Being associated with Jesus one would tend to place archangel as a top rank. But we can’t disregard Seraphim who many biblical scholars rank at the top. So, who’s right? One can be top ranking within their specific sphere of responsibility. A Navy admiral and Army general may be of equal rank, but their authority is dictated by their organizational responsibilities, one over sea, the other over land. 

The Seraph’s authority is focused within the context of God’s throne. An Archangel’s responsibility is focused outward as chief warrior in defense of God’s throne. We know Michael has the same access to God’s throne since he takes his orders directly from God. Rank and authority don’t necessarily coincide. Archangels and Seraphim have different area of responsibility and authority. I don’t think you can pit one against the other, as some commentaries do.

Archangel, translated from the Greek, literally means “chief angel.” Ranking between classification of angels isn’t always that certain; i.e., Seraphim, who tend God’s throne, don’t lead an army as does the Archangel Michael or guard the tree of Life as do Cherubim. 

In Dan. 12:1 Michael was defender of the nation of Israel, described as “a great prince who stands up for the children of your people” (i.e., Israelites). Michael's title is archangel. What exactly does that entail? During WWII the allied armies in Europe and Africa were led by a Supreme Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five star general, the highest military rank at the time. Now four star is the highest rank.

Eisenhower’s rank reflected his authority as supreme commander over all the allied forces in Europe and Africa, which did not include the Pacific theatre. Rank and specific area of responsibility go together. Both Lucifer (before his fall) and Archangel Michael were top ranking angels. Jude 9 may give us a hint regarding the possibility that Lucifer may have been at the very top of angelic ranks. His position may have contributed to his pride. 

Did Satan lose his exalted angelic rank when he was cast out of heaven? Jude 9 seems to indicate that Lucifer retained his rank, but lost his authority over God’s angels. We see it when Archangel Michael disputed with Satan over the body of Moses in Jude 9: – But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"  We see something similar in how top-ranking German prisoners were treated with respect, in accordance with rank. Here we see an American officer saluting a higher rank surrendering German officer.

One last word on Michael: The Book of Daniel was written during the Babylonian captivity. Dan. 12:1 tells about a time of distress, yet God assures Daniel that Michael (the archangel) will protect his people. I believe the same is true today in the spiritual battlefield. Michael and his angelic hosts stand ready to respond to God’s command. If the Church is to be God’s people, it must live by His Word. When we witness some of the actions of certain mainline denominations, it’s apparent that not everyone in the Church is of the Church. 

Uriel is also identified as an archangel by some, but is not included in the canonical books of the Bible—(those recognized as Scripture). Few have heard of Uriel, who is in the apocryphal books of 2 Esdras and Enoch and in some ancient Jewish writings. Though Gabriel is not preceded by the title archangel, he is recognized by the Church as an archangel. Gabriel described himself as, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God.” (Luke 1:19). 

Raphael appears in the apocryphal Old Testament (Greek O.T.) Book of Tobit. He was accepted as one of three archangels by the Roman Catholic Church. He was removed in the 4th century since he only appeared in the apocryphal books, which were removed by the 16th century Protestants because they were not included in the official Hebrew Old Testament. They remained in original King James Version for 274 years but were removed in 1885. Raphael is still recognized by the Anglican tradition, the official Church of England, with some churches named after him as St. Raphael.

Many Christians believe that God cannot save us unless we give Him permission, because it would violate our free will. Please note that Gabriel did not ask Mary’s permission to be the mother of the Savior. He informed Mary of God’s decision. The angel’s message was a statement of fact, not a request for her permission. Did it violate her free will, or bless her beyond measure? (See Eph. 1:4-9)

A slight departure from angels, per se, but it is related to Gabriel’s message to Mary that she was to be the mother of the Savior, so it has relevance to our study of angels. We were chosen by the Father, regenerated (born again) by the Holy Spirit. blessed and redeemed by Jesus Christ. 

“The Destroyer” i.e., the Death Angel, in Exodus 12, killed all the first born of Egypt, both humans and animals, to compel Pharaoh to let the Hebrew slaves leave Egypt. The Destroyer is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:28.

The Jews still celebrate the Passover—“passing-over” of the angel of death, by passing every home having blood on the doorframe. Some scholars believe he was an archangel; some believe it was Jesus. But in the verse he takes orders from God, most likely, an angel being instructed by the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus. The Passover lamb was representative of Jesus' sacrifice for our sins. Some day, the Jews will understand that. 

The four living creatures are described in Ezekiel 1:10-14. A similar description is in Isaiah 6:2, where they are referred to as Seraphs. They closely resemble the four creatures described in Revelation 4:8. It is not clear whether all these passages are describing the same four living creatures, but it is very likely they are of the same exalted order of angels, whose main job, like the Seraphs, is to worship God and proclaim His holiness (Rev. 4:8,19:4).

Just a couple of Bible verses in regard to Guardian angels. I don’t want to skip over them; they are worthy of mention. Does everyone have an angel watching over them? Scripture tells us of guardian angels, but doesn’t tell us if everyone had/has a guardian angel. In researching angels, it leads me to believe that God does assign angels to watch over His people. We can only speculate how much they have protected us against Satan’s angels. I believe Psalm 34:7 (next slide) give evidence that yes they do protect us.

Those who “fear Him”, can be defined as “respect and love Him”, i.e., Christians. We tend to think of guardian angels as watching over children, but the Bible tells us otherwise. I posted three verses showing the protective role of guardian angels. There are many more verses that show angels protecting God’s people. 

It’s believed that Moses wrote Psalm 91 concerning his own experiences. Satan quoted this verse when he tempted Jesus on the temple mount (Luke 4:9-13). Nevertheless, it concerns the reality of protective angels, i.e. guardian angels. 

Our study of angels would not be complete without mentioning Satan and his fallen angels. We, the Church, are engaged in spiritual warfare. What does spiritual warfare have to do with a study of angels? Everything! On the spiritual battlefield are two opposing forces—God’s angels versus Satan’s fallen angels who shared in his rebellion.

It all began with him. The story of Lucifer’s fall is noted in two Old Testament chapters— Ezekiel 28:14 he is referred to as an anointed cherub, and Isaiah 14:12, where he is cast down to the ground, i.e., the earth. 

God created Lucifer full of wisdom and perfection in every way, even in his love for God. This slide describes the perfect nature of Lucifer when created. He was endowed with exceptional intelligence which gave him persuasive powers. As man turns away from God, he is prone to Satan’s influence, just as Adam, though a perfect human, was swayed by Satan’s temptation.

Isa 14:12-14 tells us that Lucifer wanted to be like God (i.e. the sin of pride). What’s equally amazing is that one third of the angels followed him (Rev. 12:4), which could potentially be tens or even hundreds of millions, even though they were all created perfect and resided with God in a heavenly paradise. What swayed them?

God’s heaven is perfect; no one can dispute that. What would create discontent in angels resided in a perfect place (environment). What’s the lesson? Even perfect creatures cannot maintain a degree of holiness necessary to reside in perfect holiness equal to God for all eternity. 

Were the angels that followed Lucifer, jealous that man, being created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26), was given dominion over the earth and everything in it? Being instigated by Lucifer, did they resent mankind’s inheritance, with a sense of pride that they were superior to man? I believe their sin like that of man, is rooted in pride that can easily lead to discontent—in both angels and man. 

Having thousands of years of experience studying human nature, they are experts at “temptation”! They know our weaknesses and areas of discontent or pride. We are witnessing it on the civil unrest in our society. The BLM/Antifa looting and riots is a manifestation of that evil. Unless America turns to God in prayer, evil can only grow in intensity. 

Defacing of Washington DC monuments is an example of demonic influence. The civil unrest we are seeing is because man has turned away from God, and in doing so, has opened himself up to and embraced evil. Again, as Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12, spiritual warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

Victor Davis Hanson of the Hoover Institute believes we are in a revolutionary time. Attempts are under way to defund the police, which may see a corresponding increase in crime, as police fearing political condemnation for doing their job, will begin ignoring many types of nonviolent crimes and 911 calls. Yes, we need to pray for America. Don’t be depressed. We have guardian angels watching over us. 

Are you ready to resume classes in Heritage Lounge? Let me know by email or phone (both are in the church directory). Until next time. 

END OF ANGELS LESSON #3

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