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

Psalm 8:4-5 (RSV) 4what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? 5Yet thou hast made him little less than God (Elohim), and dost crown him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:5 (NKJV) 5For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. Heb 2:7 (NKJV) 7You 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. Note the link of elohim and angels

Psalm 97:7 7Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods (elohim). Hebrews 1:6 6But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."

Exodus 3:2-4 2And 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. 3Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." 4So 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." Angels appear & speak for God

Exodus 3:5-6 5Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." 6Moreover He 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.

Exodus 3:7-8 7And 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: And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18Now 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.

Exodus 20:1-2 1And 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

Judges 2:1-4 1Then 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.'" 4So 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.

Genesis 3:8-10 8And 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. 9Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."

Angels are sent on missions 1 Chronicles 21: '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." 13And 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." 14So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell.

1 Chronicles 21: And 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: 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. 19So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the LORD. 20Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. 27Then the LORD commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

Exodus 12:29 29And 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 49He 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 28Nebuchadnezzar 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 11For 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: 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. 22And 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: 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?" 14And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed." 15Then 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. 16And 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: "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 8I 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. 9Then I said, "My lord, what are these?" So the angel who talked with me said to me, "I will show you what they are." 10And 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: 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." 12Then 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?" 13And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words. 14So 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 1Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2So 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." 3And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him, 4who 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) 5Let the heavens praise thy wonders, O LORD, thy faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! 6For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, 7a God feared in the council of the holy ones, great and terrible above all that are round about him? God does have a heavenly council made up of angels who greatly revere and respect Him

1 Kings 22: 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: 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." 27So 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. Luke 20:22-25 Whose image & inscription is it?

Genesis 11:5-9 5But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6And 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." 8So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9Therefore 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. Imagine the discussions between angels to come up with a plan and then their unity in carrying it out together!

Genesis 18: 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." 20And 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." 22Then 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 1Now 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. 2And 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." 3But 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. 4Now 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 5And 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." 6So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7and 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." 9And 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: But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11And 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. 12Then 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: Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. 25So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26But 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: "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!

2 Kings 19:35 35And 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 8Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9Yet 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) 10But 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!