Jesus Christ’s ‘world view’ concerning angels is very clear. The Lord embraces angels and angelic ministry. In fact, Christ has promised us that He would return with His angels to reap the last great harvest (See Matthew 25:31). Perhaps we may need to reevaluate our mindset about angels too, and approach heavenly angels in the same manner that Jesus did. We should embrace angels and angelic ministry. We have allowed the fear of man and the fear of the unknown to paralyze us in our ability to interact with and activate angelic help. We should not be paranoid of the paranormal.
We should realize the fact that Jesus has actually given ordinary people the power and authority to co-labor with His angelic hosts. We can work with angels just as Jesus prophesies that He will do in the coming days. After all, He has given to you and I all power and all authority to loose from heaven and bind upon the earth (see Mathew 28:18, 16:19). We have previously learned that angels are our ‘co-laborers’ who have the testimony of Christ. Christ’s example encourages us to implement or activate angelic ministry and to utilize angelic help and intervention.
Only Believe
Certainly, Jesus not only believed in the ministry of angels, but was aware that He could employ them if He wished to do so. In Matthew 26:53 Jesus states, “Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” In this passage Jesus illustrated two of the most important keys to activate and release angelic ministry. Jesus tells us that He has (1) the authority to, (2) pray to, His Father. Jesus has given us this identical spiritual authority too.
It is almost certain that Jesus used His authority to ‘loose’ angels, and angelic ministry, frequently in His life and ministry. Angels played a crucial and key role throughout the life and ministry of Christ while He walked the earth as a man. Jesus also instructed His disciples (that is, you and I) how to pray. He promises us that He will do anything that we ask, and instructs us that we, also, have the authority to pray to the Father just like Him. (See John 16:24-27, John 14:13). The Lord taught and spoke about the reality of angelic ministry more than He taught about many of the modern churches’ most accepted doctrines and ‘pillars’ of faith. This would include doctrines like tithing, alms, the structure of the church, regular church attendance, church buildings, kid’s church, Sunday school classes, missions, the role of pastors or teachers, to name just a few. We need to begin to understand the legitimacy of angelic ministry in the Kingdom of God and how we are authorized to employ or ‘loose’ angels just like our Savior. After all, Christ is our example (Philippians’ 2:5, John 13:15, 1Peter 2:21, 1John 2:6).
Authority to Pray – Sundoulos
We have been given the authority to pray to our Father and ask for Him to release twelve legions of angels to help us in our times of need! By the way, twelve legions of angels are equal to 72,000 individual angels! I routinely pray for twelve legions of angels to encamp around our home. As simple as this principle sounds, many “have not” because they do not ask. We have been given permission by Jesus to pray and ask in His name. Ask! I often ask for the Lord to release and empower His angelic host to protect, guard, and guide us in our daily activities (see Matthew 7:7).
Let’s look at this principle in Revelation 19:10, as this scripture illustrates this concept clearly: I fell at his feet (an angel) to worship him. But he (an angel) said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” In this passage we see that one of God’s angels tells us that he is our fellow servant. The word that the Bible uses for servant here is the Greek word, sundoulos (see Strong’s Greek Concordance # G4889). Sundoulos can be translated as: a co-slave (that is, servitor or ministrant of the same master – (human or divine); a fellow servant, denoting union, (or to work with, or work together with, or work by association with, or in unity with); companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition; to work beside, or in proximity with. In compounds it has similar applications, including completeness. The angel also tells us to Worship God, and not angels like him!
Clearly angels recognize that they are meant to work with us, or together with us, or in association or unity with us – the Lord’s children. In my earlier book I stated how I had seen angels that become excited when we are allowed to “see” them, but that angels become ecstatic when we begin to ‘loose’ them and send them on missions of mercy in the realms of earth. I want to encourage you to read Dancing with Angels 1: How To Work With Angels In Your Life for a much more detailed examination of this subject. We have established that Jesus continues to work with angels to meet people’s needs today, and that Jesus will employ angels to fulfill His end time mandates upon the earth. Let’s continue to build upon this foundation by a brief examination of the role or duties of our co-laborers, angels, in the scriptures.
300 Specific References to Angels
The Bible mentions about 300 specific references to the word angel or angels. The first mention of an angel in the Bible is found in the book of Genesis. Let’s look at chapter 16, verse 7: Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness…. In this instance the Angel of the Lord came to Hagar. Incidentally, many biblical scholars believe that the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament refers to Jesus. The term for this is “theophany” which is defined as a manifestation of the Lord Jesus before His incarnation as a bodily human being. A theophany can also be defined as the appearance of Christ in the form of an angel.
This is one of the first examples, or the first mention, of angelic ministry in the Bible. I am omitting the reference on Genesis 3:24 in which the Lord assigned cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden with a flaming sword to protect the tree of life. Here in Genesis 16 we see the Angel of the Lord release divine direction, encouragement, and a prophetic word about an unborn child in Genesis 16:10-14. We should also notice that Hagar testifies that she has “seen,” or “seen the back of” the Angel of the Lord. Perhaps the angel was released in answer to her prayers; however, that is not clearly spelled out in this passage of scripture. As we have learned previously, angels are sent in response to people’s prayers and fasting. We will look at some of those examples in more detail later.
Angels Speak
Hagar had an open-eyed encounter with an angelic being who prophesied over her unborn child. It is apparent that the angel walked right up to her at the well and she carried on a conversation with him. Angels frequently speak (either in audible or unspoken words) prophetically to people who encounter them. He told her what to name her child (Ishmael), and also prophesied his destiny. This is an instance of an angel being sent directly from Heaven to seal, protect and perform the Word of the Lord, and to speak a promise given by God Almighty. You can find that promise, or Word the angel was protecting, in the blessings of Abraham (see Genesis12). It is worth noting that the prophecy spoken by the Angel of the Lord to Hagar was completely fulfilled. The descendants of Ishmael are still alive and well in the Arab and Muslim nations of the Middle East, and throughout the entire world.
At times the Lord uses angels to confirm His word and call upon an individual’s life. I believe that we are entering into a new season of increased angelic activity of this nature. Many of God’s champions, whom He is raising up at this hour to preach the Gospel, will encounter heavenly angels to confirm and establish their call. An example of this type of angelic ministry can be found in the life of Gideon (see Judges 6:11,12). God employed an angel to commission Gideon into the ministry, and his call to influence the destiny of Israel.
Going back to our first mention of angels, it is also interesting to note that Hagar was not a Hebrew, but an Egyptian. Certainly this means that the angels of God can appear to non-believers as well as believers. Another example of angelic visitation, or ministry to non-Christians, is found in the book of Acts, chapter 10. Here we see that Cornelius, a Roman, has an encounter with an angel in direct response to his prayer, fasting, and gifts or alms to the poor. Again, the combination of these three ‘spiritual tools’ seems to accelerate one’s ability to ‘see’ or discern angels and release angelic visitations in an individual’s life.
Cornelius
In Acts 10 we discover that Cornelius clearly sees an angel with his natural eyes early in the morning. Like many humans who encounter an angel, Cornelius was afraid (see Acts 10: 3-7). This angel speaks to Cornelius, clearly giving him divine direction, and Cornelius answers and interacts with the angelic messenger, asking him a question. According to the angel’s divine instructions he sends for the Apostle Peter. It is interesting to note that the angel would not preach the gospel to Cornelius, but rather instructed Cornelius to send for a human to preach the message of Christ Jesus. This is the wondrous work of the Sovereign Lord that He would depend upon weak humans to preach the glorious gospel to the unsaved.
Simultaneously, as the result of a trance, Peter comes willingly to his home to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He made the way of salvation through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ known to Cornelius’ entire Gentile household, and friends. In addition to receiving salvation, these Gentiles were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spoke in tongues. Of course, in the Jewish culture, and Law of Moses, Peter would have been strictly forbidden to have contact or interaction with such Gentiles in this manner. Perhaps some of our family could use this kind of angelic ministry leading unto their salvation today?
It is very important to note that angels are not only mentioned, but play an extremely key role, throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. In fact, much of the book of Revelation is based upon an angelic encounter that the Apostle John experienced on the island of Patmos. It is truly awesome that God would use angelic ministry to visit the eighty-two year old apostle John to release His final written words in the canon of scripture to us. Again, we find that, as a result of John’s prayer, as he was “in the Spirit” on the Lord’s day, there is a release of a supernatural visitation, which in turn gives the entire world a revelation of the mind of Christ. Much of the book of Revelation was imparted to John with the help of angels.
His Angel
Do you think that it may be important that some of the last words recorded by Jesus Christ in the Bible refer to His angel, and His heritage? Look at Revelation 22:16: “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” (bold mine) This is the last mention of angels in the Bible. Perhaps the fact that the Messiah clearly states He is sending His angel to the churches to speak to us may be important. This passage of scripture clearly illustrates that Jesus has angels assigned to His command and His ongoing ministry upon the earth. God is still sending His angels into the earthly realm to speak to us today. There is no question about this fact. It might be wise for us to position ourselves to receive His servants, and our fellow workers, with clean hands, pure hearts and open minds.
We will continue to explore the biblical aspects of angelic ministry throughout this book. By continuing to build upon a solid biblical foundation we will keep on learning more facets about the nature of angelic ministry. We will look at numerous angelic encounters that have taken place over the years. The Lord of Hosts is releasing untold numbers of angels into the Earth today that are being sent forth to minister to people’s needs.
Angelic Ministry
An important tool that God has placed at our disposal is the ministry of angels. We need to open our eyes and hearts to be aware of these agents of revival. It is to our benefit that we learn how to biblically employ our angelic friends, and fellow servants, to accomplish God’s call upon our lives and to live victoriously in this critical hour. My prayer is that this manuscript, and the testimonies contained in it, will help launch many into the reality of our supernatural God, and angelic encounters.
I would like to state this fact as clearly and as distinctly as possible. Jesus Christ must be the absolute central focus of our relationship with God. We are to worship God. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the His finished work on the Cross of Calvary must be the absolute cornerstone of our faith. God is a triune, or three-part Being composed of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We are instructed to worship God alone. As such, we should personally invest our time in worship of all three parts of the Godhead. The Bible plainly instructs believers to worship God. We are to worship God alone. Angel worship or adoration is strictly forbidden in the scripture (see Luke 4:7,8; Galatians 1:8).
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This article was written by Kevin Basconi, for King of Glory Ministries International, 212 W. Ironwood Drive – Box 240-D, Coeur D Alene, ID 83814
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