The Ministry Of Angels

The Ministry Of Angels

Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Starting with this verse; I thought it would be a good study to explore the role of angels in the plan of salvation.

I see their roles as two fold.

One, they can be viewed in a great controversy context and function; and two; they seem to have some personal involvement with people in every age, atleast, as depicted in the Bible.

What is the scope of the ministry of angels? How are they involved with us today?

I have found another passage that speaks to their ministry a bit; but what other details are there that we should know about?

Psalms 103:20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

Psalms 103:21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.

One of the things that I get out of Luke 15:10 above is that the right kind of service to God brings joy.

GW.513.001
“ While the great final reward is given at Christ's coming, true-hearted service for God brings a reward, even in this life. Obstacles, opposition, and bitter, heart-breaking discouragements, the worker will have to meet. He may not see the fruit of his toil. But in face of all this he finds in his labor a blessed recompense.

All who surrender themselves to God in unselfish service for humanity are in co-operation with the Lord of glory. This thought sweetens all toil, it braces the will, it nerves the spirit for whatever may befall. Working with unselfish heart, ennobled by being partakers of Christ's sufferings, sharing His sympathies, they help to swell the tide of His joy, and bring honor and praise to His exalted name. In fellowship with God, with Christ, and with holy angels, they are surrounded with a heavenly atmosphere, an atmosphere that brings health to the body, vigor to the intellect, and joy to the soul.”

What do the rest of you think re the ministry of angels? What is the nature of this fellowship with angels, spoken of by the above quote in Gospel Workers? Or, should I say, what should be the nature of this fellowship with God, Christ, and holy angels?

I believe there is good reason to study this topic, as we are told in the Bible that evil angels, even Satan himself, will appear “as an angel of light.” So, I thought it would be good to contrast the “ministry” of evil angels, with the ministry of “angels in heaven,” (Luke 15:10), within this thread.

Have you any experience with angels that you could share?

What lessons do you draw from the texts supplied above; or with other texts that would be related to this topic?

I have one angel story to share. Several years ago I was driving my two children to school. Several years previous to that I had been in a car accident and since then I didn't have the energy level I used to have. I felt better if I slept till I woke up, but when taking children to school I had to set my alarm clock. That particular morning I was especially tired and groggy. We lived out in the country and not far from our home on this country road was a blind corner--you couldn't see around it very well. Just before going in to this blind corner my son stated he was too hot and would I please turn down the heat. Without thinking I took my eyes off the road momentarily to adjust the heat--a dumb thing to do when going in to a blind corner. When I look up, I saw a car coming straight towards me at a very high rate of speed. This car was halfway on my side of the road and by the time I saw him he was about 20-30 feet away from me. I think he was halfway on my side of the road because he was taking the corner too fast. I'm guessing I was going about 30 mph and he was going at least 50 mph--making a combined impact speed of 80 mph--not an impact one would want to experience. The next thing I knew I was in the ditch and the car passed safely by me. My son piped up saying, "Fast reflexes Mom." The only thing was that I hadn't had time to think or even react and I knew I hadn't done anything to get us into the ditch. I knew instantly that our guardian angels had either taken over the steering wheel or had picked us up and set us in the ditch. Actually they probably picked us up because I don't remember feeling the steering wheel move in my hands. I was trembling and I immediately said to my children, "I didn't do anything. Our guardian angels saved us." Later on someone calculated that by the time I saw that car we would collide within 0.6 seconds. It is physically impossible to react within that time and get the car in the ditch. It's probably physically impossible to even react during that time. So I have no doubt but that our guardian angels helped us.

I could have been killed in the car accident I was in. Later on after my accident, 60 minutes did a segment about car accidents and I discovered that people have been killed at lower rates of speed than I was hit with, in the same type of accident that I had (I was rear-ended). Yes, sometimes our guardian anagels don't save us and we suffer harm or death. But, I've learned that God knows best, whether we live or die. We can trust Him completely with our lives.

[ March 09, 2002: Message edited by: Jean Miller ]