OUR BATTLEFIELD | GOD’S ANGELS

By Jill Roberts and Michael Canalé

 

Isn’t it true today that when we hear the subject of angels raised, some part of our world goes to thoughts of New Age images, the front of a greeting card or other ephemeral likenesses? There are angels everywhere in this airy setting around us. The commercial success that has been enjoyed by perpetuating angels in this relatively lightweight persona continues to be substantial.

 

However, Michael’s and my portrayal of angels, in this week’s blog, will definitely be very different, as it is based on the weighty and powerful angelic warriors of Scripture. These angels are celestial beings about whom one might attest, “Yes, this is whom I would want with me in the foxhole, in the battles of my life!” As Michael says,

 

“God’s angels are protectors. They are sent into our lives to defend and safeguard us from enemies of both the body and the soul.”

 

In writing this blog, we are intentionally using military metaphors, because, this week, we will focus on angels as soldiers of Almighty God, here to battle for us. Often mentioned in Eugene Peterson’s amazing translation of the Bible, The Message, our God is the “God-of -the-Angel-Armies.” ( Psalm 84:1,4,8,12). What a beautiful way of describing both our Heavenly Father and the angels who “persist steadfastly “ in the work of God. ( Websters Dictionary)

 

We now ask ourselves why there is a necessity for an angel army to begin with. This, of course, implies something hardly beautiful or serene. The only reasonable inference that we can draw, in this regard, is that there is an angel army because there is an ongoing human war – one in which there is an attack on both our bodies and, in particular, on our souls. There is, in life, an underlying internecine situation. As Michael says so well, “These angels are here on Earth to guard us because there is a spiritual dimension from which we need to be guarded.” Its goal is to irreparably harm us.

 

As many are aware, there was an angel in Heaven named Lucifer, an angel who was a rebel, desiring to be equal to God. We covered parts of this in an earlier blog, but in a different context. As a result of Lucifer’s rebellion, he and his followers were thrown from Heaven. Jesus was there and witnessed this. Jesus is speaking:

 

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

(Luke 10:18) NIV

 

(Got Questions, “ Did One-Third of the Angels Fall with Lucifer?”)

 

This event is further described by Isaiah:

 

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground…For thou hast said in thine heart…I will exalt my throne above the stars of God… I will be LIKE THE MOST HIGH. (emphasis added)

(Isaiah 14:12-14) KJV

 

While it is stunning that, perhaps, the closest angel to God, could dissent from His rule, it also amazes that Lucifer was able to convince ONE -THIRD of God’s own angels, residing around Him in Heaven, to join ranks with him! They were in the actual presence of the LORD, and Lucifer had such sway over them that they rejected Almighty God:

 

“And his tail DREW the third part of the stars of heaven…and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan which deceives the the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (emphasis added)

(Revelation 12;4,9) KJV

 

The Archangel Michael was doing battle in Heaven. He is called in Scripture, “the great prince who protects your people.” (Revelation 12:1) NIV By the use of word, archangel, we know that he is “the angel of the highest rank.” He is a warrior:

 

“And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”

(Revelation 12:7-8) KJV

 

Our friends, now the battle rages on. It has simply moved south to our world on Earth.

Paul writes of this:

 

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES.” (emphasis added)

(Ephesians 6:12) KJV

 

Today, there are comical references to a person with a good angel on one shoulder and an evil angel on the other. The truth is, this representation is accurate in every way. We are the subjects over whom there looms a vicious spiritual battle. In Satan’s campaign to seek revenge against the Holy God, Whom he despises, he elicits backup from his fellow fallen angels, the demons of his army. Among God’s artillery is his army of angels. Where is the battlefield? It is in our hearts and minds and can manifest itself in many ways.

 

In Daniel 6:22, this prophet’s obedience caused him to be put into a lion’s den. A spiritual battle between God’s will for Daniel’s life and that of his associates and the King of Babylon is recounted by Daniel:

 

“My God hath sent HIS ANGEL and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me.”

(emphasis added)

(Daniel 6:22) KJV

 

This verse reveals, as Michael says, the protection that is the mainstay of angels. It also opens a topic that, unfortunately, is just too voluminous for us to do justice in a blog. It is the subject of “The Angel of the LORD.” Briefly, we know that, in the Old Testament, there exist Christophanies or pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus.

 

“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him (Gideon) and said unto him, ‘The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.”

(Judges 6:12) KJV

 

Here the angel is spurring Gideon on to battle against the evil Midianites. Volumes have been written on this over the ages. Suffice it to say that, sometimes, this special angel is Jesus and, other times, it is God, the Father, Himself:

 

“And the angel of the LORD appeared to him ( Moses) in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush…”

(Exodus 3:2) KJV

 

Often. the angels who are sent to us by God are nameless, though their importance is paramount for those to whom they are being dispatched. They are sent for a protective purpose. Here, we have God speaking to the Jews. Note the clues in the text as to the identity of this angel:

 

“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.”

(Exodus 23:20) KJV

 

He goes on:

 

“Pay attention to him and listen to what he says…my Name is in him”

(Exodus 23:21) NIV

 

Now, God introduces the warfare aspect to His message:

 

 “I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My ANGEL will go ahead of you.” (emphasis added)

(Exodus 23:22-23) NIV

 

Most scholars, once again, believe that the angel to whom God is referring is Himself and His presence in the pillars of cloud by day and the pillars of fire by night, as He led the Jews through the wilderness.

 

And who are the enemies? Well, in the literal sense they were the “Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, etc. (Exodus 23:23) KJV. However, these people were flesh and blood humans and we are instructed in the aforementioned Ephesians 6, that,

 

“WE WRESTLE NOT WITH FLESH AND BLOOD, but against principalities, against powers, against the RULERS OF THE DARKNESS of this world, against SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES.” emphasis added)

(Ephesians 6:12) KJV

 

This brings us full circle, back to the battle that is going on around us, between Satan and his fallen angels and God’s angel armies.

 

Attributed to many very different sources, there is a great quote that, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled, was convincing the world that he doesn’t exist.” Yes, and it is rendered even more powerful by another equally compelling saying:

 

“If you don’t think the Devil is real, try opposing him.”

 

He is real, as are his angels. But God and His angels dwarf them in power. God sends his army to the hearts and minds of all of us, as we experience every imaginable spiritual battle in the warfare of our lives. These angels of God are fierce fighters – combat ready and worthy. We may rest in their continual protection, as Michael said. (We are grateful to the brilliant Dr. Joseph Michael Levry for the following image). God summons angels to our left, to our right, before us, behind us, above us, below us, all around us and within us, as we grow courageous under their guidance and examples:

 

“For he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands…”

(Psalm 9: 11-12) NIV

 

What an image, what a band of angels, what a God! Soldier on, victory is ours!

 

POSTSCRIPT:

Next week, Michael and I will look at angels as messengers and ministering spirits. It is an amazing subject as it relates to Biblical, as well as modern, times!