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The Book of Hebrews: Message Six
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
Many years
ago, so it's been reported, some scholars got
together and argued over how many angels could dance
on the head of a pin. But it's not speculation that
I'm concerned about, only the Scriptures. And the
Scriptures have some interesting things to say about
angels.
Let's look at
their status. Angels are older than man. They're not
eternal, so they had a beginning. They weren't born,
but were created by our Lord. They were the first
beings to have been created, and they were created in
a state of goodness and holiness. But some sinned.
Now there are two classes: those who have remained
loyal to our Lord, and those who chose to become
loyal to Lucifer. You see, Lucifer was a leader among
the angels. But he sinned, and a great number of
lesser angels sinned with him. Now he's called the
devil, and they're called demons. These demons are
under the domain of their king. As all criminals have
a number of names, so does the devil. Some are listed
in Revelation 9:11, "They had a king over them,
which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name
in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek
tongue hath his name Apollyon." Just as the
fallen angels have leaders, so have the faithful
angels. It's shown by the position of Gabriel. It's
written in Luke 1:19, "And the angel answering
said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the
presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and
to show thee these glad tidings." Gabriel,
according to this verse, has a position of
preeminence. It's shown by the position of Michael.
It's written in Daniel 10:13, "But the prince of
the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty
days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes,
came to help me; and I remained there with the kings
of Persia." Michael, according to this verse,
has a position of predominance. Indeed, in Jude 9
he's designated as the "archangel," and
that signifies a place of highest rank.
Let's look at
the sum. Are there many angels? Oh, yes; there are
countless multitudes. At His betrayal, our Lord
asked, "Don't you realize that I could ask My
Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and He
would send them immediately?" The apostle John,
according to Revelation 5:11, saw a startling sight
in heaven of angels: "Ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands." That's
202 million angels, and these angels are only a part
of the heavenly host. For the writer of Hebrews said
in verse 22 of chapter 12 that we "are come unto
Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of
angels." How immense is God's creation! How
infinite is His power!
Let's look at
their strength. It staggers the imagination.
Exclaimed the Psalmist in verse 20 of chapter 103,
"Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in
strength." Matthew tells of an angel that
thwarted the power of Rome and rolled away the huge
stone that held our Lord captive. And John tells of
an angel that one day will bind the devil and keep
him imprisoned for a thousand years in Revelation
20:1 to 3, "And I saw an angel come down from
heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a
great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the
dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and
Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, And cast
him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set
a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations
no more, till the thousand years should be
fulfilled." One day, after David sinned, an
angel slew 70,000 Israelites. And it's written in 2
Kings 19:35, "The angel of the Lord went forth
and slew 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians."
Nevertheless, their strength comes from the Lord, and
they're limited by the Lord.
Let's look at
their sense. They possess superhuman wisdom. King
David understood this when a woman said to him,
"My lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an
angel of God, to know all things that are in the
earth." But they're not omniscient; and
according to 1 Peter 1:12 they'd give a great deal to
know more about our salvation.
For you see,
there's no salvation for angels. They're
non-redeemable! Not one of the angels that sinned can
ever be saved. The eternal fire was prepared for the
devil and his demons. But you can be saved - if
you're willing. The City of Berlin, crossing the
Atlantic, came onto a sailing vessel in a sinking
condition. Launching their lifeboat, some went to the
rescue, only to find that the sailors refused to
leave their ship. In the morning the wreck had sunk.
Don't refuse salvation. Receive the Savior!
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version.
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This series of messages on the
books of the Bible were originally written for
broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The
Sower." They are collected and reprinted here
for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.
