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The Book of Hebrews: Message Eight
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
A man never
gets too busy to attend his own funeral. But that's
not true of angels. Once created, angels never cease
to exist. They live forever. Heaven is their home,
but their ministry is largely on this earth. They're
older and wiser and stronger than man, but they're
not as old or as wise or as strong as our Lord.
They're exceedingly numerous, and they're constantly
coming and going from heaven to earth for the
accomplishment of the Lord's will and work, for
they're His messengers and ministers. It's written in
Hebrews 1:7 He "maketh His angels spirits, and
His ministers a flame of fire."
The word
that's rendered "spirits" has a primary and
a secondary meaning; namely, "spirits" and
"winds." So angels are likened unto the
wind. Why? Because of their secrecy. One day Abraham
looked up and saw three men standing at a little
distance from him. He ran from his tent door to meet
them, and bowing to the ground, he begged them to
accept his hospitality, and they did. These angels
appeared in the form of men, and they walked as men,
talked as men, and ate as men. But just as the wind
is unseen, so are His angels. It was Milton who said,
"Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth
unseen, both when we sleep and when we wake."
Angels are likened unto the wind because of their
strength. Who can stop the wind? And who can stop an
angel? It's reported in 2 Kings 19:35 that one angel
killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. John reported in
Revelation 7:2 that angels have been empowered to
hurt the earth and the sea, and in Revelation 16:8
that they're permitted to scorch humanity with heat.
How good it is to know that their power is under the
Lord's control. Angels are likened unto the wind
because of their speed. They travel faster than the
speed of light. Angels who met Abraham and who led
Lot out of Sodom came to earth from Heaven in an
atomic second. One day an angel brought good news to
a man named Manoah. On hearing it he made a burnt
offering to the Lord. When the flame went up toward
Heaven, so did the angel, for the Bible says,
"the angel of the Lord ascended in the altar
flame." When ordinary methods fail, our Lord
will use extraordinary methods to cheer and care for
His own. When man fails Him, He'll use angels. He'll
never fail us.
Our text in
Hebrews 1:7 reads, He "maketh His angels
spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire."
Here, as always in the Bible, "fire" speaks
of a sentence. Of what? A sentence of judgment, for
angels are the executioners of the wrath of God.
Sodom became sinful. Its wickedness had come up to
God and His wrath had come down to them. And the
angels said in Genesis 19:13, "We will destroy
this place, because the cry of them has become great
before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent
us to destroy it." The Egyptians became evil.
Their foulness came up to God and His fury came down
upon them. The Psalmist said in chapter 78, verse 49,
"He let loose upon them the fierceness of His
anger, wrath and indignation, and distress, by
sending a mission of angels of calamity and woe among
them." One day an evil king put on his royal
robes, sat on his throne and made a speech to his
people. When he got through the people shouted,
"It's the voice of a god and not of a man."
The Bible says, "Instantly an angel of the Lord
struck Herod with a sickness, so that he was filled
with maggots and died - because he accepted the
people's worship instead of giving the glory to
God." Our Lord said in Matthew 13:41 and 42,
"The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and
they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that
offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast
them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth." I pray that not any of
you listening to my voice will be cast by the angels
into the furnace of fire, but that you all will
believe on the Lord and be saved. The expression,
"His ministers a flame of fire" also speaks
of their splendor. And sometimes it's terrifying.
There was a prophet who had a head full of light but
a heart full of darkness. As he was taking his way,
not God's, an angel stood in the way. So startling
was the sight that the animal, says the Bible,
"fell down under Baalam." After our Lord
died for our sins, and was buried, Mary went to His
tomb early in the morning. Suddenly there was a great
earthquake; for an angel came down from Heaven and
rolled aside the stone and sat on it. "His face
shone like lightning and his clothing was a brilliant
white. The guards shook with fear when they saw him,
and fell into a dead faint." Then the angel said
to Mary, "Don't be frightened." To the
unsaved, the angels bring destruction; to the saved,
deliverance; to the unsaved, consternation; to the
saved, comfort. In which class are you? It's your
move. Move over to the saved, won't you, by believing
on the Lord!
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
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Sower." They are collected and reprinted here
for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.
