Judgment and Scripture

Today I would like to point out through the scriptures how that angels are key figures in God's work in the earth. While reading through these passages of scripture keep in mind that nothing ever changes with God, and I believe that your faith and confidence toward God regarding his care for you and his righteous judgments in the earth will be vastly increased. A good place to start I believe is with this verse: "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them" (Psm. 34:7). Wow! I have to say that is really good news, so all we need to do is fear God, and not fear man or circumstances (Lk. 12:4,5; Psm. 112:7). Next we will see that when Hezekiah king of Judah prayed unto the Lord in response to the king of Assyria sending his army against Jerusalem, God delivered the city by the hand of one of his mighty angels: "Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel... For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses" (II Kin. 19:22,34,35). It sounds like the angel of the Lord was indeed encamping around those who feared the Lord, even as our text verse proclaims. Then there's one of my favorites, where God delivered the prophet Elisha and the city of Dothan with him, from the army of Syria; by blinding the army and delivering THEM into Elisha's hand: "And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha" (II Kin. 6:15-18). Once again we see the reality that the angel(s) of the Lord encamp around those who fear God, and once again that is really good news for all who truly fear God rather than man or circumstances.

Now someone may say, "That was the old testament, but what about now?" Like I said, God never changes, and he hasn't retired any of his angels. Let's look at a few new testament instances that show us that God still appoints his holy angels to look after his faithful. Here is a verse that serves as the new testament equivalent of our text scripture from Psalm 34:7: "But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb. 1:13,14). Now let's look at when Herod took Peter prisoner to execute him, after he had executed James the brother of John: "Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the [congregation] unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me" (Acts 12:5-8). Sounds like Peter was an "heir of salvation" and that God's heavenly messenger was taking good care of him, as the scripture says. Then we have the instance where Paul was on his way to Rome as a prisoner, and the ship that carried him and many other prisoners was lost at sea many days, until all hope of being saved was lost among the crew members: "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me" (Acts 27:20-25).

It did indeed happen that everyone that was aboard that ship was delivered, and the ship also was lost, even as the angel had told Paul that it would be. And again it sounds like Paul was also an "heir of salvation" and that the angel of the Lord was watching after him pretty well also. In fact the same apostle Paul assured us as true believers in Jesus Christ we have many angels continually in our presence: "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels" (Heb. 12:22). Not only so, but he also told us that angels are sometimes around visibly when we don't know it: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Heb. 13:1,2). These scripture passages are but a fraction of the evidence that we see in the Bible of the reality of God's heavenly messengers interacting with believers and delivering them from harm, as well as executing God's judgments in the earth. Therefore we should always keep in mind that God has appointed true heavenly 'Supermen' to watch over us and take care of us, and neither he nor they ever miss a beat. In fact God is always way ahead of the action and has his angels in place to deliver all who call upon his name in sincerity of heart and faith. And I can't help but give the 'most outstanding scripture passage award' to this memorable passage which I will repeat: "And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, FEAR NOT, FOR THEY THAT BE WITH US ARE MORE THAN THEY THAT BE WITH THEM. And Elisha prayed, and said , LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." All I can add to that is, AMEN! [And, let's be faithful to the Lord in all things like Elisha was.]