Angels

By Dr. Brian J. Bailey

Dr. Brian Bailey’s book on Angels is an enlightening study on the role that these angelic beings play in the lives of mankind. Dr. Bailey describes the ranks and functions of the Heavenly angels, revealing the sobering fact that it is the angels who are recording every word, deed, action, and attitude of each believer. The readers will be encouraged when discovering the goodness and love of our Heavenly Father who has created a guardian angel for each one of His children. How wonderful it is to know that each one of us has an angel exclusively assigned to look after us!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zion Christian Publishers
• Release date: Feb 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781596651937

Book preview

God.

PREFACE

Good Angels

We are told by the Apostle Paul that angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be the heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14). Therefore, angels constantly surround us and watch over us. Even in our unregenerate state these heavenly messengers protected us and sought to guide and to move us into the ways of righteousness and salvation.

In my personal life I well remember that when I was nine years old, I was playing in my father’s garden when an angel appeared unto me, holding a trumpet in his hand. Without speaking a word, he caused me to understand (by the sounds of the trumpet (c.f. Rev. 4:1)) that God had a purpose for my life that would not be fully realized until my old age.

Evil Angels

Regrettably, there are other angels who are not holy. We refer to these as fallen angels. They are the fallen inhabitants of heaven who followed Lucifer in the rebellion before time began. Fallen angels, along with a host of demons, (the former creatures of earth), seek to influence the sons of men to live lives of sin and degradation.

The demons and fallen angels, already doomed to eternal judgment, wish to drag as many others with them as they can into eternal perdition. Since they have lost the blessings of eternal life, their objective is to keep all others from obtaining eternal life as well. Therefore, they employ every available means possible to cause men to reject God and the great salvation He provided through the sacrifice of His Son upon the cross of Calvary. The Apostle John warns us in 1 John 4:1-3:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

INTRODUCTION

This study is directed toward a deeper knowledge of, and appreciation for, all the unseen hosts of holy angels who seek to help us through life’s journey from earth to heaven. One point that we need to stress is this: We are so precious in the sight of our beloved Heavenly Father that He has ordained an angel to care for and watch over each of His children. Thus, as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself said, we are never alone (cf. Mt. 28:20b, Heb. 13:5). A personal experience may be helpful to illustrate this.

Many years ago, as a student at one of the several Bible Schools I attended, I was invited to be on the staff of a Christian camp during the summer months. One of my duties was to take the saints each week by coach to a cave in the mountains of Derbyshire. When the coaches had been parked at the foot of the mountain, I was responsible to lead some 60 or more men, women, and children up a winding path to the mouth of the cave, about half way up the mountain.

On one occasion, as I was nearing the top (and being young in those days), I left the path and ran up the slippery grass to the entrance of the cave. Unfortunately, a lady in her seventies, who was considerably less agile, decided to follow me. As she came almost to the top where I was waiting, she lost her footing and started to slide down. Quickly I stretched out my hand to grasp her, but in so doing, dislodged a mound of rocks with my foot. These rocks started to roll down the mountainside, endangering the saints below. My spirit cried out, Lord, You have sent me to save, not to kill. Immediately my spiritual eyes were opened, and I saw an angel behind every believer. The angels were of various sizes, according to the age, spiritual development, or maturity of individual Christians that they were protecting.

The angels were gentle and gracious as they cared for their charges. They waited with great patience and tenderness for the elderly to negotiate the turns in the path, and seemed to be encouraging them as they made their way up steep inclines. It was a beautiful scene. Incidentally, not one of those rocks hit the saints, nor for that matter, the coaches. This was nothing short of a miracle of God’s grace to me.

Before the Creation of Earth

Before time began, God the Father in His infinite wisdom created myriads of angels to inhabit heaven. They were not created equal, but each one was made to perform specific duties in order that the various tasks and purposes in heaven might be accomplished. Clothed in garments of radiant purity, and emanating the love, tenderness, and sweetness of their creator God, they filled heaven with the music of their praises as they glorified the blessed Triune God whose nature they manifested.

Lucifer—the Chief Leader of the Angels

Their leader was Lucifer, whose name means day star or son of the morning. As the highest of God’s creatures, Lucifer was stunning in his beauty and dazzling in his light. The Scriptures say some very extraordinary things about him. There was and is no one like this archangel. Ezekiel 28:12 declares, . . . thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

Every precious stone was his covering, as we see in Ezekiel 28:13, . . . the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. In addition to his extraordinary beauty, charm, and wisdom, Lucifer was an excellent musician.

Ezekiel continues in verse 14 to describe Lucifer: Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Notice that Lucifer was anointed and covered. His influence and charisma extended throughout heaven. He was upon the holy mountain of God on the sides of the north, the Mount Zion of Revelation 14. This is the place of God’s throne. Lucifer stood directly under the Deity upon the holy mountain and was responsible for the administration of all heaven, under God.

Moreover, Lucifer was considered wiser than Daniel (Ezek. 28:3). No secret of man or secret known to man can be hidden from him. However, this knowledge is within limits, for he is not deity, and he is not omniscient. He knows only what God allows him to know. Lucifer was the very embodiment of wisdom. Since his fall, however, his wisdom is now perverted and cunning.

The Fall of Lucifer

In Ezekiel 28:15, God said to Lucifer, Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. What was that iniquity into which he fell? We are told that Lucifer’s heart was lifted up because of his beauty, and that he corrupted his wisdom by reason of his brightness (Ezek. 28:17). He admired himself (cf. 2 Tim. 3:2, 3:4) instead of admiring the One who created him and lavished him with every blessing imaginable.

Lucifer then set his heart as the heart of God, saying (as recorded in Isaiah 14:13-14):

• I will ascend into heaven.

• I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.

• I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.

• I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.

• I will be like the Most High.

These are called The Five I Will’s of Lucifer. Lucifer wanted the position that was reserved for Christ alone from the beginning of time. We must be careful in the area of our wills, and not exalt our own desires as Satan did. Self-will is a terrible thing. Many Christians should be going on in God, but because of following their own will, they turn aside. Let us delight to do God’s will (Ps. 40:8).

We can see then that ambition, self-will, and self-glorification caused Lucifer’s downfall. Lucifer wanted worship for himself instead of giving all the glory to God. He was utterly unthankful for all that God had done for him. All he wanted was more for himself. Unthankfulness is generally the first step to backsliding (Rom. 1:21), and this is a warning to all of us as well.

Not only did Lucifer rebel against God, he induced one-third of the angels to join with him in an insurrection as we see in Revelation 12:4 (where he is depicted as a dragon), And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth... The fact that he drew them means he was their leader. Our battle, therefore, lies not only with Satan but with all of these other fallen angels as well, although some of them are already bound. Nevertheless, two- thirds of the angels were faithful to God when rebellion swept through the glorious kingdom of God. What was it that spared the other two-thirds from the persuasive powers of Lucifer? It was God’s mercy! Divine mercy keeps us from falling into rebellion when there is a test.

This truth of being preserved in times of insurrection is portrayed for us in the Tabernacle of Moses. In Moses’ Tabernacle we see two cherubim. These cherubim who cover the Mercy Seat with their wings are representative of Gabriel and Michael, the two who held onto the mercy of God when Lucifer started his uprising. Clinging to the Mercy Seat kept them from falling. In this type we understand how the faithful are enabled to stand in times of testing—by clinging to God’s mercy.

In the Scriptures, the faithful angels are termed holy because they have been tried and tested and found worthy, whereas those angels who have rebelled are termed wicked. Concerning the rebellious angels, Jude 1:6 says, And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

They kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation. All the angels were created good, but one-third of them became evil by choice. The change of Lucifer’s name to Satan signifies a change of character—from good to evil, from light to darkness, from Lucifer (day star, son of the morning) to Satan (adversary, slanderer). His kingdom is one of darkness, hatred, and jealousy (Col. 1:13,