Several years ago, Netflix released a thriller television series called Stranger Things.
The show is set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana in the early 1980s. The shoes, the hair, and the music are set perfectly. In Hawkins, there is a laboratory that supposedly performs scientific research for the United States but, in actuality, the lab experiments with the Upside Down, the underworld of paranormal and supernatural activity.
A teenager, Will Byers, and his three close friends are science nerds, and during one of their many experiments, they literally stumble into the Upside Down. And they discover things are not as they seem.
From there, the show takes off.
Several weeks ago, in our study of Jesus’ temptation by Satan [link], we were introduced to the angels and demons. This won’t be the only time we encounter spiritual forces in the gospel of Mark. Both angels and demons are unseen but, according to the Scriptures, affect the people and plans of the world around us.
So, I want to delve into angels & demons in more detail over the next severals. How should we think about these unseen, spiritual forces? How do they affect daily life?
WHAT ARE ANGELS?
The Black Crows consider a girl talking to angels to be strange, but the Bible doesn’t consider it odd at all to talk about angels.
Angels are spiritual creatures. Like human beings, angels were created by God. Like human beings, they are intelligent and speak. Unlike human beings, they are spirits. They can roam about throughout the earth without being seen (Job 1:7) and are only seen with divine help (Num. 22:31). But also, like human beings, as creatures, they are held accountable by their Creator.
Satan is a fallen angel and is held accountable by God. God judges him, as Jesus said: “I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning” (Lk. 10:18). But many angels are not fallen & serve God as his creatures, longing to look into the glories of salvation that we enjoy (1 Peter 1:12).
Angels are glorious in appearance. They are bright with glory (Rev. 18:1). They are radiant with light, like God. The apostle John even falls down before an angel, to which the angel responds: “You must not do that! . . . Worship God!” (Rev. 22:9).
Angels are superhuman in many ways but not divine. Angels are great “in might and power” (2 Peter 2:11). They can interpret dreams (Dan. 8:16). They can give aid in the battle against demonic forces (Dan. 10:13; Mark 1:13). They can help accomplish God’s purposes in the earth, as the Psalm 103 poetically states:
Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word! Psalm 103:20
Angels are not however all of one kind. An archangel is described as confronting the devil and leading good angels in the war against evil (Jude 9; Rev. 12:7). Seraphim are angels who serve as heavenly worshippers, offering unceasing, uninterrupted worship of the only true God (Isa. 6:1-4). Cherubim are heavenly worshippers (1 Sam 4:4; 2 Sam 6:2; etc.), but also guard the Garden of Eve from reentry (Gen. 3:24).
Like mankind who are similarly creatures, angels worship God (Heb. 12:22). In the year that King Uzziah died, the prophet Isaiah saw a brilliant vision of the throne of God and it was filled with the heavenly worship of angels:
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah 6:1b-3
Angels are most often messengers from God. The word angel comes from the Greek word angelos, which is translated in the Bible for human messengers (Mark 1:2) or superhuman creatures who serve as messengers (Mark 1:13, Luke 2:8-15).
Augustine of Hippo, from the fourth century, makes an important distinction: “‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit,’ from what they do, ‘angel.’”
The nature of angels is spiritual creatures created by God. The name angel, which is the name we most commonly find for these superhuman creatures in the Bible, refers to the office of angels, in delivering messages on behalf of God.
WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?
The reality and work of angels teaches us several things.
There is more to the universe than what we see. There is an unseen world that is real. A world filled with invisible and unseen “angels” and demons, “rulers” and “powers” (Rom. 8:38-39). But, a world the Lord rules from his presently-unseen throne.
In fact, the book of Revelation was written to a people suffering horrific persecution for following Christ. A primary source of comfort to the believers reading the apostle John’s vision were the repeated visions of the throne (Revelation 1,4-5,7,11,14,19-22). Even though their lives were in upheaval, the Lord was seated on the throne with all the host of heaven worshipping him for his victory over sin & death, darkness & all demonic forces.
They knew, regardless of what happens to them, the Lamb will triumph in the end.
This truth hardened Christians to stand courageous in the face of death, affirming the words Martin Luther wrote several hundred years ago.
Let goods and kindred go
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill
God’s truth abideth still
His kingdom is forever
There is more to salvation than what God has done for us. So often, we look through micro lens of salvation. Wonderfully, we study God’s specific mercies to us, how he has forgiven us and freed us from our slavery to sin through Jesus Christ.
The unseen world pushes us to take up a macro lens.
The whole universe groans for redemption (Rom. 8:22). The curse of sin spread to all men but also to all creation, leaving it in bondage to corruption. Things fall apart. Disease, calamity, & catastrophes rage. The goal of salvation is not just for individual sinners to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ; the goal of salvation is for all things to be made new and united in him (Eph. 1:11).
BUT WHAT ELSE?
Is there anything else to learn about angels? What about guardian angels? Should we pray to angels for help?
Next week, we will take up these questions and study the purpose of angels.