When Angels Appear

Now in the sixth month

the angel Gabriel was sent by God

to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

to a virgin betrothed to a man

whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

The virgin's name was Mary.

Luke 1:26-27

A lot of people these days seem to be obsessed with the idea of angels. By the way, belief in angels is not exclusive to the Christian faith; even a new-ager who thinks of themselves as god and denies that Christ is the sole means of salvation believes in angels. People decorate their homes with pictures and figurines. They have been illustrated in art and literature throughout the centuries in various forms ranging from chubby-cheeked diapered cherubs to sword-wielding winged warriors. And in certain circles of Christianity, there is as much an obsession with the fallen kind as with the heavenly kind.

First of all, we need to remember that the word angel simply means messenger. And the appearances of angels in the Bible were not really as common as some would like to believe. They were always present, but usually invisible to the human eye, for they were the supernatural agents of God at work in the world; they only appeared at certain times for certain purposes; and they didn't appear to just anybody. The people they appeared to were people designated by God for a special purpose or mission, and the angel always came with a life-changing message.

The Angel of the Lord was a prominent player throughout the Old Testament, but a careful study of His actions reveal that He was actually the pre-incarnate Christ. The Angel of Death also made quite a few appearances, coming not for individuals as portrayed in certain popular television representations but wreaking havoc on whole civilizations. Seraphim and cherubim are always represented as those who minister around the throne of God; Lucifer was among those before his fall from heaven.

Only three angels are ever named in the Bible. The first was Lucifer (which means light-bearer), mentioned by this name only one time, in Isaiah 14:12. Called the son of the morning in this passage that describes his fall from heaven because of his pride, he is referred to in the Bible by the names Satan (adversary) and devil (accuser). Since the name Lucifer is associated with his heavenly ministry around the throne, I can't help but wonder if God stripped him of his angelic name...it's just a thought.

The second angel named was Gabriel (warrior of God or man of God, or perhaps just strong man of God), a heavenly messenger sent to Daniel in the Old Testament and to Zacharias and Mary in the New Testament. In Luke it is said he stands in the presence of God. And it may have been Gabriel who, in Daniel 10, gives the prophet a glimpse of the the dramatic warfare going on in the heavenlies surrounding the prayers of the saints. After Daniel fasted and prayed for 21 days, an angel appears to him and says that from the first day the prophet began to pray, he was on his way with an answer from God, but he was hindered in his delivery by "the prince of Persia."

Which brings us to the third angel named in Scripture, Michael (who is like God). In Daniel 10, the angelic messenger continues to reveal the nature of his struggle with the prince of Persia, a figure who was apparently some kind of regional ruler in the supernatural; another of these mentioned was the prince of Greece. While he was coming to Daniel with a message from God, the prince of Persia resisted this heavenly messenger for 21 days while Daniel fasted and prayed, and finally Michael came to his aid. In Daniel, Michael is called "one of the chief princes", "your prince" and "the great prince who stands watch over the sons of [Israel]." In Jude, Michael is referenced again as an archangel (a leader among the angels) who contended with the devil over the body of Moses, and in the Revelation, he is pictured as the leader over a contingent of angels who finally drive the devil from the heavenlies, casting him down and confining him to the earth.

I have referenced all this now to show that when angels appear, it is not arbitrary or whimsical. They appear and make themselves known with purpose and clarity to give God's people important messages. Unlike those Old Testament saints, we have the Holy Spirit constantly living and moving within and around us, and Jesus said the Holy Spirit is the one who will lead us guide us in all truth, who will teach us the things that we need to know, bring to our remembrance the things we have been taught, and tell us the things that are to come. While I believe angels are still the messengers and agents of God, Christians shouldn't spend their time seeking an angelic appearance for guidance when we have the very Spirit of God dwelling within us!