Good morning on day three from Seattle, my final day. I fly back to good ol’ Texas later this morning and I’m ready. Even just a small two-hour time change can mess with your body clock and a few long days of work with little sleep can take a toll. I’m ready to get back and hug my Margie and I’m ready to be home. There’s just something special about home no matter where it may be. In the last three years it seems like we’ve had so many different homes, but eventually they all have a feel of comfort. A feel of, well, home.
Our event last night was stellar. You get out what you put in and a few months of preparation paid off. Details don’t just happen. All of those little nuances are opportunities for problems to infiltrate and good planning protects. We had about 35 students from over 7 different countries. One young lady in my group was from Tajikistan (it borders Northern China) and spoke 7 languages! What a joy to constantly be amongst and exposed to the people of the world.
Well, this morning we start another book for the third time in only one week. The book of Hebrews has 13 chapters, so we’ll be able to rest here for a while. The author of the book of Hebrews has been contested but it is believed by most to be Paul. The other epistles were easy to assign authorship as they were all opened by Paul and closed by Paul in name. Not so with Hebrews. The book was written before 70 AD but the exact date is not known.
The book of Hebrews, to roughly sum it up deals with the superiority of Christ. Coleridge said, “Romans revealed the necessity of the Christian faith but Hebrews revealed the superiority of the Christian faith.” The word “better” occurs thirteen times and the word perfect occurs 15 times. It is a book that challenges us, the words “let us” occurs thirteen times and the word “let” five times.
The first ten chapters of Hebrews deals primarily with doctrine. The doctrine that Christ is better than the Old Testament. The last 5 chapters deal with the practical side, showing that Christ brings better benefit and duties. Sounds a lot like Paul doesn’t it? Doctrine followed by practical application.
This morning in chapter one, though, we’re going to look at something that is mentioned 6 times. Something that was so popular in the day that the writer of Hebrews started the book by saying that Jesus is greater. Even today they are fiercely popular. Angels.
“having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”?
Or again,
“I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son”?
And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
Of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his ministers a flame of fire.” Heb 1:4-7
Throughout history there has been few biblical characters that have been more grossly misrepresented and misunderstood than angels. If you can make it up, you can pretty much believe it about angels. Angels have made it into our common culture in a way that no other biblical figure has been afforded. They are in movies, pop songs, TV shows, cartoons and on and on. I think if any of us were to be asked to draw and angel we would have no problem. It’s a blonde-haired winged woman in a long white robe playing a harp, right? The old saying, “if you tell a lie long enough it will become the truth” has merit here.
Man’s fascination with angels stretches as far back as when man was first introduced to angels in God’s Word. In Paul’s day there was many sects that worshipped angels. In the renaissance, the great artists LOVED to paint angels. In fact, many believe that’s where we get our common perception of angels today…by the thousands of images that were painted during this period. I was fortunate enough to have been able to see the Sistine chapel and let me tell you, there’s more flying angels on that ceiling that you can shake a stick at!
Margie and I sat down and watched It’s a Wonderful Life over Christmas and even though it is a cinematic masterpiece, it’s downright heresy as far as scripture goes. I found myself cringing at many moments, but hey, it’s a movie. But therein lies the problem. How many movies about angels are we watching compared to time in God’s Word reading the TRUTH about angels? I spent 2 hours that night watching a movie about angels but I did not sit for 2 hours and read God’s Word about angels, so guess what my mind was filled with? Yep, some Hollywood guys imagining of what an angel is and what it can do. I’m not saying to not watch movies, but what I am saying, is that we have to be extremely careful with where we get our information about God, Jesus, His Word, His kingdom and His world. There is only one source of pure truth today and that is God’s Word. So, since Hebrews is focusing on Jesus clearly being superior to angels in chapter one, let’s look at a few common mistakes involving our perception of angels today.
1) When we die we become angels. This is 100% unscriptural. When we die we do not become angels. What happens to us when we die depends completely upon what you do with Jesus on this Earth. If you accept Jesus as your Savior, you will upon either dying or being caught up in the rapture, be given a glorified body. This glorified body will not be that of an old Michaelangelo painting of an angel. Nowhere in God’s Word does it say we will all be in Heaven sitting on clouds, playing harps, dressed in white. That’s a Bugs Bunny cartoon. I see this reference way too often when cherished loved ones die. People are hurt, they’re mourning and because of their lack of knowledge of God’s Word and their strong desire for their loved ones to be exalted, they’ll say something like, “well, he’s an angel with God now” or “God needed a new angel.” As much as that might somehow give us comfort, it’s just not rooted in the truth of God’s Word.
2) We don’t have guardian angels. Nowhere in God’s Word can you definitively find that we each have a specific angel assigned to protect us. Let me just say this. If you have called upon the name of Jesus Christ to come into your life and be your Savior, you have the absolute best guardian angel you could possibly ever have. You have the Spirit of the Living God residing within you. Why in the world do you need and angel? We’re reading in chapter one of Hebrews today that Christ is far superior to angels, so what’s an angel going to do that the Holy Spirit of God can’t clearly do better?
3) Angel appearance, wings and flying. Angels are spiritual beings and can take many forms. When Gabriel and Michael appeared in the scripture, they appeared in human like form. (side fact, only 3 angels are named in God’s Word, Michael, Gabriel and the fallen angel, satan). In Isaiah an angel is described with one of the angels having 6 wings. (Isa 6:2) Two covering his face, 2 covering his feet and 2 made him fly. So we do know from this verse that angels can fly but since they are spiritual beings, wings are not really necessary for them to travel. The word angel in Greek is “aggelos” and means messenger. Angels are God’s messengers meant to deliver messages and information. God will have them travel however He sees fit. They are not limited to wings to make them fly. In Revelation 14:6 John mentions an angel flying overhead, but there is no mention of wings.
4) Angels are not to be worshipped. When John was addressed by an angel and fell to his knees, the angel admonished him to not worship him. (Rev 19:10). We have to be careful to understand angels for what they are, messengers for God. They are not above or on the level of Jesus. This is one of the main topics of Hebrews chapter 1.
Maybe sometime in the future, I’ll do a more intensive study on angels but this morning, I’ve got to run to the airport and catch a flight. There is a great book on angels by Billy Graham that I have read and if you’re looking for a good, factual study of angels that is based purely on God’s Word, I would highly recommend it.
I pray that today you take time out of your busy day to stop, be still and meet with God. Just like any other important meeting that you may have today, He is more than worthy of your time. Schedule a meeting with God, meet him in a quiet place, close the door and simply meet with Him by spending time in His Word. And just like any other important meeting, reduce distractions. No phones, no email, no facebook, no texting. Just you and God. It will be the best meeting you have all day.
God bless you all!
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