| Angels and the Gospel |
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| Written by T. M. Moore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sunday, 04 May 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. Revelation 14.6 Angels, we know, are divine messengers; they are ministers of God for our good, to help us in fulfilling our mandate from the Lord. We know that they come to our aid in the spiritual warfare and in other ways (cf. Pss. 35.5, 6; 91.11-13; Acts 5.19; 12.7, 8). But is there also some more direct involvement on the part of angels in the work of the Great Commission? Looking at three passages of Scripture – Revelation 14.6, 7, Acts 8.26, and Acts 10.1-7 – this would appear to be the case.
In Acts 8.26 an angel of the Lord speaks to Philip and directs him on a brief mission for the Gospel. He did not impart any specifics, or tell Philip what to expect or do when he arrived at his destination. But when Philip obeyed the prompting of the angel and went to Gaza, the Spirit was there waiting for him, and guided him in the rest of his mission. Here about all we can say is that angels may be used to prompt or remind us of our calling, or even to suggest specific opportunities and instructions for carrying the message of the eternal Gospel to lost men. Finally, in Acts 10, we see an angel preparing Cornelius for the proclamation of the Good News. He gave him specific directions to send to Joppa for Peter, but, again, without revealing exactly why. Cornelius only saw this heavenly visitor as a man in bright clothing (v. 30); his (probably Hebrew) servants, however, knew that this was a visitation from an angel (v. 22). From just these three passages, is it too much to conclude that angels do assist us in carrying out the work of the Great Commission? And that they do so by preserving the purity and wholeness of the Gospel, preparing the recipients of the Good News, and prompting God’s witnesses with specific instructions for their mission? If we can conclude this much, what are the implications? Let me suggest three.
Second, we must learn to discern the work of angels on behalf of the Great Commission. We should try to pay attention to situations in which we may be the recipients of an “angelic nudge” concerning some place or person toward which we feel either momentarily or strangely and strongly inclined. And we should be sensitive, as we listen to others, to indications that angels may have been at work preparing their hearts in some way for a witness to Gospel directed at some specific need. If we can discern that area of need, we can proclaim the Good News specifically to, thus ensuring a more ready hearing of the message of grace. Note that I offer these as tentative observations and conclusions only. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that angels are wont to make visitations among us (Heb. 13.2), and I see no reason not to think that, when they do, they might have Gospel purposes in mind. The practice of unseen things requires that we engage that realm in appropriate ways, and that we cultivate sensitivity to the way it wants to engage us. When it comes to angels and the Gospel, it seems to me that prayer and discerning the work of angels are the very least that could be expected of us.  Add as favourites (8) |  Quote this article on your site | Print | E-mail
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In Revelation 14.6, 7 John sees an angel flying in the middle of the heavens; he has in his possession “an eternal Gospel” which is to be proclaimed to all people on the earth. In v. 7 we hear the angel proclaim, “Fear God and give Him glory; because the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him Who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” While the angel is portrayed as proclaiming the Gospel, I don’t believe it is God’s intention that he should be the primary messenger of the Good News to lost men. Than mandate has been entrusted to the Church, as we know (Mt. 28.18-20). Further, it is fascinating to meditate on the substance of the Gospel as the angel proclaims it: Fear God, for judgment is coming; worship the Creator; and live so as to give God glory. It’s not a stretch to see the Persons of the Triune Godhead in this formula: God the Judge of all (Jms. 4.12); Christ the Creator (Jn. 1.1-3); the Spirit Who empowers us for transformed living (2 Cor. 3.12-18). The Gospel involves the entire Godhead; it requires of men fear, worship, and obedience – all central elements of the life of faith. Could it be that the angel’s role in this aspect of the Great Commission is to guard the purity of the Gospel, to ensure for those who are receptive to angelic messengers that they shall keep the message whole and complete as they go about to proclaim the Good News to the lost? We know that angels have served in such “guardian” roles before (cf. Genesis 3.24), and it is not likely that God would send them to do our work for us. Perhaps this work of maintaining the purity of the Gospel is what John was seeing here.
First, we need to pray concerning the angels and their participation in the Great Commission. We should pray that they will ever remind us of the whole Gospel and help us to keep from taking short cuts in our work of proclaiming it. We should also pray that they would be busy “in the fields of harvest,” preparing many men and women in our own Personal Mission Fields for the witness we will bring to them. And we should pray that God would use His angels throughout the day to prompt, incite, direct, and lead us to see the open doors of opportunity that He is bringing to us.
