Angels watch, learn, hit replay button

Speaking to the tremendous abilities of angels, John tells us in Revelation 14 that he “saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”

Jordan explains, “What you learn studying the Bible is the main thing angels are charged with is the Word of God and the well-being of the nation Israel. You see them minister to the nation, care for the nation, fight for the nation, provide for the nation . . . but what you also see is how they don’t do those things for us today; we don’t need what angels can provide.

“People who want to argue we have guardian angels today will take you to Hebrews 1:13-14: [13] But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
[14] Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

“But the salvation that’s talked about in the Book of Hebrews is the salvation you read about in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and the early Acts period. That’s not us; that’s Israel. The point is, in Israel’s program angels were ministering spirits set forth to minister to the nation Israel.

“Psalms 91 is a psalm everybody knows: [9] Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
[10] There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
[11] For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

“You remember Elijah? He goes in and tells Ahab, ‘It isn’t going to rain for three-and-a-half years except by my word,’ and then he disappears. He goes out by the brook and God sends ravens and then angels.

“You remember how God sent an angel and killed tens of thousands of Israel’s enemies in one night? You remember when Daniel’s in the lion’s den and an angel comes? You remember when Mary is going to have the baby Jesus, God sends an angel to say, ‘Mary, you’re highly favored among women; you’re going to have a baby.’ It was an angel that went and told Joseph, ‘Don’t worry about her, she’s still a virgin; what's conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.’

“You remember how the Lord Jesus Christ is in the garden praying and sweats drops like blood and angels came and ministered to Him? You go to the early Acts period and God sends angels and opens the doors of prisons. You remember in Acts 10 when God wants to reveal to Peter the issue about Cornelius He sends an angel to communicate His will to him?

“Angels were constantly communicating information and God’s will in Scripture. Paul, in Acts 27, is in that boat in the storm and he tells the men, ‘Don’t worry, for there stood by me this night the angel of God and told me what’s going to happen, saying fear not, Paul.’

“You see, God up in heaven, when He would say something, He’d send an emissary to accomplish His will. I don’t know if you ever thought about how does God do these things, but when God would intervene, He didn’t just take the divine hand of God from heaven and reach down and go Krrrzzzchhhh.

“He didn’t use mind games where He’d try bending spoons. He sent emissaries and the angelic creation were His emissaries to go and accomplish these things. That’s why in Daniel they’re called ‘watchers.’ They were sent to watch over and see what was going on in His creation. They also revealed His will.

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“Angels are the agents of God, but what they do for Israel we don’t need them to do for us. Why? Because we have the completed written Word of God.

“Our security today is the fact that God the Holy Ghost is protecting us. Now, if you’ve got the CEO of the company taking care of you, would you rather have the janitor, or bellhop, or bus boy?! You’ve got the No. 1 Guy as you’re guarantor!

“Ephesians 1:13 says, ‘In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.’ So, you don’t need a guardian angel; you have the Holy Spirit to protect you and you have the Word of God to inform you.

“But we do have a relationship with angels in that we instruct them; we are teachers of them about the ‘manifold wisdom of God.’ As Ephesians 3:10 says, ‘To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.’

“Do you see that little word now? It’s not just that we’re going to have a future relationship with them in the ‘ages to come,’ but RIGHT NOW the angels are observing us in order to be instructed by us. Woah, that’s quite an idea, huh?!

“Around the room here this moment there’s an unseen balcony and they’ve all got their Bibles out and are watching us. In fact, they follow us home. They are fascinated by members of the Body of Christ. They’re hearing the information here and they’re looking to see what it looks like by looking at you. You see why it’s all connected with the ‘fellowship of the mystery’?

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“Angels are watching us and it’s like a spectator sport. They’re watching and scrutinizing. There’s a fascinating thread of verses in Paul’s epistles where he talks about this.

“He says in I Corinthians 4:9: [9] For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.

“By the way, in the angelic world there are two kinds of angels; there are the elect angels but there’s also Satan and his angels. You’re under the microscope by both.

"Fallen angels watch along with the elect angels, and if they had the equivalent of ESPN’s instant replay, they’d be up there saying, ‘Run that back; let’s watch that again.’ You know, for the whole week following any Bears game there are people reviewing and analyzing, talking on and on, and there’s a whole industry for that.

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“I Corinthians 11:8-10 says, [8] For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. [9] Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
[10] For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

“Every time I read that verse I remember a preacher from years ago who said, ‘God created man and He wasn’t finished, so He created woman and then said, That’s it, good enough, we don’t need to improve on that.’

“The relationship that the women in this particular context have in the local assembly, in the functioning of the roles God gave men and women, in the relationship God gave in the structure He set up for man to operate in, angels watch all that.

“Angels are interested in the functioning of divine authority in your home, in your marriage, in the assembly. What are they supposed to learn when they watch us? The manifold wisdom of God.

“Paul writes in I Timothy 5:2, ‘I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.’

“When he says ‘I charge you,’ he means, ‘I’m putting you under orders before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, both of whom are watching along with the elect angels. They’re watching to hold us accountable to what God’s given us to do.' ”