While mortals sleep: angels and us

Our Advent Evening Prayers have been looking at different features in the Christmas story, and our news sheets have had a more in-depth look at another feature: angels. For this final week we're looking at angels and us.

We started these reflections on angels by noting that angels are a common feature of some popular forms of non-religious spirituality, and that many people who don't believe in a God that relates to people on a personal level do believe in angels. In these cases, angels fulfil that need for spiritual beings that intervene in the world. And so there are many books and websites that will tell you how to contact your own personal angel and get them to do what you want them to do. At this point the line between angels and fairy godmothers gets a bit blurred!

These beliefs have developed out of the description of angels found in the Bible, but have been misinterpreted and misapplied in a way that is dangerous. As we looked at in the first week, the main rôle of angels is to be messengers from God, and so they do communicate with humans, but importantly they are sent by God and cannot be summoned by humans. Because they are sent by God, the message they bring cannot contradict what God has spoken to us in the words of the Bible. There can be no new information or revelation because Jesus is the full and final revelation from God and the testimony to him in the New Testament is complete. Therefore, if an angel says anything that goes against the Bible or adds to it, we can be sure that they are a servant of Satan masquerading as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

A common representation of angels in popular culture is of Guardian Angels. One website claims “Angels, especially guardian angels, are always buzzing around, looking for ways to make your earthly journey more interesting, dynamic and satisfying...Tell guardian angels exactly what you want assistance with: romance, finances, health, career. Then watch for their messages!” It also encourages people to 'bond' with their guardian angels by doing angel-related activities and collecting angel-themed objects. The Bible gives hints about this category of angels, but it doesn't say very much about what they do. When talking about the 'little ones' (believers) Jesus mentions "their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven" (Matthew 18:10). And Hebrews 1:14 describes angels as “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.” Some take these verses to indicate that each believer has an angel in heaven assigned to them. Even if that interpretation is correct, though, the verses tell us nothing about what these angels do. It certainly doesn’t confirm the speculation that they follow us around to protect us, and they do not indicate that non-Christians benefit from their ministry. Their are certainly examples of angels being sent to protect believers (for example Daniel in the lion's den, Daniel 6:22), but this doesn't mean that every believer has an assigned angel or angels to protect them. The only thing we can say for certain is that God can use angels as part of his protection and care for Christians, but he doesn't do this because he is unable to do these things himself. It is he who knows every hair on our head (Matthew 10:30) and if God is for us, nothing can be against us (Romans 8:31).  Angels are merely one way God exercises his power and care.

So how should we, as followers of Jesus, relate to angels?  Firstly we should recognise that angels and humans are two distinct types of being.  This means that we don't become angels when we die (see this blogpost) because, as we saw in the first of these reflections, although humans are created a little lower in status than the angels, through faith in Jesus we can inherit the higher status of children of God and rule over the angels.  To think of our dead relatives as angels may seem comforting, but it is a false comfort that ignores the reality of a choice that faces each and every one of us: accept Jesus and inherit eternal life, or reject him and face eternal separation from him.

Most importantly, though, we should give God thanks and praise for sending angels to bring us the message of salvation through Jesus, and to direct our worship towards him. We should also thank God for their rôle in assisting us, in ways we may never know until the end of time, in the spiritual warfare that is going on all around us.  We should never pray to them as praying to anyone except God is idolatry; just as angels reject our worship (Revelation 22:8-9), so they would also reject our prayers. Besides which, why would we want to pray to a lesser being when because of Jesus' death, we have access to God and Jesus himself prays for us (Hebrews 10:19-22, and 7:25)?

The existence of angels opens our eyes to the spiritual dimension of life and they model absolute, holy submission to God, unquestioning obedience, and faithful worship. But perhaps their greatest rôle is to remind us what makes us different to them: we have been offered salvation. Angels will only ever be servants of God: humans are offered this: “to all who did receive [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Will you receive Jesus this Christmastime?

Let nothing you affright: Angels and demons

Our Advent Evening Prayers will be looking at different features in the Christmas story, and our news sheets will have a more in-depth look at another feature: angels. This week we're looking at angels and demons.

It is hard to think of angels without also thinking of their counterparts: demons. Demons have been depicted in many ways in popular culture throughout the ages but what does the Bible tell us about demons? 

Demons, like angels, are spiritual beings and, again like angels, will probably have different roles and jobs. The likelihood is that they were all originally good, but at some point rebelled against God.  Lucifer was a high-ranking angel, referred to as 'princes' in the Old Testament (Daniel 10:13, possibly what later came to be called Archangels) but he too rebelled (Ezekiel 28:11-19) and became known as Satan. He was then cast out of the heavenly realms with other fallen spiritual beings (Revelation 12:8-9). He may have instigated the rebellion or became the leader later but since then he has had spiritual beings under his control, which are referred to in the Bible as his angels (Matthew 25:41); or as demons; or sometimes 'authorities', 'powers', 'dominions' or 'rulers' (Ephesians 6:11-12). These different names may refer to their function or their place in the hierarchy, but that Bible doesn't elaborate on this any further.

We see demons acting in different ways in the Bible, such as demonic possession (Mark 5:1-6), initiating false worship (1 Corinthians 10:20-21), promoting false doctrine (1 Timothy 4:1) and performing false signs and wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9).  In short, they try to stop humans from worshipping and following God, in order to prevent them being saved. Another way they do this is to make humans disbelieve in the existence of anything supernatural at all, or at least in the existence of supernatural evil.

Our rationalist mind can often dismiss talk of demons (and angels for that matter) as being religious ideas that belong to a primitive mindset, and stories of demon possession are explained as epileptic fits that the ancients ascribed to supernatural causes. But the Bible is quite clear that demons exist, and Jesus himself believed in them, and spoke to them. The Bible is also clear that attempts to harness the power of evil forces, e.g. by witchcraft or occult practices, are detestable to God (Deuteronomy 18:9-13) because Satan is trying to lead the world astray from God (Revelation 12:9). C. S. Lewis wrote in 'The Screwtape Letters': “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”

However, powerful as demons certainly are, it would also be wrong to think of them as being undefeatable. Jesus showed us many times his power over them, and he gave that power to us his followers (Luke 10:17-20). The Bible assures us that if we submit to God and resist evil, the devil and his demons will flee from us (James 4:7), and we can do so by putting on the 'the armour of God' (Ephesians 6:11-18). But ultimately Satan and his demons were defeated by Jesus' death on the cross (Colossians 2:15) and will finally be judged and punished at Jesus' second coming (Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:10).

God rest ye merry, gentlemen,

let nothing you dismay,

for Jesus Christ our Saviour

was born on Christmas Day;

to save us all from Satan’s power

when we were gone astray.

O tidings of comfort and joy.

O tidings of comfort and joy,

comfort and joy;

“Fear not,” then, said the angel,

“Let nothing you affright

this day is born a Saviour

of virtue, pow'r and might,

to free all those who trust in him

from Satan’s power and might.”

Both angels and demons remind us that there is a supernatural realm that we can often forget, and also that there is a spiritual war between good and evil that involves us too (Ephesians 6:12). As angels encourage us to listen, obey and worship God, so demons try to get us to do the opposite. Who are you making happy: angels or demons?

Forthwith appeared a shining throng: angels as worshippers

Our Advent Evening Prayers will be looking at different features in the Christmas story, and our news sheets will have a more in-depth look at another feature: angels. This week we're looking at angels as worshippers.

Although the main rôle of angels is to be messengers for God, they are perhaps most associated with praise and worship. So we get the popular image of angels with harps and occasionally trumpets. Both of these images come from the Bible (Revelation 5:8 and 8:6), although, as we learned last week, it would be wrong to think that this is what angels spend most of their time doing. There is a debate about whether angels sing, as there are few references to angelic singing: they are more often described as 'saying' or 'crying' and their sound is likened to trumpets (Revelation 1:10). But what they sound like is less important than what they are saying.

Praise and worship of God is the specific task of the cherubim and seraphim (Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1), and their ministry is carried out solely in the presence of God in heaven. Angels, on the other hand, are go-betweens for the heavenly realm and the earthly realm, so they join in with the heavenly worship when they are there, and encourage worship on earth when they are here. In some ways they are part of the answer to the prayer that Jesus taught us to say: they help us to see how the Father's name is hallowed in heaven, so that we may hallow it in the same way on earth.

This is why the most famous heavenly worship 'song' is "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come" (Revelation 4:8). Their worship focuses on the holy character of God and his actions past, present and future. This reminds us that God's primary characteristic is holiness. We often think of 'love' being the defining characteristic of God, and it's true that God is love (1 John 4:8), but his love is only able to be exercised because of his holiness. As God is holy, nothing impure can ever enter his presence, and as he is self-sufficient, he needs nothing else outside of himself. Therefore, everything in heaven and on earth only exists because God wills it. He could choose to be in splendid isolation from creation, but instead he wants to be intimately involved with his creation and in particular with humanity. But because our sin makes us impure and deserving of punishment, it is only because God is loving that he makes us a way by which we can be saved: God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). However, if God were not holy we would not need to be forgiven to enter his presence. Only a holy God can be self-sufficient, just and all-loving.

Angels proclaim God's holiness in heaven and so they lead the world in glorifying God, hence the famous Christmas song of praise: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests’ (Luke 2:13-14). The angels acknowledge God's greatness, giving him the credit for the wonderful gift of Jesus; with the phrase 'in the highest' having the double meaning of encouraging the praise of God 'to the greatest extent' as well as 'in heaven'. As we looked at last week, God is to be praised for redeeming humanity from its sin.  Angels know how wonderful it is to be in God's presence, and so they rejoice that now humanity can also enter God's presence. As Jesus said “the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10 Good News Translation).

The worship given by the angels reminds us that we too should praise God for who he is and what he has done for us,  and when we do so we join in with the heavenly worship with the angels, and archangels and all the company of heaven. The shepherds, after seeing the baby Jesus, went back to work joining with the angels glorifying and praising God (Luke 2:20). Will you join the angels in worshipping too?

What the gladsome tidings be: Angels as messengers

Here's my magazine article for December, which is also the first of my Advent reflections:

Our Advent Evening Prayers will be looking at different features in the Christmas story, and our news sheets will have a more in-depth look at another feature: angels. This week we're looking at angels as messengers.

It wouldn't be Christmas without angels. Whether they're sung about in carols, depicted on Christmas cards, or played enthusiastically by children in Nativity plays, they seem to be everywhere. And that's quite appropriate because angels are all around us, and not just at Christmas!

Angels have become increasingly popular with New-Age spirituality as being a bit like fairy-godmothers – quasi-divine spirits that can grant wishes, or as guardian angels, which act a bit like your own personal deity. These beliefs have grown out of the biblical record about angels, but have been severed from the biblical worldview so they can be made to fit into any and all spiritualities and faiths. So what does the Bible tell us about angels?

Firstly, we do not become angels after death. The Bible tells us that we were made a little lower in status than the angels (Psalm 8:5) , but unlike angels we can be saved and we will ultimately rule over the angels (Hebrews 1:14 and 1 Corinthians 6:3). Angels are one of a number of spiritual beings mentioned in the Bible (including cherubim and seraphim), and although we tend to class them all as angels, it is probably more correct to see these names as being different job titles for these spiritual beings. For example seraphim have a particular rôle in the worship in heaven (Isaiah 6).

This leads us on to what angels look like. Our image of angels probably owes more to pagan gods or fairy folklore than the Bible. Cherubim are often shown, e.g. in the Renaissance, as chubby little children with wings, but this is more like the Roman god Cupid than the biblical description in Ezekiel 1. Indeed nowhere in the Bible are angels, unlike cherubim and seraphim, described as having wings – there appearance is more like humans which is why they often get mistaken for humans, which would be unlikely if they had wings!!

However, more important than what the look like is what they do. The word 'angel' means 'messenger' and in the Christmas story this is their important task. Gabriel (one of only two named angels in the Bible) brought the message of the coming birth of Jesus to Mary (Luke1:26-38) and, we assume, to Joseph (Matthew 1:20-21) and the shepherds (Luke 2:8-12). Then after the single angel had announced the Saviour's birth to the shepherds, a great company (or army) of angels appeared praising God and saying ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests’ (Luke 2:13-14).

This is the great message that the angels bring, that God should be praised because there is now the possibility of peace 'to those on whom his favour rests'. We often see on Christmas cards the words 'Peace on Earth' taken from the angels' words, but the angels were not expressing a vague wish that things would get better on earth, but announcing that peace had already come because of the birth of Jesus. And this peace is not the absence of war but a peace, a reconciliation, with God. We are separated from God because we have rebelled against his rule in our lives, but the good news of Christmas is that God himself came to earth in Jesus, so that through his death the punishment for our rebellion would be taken, and therefore we can be reconciled to God. Will you hear the angels' message this year?

Christmas Playlist. 3: The angels' song – How did God come?

Four songs that bring you to the heart of Christmas

3: The angels' song – How did God come?

This Advent in our weekly sheets we're going to be looking at the four songs of the first Christmas, which were heard before, during and after the birth of the baby who lies at the heart of the real Christmas. The reflection will be adapted from Alistair Begg's book, 'Christmas Playlist' (buy it here). This week we're looking at the angels' song – How did God come?

There are many ways to announce the birth of a child and these days social media seems to be the most popular. The birth of Mary's baby, however, was announced by an angel to shepherds (Luke 2:8-14)! The angel described the baby's job - “Saviour”: Redeemer. He announced the baby's title - “Messiah”: God's King promised for centuries to his people, promises recorded for us in the Old Testament. And he revealed the baby's identity - “the Lord”.

And that word, “Lord,” is making a staggering claim, because it is the word that was used by Greek-speaking Jews to translate the Hebrew word “Yahweh” - the personal name of God. God's name is Yahweh, and it's what he told his friends, his people, to call him. In other words, here's the deal: good news, great joy for all the people, has come because a Redeemer, the Ultimate Ruler, has been born. And he is God Almighty.

On the first Christmas night – and this is the heart of the Christmas story, and the heart of the Christian faith – God took on flesh. The voice that made the cosmos could be heard crying in the cradle. The hands that placed each star in its place grabbed hold of Mary's fingers. Her son was fully human, and fully God. In this man, divinity met humanity.

Perhaps this is where you struggle with the Christian faith. You are prepared to accept Jesus as a great teacher, a religious leader, or a brilliant philosopher. You are prepared to accept that he spoke for God, perhaps. But you struggle to accept that he is God – that as Mary and Joseph peered into the manger, they were looking at the eternal Son of God. You struggle with the idea of a virgin birth and a miraculous incarnation.

God the Son taking flesh is a mystery we will never understand. But not being able to understand how God became one of us is not proof that he did not become one of us. Here is the answer to the human predicament, the solution to our slavery to sin and our separation from God. God bridged the gap by coming from heaven to earth. This is how much the mighty God cares about us.

Then a choir of angels declares what this baby will achieve: “on earth peace”. The peace of God that invades a life is based on the discovery of peace with God. No matter how well we do at trying to establish peace with each other, until we discover what it is to have peace with God, we're not going to discover the peace of God. And since we are separated from God – since we have declared our independence and rebelled against our rightful Ruler – this is a peace that can only be brought about by the intervention of God himself. We may try to find peace without God in our own way – peace through power, possessions or popularity. We may try to find peace with God through our own strength – peace through obeying religious rules or through being “good people”. But the truth is that only God can give us peace with himself.

But it's a peace that so many miss out on because they fail to make room for the one who brings it. Remember why the God of heaven was in a feeding trough? Because there was no room for him anywhere else. He made the entire universe. He came into his universe. And there wasn't a place for him.

Let's be honest; in the lives of many of us, it's no different. We have no room for him either – not if it makes life uncomfortable for us, not if his presence brings any inconvenience to us, not when his actions and words surprise us. But our response does not change the truth. God has visited this world. He has come as one of us, to bring peace to us by redeeming us from our sins. Will you say to him, “No room”?

Non angeli, sed sancti

Here's my article for the May magazines:

The first day of May is often said to be the first day of spring, where the blustery April showers are left behind in favour of fresh spring breezes. Spring, like Easter brings with it thoughts of new life. May is also the month when the church remembers St Augustine of Canterbury, a missionary who came to the British Isles in 569 AD to help spread the message about Jesus, and subsequently became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Both these events have been in my mind in the last couple of weeks and have linked together.

Although Christianity was practised in Britain before he came, Augustine brought a new vigour to the task of spreading the gospel. He was sent by Pope Gregory the Great, who according to Bede, saw some British slaves in a Roman market and on seeing their pale faces and blond hair asked who they were. He was told they were Angles, to which he responded “non Angli, sed angeli” - not Angles but angels! It was this that inspired him with a desire to send a mission to the Angles.

The new life of spring echoed a new chapter in my family's life as we anticipated the birth of twins in September. Unfortunately there was a complication with the pregnancy and, despite an operation, both twins died at 18 weeks gestation. But the expectation of new life was fulfilled in a more complete way than we imagined as James and Jacob, as we named them, entered the new life that is a central part of our Christian belief. “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him...And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonian 4:14, 17b).

We have received many messages of support and prayers, for which we are most grateful. However there's one message that we occasionally hear which strikes an odd chord, and that is words to the effect that James and Jacob died because God needs more angels. This springs from a folk belief that when people die, and especially babies, they become angels. My thought on hearing this said to me was a version of of Gregory's aphorism: “non angeli, sed sancti” - not angels but saints! James and Jacob, like all human beings, are made in the image and likeness of God. The angels are God's servants but through faith in Jesus humans can become his children and his children are saints.

The comments about our 'angel babies' are well-intentioned, and we are grateful for the love that inspires them, but there is surely a greater comfort in the truth that they are saints; they have the eternal life with God that we also can receive by faith in Jesus. Whereas it is almost impossible to know for certain whether or not someone who has died will have eternal life, babies who die will, in God's mercy, inherit eternal life. So if you have lost a baby in whatever way, either before or after birth, take comfort in the truth that they are not angels, but saints.

[see also my Advent blogposts on The Four Last Things: death, judgement, heaven and hell]