Angel Care

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Short Summary

The discourse emphasizes the special care and protection that holy angels provide to God’s faithful followers, acting as messengers and ministers under the direction of the Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It recounts biblical examples of angelic interactions, illustrating their powerful yet loving role in guiding, guarding, and encouraging believers, and encourages believers to trust in this divine support with faith and humility. Ultimately, it highlights the angels’ faithful service, the importance of loving and trusting them, and the hope of eternal fellowship with God, Christ, and the angels.

Long Summary

Detailed Summary of the Discourse “Angel Care”

Scriptural Foundation and Theme 
– The discourse is titled “Angel Care,” based on Reprint 5131, inspired by Matthew 18:10 (KJV): 
*“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”* 
– This verse highlights that all true followers of the Lord are “little ones” under special divine supervision by angels who have constant access to God’s presence, ensuring protection and guidance.

Role and Nature of Angels 
– Angels are powerful but not divine beings; they are messengers and servants of God who carry out His will. 
– They receive direction from the Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (the Logos), who has all power in heaven and earth. 
– Angels assist in directing the power of God’s Holy Spirit and work in harmony with Christ to influence and protect believers. 
– Their intelligence and power are immense, beyond human comprehension, enabling them to help believers succeed in their covenant of sacrifice.

The Childlike Humility of God’s Followers 
– Followers are encouraged to maintain a humble, childlike faith to abide in God’s love and ultimately be received into Christ’s kingdom with honor and glory.

Creation and the Logos (Jesus Christ as Michael the Archangel) 
– Genesis 1:1 notes God created heaven and earth, but angelic involvement is clarified in John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:12-16, showing that “the Word” (Logos, pre-human Jesus) created all things, visible and invisible, including angels (thrones, dominions, principalities, powers). 
– Michael is identified as the Archangel (chief angel) and God’s representative in creation and throughout biblical history (Jude 9; Daniel 12:1). 
– Jesus retains the name Michael even in his divine role post-resurrection (1 Peter 3:21-22).

Creation and Classification of Angels 
– Angels were created before the material universe and helped Michael in creation (Job 38:7). 
– Various orders of angels exist (cherubim, seraphim, authorities, principalities, powers), but specifics of their duties are largely unknown.

Testing of Angels’ Faith 
– Angels’ faith and obedience were thoroughly tested, even more than humanity’s, due to their wider knowledge of God’s plans (Reprint 51 15). 
– Only those who remained loyal passed the test; Lucifer and fallen angels failed. 
– Believers are similarly tested in love, trust, and obedience.

Divine Protection and Angel Care 
– Psalm 91:11 affirms God gives angels charge over believers to guard them. 
– Angels’ care is ongoing—moment by moment—but often invisible to human senses, requiring faith to perceive. 
– Angels act as messengers and providential overseers, working through brethren and circumstances to nurture believers’ spiritual growth.

Biblical Examples of Angelic Interaction 
Genesis 18-19: 
– Michael and two angels visit Abraham and Sarah to announce Isaac’s birth, demonstrating angelic reassurance and fulfillment of seemingly impossible promises (“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”). 
– Two angels protect Lot in Sodom, physically intervening to save him and his family, illustrating personal angel care. 
Daniel’s Visions (Daniel 8-12): 
– The angel Gabriel acts as God’s messenger, explaining visions and prophecies to Daniel. 
– Gabriel assures Daniel of God’s love (“thou art greatly beloved”) and that his prayers are heard. 
– Michael helps Gabriel fight spirit rulers opposing God’s will, showing spiritual warfare yet assured divine victory. 
Luke 1: 
– Gabriel announces the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, comforting and reassuring Zacharias and Mary with “Fear not” and clear proclamations of God’s promises. 
Luke 2: 
– Angels announce Jesus’ birth to shepherds with joy and reassurance. 
Matthew 4:11; 28:2-7: 
– Angels ministered to Jesus after his temptation and announced his resurrection, demonstrating their supportive role.

Angel Care Today 
– While angels no longer visibly appear, their care continues invisibly, requiring believers to walk by faith, not sight. 
– The biblical accounts provide assurance of ongoing angelic protection and guidance. 
– Believers are encouraged to pray, trust, and cooperate with angels by living obediently to God’s will.

Faith, Trust, and Love Interrelation 
– Love and trust are proportional; believers must cultivate both towards God, Christ, and angels. 
– Angels appreciate believers’ trust and love, and believers should express gratitude to angels regularly.

Efficiency of Angel Care 
– It is suggested (though not definitively stated) that each believer may have a personal ministering angel (e.g., Gabriel with Daniel). 
– Angels have vast resources to assist believers but respect human free will.

Spiritual Warfare and Assurance 
– Angels engage in spiritual battles against evil forces but God’s plan is never in doubt or delayed. 
– Prophecies given by Gabriel confirm God’s sovereign control over history and future.

Visual Illustrations for Faith 
– 2 Kings 6:17 depicts Elisha’s servant’s vision of heavenly chariots protecting them, symbolizing angelic protection. 
– Psalm 34:7 promises angelic rescue for those who reverence God.

God’s Will in Trials 
– Angels’ protection does not guarantee exemption from sickness or death; these may be permitted for spiritual growth. 
– Romans 8:28 assures that all things work together for good for those who love God.

Final Encouragement and Blessings 
– Believers are encouraged to rest in the peace and strength provided by awareness of angelic care. 
– Revelation 3:5 promises that overcomers will be acknowledged before God and His angels. 
– Reprint 1478 highlights angels’ loving benevolence and their humility, valuing the privilege to serve humanity despite being sinless and destined to be subordinate to redeemed humans.

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Key Bible Verses Cited:

– Matthew 18:10 
– Genesis 1:1; 18-19 
– John 1:1-3 
– Colossians 1:12-16 
– Jude 9 
– Daniel 8:15-16; 9:20-23; 10:1-21; 11; 12:1 
– 1 Peter 3:21-22 
– Job 38:4-7 
– Psalm 91:1,11 
– Hebrews 1:14 
– Luke 1:11-19; 26-38 
– Luke 2:8-14 
– Matthew 4:11; 28:2-7 
– 2 Kings 6:14-23 
– Psalm 34:7 
– Romans 8:28 
– Revelation 3:5 

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This discourse richly illustrates the biblical teaching of angelic care—angels as powerful, loving ministering spirits who serve God’s people, guided by divine wisdom, working invisibly to protect, instruct, and encourage believers in their spiritual journey toward eternal life.

Transcript

Now Angel Care is the title of this talk and is derived from reprint 5131. But first we’ll read the Scripture that inspired the reprint Reference from Matthew 18:10. These are our Lord’s words, spoken of us and to us to augment our trust in our Heavenly Father and our heavenly angels. Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones, for I say unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. Now reprint 5131.

All the Lord’s true followers are God’s little ones and are subject to special divine supervision, represented in our text as Angel Care. The messengers who have guarded over the lives of God’s saintly few always have access to the Heavenly Father’s presence to make known the necessities of those whom they represent, for divine power is ever on the alert for the protection of these oh how blessed the privilege of being children of God. Oh, how wise to continue so little, so humble, so childlike, as to abide in his love and to be enabled to learn the necessary lessons and to be ultimately received with Messiah in his kingdom, honor and glory.

So we see from these references that our angels are in the chain of command that starts with our Heavenly Father and flows through our Lord Jesus, to whom all power in heaven and earth has been granted in some way. The holy angels receive both general and specific direction from the Father and the Son. If we’re consecrated Spirit begotten, doing our best to do God’s will, humbly trusting in the Lord’s merit, then we are these little ones that Jesus is talking about. The angels are associated with our Lord in helping to direct the power of God’s Holy Spirit, his holy influence upon our lives. We are all under angel care.

The angels that behold the face of our Father are not divine, so they’re not the source of divine power. But we want to emphasize that they’re extremely powerful beings because they have constant full access to our Heavenly Father’s divine power. It’s impossible for us to fully grasp our holy angels intelligence, their awesome power, their supreme level of competence, and their willingness to do all they can to help us succeed in our covenant of sacrifice. Yet it’s thrilling to contemplate, and as we do so, it should greatly expand our confidence in God’s overruling, loving kindness exercised on our behalf. When we feel weak and discouraged because of our failures, we should instead think of the angels great love for us and their immense power that’s constantly surrounding us, to guide us, to help us, to build us up in the most holy faith.

We could think about how the angels rejoiced during the creation as our God informed job in job 38, 4, 6 and 7 from the Berean Study Bible where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? On what were its foundations set? Or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? When I began thinking about angel care, I was mainly thinking about their care for us. At some point I also began to think about my care for them.

Do I love them enough? They always love me. I want to be sure I always love them. I love the Father, I love the Son, I love my brethren. But have I somewhat taken the holy angels for granted?

If I have, I don’t want to do that. You might ask yourselves that question and if necessary make any adjustments. Well, one might say the angels are just doing the will of the Father. Well, so is Jesus, and we have a great love for Him. We should also have a great love for the angels that are helping us day by day at the direction of the Father and the Son.

We should do the best we can to make their job easy. We would not want them to have to work too hard keeping us straight. So who are these powerful angels? Let’s trace their history so we can love them more by getting to know them and fully appreciating the role they play in our lives. We’re first introduced to the work of the angels in the first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. We don’t know from this verse that angels were involved in the creation because their work is not announced. We don’t get the best understanding of this until we read the New Testament, specifically the beginning of John’s Gospel. In reading John 1:1:3 in the King James, I will supply the Greek articles. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and the Word was a God.

Same was in the beginning with the God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. We know the word that’s being referenced here is the Logos, our Lord Jesus in his pre human existence. He’s spoken of again in Colossians 1:12 16 giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created that are in heaven and are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

All things were created by him and for him.

Paul’s talking about the work of the Logos, who’s actually given a personal name in Jude 9. Michael the Archangel Ark means chief, so he was the chief angel. Michael was the one and only archangel. Michael means who as God or one who represents God. Michael is the primary angel that God used to create the universe as described in Genesis 1:1 and John 1:3.

And who has God’s word worked with all of the prophets and apostles to write the entire Bible. It’s also worth noting that Christ retains the name Michael even now, the proof text being Daniel 12:1 referring to 1874 and onward. @ that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince, which stands for the children of thy people, of course, as the divine Christ, Michael is much more powerful and glorious than he was as the archangel, as is described in 1 Peter 3:21 22 by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him, the Logos as God’s word, Michael as God’s representative, Christ as God’s anointed. Each of these and more are descriptive of the diverse work that the only begotten Son of God performs for mankind on behalf of our Heavenly Father.

Now, as to all of the other angels, why were they created? Job 38:7 suggests that they helped Michael in the work of creation. So we believe they were created before the creation of the material universe. We know there are different levels and classifications of angels. Some of the levels mentioned in the Scripture are cherubim, seraphim, authorities, principalities, and powers.

But we don’t really know their different powers and duties, so we’ll just use the generic term angels for all of them.

How were they tested? We know that the faith and trust of all the holy angels has been severely tested. Reprint 51 15. Thus we see that God tested the faith of the holy angels, especially when we understand that the evil conditions prevailing before the Flood have continued. To some extent.

The holy angels have occasion to doubt, to fear, respecting God’s wisdom, love and power. Thus they were all thoroughly tested, more so than humanity, for they saw all that there was to be seen. We admit that there are a great many things that we do not know and cannot see. But the angels have apparently a much wider scope of knowledge. Thus the test of their faith was much greater than is ours.

God tested the faith of the angels because he wished to know which of them had that absolute confidence which would enable them to trust him, whether it seemed that he had or had not the power to control affairs. We see, dear brethren, that this same obedient test of faith and trust in our Heavenly Father is upon us. Do we trust, love, and obey him at all times and in all circumstances?

In the same reprint, Brother Russell makes a statement which might sound contradictory, but it’s not. The faith of the Church will be of a higher character than is that of the angels, or than will be that of the world restored. The faith of the Church will have been wrought out amidst the darkness and obscurity of this age, which are being permitted for the very purpose of developing that faith. For the Church is called to occupy a place much higher than that of angels or men, called to be partakers of the divine nature.

All the holy angels have passed the test of love, trust, and obedience. Lucifer and the fallen angels failed that test. But we’re not going to spend time talking about the angels that failed. We’re going to focus on the holy angels who have always been loving, loyal, obedient, trusting, true and kind. This talk is a celebration of their victory and an exploration of getting to know them better by how they love us, by how they help us and interact with us.

Our Heavenly Father has given the holy angels the broad responsibility to watch over us and to protect our eternal interests. Psalm 91:11 he shall give his angels a charge concerning thee, to guard thee in all thy ways.

And in the first verse of Psalm 91, this protection is given specifically to those of us that dwell in the secret place of the Most High. So let’s examine some of the scriptural accounts of specific instances where the holy angels have interacted with the Lord’s people, and let’s see what we can learn from these experiences that we can apply to our own experiences.

These Bible narratives are illustrations of the angel care that surrounds us even now.

Moment by moment, the angels are doing everything they can to guard our new creatures as we navigate this fallen world. Our angels don’t materialize as they often did in Old and New Testament times. Our holy angels remain invisible to us. The Lord wants us to walk by faith and not by sight. But the angels should be just as real to our spiritual senses as they were to the physical senses of the prophets and apostles of old we’ll start with the extended narrative of Genesis chapters 18 and 19, which is the most sustained interaction between angels and God’s people recorded in the Bible, beginning with Genesis 18:1 5.

And Jehovah appeared unto Abraham in the plains of Mamre, and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day, and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him, and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself toward the ground and said, my Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. Let a little water. I pray thee be fetched, and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree, and I will fetch a morsel of bread and comfort ye your hearts.

After that ye shall pass on. For therefore are ye come to your servant, and they said, so, do as thou hast said. Now the one spoken of as Lord was really the representative of Jehovah, Michael the Archangel. With two assistant angels, they materialized to Abraham and Sarah to impress upon them that a miracle would occur, that they would have a son, Isaac.

When the angels told Abraham and Sarah this, Sarah was unsure about it. So Michael repeated to Abraham that Sarah would have a son.

This interaction with Michael and the two angels must have had a powerful impact on Abraham and Sarah, and it should have the same effect on us. The angels promised Abraham and Sarah something seemingly impossible. God had waited until it would seem to be impossible so that he would increase their faith in him by making it come true. Sometimes it feels like we’ve been promised the impossible, that we could become partakers of the divine nature. Does something so high seem unattainable?

It sometimes does to me when I think of attaining the divine nature by my own strength of mind and body. But if I pay attention to what Michael told Abraham, then I know that the seemingly unattainable is attainable. He said, is anything.

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

There’s only one answer to that question. Absolutely not. Our God can do whatever he wants to do, knowing that the Logos, Michael, God’s representative, using divine power, created the universe, and now, as divine, Christ has even more power, should give us the confidence that he can make us what he wants to make us if we work with Him.

Now, continuing the angel narrative in Genesis 18:16, and the men, the angels, rose up from thence and looked towards Sodom, and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

Abraham came to know that the angels are going to Sodom to destroy it, and he pleaded with the Lord to save any righteous men that might still be in the city. Well, Lot was in Sodom, and so the two remaining angels mentioned in Genesis 19 went to find Lot. It seems that Michael had materialized for Abraham and Sarah’s sake, and he allowed the other two angels to go on to deal with Lot and Sodom.

When the two angels found lots of he insisted that they stay the night in his home, which they did. During the night, all of the men of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house and demanded that Lot send the men out to them. Lot knew that the sodomites were up to no good. He went outside to plead for the angels, but the Sodomites pushed Lot aside and started to try to break down the door. The angels grabbed Lot, pulled him inside, shut the door, and smote all the Sodomites with blindness so that they were rendered harmless.

Continuing the narrative with Genesis 19 selected verses from 12 to 28 and the men again the angels said unto Lot, hast thou here any besides son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters? And whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place, for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of Jehovah, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it, and when the morning rose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city, and while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him, and they brought him forth and set him without the city, and it came to pass, when they had brought them forth, that he said, escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven, and he overthrew those cities and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and they that which grew upon the ground, and Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before Jehovah, and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and behold, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

So we see that God granted Abraham’s desire that Lot be saved out of Sodom. He didn’t specifically ask this in the narrative, but I believe it can be implied. Probably God was going to save Lot anyway. Otherwise why was he sending the angels directly into Sodom when they were going to destroy it from afar anyway?

Then I just really appreciate the picture of the hands on angel care that this whole narrative supplies to us. The angels pulled Lot inside the house. They rendered the attackers harmless. They had to actually take Lot, his wife and daughters by their hands to pull them out and away from Sodom so they would not be destroyed with a city. Apparently Lot’s sons in laws chose to go down with the city.

Then Lot’s wife basically made the same choice and was turned to stone.

All of this could have been done without this hands on approach.

But our God saw that we could learn something about angel care by having these angels take personal charge of Lot and his family to save their lives. He wants us to know that his loving angels are in the midst of the battle with us as new creatures of the angels. Hebrews 1:14 tells us, Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Angels minister us every day. But how?

Well, we don’t pretend to know exactly how they operate, but we can gather information from the results that we observe in our lives and the lives of our brethren.

Both the Hebrew and Greek Bible words for angel carry the thought of messenger. It seems to me that this definitely entails bringing communications back and forth between God and His people. But it’s more than just communication. It also involves providential oversight of our lives. Both communication and oversight are shown by the way the angels interacted with Abraham, Sarah and Lot.

Put simply, the angels do things for us through the brethren and through other people. That’s something I’ve really come to understand, and they have unlimited resources to get these things done. Primarily, they teach our new creatures through the scriptures and through our experiences what we need to know to develop our characters to where we can make our calling. Election, sure, but for them to be successful in making us successful, we need to help them.

They won’t just overrule our wills to make things right. So it always gets back to our full consecration vow to know and to do God’s will. If we’re always doing our best, then the angels will always help us to know and to do God’s will.

It seems that the angels have a great deal of latitude in how they operate based on the principles of love and justice which they have learned through the long ages of interaction with the Father and the Son.

It was Brother Russell’s thought that each of the Lord’s People have their own ministering angel that has charge of their affairs. He made it clear he was not stating this positively, but it’s a thought that sounds very reasonable to me. It would be most efficient for us to have a personal angel that knows all about us and what we need to be successful in our walk.

This is illustrated by the way the angel Gabriel seemed to be God’s messenger to the prophet Daniel. In Daniel chapter 8, Daniel had been given the vision of the ram and the goat. Daniel 8, 15 and 16 and it came to pass when I, even I, Daniel, had seen the vision and sought for the meaning. Then behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man, and I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulaid, which called and said, gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.

Make this man to understand the vision. I love that.

Then Gabriel explained the vision to Daniel. Then in Daniel 9, Gabriel appears to Daniel again, for Daniel had sought by prayer a clearer understanding of God’s purposes to Israel. Daniel 9, 20, 23 and while I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God, for the holy mountain of my God, yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly, swiftly touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

And he informed me and talked with me, and said, o Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee, for thou art greatly beloved. Therefore understand the matter and consider the vision.

Then Gabriel goes on to explain the wonderful prophecy of the 70 weeks, one of my favorites.

But there are some real gems in this narrative that help us understand the communications between Daniel and God. God and Gabriel and Gabriel and Daniel. First, Daniel humbled himself before God and confessed his sins. Then he had not even finished praying before Gabriel came to him and explained the vision to him. Sometimes we receive answers to our prayers immediately.

Other times the Lord sees that we can gain in patience and fortitude by his waiting to bless us.

Second, Gabriel states that he came to Daniel when the commandment came forth. This seems to refer to God hearing Daniel’s prayer and then directing Gabriel to go to Daniel to give him the information that God was willing that Daniel should know at that time.

Third, there’s the wonderful statement of Gabriel to Daniel, Thou art greatly beloved. How would you like to have an angel tell you directly that God greatly loves you. Do you think that had an impact on Daniel for the rest of his life? I would think so.

Fourth Gabriel then helps Daniel understand the matter. I suspect we’ve all had this experience. We don’t understand something a scripture, an experience, and we pray about it. Then we’re helped to understand it. We may not immediately understand it.

Our Lord may see that we could gain in character by continuing to study and pray about the matter. But eventually the understanding comes, whether it be immediately or after decades of study and prayer. That depends on our effort. The Lord’s will I’ll give another interaction between Daniel and Gabriel that helps illustrate this. In Daniel 10:1 8 Daniel prayed and fasted for three weeks, and he then received a blinding dramatic vision of an angel.

It doesn’t state that this angel was Gabriel, but it seems reasonable to me that it was him. It sounds like Gabriel to me. Only Daniel saw the vision, but the men that were with him were terrified and ran away.

Daniel 10:9 21 New Living Translation Then the angel spoke to me, and I fell to the ground, face downward, in a deep faint. But a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees, and I heard his voice, O Daniel, greatly beloved of God, stand up and listen carefully to what I have to say to you, for God has sent me to you. So I stood up, still trembling with fear. Then he said, don’t be frightened, Daniel, for your request has been heard in heaven and was answered. The very first day you began to fast before the Lord and pray for understanding.

That very day I was sent here to meet you. But for 21 days the mighty evil spirit who overrules the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the top officers of the heavenly army, came to help me so that I was able to break through these spirit rulers of Persia. Now I am here to tell you what will happen to your people, the Jews, at the end times for the fulfillment of this prophecy is many years away. All this time I was looking down, unable to speak a word.

Then someone, he looked like a man, touched my lips and I could talk again and I said to the messenger from heaven, sir, I am terrified by your appearance and have no strength. How can such a person as I even talk to you, for my strength is gone and I can hardly breathe. Then the one who seemed to be a man touched me again and I felt my strength returning. God loves you very much, he said. Don’t be afraid, calm yourself, be strong.

Yes, strong. Suddenly as he spoke these Words I felt stronger and said to him, now you can go ahead and speak, sir, for you have strengthened me. He replied, do you know why I have come? I am here to tell you what is written in the book of the future. Then when I leave, I will go again to fight my way back past the Prince of Persia and after him, the Prince of Greece.

Only Michael, the angel who guards your people Israel, will be there to help me. Here again, God’s great love for Daniel is expressed because of Daniel’s earnest prayers and efforts to understand God’s will and prophecies. That’s something for us to learn from Daniel’s example. Then there are these fascinating statements about Gabriel and Michael fighting the spirit rulers of Persia and Greece.

From some of the translations, it almost sounds like Gabriel and Michael had their hands full fighting the fallen angels that were seeking to thwart God’s will in Persia and Greece, and that the outcome was in doubt. I don’t believe that for one second.

God’s will and power are never in doubt. God’s plan is never thwarted or Even delayed for 1 second by any evil spirit.

In fact, in the very Next chapter, Daniel 11, Gabriel tells Daniel exactly what will happen to the kingdoms of Persia, Greece, Rome, and even Napoleon. Does that sound like someone who thinks the outcome is in doubt? And we know from history that which is history for us, but which was future from Daniel’s time, that what Gabriel told Daniel is exactly what happened to those kingdoms.

Then In Daniel chapter 12, Gabriel tells Daniel that Michael the great prince will stand up and fight, and we know that he’s talking about 1874 in the end times in which we’re still living. We don’t ever need to worry or have any concerns that either the divine plan for mankind or the divine plan for ourselves is in doubt.

It helps me to try to understand the mighty power of our angel care all around us. Just thinking about it gives me peace and strength of mind, although I know my understanding comes far short of the reality.

We’ve been given a scripture picture of it though. In the Second Book of Kings, chapter 6, verses 18 to 23 is described a time when the king of Syria made plans to attack and raid the towns in Israel. But when the Syrians deployed their army, Elisha the prophet warned the king of Israel and the Syrian king was thwarted.

The Syrian king was told that it was Elisha that was warning the king of Israel. So the Syrian king sought to capture Elijah, therefore sent he horses and chariots. This is 2 Kings 6, 14, 17 Therefore sent he horses and chariots, and a great host, and they came by night and compassed the city about, and when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, a host with horses and chariots was round about the city.

And his servant said unto him, alas, my master, what shall we do? And Elisha answered, fear not, for they that are with us are more than they that are with them, and Elisha prayed and said, jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see, and Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. Then Elisha called upon Jehovah to smite the Syrian army with blindness.

He then led them to Samaria, where they came under the control of Israel’s king, who asked Elisha what should be done with the Assyrians. He asked, shall I smite them? But Elisha directed him to provide a great feast for the Syrians and to send them away, and that Syrian king never again besieged Israel. This vision of the horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha should be used by us to strengthen our faith and trust in the constant protection provided us by our Heavenly Father as new creatures in Christ.

We have this assurance given us in Psalm 34:7, for the angel of the Lord guards and rescues all who reverence him.

We know that that doesn’t mean that the Lord will never permit us to have physical sickness or even an early death. What it does mean is if we have those things, it’s because it’s right for our new creature.

This is the primary meaning of Romans 8:28, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose, and these all things from the scripture are what the angels help us with that make the all things work together for our eternal good. It seems to me that the angels take care of most things on their own, but that from time to time they seek counsel of our Lord Jesus, and our Lord told us they always have access to our Heavenly Father.

Now the all things are just that, too many to try to mention because each of us need different things at any given time. Some may need extra love and support, usually from the brethren and also from family and friends. Some may need disciplinary experiences to be taught the necessary lessons of humility, of not self reliance, but God reliance.

This reliance on the Lord. This trust I believe to be equally as important to the great lesson of love.

Why?

Because love and trust are proportional we can’t love someone if we can’t trust them. To the extent we’ve learned to love them, we first learn to trust them. This principle most definitely applies to our trust and love for the Father, the Son, and the holy angels. Our heavenly Father really appreciates our trust and love. Does our Lord and the angels.

We pray to the Father, we pray to the Son, and we should take some time during the day to thank the angels for their love and to express our love for them for helping us day by day.

Our next angel care narrative is from the first chapter of Luke, where the angel Gabriel surfaces again. Daniel obviously was no longer living, so God gave Gabriel other work to do.

By the way, in Hebrew, Gabriel means God is my strength. A wonderful name and meaning for an angel of God. God sent Gabriel to announce to Zacharias the priest that John the Baptist would be born to he and Elizabeth. Zacharias was burning the incense in the holy of the temple, and then in Luke 1, 11, 14, 18 and 19, there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

And when Zechariah saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, fear not. See how the angel says that every time. I love the way the angels reassure these ones. Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John, and thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his birth.

And Zechariah said unto the angel, whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years, and the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto thee and to show thee these glad tidings. Then when Gabriel had finished telling Zacharias about John, he was sent to Mary to tell her about Jesus, and in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into the city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

And the angel came unto her and said, hail, thou art highly favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast into her mind what manner of salutation this should be, and the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God.

And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth A son and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man.

And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And behold thy cousin Elizabeth. She hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing, nothing shall be impossible, and Mary said, behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word.

And the angel departed from her. So, focusing on the way Gabriel communicated to Zacharias, to Mary, and to the holy prophets, he first sought to put them at ease. Fear not Zacharias. Fear not Mary. Fear not Daniel.

See the love that they had for them. They were troubled and fearful at the sight of Gabriel because it was the first time they had ever seen a bright and powerful angel of the Lord. So Gabriel, gently and lovingly, yet with great power, since he was a being of great power, communicated the messages that the Lord had sent him to communicate. He calmly tells them exactly what will happen. There’s no hesitation, no indecisive wavering like, we’ll do the best we can and see what happens.

No, these miracles are going to happen. Nothing is impossible with our God. Nothing is too hard for him.

It’s the same for us now. We put our life and times into our Heavenly Father’s hands. So we just have to train our minds to have Gabriel’s trust. Gabriel absolutely knew what he was saying was going to happen. Whatever God says is going to happen is going to happen.

This is one of the takeaways for me from studying angelic interactions with God’s people. We must take possession of the angels unwavering confidence in the overwhelming power of our God to overrule our daily experiences. This should give us great peace of mind and rest of heart. Another example of angel care is when the angels announced the birth of our savior in Luke 2, 8:14, and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid and the angel said unto them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For to you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord, and this shall be a sign for you.

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good will toward men.

Matthew 4:11 tells us that angels ministered unto Jesus to strengthen him after his 40 days of temptation in the wilderness. Matthew 28:2 7 tells us that an unnamed angel, perhaps Gabriel, announced Jesus resurrection, and behold, there was a great earthquake. For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow.

And for fear of him, the keepers did shake and become as dead men, and the angel answered and said unto the women, fear not ye, for I know ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. Yeah, he is not here, for he is risen. As he said, come see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee.

There shall ye see him. Lo. I have told you again, there is this juxtaposition of overwhelming angelic power combined with the angel’s loving desire to gently yet confidently communicate God’s will.

God’s will in certain circumstances may not be to preserve our human life. We remember that he sent his angel to release the Apostle Peter from Herod’s prison. But he did not send an angel to save the Apostle James from being killed by Herod. We can be sure that God’s will and power was perfect in both of those circumstances.

In summary, after all of the prophets, Jesus and the apostles finished their courses in death, there were no more manifestations of the angels that the Lord’s people could visually witness. We’re to walk by faith and trust and not by sight. But the Lord provided all of these scriptural experiences and visions in the biblical record for our benefit, for us to have a clear vision of our constant, loving, overruling angel care each moment of our lives. What a blessing that is to strengthen our hearts and quell our fears. During all of the stresses of modern life, let’s be sure to focus on the full assurance of faith that these manifestations should give us a fatherly care from our Heavenly Father, Brotherly care from our elder brother and of angel care for us from all the holy angels in the secret place of the Most High.

We so look forward to meeting the Father, the Son and the holy angels in person beyond the veil and we will get there with our Savior’s help and our angel care. We can be inspired by the vision of Revelation 3. 5 He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. Foreign like to close with a wonderful thought from reprint 1478 in which our Pastor makes the point that our holy angels of God are full of loving benevolence toward us in our fallen condition and esteem it a privilege to serve us, although they know that according to God’s plan we are to be highly exalted above them even though they have never sinned. What a wonderful testimony to the humble loving character of our dear holy angels.

And may the Lord add His blessing.

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