Angels and the Spiritual Realm - Part 2|Blog: Tree Top Ministries, Inc

This is part two of a three-part blog series on Angels and the Spiritual Realm. This installment examines how angels interact with us in our walk with God.

The spiritual world is alive with activities, systems, processes, and tasks designed by God and carried out through entities like angels.
Image Credit: Mirela Konto on Pixabay.com

Hello Everyone,

This is the second installment of our three-part blog series on angels: Angels and the Spiritual Realm – Part 2. In last week's post, we explored what angels are, their roles and functions, and their place in the spiritual realm. We also made some observations about the spiritual realm in general. This week, we'll focus on how angels impact our lives as Christians and influence our walk with God.

Some people try to portray angels in the same venue as mythical fairies and pixies, but it's important to understand that the idea of a "fairy angel" is pure fantasy. Angels should never be seen this way.

When the armies of the Assyrian King Sennacherib attacked King Hezekiah of Judah—essentially an assault on God—He sent a single angel at night. That angel killed 185,000 soldiers (2 Kings 19). It was not a chubby baby with wings that accomplished this.

The phrase "Fear not" is used 365 times in the Bible. Almost all of those references are to a person seeing an angel. Angels should be honored and respected, held in great esteem as ambassadors of God. However, they should never be worshiped or prayed to.

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
Revelation 22:8-9 NIV

As powerful and magnificent as the angels are, Paul reveals an astounding revelation about our relationship with them in 1 Corinthians. The Corinthians are fighting amongst themselves and suing each other in court. Paul admonishes them for bringing the matters of Christians to a worldly system of justice. Paul informs them they can and are responsible for judging these matters themselves without involving the world. As evidence of this, he says:

Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life.
1 Corinthians 6:3 NLT

Wow! We will judge angels? We don't know a whole lot about this revelation. Presumably, it means the fallen angels, but the Bible does not reveal what this is all about; it only eludes to it here in this verse.

The Bible says angels are walking amongst us.
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The Angels Among Us

The writer of the book of Hebrews incorporates another line of thinking into our Christian psyche that is often forgotten and overlooked in our daily lives. He says:

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!
Hebrews 13:2 NLT

This verse means that there are people among us who are really angels, and we don't know it. Angels probably don’t exist in the form of an ongoing relationship like a neighbor or a church member, but it could be. It’s most likely people who come into our lives for a moment or a season. They are on a mission from God, and God chose to have them interact with us. The writer of the Book of Hebrews encourages us to be hospitable to them. Since we don’t know who they are, he says we should be hospitable to everyone.

There have been a number of times in my life when I suspected that I might be in the presence of an angel disguised as a stranger. I can't state equivocally that this was the case, but the air around each interaction was odd and peculiar.

In one instance, my daughter Noel was six months old. Our house was being foreclosed on, and we had to move. I was not right with the Lord and was on the precipice of divorce. It was a very low point in my life. To make the move, I rented a truck and went downtown to pick up a day laborer to help. No one was available, so I decided to make the move by myself.

After about an hour or two, this HUGE black man appeared at my door out of nowhere. I’ve never seen him before or since. His name was Moses. He was homeless and asked if I needed any help. I replied that I did, and I employed Moses to help me.

Please recognize that I was living in a part of town where homeless people did not gather. It was a part of town that was far from their resources.

Something was wrong with Moses’ speaking ability. He could not form a complete sentence to communicate. He would stop in the middle of a sentence and never finish it. However, every once in a while, he would make a statement that was a complete thought. Moreover, the complete thought would be something profound or something containing great wisdom, biblical in proportion. Then he’d go back to being incoherent.

Moses was so big that he could carry a sofa up a flight of stairs by himself. While we could not really communicate with words, we had no trouble communicating. He seemed to know my thoughts and needs. He also seemed to know how broken, tired, and worn out I was, and he would often encourage me with a gentle hand on my shoulder.

Somehow, he and I moved everything over the course of a couple of days. I paid Moses, fed him, and he left. I’ve never seen him again.

Was this an angel sent to me by God? I don’t know, but Moses was the perfect person at the perfect time, in the perfect place where I needed him. Whatever was going on here, it was the providence of God.

If you look back over your life, do you see anything that might have been one of these angelic strangers mentioned in Hebrews 13?

I bet you do.

For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
Psalm 91:11 NIV
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Angels In Our Lives

If you read my blogs regularly, you should notice that I repeatedly encourage you to look for God in the events of the day. I remind you of that again. Let’s make some bullet points:

God has a vast array of angels. Those angels are carrying out God’s plans and purposes. At this moment, this heavenly entourage is encamped all around you, performing duties for God on your behalf.
God designed you for a purpose and has a plan for your life. Only you can stifle that plan by failing to submit to His guidance and direction.
God is working in our lives whether we notice it or not. Sometimes, it may seem that God has abandoned us, but many of God's promises state, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Pay attention to the odd and peculiar. If something happens in your life that seems out of place, it's most likely God's intervention. What's more, He's probably got at least one angel in there performing functions around that odd and peculiar activity.
If you're not interacting with the world, seeing God working in your world is impossible. Your living room or bedroom might be your sanctuary, but the world is your mission field. Spiritual growth happens ONLY when you step outside of your comfort zone. The more uncomfortable you are, the more you will grow. If you really want to know God, get uncomfortable.
Hospitality. Are we providing hospitality to those around us? It doesn't have to be in the form of root beer floats or pralines and cream; it could be a smile, greeting, opened door, or any gesture that makes someone feel welcome and wanted.

Although we don't have direct access to angels or explicit knowledge of their involvement in our lives, keep an eye out for them—they are there.

Recognizing their presence can transform your perspective. While you won't gain more money, better looks, or any material changes, understanding that godly forces are at work around you can profoundly shift how you see the world. By being aware of the secret workings around you, you might become more observant and even witness these divine events firsthand.

God can be seen in the things He has created, from the macro to the micro, from the natural world to the spiritual world.
Image Credit: Andreas on Pixabay.com

Final Thoughts

The mysteries of God are endless, and the spiritual realm is just one of them. Science, true science, is the study of God through the things He has created. A true scientist will see God's marvels and wonders in the butterfly, the snow-capped mountains, the bottom of the ocean, and the cosmos. We are so blessed to have God revealed to us on so many levels.

As Christians, we can be assured that God is active in our lives on a very intimate scale. There are angels in our lives. They are all around us doing the things prescribed by God, bringing about the times, events, and circumstances that produce the best possible outcomes for our lives.

The Grand Scheme of Things is genuinely much grander than we ever realized. Knowing this behind-the-scenes activity should make us want to participate in it. It should motivate and inspire us. It should not compel us to go out and do things in our own strength but to humble ourselves before the Lord God Almighty and earnestly seek Him and His desires for our lives.

This network of divine components combined with the purpose and plan of the Creator, Architect, and Designer of the universe all flowing together in a glorious symphony of holiness, righteousness, and Truth…

...who would not want to be a part of that?

God Bless!

Mark

The Angels and the Spiritual Realm Series