THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION
THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION
Sunday, January 27, 2013, the Year of Our Lord
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Our church is completing a 23-week study of the Book of Revelation. I have surely received the blessing promised in Revelation 1:3: ‘Blessed is he that reads and they that hear the words of this prophecy…” There were those who read and heard as we faithfully covered every word, verse and chapter.
The Book of Revelation is the triumph of Christ. The Book also gives us insight into the throne room, the government of God and the ten thousand times ten thousands, thousands and thousands angels; and celestial beings (beasts and the elders).
2 Thess. 1:7: “To you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels.”
The Book of Revelation is the unveiling of the mighty Angel of the Lord and His Heavenly Host.
“In the Old Testament the Angel of the Lord is a mysterious messenger of God sometimes described as the Lord Himself. This is called a theophany (an appearance of God) or Christophany (appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ). The Hebrew Mal’ ak means to dispatch as a deputy; a messenger, specifically of God, an angel. He is called either the Angel of the “Lord” (Yahweh) or the Angel of “God” (Elohim), the phrase is always in the singular. The Angel of the Lord brought revelation, deliverance, and even destruction.” (U.T&S – Kelly Varner)
The first appearance of the Angel of the Lord was to Hagar in the wilderness of Beersheba and told her to go back to Abraham and the Lord would make of Ishmael a great nation. Because of this, I believe some of the Ishmael nations will turn to the Lord.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Abraham, Moses, Balaam’s donkey, the children of Israel at Bechim, Gideon, Samson’s mother, Elijah, David and Joshua.
Angels are real living beings active and participating in ministry to the “heirs of salvation” and Kingdom appointment by the Father and the Son. They respond to the spoken Word of God within the will of the Father. They are supernatural and non-physical, but may assume a corporal appearance for a period of time. Angels are not symbolic, but very real.
From the Garden of Eden to the renewed heaven and earth, angels are found repeatedly throughout the Bible. These beings are also spoken of as spirits, cherubim, seraphim, sons of God, the heavenly host and as with Michael and Gabriel identified by name.
The name “angel” ends in “el”, the Hebrew expression for God. Gabriel and Michael also end in “el”.
When God revealed Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai, the Lord said, “no one may see me and live” (Ex. 33:20). Thus in reality, it was the “Angel of the Lord” that appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush when God disclosed himself as the “I am” or Yahweh.
The “Angel of the Lord” was the pre-incarnate Christ. As Heaven’s principle messenger, He is the Prophet like unto Moses (Deut. 18:15; Acts 3: 22-23), the Priest similar to Melchisedec (Heb. 6:20), and the Teacher come from God (Jn. 3:2). Jesus Christ is the “messenger of the covenant,” the Word made flesh sent from heaven to reveal the Father.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to the Shepherds, Philip, Peter, and smote Herod with worms.
We are to consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, fully authorized to bear the name of the One who sent Him. Jesus is our Savior, Protector, and Judge. He is the One who guides us through the wilderness of spiritual adolescence to the land of promise. He is the messenger of the New Covenant who washed us from our sins in His own blood.
Rev. 1:5 “From Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the First Begotten of the dead, the prince of the Kings of the earth, To Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.”
The cast and story in the Book of Revelation has to be the most awesome drama ever written.
- Who it is about: The Revelation of Jesus Christ
- Who gave it: Which God gave to Him (Jesus) (Vs.1)
- God sent and signified it by His Angel --- (angel---not a mortal man as some surmise).
- The seer is John
John has been raptured into the prophetic ecstasy of vision into the presence of the Glorified Christ. There was no mortal man who was able to deliver this revelation to John.
The same angel who delivered this message is again mentioned in Rev. 22:8: John fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed him these things. The angel said to John, ‘See you do it not; for I am your fellow servant and of your brethren the prophets, and them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”.
This angel though we are not given his name, is the angel of prophetic revelation.
Rev. 22:16: I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify to you these things in the churches.”
Is the messenger angel here the same as the Angel of the Lord which is described throughout the Old Testament? We cannot say because Jesus is identified and speaks separately from the angel. However, the Lord confirms, affirms and reaffirms this messenger is an angel and His angel.
There are those who teach this to be a Pastor. It is true that once you have been “chosen” to Pastor, you are sent an angel to assist you with your commission. An Apostle has an angel, as does the Office of Teacher, Evangelist and Prophet. When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are then given an angel that looks just like you.
However, there were not any Pastors with the kind of anointing by which the angel was sent and signified this revelation to John. It had to come by a Heavenly messenger with a divine message that could only come through Revelation Himself.
Rev. 22:6: “These sayings are faithful and true; and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show to His servants the things which must shortly be done.”
Rev. 1: 1-2: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, to show to His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.”
The book of Revelation is communicated by God, not to any mortal man but to Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, and exalted in glory. The revelation is contained in a heavenly book---the scroll of destiny already written on high, or as it is called in Daniel 10:21, the book of truth. That this is true of the present revelation is made plain in 5:1, “I saw in the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne a book written inside and on the backside with seven seals”. We can say this is the same book that was sealed in Daniel’s vision (12: 8-13). John is commanded by the angel in Revelation 22:10 “Do not seal the sayings of the prophecy of this book for the time is at hand.”
1 Pet. 3:22: “”Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”
The next mention of angels is in 1:20: Jesus is speaking. He has identified Himself as the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. He held in his hand the keys of hell and of death and in his right hand the mystery of the seven stars, and the seven golden candlesticks. “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which you saw are the seven churches.”
Every church which has been called by the Lord has been given an angel. If the church is flowing in the Holy Spirit within the Kingdom of God, it will be a candlestick church. This church has an angel assigned to it. The Pastor of the church also has an angel assigned to complete his/her kingdom assignment.
Chapters 2-4 are messages from Jesus given to John to deliver to the angels of the seven churches.
Rev. 3:5 “He that overcomes, 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.”
Next we go to Chapter 4. John is raptured by prophetic ecstasy into the throne room. The first voice which sounded like a trumpet was the Voice of the Lord.
Paul affirmed the VOICE OF THE TRUMPET in Hebrews 12:19: “And the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the would should not be spoken to them any more. For they could not endure that which was commanded…”
However, in Rev. 8:13, the sounding of the 7 trumpets are the voices of the 7-Trumpet angels. “He beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are set to sound.”
Rev. 4: 4-5: “Round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. Out of the throne proceeded lightnings, and thunderings and voices and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne which are the seven Spirits of God.”
The Holy Spirit is here identified as the seven-fold spirits of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, might, power and the fear of God.
It is my persuasion that the 24-elders are the celestial counterpart of the 24 orders of priests of 1 Chr. 24:4. The whole priesthood of old was represented by 24 elders (1 Chr. 24: 1-9).
The tabernacle and government of God’s Kingdom on earth originated in the mind and planning of God. God gave the divine blueprint, pattern and order to His man. Ex. 25:40: “Be sure that you make them after their pattern, which was shown you in
the mount.”
In Rev. 5:8, the 24-elders along with the four beasts discharge priestly functions before the throne of God.
Seven acts of the 24 Elders described here:
- Sit on thrones (4:4; 11: 16-17)
- Worship God (4:9; 11; 5: 8-10)
- Cast crowns before God (4:10; 5:8; 14, 11:16; 19:4)
- Sing and play harps (5: 8-10)
- Act as priests (5:8).
- Fall prostrate before God (4:10; 5: 8-14; 11:16; 19:4)
- Listen to worship of others (14:3)
Eight Acts of the Four beasts:
- Call attention to God’s holiness (4: 4-8).
- Fall prostrate in worship (5: 8-10).
- Offer prayers of saints to God (5: 8-10).
- Call forth the horsemen as from the “Voice of thunder” (6: 1-8).
- Sing and play harps (5: 8-10).
- Give vials to angels (15:7).
- Listen to worship of others (14:3).
- Guard the Holiness of God.
The hymns of Revelation imply that the praise of the church on earth is an echo of the liturgy of heaven. The unceasing praise of the four beasts is the voice of creation glorifying its Creator, and is accompanied by the adoring homage of the 24 angel-princes, as they too proclaim their great Creator’s praise.
Rev. 5: 11: “I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.”
The ministry of angels is mentioned 295 times in the Holy Bible (angel 201 times and angels 94 times).
Rev. 7:1: “…I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea.”
There are seven thunders; seven seal angels, seven trumpet angels; seven angels; 7 vials and 7 vial angels.
Rev. 10:7: “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he has declared to his servants the prophets.”
Rev. 11:15: “The seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven, saying the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
Rev. 14:6: “I 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.”
Rev. 14:8: “There followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
14:17: “Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle”
Rev. 14:18: - The Angel over fire: “Another angel came out from the altar which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle…”
Rev. 16:5: The Angel of the waters: “I heard the angel of the waters say, you are righteous, O Lord, which are, and was and shall be because you have judged thus.”
Rev. 19:17 – The Angel of the fowls: “I saw an angel standing in the sun and he cried with a loud voice saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.”
Rev. 20:1: - The Angel of the Bottomless Pit: “I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.”
Heb. 12:22: “You have come to Mt. Sion, and unto the City of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to the innumerable company of angels.”
1 Ti. 5:21: “I charge you before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that you observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.”
“Angels are a normal part of the life of the new Testament church. Two angels spoke to the disciples when Jesus was taken up into heaven (Acts 1). The angel of the Lord opened the prison doors for the apostles (Acts 5). Another angel appeared to Philip and told him to go to Gaza (Acts 8). An angel spoke to Cornelius about sending his servants to Joppa to get Simon (Acts 10). An angel loosed Peter from his cell in prison (Acts 12). When Paul and Silas were imprisoned, an earthquake shook doors and loosed their fetters (Acts 16). The angel of the Lord smote Herod (Acts 12). Angels ministered to Jesus on many occasions.”
“I believe supernatural visions, Holy Spirit earthquakes, angelic visitations and manifestations of the Holy Spirit are mean to be a part of my life as much as they were a part of life in the early church.” (Says Kathie Walters)
Heb. 13:2 “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
The writer of Hebrews makes clear the superiority of Jesus to angels by pointing to his son-ship, his position at the right hand of the Father, his more excellent name and the fact that he is worthy of the worship and adoration of the angels (Heb. 1: 1-13).
Rev. 5:2: “I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof’. No man in heaven or in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. One of the elders says to me, Weep not; behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. I beheld in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”
Preached by: Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Scripture from K.J.V.
I entered into the labors of Understanding Types and Shadows by: Kelly Varner; Teachings on the Book of Revelation by: Carolyn Sissom; Dictionary of Biblical Imagery; Angels’ Watching Over You by: Kathie Walters