Angels &
Demons
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"And war broke out in heaven: Michael and His angels
fought with the dragon; the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not
prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer" (Rev.
12:7-8).
Of course, neither sulphur-crested cockatoos or crows are good
or evil. Unlike angels, they are not moral agents. They just do what they do.
However, what we saw taking place above our church illustrated, (at least to
me), what takes place in the invisible realms in that great battle between good
and evil. Michael and His angels are the good angels. Satan and his demons are
fallen angels. Along with angels we meet in church to worship God. We can’t see
the angels but Scripture says that they are present.
Some get hung up on whether it’s a woman’s own hair or a head
covering being referred to in the following. However, it is the word “angels”
that we are most interested in for now. “For this reason, and because of
angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head” (1 Cor.
11:10). This would be why some women wear hats to Sunday worship, especially “Easter
bonnets” at Easter services. Be that as it may, angels are present with us.
What are the angels doing when we are worshipping God? They,
too, are worshipping God with us, and they are interested in the same things as
us, viz., salvation and what it is all about. “Concerning this salvation, the
prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched
intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and
circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He
predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.
It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but
you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those
who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from
heaven. Even angels long to look into these things” (1 Pet. 1:12).
Angels desire salvation for us. Demons oppose Christ and our
salvation. We and the good angels belong to Christ. Satan and his demons wish to
disrupt our worship of God, whether our personal worship and family worship at
home, or corporate worship at church.
Much has been written about Michael. He alone is the
archangel mentioned in the Bible. Gabriel is not called archangel. According to
Daniel Michael is the prince of the people of God. He is called “Michael your
prince” by Daniel in Daniel 10:21b. Theologians debate whether Michael is the
uncreated Angel of the Covenant, i.e., the eternal Word who became flesh (John
1:1-3; 14). Good theologians differ on this. However, I favour the great Presbyterian
Bible commentator Matthew Henry’s approach, where he says of Daniel 10:21, “Here
is Michael our prince, the great protector of the church: The first of the
chief prices, v. 13. Some understand it of a created angel. Others think
that Michael the archangel is no other than Christ himself, v. 5. He came
to help me (v. 13) and there is none but He that holds with me these
things, v. 21. Christ is the church’s prince; angels are not, Heb. 2:5.” Christ
our prince is present when we corporately worship God by the Spirit through
Him. Angels are present too.
Matthew Henry goes on to say, while commenting on Daniel 12, “Jesus
Christ shall appear as His church’s patron and protector: At that time, when
the persecution is at the hottest, Michael shall stand up, v. 1. Christ
is that great prince. At that time Michael shall stand up for the
working out of our eternal salvation; the Son of God shall be incarnate, shall
be manifested to destroy the works of the devil. Christ stood for the
children of our people when He was made sin and a curse for them, stood in
their stead as a sacrifice, bore the curse for them, to bear it from them.”
Therefore, angels are present at our worship services
because Michael/Christ is present. Like us they are there to praise God with us
for our wonderful gift of salvation won by our Prince, the Prince of Peace.
White cockatoos over our church battling it out with big
black crows made me thankful that Christ has won the war with evil for Himself,
His angels, and for all who keep on believing in Him for salvation.
P.S., to hear what Australian crows and sulphur-crested cockatoos sound like in Brisbane, Queensland, click on the recorded live outdoors at Genesis Christian College link below. (It's a recording of me speaking on the Doctrine of Sanctification while competing with crows, cockatoos, planes, passing trucks etc.)
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