THAT the Lord sends an angel to watch over every saint is plainly taught in the
Bible. This fact is thus stated by the
Psalmist: “For he (the Lord) shall give
his angels charge over thee, to keep thee
in all thy ways.” Ps. 91:11. This is
highly reasonable. In our conflicts with the
powers of darkness, the angels of light can
give us that aid which we so much need.
They can impart to us light and strength and
courage, and can be at hand to protect us
from dangers, both seen and unseen. Satan
is well aware of this, and so he said to the
Lord, “Doth Job fear God for naught?
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and
about his house, and about all he hath on ev-
ery side?” Job 1:9, 10. Let David tell
us how it is that the Lord makes a hedge
about his servants: “The angel of the Lord
encampeth round about them that fear him
and delivereth them.” Ps. 34:7. That is
it. God’s angel constantly watched over Job
and all that he had so that the devil could not
touch him.
What was true in Job’s case is true of ev-
ery child of God. Of those who believe on him,
Christ says, “Take heed that ye despise not
one of these little ones; for I say unto you,
That in Heaven their angels do always be-
hold the face of my Father which is in
Heaven.” Matt. 18:10. The phrase, “their
angels,” shows that there are angels so close-
ly connected with every servant of Christ
that they are called their angels. When
Rhoda affirmed that she had seen Peter at
the gate, the brethren said, “It is his angel.”
Acts 12:15. They did not mean that it was
Peter’s spirit; for they knew that he was not
dead. They meant just what Christ said, and
what they said, viz., that it was his angel,
the one who attended him.
It is directly affirmed that an angel con-
stantly attended the camp of Israel. “And
the angel of God, which went before the
camp of Israel, removed and went behind
them.” Ex. 14:19. The wise man says,
“Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to
sin; neither say thou before the angel, that
it was an error.” Eccl. 5:6. This assumes
that an angel is always present to hear what
we say. In harmony with this the apostle
says, “We are made a spectacle unto the
world, and to angels, and to men.” 1 Cor.
4:9.
Speaking to the Corinthians of their relig-
ious meetings, Paul says, “For this cause
ought the woman to have power on her head
because of the angels.” 1 Cor. 11:10.
On this passage the Union Bible Dictionary,
Art. Angel, says, “The best interpreters un-
derstand by the term ‘angel’ the holy angels,
who were present in an especial sense in the
Christian assemblies; and from reverence to
them it was proper that the women should
have power (veils, as a sign of their being in
subjection to the higher power) on their
heads.” Because we cannot see the angels
with our natural eyes, we are apt to forget
that they are constantly with us, seeing, hear-
ing, and noting our words and conduct. But,
according to the Bible, this is really the case.
A beautiful illustration of this fact is found
in 2 Kings 6: The king of Syria made war
on the king of Israel. But the prophet Eli-
sha revealed to the king of Israel all the
plans and movements of the Syrians so that
he was able to defeat or elude them every
time. The king of Syria having learned this,
said to his servants, “Go and spy where he
is, that I may send and fetch him. And it
was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
Therefore sent he thither 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, an host compassed
the city both with horses and chariots. And
his servant said unto him, Alas, my master!
how shall we do?” They were in a close
place indeed, shut up in a city surrounded by
a host of enemies. But how did Elisha feel
about it? “And he answered, Fear not; for
they that be with us are more than they that
be with them.” We may naturally suppose
that the servant looked around upon those
two there alone in utter astonishment, and
exclaimed, “What, master, we more than
they? Impossible! You must be mad!”
But “Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray
thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And
the Lord 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.” Now the servant could under-
stand what Elisha meant when he said,
“They that be with us are more than they
that be with them.” Legions of the angelic
armies were around the man of God to de-
liver him. The servant could not see them,
yet his master knew that they were there.
2 Kings 6:13-18.
When Hagar was wandering alone in the
wilderness, an angel addressed her. Then
she seemed to be conscious for the first time
that she was not alone. “And she called
the name of the Lord that spake unto her,
Thou God seest me.” Gen. 16:13. In
this language she recognized the fact that
angels are always present with us, beholding
our thoughts and actions, though we cannot
see them. When Abraham was about to
slay Isaac, an angel whom he had not seen
before, called to him to stay his hand. Evi-
dently the angel was there all the time,
though Abraham did not see him.
Jacob’s case, as recorded in Gen. 28:10-
22, is a beautiful illustration of this point:
He fled from his brother Esau. He lay
down alone at night to sleep. “And he
dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the
earth, and the top of it reached to heaven;
and, behold, the angels of God ascending and
descending on it. And, behold, the Lord
stood above it,” and he talked with Jacob.
“And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he
said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I
knew it not.” Angels of God were all around
him, and the Lord’s eyes were upon him, but
he had not realized it. Could we, too, only
realize these solemn facts, we should often
feel as did Jacob. Thus we have the fact
abundantly substantiated that the angels are
always with the children of men. What a
consolation to the humble saint when afflict-
ed, reproached, despised, and persecuted, to
know that these heavenly messengers are his
companions; that they sympathize with him
in all his trials, protect him from the power
of the devil, and strengthen him in the ser-
vice of God.
That these holy angels do take a deep and
lively interest in the salvation of the children
of men, is manifest from the many references
to it in the scriptures. The apostle says,
“Of which salvation the prophets have en-
quired and searched diligently. *
Which things the angels desire to look into.”
1 Pet. 1:10-12. Notice how they rejoiced
when our Saviour was born. To the shep-
herds the angel said, “Behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to
all people. * 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.” Luke 2:10-14. This indi-
cates the great interest which they feel for
the salvation of men. In Heaven, they as-
sist Jesus, our high priest, in his work for
the saints. John, speaking of what he saw in
Heaven, says, “And another angel came and
stood at the altar, having a golden censer;
and there was given unto him much incense,
that he should offer it with the prayers of all
saints upon the golden altar which was be-
fore the throne.” Rev. 8:3. Thus touch-
ing is the language of Christ, “Likewise, I
say unto you, there is joy in the presence of
the angels of God over one sinner that repen-
teth.” Luke 15:10. They know the worth
of a soul; they realize the value of Heaven
and the awful doom of the ungodly. They
labor long and earnestly to rescue men from
the power of Satan. When they have gained
one, all the angels rejoice. Then what a ten-
der interest, what deep anxiety, what sym-
pathy they must feel for every struggling
soul! O my soul, take courage in God!
Probably one reason why they are so much
interested in man’s salvation, is because
Christ, their great leader, gave his life for
man, now acts as his mediator, and will final-
ly raise the saints to be companions with the
angels. It would be natural for them to
have their sympathies with those of their com-
mander, and especially since he has given
them so important a part to perform in the
work of salvation. Jesus has given them the
honor of making his revelations to man.
Rev. 1:1, will serve as an example of how the
whole Bible was given. “The Revelation of
Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to
show unto his servants things which must
shortly come to pass; and he sent and signi-
fied it by his angel unto his servant John.”
Here are four persons introduced: 1. God.
2. Jesus. 3. The angel. 4. John. God
gives a revelation to Jesus, who sends his
angel to make it known to John. Thus the
angels became the mediums of all communi-
cations between Christ and his saints. Of
the law of Moses Paul says, “For if the word
spoken by angels was steadfast,” &c. Heb.
2:2. To the Jews Stephen said, “Who
have received the law by the disposition of
angels, and have not kept it.” Acts 7:53.
Indeed, the angels have always had a prom-
inent part to act in all the Lord’s work for
men.
THE ANGELS RECORD THE DEEDS OF MEN.
Another occupation of the angels, I think,
is to record the deeds, both good and bad, of
all men. The idea is quite extensive at the
present time, that in keeping account of men’s
deeds, God uses no means, but simply re-
members, or keeps in his mind, all the ac-
tions, and even thoughts, of all the millions
upon millions of men who have lived from
Adam to the last man. They suppose that
when the last day comes, the Lord will ap-
pear in the clouds of heaven, the trumpet
will sound, and the dead, both saint and sin-
ner, will be raised and brought up around
the throne of God to be judged. Then the
Lord calls up each one individually, recounts
to him his deeds, and assigns him his place to
the right or the left, as the case may be.
This process goes on till all are judged. Now
we think that this theory cannot be correct.
See the countless millions of righteous and
the wicked mixed up together, crowded around
the throne of God, each anxiously waiting to
have his case decided. How long would they
thus have to wait? Allowing one man to be
called up, his deeds to be examined, and
his sentence to be pronounced in one minute,
only 1,440 could be judged in one day, as
there are only that number of minutes in
twenty-four hours. In one year 365 times
as many could be judged, which would be only
525,600. This would allow no time for either
Sabbaths or nights. At this rate, to judge one
billion, the present population of the globe, it
would require over nineteen hundred years!
Allowing that, from Adam to the present time,
there have been only sixty times as many
as are now living, it would take, to judge the
world, one hundred and fourteen thousand
years, or nineteen times as the earth
has stood!!! It might do well enough as
punishment to the wicked, to keep some of
them waiting as long as this; but some of
the saints would have to share the same fate.
It may be objected that God could judge a
million in a moment if it were necessary. If
the Scriptures had said that God would judge
the world in this way, we would believe it;
but they say no such thing, hence we can
not believe it.
Moreover, this would be no judgment at
all. It would only be pronouncing their
sentence. The Bible plainly declares that
every man’s case will have a separate and fair
investigation; and that, in this investigation,
all his deeds, and even his idle words, will
be considered. 2 Cor. 5:12; Matt. 12:36,
37; Rev. 20:12. No man could be called
up and receive such a trial as this in one
minute, nor in one day. Thus we see that
this theory is too unreasonable to be believed.
Says Jesus, “But I say unto you, That every
idle word that men shall speak, they shall
give account thereof in the day of Judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and
by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matt.
12:36, 37. Every action, aye, every
idle word of every man, is to be brought up
and weighed at the Judgment day. Will
God keep all these things in his mind till the
day of Judgment, and then personally re-
count to each one all that he has done or said?
We cannot believe that this is the case,
without positive testimony to that effect.
But there is no such testimony. This is not
the way that God works, besides it is con-
trary to the plain declarations of the Bible.
That it will take some time for the Judg-
ment, is declared in Eccl. 3:16, 17. “And,
moreover, I saw under the sun the place of
judgment, that wickedness was there; and
the place of righteousness, that iniquity was
there.” That is the way it is in earthly courts.
Not so in God’s Judgment. “I said in mine
heart, God shall judge the righteous and the
wicked; for there is a time there for every
purpose, and for every work.” God will give
plenty of time to thoroughly investigate every
work. But does God need books from which
to judge? Does he need time in which
to do it? No; but another all important
fact pertaining to the judgment is entirely
overlooked, viz., that angels and righteous
men must see and know that God’s judgments
upon the wicked are just. The Lord does
not choose to rule arbitrarily, but to have all
see the righteousness of his ways. Hence
the record of men’s lives must all be laid open
to the view of all. Here the motives of the
heart, and the secret sins, unknown to all
but God, will be revealed. Relatives will
see that their friends who are lost are
justly condemned. Then all, as the prophet
saw, will unite in saying, “True and right-
eous are his judgments.” Rev. 19:2.
Furthermore, the saints are to judge the
world. “Do ye not know that the saints
shall judge the world? and if the world shall
be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge
the smallest matters? Know ye not that we
shall judge angels (the fallen angels) how
much more things that pertain to this life?”
1 Cor. 6:2, 3. See also Rev. 20:4; Dan.
7:22; 1 Cor. 4:5. We have not the space
here to consider this point further, but it is
plainly taught that the saints will judge, and
pronounce sentence upon, the wicked. The
books of record, then, are for the benefit of
men.
D. M. CANRIGHT.
San Jose, Cal., August 1, 1874.
(Continued.)