Who Are the Angels? by K. C. Russell

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Aug 15, 1916

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 43, No. 32.

Who Are the Angels?

By K. C. Russell

By K. C. RUSSELL

Are They the Spirits of Our Departed Friends? Or Are They a Distinct and Higher Order of Beings than Man?

THE false idea that the spirits of the dead become angels has led many persons to believe that our departed friends return and minister to the living; for the Lord says, in Heb. 1:14, that the angels are "all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." But we should not confound angels with our departed friends, for the latter will never become angels.

Before the world was created, angels existed; for the Lord, in Job 38:7, speaking of the creation of the world, refers to the angels when He says, "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." And the Bible states that before man died, the Lord placed in Eden "cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." Gen. 3:24.

The Scriptures teach that the angels are a different order of beings from man. The inspired apostle Paul said, in Heb. 2:7, that man was made "a little lower than the angels." The idea prevails, in many minds, that because they are spiritual beings, they are therefore not real beings; but such a conception of the angels is contrary to the plain teachings of the Word, which declares that they possess real bodies. Thus unquestionably the angels are real beings, not human, of course, but spiritual.

The Bible abounds with references to such heavenly messengers. In Gen. 18:6-8 is the record showing how Abraham prepared for them real food, and they ate it. This is undoubtedly the instance to which the apostle Paul referred in Heb. 13:2, when he said, "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." The prophet Daniel, in describing the glory of the angel Gabriel, says, in Dan. 10:5, 6: "I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude."

The glory of the angels was signally manifested when the Roman soldiers who were guarding the sepulcher of Christ fell as dead men at their presence.

Their power also is clearly presented in the Bible. In 2 Kings 19:35, it is stated that one angel destroyed, in one night, 185,000 Assyrians. Other remarkable instances of their power are clearly outlined by the Lord. It was an angel that protected Daniel when he was cast into the lions' den.

Their Chief Employment

THE chief employment of these heavenly beings, who, we have found, are not the spirits of the dead, is to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. How few persons there are who appreciate the fact that it was the protecting and fostering care of good angels that saved them from some serious calamity with which they were about to be taken! But this is a fact which is repeatedly and plainly taught throughout the sacred narrative.

In Ps. 34:7 we read, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them." These unseen beings are encamping about those who are striving to do right, and are commissioned to deliver them when danger threatens. Great safety is felt by men when they are protected by an encampment of armed soldiers. How much safer should they feel if they realize that they are protected by these glorious and mighty beings! The Scriptures do not give assurance of angel ministry except to those who are heirs of salvation, or, in other words, to those who are conforming their lives to God's sacred and divine will.

Have Children Guardian Angels?

THE New Testament plainly teaches that every child of God has a guardian angel, who is sent from the shining courts of glory to guard and sustain him. Proof for this statement will be found in Matt. 18:10, which says: "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." Thus we see that every humble child of God has a guardian angel, who is in constant communication with heaven.

In these times, when danger threatens us on the right hand and on the left, by disaster of every kind, by war in all its horrifying conditions, the true Christian can find comfort and consolation in the precious assurance of Psalm 91, that the Lord will give His angels charge over us.