Cunningham

As we continue our study on angels, we must be careful not to go to extremes. On one extreme are those that do not believe in the ministry of angels to Christians (especially in these end times). On the other extreme there are those who will believe anything that calls itself an angel. 

Pride hinders discernment; and without discernment, we fall prey to counterfeits. In these end times, the Gift of discernment is the need of the hour to discern angels of light. You may ask, “What do you mean by angels of light?”

The Bible warns us through the following scriptures: 

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8) 

If you take a close look at world history, you will find that major world religions were started after a ‘supposed revelation’ from an angel. The strange thing is, this revelation is often contradictory to the Word of God

What can protect us from being deceived? 

I have always believed and taught that the Bible is our manual for doctrine and practice. If a spiritual experience is not found in the Bible, then it should not be considered as normal for us today.

It was said of believers in the city of Berea: These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.(Acts 17:11)

Bank tellers, learning to distinguish counterfeit money from the genuine item, do not major on the counterfeit. They study the real thing until they cannot accept a "Rupee of light" as a real buck. In the same manner we need to study God's Word and learn His ways so we will easily recognize satan's counterfeits.

God’s holy angels will always bring messages that are in line with scripture

One of the main strategies of Satan is deception. Hence the bible repeatedly warns us that we are not to listen to a man, an angel, or any other being that would guide us contrary to God's revealed Word. All visions, prophecies, dreams, angelic appearances must be in line with the Word of God.

 

The one real standard we have for knowing whether an angel is an angel of God or an angel of light is whether or not his words and actions match Scripture.

During the course of my ministry, I have found out that when we feel the most desperate, It is at such times we must be on our guard against temptations and deceptions from satan and his demons. There was this woman who had come our prayer centre for counseling had an encounter with the supernatural. This man appeared to her around 2am in the night in her room as she was crying. He claimed that he was an angel and would solve her problems. She was going through a very rough patch financially and so she accepted this visitation as from God without judging the experience according to Scripture. This so called angel would visit her every night around 2am with money and ask her to do lewd things. He even told her that her prayers were answered and that there was no need for further prayer and going for services. She nearly destroyed her marriage. I believe she was deceived by an angel of light.

Now I am not saying that God does not show up in your desperate times but we need to check every vision with scripture to avoid deception.

Angels of God often appear in the Bible as God's messengers. Angels of light carry messages too, but they are not from God. 

However, we should remember not to throw out truth because it has been perverted, corrupted or obscured. There are credible accounts of angels who have appeared to people in recent years as guardians, messengers or protectors, and who operated in line with biblical patterns. Some of these I will discuss in the following chapters.

God’s holy angels are always masculine in appearance

The Greek word for “angel” in the New Testament, angelos, is in the masculine form. In fact, a feminine form of angelos does not exist in the Greek language. Whenever angels in the Bible appeared, they were always in masculine in form and dressed as human males. 

Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, (Genesis 18:1-2)

Scripture clearly tells us the identity of three men, it was the Lord who was accompanied by two angels (Read Genesis 19:1).

13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”

The Angel of the Lord who looked like a man replied, “Neither. I’m commander of God’s army. I’ve just arrived.” At this, Joshua fell, face to the ground, and worshiped. 

In the New Testament, just after the Resurrection, the angel seen by the women at the

tomb was in the form of a young man. “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.” (Mark 16:5)

 

10 As they (the apostles) strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” (Acts 1:10-11 NLT)

These “two men” were God’s messengers—angels—and they had the appearance of

normal men on earth. Without a doubt, these men were angels sent by God.

Also angels mentioned in scripture (God’s angels) are always clothed (dressed). There are no naked angels.

“Two men [dressed] in white robes suddenly stood beside them” (Acts 1:10 Amplified)

 

We find the same description after the Resurrection when Mary stood at the tomb of Lord Jesus weeping. “She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.” (John 20:12 NLT)

 

A woman once wrote to me that she had seen a naked angel. There are no naked angels. The angels of God are always clothed. The angel that the woman saw was probably a demon (evil spirit) masquerading as an angel.

 

Not a single angel in the Bible is ever described with feminine features or as "she." Since all angels in the Bible were male in form, one should discern that female angels are satanic agents. However, this does not mean that all male-looking angels are from God. Masculine angels also must be discerned.

Further, the names of angels in the Bible are exclusively male. In all of the sixty-six books of the bible, only two named angels exist—Michael and Gabriel. Lucifer, the fallen angel or Satan, is also noted as male (Isaiah 14:12).

Some people point to Zechariah 5:9 as an example of female angels. That verse says, “Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.” 

The problem is that the “women” in this prophetic vision are not called angels. They are called nashiym (“women”), as is the woman in the basket representing wickedness in verses 7 and 8.

The confusion about genderless angels comes from a misreading of Matthew 22:30, which states that there will be no marriage in heaven because we “will be like the angels in heaven.” The fact that there will be no marriage has led some to believe that angels are “sexless” or genderless because (the thinking goes) the purpose of gender is procreation and, if there is to be no marriage and no procreation, there is no need for gender.

God’s holy angels always point out to Jesus and glorify Him and not to themselves

God’s holy angels never bring attention to themselves. They usually just do their work quietly, often behind the scenes and unnoticed, and they leave when the work is done. Their lives and actions are always consistent with the character of Christ. They always glorify God, not themselves. 

God’s holy angels never accept worship

A true angel of God will not accept worship from a human being. Instead, he will always tell you to worship God. 

In Revelation 19, the apostle John wrote that when he encountered an angel, he was so awed that he “fell at his feet to worship him” (v.10). However, the angel told John, see that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!  For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (v.10)

Again, in Revelation 22, John wrote, Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” (vv. 8–9)

We should certainly respect angels, admire their dedication to God, and appreciate their ministries to God and to us and can certainly learn from all this but we are forbidden to worship them. 

Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud (Colossians 2:18)

Apostle Paul describes the nature of this counterfeit worship that false teachers were trying to impose on the Colossian church - "the worship of angels."

This worship of angels involved an outward show of humility and piety that impressed the simple folk. It showed to others as some kind of a superior reverence for God. 

The thought process thinking behind this was: I can't approach God directly. I can't worship God directly. I am a mere man and hence I must worship angels. I must worship God through these angels. And then perhaps, somehow I can reach this distant and unknowable God.

The truth is that we are not to worship any other person or creature, no matter who tries to persuade us to do so. God alone is worthy to be worshiped and praised!