
2. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. 5. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created. 6. He also established them forever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
PSALMS 148:2,5,6
THE WONDER OF GOD'S CREATIONS
- Angels are God's creations that not only praised Him, but they were joined by "all the hosts?" We also read about the "hosts" again when they joined the angel who was announcing Christ's birth in LUKE 2:13 And, suddenly there was with the angel "a multitude of the heavenly host" praising God -- and again it begs the question who were these heavenly hosts?
HEAVENLY HOSTS - The "heavenly hosts" are God's holy angels who dwell in God's presence, now without getting to analytical the term Sabaoth is "Hebrew for hosts," specifically the "host of heaven." The title "Jehovah Sabaoth" or "Lord Sabaoth" occurs approximately 300 times in the Old Testament Scriptures as "the LORD of hosts" -- He is the leader of the "angelic armies" ("the hosts of heaven").
The word host refers to a great number of individuals or
an army. Modified by the word heavenly, hosts
becomes a great number of angelic beings forming a
celestial army under God's command.
There is that suggestion than of rank and orderliness, of
companies and divisions within that heavenly army. The
heavenly hosts were created and controlled by God!
WE NEED MORE FAITH TO PROCEED
- Simply put angels are created beings by God -- a more challenging thought, God alone is "an uncreated and eternal being!" Not being a scholar in anything, for me that just takes FAITH to believe and understand the astonishing brilliance of my GOD who had no
beginning and who has no end!
HOW ANGELS OPERATE
- Angels are a spirit, but they can take on human form, for example; the angels who appeared to Abraham and Lot in
GENESIS 18:1-19 were in human form from the men's standpoint. - Angels also appeared in dreams, this was especially true surrounding the birth of Jesus. An angel appeared to Joseph, who was betrothed to Mary, to tell him to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife and their son would be Jesus the Messiah. MATTHEW 1:20-21
- And, some angels appeared to people in visions. This was true of Ezekiel, see (Ezekiel 1 and 10), as well as John's vision in (REVELATIONS 1:19). These visions were distinct from dreams, as they took place when the individuals were awake. However, these visions were also different from appearances in which angels recognizably came to people as humans, and could be seen by others.
UNAWARE OF ANGELS - We entertain angels unknowingly as told in HEBREWS 13:2
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. I know there is a certain amount of "fear" in reaching out to strangers in this day and age, but I think it's important to listen for the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
ANGELS HAVE EMOTIONS - Angels are personal spiritual beings who have emotions,
intelligence, and will. This is true of both the good and the
evil demons. "Angels showed emotions" as seen in the birth of Jesus the Messiah. The angels were praising God and even began to sing in
LUKE 2:13-14.
ANGELS ARE INTELLIGENT - Angels possess intelligence as seen in 2 SAMUEL 14:20,
when Joab had sent a woman who had a reputation of
great wisdom and told her to ask for an appointment
with the king. Joab told her what to say to the king
about her two sons who had fought and one was killed.
The King asked the woman, "Did Joab send you here?"
She replied, "How can I deny it? Joab sent me and
told me what to say. He did it to place the matter
before a different light.
But you are as wise as an "angel of God," and you know
everything that happens!"
JOAB'S REASONING - Joab had sent the woman to the king to show him
that as he had shown mercy on her son who had killed
his brother -- so that the King might have the same
mercy for his son and bring him home.
It should be noted that angels are intelligent but they are
not knowledgeable in all things. See MARK 13:32
regarding the return of Jesus. They do seem to have
greater knowledge than humans however, which may be
due to three things: - First, angels were created as an order of creatures higher
than humans. Therefore they possess greater knowledge. - Second, angels study the Bible and the world more
thoroughly than humans do and gain knowledge from it.
(James 2:19; Revelation 12:12) - Third, angels gain knowledge through long observation of human activities. Unlike humans, angels do not have to study the past; they have experienced it. Therefore, they
know how others have acted and reacted in situations
and can predict with a greater degree of accuracy how
we may act in similar circumstances.
ANGELS HAVE A WILL - Angels have a will also as seen in ISAIAH 14:12-15 Lucifer,
son of the morning, has fallen from heaven. He was cut
to the ground -- mighty though He was against the
nations of the world. He spoke to himself saying, "I will
ascend to heaven and rule the angels. I will take the highest throne. I will preside on the Mount of Assembly
far away in the north. I will climb to the highest of the
heavens and be like the Highest!" But instead, he
was brought down to the pit of hell, down to its
lowest depths because
"he tried to exercise his will!" - Angels are spirit beings, without true physical bodies.
Although they do not have physical bodies, they are still
able to project as one and they still have personalities.
ANGELS ARE ALL AROUND US - FINAL PART TOMORROW