What is the ministry of Angels to unbelievers?
Unlike believers... Angels don't guide unbelievers. They don't protect them. They don't watch over them. They don't deliver them at death to the presence of God. They don't deliver answers to prayers. All they do is wait until the time when they're dispatched to carry out judgment. They "... inflict vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus." (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Angels are God's executioners to the unbelieving.
Throughout the Bible we read stories of how God dispatched His angels to carry out horrendous acts of death upon those who rebelled against Him: Sodom and Gomorrah, Pharaoh, the Assyrians, Herod, and more (see lesson slides). Angels act only on God's command, but they do so without hesitation.
One such story: In 2 Samuel 24, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel because of David's census of the people. It resulted in the Lord sending an angel to perform a pestilence on Israel resulting in the deaths of 70,000 men. "And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, 'It is enough; now stay your hand.'" (2 Samuel 24:15-16)
That's what angels do! They are God's executioners on the ungodly--those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. In the final days, the angels will sound the seven trumpets before time is no more and the mystery of God is finished! (Revelations 6-19)
Next week (24th) will be our final lesson on Angles and Demons. Then, the 31st will be our 5th Sunday where we will learn more about one of our couples, or singles, from our class. Next up: The Marriage Builder series will begin August 7th.
No comments:
Post a Comment