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Chapter 31—Evil Spirits
Angels of God and evil spirits are plainly revealed in Scripture
and interwoven with human history. Holy angels that “minister for
them who shall be heirs of salvation” (
Hebrews 1:14
) are regarded
by many as spirits of the dead. But the Scriptures present proof that
these are not disembodied spirits of the dead.
Before the creation of man, angels were in existence, for when
the foundations of the earth were laid, “the morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.”
Job 38:7
. After
the fall of man, angels were sent to guard the tree of life before a
human being had died. Angels are superior to men, for man was
made “a little lower than the angels.”
Psalm 8:5
.
Says the prophet, “I heard the voice of many angels round
about the throne.” In the presence of the King of kings they wait—
“ministers of his, that do his pleasure,” “hearkening unto the voice
of his word,” “an innumerable company.”
Revelation 5:11
;
Psalm
103:20, 21
;
Hebrews 12:22
. As God’s messengers they go forth,
like “the appearance of a flash of lightning,” so swift their flight.
The angel that appeared at the Saviour’s tomb, his countenance “like
lightning,” caused the keepers for fear of him to quake, and they
“became as dead men.” When Sennacherib blasphemed God and
threatened Israel, “the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in
the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand.”
Ezekiel 1:14
;
Matthew 28:3, 4
;
2 Kings 19:35
.
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Angels are sent on missions of mercy to the children of God. To
Abraham, with promises of blessing; to Sodom, to rescue Lot from
doom; to Elijah, about to perish in the desert; to Elisha, with chariots
and horses of fire when he was shut in by his foes; to Daniel, while
abandoned to become the lion’s prey; to Peter, doomed to death in
Herod’s dungeon; to the prisoners at Philippi; to Paul in the night
of tempest on the sea; to open the mind of Cornelius to receive the
gospel; to dispatch Peter with the message of salvation to the Gentile
stranger—thus holy angels have ministered to God’s people.
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