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The Ministry of Angels, March 11
And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may
see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and,
behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about
Elisha.
2 Kings 6:17
.
How few contemplate the unseen agencies. Men are acting their part either
for God or for Satan, the Prince of light, or the prince of darkness. All heaven is
intensely interested in human beings who seem to be so full of activity, and yet
have no thought for the unseen. Their thoughts are not on the Word of God and its
instruction. If they would appropriate the Word of God, they would be astonished
that there are agencies, good and evil, observing every word and deed. They are
in every assembly for business transactions, in councils, and in meetings for the
worship of God. There are more listeners in these public assemblies than can
be seen with the natural sight, and every man has his work to do. Those unseen
agencies are co-laborers with God or with Satan, and they work more mightily and
more constantly than do men. Sometimes the heavenly intelligences draw aside
the curtain that hides the unseen world, that we may have our minds withdrawn
from the hurry and rush, and consider that there are witnesses to all we do and say
when we [are] engaged in business, or when we think ourselves alone.
The Lord would have our perceptions keen to understand that these mighty
ones who visit our world have borne an active part in all the work which we have
called our own. These heavenly beings are ministering angels, and they frequently
disguise themselves in the form of human beings. As strangers they converse with
those who are engaged in the work of God. In lonely places they have been the
companions of the traveler in peril. In tempest-tossed ships angels in human form
have spoken words of encouragement to allay fear and inspire hope in the hour of
danger, and the passengers have thought that it was one of their number to whom
they had never before spoken.
Many, under different circumstances, have listened to the voices of the in-
habitants of other worlds. They have come to act a part in this life. They have
spoken in assemblies, and opened before assemblies human histories, and have
done works which it was impossible for human agencies to do. Time and again
have they been the generals of armies. They have been sent forth to cleanse away
pestilence. They have eaten at the humble board of families. Often they have
appeared as weary travelers in need of shelter for the night.
We need to understand better than we do the work of these angel visitants.—
Manuscript 39, March 11, 1898
, “The Day of Reckoning.”
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