His Angelic Host ~ The Government of Angels

2/7/24

I have likened the Lord’s Angelic Host, similar to a government, but also like a corporation.  With the President or CEO at the helm, the orders flow to the army or employees respectively.  The army when there are battles to be fought and won; employees if there are other orders to be accomplished, communications, etc. 

As I said, I am careful not to dive into angels too deeply if Lord is not leading.  But I believe He is in this case wanting us to understand more about His Angelic Host and its order. For this reason, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding… Colossians 1:9.

He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1:15-17.

“Thomas Aquinas in his ‘Summa Theologica’, listed angels into three hierarchies, each further divided into three orders. The first hierarchy is that of the order of Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. The second hierarchy contains the orders of Principalities, Dominions, Powers, Rulers and Authorities, and the third hierarchy holds the order of Archangels and Angels. These were the same hierarchy that Pope Gregory the First accepted in the sixth century.” Does the Bible Show an Angel Hierarchy? (christianity.com)

We will ascend the ladder into the heavenly realm of the angelic starting with the bottom rung of the ladder and moving upward.  As God's word says, man is made a little lower than angels so, our first step on this ladder will be to understand the angels that are closest to mankind. 

“A basic, stripped-down definition of angels is that they are spirit beings from outside this world. Within that loose meaning are two broad categories of angels: good and bad. The good ones we call God’s angels. They have always served and obeyed him, and always will. The bad ones are fallen angels—Satan and his demons.”

“They (the holy angels) are his messengers. When they give us strength or enlightenment, it is God’s strength or enlightenment that they impart. Their encouragement is God’s encouragement. Their guidance is God’s guidance. Their protection is God’s protection. When they bring comfort, it is God’s comfort they offer. And when they bring wrath, it is God’s wrath they inflict.”  Jeremiah, David. Angels: Who They Are and How They Help--What the Bible Reveals.

The holy angels assigned to mankind are closest to the material world and to human beings.  It is said, they deliver the prayers to God and other messages to people on earth.  One of the greatest characteristics about angels is that they are most caring and social to assist those who ask for help (i.e., guardian angels).  As such, they can take on the appearance of man to better communicate with us.

From my friend Wanda: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Hebrews 1:14. I want you to stop and think about this.  We have angels who minister for us, when we speak.  How powerful is that?”

When we look at the nature of angels, we learn a lot.  They even have behaviors that we would do well to mimic, more on that later.  If you didn’t know, just as we are curious about angels, they are curious about us.  “Scripture does affirm the concept of heavenly beings who watch the earth (Ezekiel 1:15–20) and are interested in the affairs of humans: This Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen (1 Peter 1:12).”

Before we go on in this series, I want to make clear the position of mankind in relation to angels. Some in the church think that man is higher in the creation order than angels.  However, if we look at scripture, we understand that angels are above man in the hierarchy.  

You have made him (man) a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of Your hands. Hebrews 2:7.

Even so, Jesus decided to become lower than the angels to bring us into His Kingdom.  And not only did He do that, but He also promised that we will reign with Him in His Kingdom and not the angels.  I wondered about that and I asked the Lord.  He responded “If we suffer with Him, we will reign with Him and His angels don’t suffer!”

For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. Hebrews 2:5. “Think about this, we are a little lower than angels, but will one day judge them, but now they listen to our words to bring them to pass.”  Wanda Rust. 

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. Hebrews 2:9.

If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him…2 Timothy 2:12a.

Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.  “We who are his children, are also heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, but we will suffer with him, so that we may be glorified with him.  This is where if there is no pain, there is no gain.”  Wanda Rust.  

I am discovering there is so much the Lord wants to impart to us in this series, it is exciting.  Read more about the inquisitiveness of angels in my post A Company of Angels.