- [Narrator] We cannot study angels in God's word,
without becoming aware of ranks amongst the angelic beings.
The evidence shows that they are
structured in terms of glory and authority.
Welcome to Grace Digital presentation.
In this video we take a look at four angelic organizations.
Number one, archangel.
While the word of God in Jude 9,
indicates only Michael as an archangel.
There are biblical grounds for concluding
that prior to his fall,
Lucifer was also an archangel.
The prefix arch implies a chief, head, or great angel.
Therefore, Michael is now the angel over all angels,
placed in the rank to be the principal prince of heaven.
He is the prime minister in God's control of the universe,
and is the angel administrator of God for judgment.
He stands alone,
because the Bible never speaks of archangels.
Only the archangel.
The name Michael means who is like unto the Lord.
In the Old Testament, Michael appears to be identified
principally with Israel as a nation.
Therefore, God addresses Michael as a prince
of his chosen people.
The great prince which standeth for the children
of thy people.
Daniel 12:1, "At that time shall Michael stand up,
the great prince which standeth for the children
of thy people.
And there shall be a time of trouble,
such as never was since,
there was a nation even to that same time.
And at that time, thy people shall be delivered.
Every one shall be found written in the book."
He primarily keeps and defends God's people,
whoever they are.
Moreover, in the Book of Daniel,
he is referred to as Michael, your prince.
Daniel 10:21 says, "But first I will tell you,
what is inscribed in the Book of Truth.
Yet no one has the courage to support me
against these, except Michael, your prince."
Michael is God's messenger of law and judgment.
In this role, he appears in Revelation 12:7-12,
" Leading the troops that battle Satan,
the great dragon and all of his demons."
The Word of God lets us know in prophecy,
that Michael will finally be victorious in the battle.
Hell will quiver, heaven will rejoice and celebrate.
The archangel will shout as he follows
Jesus at his second coming.
Not only does he announce the perfect and astonishing news
that Jesus Christ returns,
but he addresses the Word of Life.
to all who are dead in Christ
and who anticipate their resurrection.
1 Thessalonians 4:16, "For the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel,
and the dead in Christ shall rise first."
The angel Gabriel.
Gabriel is one of the most notable angels
introduced into scripture.
In Hebrew, Gabriel means God's hero, or the mighty one,
or God is great.
Scripture frequently introduces him
as the messenger of Jehovah, or the Lord's emissary.
However, contrary to what a lot of people think,
the Bible never refers to him as an archangel.
However, it refers to his work more often than
to Michael's. Ministry of Gabriel.
Gabriel is essentially God's own messenger
of promise and mercy.
He appears a total of four times in the Bible,
always bearing good news.
Daniel 8:16, "And I heard a man's voice
between the banks of Ulai,
which called and said,
'Gabriel, make this man to understand
the vision.'"
Daniel 9:21, "While I was still in prayer,
Gabriel the man, I had seen in the earlier vision,
came to me in Swift flight,
about the time of the evening sacrifice."
Luke 1:19, "The angel said to him, 'I am Gabriel.
I stand in the presence of God,
and I have been sent to speak to you
and to tell you this Good news.'"
Luke 26, "In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy,
God sent the Angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee."
27, "To a virgin pledge to be married to a man named Joseph,
a descendant of David."
The announcements of Gabriel in unfolding the plans,
and purposes of God are of monumental importance.
In the Bible, we gain our first sight of Gabriel
in Daniel 8:15-16.
There he announces the vision of God for the end time.
God has commanded him to carry the message
from the situation room of heaven that shows God's plan.
While in prayer, Daniel recorded Gabriel's next appearance
to him,
Daniel 9:21, "While I was speaking in prayer,
the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the former vision,
being caused to fly swiftly, came near to me and touched me
about the time of the evening sacrifice"
To Daniel, he said
'Understand the vision, and then reveal to him
the grand chain of events, at the end time.'"
Gabriel describing the procession
of earthly kingdoms panoramically,
assured Daniel that history would end in the return
of Christ, the Prince of princes.
And through his shrewdness, he will cause deceit to succeed
by his hand.
Influence, he will magnify himself in his mind.
He will corrupt and destroy many who enjoy
a false sense of security.
He will also stand up, and oppose the Prince of princes.
But he will be broken, and that by no human hand,
but by the hand of God.
Daniel 8:25, "The prophetic declaration by Daniel
and his prayer to God is two fold.
He refers to the more critical judgment upon Israel.
Daniel 9:16, "And then to the excellent warning
of end time judgment and tribulation,
which shall be for seven years."
Daniel 9:27,
"He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven.
In the middle of the seven,
he will put an end to sacrifice and offering.
And at the temple he will set up an abomination
that causes desolation until the end.
That is decreed is poured out on him."
Gabriel in the New Testament.
Angel Gabriel first appeared in the New Testament in Luke 1.
He identifies himself to Zacharias.
Verse 19, declares the birth of John the Baptist
and explains his ministry in life
as the forerunner of Jesus.
But in his most crucial appearance,
Gabriel notifies the Virgin Mary about Jesus,
the incarnate God.
What a report to deliver to the world through a young lady.
What a beautifully holy girl she must have been,
to be visited by the mighty Gabriel.
He declares,
"Fear not Mary, for thou hast found favor with God.
And behold thou shall conceive in thy womb
and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus.
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever.
And of his kingdom there shall be no end."
Luke 1:30-33,
All through time, this divine declaration of Gabriel,
shall be the Magna Carta of the incarnation
and the foundation stone of the world to come.
God became flesh to rescue us.
Number three, Seraphim.
It would appear from the Bible,
that the celestial beings vary in position and right.
The Seraphim and the Cherubim follow in line
after the ark angel and angels.
The term Seraphim may come from the Hebrew root
meaning love.
We find the Seraphim only in Isaiah 6:1-6.
It is an impressive sight as the worshiping prophet
beholds the six winged Seraphim above the throne
of the Lord.
We understand that there were several Seraphim,
because Isaiah spoke about each one,
and one cried onto another.
The ministry of the Seraphim is to praise the name
and character of God in heaven.
Their ministry relates directly to God,
and his heavenly throne.
Because they are placed above the throne,
unlike the Cherubim who are beside it.
All those students of the Bible have not always agreed
on the Seraphim duties.
We know one thing for sure.
They are constantly glorifying God.
We also learned from Isaiah 6:7,
that God can use them to cleanse and purify his servants.
They were indescribably gorgeous.
With two wings, he covered his face.
And with two, he covered his feet.
And with two, he did fly.
The beauty of the Seraphim reminds us of Ezekiel's account
of the four living creatures.
He did not call them Seraphim,
but they too performed their service for God.
Like Seraphim they acted as both agents
and spokespeople of God.
In both cases, the glory manifested was a witness to God,
though just the Seraphim, of course,
hovered over the heavenly throne as agents and attendants,
with a chief duty of praising God.
In all these exhibitions, we see God willing,
that men should come to an understanding of his glory.
He determines to maintain an adequate witness
to that glory in both terrestrial and celestial realms.
Number four, Cherubim.
Cherubims are real and they are essential.
However the Cherubim in the Bible were often symbolic
of heavenly things.
At God's direction, the Cherubims were incorporated,
into the design of the ark of covenant and the tabernacle.
Solomon's temple also place them in the design as seen
in the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia.
They had feet, hands and wings.
Ezekiel 10, pictures the Cherubim in detail
as having not only wings and hands,
but also full eyes and circled by wheels inside of wheels.
But Ezekiel sounds a somber note in Chapter ten also.
And the Cherubim gave the clue.
The prophet gives his vision the prophesies
is the downfall of Jerusalem.
And Ezekiel 9:3,
"The Lord has descended from his throne above the cherubim,
to threshold of the temple."
While in 10:1, he returns again to take his seat above.
We see the Cherubim positioned on the southern side
of the sanctuary being stationed in position
toward the city.
They see the beginning of progressive withdrawal
of God's glory from Jerusalem.
The fluttering of the wings
indicates immensely essential events to follow.
Then the Cherubim rise up in preparation for the departure.
Ezekiel 10, is on of the most mysterious
and yet detailed readings about the glory of God
to be found in the Bible.
And it includes angelic beings.
It should be read attentively and prayefully.
When you do, you will receive a sense of God's greatness
and glory.
While a Seraphim and the Cherubim belong to separate orders,
and are surrounded by much mystery and the word of God.
They have something in common,
and that is they constantly glorify God.
We can note the Cherubim beside the throne of God.
"Thou that dwellest between the Cherubim shine forth,"
Psalm 80:1.
"He sitteth between the Cherubim," Psalm 99:1.
God's glory will not be denied,
and every heavenly being give silent or spoken testimony
to the glory of God.
In Genesis 3:24, we see Cherubim guarding
the Tree of Life in Eden.
In the tabernacle in the Wilderness, designs
representing the guardian Cherubim,
formed apart of the mercy seat and were made of gold.
Exodus 25:18, "And thou shall make two Cherubims of gold.
Of being work shall thou make them,
in the two ends of the mercy seat."
The Cherubim do more than guard the holiest site
from those who had no right to access God.
They also assured the high priests,
right to enter the holy place as the mediator
with God on behalf of the people.
He and he alone was permitted to enter
into the inner sanctuary of the Lord, by right of redemption
and for the position of believers.
Each true offspring of God, now has direct access,
as a believer priest to the presence of God through Jesus.
Cherubim will not reject the humbliest Christian access
to the throne.
They assure us that we can come boldly,
because of Christ's work on the cross.
The cover and the temple has been rent.
As Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:19,
"Ye are no more strangers and foreigners.
The fellow citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God."
Further, Peter also reassures us, "Ye are chosen generation,
a royal priesthood and holy nation.
A peculiar people,
that ye shall show forth the praises of him,
who have called you out of darkness,
into his marvelous light.
First Peter 2:9,
"The inner sanctum of God's throne is always open
to those who have repented of sin
and trusted Christ as Savior.
As glorious as the angelic and heavenly beings are,
they become dim, beside the indescribable glory resident
in our heavenly lamb, the Lord of glory,
to whom every power in heaven and on here on Earth bow
and holy worship and excited adoration.
May God grant us understanding.
Say, Lord, open up my eyes to help me
to understand the Bible.
Open my eyes to see the great truths in your instructions.
Give me understanding so that I can know more of you.
Amen.
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