Chapter 6, because here's what's happening.
So we've been studying the book of Revelation now for a year and almost a half, and we're
about to enter into chapter 12.
And chapter 12, it starts, I mean, the whole of Revelation, let's just be honest with each
other, right?
It's a little, it's a little out there.
It's not like a lot of the other books in the Bible.
And so chapter 12, it's going to start talking about Satan's rebellion in heaven and the
great amount of angels who joined him in his rebellion and who ultimately were defeated
and cast down to earth.
And so what I found interesting as I was just thinking about this, praying about this, is
that when you read the Bible cover to cover, it's filled with angels and demons and principalities
and spirits and all this kind of stuff that we just don't really acknowledge today, right?
I mean, don't we think that's a problem?
I mean, you look at in the Bible in almost every other chapter in the Gospels, Jesus
has cast in out a demon and now today we're like, good thing there are no demons anymore.
I think maybe a lot of the things that we attribute to other things are actually demon
oppression and demon possession.
And I fully believe that I think that there's a lot of mental health things that we've tried
to put in its own category that I think most accurately can be explained by demon possession
and demon oppression.
And so I actually thought about this as I was walking through our yard.
So it's this big open area.
I was coming from Gene and Vicki's house, walking through the pasture.
And I was just, I took a moment to stop and look around and I realized there's an entire
world here that I cannot see.
Have you ever had a moment like that?
That's pretty amazing, isn't it?
If not, I encourage you just go take a walk in nature.
Just jump the fence, go into the cow pasture, don't get chased by the bull, but just take
a moment to stop and realize even on your drive home, there is an entire world all around
us at every moment that we cannot see.
There is an unseen realm.
And I think here's what's happened, right?
The biblical authors and then the early church had no problem discussing these things because
it was common to them.
It was natural.
But with modernity and then post-modernity, here's what's happened.
Our entire world has become materialist.
And so most people in our world today, they only believe in the material world.
Everything they can see, touch, feel, experience, that's what they believe in.
And if they can't do those things, they don't believe in it.
They only believe in the material.
You get that, everybody tracking?
So I think what's happened is Christians have inadvertently become Christian materialists.
And what I mean by that is, for the most part, I'd say at least, and this is, Anna helped
me realize this because she's brilliant, especially this is true in America and in
Europe.
In other areas of the world where Christianity exists, it's not that foreign to them.
But in America, in Europe's westernized cultures, we have a problem with talking about the spiritual
realm.
We don't want to seem too new-agey.
We don't want to seem like we're a zodiac person or like any of these sort of mystical
things.
But the problem is the Bible's full of that stuff, like cover to cover.
It's just full of it.
And so I think we've become Christian materialists in the sense that 99% of Christians in America
and in Europe are westernized cultures, we only believe in the things that we see, and
then we make an exception for God, right?
So we go, oh, I can't see God, but I believe in Him.
And I know there's a devil somewhere and there are angels, but I could probably see those
angels, but everything else is just whatever in front of me.
I'm not saying this is something that we intended to do, but I think it's happened by an effect
of our culture that we've become Christian materialists.
And so what I wanted to do as we're beginning to dive into Revelation 12, for the next few
weeks, and this is going to be two weeks, but it's probably going to be more because
I've really, really enjoyed studying this, and I just want to put it before you, is I
want us to peel back the cover on the unseen realm and begin to notice how that unseen
realm is all around us today and begin to see how at work in our world it actually is.
So that we can move past Christian materialism and we can actually get comfortable with these
things that we read in the Bible.
Like, oh, maybe demons do still possess people.
Maybe there are angels in our world today and they're living and they're active.
Maybe there are demonic forces and things like that.
I mean, maybe there are demonic forces at work in a particular part of the world or a particular
country or area or things like that.
And I think you can explain a lot of like, I mean, you might have heard of the suicide
forests in Japan.
I think there's a strong demonic presence there.
These things will flush out or flush out, but I think you can explain a lot of things.
I think you can explain dragons.
Anna told me not to get off on that, so I'm not going to tonight, but maybe in the next
couple of weeks, I think you look at some of the descriptions we see in the Bible of
like demonic forces and it does a lot to explain dragons and why that's been actually well
documented throughout history and people don't ever bat an eye and they're not embarrassed
to be like, oh, this guy fought a dragon.
It's like, well, maybe, maybe he did.
Maybe it was a fallen seraphim and I told Anna, I'm not going to get off on that.
So what I want to do Ephesians chapter six, let's just to, to, to center us around this.
Ephesians six, this is a really important text to just remind us of what's going on.
Ephesians six, 10, it says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the
devil for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers against
the authorities against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly places.
So I want you to notice what, what these verses are saying is saying that we don't wrestle
with flesh and blood that, that our battle as a Christian is entirely different.
That's not to say we're not going to have opposition from the physical world, but it
is saying that there is an underlying evil that pervades the physicality of this world
that stems from the powers of darkness and that we are actually at war with that is telling
us that there are rulers, authorities, cosmic powers that rule over this present darkness,
this dark age in which we live, this sinful, broken world that there are actually fallen
angels, demonic forces at work in this world and that they have a level of authority and
ability to influence this world.
Now let's just pause.
Okay.
So if I had my whiteboard out, which I didn't have time to get it, but so God's at the top
and God is absolutely sovereign 100%.
There is not a thing he could not do that goes against his own character.
He would never do that, but God is absolutely sovereign.
He rules over all things, right?
We're good, clear on that.
Okay.
But he also gives other people authority to exercise authority under his rule.
So this started in the garden with mankind.
He told Adam and Eve to have dominion over the whole earth.
So they were to rule over the earth, but it was under the umbrella of his authority.
We're tracking with that.
And so there are beings, whether they are angels who have not fallen or angels who have
fallen, whether it's Satan himself who has a certain level of authority that derives
from God's own authority and is actually under his authority.
So they're not on par with God.
This is not platonic dualism, whereas two equal forces and it's like, who's going to
win this battle?
This is God's over everything.
He will get the victory, but these forces have a level of influence in this world today.
And we're going to get really into demons and stuff the next few weeks.
So if you're interested in that, I encourage you to come back.
But I just want us to see how we're going to focus on angels and how they have a level
of authority in our world today.
And what's encouraging when we think about angels is that they are sent by God to be
ministering spirits to his people and they are present all around us, even when we don't
see them.
So one of my favorite passages in the Bible, it'll be on the screen.
Second Kings chapter six.
This is just an amazing passage.
It says once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servant
saying, as such and such a place shall be my camp.
But the man of God, this is Elisha, he sent word to the king of Israel, but where do not
pass this place for the Syrians are going down there.
And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him.
Thus he used to warn him so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing.
And he called his servants and said to them, well, you not show me who of us is for the
king of Israel.
So he thought he had a traitor in its midst.
He's like, okay, who's talking?
All right, who's telling them where we're going because every time we go there, they're
ready for us.
All right.
And one of his servants said, none, my Lord, O king, but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel,
tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.
And he said, go and see where he is that I may send him or send and seize him.
And it was told him, behold, he is in Dothan.
So we sent their horses and chariots and a great army that came by night and surrounded
the city.
When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army
with horses and chariots was all around the city.
And the servant said, alas, my master, what shall we do?
And he said, do not be afraid for those who are with us are more than those who are with
them, which is hilarious, right?
The servant wakes up, he looks at it, he goes, okay, we've got a problem.
Whole city surrounded.
What are we going to do?
He's freaking out and Elisha is just like, don't worry about it.
We've got more on our side than they've got on theirs.
And he's like, can you even count?
There's two of us.
There's one, two.
That's it.
And then this is what happens.
This is what's amazing.
Then Elisha prayed and said, oh, Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.
And so the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw, and behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed and said, please strike these
people with blindness.
And so we struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha.
How amazing is that passage?
You've got two people here.
One's a prophet of God.
One's the servant of the prophet.
And they are being besieged by this foreign army.
They're worrying and scared.
At least the servant was.
But Elisha has a calmness about him because God had given him the ability to see the unseen
realm.
I don't know if it was in this one instance.
I don't know if he always had it.
That goes beyond what I can say.
But he was able to see that God had surrounded their entire city with chariots of fire and
with his ministering spirits with his angels who were often depicted as fire in the Bible.
And so there was this entire unseen realm who was there for them, for their protection,
for their good.
And one of them was blind to it.
And so I'm not saying that this entire room right now is filled with angels and we just
can't see it, but I also can't say that that's not the case.
It's just a reminder from the Bible that there is an unseen realm that exists that we aren't
privy to.
But acknowledging its existence is helpful for us because even in those times when we
are alone, we have no idea if God has sent one of his ministering spirits to be there
with us.
It's a great comfort to know that even when we can't see a being that God does send ministering
spirits to help his people.
And you see angels from the very beginning of the Bible who were on earth, right?
So think back to Genesis chapter 3, right after Adam and Eve were kicked out of the
garden, God puts a cherubim at the gate with a flaming sword to keep them out.
That's an angel on earth carrying out God's will.
We also see all throughout Genesis, I don't have time to get into everything, but one
thing that we can note is that the angels, they do have the ability to go back and forth
from heaven and earth.
So in Job chapter 1, very well-known passage, now there was a day when the sons of God,
that's a phrase in Hebrew for angels, came to present themselves before the Lord and
Satan also came among them.
And the Lord said to Satan, from where have you come?
And Satan answered the Lord and said, from going to and fro on the earth and from walking
up and down on it.
And at this time, it seems like this is maybe pre-fall, but, or maybe it's after the fall,
I don't know for sure.
Good luck day in the book of Job, everyone.
But it is to say that he was amongst the angels and that the angels had the ability to go
back and forth between heaven and earth.
And so there, I know we tend to think of angels in heaven, but the Bible almost more often
depicts them here on earth, carrying out God's will and helping people here on earth.
In fact, the Bible goes so far as to indicate that angels may have some level of authority
and influence in kingdoms.
So for instance, Daniel chapter 10 and in verse 10, reading through verse 14, this is
Daniel speaking and he is encountering an angel.
And behold, a hand touched me and sent me trembling on my hands and knees.
And he said to me, Oh Daniel, man greatly loved.
Understand the words that I speak to you.
By the way, how much would you just love to have an angel come to you delivering a message
from God?
And he starts with, Oh, your name, greatly loved.
I would love to have that said to me.
So that's what he said.
And he says, stand upright for now.
I have been sent to you.
And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.
Then he said to me, fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand
and humbled yourself before God, your words have been heard.
And I have come because of your words.
The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days.
But Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me for I was left there with the kings
of Persia and came to make you understand what has happened to your people in the latter
days for the vision is for days yet to come.
And then going forward to verse 20.
He says, do you not know or do you know why I've come to you?
But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia.
When I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come.
But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth.
There is none who contends by my side against these, except Michael, your prince.
And so what's interesting is they didn't really have princes.
They had kings.
But the prince of a place is synonymous with an angel of that place.
And so what this angel is doing, speaking to Daniel, is he's saying, hey, I was appointed
to go and be at work in Persia against the angel that was at work in Persia, the prince
of Persia.
And we were contending against each other.
So there was this demonic being, this prince of Persia, who was influencing the country
of Persia, exerting some level of influence and authority.
And this angel was sent by God to contend against him, along with Michael.
The only time that name is used of an angel is Michael the Archangel.
So I think we have every reason to believe that this is Michael the Archangel.
And so this unnamed angel and Michael are fighting against this other demonic fallen
angel.
This one breaks free long enough to warn Daniel about what's to come.
And then they go back.
And so it's a really interesting thing to note that there are fallen angels and good
angels who are active and at work in governments.
Maybe that's not hard for you to believe.
But it's true, biblically speaking.
And you see this even more in Daniel.
We won't get into all of it.
But you look in the Bible and you see that they're actually exerting some influence on
political leaders, on countries, on people in government and having a level of authority.
But right alongside the fallen angels, there are good angels who are warring against them
to try to steer the country back.
So you take a country, for instance, in our world, like North Korea, easy target, right?
You look at the evils of North Korea and I think biblically speaking, we have every
reason to believe that there is at work some sort of demonic force at work in that country.
You can't see the things going on there and think that's not the work of evil and demonic
influences.
And so you see that happening, but there's also this great hope and comfort that God
at any point could send a ministering spirit to that country to fight against the demonic
forces at work to steer it back towards God and break the chains of darkness.
And this goes beyond what we picture angels doing, right?
Again, what's your picture of an angel?
Probably playing a harp, singing a song in heaven, right?
White flow in dresses, you've got a little halo.
But biblically, these guys are fighting for the good of humanity to carry out God's will
on this earth.
It's really cool when you start digging into it.
And again, it's not just countries, but here's another encouraging thing.
It looks though as though in the Bible, angels have some level of influence in a church.
Demonic spirits as well.
Maybe that one's not hard for you to believe.
So just remember, we're in the book of Revelation.
Do you remember the seven letters to the seven churches?
How did every single one of them begin?
To the angel of the church in right.
To the angel of the church.
Now here's what's interesting.
It very well could mean the pastor of the church because in Greek, ongelos, it just means messenger
and the pastor is typically the messenger of the church.
So it's very possible.
But words derive their meaning from how they're used.
So in America, when we say football, we don't mean soccer.
We mean football.
American football.
Good football.
Real football.
That's what we mean.
So in the book of Revelation, ongelos is only ever used of heavenly beings.
It's never used of anyone else.
So the way that John uses it in Revelation would determine its meaning, which means he
was writing to a church or to an angel of a particular church, which means you can derive
this.
Again, the Bible doesn't state it explicitly, but you can make this deduction that it seems
as though God has appointed angels to his believing congregations, to have some level
of influence and presence in that church.
Now the number of angels is innumerable.
It's not infinite, but it's innumerable, meaning we don't know it.
It's beyond our knowledge.
We can't count it.
So it's not inconceivable that God would have enough angels to appoint to every one
of his believing congregations.
I think that's really comforting.
And then it's the most comforting part that I think about angels is that they are meant
to serve God, their whole existence besides bringing glory to God is to serve as ministering
spirits to us.
They exist to serve God and us.
Hebrews chapter one, verse 14, the Bible says, of the angels, are they not all ministering
spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
Now, not everyone, so angels aren't serving every, but those who are to inherit salvation,
whom God already knows, he sends his spirits, his angels to come and serve and minister
to us.
You see their activities all throughout the Bible, and they're actually really helpful.
They help people.
They comfort people.
They guide people.
They protect people.
You see this not just in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament.
So one book in the New Testament, think about the book of Acts.
In Acts chapter five, an angel opens the doors of a prison and frees the apostles.
That'd be great help.
In Acts chapter eight, an angel spoke to Philip and directed him to go and witness to the Ethiopian
unit.
In Acts chapter 10, an angel spoke to Cornelius and told him that Peter, a man named Peter,
was coming to preach to him, and he needs to listen to what he asked to say.
In Acts chapter 12, an angel woke Peter from sleep.
Actually, go and read Acts chapter 12.
It's hilarious.
It says that the angel slapped him on the side to wake him up.
Imagine being Peter and you're slapped awake by an angel.
So this angel slaps him awake, and he actually helps Peter get out of prison.
He rescues him.
And then in Acts chapter 27, when Paul is out on the sea, an angel comes to his ship
and tells him you're about to crash, but don't worry, you and everyone who's with you is
going to survive.
And so you see that they're active in the early church.
And for some reason, because of modernity and post-modernity, we just have come to believe
that angels are just no longer active today, that they're just not around us.
They play no part in our world.
They are for heaven.
They sing their songs.
And that's it.
And what a disservice that is to these great helpers that God has sent to ministered people.
Now, listen, we're not exalting angels.
Angels are created beings, and they're not even the most glorious thing God ever created.
That's humanity, because humanity alone is made in the image of God.
So we're not exalting angels.
They are not God.
They should not be worshiped, and they should not be prayed to.
Everybody hear me say this because I don't want to get comments on YouTube or anything.
He's exalting angels.
I'm not doing that.
I'm solely for the glory of God.
Y'all know me, all right?
We don't worship angels.
We don't pray to them.
John even encounters that in Revelation, where he is just so amazed by an angel that he starts
to pray, and the angel's like, what are you doing?
Stop.
I'm not God.
Don't do that.
And so we're not worshiping them.
We're not praying to them, but they are an essential part of God's plan to help humanity
that we have largely ignored.
And I think that they are still active in our world today in many ways.
And listen, I want you to hear me say this.
I'm the type of person who will very quickly dismiss a claim.
Like if it's a paranormal, outlandish claim, if you've got a regular claim, I'll hear
you.
But like, oh, I saw a ghost.
I'm going to say, no, you didn't.
Or like, if it's anything paranormal, supernatural, I'm very quick to dismiss it and say there's
a logical explanation behind it.
Does everybody hear me say that?
Okay?
Yes?
No, no, no, I'm saying that of myself, not you.
Okay?
Well, so of me, that's just who I am as a person.
I'm saying that to preface this.
I might have had an encounter with an angel.
I don't know.
All right?
I think everybody might have a story like this.
I'm not sure.
But this was when I was, do what?
Yeah, just by the name angel.
So this was, I was still working at Lowe's.
I had suffered a concussion because something fell on my head and concussed.
And about two or three days after that, I was driving home.
I was at the red light in front of Cookout and a car just slammed into the back.
I mean, just did not see that it was a red light.
And so I was driving a truck.
My whole bed of my truck was smushed in and I smacked my head against the steering wheel.
Okay?
So apparently there's this thing called second impact syndrome, which if you have a head
injury like a concussion and then another head injury shortly after, guess what?
Your brain swells up, bleeds and you die.
And there's not a thing that the doctors can do about it.
So I'm freaking out at this point.
I'm panicking.
And I am there waiting on the paramedics, everybody.
This woman comes and opens my door.
She's wearing a cross necklace.
I can't even describe her face to you anymore.
I've completely forgotten.
But she was just there and she put her arms around me and she said, are you okay?
And I was like, I mean, I hit my head and I just had a concussion.
And she was like, no, no, you're okay.
You're okay.
It's going to be okay.
Everything's going to be all right.
I'm just going to wait with you here.
I mean, that's all she said.
But she was confident, like very confident.
This is going to be okay.
Everything's going to be all right.
And she just kept her arm around me and kept talking to me and I just calmed down.
And so the paramedics finally get there and they come to get me out and everything.
They're like, do you need to go to the hospital?
And I said, yeah, because I just had a concussion.
And I said, but before you take me, I just want to say thank you to the lady who was here
and sound like a crazy person.
I know that's why I prefaced this.
Okay.
You remember I prefaced it.
She was gone and they said there was no lady that they hadn't seen.
And I know for a fact, I thought he was lying to me because they moved past her to get in
my door.
She was in the door and they moved past her to get to me and they said they never saw
her and then she was gone and no one remembers seeing her.
So again, I know, oh, the pastor is crazy.
I'm not crazy.
I will dismiss stuff like that, but it happened to me and I don't know how to explain it.
So you could say, well, it was just a good Samaritan.
Maybe it was and thank God for that good Samaritan because she really did help me.
But maybe it was a ministering spirit who was sent there to help me in a time of need
and give me comfort when I was panicking.
And by the book of Hebrews says in Hebrews 13 to do not neglect to show hospitality to
strangers for thereby some have entertained angels on a wares.
So you cannot dismiss say one's ever had an encounter with an angel.
They've never come and eaten with the Bible says that many people who will show this love
and hospitality to others, they've entertained angels and they had no idea.
So this kind of does still happen.
There is an unseen realm, but every now and then God gives us a glimpse of it.
It's a great comfort.
And so I know we're over time, but if you'll just indulge me one second, one little interesting
thing, right?
This leads to a question that'd be a good podcast question.
Are there such thing as guardian angels?
Does every Christian have a guardian angel?
This is something you hear all the time, right?
Like at one point my mom got me this to clip on my visor when I first started driving and
it said, never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.
I mean, it's just a mom thing, right?
Like, and I saw I kept it there.
But I remember thinking like, okay, I'll keep it there because she loves me and I love her.
But obviously there's no such thing as guardian angels.
It's just clear, right?
Here's the thing.
There is no verse in the Bible that says God gives guardian angels to every single Christian.
But there's also not a verse that says that God doesn't give guardian angels to every
Christian.
So you can have your view.
Yes or no, you can't be dogmatic about it.
You can't say, well, no for sure or yes for sure, because there's not biblical proof.
But that said, who wants to feel super uncomfortable and think about something on their way home?
Everybody, cool.
All right, Matthew 18 verse 10.
So this is a well-known story.
Matthew 18, this is when the little children come to Jesus and the disciples are trying
to dismiss them and they're like, no, you got to have faith like these kids and not
dismiss them for the kingdom of heaven is theirs, all this kind of stuff, right?
So here's what's happened.
And I never noticed this until the day.
And Matthew is my favorite book of the Bible, read it so many times, lost count.
I've read the whole Bible.
I've never noticed this one detail that sent me on a three hour spiral today.
Verse 10, see that you do not despise one of these little ones for I tell you that in
heaven there, anybody see that possessive pronoun?
Their angels always see the face of my father who is in heaven.
All I was doing was in my Bible software tracking angel and his usage through the Bible.
I come across this and I notice there.
They're not freaking out like I was.
Okay, people, I need you to appreciate this.
Why is there a possessive pronoun?
What do you do with that?
Their angels always see the face of my father who's in heaven.
So a couple conclusions we can make.
This can either mean one that these particular children have an angel guarding them in heaven.
This is just me reasoning.
There's not like a book that says here the possible.
This is just like I'm working it out, right?
Two, it can mean that all children have an angel guarding over them in heaven because
God loves the children.
So that's possible.
It could mean three that all Christians everywhere have a guardian angel over them.
And again, the number of angels is innumerable.
God's saved people is innumerable.
So it makes sense that he would have enough angels to do that if he wanted to.
Or it could mean four.
I'm going to just think this is probably where I'm landing as of right now.
It could mean that because these kids are part of the kingdom of God, because Jesus said
earlier in Matthew 18, they have faith and he told his disciples, you need faith like
their face.
So they are believers.
They will inherit salvation.
It can mean that since they are saved and are going to inherit salvation, that like every
other believer in the world, the angels are at their disposal.
So that is why they can be said to be theirs.
Does that make sense?
So it's not that they each have their own individual person or angel.
It's that as a group, the angels serve God's people.
And so now these angels are at their disposal and will come and help them.
Again, you have like four options there.
If you can think of another logical one that I missed, I'm open to it.
I probably land at number four right now.
But does anyone else think it's interesting that it said there or is that just me?
Did I just waste your time and keep you longer for no reason?
That's pretty interesting, right?
Go home and think about it.
But this is why the Bible is so awesome because you always discover things in it and it's
wonderful and it's so good to meditate on God's word.
Is it not?
And even over a simple word like there can send you on a three hour study of God's word
trying to figure out what in the world does this mean?
Anyways, all that to say.
There is an unseen realm.
Angels exist.
They are active in our world today and they exist to serve God, glorify him and also to
minister to his people.
And so they are great help and comfort.
We should thank God for the angels.
We should praise God for the angels.
Never praise an angel.
Never worship an angel.
Never, you know, pray to an angel or anything like that.
But just understand that as you're going out these doors tonight, as you're driving home,
there's an entire world that you cannot see that is working in our world and some of that
world is working for your good.
And that's a really cool thing to think about.
If you thought that was fun, just wait until next week when we start talking about demons
in all the places they are and may or may not be in dragons.
And I'll see if Anna will let me talk to you about dragons next week.
Anybody want to hear about dragons?
Because if you tell me you do, I can tell.
Okay.
All right.
We've got, all right.
Look, they all want dragons.