Lookahead: During the sermon, it came back to me that Dr. Graham had written a book about angels (Angels: God’s Secret Agents).  I had seen it on people’s bookshelves in the past, in fact.  But never cracked the book open, thinking that he might take a more conservative approach that would steer us away from the supernatural aspects.  However, in subsequently reading the e-book, I discovered that Dr. Graham too believed that there was an invisible world that we could not perceive with our natural senses—and that angels freely moved about in that world and were available 24/7 to help us.  He also believed that angels could take on tangible, human form if needed during rescue efforts.  He drew from a large repository of empirical accounts and testimonies, to back this theory up.

In another “coincidence,”  I happened across a 1981 Billy Graham sermon on Sirius, when I was driving cross-country to Oregon a week+ ago.  Dr. Graham went home to be with the LORD in 2018 and had retired from his traveling evangelistic ministry due to health reasons in 2005, I believe.  But I have found his sermons to be the furthest thing from boring; they always have an extraordinarily strong evangelical message; he doesn’t pull any punches and relies heavily on the Word of God.  That could be why his sermons so timelessly spoke to the newer generations over the years. 

Anyway, I was surprised to see that he was preaching on the subject of angels—which some might view as a rather controversial topic.  I found myself absorbed—and in agreement with just about everything that he said!  I have to caveat that I’ve had no formal training on the subject—just information that I have randomly collected and assimilated along the way.  But Billy Graham pulled a lot of this info into a doctrinal compendium that I was aligned with. 

During the sermon, it came back to me that Dr. Graham had written a book about angels (Angels: God’s Secret Agents).  I had seen it on people’s bookshelves in the past, in fact.  But never cracked the book open, thinking that he might take a more conservative approach that would steer us away from the supernatural aspects.  However, in subsequently reading the e-book, I discovered that Dr. Graham too believed that there was an invisible world that we could not perceive with our natural senses—and that angels freely moved about in that world and were available 24/7 to help us.  He also believed that angels could take on tangible, human form if needed during rescue efforts.  He drew from a large repository of empirical accounts and testimonies, to back this theory up. 

He also talked about the angels that were depicted in scripture.  These angels are described in such incredibly lofty terms that some people (e.g., Jewish sages from centuries ago) felt that it was all pure symbolism.  But in the modern era with virtual reality, AI Software, robotics, nanotechnology, etc. these depictions seem more and more comprehensible—although we continue to be awed by God’s beyond-reachable technological expertise.  So, I believe that the scriptural descriptions are accurate as written—and that these angelic beings can travel freely on earth today.  We know with certainty that one anointed cherub sinned despicably and irreversibly.  He was seen by Jesus, falling to earth like lightning.  In 2 Corinthians 4:4, he is referred to as the god of this world.  A third of the angels rebelled with this cherub in defiance of God, and were similarly drop-kicked out of heaven; so if bad angels can travel about on earth, why not good angels?

Therefore, I wanted to do a whirlwind review of the good angels and a lot of this is going to be based on Billy Graham’s book as well as from scripture which he draws extensively from. 

In Hebrews 1:14 it says that angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation.  Also, Psalms 103:20 refers to the angels of (God), who are mighty in strength, who fulfill His word, obeying the voice of His word.  I believe that God uses human beings to evangelize others.  But He can use angels to position the humans, i.e., to get both the evangelists and heirs of salvation to the divine appointments.  In Graham’s book, there are many narratives in which angels possessed knowledge that only God could have.  So, angels are not free agents—they act on His commands.  There’s no chance of them creating chaos by going open loop…or, let’s say, falling in love with a preacher’s beautiful wife? 🙂

Nevertheless I concur with Paul’s opinion that angels can take on human form and that we have entertained angels unaware (Hebrews 12:13). 

I concur with Dr. Graham’s definition of the different levels in the angelic hierarchy, although there is no universal concurrence on how the levels are ordered, in either Christianity or Judaism.  Just my personal theory, but if the levels were ordered according to the degree of physical access to the Father, the cherubim would be top in the angelic hierarchy.  They link up and morph into God’s chariot that He rests upon. As described in the Old Testament, in addition to the chariot of Jehovah (Ps 18:11), cherubim have other heavenly roles (from Strong’s):  as guardians of Eden (Gen 3:24); as flanking God’s throne (Ez 1:5-28, etc.); as an image form hovering over the Ark of the Covenant (1 Sam 3:4, etc.).

The term “seraphim” only appears once in the Bible, in the Book of Isaiah.  Their name means “burning ones” and some commentators have interpreted this to mean that they burn with love.  Their description is remarkably similar to Ezekiel’s description of the cherubim.  But they have three sets of wings v. two in the case of the former.  Cherubim’s wings (1) cover their bodies and (2) link up with their neighbor’s wings.  Seraphim’s cover their (1) faces and (2) bodies—and (3) are used for independent flight.  It would seem that cherubim are higher in the angel org chart.  (We know that the enemy of our souls was initially considered to be the most perfect angel…and he was a cherub…Ez 28:12).  Also, the cherubim are permitted to have close/direct contact with God—as they are integrated with the very throne that He rests upon.  The seraphim must cover their faces when they are in God’s presence, and they are not physically coupled to Him, as the cherubim are.

However, the most important role of both the cherubim and seraphim is that of continuously glorifying God.  They may be the ones of whom it is written:  …they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Rev 4:8

Next in the hierarchy might be the archangels—a term that appears in the Book of Jude in reference to Michael.  The Greek word is made up of two root words which mean “ruling” and “angel” resp. Michael is also mentioned in the Book of Daniel, along with Gabriel.  And, in the New Testament, we know about the pivotal role that Gabriel played in the nativity account.  In Daniel, archangels are called chief princes, described as having human features in addition to being hugely intimidating.  Their mission involves keeping the God/man communications infrastructure fully functional (delivering messages and prayer responses to humans) and, in so doing, warring against attacks by the evil princes and the dragon.

I further believe that there are lower-level Guardian Angels, whose name describes their function.  Even Jesus acknowledged their existence and role: “See that you despise not one of these little ones of these (children) for I say to you that the angels of them, in the heavens, always continually behold the face of the Father…” Matt 18:10 Interlinear  We’ve additionally heard many NDE accounts in which people have met their guardian angels in or on the way to heaven; usually they are described as being much larger than humans and speaking telepathically.  There always seems to be a sudden revelation that, although unseen, these guardian angels have been with the resp. humans for years and years.   

According to wiki, in the last forty years of the U.S. entertainment industry, we have had several Angel Mania phases/fads.  There have been four TV series that are primarily focused on good angels—and more than ten others that delt/deal with both the good and the bad.   There are also dozens of episodes of shows with angel themes, and more than thirty full feature films about angels.  This indicates that there is a healthy appetite for the supernatural in this country.  Unfortunately, the plots of a lot of these cinematic offerings often betray a total disconnect from the only genuine written authority on the subject—the B.I.B.L.E. 🙂

Back on topic, where do humans fit in this heaven-on-earth angelic hierarchy? 

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?

For You have made him a little lower than the angels (Piel Mood, meaning “caused him to be lacking”)

And You have crowned him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:3-5

Next week…what about the fallen angels?