seraphim angles - book of genesis

Angels: The Seraphim
Part 1
Author: BJ Isaacs

Text: the book of Genesis 32:1-4
The book of Isaiah 6:1-8

During the 1970's Billy Graham had a book published entitled; "Angels: God's Secret Agents."

In the preface to that book, Dr. Graham says, "When I decided to preach a sermon on Angels, I found practically nothing in my library. Upon investigation, I soon discovered that little had been written on the subject in this century. This seemed a strange and ominous omission. Bookstores and libraries have shelves of books on demons, the occult and the devil. Why was the Devil getting so much more attention from writers than angels?"

It doesn't take much of a scholar to recognize that many years have passed since Dr. Graham raised this question and that the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. Angels appear on McDonald's ads.Yet there are many bible quotes on Angels. There has even been a movie entitled, "Angels in the Outfield." There is an overabundance of stress on Angels today. I would echo the words of Dr. Graham, but in the opposite direction. The overstressing of Angels today is blighted. It is not foreboding that Angels are being discussed. It is ominous because much of what is being discussed and portrayed in the movies is not Biblical. Today, I want us to take a Biblical look at Angels.

In the first place, we need to clarify what we mean when we speak of Angels. In the Bible, the word "Angel" has a much broader meaning than what most people understand. When I say Angel to most people they think of the winged being with a halo and a long flowing white robe. This description of an Angel is one of the beings in the Bible that is called an Angel but that meaning is too narrow. And if that is the only understanding that you have of an Angel, it can cause misunderstanding of Biblical truth. As a matter of fact, the Jehovah Witnesses have erred greatly because they do not understand the word in its broader meaning. That is why they believe that Jesus is an Angel, a created being. The Hebrew word "Malak" translated into the English word Angel means a "Messenger or a representative." The responsibilities of one who was a Messenger, an Angel was to carry a message, to perform some other specific commission, and to represent more or less officially the one sending him.(Harris, Archer, Waltke. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament. Moody Ress: Chicago, P. 464 Vol. 1 ).

A human being could be a messenger (an Angel) either for another human being or for God. A spiritual being that lives in the unseen world could also be a messenger, an Angel. To begin to see this broad meaning of the Hebrew word "Malak," which is sometimes translated Angel and sometimes translated messenger as in the book of Genesis 32:1-4
"And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, this is God's host and he called the name of the place Mahanaim. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau, his brother, unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom."

In the passage, you need to look at the word "Angels" and "Messengers." In verse one, the word "Angels." In verse 3, the word "Messengers", both of these words are the same identical Hebrew words. In verse 1, Jacob is permitted to see the supernatural messengers of God, the beings that most of us attach to the word "Angel". They are messengers (angels) sent from God. However, in verse 3 Jacob sends human messengers (angels) to his brother Esau. You see originally the word "Angel" described what someone did not who someone was. This same phenomenon occurs in the New Testament as well. The Greek word "Angelos" is translated into two different English words. It is translated into the English word "Angel" but it is also translated into the English word "Messenger." In the New Testament, an "Angel" can either be from God, the Devil or from man. We must remember that the word Angel does not refer to just the angelic beings that God sends.

Angels: The Seraphim Part 1 Author: BJ Isaacs

Angels: The Seraphim
Part 1
Author: BJ Isaacs