MINISTRY OF ANGELS
PART II
Matthew 24:29-31 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This is how angels will perform at the coming of Jesus in the gathering of Gods elect.
They will come at the same time Jesus appears in the clouds. Each angel will be assigned to the job of raising the body of one of the saints.
This is the resurrection of the righteous dead to meet Jesus in the air.
The false Arc angel Lucifer the history and future.
In the beginning Lucifer who is now called Satan was a sinless and righteous being.
God says He was perfect in his ways from the day he was created, until iniquity was found in him.
Ezekiel 28:15 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Ezekiel 28:17 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Some where the will of God had become distasteful to Satan.
He wanted to exalt his throne above the stars of God, as to be like the most High..
Isaiah 14: 12-15 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
God in His eternal plan had reserved this exaltation for His son Jesus not for Lucifer.
It was given to Jesus alone to sit with the Father in his throne.
Revelation 3:21 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Lucifer though ‘vice regent’ was destined to hold a lesser position.
But as it turned out he was not satisfied with this.
When it became evident that he was not to have the supreme position, he saw his ambitions thwarted, or down grated to third place. It was this that prompted his rebellion.
The question I have is how Lucifer hoped to be successful in challenging God for his throne…
Obviously, the devil’s rebellion was not born on the impulse of the moment, but rather had to be a calculated plan.
But the reason for its eventual failure was because God had foreseen the entrance of evil into the universe and had prepared a plan in advance to counteract it.
It was the divine plan of redemption.
So, when Lucifer painted a glowing prospect to the angels that they would be as gods, as he did to Eve, Makers of their own destiny. They left their first home and followed him.
It came to pass that one third of the angels elected to follow Lucifer.
God had not been taken by surprise that sin had entered His universe.
It was a matter of unspeakable sorrow and grief to Him, but there was nothing he could do to prevent it.
God however had knowledge which the devil did not have. He foresaw the extent of the rebellion.
He knew that although Satan would disrupt His plan, Satan could not prevent it from eventually succeeding.
There was one thing that God held in reserve, not even the angels knew.
God had a grand plan of salvation through his Son Jesus Christ. Not even the righteous angels knew about it.
1 Peter 1:12 12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
1Peter 1: 19-20 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
Jesus Himself would become flesh, and die in the sinner’s place.
At Calvary the devils legal authority was stripped from him, and has no further power over the believer.
Ephesians 6:12 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
To withstand their attacks, we must depend on Gods strength. We need to use every piece of his armor.
These who are not “flesh and blood” are demons over which Satan has control. They are very real.
We as Christians face a powerful army whose goal is to defeat Christ’s church.
When we believe in Jesus these beings become our enemies. They try every device to turn us away from Jesus and back to sin.
Although we are assured of victory, we must engage in the struggle until Jesus returns. Satan is constantly battling against all who are on the Lords side.
We need supernatural power to defeat Satan. God has provided this by giving us his Holy Spirit to dwell within us, with his armor surrounding us.
If you feel discouraged, remember Jesus words to Peter. Upon this rock, I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Matthew 16: 18 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
We have good angels to fight for us but we also have evil angels whom we must fight against.
Prevailing intercessory prayer will hamper Satan and his wicked plans.
If necessary, it will bring angelic forces on the scene as occurred in the days of Daniel.
How important is the ministry of intercession or intercessory Prayer?
There was a time in Israel’s history God could not find and intercessor to pray for Jerusalem, so he had to allow judgment to fall on the land.
Ezekiel 22:29-31 29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.
The land of Israel became overrun by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar and the children of Israel went into a 70-year captivity.
Until He could raise up Daniel for his prayer of intercession.
“Daniels vision from God”
Daniel 10:10-13 10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
When will this great battle in the heavenlies be ended?
Revelation 12: 7-10 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Michael and his angels will come forth and fight against Satan and later his fallen angels will together be cast out of their positions in the heavenlies: Which is the second heaven, above Earth.
They were first forced out of the third heaven where God is, when Satan rebelled. Down to the second heaven which is above earth.
During the tribulation at the time of the rapture, Satan and his angels will then be forced down to earth from the second heaven where they will be permitted to continue their operations for a little season during the great tribulation.
Michael and the angels are the celestial agents used in the defeat and casting down of the devil and his hosts.
It is interesting to note they overcame him, “Satan” by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.
God is calling for men and women who will be prayer warriors in this great battle of the ages called the “end times”.
When victory comes, as it surely will, the prayer warriors will have an important part in Satan’s defeat.
Pray and stay close to God and your angels.
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