In recent times there is a resurgence of interest in angels in some streams of Christianity. Most do not blink an eye to the common talk of guardian angels, but talking to angels is another matter altogether, or so it seems. Some declare such claims to be false, others fear such occurrences, while still others decry the event as downright evil.
Why people would declare having conversational encounters with angelic beings to be not of God is inexplicable.
An angel is a messenger of God.
So if one comes and has conversations with a human it would be an oddity to attribute something good to the devil rather than to accept the event as from God. Psalm 103:20 says that angels do the bidding of the Lord and obey him. Thus if they are involved in doing something on the Earth, one can be certain they are doing the bidding of the Lord.
Some fear that a Christian talking about the angelic activity or having repeated encounters with angels somehow causes a shift in their devotion to Christ. Worship is for God alone and not any of his creatures, angelic or otherwise. Having God send angels to you to co-labor with them for a purpose does not equate to angelic worship. Certainly, it is possible for a person to become sidetracked and enamored with the angelic, losing their focus on Christ, but just because there is potential for error does not mean people reject the angelic realm.
Another contention is that Satan can deceive people into thinking they are encountering an angel, when in fact it is a demon masquerading as an angel. Thus believers ought to avoid all such encounters to avoid deception, or so the argument goes. It is possible for anything good to be counterfeited or corrupted. People can have demonic encounters. However, if believers are rooted in Christ it should be evident through the witness of the Holy Spirit which leads them into all truth to whom one is speaking and whether it conforms to the truth or not. The test is always, Is this glorifying God? Is it pointing to him or away from him? Be assured, Satan isn’t in the business of giving glory to God or producing anything that points to Christ as King.
When King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ den and found the next morning that Daniel was still alive, Daniel explained to him that the Lord had sent angels to shut the mouths of the lions (Daniel 6:22). All throughout the book of Zechariah, an angel is conversing with Zechariah. Moreover, it was an angel who brought Mary the news that she was to give birth to Jesus and again an angel who appeared to Joseph confirming this news to him, as well. Once again an angel came to Joseph in a vision to warn him to travel with Mary to protect the child from Herod. Moreover, angels ministered to Jesus in Matthew 4:11. It was an angel that rolled the stone away from the tomb at the Resurrection. In Acts 12:17 an angel appeared to Peter and aided his escape out of the jail. All throughout Scripture God uses angels in his work on the Earth and often uses them in tandem with people.
The Scriptures are also very clear believers are not to worship angels.
All believers are the point to Christ, not to anything else. All aspects of supernatural life in Christ are for his glory. Believers need not be afraid of talk concerning angels. In fact, it is very normal throughout Scripture, as established above by only quoting a few of the numerous occurrences. Believers should be more concerned about why their lives don’t mirror the first Christians they read about in the New Testament.
Jesus is the example of the normal Christian life.
He showed what is possible when he walked the Earth. Looking at the traditions of the Church isn’t where one needs to find the standard of normalcy. Believers must look to Christ himself for the perfect example of the Christian life. Even Paul writes “imitate me,” for he was imitating the Lord. The lives of the first disciples aren’t exclusive living because they were divinely inspired to write Scriptures. Their lives are examples of what it looks like to follow Christ and be imitators of him who is the Lord. Whether it be angels, miracles, signs or wonders, believers must not fear such a life or denounce it as ungodly, for it is simply normal Christianity.
