How Were Angels Involved in the Life of Christ?
The coming of Jesus was anticipated for thousands of years and prophesied numerous times in the Old Testament. How excited the angels must have been when the time finally came for His advent to earth!
The angel Gabriel joyfully announced His conception to Mary (Luke 1:26-27), and a multitude of the heavenly host heralded His birth to some very terrified shepherds (Luke 2:13-14).
Thirty years later, angels came and ministered to Jesus when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:11). It was none other than an angel who also helped sustain Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane when He faced great suffering
and death (Luke 22:43).
Angels were the ones who proclaimed Christ’s resurrection to the women at the tomb (John 20:12) and appeared to the disciples after Christ’s ascension into heaven (Acts 1:10). The Bible tells us that angels will also play a major role in the
future when Christ returns (Matthew 13:41, 49; II Thessalonians 1:7), for they will carry out God’s judgment upon the earth (Revelation 8-9, 14:15-19, 20:1-3).
Do We Have Guardian Angels?
The term guardian angel is not in the Bible, nor does the Bible give a definitive answer on whether each person is assigned a specific angel.
However, the idea that angels have protective roles is implied in the following passages: Matthew 18:10; and Psalm 91:11. In these verses, it is clear that angels guard and protect certain ones both in childhood and throughout their lives.
It seems evident that there is an age of accountability where an angel will withdraw protection if the person indulges in sin and turns from God. For example, after the children of Israel had taken possession of the Promised Land, they served the Lord faithfully for a season. But after the death of Joshua and
the elders, the children of Israel began to serve idols. For this reason the angel of the Lord said that he would no longer drive out the inhabitants of the land (Numbers 33:55). Another example is when two angels brought Lot and his wife out of Sodom before the Lord destroyed it with fire. The angels were merciful to them, but when Lot’s wife turned back to look at Sodom, she was left to her fate (Genesis 19:16-17; Luke 17:31-32).
Angels not only watch us (I Corinthians 4:9), but apparently, they also record the deeds of our lives (Ecclesiastes 5:6).
Some other passages implying that angels have guardian roles are Psalm 34:7, Daniel 10:13, and Revelation 1:20. The New Testament mentions Peter’s angel; the believers thought Peter’s angel had come to them instead of Peter (Acts 12:15) when really an angel had released Peter from prison. A final verse implying a guardian role is Luke 16:22, when an angel carried the soul of the beggar Lazarus away from earth at his death.
Were it not for the vigilant protection of these heavenly guardians, the lives of God’s children would probably be in serious jeopardy from malicious spiritual attacks. There is all around us a raging spiritual war that believers can influence
through their prayers (Revelation 8:3-4). Ezekiel 9:1-6 tells how God commissioned a heavenly messenger to go through the streets of the city and mark believers (Ezekiel 9:4). This mark of protection was for intercessors, for those who cried
out to God because of the wickedness of their city.
Ultimately, no matter how or when angels protect us, it is God who watches over us. The ministry of God’s angels will always bring glory to God.