The Great Doctrines of the Bible Part 35

1. THEIR HEAVENLY MINISTRY.

Isa. 6; Rev. 5:11, 12; 8:3, 4--priestly service and wors.h.i.+p.

2. THEIR EARTHLY MINISTRY.

To the angels has been committed the administration of the affairs material to sense, e.g., showing Hagar a fountain; appearing before Joshua with a drawn sword; releasing the chains from Peter, and opening the prison doors; feeding, strengthening, and defending the children of G.o.d. To the Holy Spirit more particularly has been committed the task of imparting the truth concerning spiritual matters.

In general: Angels have a relation to the earth somewhat as follows: They are related to winds, fires, storms, pestilence (Psa. 103:20; 104:4; 1 Chron. 21:15, 16, 27). The nation of Israel has a special relations.h.i.+p to angels in the sense of angelic guardians.h.i.+p (Dan.

12:1; Ezek. 9:1; Dan. 11:1).

In particular: Angels have a special ministry with reference to the church of Jesus Christ--the body of believers. They are the saints' "ministering servants" (Heb. 1:14)--they do service for G.o.d's people. Ill.u.s.trations: To Abraham (Gen. 19); to Gideon (Judg.

6); to Mary (Luke 1); to the shepherds (Luke 2); to Peter (Acts 12); to Paul (Acts 27).

a) They Guide the Believer.

They guide the worker to the sinner (Acts 8:26), and the sinner to the worker (Acts 10:3). Note: The angel guides, but the Spirit instructs (8:29). Are angels interested in conversions? (Luke 15:10).

How they watch our dealing with the unsaved!

b) They Cheer and Strengthen G.o.d's People.

1 Kings 19:5-8; Matt. 4:11; Luke 22:43; cf. Acts 27:4-35; 5:19.

c) They Defend, Protect, and Deliver G.o.d's Servants.

Dan. 6:22; Acts 5:19; 2 Kings 6:18; Gen. 19:11; Acts 12:8-ll; 27:23, 24.

d) They Are Eyewitnesses of the Church and the Believer.

1 Tim. 5:21--in matters of preaching, the service of the church, and soul-saving, the angels look on--a solemn and appalling thought.

1 Cor. 4:9--the good angels are spectators while the church engages in fierce battle with the hosts of sin. This is an incentive to endurance. 1 Cor. 11:10--"Because of the angels." Is there intimated here a lack of modesty on the part of the women so shocking to the angels, who veil their faces in the presence of G.o.d when they wors.h.i.+p.

e) They Guard the Elect Dead.

Luke 16:22; Matt. 24:31. Just as they guarded Christ's tomb, and as Michael guarded Moses' tomb (Jude 9).

f) They Accompany Christ at His Second Coming.

Separating the righteous from the wicked (Matt. 25:31, 32; 2 Thess.

1:7, 8). Executing G.o.d's wrath upon the wicked (Matt. 13:39-42, R.

V. How this is done, no human pen can describe. The most fearful imagery of the Bible is connected with the judgment work of angels (cf. Revelation; fire, hail, blood, plague of locusts, poison of scorpions, etc.)--whether actual or symbolic, it is awful.

THE DOCTRINE OF SATAN.

I. HIS EXISTENCE AND PERSONALITY.

1. EXISTENCE.

2. PERSONALITY.

II. HIS PLACE AND POWER.

1. A MIGHTY ANGEL.

2. PRINCE OF POWER OF THE AIR.

3. G.o.d OF THIS WORLD.

4. HEAD OF KINGDOM OF DARKNESS.

5. SOVEREIGN OVER DEATH.

III. HIS CHARACTER.

1. ADVERSARY.

2. DIABOLOS.

3. WICKED ONE.

4. TEMPTER.

IV. OUR ATt.i.tUDE TOWARDS SATAN.

1. LIMITED POWER OF SATAN.

2. RESIST HIM.

V. HIS DESTINY.

1. A CONQUERED ENEMY.

2. UNDER ETERNAL CURSE.

VI. DEMONS.

THE DOCTRINE OF SATAN.

Throughout the Scriptures Satan is set forth as the greatest enemy of G.o.d and man. Too long has Satan been a subject of ridicule instead of fear. Seeing the Scriptures teach the existence of a personality of evil, man should seek to know all he can about such a being. Much of the ridicule attached to the doctrine of Satan comes from the fact that men have read their fancies and theories into the Scriptures; they have read Milton's _Paradise Lost_ but have neglected the Book of Job; they have considered the experiences of Luther instead of the Epistles of Peter and Jude.

To avoid skepticism on the one hand, and ridicule on the other we must resort to the Scriptures to formulate our views of this doctrine.

I. THE EXISTENCE AND PERSONALITY OF SATAN.

1. HIS EXISTENCE.

To science the existence of Satan is an open question; it neither can deny nor affirm it. Satan's existence and personality can be denied therefore only on purely _a priori_ grounds. The Bible, however, is very clear and positive in its teaching regarding the existence of a personality of evil called the devil. It is popular in some circles today to spell devil with the "d" left off, thus denying his real existence.

Matt. 13:19, 39--"Then cometh the wicked one . . . . The enemy that sowed them is the devil." John 13:2--"The devil having now put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him." See also Acts 5:3; 2 Cor. 11:3, 14; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6.

How Satan came to be is not quite as clear a fact as that he exists. In all probability he was once a good angel. It is claimed by scholarly and reliable interpreters that his fall is portrayed in Ezekiel 28:12-19; cf. Isa 14:12-14. That he was once in the truth but fell from it is evident from John 8:44. His fall (Luke 10:18) was probably in connection with the fall of angels as set forth in such pa.s.sages as 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6. Pride (?) was one of the causes (1 Tim. 3:6; Ezek. 28:15, 17). This fact may account for the expression "Satan and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). Paul doubtless refers to the fact that Satan was once an angel of light (2 Cor.

11:14). Whenever Satan is represented under the form of a serpent, we are to understand such expressions as describing him after his fall. There is certainly no ground for presenting the evil one as having horns, tail, and hoofs. This is only to bring into ridicule what is an exceedingly serious fact. A careful consideration of all the scriptures here given will a.s.sure the student that Satan is not a figment of the imagination, but a real being.