Emphasis Preaching Journal

"So it will be," says our text for today, "at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous." Wow! What about those little angels carefully carved of wood, or the ceramic angel ornaments with glitter on their wings, or the hand-blown crystal angels hanging in the window? We usually see angels as little white ornaments sitting on a shelf, hanging against a bedroom wall, or painted -- in a gilded frame. Current trends have made angels guardians as we sleep, messengers of goodness, protectors from harm. But the Bible has taught us that angels are more than messengers used by God. They are also used to do the will of God. And the will of God isn't always limited to protecting us while we sleep. An angel told of Samson's birth (Judges 13:3-7). An angel protected the Israelites from the Egyptians by placing a cloud between the groups (Exodus 14:19-20). And an angel killed 185,000 Assyrians who were attacking Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:35). Sometimes angels even take the face of God: Moses couldn't tell if it was Yahweh or the angel who appeared before him at the burning bush (Exodus 3:2-4). Angels appear through the New Testament. The Jewish people in Jesus' day were divided on the belief of angels. The Sadducees flatly denied the presence of angels. The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed they were ever-present. With Paul's casual mention of angels, we know he and others felt they existed. We know angels exist through the writing of the Bible. We also know a little about how they look and that they were messengers and agents of God's will. That alone can be comforting enough.
-- Berg