"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host
appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2
Look at
the exact phrasing of the passage here. Luke does not say that the angel was
joined by a heavenly host—he said the heavenly host just appeared.
This is
the only place in the Bible where a multitude of the heavenly host
appeared. Prophets such as Isaiah and
John in Revelation had visions of heaven saw heavenly hosts as visions. Jacob dreamt of the heavenly host going up
and down from heaven, but it was in a dream. This is the only place in the
Bible where a heavenly host appears to announce anything. But they did not arrive, they appeared. They didn't just fly down from
heaven they were already here. What
changed was not the position of the angels, but our human perception. Suddenly,
the shepherds saw what had always been there.
Angels are all around us. We just can't see them.
Every day,
we are surrounded by a multitude of the heavenly host. They are beside us,
above us, around us, in uncounted numbers. Our eyes, unaccustomed to the glory
of God, have only limited abilities to see the presence of God's messengers. Just as we cannot hear sounds that are too
high or too low, and cannot perceive infrared or ultraviolet, so our minds
cannot comprehend spiritual beings surrounding us on all sides. It's like the old Spiritual
'All day,
all night, angels watching over me, my Lord.
All day,
all night, angels watching over me."
Only at the coming of the Lord does reality
appear. We go through our lives worried
that God has abandoned us, when His angels are in every part of the universe we
see. But when the veil of flesh is
withdrawn, and the real reality of God’s providential care is revealed, we will
know that all of creation is alive with angels, and they are all rejoicing. This usually comes in the
"suddenlys" of life, when our lives have been jarred by the
unexpected, that our senses adjust to see greater things beyond our vision and
eperience.
The word
"angel" does not necessarily refer to a celestial beings though, An
"angel" is any messenger of God. Not all angels surrounding you are
unseen. God sends people as well as
celestial beings to watch out for you. When you see them, you should not
worship them but they should be thanked.
They may include people who are looking out for your benefit, provisions God has given, and those who deliver the Good News of the Word
of God. Many of these angels are seen every day.
Not all
the seen angels are people, either. There are many blessings in life that God
has provided for us The Word of God, the Bible is also an angel, providing us
with God's word. The natural world is also another kind of angel, declaring the
Glory of God. Angels are everywhere.
Wherever God speaks to us, it is through an angel of one kind or another.
Do not be
afraid when you confront hard times or opposition. God has his angels
everywhere. Instead of despairing, pray that God's Spirit will open your eyes
to see the angels that are all around you.
"Father, thank you for giving us Your angels to
watch over us always. In Jesus' name.
Amen"
