Although the Bible is full of angel encounters, we don’t hear many reports of people seeing angels today. Why is that?
It’s not because they aren’t present among us. But since they are spirit beings, angels are mostly invisible.
In Billy Graham’s book “Angels”, he says this:
Our eyes are not constructed to see (angels) ordinarily any more than we can see the dimensions of a nuclear field. Our ability to sense (spiritual) reality is limited.
One of my favorite Biblical accounts about angels illustrates what Billy Graham is talking about. It’s from the Old Testament book of 2 Kings, chapter 6.
God was giving his prophet Elisha private information about the whereabouts of Israel’s enemies, the Arameans, enabling Israel to stay one step ahead of that attacking army. So King Aram sent his men to surround the city where Elisha was staying.
Verses 15-17 of chapter 6 read:
“(When Elisha's servant) got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. ‘Oh, my lord, what shall we do?’ the servant asked.
‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’
And Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
It took an act of God to enable the servant to SEE God’s heavenly army protecting Elisha from Israel’s enemies.
Sometimes God has permitted angels to take on in human form for specific purposes. Sometimes they were recognized as angels and sometimes not.
In Genesis 19 we read about the angels God sent to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Before they did so, they went to find Abraham’s nephew Lot, who lived in Sodom, in order to rescue him and his family before the destruction. When the two angels arrived, Lot assumed they were only men, but later in the account we discover that they were indeed, angels.
In Genesis 32, when Jacob had left the home of his Uncle Laban and was on his way back to the land of his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham, he was met by angels and recognized who they were, saying, “This is the camp of God!”
In the Old Testament book of Daniel, chapter 10, verses 5-6, Daniel had no doubt that he was face to face with an angel. The being's appearance was not like that of any man. Daniel described him this way:
“I looked up and saw before me a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. . . . his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his voice like the sound of a multitude.”
His reaction is an interesting and not uncommon one when people come face to face with angels. Daniel said this in reaction:
“I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.”
Angels were seen at the tomb of Jesus and at His ascension and they were recognized as angels.
Matthew 28:2-4 “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.”
Luke 24:1-6a “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away. . . but when they entered, they did not find of the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!”
Acts 1:9-10 After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His followers during a period of 40 days. As they gathered one last time, Jesus gave His final instructions, and then this. . . .
“After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.”
Do angels appear today?
Billy Graham’s book has a number of stories of people today seeing angels, but probably many of the accounts today are more likely to come from places where there is great spiritual darkness, such as the story below.
“Angels Around Us”, by Doug Connelly
In the 1950s, a missionary group in Kenya learned of imminent attack on their mission by Mau Mau warriors. To defend their families, men put up a barbed wire barricade and turned on floodlights. With what few weapons they had they stood guard along the mission’s perimeter, while their wives and children prayed inside.
They waited all night, but no attack came.
Months later, a Mau Mau tribesman who converted to Christ explained that just as he and his fellow warriors prepared to attack the mission from all sides, large fiery figures appeared from out of the night. They stood between the Mau Mau and the missionaries, racing in circles around the barricade. Frightened by the sight of them, the warriors fled.
The missionaries had not seen them, but God opened the warriors’ eyes to what normally would have been invisible – God’s holy angel warriors!
If you’ve ever had a near miss in a car accident – you have probably strongly believed that there was an unseen angel there, protecting you just when you needed it – well, that just might have been the case since the author of Hebrews says: “Angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.”
Want to increase your likelihood of seeing an angel? Well, you might not recognize him as one, but there is something the Bible says we can do:
Hebrews 13:2: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Knowing that puts hospitality in a whole new light!
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