Luke 20

Luke 20:34-36

OUR ANGELIC Luke 20:34-36. “And Jesus said unto them. The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage: “But they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: “For neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:34-36, A.S.V.). IT is a custom with many to speak of angels with a suggestive smile, as if the term compassed a matter of mythology. With the on-sweep of modern doubt it is a question whether the average man believes any more in an angel than he does in a mermaid. The painter commonly represents the one—a woman with wings descending from the heavens, and the other a woman with scales and fins, ascending out of the sea. And those who regard the Bible as no more a revelation from God than is the riot of any man’s imagination, make the whole subject of angels either the cause of a smile or the occasion of skeptical sarcasm.On the other hand, to believers angels are real beings and their existence is no more to be questioned than that of men and women; and the subject of our future relationship with them ought to be a matter of earnest study. If men who are going to Europe for a short visit of a few months will take years in teaching themselves foreign tongues that they may the more easily make acquaintance as they pass from country to country, and may hold intelligent converse with those whom they are certain to touch, what evidence of infidelity even on the part of God’s people that they take no time to reflect upon a fellowship that is to be at once beautiful and eternal.I confess to you frankly that when I came to study this theme I was amazed at the many references to angels to be found in the Word of God, and while the limits of a single discourse will not suffice to make mention of them all, there are three or four to which I invite your attention. WE SHALL DWELL WITH ANGELS. “We shall see and be like Jesus, By and by, by and by; Who a crown of life will give us, By and by, by and by; And the angels who fulfill All the mandates of His will Shall attend and love us still, By and by, by and by.” This will not be an incongruous association. Men and angels are fitted to dwell together, and when our redemption of body and soul is complete, that fitness will be apparent. In appearance they are akin, in abilities they are alike, and in residence they are to know the same. In appearance, I say, they are akin. Wherever an angel appears in the Bible and anything at all is said of his likeness, it is that of a man. When, at Sodom, two angels came to Lot at the even time, Lot knew not that they were angels, but regarded them as men; and so did the Sodomites, because they had the appearance of men. When Zechariah, in his night visions, says, “I saw in the night, and, behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom; and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white. “Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these are” (Zechariah 1:8-9), such was his appearance that Zechariah regarded him as a man. Daniel tells us that while he was speaking and praying, confessing his sins, and the sins of his people Israel,“the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me” (Daniel 9:21). And yet, in the Scriptures, Gabriel is one of the arch-angels. In many instances angels are assigned a beauty and splendor surpassing men, and yet it never destroys the similarity. After the angel appeared to the wife of Manoah she said to her husband, “A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God”. Daniel also writes,“I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with pure gold of Up has; his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to burnished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude”. While John also says,“And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, arrayed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as the sun, and His feet as pillars of fire” (Revelation 10:1, A. S. V.); and yet again,“After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory” (Revelation 18:1, A.S.V.). But their appearance to man is made all the more striking when one reads from the pen of inspiration regarding Stephen in the time of trial, “All the council looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel”.In abilities, as in appearance, akin to men. They are servants of Jehovah, messengers of His will. It is an interesting thing to read what some of them have accomplished, evidently at the command of God. In 2 Kings 19:35, we have the record, “The angel of Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies”. In Matthew’s Gospel we remember how the angel struck fear into the hearts of the Roman guards because “His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow; and for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men” (Matthew 28:3-4). In the Book of Acts we recall how at the touch of the angel’s fingers the barred gates swung on their hinges and Peter went out as a free man.

And when at the time of His trial, Christ reminded His enemies that if He desired it He could bring twelve legions of angels and whelm all possible opposition. You remember the Psalmist (Psalms 104:1-4): “Bless the Lord O my soul. O Lord my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honour and majesty: “Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: “Who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds His chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: “Who maketh His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire”. Our residence is to be one with theirs. They visit us now; but when God’s Shining House is complete and His people are gathered Home, everyone, He will dwell in the midst of saints and angels.“The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place” (Psalms 68:17). Paul, penning his Epistle to the Hebrews, says, “We are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,“To the general assembly and Church of the firstborn, which art written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect (Hebrews 12:22-23). Newman Hall, speaking of his father, says, “I well remember my sainted father, now in paradise, relating an anecdote of a British soldier with whom he was personally acquainted. This man, for good behavior and long service, had been promoted from the ranks by the duke, who was then commander-in-chief. He, however, felt himself in uncomfortable circumstances, for he thought he was scorned by his fellow-officers on account of his humble origin. Let us hope that this was a mere fancy. But nevertheless, he felt so uncomfortable in his new position that he respectfully requested to be restored to his former condition. The commander-in-chief, guessing what the cause was, ordered a grand parade of the garrison, and as he passed along the front, addressed this man, saying, ‘Captain, let me have the pleasure of your arm.’ And so he walked with him up and down.

After this all kinds of polite attentions poured in upon him from his fellow-officers. The Prince has said, ‘Thou shalt be with me.’ And so, to compare with such trivial occurrences amongst poor fellow-mortals, the great and glorious acts of the King of kings, Jesus said to the dying thief, in order to remove from his mind all fear that he would not be welcomed with honor and joy by the inhabitants of paradise, ‘Thou shalt be with Me’.”“When Jesus thus invites me in, How will the heavenly host begin To own their new relation! Come in! Come in! the blissful sound From every voice will echo round, Till all the crystal walls resound With joy for my salvation.” WE SHALL TALK . Whether men are to learn the tongue of Heaven, or angels are already familiar with all human tongues, we may not say. Doubtless both things are true. Of the latter there seems to be no question. And so with angelsWe have a common speech. “And the angel of the Lord addressed himself to Hagar, saying, Return to Sarah and resist not her hands. I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude”. The angel that talked with Lot in Sodom evidently employed a tongue with which he was familiar.

The angel that rebuked Balaam spoke in a speech that was at once clear and strong. The man that Daniel met, who called upon Gabriel to make God’s Prophet to understand the vision, used the very language with which Daniel was familiar, for the record of it remains.Personally we doubt not that Heaven has the only perfect language in all the Universe; and at the same time we have no doubt whatever that every angel in Heaven is a perfect linguist and can speak any tongue of earth.Our conversation with them will be accentuated by common interests.

There is nothing in which they engage but we are interested in the same, for they are the servants of our God; and apparently there is no experience into which we come but they are deeply concerned. When poor Hagar was an outcast, it touched an angel’s heart. When Abraham’s wife was barren, the angel was moved to sympathy and speech by her bereavement. When Sarah lied, the angel kindly rebuked her. When Abraham was staggered by the greatness of God’s promise, the angel encouraged him to believe. When Gideon was going forth to war an angel appeared and said, “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor”. One can almost indefinitely multiply the instances.When the sinner repents there is joy in the presence of the angels of God. Augustus C.

Thompson says, “They make such an occasion a time of jubilee. To them it is the birthday of an immortal spirit— the day which ushers a bondman of Satan into the Kingdom of God, constituting him heir to a crown of glory and an everlasting inheritance. In the circumstances attending that event, and the results that follow, how exhaustless the themes of discourse, as they shall recount to each one of the multitude, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, more than he ever knew before.” And from aught we know, from that moment they may take up their ministry to such, for is it not true that they are “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister unto them that shall be heirs of salvation”? And do they not continue that ministry so long as life shall last? And does it not grow more tender as men and women walk down the dark valley?“I have seen angels by the sick one’s pillow.Theirs was the soft tone and the soundless tread;When smitten hearts were drooping like the willow,They stood ‘between the living and the dead’. “There have been angels in the gloomy prison;In crowded halls; by the lone widow’s hearth;And when they passed, the fallen have uprisen—The giddy paused—the mourner’s hope had birth.”No wonder Thompson cried, “Oh everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of angels and men in a wonderful order, grant that as Thy holy angels always do Thy service in Heaven, so, by Thy appointment, they may succor and defend us on earth!”WE SHALL WALK .Our services shall be mutual. When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the sepulcher, they were troubled on the question of who should roll away the stone. The angel, descending from Heaven, and anticipating their need, had rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. J. Baldwin Brown reminds us of the fact that Heaven is not to be a place of indolence. He says, “Hearts weary of the woe and worry of life look longingly to Heaven with a sentiment not much higher than that which moved a world-sick poet to cry for a desert, ‘Where he might all forget the human race.’ Anywhere, away from man.

Heaven! the world where earth with all its storm and strife may be forgotten; alone with the quiet angels, within the tranquil sphere of the serene activity of God.” Nothing like this will be Heaven. It is the sphere in which the elect spirits who have won the prizes in life’s battles, who have come forth from the chaos of strife trained, inured, yet pure, shall play out their parts on a grander scale, in a wider theater, under the eye of a more absolute and exigent King. All that society aims at on earth and misses, the grand order of human relations, the majestic procession of human activities, of which, maimed and crippled as they are on earth, the wisest and noblest have not ceased to dream, shall there be realized, with Christ the King visible in the center of it, and the angels attendant.”Our objects shall be in common. The old Westminster catechism has, “What is the true end of man?” and answers, “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” That certainly is the chief end of angels also. The Psalmist says,“Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His Word. “Bless ye the Lord, all ye His hosts; ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure. “Bless the Lord all His works in all places of His dominion; bless the Lord, O my soul” (Psalms 103:20-22). Again we read (Psalms 148:2):“Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts”.And later (Psalms 148:11-13):“Kings of the earth, and all people: princes, and all judges of the earth:“Both young men, and maidens: old men, and children:“Let them praise the Name of the Lord”.No wonder Nathan Strong wrote:“Swell the anthem, raise the song; Praises to our God belong; Saints and angels, join to sing Praises to the Heavenly King.” It is no great wonder then that the angels stand ready to welcome believing men into the eternal habitation, since they recognize in them the associates to be known and loved in all the ages on ages that make up an eternity. There are a good many people who talk about “visions” and “dreams” and “hallucinations” of the dying believers. I am compelled to believe that many of them are neither dreams nor hallucinations, and that the visions are real, and that over the prostrate form of many a saint an angel stands, or possibly, a cohort of the same, come to conduct the Christian to his glorious and eternal home. You remember how Elijah went up in a chariot of fire such as he had seen the angel drive on that day when they came to his defense and overwhelmed his enemies. You remember how it happened with Lazarus when that “beggar died— yes, Lazarus, without fortune, without friends, without home, without clothing, without food, exposed in the open-air, and covered with sores— Lazarus, whom a moment before the meanest servant of the rich man held in contempt, blessing his stars that he was not so forlorn and wretched; he whom a moment before none but dogs cared for, is now carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom. A vast convoy of mighty, holy, shining ones bear that despised beggar’s soul high up in the Paradise of God.” “What then,” says Thompson, “if in the closing scene you feel as solitary and friendless as he who was laid at the gate of Dives?

Think of the waiting crowd into whose friendly presence and kindly ministrations you are entering. Gently will they bear you in their arms to the Father’s House.” When a New England pastor lay dying he said, “Now, angels, do your office.” Dr. Bateman, breathing his last, exclaimed, “What glory! the angels are waiting for me! Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” And He, after all, is the Angel of angels, for when He takes us by the hand we shall be in the Father’s House.