1405AFC013114 – Angels Yearning to See
Read it online here, please.
Hebrews 2:4-9 – And furthermore, the future world we are talking about will not be controlled by angels. For somewhere in the Scriptures it says, “What is man that you should think of him, and the son of man that you should care for him? For a little while you made him lower than the angels, and you crowned him with glory and honor. You gave him authority over all things.” Now when it says “all things,” it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all of this happen. What we do see is Jesus, who “for a little while was made lower than the angels” and now is “crowned with glory and honor” because he suffered death for us. Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone in all the world.
1 Peter 1:9-12 – Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know more about. They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it all could mean. They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They wondered when and to whom all this would happen. They were told that these things would not happen during their lifetime, but many years later, during yours. And now this Good News has been announced by those who preached to you in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
Aloha nui loa, Beloved. I’m going to be trying something different with mailing these. I have been using OutLook with my Road Runner Hawaii email address, but there are too many messages being returned as undeliverable. Instead I’m going to try using my Gmail account and see if that will work better. The disadvantage is that I cannot obtain a “Read receipt” when I use Gmail. It may also turn out that I get more – or different – failed messages. We’ll see what happens. For today though, we’re returning to the angels for another peek at how they fit into this astounding set of scripture passages.
You may have recognized the Psalm to which Paul was referring in his letter to the Hebrews; it is Psalm 8. As you can see from Paul’s explanation of this passage, this refers to the fact that Jesus was truly human. In 2 Peter 2:4 we read, “When angels sinned, God did not spare them: he sent them down into the underworld and consigned them to the dark abyss to be held there until the Judgment.” It was not for the salvation of the angels that Jesus the Christ was sent into the world but for us earthlings. In John 3:17 the writer tells us, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” No matter how wonderful or amazing or even how very present angels are to us in our day-to-day life, it was not for angels that Christ lived, suffered, died, was buried, and rose again from death so that he could ascend to Heaven where he is crowned with glory and honor. It was for us, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
There are many people who believe in angels – I do, and probably so do you. Some people carry this too far, though, and worship angels, some even referring to some of them as “Ascended Masters.” This is not God’s intention for us. In Deuteronomy 13:4 Moses warns the Israelites, “It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.” Paul reminds us that Jesus was truly human – for a little while – and now is “crowned with glory and honor.” All the prophets in the Old Testament longed to see the Glory of God manifested in this world but only when God was ready did he send us his Christ, his Anointed One. And it is through human testimony, not the testimony of angels, by which the Good News – the Gospel of Redemption – is available to us through Scripture, through the testimony of believers, and through the signs and wonders given to all earthlings even to this very day in the form of answered prayers, miraculous healings, and even words of prophecy spoke by those to whom this most excellent gift has been granted. It is the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of the Living Christ – that makes these things happen; it is not by angels, for they are not among the redeemed, for “he sent them down into the underworld and consigned them to the dark abyss to be held there until the Judgment.”
But, as Paul said, “…we have not yet seen all of this happen.” There is more to come! More souls will learn to do what Jesus told us to do at the very beginning of his Ministry: “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.” We have seen this word “repent” before. It is metanoe,w metanoeo {met-an-o-eh’-o} meaning to change one’s mind for the better, to heartily amend one’s life through abhorrence of one’s past sins, and to sin no more. It is often coupled with an exhortation to be baptized as in “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
So today, Beloved, we rejoice in the sure knowledge that is for us earthlings that Christ is the source and fulfillment of our salvation. It was not for angels, or any other creature of God’s magnificent creation. And, in accordance with his Divine Plan, it was through the fully-human and fully-divine life lived by Jesus that the covenant promise of Salvation was delivered to all who are created in the image and likeness of God; it is for us and for none other. It is given to us freely and is to be received freely. It cannot be bought or sold or recreated or made different through any human or even angelic endeavor. It is God’s free gift of Grace. To have this gift for your very own, you only need to accept it, believe it, repent because of it, and live in and for it. By doing so, you, too, are destined to be “crowned with glory and honor” when every promise of God is fulfilled in the Resurrection. “But we have not yet seen all of this happen.” Perhaps, “not all,” but certainly quite a lot of it has happened, and much more will come because ” … the word of the LORD holds true, and everything he does is worthy of our trust.” Psalm 33:4
He did not reveal all this to the angels, but to us, ALL of us. When you, when I, when we trust in the LORD (our El-Shaddai-Olam – Almighty God Everlasting), when we “… seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, [then] all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
Honor the Giver by accepting the Gift, and then honor the Gift by sharing it with others.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved
Praise Report:
Adoration, Thanksgiving, and Praise to God for reports we have recently received of remission of cancers, provision of basic-life-necessities, and deliverance from addictions for many of those for whom we have been praying!! Glory to YOU O God who make all things according to your Will!
Share-a-Prayer
Please continue to pray for – and lend your assistance to – those who are buffeted by horrific weather and other disasters around the globe. Also, please pray diligently for the safety of everyone involved in the Winter Olympics; pray that all plans to disrupt them through terrorism will be thwarted to the Glory of God the Father. Finally, Beloved, pray for those who have accepted the mission to teach and preach the Gospel in every land and nation so that the Word will reach to even the ends of the Earth.
And remember:
1405AFC013114 – Angels Yearning to See
Read it online here, please.
Hebrews 2:4-9 – And furthermore, the future world we are talking about will not be controlled by angels. For somewhere in the Scriptures it says, “What is man that you should think of him, and the son of man that you should care for him? For a little while you made him lower than the angels, and you crowned him with glory and honor. You gave him authority over all things.” Now when it says “all things,” it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all of this happen. What we do see is Jesus, who “for a little while was made lower than the angels” and now is “crowned with glory and honor” because he suffered death for us. Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone in all the world.
1 Peter 1:9-12 – Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know more about. They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it all could mean. They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They wondered when and to whom all this would happen. They were told that these things would not happen during their lifetime, but many years later, during yours. And now this Good News has been announced by those who preached to you in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
Aloha nui loa, Beloved. I’m going to be trying something different with mailing these. I have been using OutLook with my Road Runner Hawaii email address, but there are too many messages being returned as undeliverable. Instead I’m going to try using my Gmail account and see if that will work better. The disadvantage is that I cannot obtain a “Read receipt” when I use Gmail. It may also turn out that I get more – or different – failed messages. We’ll see what happens. For today though, we’re returning to the angels for another peek at how they fit into this astounding set of scripture passages.
You may have recognized the Psalm to which Paul was referring in his letter to the Hebrews; it is Psalm 8. As you can see from Paul’s explanation of this passage, this refers to the fact that Jesus was truly human. In 2 Peter 2:4 we read, “When angels sinned, God did not spare them: he sent them down into the underworld and consigned them to the dark abyss to be held there until the Judgment.” It was not for the salvation of the angels that Jesus the Christ was sent into the world but for us earthlings. In John 3:17 the writer tells us, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” No matter how wonderful or amazing or even how very present angels are to us in our day-to-day life, it was not for angels that Christ lived, suffered, died, was buried, and rose again from death so that he could ascend to Heaven where he is crowned with glory and honor. It was for us, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
There are many people who believe in angels – I do, and probably so do you. Some people carry this too far, though, and worship angels, some even referring to some of them as “Ascended Masters.” This is not God’s intention for us. In Deuteronomy 13:4 Moses warns the Israelites, “It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.” Paul reminds us that Jesus was truly human – for a little while – and now is “crowned with glory and honor.” All the prophets in the Old Testament longed to see the Glory of God manifested in this world but only when God was ready did he send us his Christ, his Anointed One. And it is through human testimony, not the testimony of angels, by which the Good News – the Gospel of Redemption – is available to us through Scripture, through the testimony of believers, and through the signs and wonders given to all earthlings even to this very day in the form of answered prayers, miraculous healings, and even words of prophecy spoke by those to whom this most excellent gift has been granted. It is the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of the Living Christ – that makes these things happen; it is not by angels, for they are not among the redeemed, for “he sent them down into the underworld and consigned them to the dark abyss to be held there until the Judgment.”
But, as Paul said, “…we have not yet seen all of this happen.” There is more to come! More souls will learn to do what Jesus told us to do at the very beginning of his Ministry: “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.” We have seen this word “repent” before. It is metanoe,w metanoeo {met-an-o-eh’-o} meaning to change one’s mind for the better, to heartily amend one’s life through abhorrence of one’s past sins, and to sin no more. It is often coupled with an exhortation to be baptized as in “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
So today, Beloved, we rejoice in the sure knowledge that is for us earthlings that Christ is the source and fulfillment of our salvation. It was not for angels, or any other creature of God’s magnificent creation. And, in accordance with his Divine Plan, it was through the fully-human and fully-divine life lived by Jesus that the covenant promise of Salvation was delivered to all who are created in the image and likeness of God; it is for us and for none other. It is given to us freely and is to be received freely. It cannot be bought or sold or recreated or made different through any human or even angelic endeavor. It is God’s free gift of Grace. To have this gift for your very own, you only need to accept it, believe it, repent because of it, and live in and for it. By doing so, you, too, are destined to be “crowned with glory and honor” when every promise of God is fulfilled in the Resurrection. “But we have not yet seen all of this happen.” Perhaps, “not all,” but certainly quite a lot of it has happened, and much more will come because ” … the word of the LORD holds true, and everything he does is worthy of our trust.” Psalm 33:4
He did not reveal all this to the angels, but to us, ALL of us. When you, when I, when we trust in the LORD (our El-Shaddai-Olam – Almighty God Everlasting), when we “… seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, [then] all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
Honor the Giver by accepting the Gift, and then honor the Gift by sharing it with others.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved
Praise Report:
Adoration, Thanksgiving, and Praise to God for reports we have recently received of remission of cancers, provision of basic-life-necessities, and deliverance from addictions for many of those for whom we have been praying!! Glory to YOU O God who make all things according to your Will!
Share-a-Prayer
Please continue to pray for – and lend your assistance to – those who are buffeted by horrific weather and other disasters around the globe. Also, please pray diligently for the safety of everyone involved in the Winter Olympics; pray that all plans to disrupt them through terrorism will be thwarted to the Glory of God the Father. Finally, Beloved, pray for those who have accepted the mission to teach and preach the Gospel in every land and nation so that the Word will reach to even the ends of the Earth.
And remember:
About Chick Todd
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
