S5 E17: Can We See Angels Today?

Season 5 covers the supernatural and paranormal from a Spirit-led perspective. In this episode, Glenn takes a deeper look at angels as described in the Bible. He gives a reasoned answer to anyone wondering if we can  see angels today, and shares one of his personal experiences.

The Bible will be the source of truth for this season, even though extra-biblical books and podcasts will be discussed. As discussed in Episode 1, Glenn will be kind to the authors and podcast hosts discussed throughout the season.

This episode has a transcript. If your podcast player does not support transcripts, please go to the Transcripts section of https://spiritledhope.com/ These transcripts have been edited for accuracy and are typically of higher quality than those produced automatically by many podcast apps.

Transcript

S5 E17 TRANSCRIPT 

CAN WE SEE ANGELS TODAY?

INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone, and welcome to Spirit-Led Hope. My name is Glenn Erichsen, and in this episode, we will answer the question…

     CAN WE SEE ANGELS TODAY?

Before we talk about angels, I just want to say this is a crazy time to be talking about the paranormal and the supernatural. I had no idea when we started the season how much these topics would be plastered across daily news feeds or featured by Christian content creators. There seems to be a steadily increasing interest in these things, including in the Church.

I had already recorded the last episode, Episode 16, when the Pentagon released information about Unidentified Arial Phenomena. You may recall in Episode 16, that I asked if your faith in God would be damaged if aliens appeared. I think questions like this are becoming more relevant, and something that Christians need to explore. I do not know if the U.S. Government will release something that “proves” aliens exist. I am skeptical that it will. But, for sure, there is a lot of speculation and conversation happening right now on these topics.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ANGELS?

Well, to answer the question, “Can we see angels today?” let us take some time and talk about angels in the Bible. I said in the last episode that the Bible sometimes feels a little stingy when it comes to details about angels, but it is not stingy when it comes to including angels in the biblical narrative.

We meet angels right out of the gate in the book of Genesis. And if my Bible software is adding correctly, angels are mentioned hundreds of times in Scripture. In fact, just start reading the book of Revelation and it discusses angels page after page. You must work hard to not see angels in Scripture.

If I am candid, this is something that bothers me a bit. I have mentioned a few times this season that many Christians seem to have lost a supernatural view of the Christian faith. How is that possible when supernatural beings are mentioned consistently in both the Old and the New Testaments? It does not make sense, does it? 

The supernatural element of the Christian faith is something I find fascinating and empowering. If the God of the Bible is real, then our faith must include the supernatural because God is supernatural. If we take the supernatural out of the Bible, then we are left with an impotent God and an impotent faith.

 Let us take some time now and just talk about some things we do know about angels from Scripture. In this episode, let us focus mainly on good angels. In the future, when we start talking about exorcisms, we can discuss fallen angels in more detail. Let us also mainly use the term “angel” even though a more accurate term might be “spiritual being.” But “angel” is used in most Bible translations, so we will stick mainly with that.

We know that angels are powerful. In the last episode we read how an angel rolled away the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb of Jesus. That stone probably weighed one to two tons. There is no indication in Scripture that the angel had any problem with that.

We also see angels having powers beyond humans. There is the account in Genesis where two angels are with Lot, and the men of the city want to have physical relations with the angels. In Genesis 19:10, here is what the angels did…

But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door. Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.

Genesis 19:10 NLT

We do not know how the angels blinded the men, but it sounds like it was easy. It was also clever. The point is that angels are made of strong stuff. Here is what we read in Psalms…

Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands. Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will!

Psalm 103:20-21 NLT

Angels are mighty, and they do what God wants.  From this verse we also learn that there are armies of angels. One well-known account of armies of angels is found in 2 Kings.  Here is the scene…the King of Aram has learned that Elisha the prophet keeps messing up his plans to fight Israel. So, he sends troops to surround Elisha to capture him. When Elisha’s servant sees the enemy troops, he freaks out and this is what we read…

When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

2 Kings 6:15-17 NLT

Here we see that Elisha and his servant are protected by angels. It is interesting that these angels are described as having horses and chariots. Is that just how God allowed the servant to see the angels because he could understand that image? Or are there spiritual beings who look like horses? Do angels use chariots for transportation? Some people do use these verses as evidence that angels travel using technology. And that opens the door for alien spacecraft, which we will eventually talk about.

We also know from the book of Hebrews that, for now, angels are superior to humans. They are stronger, more intelligent, they are wiser, they are immortal, and they can function in both spiritual and physical realms. This will be highly relevant when we eventually do talk about fallen angels.

Scripture also names some of the angels. Michael and Gabriel are two examples. I think we can safely assume that other spiritual beings have names. Names are a big deal in Scripture, and it seems that giving individual angels names would make sense. That said, most of the angels who give messages never mention their own names. My guess, and it is just a guess, is that angels avoid giving their names to help reduce the possibility of people worshiping them. 

Another thing we see in the Bible is that spiritual beings have rank. Michael, for example, is an archangel which seems to be one of the most powerful types of angels. But Scripture does list several ranks and some of the ranking is based on how close the angels are to God. The seraphim and cherubim we mentioned in the last episode are examples of high-ranking angels.

The book of Daniel and the book of Ephesians give us a glimpse into some of these ranks. I have seen different ways these ranks are explained and how they are viewed. If I consult “Foundations of Pentecostal Theology” which I used in Season 4, then five of the different ranks, or positions, or offices, whatever you want to call them, are thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, and powers. What these positions entail are not totally defined.

But even though the Bible does not go into detail, we can see that some angels have greater influence and power. Some of this power is based on their proximity to God, and some appears to be based on the scope of influence given to them. We have already talked about the Divine Council and how these beings were given greater power and authority in the affairs of humans. This is part of what is often called a Deuteronomy 32 worldview which I mentioned briefly in Episode 5.

There have been many attempts to show how these power rankings might influence the battle between good and bad angels for human souls. C.S. Lewis covered this in some of his books, including the Screwtape Letters. In the 80’s there was a popular book series written by Frank Peretti. The first book was called “This Present Darkness” and the second was “Piercing the Darkness.” I really enjoyed those books. All these books I mentioned are fiction, but they try to put into practical examples the way angels work in an authority structure. Although we cannot make doctrine out of any of these attempts to show how angels work, I suspect that many of the elements they portray might be close to the truth. 

A few other things we see in Scripture about angels is that they execute God’s judgement, they can appear in dreams and may even escort souls in death. The point here is that angels are actively involved in God’s affairs, which includes us.

PROTECTION OF ANGELS

In several places in Scripture, we see angels protecting humans. In fact, this is part of their job assignment.  We have already talked about that a little. Here is what it says in Psalm 91…

If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

Psalm 91:9-13 NLT

A good example of angelic protection is in Acts 12 when an angel frees Peter from prison. An angel also appeared to Paul to comfort him before he was shipwrecked. But maybe the most intriguing verse is where Jesus is talking about children in Matthew 18:10 and he says…

“Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.

Matthew 18:10 NLT

Now scholars have debated this verse for some time. One view, probably the most common view, is that each person has a guardian angel assigned to them at birth. Another view is that Jesus is warning people to be careful how they treat children. Because if you treat them badly, their angels are waiting for instructions from God on what to do with you.

Whether or not we each have a guardian angel, the point is clear…angels are ready to protect us at God’s bidding. And that is encouraging.

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

When we look at the book of Acts, and the book of Revelation, and the rest of the New Testament, we can see that the ministry of angels did not stop after the ascension of Jesus. In other words, we have every reason to believe that whatever we have already seen about angels, is true today.

And because of that we are now ready to answer the question, “Can we see angels today?” And the answer is “yes.” If angels were seen in the past, then angels can be seen today.

Now should we expect to see angels? I think the answer is yes and no. If people in the Bible saw angels, we just might too. However, I do not think we should plan on seeing angels frequently, but we should be open to the possibility. 

We should also be open to the possibility that we might see the results of something angels did, or that we might see angels without knowing it. In fact, the writer of Hebrews tells us this when he says…

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

Hebrews 13:2 NLT

What we see consistently in the Bible, and I think this is important, is that the lives of angels and humans are intertwined. Why God did it this way, I do not know. But we cannot escape the fact that angels and humans have a long history together and this will continue into the future.

MY ANGEL STORY

In my own life, there are two times when I believe God miraculously saved me from death. At the time of each event, I knew something remarkable had happened and my first thought was that angels had saved me. As I was thinking about each event for this episode, I now think that one of the events was a form of translation, where God instantly moved me from one place to the next. But I still believe that the second event was a case where an angel saved me. Maybe the first was too, but I am not sure.

The second event took place on a stormy evening many years ago around Christmas. I was out driving and the snowfall became so bad that I had no choice but to pull off the road and put chains on my truck. I was able to pull onto a large shoulder on the right side of the road, and I felt like I was at a safe distance from traffic. That turned out to not be true.

I started by putting chains on the driver-side rear of the truck. I was squatting down and had my back turned towards traffic. I was at the very back of the tire with my body touching the truck. I was kind of leaning up to the truck for balance.

It was at that moment that I heard someone yell, “Watch out!” and suddenly I felt myself pushed towards the front of the truck and I fell close to the driver’s side door. I had this moment of thinking, “Who pushed me?” when a car slammed into the driver’s side rear of my truck right where I had been working. The car hit the corner of my truck bed so hard that the front of the car had a big V-shape pushed way back into the engine compartment. Had I been there, I would have been crushed, if not killed.

This all happened in a matter of seconds, but I knew then that something bizarre had occurred. I looked around to see who called me and pushed me. But there was no one. Being analytical I tried to reason out if the car could have pushed me out of the way before hitting the truck, but that just was not possible. And that still could not explain the voice I heard. In the end, I believed that God sent an angel, and I thanked God because I knew he had saved me. This all occurred before I was spirit-filled, and I wonder if I would have seen more had I been more in tune then with the Holy Spirit. I do not know.

I cannot prove it, but I believe that God used an angel to save my life. That is how a lot of our Spirit-led walk with God often goes. We may be personally convinced that something supernatural occurred, but there is not enough evidence to convincingly prove to others what happened. But we ourselves are convinced and it helps our faith grow.

I think it is also important to note that while I am thankful for angelic protection, any worship or adoration goes to God. That is true for all of us. Angels serve God like we do. We can be thankful and grateful for them, but we never worship them, or pray directly to them. 

CLOSING

To wrap up this episode, yes, we can see angels today, but we should not expect to see them every minute. Realistically, we may never see them. But at the same time, we should not be surprised if our lives are intersected by angels ministering to us on behalf of God. 

In the next episode I think it is time to start talking a bit about aliens. Also, just a reminder that I may need to take a short break due to my work schedule. If so, I will post a mini-cast.

As always, you can send me comments by email at glenn@spiritledhope.com. You can also send me a text message or voicemail by going to the episode show notes and clicking on the link with your smart phone. Please spread the word and share this podcast with your friends. 

As you reflect on a life which intertwines with unseen beings,

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit.  

Until the next episode, take care.

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