Good morning,
—the armies of heaven—
Christmas is a wonderful time of year for all of us who are genuine children of the God of the universe. There are so many parts of the story that we have heard and taught and sung about that makes the darkness of our present world light up with hope and peace in our hearts. One part of that story tells us about a special army choir that lit up the heavens and sang a song that we sing about to this day.(Luke 2:13,14) Have you ever thought about why they were called an army and not a choir? The first mention of angels from God’s perspective came when God and Job were having a discussion about what happened to the angels at the time when God laid the foundation of the earth. The angels were there shouting for joy.(Job 38:7) In the last book of the Bible, John writes about seeing and hearing the voices of thousands and millions of angels singing in praise of the Lamb that was slaughtered.(Rev.5:13,14) When the Psalmist was praising God he wrote, Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven!(Psalms 148:2) Are God’s angels just musicians, or are they something much more important than that?
The Apostle John was given a very important insight into why they were called an army in Revelation Chapter 12. Satan, and one third of the angels that followed him, were determined to destroy Jesus, the Son of God, when he was born as a man. God gave special protection to his Son from the time he was conceived until the time that he hung on that cruel cross to pay the debt that all of us owed God for our rebellion against him. Jesus rose again! He is alive and well! At some point in time, Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven.(Rev. 12:7,9) God’s angels are more than singers. They are part of God’s army that defends and protects God’s people and God’s plans.(Hebrews 1:14) When Jesus was taken prisoner by the Jewish leaders, he refused to call the angels at his command so that we would be able to be a part of God’s family for eternity. He told Peter to put his little sword away, and refused to call 72,000 angels to save him, so that God’s plan for our salvation would be carried out. (Matt.26:52-54) God is the one who restrains or unleashes his angels to carry out his plans.
Now that we are seeing the nations of the world building up their armies and promising to destroy God’s nation and God’s people, what kind of resources does God have to carry out his plans? Can his angels stop a plane or a rocket in flight? How many angels are needed to destroy a satellite in space or defuse a bomb or redirect a bullet or a knife? How will these puny people be able to stop God’s army when they can neither see them or control them? How will they ever be able to defeat the thousands and millions of angels who will carry out God’s eternal plans? Just think, the one that once lived as a human baby is now the Commander and Chief of the armies of heaven, and he is our friend and Savior as well.
Luke 2:13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.
Roy Wisner
