Greg Boyd begins the new series titled Testify! by helping us see the crucial role that the unseen agents, called angels, play in the biblical story. We are invited to rethink the role that angels play in our story and the story of the world, and to embrace the reality that we live in a spiritual war zone.
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The Unseen Multitude
• Greg Boyd
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This is the opening sermon in a new series on Revelations 10 and 11 titled Testify! This message focuses on the mighty angel at the center of the opening verses of chapter 10. This requires us to consider the topic of angels in general, as the modern mindset is often skeptical of their existence. This mighty angel presents itself as glorious and high ranking. Angels as a whole play a significant role in Revelation and throughout the Bible. Greg offers four important points to consider about angels.
First, angels are a part of our story. Today, it is fashionable among the more educated to dismiss angels as characters in mythic fairytales of the primitive past. In fact, many theologians have argued that it is impossible to believe an unseen world where angels exist while also taking advantage of modern medicine and electricity. However, the reality is that the New Testament, as well as Jesus himself, assumes that there is a spirit world where spiritual warfare is waged. We shouldn’t dismiss the reality of angels and the role that they play in the real world just because it’s not fashionable to believe in them.
Second, the angelic society is vast and diverse. There are untold numbers of different types of angels. In Revelation 5:11, we read that John saw a vision of angels numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. This imagery is employed to convey that the number of angels is an utterly unimaginable multitude. In addition, there are many different kinds of angels. The angelic realm is like the stars of the sky on a moonless night away from the city.
The third point is that angels are not to be sought out, commanded or adored. While angels are sent to minister to us, there is no precedent in Scripture for initiating contact with angelic beings. If we need wisdom, we must seek it in Christ alone, because everything of value in the spiritual realm is found in him. All of the fullness of God dwells in Jesus.
Finally, not all angels are godly. In Ephesians 6:10-12, we are told that we are a part of a spiritual battle against “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Therefore, we must put on the full armor of God to stand against the devil’s schemes. We live in a war zone. To follow Jesus is to enlist in a war. Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:4 “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” To fight this war well requires discipline and a group of people with whom we fight together. We cannot win in isolation or without intentional training.
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: Discipleship, Satan, Spiritual Warfare
Sermon Series: Testify!
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Focus Scripture:
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Revelation 10:1-2
Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand.
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