Paul W. Manuel: Guardian angels

GUARDIAN ANGELS

Paul Manuel — 2002
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[While Paul was in Madison, WI, doing graduate work at UW, he attended our church and taught the adult bible study. From time to time he would solicit questions from the class, do the requisite study, and bring back an answer based on his study of scripture. This is an example of that. An older member of the class had asked whether each one of us has a "guardian angel."]

We saw in our general study of angels that the beliefs of our society—what angels look like and what they spend their time doing—rarely match what the Bible teaches. One other popular notion suggests that we each have a guardian angel who protects us from danger. This week we will consider what scripture says about the interaction divine messengers have had with human beings that has promoted this idea.

I. Angels act on behalf of groups.
A. Nations: Daniel speaks about an angel ("prince") in connection with several countries.¹

1. Israel has an angelic prince.

Michael (Dan 10:21b; 12:1)²

Dan 10:21b No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.

Dan 12:1 "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time Your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.

2. Persia has an angelic prince.
Unnamed (Dan 10:12-13)

Dan 10:12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

3. Greece has an angelic prince.
Unnamed (Dan 10:20b)

Dan 10:20b Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come.

B. Congregations: John speaks about an angel in connection with several churches.
Each church may have had an angelic representative.³
Unnamed (Rev 1:20b)

Rev 1:20b The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches....

II. Angels act on behalf of individuals.
Righteous:⁴ On several occasions God sends an angel to help one of His people in distress.
1. Lot had two angelic guardians.

Unnamed (Gen 19:10-11, 16)

Gen 19:10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.... 16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them.

2. Daniel had an angelic guardian.
Unnamed (Dan 6:22)

Dan 6:22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."

3. Daniel's friends had an angelic guardian.

Unnamed (Dan 3:28)

Dan 3:28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

4. Jesus had several angelic guardians.⁵
Unnamed (Matt 4:11; 26:53)

Matt 4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Matt 26:53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? [1 legion = 6,000; 12 legions = 72,000]

5. Peter had an angelic guardian.
Unnamed (Acts 12:611)⁶

Acts 12:6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him Lip. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."

6. The apostles had an angelic guardian.
Unnamed (Acts 5:17-19)

Acts 5:17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.

7. God's people may have an angelic guardian.
Unnamed (Ps 91:11; Matt 18:10; Heb 1:14)

Ps 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;

Matt 18:10 "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.⁷

Heb 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

From these illustrations, what conclusions can we safely draw about angels acting as guardians? ... We can say that...

God does assign angels to intervene on man's behalf, as several examples from scripture testify.

All the illustrations concern people who have taken a stand for God and have encountered resistance as a result.

Except for Michael's work on behalf of Israel, the identity of the angel does not seem important.

What assumptions should we not make about angels acting as guardians? ... We cannot assume that...

God assigns one angel to each individual believer.⁸

All believers need (and get) angelic protection.

Should we attempt to make contact with angels? . . . No. In scripture, angels initiate any communication. Their policy is, "Don't call us; we'll call you." If we want to talk to someone, God is available, and it is to Him we should resort.⁹

Angels may act as guardians for a group or for an individual. God does not necessarily assign an angel to every believer; rather, He appoints angels to intervene in situations that require special divine attention. In other words, God may send an angel to act on your behalf, but you should not assume that you have one on permanent assignment.

Bibliography

Bruce, F.F., 1980, Commentary on the Book of the Acts. NICNT. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Carson, D.A., 1984, "Matthew." Vol. 8. EBC. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.
Gutmann, Joshua and Editor, 1972, "Angels and Angelology." EJ 2:961-966.
Manuel, Paul, 2002, "Necromancy." [see previous post below]
Marmorstein, Arthur and Editor, 1972, "Angels and Angelology." EJ 2:966-971.

Endnotes

[1] The LXX of Deut 32:8 (comp MT) suggests that nations have angels permanently representing them in the conflict, a view common in Midrash as well (Gutmann 1972 2:963; Marmorstein 1972 2:969).

LXX Deut 32:8 When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God.

Deut 32:8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.

Rabbinic literature contains a similar notion:

Ruth R Intro 1 . . . in the World to Come... the princes of the nations of the world.., are destined to act as their prosecutors before Me.... In that moment the defender of Israel keeps silent. That is the meaning of the verse And at that time shall Michael stand [i.e., in silence] (Dan 12:1).

To what extent that is actually the case is uncertain. Circumstances, such as the significance for Israel, may dictate the degree and duration of angelic involvement in another nation's affairs.

[2] Several NT passages also mention Michael.

I Thess 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Jude 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.

Michael may have been the unnamed angel who supported Israel at other crucial times in the nation's history.

Exod 14:19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20a coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.

Exod 23:20 "See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.... 23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.

Josh 5:13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" 14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander [] of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

2 Kgs 6:16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2 Kgs 19:35 That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!

Even before the nation existed, as such, Israel had angelic support, perhaps including that of Michael.

Gen 32:1 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is the camp of God!" So he named that place Mahanaim.

Exod 3:2a There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.

[3] Small groups, such as synagogues or churches, may have angelic representatives, but the evidence is slim—only the addressees in the epistolary introduction of Revelation, which may actually refer to local bishops.

Rev 2:1a To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: . . . 8a To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ... 12a To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ... 18a To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
Rev 3:1a To the angel of the church in Sardis write: ... 7a To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ... To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

It is more likely that these messengers are church representatives, human agents rather than nonhuman ones. Why would Jesus (through John) communicate with supernatural creatures using a natural convention (i.e., snail mail)? Why would Jesus (through John) hold angels responsible for the actions (good or bad) of believers? Because the term can apply to natural or supernatural agents elsewhere, such additional considerations their being human not angelic.

[4] Extra-biblical literature contains a similar notion:

General references
Meek

1QH 5:20b Your glory is beyond measure, and wondrous in might are Your ministers [cf. Ps 103:21]. And (they are) with the meek who are trampled by the feet of...
Sabbatarians

b Shab 119b R. Jose son of R. Judah said: Two ministering angels accompany man on the eve of the Sabbath from the synagogue to his home, one a good [angel] and one an evil [angel]. And when he arrives home and finds the lamp burning, the table laid and the couch [bed] covered with a spread, the good angel exclaims, 'May it be even thus on another Sabbath [too],' and the evil angel unwillingly responds 'amen'. But if not [—if everything is in disorder and gloomy—] the evil angel exclaims, May it be even thus on another Sabbath [too],' and the good angel unwillingly responds 'amen'.
Frightened

Sanh 94a Rabina said: [W]hen one is terrified [and knows not why], though he has not seen anything, his guardian angel has.
Specific examples
Tobit

Tob 12:14 So now God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One."
Esau

Gen R 77:3 R. I- ama b. R. II anina said: [The angel Jacob wrestled] was the guardian Prince of Esau.

[5] Satan may allude to this in his temptation of Jesus.

Matt 4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus does, indeed, command the heavenly host.

Matt 13:41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

2 Thess 1:6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you.... 7b This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

Rev 19:14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

Cf. Dan 8:11 It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low.... 25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.

[6] Other passages include one in Acts, although Carson (1984 8:401) considers it a reference to Peter's departed spirit (see the following note):

Acts 12:13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" 15 "You're out of your mind,' they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."

Bruce says, "this angel was regarded as capable of assuming the bodily appearance of the human being whom he protected, like the fravashi in Zoroasrtianism (1980:252, n. 14).

Tobit 5:4 So he went to look for a man; and he found Raphael, who was an angel, 5a but Tobias did not know it.... 12 He replied, "1 am Azarias the son of the great Ananias, one of your relatives."

[7] The phrase "little ones" here and in v. 6 may refer to literal children (see "little child" vv. 2, 5; "little children" v. 3) or to adult believers with child-like faith (so Carson 1984 8:398).

Matt 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 B lit if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.... 10 "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Jesus may also not be referring to literal angels but using the term as a metonymy for (departed) spirits.

Acts 12:13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" 15 "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."

This idea derives from the belief that, upon death, a believer becomes like an angel in certain respects (Carson 1984 8:401).

Regarding marriage

Matt 22:30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

Regarding immortality

Luke 20:36a and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels.

2 Baruch 51:5b The righteous] will be changed... into the splendor of angels....

[8] God assigned a single angel's deliverance of Daniel's friends from the furnace and of the apostles from prison.

Dan 3:25 ..."I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound.. . and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."

Acts 5:19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.

[9] Prohibitions in Christianity and Judaism, probably pronounced in the same period, may indicate that some, indeed, sought angelic aid:

Col 2:18a Do not let anyone who delights in ... the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize.

Council of Laodicaea Canon 35 [c. 350] Christians must not forsake the Church of God and go away and invoke angels and gather assemblies, which things are forbidden. (Ayer, 1913:400)