From the very start, God began using angels in a special way; he began sending them on “missions” related to the newborn universe and its strange two-legged inhabitants—human beings.
What was the nature of these missions? Well, according to the Bible, there were many different kinds.
First and foremost, angels served as God’s messengers to mankind. We see this throughout the Old and New Testaments, as God repeatedly used the angels to communicate his will to individuals such as Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Gideon, Daniel, the Virgin Mary, Zechariah, Joseph and a whole host of saints and prophets.
God also entrusted angels with the care of kingdoms and communities that were experiencing crisis, and in this capacity their primary mission was to defend, assist and protect God’s people (as in the incident of Rev. Paton and the cannibals).
As Christians know, angels played a very important role in Christ’s mission to save the world. Aside from announcing the good news to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds, they also protected the newborn Jesus from the persecution of Herod.
Later on, angels were present at the empty tomb when Jesus rose from the dead; and later still, angels liberated the apostle Peter from prison when he was in danger of being executed.
Angels are characterized as “ministering spirits” in the Bible, and we see that they were often sent to give human beings consolation during periods of great suffering. The most touching example of this, perhaps, was when an angel was sent to the Garden of Gethsemane to comfort Jesus during his agony…
Of course, the best known mission of the angels is to be our personal guardians. Throughout sacred Scripture we find it implied that each of us has our own angel watching over us in a highly unique and personal manner.
The purpose of this guardianship is very simple—to assist us to get to Heaven. Why would God give these angels such a task? Basically because we need their help!
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