Luke 1:11-20
"And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season," Luke 1:11-20.
Who is this angel of the Lord? In verse 19 we find that his name is Gabriel. There are only two angels in the bible that give us their names. Michael the arch angel and the angel of the Lord, Gabriel. Michael is God's most powerful angel and the protector of God's people. Turn to Daniel 10; Daniel 12:1-4; Jude 1:9; and Revelation 12:7. Angels are servants of God. They go, do, and say exactly what God would have them go, do, and say. "And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite," I Chronicles 21:15. Angels delivered Lot and some of his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). Angels were present at the giving of the Law to Moses (Deuteronomy 33:2, Psalm 68:17, Acts 7:53, Galatians 3:19), and Hebrews 2:2, "For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward." In II Kings 6 we see angels protecting Elisha and the people of God (II Kings 6:8-17). Angels are not to be worshipped. "And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, ad of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God," Revelation 22:8-9.
Angels are faithful servants of the Lord. Are they active in our day? "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares," Hebrews 13:2. God is active in our lives every day, and so are His servants. "Angels are part and parcel of the biblical message from early in creation, from the book of Genesis all the way to the book of Revelation. We don't simply see a flurry of angelic activity concentrated in the pages of the New Testament during the life of Jesus; we encounter them throughout the whole scope of redemptive history." R.C. Sproul.
Demons, devils, unclean spirits, etc. are fallen angels. They were not created as demons, devils, and unclean spirits, but that is what they became when they rebelled against God. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him," Revelation 12:7-9. We can learn more about the devil and his fall in Isaiah 14:12-15, and Ezekiel 28:11-19. It is true that the devil and his angles cause havoc, pain, and misery; but they are still under the control of our Sovereign God. God uses them to accomplish His will. Turn to I Kings 22:19-22. The devil desires to destroy the life of every Christian, "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren," Luke 22:31-32.
The devil and his angels are real. They are not the nasty images people have made them out to be. They can transform themselves into angels of light, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works," II Corinthians 11:13-15. Satan and his demons are active in religion. They draw multitudes to them by their lies. Those who follow these ministers love the lies and turn away their ears from the truth. The lies and deception of the devil are appealing and accepted by many who want to feel religious. A brief exposition of the Word of God will shed light on the hypocrisy of the false teacher, and those who follow them. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil," John 3:19. "He is identified all through Scripture as the malevolent archenemy of God and all those who are God's. He works to deceive people, to insight disloyalty to God and God's truth, and to turn God against His people. Those are the things that he does. But he is totally under the sovereign control of God and can only do what God allows." John MacArthur.
Back in our text we see God sending one of His angels, Gabriel, to Zacharias to give him great news. This news, as we will learn, will change Zacharias for the rest of his life. In this same chapter we will see the angel Gabriel bringing great news to Mary that will change her for the rest of her life. If the devil and his demons could have stopped this from happening, they would have. This was the pre-ordained will of God. Nothing and no one could stop it. What God has decreed to do, He will do. "But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased," Psalm 115:3. "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure," Isaiah 46:9-10. "Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all the deep places," Psalm 135:6.
We do not see all that is going on around us, but we can be rest assured that our God is in total control. We are not going around looking for angels or for demons, no, we are living our lives looking to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and we are longing for His return. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
