During the Christmas season, we sing songs about angels (hearing them on high), we watch movies about angels (bells ringing, angels getting wings), and we become just a bit more attentive to the subject of angels. I even read a book recently (titled Mr. Miracle) about an angel who comes to earth to help a young lady named Addie get her life straightened out.
But are there really angels here? According to the Psalms, yes.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands. (Psalm 91: 11-12a)
I believe we should always consider Bible verses in the context they appear, so in doing that, take a look at the structure of Psalm 91—because it’s interesting. It begins with the psalmist speaking of himself (“I will say of the Lord” v. 1), then the perspective changes and the psalmist addresses the reader (“Surely he will save you” v. 3). And finally, at the end, the psalmist returns to talking about himself (“He will call on me” v. 14). Scholars believe Psalm 91 was either written by Moses or was written by David about Moses.
Verses 9 and 10 read, “If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.” So does this mean that if I say the Lord is my refuge that no disaster will come near my tent? Well, I’m not living in a tent, so no. And also no, because I’m not Moses. So what can I learn from these verses? What do they teach me about God? Well, they tell me that God is my protector.
I have no doubt that these verses apply to us all. Are we to keep in mind the context of these verses? Yes. And are we to be comforted by them? Also, yes!
There are other passages in the Bible that confirm angels’ presence on this earth, too. Many people in the Bible were visited by angels, like Hagar (Genesis 16), Lot (Genesis 18), Jacob (Genesis 28), Gideon (Judges 6), Joseph (Matthew 1), Mary (Luke 1), Peter (Acts 12), and so on. In additional to all those instances, the first verse of Hebrews chapter 12 reads:
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1)
I recently heard a sermon that presented this passage from Hebrews in a light I’d never considered. The minister presented that this “cloud of witnesses” could be those who have passed on, who have gone on before us and are encouraging us to persevere, to press on, and to endure.
Similarly, A. R. Fausset’s commentary on Hebrews chapter 12 supports this very idea of the “cloud of witnesses,” defining the cloud from the Greek: “a numberless multitude above us, like a cloud, ‘holy and pellucid.’” He also explains that witnesses are like spectators “pressing round to see the competitors in their contest for the prize.” Fausset says these witnesses serve as testaments to the faithfulness of God and as encouragers to us, thus “increas[ing] our earnestness, testifying, as they do, to God’s faithfulness.” (To read more for Fausset’s commentary, click here.)
This image of a cloud of witnesses rooting for me as I go through life has stuck with me since I heard that sermon. How incredible to think that our loved ones who have passed away are still in some sense cheering us on as we finish our own race. I think about my Granny a lot. Something will remind me of her or my mind just drifts to her without me meaning for it to. This isn’t a bad thing, of course. The only bad part is that I miss seeing her, talking to her, and spending time with her. So to think that she is in the cloud of witnesses that surrounds me is a thought that gives me such peace, comfort, and encouragement. What a joyful thought!
This perspective of the cloud of witnesses has brought me much joy as I’ve thought about it more and more, and I hope it will you, too.
Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Hebrews 13:1-2