Ministration of Angels

That there are such books kept we will now show. In Mal. 3:16, we read: "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name." Here it is stated positively that a book is written before the Lord, and that in it is recorded the conduct of his children. Then this is the way that all our words and actions are to be remembered; they are written down in books. That the deeds of evil men are also written down is evident. Speaking of the wicked who have committed abominations, the Lord says, "Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. Behold, it is written before me." Isa. 65:5,6. Again, speaking of the same class, he says, "For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord." Jer. 2:22. But wicked men have no knowledge that their deeds are thus being written down against them each day, and hence they think that their actions pass unobserved. Referring to this the Lord says, "These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." Ps. 50:21,22. Because I have not seemed to take any notice of your wicked deeds by punishing them, you thought that I did not see them; but I warn you that the day is coming when I will set them all in order before your eyes. This language very strongly implies that these deeds are all written down. Much is said in the Bible about "books" in which the deeds of men are said to be written. "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous." Ps. 69:28. Says Moses to God, "Yet, now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." Ex. 32:32. "And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah." Ps. 87:5,6. Daniel, in describing the Judgment, says, "The Judgment was set, and the books were opened." Dan. 7:10. Here the books are introduced in connection with the Judgment. What these books have to do with that event, we may learn from Rev. 20:11,12. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Thus we have the facts plainly before us. At the Judgment day, the books in which men's deeds are recorded, will be opened, and they will be judged according to what is there found written.

Now the question is, Who writes all this? We think that it is the angels. Who should do it if not they? As they are always with men, taking cognizance of their words and deeds, that they should note them down from time to time, would be but a natural and reasonable conclusion, even though the Bible said nothing about it. But it does say that all these things are written and will be brought forth in the Judgment. We have already shown that the angels are always with us, and that each person has a guardian angel attending him through life. The conclusion, therefore, is a natural one that these angels are the ones who keep a record of men's deeds.

What a solemn fact it is, that we are never alone, but that holy angels are always with us! that they hear every word, and know every thought, however wicked, foolish, or vulgar! How careful we ought to be not to grieve away these holy messengers of God by our filthy conversation. What fearful accounts they must have to bear to Heaven from this apostate and wicked world! Dear reader, what account does your attending angel have to bear to Heaven each day? What will it be for this day? Will it be a record of earnest prayers to God for the pardon of sins, and for strength to do his will? or will it be a record of oaths, of falsehoods, of foolishness, and of sin? Remember that each day you are making another page in your record in Heaven. This record will have to be met in the Judgment day, word for word, thought for thought, and deed for deed, just as you are now making it. We are making marks which can never be erased. With fear and trembling, we can say with the poet:

"And must I be to judgment brought,

And answer in that day,

For every vain and idle thought,

And every word I say?

"How careful, then, ought I to live!

With what religious fear.

Who such a strict account must give

For my behavior here?"

THE ANGELS ASSIST IN THE JUDGMENT.

The angels will also have a part, and will assist the Lord, in the final judgment of the world. This is plainly declared in Dan. 7:9,10. "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the Judgment was set, and the books were opened." A careless reader might conclude that it was the dead who thus stood before the Lord in the Judgment to be judged. But this is not the case, for it says they ministered unto him. Men will not minister to God while they themselves are being judged. By Rev. 5:11, we see that these were the angels who stood before God. Have they any part in the Judgment? Daniel says, "Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him." They ministered unto him. To minister is defined by Walker thus: "To attend, to serve in any office; to give assistance." Then these angels were assisting the Lord.

But, in what were they assisting? Ans. The Judgment, as the next sentence explains it to be: "The Judgment was set, and the books were opened." This is decisive proof that the angels will assist in the work of Judgment. How they will be enabled to do this is explained by the statement that "the books were opened." The angels write down in books all the good and bad actions and words of every person. When a man dies, these books are closed and laid away till the Judgment. Then they are brought forth and opened. Although the person whose history is thus laid open, has been dead and forgotten by all for hundreds of years, yet here is recorded with fearful exactness the very thoughts and secrets of his heart. Every wicked deed, every impious word, and every sinful thought, is now laid open before the inspection of Heaven. In this light we can understand Eccl. 12:14: "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." How this will be done we may learn from Rev. 20:12. "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."

Thus we see that the Judgment is no mere imaginary or fictitious work, but a real transaction, in which books and records are examined. The angels of God assist in this examination. Will they not be competent to do this? They have been with man, have seen all his actions, have known his motives, and the circumstances that surrounded him. Being pure, holy, and wise, are they not, then, prepared to judge men justly? We conclude that they are; and the Bible bears us out in this conclusion. We have repeatedly shown that the angels perform an important part in the plan of salvation. They assist our great High Priest in his priestly office in the heavenly sanctuary. This will be seen by reading Rev. 8:3,4: "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand." As the priests assisted the high priest in his work in the earthly sanctuary, so the angels assist Jesus in his work in the heavenly sanctuary. Heb. 8:1-6; Rev. 8:1-6.

If all the deeds of the whole world have been written in books, and these books are to be separately examined, how long will it take to perform the Judgment? If one alone had it to perform, it would manifestly take countless ages. But this is not the case. Angels of God assist in this work; and of those not a few, either. Daniel says, "Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him." Ten thousand times ten thousand would be one hundred millions! With these facts before us, we can understand how the great work of judging the world can be performed in a reasonable length of time.

Some may object that this limits the power of God. We fail to see that it does. It is not necessary for God to perform a miracle in everything that he does to show his power. The wisdom and omnipotence of God are nowhere more clearly seen than in the laws by which he rules the sun, moon, and stars, and by which he causes the rain to fall, and the grass to grow. As well might we object that it limited his power to send an angel to deliver Daniel or Peter, or to commission one to resurrect his Son, or to destroy the Sodomites. It is what God does, not how he does it, that shows his omnipotence. The angels are his servants; and if he uses them to accomplish his work, it does not diminish his power in the least. So far as we know, with God, law is the rule and miracle the exception. Besides, the Judgment must be conducted in such a manner that finite beings can comprehend it, so that they may know that it is right and just. Otherwise they would not be able to see the righteousness of his judgment.

It may further be objected that God is called the judge of all the earth (Gen. 18:25), and that it is declared that he shall judge the world (Ps. 96:13). But Jesus also said, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto his Son." John 5:22. How shall we reconcile this? Let Paul explain it: "For as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law;...in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel." Rom. 2:12-16. Then God will judge the world by, or through the agency of, his Son. It is on the same principle that Christ will judge the world through, or by the assistance of, the holy angels.

THE ANGELS WILL GATHER THE SAINTS.

When Jesus finishes his work as priest and mediator, then he comes after his people and all the holy angels come with him. "When the Son of Man shall come in his glory; and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." Matt. 25:31. See also 2 Thess. 1:7. Long and zealously have Jesus and the angels labored together for the salvation of men. Now they are to reap the reward of their labors, and the angels will share in the joy of their Lord and the triumph of the redeemed. Says Jesus, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together this elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matt. 24:30,31. Paul says, "For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16,17. As Michael, in mid-heaven, sounds the trump of God, the earth trembles, the graves are opened, and the sleeping saints arise, clothed with immortality. The same angel who had watched over that humble saint through life, and had marked his final resting place, now stands by the grave; and as the child of God comes up from his dusty bed, he clasps him in his arms and bears him away in triumph to their common Lord. O, glorious scene! Victory to the saints, and triumph to the Son of God! And will not the angels, also, rejoice? Will they not share in the glory of their Lord and the joy of the redeemed? Ah! yes; they have borne an important part in this great work, and can now rejoice in its final success. Now the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of glory, ascends with all the saints escorted by the angels, up to the heavenly Jerusalem. As this glorious and mighty retinue approaches the gates of the city, Jesus gives the command, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in." A strong angel at the gates inquires, "Who is this King of glory?" The answer comes back, "The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in." Ps. 24:7-9. Then the glittering gates are thrown wide open, and Jesus, with his redeemed saints marches into the holy city and there presents them to his Father. What a meeting! what a presentation! O glorious day, may it soon dawn! And thus the saints will be forever at home.

The saints are so intimately connected with the angels that they are called one family. "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named." Eph. 3:14,15. Their work, their object, their interest, and their Lord, are one. The angels now co-operate with the saints in overcoming Satan and his hosts. What a glorious time it will be when all this heavenly family shall be gathered home to their Father's house! The good, the pure, and the just, will be there; the saints, the prophets, and the holy martyrs, will be there; the bright angels of Heaven will be there; the blessed Jesus in all his glory will be there; and the Father himself will be there to smile upon them! Oh! what will it be to really be there?

"We speak of the realms of the blest,

That country so bright and so fair,

And oft are its glories confessed;

But what must it be to be there!

We speak of its pathway of gold,

Its walls decked with jewels so rare,

Its wonders and pleasure untold;

But what must it be to be there!

"We speak of its freedom from sin,

From sorrow, temptation, and care,

From trials without and within;

But what must it be to be there!

We speak of its service of love,

Of the robes which the glorified wear,

Of the church of the first-born above;

But what must it be to be there!

"Do Thou, midst temptation and woo,

Still for Heaven my spirit prepare;

And shortly I also shall know

And feel what it is to be there.

Then o'er the bright fields we shall roam,

In glory celestial and fair,

With saints and with angels at home,

And Jesus himself will be there."

Dear reader, shall you and I be there? Do we belong to this heavenly family? God grant that it may be our happy lot to sing the song of the redeemed with the angels in Heaven.